It’s time to Enter the Mythos
I am obsessed with Arkham Horror: The Card Game and going mad trying to collect everything related to the game. This is my story. Fantasy Flight Games announced Arkham Horror: The Card Game on August 2, 2016, on their website. Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a Living Card Game® based on H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, monsters, and madness.
Collecting a non-collectible card game
A “living card game” means that all of the cards that you need are in the box, and the game can evolve with add-on packs that add new characters, enemies, and plot points. The game is compelling to me. It feels like the right balance of story and strategy… and luck. I am also a collector. I like to collect things related to things that I like. In this case, it should have been easy to collect all of the Arkham Horror: The Card Game cards since they release all of the cards and they aren’t collectible. In a few cases, Fantasy Flight Games released “promo” cards and early versions of the add-on packs. They released these packs at Gen Con, Arkham Nights, or bundled them with books. This interested me even more, to make sure I attend the events or pre-order things directly from Fantasy Flight Games. I keep up-to-date by following the Arkham Horror: The Card Game blog at Fantasy Flights Games, the FFG Organized Play Facebook group, new eBay auctions, and the Arkham Horror LCG subreddit.
Following Arkham Horror News
It’s hard to follow what’s going on with Arkham Horror: The Card Game without consistently checking out the Fantasy Flight Games blog. Fantasy Flight publishes many posts a month and they cover many of their active game properties. The news articles about Arkham Horror LCG are important. Fantasy Flight often announces special events where they give out promos for participation or when they announce new products where you get promos by pre-ordering directly from them. It is possible to generate an RSS feed of just Arkham Horror: The Card Game news. I use IFTTT to monitor the RSS feed and send me an email when new posts are published about Arkham Horror LCG.
- Sign up for a new account at IFTTT
- Select the “rss to email” applet
- Click Connect
- Enter the Feed URL: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/rss/?tags=arkham-horror-the-card-game
- Click Save
Arkham Nights 2016
The first Arkham Horror: The Card Game promo debuted at Arkham Nights 2016, held at The Fantasy Flight Games Center in Roseville, MN, on October 14, 2016. Attendees who preregistered for the event received several promos, including an advanced copy of the Curse of the Rougarou scenario pack.
I didn’t attend this event, but this is when I started to notice the extra promos. I asked someone from Fantasy Flights Games about promos. They said the promos should be considered prizes for event participation. Right after Arkham Nights 2016, I noticed people selling their Arkham Horror promos on eBay. This is where avid collectors started their collecting journeys. Very few complete sets of promos exist in the wild, making Arkham Horror LCG fun to collect.
The Investigators of Arkham Horror Book Release
Shortly after Arkham Nights 2016, Fantasy Flight Games announced the release of The Investigators of Arkham Horror, a full-sized, premium book about the investigators. If you were able to pre-order this book, you also received promo Arkham Horror: The Card Game cards, a playmat, and four 12″x18″ posters. The promo cards featured Marie Lambeau and included her investigator card, mini-card, and two signature cards. The playmat is extremely rare and features the boundless and chaotic Ancient One known as Azathoth, with art by Brian Valenzuela.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Card Checklist
- 2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Marie Lambeau investigator card
- 2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Marie Lambeau mini-card
- 2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Mystifying Song
- 2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Baron Samedi
- 2017-08 – Gen Con – Leo de Luca – Level 0
- 2017-08 – Gen Con – Leo de Luca – Level 1
- 2017-10 – Arkham Nights – Unexpected Courage
- 2017-10 – Arkham Nights – The Council’s Coffer BETA
- 2017-10 – Arkham Nights – The 13th Vision BETA
- 2017-12 – Invocation – Daisy Walker investigator card
- 2017-12 – Invocation – Daisy Walker plastic mini-card
- 2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Jenny Barnes investigator card
- 2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Jenny Barnes mini-card
- 2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Green Man Medallion
- 2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Sacrificial Beast
- 2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Rules Reference card
- 2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Norman Withers investigator card
- 2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Norman Withers mini-card
- 2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Split the Angle
- 2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Vengeful Hound
- 2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Rules Reference card
- 2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Roland Banks investigator card
- 2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Roland Banks mini-card
- 2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Mysteries Remain
- 2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – The Dirge of Reason
- 2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Rules Reference card
- 2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Carolyn Fern investigator card
- 2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Carolyn Fern mini-card
- 2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Foolishness
- 2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – To Fight the Black Wind
- 2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Rules Reference card
- 2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Silas Marsh investigator card
- 2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Silas Marsh mini-card
- 2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Nautical Prowess
- 2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Dreams of the Deep
- 2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Rules Reference card
- 2018-08 – Gen Con – Lucky! – Level 0
- 2018-08 – Gen Con – Lucky! – Level 2
- 2018-10 – Arkham Nights – Drawn to the Flame
- 2018-10 – Arkham Nights – Dendromorphosis BETA
- 2018-10 – Arkham Nights – Ikiaq BETA
- 2019-08 – Gen Con – Alice Luxley
- 2019-08 – Gen Con – Subject 8L-08 (5″x7″ card)
- 2019-10 – Arkham Nights – Shortcut (alternative art by Derk Venneman)
