Complexity: 2

Summary & Strategy: 

Enigma is a somnolent sphinx whose drifting in and out of dreaming plays into going on the offensive and defensive. Playing this deck primarily involves managing tokens in your dream pool, which tend to accrue in the course of recovery / taking on damage or seeking utility answers and are spent when pivoting to go on the attack. 

It's certainly possible to play the deck in a spontaneous fashion - but balancing the dream pool is important to the payoff or risk of the deck's more potent effects - some require spending specific amounts of tokens, some encourage you to fully deplete the pool and others are at risk of destruction if the pool grows too large. By paying attention to how your plays will influence the pool, you can build towards big combination plays with the most impact overall.

Bio

"Ennie? She's great, she's just the eepiest soldier. Sleeps most of the time, sometimes dozes off in the middle of a fight, too - but when she's up and about she's really sweet. Well, to me, at least. Crazy strong, too: Punchline wanted to spar with her and forced her up and she knocked her through a brick wall, it was wild!

I guess she's a sphinx? Like, the real deal riddle-asking guardian in mythology kinda sphinx? Not really what I'd expect, what with how the statues look and all - but that's what she says, and Remnant says it's accurate, so I believe it. You guys should really be asking him about all this if you want the deep cuts - I just know she's my girl, she kicks butt, and she really likes cinnamon."

- Jackdaw

"That cat's an absolute unit, mate — reckon she's even stronger than Punchline, and that's sayin' something. S'truth! Hasn't been with us as long as the others, but slotted right in soon as we, ah, 'acquired' her.

See, we were followin' these leads to this flash penthouse suite, yeah? Whole bloody stash of stolen artifacts and whatnot — and it wasn't even a Brit museum this time! Anyway, next thing I know, some big bastard launches me across the room, and I go crashin' straight into this massive sarcophagus. Bloody thing cracks right open.

Out rolls this cat-woman covered in weird tats, and she starts spoutin' riddles—mate, you know I'm useless at that sorta thing. But Remnant? He's got a knack for it, cracks 'em like it's nothin' — meanwhile, the blokes we're scrapin' with completely botch it. We wipe the floor with the lot of 'em, and she just curls up and goes straight back to sleep. Swear on me life!

Long story short, we took her home, and now we're workin' together."

- Backlash

"Listen, I don't entirely understand it, but the way they tell it her dreams can change things. Dream logic, or something like that. I never really believed in anything like ghosts or magic or werewolves or anything - and now, it's like a who's who of cryptids running the streets against the syndicates. Me accepting that took a while.

As for Enigma - she doesn't seem all that old or big to me, but I've seen some of the things she's done and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't. Personally, I think she's maybe not all there; I don't mean that disrespectfully, but it's more like... even when she's awake, with us, I think it's just another dream to her.

That said, I got an allergy to cats and inside of five minutes I'll get cat hair all over my clothes around her. Jackdaw says it's the 'curse of the pharaohess.' I pack a lint roller and Loratadine if we're gonna be working together."

- Det. Adams

"Not human. Old. High confidence - older than me. Intel checks out. Lazy. Sleeps excessively. More than narcoleptic? Pertinent, but ultimately irrelevant. Easy to underestimate. Good advantage with opponents. Catch off-guard, sow panic. Plans disintegrate.

When she's focused, very useful. Unreliable for directed tasks. Leave those to others, especially when time-sensitive. As an obstacle? Best in team. Recommended use as choke-point deterrence.

Strong evidence of supernatural - difficult to explain otherwise. Lab analysis inconclusive and elusive. Cellular restoration significant. Comparable, but different than Omen's. Sleeps off harm. Literally. Amusing, if inconvenient.

Significant note: if prompted with riddles, do not answer. Even if confidence level is high. Compulsory violence if incorrect. Trivial sense of satisfaction not a worthwhile incentive.

Alleged divinity. Remnant insists. Evidence inconclusive. Ultimately irrelevant. Substantial value in obfuscation: guardian status obscures the lair in plain sight. Dream influence on public consciousness. Large scale. Concerning implications - must be monitored closely in case of deviation. Performing routine affirmation of known facts may be helpful against memetics. Risk factor is acceptable for secrecy. Saves us relocating.

Do I like her? Ultimately irrelevant. . . but yes."

- Omen

"She's strong, she's fast, she can take a beating like nothing and she sleeps most of the time. She also eats a lot, did they mention that? You have no idea how much take-out boxes pile up. Chicken and cinnamon gotta be half her food pyramid, but she does eat my cooking - just have to account for four or five servings for her. Pain.

What do you mean cat and dog thing. . . ? No. First of all, dogs and wolves are a different matter, but also, we're a team. Don't wiggle your eyebrows at me, Jackdaw. Whatever. Anyway, Backlash told you how we found her already, and whatever it is she's doing to 'hide' our hangout works really well.

You know the deal by now with the others, but she's great in a fight if you can keep her awake. You'd think the fight would do that, and then you'll see some goon bend a pipe off her head and watch her yawn and take a nap. Yes that's a weirdly specific example. I think Jackdaw kept the pipe afterwards. Regardless: I'm glad to have her with us. We need all the help we can get, dealing with Duskveil."

- Lalin

"I'M NOT DONE WITH HER, THAT WAS A WARM-UP! Is she gonna read this?? Enigma fight me again YOU COWARD! That was a cheap shot, next time's gonna be different. WE'RE GOING AGAIN, CAT! You can tell her that. I'm not mad. Please don't write that I was angry. You won't, right?"

- Punchline

"She's cool, but I want my sunglasses back."

- Slugger

"Ahh, yes. Roughly 3124 BC, if I'm correct. Which, I believe I am. Ankhesesekhmet is as close to her 'true' name as we're likely to get, though she will avoid the subject. If you believe in deities - which I don't - she may be a daughter of Sekhmet, as the name would imply. I do believe that she was a Pharaoh for a long period and has, like Hatshepsut, been 'forgotten' in historical record.

Nevertheless, she is a sphinx, yes, despite what you may think to the contrary. I personally find the riddles endearing, as she seems quite happy when you answer them correctly. I will caveat, however, that this has on more than one occasion proved to be a hindrance: if an opponent is successful in answering, she will no longer engage them or initiate hostilities. Fortunately, most of our foes are idiots.

As for the sleep and dreaming, it's somewhat tragic, I feel. In ancient history, she was an individual of vast power and influence with a very high station over a large population. Later, she was the guardian of an important locus of power.

Now? She is, essentially, a crime-fighting alley-cat with hand-me-down clothes trying to return to grandiosity in her sleep. Don't take that as empirical, of course - this is simply my personal running theory, and she's quite elusive about any questions regarding herself."

- Remnant