I don’t like giving a rating since a cards strength in use will change drastically depending on meta and play style. Some cards prove to be less impactful on the game, but that easily changes. For that reason, I will share concepts for each card that will hopefully be useful, but I won’t be giving a 1-5 star rating. These are my personal opinions and thoughts on each card. If I have a card interaction incorrect, please let me know and I will update.
Darius Hellstromme
One of the most focused and straight forward Legend cards. He intends to benefit decks running gadget weapons. There’s no reason to take him otherwise, and strong reason to include him if you are. The drawback will make starting shootouts a terrible idea if you don’t have a gadget weapon on the dude you intend to make the shooter, which may stall your early game if you don’t have a gadget weapon yet. You also going to want a back up shooter with a gadget weapon, if opponents ruin your intended shooters bullets, or send them out of a shootout. The benefit is that causing casualties that opponents discard dudes to cover will end up far more deadly while you have an unbooted gadget weapon. This card combos very strongly with Yagn’s Mechanical Skeleton, Janosz Pratt, Auto-Revolver, Bio-Charged Neutralizer, Luke the Errand Boy.
Ezekiah Grimme
This Legend is one of the strongest ways of pulling more spells out of your deck and putting them into play. The cost will begin to skyrocket to get your spells into play if your running four copies of each spell, especially if opponent is running the same spells in their deck. Grimme is terrible for decks running totems, but can be used for Shamans that are focused on non-totems such as Turtle’s Guard and Ghostly Communion. Grimme is especially a boost to Miracles and Hexes that are willing to pay the cost to get their most useful tools into play quicker, which is especially important for control and Showboating decks. Grimmes best use may come to more balanced decks, that run a limited number of spells to add strong benefits to skilled dudes mixing in spells with goods attachments. This card combos strongly with all non totem spells but special note to Sight Beyond Sight, also Hex Slingin’, Sentinel, Showboating, Magical Distraction, and Rite Of Profane Abstersion for their strong effects that discard or ace spells.
Jasper Stone
The definition of high cost, high reward. If you can manage the fact that he starts your game with very limited resources, and that you won’t get any benefit from assisting dudes in a shootout other than casualty soak (except at home), if you can handle those costs, you’ll have a chance to make your decent shooter into a power killer once a turn. Additionally, if you cause your target to get aced during the shootout, your shooter will grow more powerful and gain a control point. If your dude aces a target using a weapon like Shotgun and they stay to be chosen as a shooter when hands are drawn, they won’t gain the +2 bullet bonus that shootout, but they will get the +1 permanent bullet and control point. Stone gives such a win more affect that your shootouts can be far more conclusive for a game. If you ace your target who has influence, and gain control of the deed being contested, you can easily see a swing of 3 influence/control as their influence goes down, you gain a control point, and your opponent loses their deed worth a control point while you gain it. Fights over deeds like The Mayors Office are even more impactful. This card combos strongly with Shotgun, Legendary Holster, Rabbit Takes Revenge, Behold White Bull, Grim Servant O’ Death, We Got Beef!, Sentinel, Nightmare Realm, Justice in Exile, Full Moon Brotherhood, Coachwhip!, Heartseeker, Point Blank, Essence of Armitage.
Raven
Raven is all about having bullet, lots of bullets. While Ravens extra control point for controlling more opponents locations than other players can be that last needed point to win, Raven really isn’t a win condition like Jasper Stone is. Raven is more versatile since you won’t suffer a penalty in shootouts you don’t start, or if you have greater bullets than opponents, which his ability will help with at a single deed each turn. Raven seems best to power up the shooters in aggressive deck that fiercely fight over deeds. Raven may also encourage opponents to over commit to a fight if they think they can get greater bullets than your posse. For this reason, cards that allow you to add more dudes to a shootout, reduce bullets of opponents dudes, or increase your bullets are particularly useful with Raven. The bullet bonus granted to the shooter is also useful for resolution cards that check bullets. Cards that combo strongly include Shotgun, Faster on the Draw, Nightmare at Noon, A Fight They’ll Never Forget, Raising the Stakes, Pistol Whip, Spirit spells that generate Nature Spirit tokes, Buffalo Riffle, Protection Racket, Grim Servant O’ Death, Forster Cooke, Jade Tao of Jade Rabbit and Tao of Zhu Bajie kung fu. There are many others, but those give some ideas of what can be useful.
Wang Men Wu
Fairly standard stats for his cost, but his value 9 means he isn’t a great dude to not be starting. His react ability and trait are built to play Tao of Jade Rabbit cards, making him an excellent choice for decks trying to aggressively control shootouts using Rabbit Fu. He benefits significantly if he gets numbchucks since it increases his combo potential, and higher value to succeed at kung fu checks on higher values.
Charging Bear
Charging Bear’s stats aren’t built to impress, especially compared to Clint Ramsey and Smiling Frog. His shootout ability is where it’s at, but you have to have a token dude in the shootout. Mother Bear’s Rage is an excellent way to start a shootout with a token dude. He also is a good dude to bring with a Shaman that has Spirit Dance attached. In deck, he’s on value with Many Speak as One.