- 2019-10 – Arkham Nights – Purifying Corruption BETA
- 2019-10 – Arkham Nights – Shrine of the Moirai BETA
- 2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Dexter Drake investigator card
- 2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Dexter Drake mini-card
- 2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Molly Maxwell ally card
- 2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Yaztaroth weakness card
- 2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Rules Reference card
- 2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Copycat – Level 3
- 2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Nathaniel Cho (alternative art)
- 2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Harvey Walters (alternative art)
- 2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Winifred Habbamock (alternative art)
- 2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Jacqueline Fine (alternative art)
- 2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Stella Clark (alternative art)
- 2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Gloria Goldberg investigator card
- 2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Gloria Goldberg mini-card
- 2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Ruth Westmacott ally card
- 2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Liber Omnium Finium weakness card
- 2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Rules Reference card
- 2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Wendy Adams (alternative art)
- 2021-10 – Arkham Nights – “Skids” O’Toole (alternative art)
- 2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Agnes Baker (alternative art)
- 2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Daisy Walker (alternative art)
- 2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Roland Banks (alternative art)
Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Scenario Deck Checklist
- 2016 – Arkham Nights – Curse of the Rougarou
- 2017 – Gen Con – The Labyrinths of Lunacy (over-sized packaging, branded with GEN CON 2017 on the front, and tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
- 2017 – Arkham Nights – The Labyrinths of Lunacy (over-sized packaging, branded with Arkham Nights 2017 on the front, and tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
- 2018 – Gen Con – The Eternal Slumber (tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
- 2018 – Arkham Nights – The Night’s Usurper (tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
- 2019 – Gen Con – The Blob That Ate Everything (tagged 05/2019 on back)
- 2021 – Arkham Nights – Machinations Through Time (over-sized packaging, tagged Arkham Nights 2021 on front)
Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Playmat Checklist
- 2016 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Azathoth playmat with art by Brian Valenzuela
- 2017 – Invocation – Invoke Thy Name – Eixodolon’s Pet playmat
- 2017 – Holiday Sale – The Jolly Ancient One playmat
- 2017 – Holiday Sale – Beyond the North Portal playmat
- 2018 – Arkham Nights / Invocation – No Rest for the Wicked – Invocation 2018 playmat with artwork from The Night’s Usurper scenario
- 2019 – Gen Con – The Blob That Ate Everything “The Viscous Blob” playmat with art by Guillaume Ducos
- 2020 – Invocation – Copycat
- 2021 – Arkham Nights – Final Hour (goodie bag)
- 2021 – Arkham Nights – Altar (raffle)
- 2021 – Arkham Nights – The Worm (raffle)
- 2021 – Arkham Nights – Patrice Hathaway (raffle)




- 2022 – Arkham Nights – Orphic Theory
- 2022 – Arkham Nights – Gargoyle
- 2022 – Arkham Nights – The Raven Quill

Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Poster Checklist
- 2016 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Four (4) 12″x18″ art prints with art by Adam S. Doyle, Tomasz Jedruszek, and Magali Villeneuve
- 2018 – Arkham Nights – The King in Yellow 13.5″x19.5″ poster
- 2019 – Gen Con – The Blob That Ate Everything 17″x11″ poster
- 2019 – The Dream-Eaters pre-order – Eight (8) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – Murder at the Excelsior Hotel pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – The Search for Kadath pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – A Thousand Shapes of Horror pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – Dark Side of the Moon – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – Point of No Return – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – Where the Gods Dwell – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – Weaver of the Cosmos – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
- 2019 – Arkham Nights – “Skids” O’Toole poster
- 2022 – Arkham Nights – Horrific Journeys – 8″x12″ poster
Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Book Checklist
- 2016 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book
- 2017 – Hour of the Huntress novella
- 2017 – Ire of the Void novella
- 2018 – The Dirge of Reason novella
- 2018 – To Fight the Black Wind novella
- 2018 – The Deep Gate novella
- 2020 – Blood of Baalshandor novella (pre-order includes bookmark featuring cover art by Shane Pierce)
- 2020 – Dark Revelations novella
Tips
Buying Legit Promos
Some promos have shown up on eBay. Be careful when bidding, buying, or making offers. Some promos get released version by Fantasy Flight Games in later releases. Make sure to check the icons at the bottom of the card. For example, Arkham Nights and Invocation promos are marked with a “fire” symbol and the year. The version that was released later has the standard scenario markings. Scenario decks released in advance often have a “not for sale” tag near the UPC on the back, but not all.
Protecting Arkham Horror Tokens
Arkham Horror LCG chaos tokens are 1″ (25.4mm) in diameter. I like to put the tokens inside of a coin capsule. This makes for a nice chunky feel in the chaos bag. I recommend 26mm coin capsules to house the Arkham Horror chaos tokens. They are sold in lots of 100 on Amazon. There are many brands of coin capsules and they all vary in quality. Expect 5% of the coin capsules to have scratches or cracks, or they won’t stay closed.
Want to Buy
I don’t have everything related to Arkham Horror: The Card Game, but I am looking for a few things. If you have one of these items, contact me. I have money, or we can make a trade.
- 2016 – Arkham Nights – Elder sign symbol emblazoned chaos bag
- 2017 – Arkham Nights – Auto-fail symbol emblazoned chaos bag
- 2017 – Holiday Sale – The Jolly Ancient One playmat
- 2017 – Holiday Sale – Beyond the North Portal playmat
- 2021 – Arkham Nights – Playmats (Violin, Worm, and Altar)
References
- ArkhamDB
- The Atlas Agency
- BoardGameGeek Arkham Horror: The Card Game wiki
- Fantasy Flight News