Nightmare at Noon
This will be the first article for the R&D Ranch. I already posted some strategy when the spoilers for Nightmare at Noon were being shown. Now that the whole pack is out, I'm here to tell you a little about all the cards in the pack.
Junior - This little guy is the perfect support for items with the Mystical keyword, especially the Legendary Holster. For five Ghost Rock, you'll have a 3 bullet dude that can grab the Holster from your deck and play it right away. You also have the option to ace the item if you can't pay for it or just want to get it out of your draw structure.
He's also great with Shotguns if you want to grab a Stone Idol to make your job easier. There are several non-Gadget Mystical items already available for Junior to grab. If you're into Oddities of Nature, grabbing a Soul Cage could drastically improve the recursion of your Abominations. He seems to be tailor-made with Legendary Holster in mind, but he provides plenty of options to put mystical items in your deck that don't fit your draw structure because he can get it out of the way quickly.
Since he has zero influence, you can play him in any deck without having to pay upkeep on him. He also can't be aced by card abilities. That means he's safe from Shotguns and Coachwhips.
He's also great with Shotguns if you want to grab a Stone Idol to make your job easier. There are several non-Gadget Mystical items already available for Junior to grab. If you're into Oddities of Nature, grabbing a Soul Cage could drastically improve the recursion of your Abominations. He seems to be tailor-made with Legendary Holster in mind, but he provides plenty of options to put mystical items in your deck that don't fit your draw structure because he can get it out of the way quickly.
Since he has zero influence, you can play him in any deck without having to pay upkeep on him. He also can't be aced by card abilities. That means he's safe from Shotguns and Coachwhips.
The Fabulous Mister Miss - Speaking of good cards for the Legendary Holster, Mister Miss is a great dude to create a "screwed if you do, screwed if you don't" situation. Give this dude the Holster or a Shotgun and start moving around town to call out the cheap, low value, high influence dudes that everybody loves. You can get more mileage by carrying cards that help you move Mister Miss around the table and call out more dudes.
Pair this dude with It's Who You Know to force more shootouts even while booted. Be sure to give your opponent a reason to fear Mister Miss. A huckster with Shadow Walk/Soul Blast could do the trick.
Sister Mary Gideon - Sister Mary starts with zero bullets, but her trait resembles the power of Wylie Jenks without as much investment. While she is the only dude in your posse, she gets +1 bullets for each dude in the opposing posse. She will be at higher risk while she's alone, since there won't be any other dudes for you to take casualties with, but she is blessed, so she can bring along a Holy Roller or Consecration for protection.
You could also use her bullet bonus to fire off a shotgun or Holster early in the shootout and then bring along another powerful dude with The Stakes Just Rose to add another body into the fight.
Nathan Shane - Nathan adds an interesting element to the Morgan shootout game. We already have Cookin' Up Trouble that can look at an opponents hand, but it can't hit cards with Cheatin' Resolutions on them. Nathan doesn't have that restriction. Against decks with little extra card draw, it won't take long for Nathan to reach enough bullets to see most, if not all, of your opponent's hand. You'll get to see if they have a Cheatin' Resolution at all. If they have one, get rid of it and then cheat away!
Nathan will favor one of the few weapons that actually have +2 bullets. Add in a War Paint or other bullet bonus and Nathan will easily be on the way to seeing your opponent's entire hand. They could end up fearing him as much as your primary shooters if he could stop the one card that their strategy hinges on. Plus, seeing your opponent's hand at the start of a critical shootout will be priceless.
Warren Graves - Warren provides plenty of protection for the dudes you leave out in the open. As a React, he can save one of your dudes from being aced, discarded, or sent home booted from a shootout. He lets your dude go home booted and then he joins the fight. Warren protects your dudes from any shootout action that would cause those effects, not just your opponent's. If you don't want to go clubless, but you do want to reduce the danger of weapons like the Asyncoil Gun, make sure you have Warren waiting to replace that dude. Keep in mind that Warren only protects against shootout plays and will have no power over resolution plays. |
Jack O'Hara - Jack is the dude the Sloane Gang has been looking for all this time. A dude that can carry two weapons. He only has one bullet and influence, but there are already many combinations that he can use with brutal efficiency.
Perhaps you want him to have a Shotgun and a Legendary Holster for a four bullet rating. You could give him a melee weapon with high bullets to add to the effectiveness of a Holster or Shotgun. Pair the Holster with Evanor and O'Hara will have six bullets before any other modifiers such as Charlie's Place, Bad Company, or War Paint. Give Jack a Peacemaker to protect his bullets while you use the weapon in his other hand. Unprepared would still give Jack a bad day.
John "Aces" Radcliffe - John has a quirky set of traits, but he can be a benefit to any deck that doesn't use many shootout actions. He can effectively be immune to Sun In Yer Eyes if that would mean your opponent has less cards in their hand than you do. The 108 Righteous Bandits and the Eagle Wardens both have ways to draw several more cards than their opponents. John can be a stud as long as you keep more in your hand. He could even combo well with Nathan Shane or Cookin' Up Trouble to reduce the number of cards in your opponent's hand.
