Pete Apparently Made Umôrdhoth Mad (Solo, Achievements)

Pete here managed to complete the achievement I was seeking last time (interrogating all six unique cultists in Return to The Midnight Masks), so from an achievements perspective it doesn't really matter if he wins or loses this scenario. Of course, I'd prefer a win. Let's give it a whirl!

SESSION REPORT

SCENARIO III - RETURN TO THE DEVOURER BELOW

• Opening Hand: Desperate Search, Dark Horse, Flare, Desperate Search, Fire Axe
• Kept: Dark Horse, Flare, Fire Axe
• Replacements: Double or Nothing, Reckless Assault
• Starting Location: Main Path (Duke in play)

First time not having St. Hubert's Key at the start, which bodes a little less well.

R1 (0D, 0H, 5$, 0C): 0/4 doom

• Encounter: None
• Play Flare [-2$]: search for and play Yaotl, exile Flare
• Play Dark Horse [-3$]
• Use Duke: Move to Arkham Woods-A = Twisting Paths and Investigate [use Yaotl to discard Madame Labranche from deck], use Yaotl, 6 vs. 3 ( is -2): pass [+1C]
• Draw Desperate Search [+1$]

Got Yaotl off the bat though, which is nice. Even though Pete's in the "test raw to get out" location, he's prepared to pass with Yaotl's help.

R2 (0D, 0H, 1$, 1C): 1/4 doom

• Encounter: Grave-Eater spawns and engages
• Use Duke: Fight Grave-Eater, 4 vs. 2 (-2): pass [+2D, defeated]
• Play Fire Axe [-1$]
• Use "Ashcan" Pete [discard Desperate Search]: ready Duke
• Move (use Yaotl, 7 vs. 3, : fail, move cancelled)
• Draw Flare [+1$]

...well. Let's try that again.

R3 (0D, 0H, 1$, 1C): 2/4 doom

• Encounter: Corpse-Taker spawns at Arkham Woods-D (uh-oh)
• Corpse-Taker gets +1 doom
• Move (use Yaotl, 6 vs. 3 (-1): pass) to Main Path
• Use Duke: Move to Arkham Woods-B = Cliffside and Investigate, 3 vs. 2 ( is +2) [ready Duke]: pass [+1C]
• Move to Main Path
• Corpse-Taker moves to Main Path and engages
• Draw Peter Sylvestre [+1$]

I realize I'm going to have at least two enemies on me simultaneously, but that Corpse-Taker needs to go as soon as possible. Looks like a good Flare target.

R4 (0D, 0H, 2$, 2C): 3/4 doom [+1 on Corpse-Taker]

• Agenda advances to 1b: encounters reshuffle, Acolyte of Umôrdhoth spawns and engages with +1 doom, advances to 2a [enemies have +1 Fight/+1 Evade] (this effect right here, more than anything else, really makes this scenario brutal)
• Encounter: Dreams of R'lyeh threatens (this is a problem)
• Corpse-Taker gets +1 doom
• Play Flare [-2$]: Fight Corpse-Taker, use Yaotl, use "Ashcan" Pete [discard Reckless Assault] to ready Yaotl, 10 vs. 5 ( is -2): pass [+3D, defeated], exile Flare
• Use Duke: Fight Acolyte of Umôrdhoth, 5 vs. 4 (-1): pass [+2D]
• Evade Acolyte of Umôrdhoth, 4 vs. 3 (-1): pass [evaded]
• Acolyte of Umôrdhoth readies and engages
• Draw Desperate Search [+1$]

Absent means to get my combat reasonably above 4 until next round, and not wanting to discard Double or Nothing or Peter Sylvestre, I opt to stall him for a round.

R5 (0D, 0H, 1$, 2C): 1/5 doom [+1 on Acolyte of Umôrdhoth]

• Encounter: Umôrdhoth's Wrath, 3 vs. 5 (-1): fail by 3 [1D/2H, 1D on Duke, 1D/1H on Yaotl] (I'm now in desperate range but this was a big hit)
• Use Duke: Fight Acolyte of Umôrdhoth, use Yaotl, 8 vs. 4 ( is -2) [+1 doom on Acolyte of Umôrdhoth]: pass [+2D, defeated]
• Use "Ashcan" Pete [discard Desperate Search]: ready Duke
• Use Duke: Move to Arkham Woods-C = Wooden Bridge and Investigate, use Yaotl, 8 vs. 3 ( is -3): pass [+1C]
• Advance Act to 1b [-3C]: Ritual Site enters play, no unique cultists spawn
• Move to Main Path
• Draw Perception [+1$]

