Originally published at: http://gomorragazette.com/2015/08/05/nightmare-at-noon-a-set-review/
by Joe Oberbeck
Nightmare at Noon is the final saddlebag for the second story arc that follows the trial of Lawrence Blackwood and its aftermath. Morgan Cattle and Fourth Ring still have something to say about matters in Gomorra, and Tumblebleeds are let loose upon the town. My thoughts on this pack vary from excited to scratching my head.
Junior - An ace value abomination that you don’t want to put into your starting posse. I do like that he blows raspberries at shotguns, point blank, and coach whip as card abilities cannot ace him. The come into play effect tutors out a Legendary Holster, La Quema, Stoker’s Sabre, and Soul Cage among the current half dozen or so mystical non- gadget goods. Overall, I like the synergy and the immune effect, but aces are not great in most spell decks, but a one of wouldn’t hurt to grab a Soul Cage or another Mystical goods your deck needs. 4/10
The Fabulous Mister Miss - Funniest lore ever and reminds me of alex and alexis the Scoop Hound. While Bobo caught stray lead at Gencon, players are not required to observe kayfabe. Fab Mr./Miss nevertheless shares the 6 spot with Bobo. Nice bullets, has influence, cheap to pay for, and has a low upkeep. I really like the ability to hose 3 influence from dudes that refuse Fab’s callouts. He might end up as a soft closer for the Fourth Ring. With Blood Curse, Rumors, and Incubation; a Fourth Ring deck might close out games by starving an opposing outfit’s influences. 6/10
Sister Mary Gideon - The nun with a gun. She is also a blessed 1 with influence, a stud, and no upkeep. Her upkeep seems high for a Lawdog. Her ability prays for a solo shootout after she goes all Voltron on the available miracles. Throw a Holy Roller and a Shield of Faith on her and your opponents will find themselves in a difficult shoot out. I’m torn on Sister Mary. I like her as a starter, but she shares a value with Wendy and Mario, which I don’t like. 5/10
Nathan Shane – Another stud with influence who comes in at 4 cost but 1 upkeep. He fits into a nice value spot for non-dude and deeds. Nathan combos with Cookin’ up trouble and his ability in the same turn. Get rid of the shoot out actions and then with Nathan discard a cheatin’ action out of their hand. 7/10
Warren Graves - 2 stud and 2 influence at cost of 8 ghost rock seems expensive. His ability saves a dude in a shootout, which is always a good thing considering most MCC starters are shotgun bait. I do like that his value benefits from the Huntsmen’s Society and the experienced Max Baine. Warrene will make an appearance from time to time. 4/10
Jack O’Hara – Once upon a time, folks considered a Sloane with influence in Sloane an auto-include in Sloane Gang decks. Now with all the cheap influence plus no upkeep dudes available, it’s no longer such a big boon. Jack’s stud bullets plus his ability to wield two weapons at once define his utility. Throw two shotguns on him at Charlie’s Place along with some War paint and he becomes a 7 stud that has the potential to ace two dudes. For what it’s worth, my Classic playing friends tell me that Jack is ‘just a faction-specific Gordo Andrade’. P.S. I want to see this more on dudes, perhaps integrating it into a loaded trait. 6/10
John “Aces” Radcliffe – This gambler brings three bullets and a conditional stud that depends upon cards in hand. At first glance, I want to throw him in a heavy shooter deck. then I realize that my hand normally is smaller than my opponent’s due to playing shootout abilities. On the other hand, a possible three stud if your opponent plays a card might justify Aces’ inclusion. 8/10
Steele Archer Experienced - Hucksters with 3 or higher currently are Nicodemus, Smiling Tom, and Ivor with a spell attached and have an average cost of 7.66 and upkeep of 2.33. Steele is more expensive, but cheaper to retain. His influence and supporting draw bullet are below the curve as well. His ability doesn’t require booting and it allows you to use a Paralysis Mark or your spell du jour twice in the same day. Overall, all I am not big on him in a Fourth ring deck, but some of the wall decks like Law Dog Hucksters that feature Too Much Attention, Paralysis Mark, and some other form of control might add him for an upgraded huckster so that they can go lower on values. 7/10