Radcliffe's trait could come back to haunt you. If you use The Stakes Just Rose to enter a shootout and then have the same or less cards in your hand than your opponent, he will become a draw. He has plenty of ways to avoid shootout punishment, but his trait will be tricky to keep track of when the lead starts flying.
Steele Archer (Exp) - Steele is still a lower value huckster, but he is now on value with Corporeal Twist. Now at Huckster 3, he is able to cast with only the best hucksters in Gomorra. As a Noon action, Steele can unboot a hex at his location or adjacent and it can be used a second time. With a few Stiff Drinks, he could use the same Paralysis Mark to boot the whole town! Even though it's a Noon action, he can unboot shootout spells as well if he might get into more than one shootout a turn.
If you're taking along Stoker's Sabre, Steele can unboot one hex during Noon and another during a shootout each turn. If only mid-range huckster decks were a big thing. With Archer's initial cost, it's unlikely you'll see him in many starting line-ups.
Old Man McDroste - The Old Man can be effective at Out of Town deeds and at home. He always reduces the production of a deed he is at by 3, but he can reduce the influence of a dude at his deed to zero until the next upkeep phase.
You can use him to destroy your opponent's influence on a turn you think you can win or you can use him to effectively "remove" the increased upkeep that out of faction dudes require during upkeep.
The short is, McDroste can do a lot. He can reduce production at an opponent's important deed without even controlling that deed. He can reduce influence on a critical turn to help you win the game and he can run out of town to earn a control point. For 3 Ghost Rock, he can accomplish plenty.
Flint's Amusements - Flint's is already attractive as a cheap deed that can provide you one Ghost Rock each turn. Flint's can quickly offer more income whenever you play Resolution abilities. Cheatin' Resolutions are also Resolution abilities and after you play one, Flint's will let you draw a card as well.
Most of the current Resolution plays on action cards are Cheatin', but if you're able to combine this deed with gratuitous use of Point Blank or No Turning Back, you could make some solid Ghost Rock.
Lula's Exploit - The Exploit improves on Gadgets with abilities by giving you two "free" Ghost Rock to spend on them each turn. That can be a free move with a Mechanical Horse or two extra bullets on a Flame-Thrower.
On top of improving gadgets, Lula's Exploit is a solid two income deed that only costs four Ghost Rock to get into play. Since it is out of town and has no control point, it is less likely to draw attention until your constant use of "free" Ghost Rock becomes a problem. Lula's Exploit finally fills the long-awaited slot for a third deed at the eight value.
Testing Range - The Testing Range should add a bit more power to the lacking Gadget archetype. For a small fee of 2 Ghost Rock, you can stand up a Mad Scientist after he invents a gadget.
If you're not interested in the expense, the Testing Range offers the option to run a few clubs in a deck using Experimental Gadgets and have less fear for them killing your dudes at the worst possible moment. There will still be some risk involved, but if you're already using only a few actions in your deck, having a save could make all the difference.
Dog's Duster - The Law Dogs have always had an issue with influence coming cheap. Dog's Duster may not be the perfect answer, but it will help. As long as the dude wearing the Duster is not wanted, he has +1 influence. If the dude is a Deputy, they won't become wanted for joining a posse at a private location. This means you can Ambush a wanted dude at their home without gaining any bounty. This makes sure your deputy has the right reputation to keep that influence.
Unless you are playing against another Law Dogs deck, you're not likely going to run into any other cards that will make your dudes wanted, but against another Law Dogs outfit, you might have a little trouble having to hand off your duster every time one of your dudes gets wanted.
The duster also comes with a built in call-out action. As long as your dude is unbooted, he can call out a wanted dude at the same location. This mainly provides you an option to walk over to their home and call out a booted dude left there by himself. If they aren't booted and refuse, they will boot at home. It's a shame it shares value with a Shotgun. At least you can still use it with Legendary Holster. If you're worried about your opponent just refusing and going home, carry a Tin Star to prevent refusal.
Unless you are playing against another Law Dogs deck, you're not likely going to run into any other cards that will make your dudes wanted, but against another Law Dogs outfit, you might have a little trouble having to hand off your duster every time one of your dudes gets wanted.
The duster also comes with a built in call-out action. As long as your dude is unbooted, he can call out a wanted dude at the same location. This mainly provides you an option to walk over to their home and call out a booted dude left there by himself. If they aren't booted and refuse, they will boot at home. It's a shame it shares value with a Shotgun. At least you can still use it with Legendary Holster. If you're worried about your opponent just refusing and going home, carry a Tin Star to prevent refusal.
Stoker's Sabre - The Sabre has the usual Melee weapon disadvantage. However, it does give 3 extra value to the dude carrying it. It could help protect Steele Archer from effects or bring a higher value dude to the point where the Huntsmen's Society reduces their upkeep.
During a shootout, you can unboot a spell attached to the same dude. This affects all spells; Hexes, Miracles, or Spirits. The Sabre could allow for two Soul Blasts in one shootout or you could unboot a Noon spell in hopes that your dude will get a chance to use it again later in the turn.
