Opener of the Way

**Opener of the Way** {CW-F1} is a faction released with Onslaught One. It focuses on gate manipulation and upgrading units.

## Components

### Faction

 There are 8 Gates on the Map.
 You have Units in at least 2 Areas containing enemy-controlled Gates.
 Your Great Old One is in the same Area as an enemy Great Old One.

## Strategy

### Faction strategy

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**Elder Sign Acquisition** - Opener of the Way is very likely to have the fewest elder signs in every game they are a part of. Their faction has no way to gain them apart from the standard 1 ES for your GOO when performing a Ritual of Annihilation. You must focus on Gate Control and an opportune moment to use Dragon Descending to win.

If possible, look for neutral units to help you gain Elder Signs. Units like Quachil Uttaus, Dhole, Gla-aki and especially Tulzcha can help greatly.

**The Beyond One** - This faction ability has huge potential to make your opponents life a nightmare (especially when combined with the They Break Through spellbook). Look for an opportunity to use this on a faction who has already summoned all of their low cost monsters. Once you relocate their gate, they now have to make a tough decision:

* They give you the gate, costing them 3 power (1 for cultist, 2 for gate)
* They summon a monster to defend
	+ If they summon a high cost / high combat Monster, simply use TBO again, stranding that unit alone with only regret as company.
	+ If they summon a low cost / low combat Monster, you can chance a battle to promote your Abomination to a Spawn, or better yet, your Spawn to several Mutants. (keeping in mind any problematic battle abilities the smaller units may have, such as a Night Gaunt's Abduct spellbook).

It is a loosing battle to try and defend against The Beyond One. If you find yourself on the opposite side of this ability, weigh your options carefully. There may be no good options to deal with it at the time. Try to outlast them in the action phase, since Opener is a power hungry faction.

This ability also has great defensive value. If Cthulhu brings a massive army to take your gate, simply move it!

It can also be used to hobble Great Cthulhu or Windwalker. These factions require Gates in specific locations to Awaken their GOO, so if you can move the gate away you are not only putting yourself in a good position to take the gate, but also either significantly slowing these factions down or making it much riskier for them to use their GOO in combat.

**Awakening Yog-Sothoth** - Many players are tempted to start with a mutant, and do everything they can to upgrade it via Million Favored Ones to a Spawn of Yog Sothoth, THEN use that spawn to awaken their Great Old One. This can be a very costly, unpredictable, and time consuming endeavor (but sometimes you do get lucky vs an aggressive opponent!). Don't hesitate to summon a Spawn of Yog Sothoth for full power cost in preparation for awakening Yog.

**Movement** - Moving your army is expensive. If you are attacking a gate, consider moving a smaller army into the area, then using The Break Through to summon reinforcements directly to the battle area. For example, summoning a mutant at your gate in preparation for an assault in an adjacent area wastes 1 power for movement.

It is also likely that you will rarely have to spend power to move your units if you properly utilize They Break Through and The Beyond One. Why go to a gate when you can bring the gate to you?

## Spellbook Strategies

* **Dread Curse of Azathoth** - Although this spellbook takes a while to set up for maximum potential, it can be a great way to kill targets from a safe distance. When you are able to use this spellbook effectively, leaving a Great Old One alone with minimal defense becomes very risky for your opponents. If you are on good terms with the Crawling Chaos faction, have them pain Great Old Ones to areas by themselves with their Madness spellbook. Then destroy them with the Dread Curse of Azathoth. Black Goat can also assist with Necrophagy.
* **The Million Favored Ones** - This spellbook can make Opener of the Way one of the most difficult factions to combat. Unless the enemy is using overwhelming forces, chances are several of your units will survive and upgrade to a more powerful version. Be careful not to make upgrading your units your primary goal. Many times it costs just as much power to move and attack with your units as it saves in summoning costs, with the risk of actually loosing your units! This is a great defensive spellbook, and a good bonus to your offense.
* **They Break Through** - In the early game, this spellbook can really put a wrench in your opponents plans. When you summon a monster to their gate, they will likely be forced to abandon their previous plans to address the new threat, especially if an abomination is brought through (able to take the gate away with The Beyond One). Consider using this when an opponent moves to take one of your gates, forcing them to choose (and potentially waste power) between assaulting your gate or defending their own.
* **Dragon Ascending** - This is a fantastic spellbook to use after summoning Yog Sothoth. Try to perform a ritual the round before and get as close to 0 power as you can in your first action. Then get back into the action with Dragon Ascending.
* **Dragon Descending** - Your most important spellbook, and the trickiest to use. Do your best to end a round with 5 gates to gain a massive 15 doom point boost with your ritual. Be careful, however, as many players will be very threatened by this sudden surge of doom points. Often times you will be quite a ways behind in Elder Signs, make sure to remind threatened players of your lack of Elder Signs and the potential Doom Track position of your opponents (who have many Elder Signs).
* **Channel Power** - A great offensive boost. Spending a single power can likely land another kill or two depending on how many dice you roll, costing your opponent several times more in damages. Very powerful when you need just one more kill to take out an enemy Great Old One.