Old Man McDroste - Another drifter king dude who I’m really excited about. He is cheap, has a decent 2 draw, plus denial traits/abilities that justify his upkeep. Opponent plays a Blake’s Ranch, Jackson Strike, Pat’s Perch just send the old man over and gain a control point while denying their income. It’s a win-win scenario. 9/10
Flint’s Amusements - This slots great in any deck that is running 6 as a value. It competes with R&D Ranch, Stage Coach Office, and Killer Bunnies Casino. Gaining extra ghost rock for either side playing resolution abilities on action cards is a huge bonus. Then you can boot it after you play a cheatin’ resolution to draw an extra card. 10/10
Lula’s Exploit - Finally an eight-value deed beside the two from the core set. Gadget decks are going to be happy with Lula’s Exploit by gaining 2 ghost rock to help fuel your Flame Throwers and other constructs. 7/10
Testing Range - Gadget decks are getting deed support with this pack. The first react is cost 2 to unboot a Mad Scientist after inventing a gadget. Anything that unboots a dude in this game is nice. The second ability is for club-light decks that allow you to ignore inopportune club pulls and re-pull. Louis and this deed in play cause headaches due to unbooting dudes that accelerates gadget deck tempo by at least one day. 7/10
Dog’s Duster. – “Hey, it’s the dude on the Sheriff’s playmat!” Now the Lawdogs get an attire that they can use. The duster shares a value with shotgun, so that’s a tough spot to compete at. The influence bonus is always nice. Dirty dogs love that they can do kidnappin’ without gaining a bounty, which is interesting. The second ability synergizes nicely with the Arsenal and should see the Dogs calling out opposing dudes left and right. 6/10
Stoker’s Sabre – This mystical weapon has the same penalty as the rest of the melee weapons so far. In a spell deck, I can see throwing one of these into my deck as an off-value singleton. The ability to use a spell twice and also the gaining +3 value is always a bonus. 9/10
Fate Dispenser - An improvement gadget that’s a jack value with a difficulty of 10. It is not difficult to invent if you are running high values. The ability to draw cards as a noon action is never a bad thing. 4/10
Soul Cage – This is a goods with an amazing cheatin’ resolution ability. If your opponent cheats, go grab an abomination from Boot Hill or discard and place it into play. This card punishes your opponent by throwing The Brute, Bobo, or even Ghostly Gun right back into the mix. 11/10 for 4th ring and 3/10 for everyone else that uses hexes.
For Such a Time as This - A job miracle with difficulty of 9 that lets you grab a dude with less than 9 grit, even if the dude then gains 1 influence. Overall, I am just not feeling this card as the risk vs. reward doesn’t seem to be in my favor. 1/10
Sword of the Spirit - Now this is the miracle I can get behind with a noon difficulty of 7. A dude with a melee weapon gets +1 bullet, and becomes a stud, and cannot be affected by spells. Current melee weapons are Stoker’s Sabre, Evanor, and Rapier (Nun-Chucks are from the not yet officially released Immovable Object/Unstoppable Force faction pack). This miracle buffs Evanor for a 4 stud swing plus dude’s bullets. Even though I like this miracle, it remains a select archetype with some open holes. Thus I give it an overall low ranking. 4/10
A Fight They’ll Never Forget – Headline debuts as a new keyword. The value is decent for non-pull decks, but has hard competition from Make the Smart Choice and Bottom Dealin’. For shooter decks, this wins that battle due to the bullet pump plus gaining a control point for any dude aced in the shootout. Once you put an opponent in check by acing dudes, you put opponent in a real bad position. Add insult to considerable injury by running from the shootout and turtling at home once you have enough control points. 10/10
Buried Treasure - At first I was like this is amazing then I thought more on it. It is at a very good value spot with Too Much Attention and Unprepared. I pay 2 ghost rock to ace a card from discard to gain 3 ghost rock and to draw a card. I net 1 ghost rock for a discard n draw. Thinning your deck for a stronger draw structure or pulling some shenanigans off is interesting. 4/10
Nightmare at Noon - A second Headline at the other end of the value scheme. High value bullet reducers are rare. This action doesn’t ace itself, so it can be used another day. Transforming studs into draws is effective and with the reducer ability, this will be showing up a lot in high value decks. I took out a couple of point blanks and put this in. 10/10