Fears No Owls Fear No Owls is a good low cost shaman to include in deck when playing queens, a value notorious for high cost dudes. For only 2 GR, you don’t get much stats, but she does have stud bullet type for bonus stud while assisting in a shootout. She’s as cheap as most sidekicks, but she has the benefit of being a back up shaman, grants a stud bonus when assisting, and has a noon ability imparting a movement ability that isn’t hard for Eagle Wardens to build around. She might be a card to consider in non Eagle wardens decks that are playing Queen value simply for cheap effective support. Her movement ability should help a Gateway to Beyond deck, or add extra movement to Beyond the Veil.
Black Owl
Many people play Pinned Down less for the bullet reduction, and more for the ability to force opponents first casualty to be the actual dude you want eliminated. Black Owl may surprise people, making close won shootouts take eliminate dudes opponents really didn’t want to lose. He combos very strongly with Full Moon Brotherhood, greatly increasing the chance of eliminating your target dude, especially if you play Taking You With Me. The counter will be casualty reduction.
Rosenbaum’s Golem
The Thing is a great abomination to put into an Ivor Hawly xp1 deck, especially because it is on value with Buried Treasure. His ability can be a great way of getting another of your dudes unbooted in order to use a shootout or resolution ability that requires them to boot such as Point Blank, or for Tyxarglenak (Exp.1) who is better when unbooted.
Zeb Whateley-Dupont
A rather unique trait, making him a 2 stud at worse if opponent has a higher grit dude in the shootout, and while he’s played in faction. Outside of Fourth Ring he’s just a 0 huckster with 2 draw bullets, not great, but may be good for Sloan if they want to run Hexes and 7’s. He naturally combos strongly with Rosenbaum’s Golem and Black Owl. His major downside is a lack of influence despite his 1 upkeep.
Stewart Davidson
Stewart is most exciting for playing bounty tech outside the original Law Dogs outfit. He can also help Law Dogs outfit place 2 bounties a turn. His discarding a card can also often be a benfit to help draw more cards at the end of your turn. 4 GR isn’t terribly outside of starting dude price range, and he does have an influence and zero upkeep. However, it may be hard to decide what to drop from existing Law Dog line ups. Combos well with Johnny Brocklehurst to reduce the cost when targeting dudes with influence. His cost of discarding a card from hand is often a benefit in cycling cards instead of being forced to leave them in hand.
Sheriff Eli Waters
A stud deputy on Jack value, who can move in from anywhere to join a shootout during resolution if your opponents cheating. He combos very strongly with The Law Goes Underground. He’s also great with Point Blank, and Lemat Revolver. He can also escape a shootout that an opponent is cheating if there is a wanted dude at a different location. Another interesting trick up this dogs sleeve is that when an opponent cheats during low ball, he can move to retake control of a deed held by an opponents wanted dude with 1 influence, allowing you to get the deed’s production, and possibly the deed’s ability first action. This trick could help a Law Dogs landslide style deck.
Adrián Vallejo
Fairly standard cost for a 2 stud with influence. His value combos well with Pinto, which is a strong card to activate his ability. Your dude with a Pinto joins a shootout, then Adrián joins if he has a horse as well. Give him a Yagn’s Mechanical Skeleton and you have a very strong shooter who can react to join a shootout that an opponent has played an ability to join a shootout, especially working to counter Tao of Jade Rabbit.
Prof. Aloysius Roe
Roe really can help open a decks options to play some high difficulty gadgets in a mid value gadgeting deck. Greatest of all is that you choose to activate his ability after you pull, so you only have to use it if you need it. The risk of building a deck this way is if you lose him, you could be failing inventions pulls you weren’t prepared to. He can be used to boost an invention pull enough to Showboat with. Additionally, he is a gadget dude that doesn’t need to be invented, so he combos strongly with Hydro-Puncher, Margaret Hagerty. He’s also great with Decimator Array.
Rabid Rance Hitchcock
Rance is a tricky one to make worth his cost. His bullets aren’t terrible if he’s at a decent production deed, but being a draw, he really needs to be played with a way to make him a stud. He can be a tremendous shooter when you target him with Raising the Stakes, You Had ONE Job! or Bad Company. The ability to move to an out-of-town deed is a nice way of taking over opponents hard to reach lacals. What is really intriguing is his conditional control point. Couple him, Raven, and Protection Racket, and your looking at some serious control points for taking over opponents deeds.
Morgan Lash
Wow, 11 ghost rock! Well, she will hopefully come down in price a bit if you mount up bounty on a dude, but your also providing a possible windfall of money if your heavily wanted dude is removed forcibly. Lash can work well in Desolation Row since you have a dayly way of increasing bounty and ghost rock. A possibly strong combo would be to play Sloane (Exp.1) while having a large number of booted wanted dudes. Then play Lash for cheap as well. That could be a huge swing play, when your opponent was expecting the day was over. Importantly, her trait and React ability can activate while she’s in play, even if she’s not present in the shootout. While the set up for lash is considerable, the reward is having decent shooters become extremely strong shooters, and strong shooters (like herself) become absolute destruction.
