THE CARD
Name: Aldeberan Moves in the Sky
Set: Mythos Limited, B2: Cthulhu Rising
Type: Event
Subtype: Star
Affects: All Investigators
Special Effect Box: If Aldeberan is not already in play, then play this card as normal. If it is already in play, then Bury it and Bury this card. When revealed, Bury all other Events (except Travel cards). While in play, only one Phobia can affect any Investigator (randomly chosen).
CLARIFICATIONS
Aldeberan Moves in the Sky Buries itself. The first time it is played, it goes out into the Event area (Aldeberan "rises"). If Aldeberan Moves in the Sky is already in play, both Aldeberans are Buried (Aldeberan "sets"). Other cards may also Bury Stars (eg, other stars, or Sunspots, a Mythos: the Dreamlands card, also Bury all Stars).
When Aldeberan is revealed, all Events are Buried except Travel Events. This includes Phobias, Days, Nights, Storms, and all other Event Subtypes. Aldeberan totally clears the playing field. This happens both when Aldeberan rises and when it sets, because each time the card is newly revealed, just for a very short time in the second case.
Only one Phobia can affect each Investigator when Aldeberan is out. If someone has a second Phobia played on them when Aldeberan is out, randomize the two Phobias and Bury one of them.
QUESTIONS
Q: The Special Effect Box of Aldeberan Moves in the Sky says "if ALDEBERAN is not already in play". Does it really mean "if Aldeberan Moves in the Sky is not already in play"?
A: Yes. The wording in the Special Effect Box is slightly confusing, but Aldeberan Moves in the Sky is referring to itself. Future Star Events will just be named for the Star (eg, Algol, Polaris, and The Stars are Right will appear in Mythos: The Dreamlands) to avoid this confusion.
Q: Does Aldeberan Bury Astrophobia?
A: Yes, meaning that the Aldeberan/Astrophobia combination is usually just a 1 point Sanity loss. Astrophobia works better with a combination of Day and Night events. New Stars which will be friendlier to Astrophobia will appear in Mythos: The Dreamlands.
Q: How does Aldeberan interact with Townsfolk Riot?
A: If you get Rioted, and play Aldeberan instead of a new Location, you take the Sanity Loss. This is because Townsfolk Riot is triggered the instant you play Aldeberan, even though it is then Buried. If another player had played Aldeberan before your Turn, you would have been saved (because the Riot Event went away before being triggered).
Q: How does Aldeberan interact with Ambush? How about Police Investigation?
A: Police Investigation says "Bury this card at the end of the Round". Ambush should. However, these cards are kept out only as a matter of convenience, to aid memory. Their actual effects are triggered the second they are played, and can not be stopped, short of Yithian Mental Contact. When Aldeberan Buries these cards, it does not stop their effects.
STRATEGIES
Burying Phobias - Aldeberan can be used much more effectively than a Church for Burying Phobias. You don't have to go anywhere, you just play Aldeberan and all Phobias affecting you are buried. The deficit is that all other Events are buried too, so this strategy works best if you don't have any Phobias in your own deck, and you don't depend much on other Events.
The Aldeberan/Europe Deck - Being able to Bury Phobias is extremely useful is Europe because there are only three ways to do this in that Region: the Knight's Head Inn, the Huntingdom Asylum for Lunatics, and Madame Blavatsky. This situation is made even worse by the fact that the good Dr. Freud actually induces Phobias in his patients. For this reason alone, using Aldeberan in a Europe deck is a good idea. Stonehenge is also in Europe, and as luck would have it, the gate at Stonehenge becomes reusable when Aldeberan Moves in the Sky.
The Byakhee of Doom - When Aldeberan is out, Byakhee are 6 value for 0 Sanity cost. Sure, you might not be able to hurt your opponents with them, but there's still useful for defense (since they always fight in the cosmic battle). You can't do any better.
Hastur - Finally, Aldeberan Moves in the Sky is the Event requirement for playing Hastur. You also must be at an Outside Country Gate (if you're in Europe, this might be Stonehenge, again, or the Highland Loch). A lot of the times it's hard to play GOOs because other players can Bury your Event by doing something as simple as playing a Day or Night card. However, currently the only thing that Buries Aldeberan is Aldeberan. Thus, if you're going to use an Adventure requiring a GOO, Hastur, paired with Aldeberan, is one of your safest bets.
COUNTER STRATEGIES
It's fairly hard to counter strategy Aldeberan.
Knock it Out of the Sky - This requires you to put an Aldeberan in your own deck (or when Dreamlands comes out, to use the Day Event, Sunspots, or other Stars).
Work Around It - By this I mean, simply try and destroy the combinations that work well with Aldeberan by working against the *OTHER* Card. Stay Inside so Byakhee can't harm you. If you think your opponent is trying to summon Hastur, Bury his Outside Country Gates.
Phobia Frenzy - Give the opponent using Aldeberan a nasty Phobia. If he is depending on Aldeberan to Bury Phobias, he may be forced to play a second Aldeberan (and thus Bury both) to get rid of that irksome Phobia.