The DJ (Third Party): Overview and Strats

 

The DJ is a third-party Survivor role in Deck Mafia whose win condition is to simply survive until the end of the game. However, the DJ’s unique abilities center around manipulating the game through music, enabling and disabling card types, and granting players the Hype status, allowing them to use extra cards. With these abilities, the DJ can heavily influence the course of the game without being directly aligned with any faction. Here's a breakdown of how to play the DJ and maximize your survival while making the game more exciting with your musical manipulations.

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Primary Objective:

• Goal: Survive until the end of the game.
• Challenges: While the DJ’s primary goal is survival, their abilities give them great influence over what actions can be used in the game, making them a key player in shaping the game’s flow. They also win any elimination ties, giving them a slight edge in vote scenarios.

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Key Abilities:

1. First Factional Action: Party til we die!

   • Mechanic: The DJ selects two songs from a preselected list of nine songs (each representing a different card type). These songs will:
     1. Inflict everyone alive with HYPE status the following night, allowing them to use two different cards instead of one.
     2. Enable the card types corresponding to the songs played, while disabling the other card types that were not selected for that night.
   • Hype Status: Hype allows players to use two cards during the night, provided they have different types. This can empower players, but also make the night phase much more unpredictable.
   • Strategic Control: The DJ has control over which card types are enabled, allowing them to shape the night’s actions. If the DJ wants to prevent killing or investigative actions, they can avoid selecting the corresponding songs, disabling those card types for that night.

2. Second Factional Action: Sound Quality

   • Mechanic: After playing a song with the First Factional Action, the DJ can choose to disable certain GvD (God vs Demons cards) actions by selecting one of four music formats:
     1. Vinyl: Disables every GvD’s passive actions the following night.
     2. Compact Disc: Disables every GvD’s first action the following night.
     3. MP3: Disables every GvD’s second action the following night.
     4. Subscription: Disables every GvD’s third action the following night.
   • Strategic Advantage: By playing a format that disables specific GvD actions, the DJ can limit the impact of powerful roles or players who rely on GvD abilities.

3. Hype and Card Type Control:

   • The DJ’s power lies in controlling which card types are enabled or disabled during the night, and how much hype the players have. By manipulating the available card types, the DJ can limit the killing, investigative, or protective actions available to factions.
   • Hype Status allows players to use two different cards, which can supercharge night phases and lead to a more chaotic and unpredictable outcome.

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Limitations and Restrictions:

• The DJ cannot use killing, reflexive killing, or pseudo-killing cards. Any GvDs that involve these types of actions are also disabled for the DJ, limiting their offensive potential.
• The DJ’s actions are not compulsive, meaning they can choose whether or not to activate their abilities each day.
• The Second Factional Action (Sound Quality) cannot be used unless the First Factional Action (Party til we die!) has been played.
• The DJ is immune to vote nullifiers and wins in case of elimination ties, giving them an advantage in surviving votes.

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Optimal Playstyle and Strategy:

1. Early Game: Establish Your Influence Without Becoming a Target

• Stay Low-Key at First: Early in the game, try not to draw too much attention to yourself. Since your goal is to survive until the end, don’t make yourself an early target for factions looking to eliminate neutral players.
• Test the Waters with Song Selections: In the early phases, you can use your First Factional Action to subtly test out your song selections without causing too much disruption. For example, if you want to keep things peaceful, you can avoid enabling killing cards. Alternatively, if you want to sow some chaos, enable killing cards while disabling protective or investigative cards.

2. Mid-Game: Start Using Hype and Song Control to Shape the Game

• Enable/Disable Card Types to Your Advantage: As the game progresses, start using your ability to control which card types are enabled. If you suspect that factions are planning to make aggressive plays (like eliminations or investigations), disable the corresponding card types to limit their actions.
• Keep Hype Active: Use Hype to make the game more unpredictable by allowing players to use two cards per night. This increases the number of actions being taken, making it harder for factions to predict outcomes. However, be cautious not to enable cards that can directly threaten you unless you have a solid defense.
• Target Specific GvDs with Sound Quality: If you notice that certain players are relying heavily on their GvD cards, use the Second Factional Action (Sound Quality) to limit their abilities. For example, if a player has powerful passive abilities, select Vinyl to disable their passives for the night.

3. Late Game: Secure Your Survival and Influence Endgame Outcomes

• Manipulate Elimination Votes: Since the DJ wins elimination ties, you can position yourself to manipulate votes in your favor. Try to set up situations where ties are likely, ensuring your survival.
• Prevent Kill Actions and Play Defensively: In the late game, it’s more important to disable killing actions (both direct and indirect). By disabling the killing card type through song selections, you can reduce the chances of being eliminated during night phases.
• Use Sound Quality to Neuter Threats: If there are still dangerous players relying on GvD actions, use the Sound Quality mechanic to disable their most powerful abilities. This can help neutralize potential threats and keep you alive long enough to achieve your win condition.

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Strategic Considerations:

• Control the Chaos: You have the ability to create chaos by enabling or disabling various card types. If you find yourself in danger or need to weaken a faction’s strength, disable their main card types (like Killing or Investigative). Alternatively, you can enable aggressive cards when you want to destabilize the game and throw off plans.

• Avoid Becoming a Target: While your abilities allow you to influence the game heavily, you should avoid making yourself a direct target. Use your actions in a subtle way that doesn’t draw too much attention to your own survival. Let the other factions fight among themselves while you control the pacing from behind the scenes.

• Sound Quality for Specific Threats: Use your Second Factional Action carefully to disable GvD abilities from powerful players. If someone is using a GvD with potent passives or reflexive abilities, shut them down with the appropriate Sound Quality format (like Vinyl or MP3) to limit their influence.

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Final Thoughts:

The DJ is a master of manipulation, using music to control the flow of the game by enabling and disabling card types, giving players Hype to perform more actions, and strategically limiting the power of GvD abilities. By surviving until the end and using your abilities carefully, you can secure a win while making the game more dynamic and unpredictable.