Johnny Brocklehurst
Johnny is great for so many outfits and dudes abilities. Make Law Dogs easier to give bounty, further reduce the cost of a deed with MCC, increase the card draw on Eagle wardens when booting a 1 influence. He can increase the ghost rock earned by Androcles Brocklehurst, decrease the cost of using Stewart Davidson, increase “Thunder Boy” Nabbe’s bullet. The list of possible contributions Johnny can make are impressive. While he’s terrible as a shooter, influence without upkeep is not to be sneered at in this game.
Agent Provocateur
A truly exciting stat line, and for only 2 ghost rock! In addition, she can ace at the end of the day to play a dude in hand at a great discount, so that on top of her stats, she can provide up to 4 ghost rock worth of value for only 2. Agent P has a slight draw back though, in that she can’t move, or really do much of anything at all except defend. She can be booted for Law Dogs home. Another built in draw back is that she prevents your dudes from accumulating permanent control points from non-jobs, in other words most importantly showboating. There is a serious danger to playing her in a Showboating deck for this reason, if you don’t manage to get rid of her. Agent P is not good for establishing board dominance first turn, hindering your ability to defend your deeds, or capture opponents deeds. What she will offer though, is a strong defense at home, and a remarkable benefit to deck wanting to build up before heading out.
F1 Burch
An excellent dude choice for decks that want to run strong on king value, helping to flesh out the value while keeping costs lower. The react ability could be extremely useful for sniping a victory by air dropping a Fancy New Hat onto them. Also hilarious fun is shipping a horse air mail. This dude also combos very strongly with Max Baine xp1, essentially playing a non gadget goods card from your discard pile for -1 gr, as well as a stud bonus support dude, who is easy to discard to cover a casualty. This guy showing up mid way through the game, when dudes are spreading out will guarantee a surprise for your opponent. Example: Often I’ve seen low value dudes with influence being moved around to contest a deed against a dude who has booted to move. F1 Burch can drop in a shotgun on your booted dude, and then next action call them out allowing the booted dude with Shotgun to join in and blast them.
Taff’s Distillery
Another card that is useful for landslide, even though it’s ability will help opponents playing jobs. The saloon keyword is a boon to 108 Drunken Masters, as well as a couple bartenders. It is a decent off value card to play in decks running most jobs. The extra card draw can become a real game changer, especially after a job is successful, changing the outcome of the day dramatically depending on what card was drawn. Another consideration is that this deed gives extra benefit to jobs that opponent doesn’t consider worth opposing, giving stronger benefit to non-removal jobs (except those that target your own home)
Mausoleum
This deed is perfect to combo with Shotgun, being on value with the goods, and the react ability responding to Shotgun acing dudes. While it is low value, it might be worth playing in a Hellstromme deck. If played in a Jasper Stone deck, an aced dude can pull you double the control points as long as you hold this deed.
Epitaph Branch Office
This deeds ability makes it most likely far to dangerous to include in a landslide deck that is unable to defend their own home. What can I say about this deed, other than it gives a very strong boost to decks that want to bully opponents when facing coward decks hiding at home. It can also be a grand surprise play late game, plopping this deed down than sending a dude to your opponents home after all your opponents dudes have left.
Buffalo Emporium
A nice ranch with extremely desirable basic stats. Play this deed if for only the stats. The value of 6 is on value with a couple very strong Abominations as well. The ability is also useful with non abominations if facing off against players that like cards that send your dudes home booted.
Explorer’s Lodge
This deed is surprisingly strong at keeping opponents from taking control away from you while you have someone holed up in this saloon. Parking Clementine Lepp here can make taking this bar frustrating in deed. Be careful though, and keep a couple ghost rock in reserve, or Clementine could get booted out of the saloon into the town square.
The Oriental Saloon
Good golly, another saloon, and this one follows in the style of Dead Dog Tavern. A nice place for the likes of Buford Hurley and Jimmy “The Saint” to patronage. The ability interestingly only works on booted dudes, so will very rarely work during low ball, but it can actually give an extra incentive to cheat during a shootout. Unbooting a dude during resolution phase can be of enormous importance in using cards like Point Blank, or Outgunned. Also to consider is that this being a React ability, it can affect dudes outside the shootout, even at different locations in town. This deed being combos especially strongly with Walters Creek Distillery as they are on the same value. A complex deed for complex players indeed.
Hellstromme Plant #9
Another deed with excellent stats, and playable if for only that reason. It can grant extra movement to horses, or allow you to ‘reload’ a gadget weapon that you’ve booted. For Hellstromme decks, it can help make sure a gadget weapon that was booted by an opponents card is unbooted. The unbooting might prove quite useful for The Arsenal as well.
Bilton Collection Agency
This deed is subtly restricted from getting use in landslide decks, firstly because “Open Wound” pretty well covers the desired 2-1-1 stat line, but also because it will be practically handing opponents ghost rock every turn. While this deed is an excellent ‘win more’ card for decks pursuing control of opponents deeds that want to run King value deeds, it might be worth including even off value as a potentially large money maker if you maintain control of an opponents deed and your own. Combo with The Place, and you’ll be rolling in rock.
