Hi all. I’m a new player to Doomtown and I’m excited to have finally gotten into the game. I was an avid Netrunner player for several years, but kind of burned out on the game (in part because of the current drab meta). I wanted to get into a different LCG that offered meaningful depth and strategy. I tried out Thrones 2.0, which while it is a very good game, didn’t particularly grab me. I was then lucky enough to buy someone’s Doomtown collection. This game seems fantastic with unique mechanics and tactics. I’m at a complete lose on how to even start deck-building, given the nature of a deck’s draw structure, but that only intrigues me. Sorry if I post remedial questions. I’m trying to take in as much knowledge as I can at the moment.
Remedial questions are always welcome! How else are we gonna get fresh blood. Welcome to Gomorra - check out DTDB.co to get an idea of how decks CAN function. Can being the operative word. I also played a lot of netrunner before DTR came out. (I’m still an admin over on Netrunner Geeks. XD) Currently the Meta for Doomtown is quiet diverse, and there are viable decks of every skill level available.
We’re glad to have ya, and will gladly answer any questions you have. ALSO - if you played ANR on OCTGN, you’ll be pleased to know @db0 also manages the DTR Plugin, and it’s top notch.
Feel free to PM me at any time. I’ll be glad to help.
Welcome to Doomtown!
There are a lot of things to get your head around at first but we’re happy to help, so fire away with any questions you have 
Welcome Friend!
Doomtown is indeed a great game. There is a lot to learn at first (both in deck construction and gameplay), but that depth and nuance is exactly what makes it rewarding.
I too was a little overwhelmed by deck construction as a newbie. I would recommend keeping it simple. Pick 3 values (numbers) and your favorite outfit. Assemble 4 copies of each value in all four suits. You can try to build around a theme or what you perceive to be “good cards”. But remember, value is almost as important as card effect in doomtown.
(Note: dudes and deeds are unique. If you have enough cards to include just 1x each for spades and diamonds in your chosen values - that’s good. However, you can build a legal deck with multiple copies of unique cards - just can’t be “in play” simultaneously).
So we now have 4 copies of 3 values in 4 suits. That’s 48 cards. Pick 4 more “off value” cards that look cool to you and… we have a deck! To pick your starting posse, shoot for low upkeep, at least one stud shooter (silver bullets), and 4+ combined influence. You will also want 3-4 leftover ghost rock from your starting stash+first turn income. This will allow you to buy at least 1 deed first turn (most decks preference).
This type of deck structure will yield high ranking draw hands (good in shootouts), but also means you will lose lowball and get hit by cheating resolutions.
After you get some games under your belt, you will start to see potential combos and opportunities to dilute draw structure. To now contradict my former statement, there ARE decks which don’t care about value. Namely deed/dude slide. Personally, I think that the successful construction and play of these decks requires more knowledge of game dynamics and are therefore best for more advanced players.
Hope that helps some!
One thing I do when learning a new deck type or outfit is find a pre-built deck (there are some in the core game as well as the pine boxes), modify it a bit to my tastes, try it out, then iterate from there, or rebuild from the ground up if it gives me a better idea.
I’ve found that, while I can create a deck from scratch, it’s sometimes better to have something to piggyback off of.
Thanks for all the advice. It’s good to know some general guidelines for deck construction, starting posse, etc. I appreciate the help. I know that decks obviously vary, but are there typical numbers for how many deeds or dudes that should be included (ones that you actually want to get into play)? With draw structure, I’m guessing that a deck will include some deeds or dudes (and other cards) that are not actually supposed to be played, but rather used for draw hands only?
Welcome Vimes! Hope you enjoy the game. I came from Netrunner as well. NR is an awesome game, but nothing in the card game realm competes with Doomtown Reloaded in my opinion. 
I like to build decks by taking one card that I really really like and build my deck around it. Then I look at the card’s value and try to find cards with the same value but different suits. As soon as I have found some cards that fit together well I decide whether I want a straight flush deck or a full house/four of a kind/five of a kind.
Sometimes I end up with a completely different deck than I intended to build, but in the end it’s always fun to try it out and see how it plays.
This article helped me a lot when starting out learning the game: https://www.alderac.com/doomtown/2014/09/05/structure-deck/
From my experience decks vary from 0 deeds to 25 deeds, 5 dudes to 25 dudes, 0 goods/spells to 25 goods/spells, 0 actions to 48 actions. Something like that. So there are a lot of possibilities in deck building.
If you take 13 cards of each of the 4 suits you get 52 cards. I could see a deck constructed that way being a good rule of thumb for beginners. So you have 13 dudes, 13 deeds, 13 actions and 13 goods/spells. Of course there is no reason to stick to those numbers. DTDB is a great place to experiment.
Some decks (especially dead man’s hand decks) aim to not use certain cards at all in favor for a better draw structure.
That’s one advantage of action cards (clubs), because you play them and they go straight into your discard pile. So you don’t loosen your draw structure by playing action cards.
I usually want to play all cards that I get in my play hand. However I think the better you get the more you’ll try to manage your draw structure by not playing certain cards unless you absolutely need them. It’s just a part of the game that I wouldn’t focus on as a beginner.
I would say that including cards exclusively for draw hands is the exception (notably Dead Man’s hand decks). Most cards should have potential use, even if specialized (i.e. late game peeps or matchup specific meta).
In general, MOST decks I build have 10-14 deeds, and 14-18 dudes. I think that the numbers for hearts and clubs can be more variable, as they tend to support win conditions as opposed to create them. Remember: dudes keep your opponent from winning through influence, and are your main vehicle for board manipulation. Deeds are your way to win through control, as well as provide accelerating income.
I definitely find deeds to be the most rigid aspect of deck building. Most decks that don’t get a deed first turn will have a crippled economy. Therefore, unless you have an alternate way to gain ghost rock (such as a job, ability, etc), dropping below 11 deeds can be dangerous.
Of course there are many many exceptions. It is important to get started somewhere, and let in-game experience inform play style and deck building decisions.
Quick question. I see that several cards have been errata’d. Does AEG provided updated copies of these cards, or do players just have to remember the new text? Thanks!
Also, is there a comprehensive list of errata’d cards somewhere? I’m having trouble finding anything on the AEG site or DoomtownDB.
The cards that have received errata have all been reprinted as bonus extra across the various Saddlebags, save for the most recent ones which we should hopefully see getting reprinted in a few sets’ time.
The Latest Rulings and FAQ document on this page of AEG’s website contains most of the errata, but it’s not yet been updated with the most recent changes. You can also find here the up-to-date Composite Rulebook and the Tournament Floor Rules should you be interested in competitive play.
This AEG forum post from May details the recent big rules changes and errata.
Here is a list of the Errata’d cards and in which saddlebag you can find them:
Unprepared - Frontier Justice
Concealed Weapons - No Turning Back
Bad Company - Nightmare at Noon
Coachwhip! - Dirty Deeds
Bunkhouse - Foul Play
Doyle’s Hoyle - Bad Medicine
Not re-printed yet:
Paralysis Mark
Ivor Hawley Exp 1
Hot Lead Flyin’
Mugging
Nathan Shane
You can use this site to see the errata text, however not all of the images are correct - so read the text above the card to see how they are now worded.
http://dtdb.co/
Thanks for the list! Exactly what I was looking for.
I appreciate all the kindness and help from the forum.