Fate Dispenser - The Fate Dispenser is a high Difficulty gadget to build. Even with the new Elander Boldman, you'll only want to play values 7 and up if you want to easily build this machine.
As long as you have less cards in your hand than your hand size, the dispenser can draw you a card. That's all it does. Everyone knows how important card advantage is in Doomtown and there is still so little of it in the game. There is a reason that Circle M Ranch stands as one of the most popular deeds in the game.
It doesn't take much to use one card out of your hand. As soon as you do, the dispenser can draw you a card. It's a controller ability, so try to put it on a deed you know you can hold on to.
Soul Cage - The Soul Cage is the newest addition to the abomination recursion machine. With this and Raising Hell, you'll have eight cards that can bring your dead abominations back into play for another round of fighting. Soul Cage has the advantage of pulling from your discard pile and working during lowball. If you do grab a dude during lowball, you'll still need to pay upkeep on that dude, so choose wisely.
There are plenty of options for abominations. If your opponent cheats with a single pair, you can still bring back the Brute or a Pagliaccio. It only takes a cheatin' Full House to get The Ghostly Gun and you can even get Ivor himself if they cheat on a Five of a Kind (because Straight Flush isn't cheatin').
There are plenty of strategies behind the Soul Cage. If they beat you by a lot, grab the Brute to soak up casualties. If you weren't beat by much, grab the Ghostly Gun to change your shootout hand by enough to win. Bring Eve Henry into play in order to hit them with a Point Blank.
The Soul Cage doesn't require a pull, either. It fits into the low rank abominations because Junior can pull the Cage out of your draw structure and keep the values low.
For Such A Time As This - This spell is the Blessed Summoning. You have to run a job in Town Square, but as a reward, you can grab a dude from your deck or discard with grit less than the Miracle's skill check.
Since it refers to the "skill check" that includes the actual value of the card you pull plus the Blessed skill of the dude making the check. If you pull another Jack on this spell with Inbody, you can get a dude with grit 12 or less. It isn't limited to Law Dog dudes, either. Wendy would be a great choice, but you could also grab Mario Crane or another dude outside of your draw structure and bring them into play for four less Ghost Rock. The dude also gets an extra and permanent influence. Imagine all those Blessed dudes that don't quite make the cut with their low influence gaining an extra point when they are brought into play. If you want to maximize on cards that remove themselves and give you extra influence, add Meet the New Boss as well for eight cards that will vacate your structure as soon as you use them. |
A Fight They'll Never Forget - This shootout action is one of the new cards with the headline keyword. Once a headline is played, no more can be played for the rest of the shootout. Any other headline is prevented this way, not just other copies of the same card. First of all, it gives a blanket effect of +1 bullets to all your dudes in the posse. Then, each time a dude is aced as a casualty, the other shooter gains one control point. You get plenty of bullets up front, but you better be prepared to win with those bullets or you could be giving your opponent a few free control points. After use, you ace the card, making sure it can only be used a few times a game.
Nightmare at Noon - The pack's namesake is the only other headline we have so far. One posse receives -1 bullets to all their dudes, then, each dude with 0 or 1 bullets becomes a draw. Remember the effect for later in the shootout, because any time a dude is reduced to 0 or 1 bullets, they will also become a draw. Be sure to combine this headline with other shootout penalties that will bring bullets down to the 1 bullet limit. Pagliaccios and Holy Wheel Guns are just a few of the minor bullet penalties that could make a huge difference after Nightmare at Noon has been played. You could choose to hold on to Nightmare, waiting for the perfect opportunity, but if your opponent plays a headline before you, your opportunity has been lost for that shootout.
Sword of the Spirit - This miracle is adding to a potential synergy between the Blessed and Melee weapons. As a Noon action, you can give a dude with a melee weapon +1 bullets, stud, and prevent them from being targeted by opposing spells. The best melee weapon to use is the Rapier since this spell shares value with Evanor. Since this is a Noon action, you can go head to head with Control decks by preventing your opponent from targeting your dudes with their spells as long as they have a melee weapon.
Right now, there isn't an abundance of melee weapons at high values that would merge well with the Blessed, but you'll be able to key dudes like Abram or Inbody from all those spells that make control difficult to deal with.
Buried Treasure - Buried Treasure lets you ace a card in your discard pile to gain three Ghost Rock and draw a card. The card costs two Ghost Rock to play it first, so the net value will be one Ghost Rock, a new card in hand, and one less card in your draw structure. You can get a lot more mileage out of this card when you pair it with the Undertaker. Each time you ace a dude, you'll get five Ghost Rock and a card for the cost of two Ghost Rock.
A Soul Cage or Raising Hell can grab those dudes right back when you need them. You can keep them out of your draw structure, but still available to play. While it can drastically speed up resources for decks that can take advantage of it, Unprepared provides some stiff competition for this card.
A Soul Cage or Raising Hell can grab those dudes right back when you need them. You can keep them out of your draw structure, but still available to play. While it can drastically speed up resources for decks that can take advantage of it, Unprepared provides some stiff competition for this card.