R6 (1D, 2H, 2$, 0C): 2/5 doom

• Encounter: Young Deep One spawns and engages [1H on Duke] (uh-oh)
• Use Fire Axe: Fight Young Deep One [-2$], 7 vs. 4 (0): pass [+2D]
• Use Yaotl: discard Yaotl from deck (end of mythos phase. I'm looking for some icons.)
• Use Yaotl: discard St. Hubert's Key from deck (start of investigator phase)
• Use Duke: Fight Young Deep One, 5 vs. 4 ( is -3) [1D]: fail
• Use "Ashcan" Pete [discard Perception]: ready Duke
• Use Duke: Fight Young Deep One, 5 vs. 4 (): fail
• Young Deep One attacks [1D, 1H on Duke]
• Use Yaotl: discard Manual Dexterity from deck (enemy phase)
• Use Yaotl: discard Peter Sylvestre from deck (upkeep phase)
• Draw Newspaper [+1$]

All that digging by Yaotl and nothing to show for it. This Young Deep One, boosted by the Agenda deck to be 4/3/4, is just kind of brutal - especially with its auto-horror on engagement. But you know what's worse than that?...

R7 (3D, 2H, 1$, 0C): 3/5 doom

• Encounter: Young Deep One spawns and engages [1H] (...two of them! Arrrrrgh)
• Use Yaotl: discard Hypochondria from deck (mythos phase)
• Use Yaotl: discard A Test of Will from deck (investigator phase)
• Use Fire Axe: Fight Young Deep One [-1$], 5 vs. 4 (0): pass [+2D, defeated]
• Use Duke: Fight Young Deep One, 5 vs. 4 (+1): pass [+2D]
• Use "Ashcan" Pete [discard Newspaper]: ready Duke
• Use Duke: Fight Young Deep One, 5 vs. 4 (-2): fail
• Young Deep One attacks [1D/1H discards Yaotl]
• Draw Wracked by Nightmares [+1$]

Things have suddenly gotten very bad. With Dreams of R'lyeh lowering my sanity, I'm now only 2 points of horror away from defeat (the first of which would take out Duke).

R8 (3D, 3H, 1$, 0C): 4/5 doom

• Encounter: Umôrdhoth's Hunger [discard Peter Sylvestre, Young Deep One heals 1D]
• Use Fire Axe: Fight Young Deep One [-1$], 5 vs. 4 (0): pass [+2D, defeated] (whew!!)
• Discard Wracked by Nightmares
• Draw Overpower [+1$]

Stabilized somewhat, but now I need to rush the agenda clock.

R9 (3D, 3H, 1$, 0C): 5/5 doom

• Agenda advances to 2b: 3 vs. 6 (-2): fail, receive Unspeakable Oath (Bloodthirst), advances to 3a
• Encounter: Chill from Below, 3 vs. 3 (-1): fail by 1 [discard Double or Nothing]
• Use Duke: Move to Ritual Site [Act advances to 2b, encounters reshuffle, Grave-Eater spawns and engages] and Investigate, 4 vs. 3 ( is -1): pass [+1C]
• Use Fire Axe: Fight Grave-Eater [-1$], 5 vs. 2 (): fail
• Use Fire Axe: Fight Grave-Eater, commit Overpower, 5 vs. 2 (0): pass [+2D, defeated]
• Draw Madame Labranche [+0$]

I suppose the luck I had in Return to The Midnight Masks has boomeranged back around, given how many poor token pulls I'm encountering this scenario.

R10 (3D, 3H, 1$, 1C): 1/5 doom

• Encounter: Umôrdhoth's Wrath, 4 vs. 5 ( is -2): fail by 3 [discard Madame Labranche, 1D/1H discards Duke, 1D/1H, defeated by horror]

And all of a sudden, just like that, I've lost!!

No resolution

• Arkham succumbed to Umôrdhoth's terrible vengeance
• Pete is killed
• Pete loses

...Just goes to show that even without any unique cultists left around,Umôrdhoth sure can catch up to you with his Hunger and Wrath. Drawing 3 of the 4 "Agents of an Ancient One" cards in the encounter deck were, obviously, a compounding factor.

Well, you can't win them all. "Ashcan" Pete gave it a good effort at least. Only two achievements left to seek: win the campaign with three Ultimatums, and win the campaign on Expert. I'll try Ultimatums first. Which Ultimatums? Well, Finality and Survival, at least - make those stakes high! - and after that, my favorite Ultimatum and the one I think adds most "well now that's interesting" to the game: that of Chaos. Indeed, perhaps it's time to resurrect my old friend Doomed Chaos Leo from the void to which he dispelled himself and Yog-Sothoth (https://arkhamdb.com/deck/view/659017), and see if he can recreate that triumph here...