Originally published at: http://gomorragazette.com/2015/10/21/deckbuilding-on-a-budget-with-the-108-righteous-bandits/
by Joe Oberbeck
Doomtown: Reloaded’s Immovable Object, Unstoppable Force brings two new factions to Gomorra. The Kung Fu mechanics for the 108 Righteous Bandits and Spirits/Totems for the Eagle Wardens are formed de novo with these outfits. Even as veteran players dive into this expansion, IOUF provides and excellent entry point for drifters encountering Doomtown for the first time. Indeed, one can avoid the steep cost of entry to the game by avoiding previously released saddlebag and pine box expansions and simply acquire IOUF plus one or two Doomtown: Reloaded base sets. For both the 108 and the Wardens, these articles describe decks built around IOUF plus one base set, two base sets, and finally ‘everything including the kitchen sink’. Part one explores the 108 Righteous Bandits, while part two examines the Eagle Wardens.
108 Righteous Bandits - 1 Base Set + Faction Pack
This deck stacks low by running aces, twos, and threes as its shootout values. Start Benjamin for his Grifter ability as discarding cards from your hand lowers Fu, Wang, and Chen’s upkeep. Randall and Chen earn their (up) keep by increasing your hand size. Send in Wang and Li as your primary aggressors if your opponent plays a deed or moves one of their dudes into town square. Longwei Fu serves as a secondary Kung-Fu dude who slices and dices your opponent’s dudes with his with Kung-Fu skill of 4.
Most of the action cards are Kung-Fu that either lower opposing bullets or value and/or boot opposing dudes. A pair of Kidnappin‘s force shootouts if your opponent chooses to turtle at home. Hot Lead Flyin’ means that even if you lose a shootout round, you still can get rid of opposing dudes. Coachwhip! brings the cheatin’ punishment as a means to ace or boot a dude.
Goods are a pair of standard weapons along with a sidekick and a melee weapon. Shotguns remove dudes, especially after Raking Dragons has lowered their value. The pair of six-shooters complements coachwhip as another form of cheatin’ punishment. Nunchucks buffs Kung-Fu while messing with opponent’s pulls. Peacemaker ensures that all those studs stay that way. Bluetick is a one-off situational card for when your dudes gain a bounty, you can move the attached dude to support your wanted dudes.
Nothing exciting about the deeds, just the effective and reliable ones from the base set. Pony Express cycles your deck. Yan Li’s Tailoring buffs influence for the day. The 1st Baptist Church supports Randall + Chen to increase your hand size to a whopping nine cards. The Parish aces off value cards to degenerate your draw structure while gaining a ghost rock.
108 Righteous Bandits - 2 Base Sets + Faction Pack
Like the previous deck, this two base set build brings the aggro right out of the gate. Instead of warming the bench, Chen and Hamshanks now move into the 108 starting lineup. Gone are the Hot Lead Flyins’ and a Shifu Speaks, replaced with another Kidnappin’, Lady Luck, and Bottom Dealin’. Overall , this build sacrifices hand size for more studs that utilize kung fu to their advantage.
108 Righteous Bandits - DMH108
For the 108er who has everything, here is a janky three value shooter stacking aces, sixes, and eights. The four Jack of Diamonds are the cherry on top for serving up a dead man’s hand. Expendable fighters such as Bobo, Steven, and Daomei Wang apply constant pressure with Hired Guns to recur these dudes from the discard pile. Chow combines with the home ability to unboot dudes. Kidnappin’s as before, but now as a playset of four to continually bring the pressure anywhere.