Introducing the Tcho Tchos

The Tcho-Tcho faction faces numerous decisions throughout the game, and requires planning. Should you accumulate High Priests or expend them to gain immediate Power? Which enemy Start Areas should you target? It is almost impossible to gain all of your spellbooks until turn 4 at the earliest, so in what order do you take them? Your choices affect not only you, but other factions, who will be vying to discourage your attention.

Your only spellbook available in the first Action phase is the one for removing your starting Gate (not necessarily recommended). Since you’ll need a High Priest to Awaken Ubbo-Sathla, one of your actions should always be to recruit a High Priest. You now have to choose between trying to create a Gate or recruiting a second High Priest for your first turn’s activities. Remember that having an extra High Priest lets you jumpstart your second turn with 12+ Power (by sacrificing him), giving you a slight leg up on the other players, even those who have two Gates.

You are weak defensively at first, but enemies are typically reluctant to attack an Area containing your High Priests (due to Martyrdom). If they don’t send in Great Old Ones, you can often handle riff-raff with Proto-Shoggoths.

In the first Doom phase take your first spellbook, for Awakening Ubbo-Sathla. If you take Hierophants as your reward, you’re set up for 5 free High Priests over the rest of the game, which will be amazingly useful.

You have a major power advantage in the early game, because you normally spend 0 Power on your Great Old One. You can use this offensively not only to capture or build Gates, but to place your Units in enemy Start Areas to harass them with Tablets of the Gods.

As the game goes on, your Faction loses steam, so you eventually are fighting a rear guard action, clinging to your remaining Gates as long as possible. It may be worth sacrificing multiple High Priests in the Doom phase to afford a Ritual at a critical time. Properly using and recycling High Priests is key to your success. Be sure to keep a sharp eye out and notice when people are performing Rituals of Annihilation, so you can seek your Sycophancy reward.