Originally published at: http://gomorragazette.com/2016/01/06/doomtown-reloaded-set-review-of-saddlebag-8-foul-play/
by David Orange
Shizeng Lu - Foul play kicks off with a mid-value Kung Fu dude. Shizeng is cheap to play, has no upkeep and his ability synergizes with the Worldly Desires control game. Deeds not unbooting is a new, and potentially game-changing effect. It will collect production (unless you decide that Shizeng looks great with a hat, but shutting down a deed’s ability gives the 108 a lot more flexibility in planning the day’s actions. His low cost and no influence/upkeep makes Shizeng an intriguing out of faction splash. 4/5 for Worldly Desires, 3/5 for 108 Righteous Bandits, situational splash dude
Forster Cooke - The 108 now gets its own barkeep. Unlike say, Clementine, Forster has no built in defense other than a stud bullet. Instead, he buffs everyone else which provides some added oomph to my Righteous chop fooey deck. He is not the cheapest of dudes and his upkeep limits the 108 to maybe one strong starting Kung Fu fighter versus the two that I usually open with. I’m not sure that he is an auto include for the Bandits, but for now, I’ll open him at 3/5
Joseph Dusty Hill - Well, the Eagle Wardens are certainly talkin’ 'bout a sharp dressed man. He’s a very solid dude for either outfit, but I tend to slot him more in the base Warden outfit. Lots of different ways to buff Dusty, but he is definitely besties with Zachary. FWIW, I love the whimsical art by Marcel Stobinski. 3.5/5
Mariel Lewis - She’s not cheap, but you do get a lot of bang for Mariel’s 5/1 bucks. You also get influence which is just dandy for the Wardens. Her ability is just bonkers - she’s a Wendy without having to boot. Unless they have a Stakes or some Rabbit fu, that dude ain’t comin’ back any time soon. Very strong opening player for the base Wardens. 3.5/5
The Tattooed Man - In some ways, I consider this inked dude Smiling Tom-lite - same cost, 1 less upkeep for one less huckster (but still a very strong 3 skill), and one more stud bullet. Tattoo is also at the low end of ‘high value’. The big difference is the lack of influence versus two for Tom. I have a Karl/Aboms deck out of Sanatorium. If I don’t suspect a slide deck, then Tattoo is a viable starter. I also run the same deck out of Oddities, and Karl definitely fits in with the freak show. I look at all those snakes coming off of him and see spells flying every which what way. In game terms to me that means his recursion ability wants Hex Slingin’ galore. I expect his main role will be a cheap to play via Summoning and later on Ivor xp’s ability. 2.5/5
Riorden O’Lithen - I want to love the Arsenal, really I do. The problem is without the base Dogs home, it’s not easy to make dudes wanted (and I’m not entirely sold on Confession). This fiery preacher helps the Arsenal in a big way, albeit framing a dude entails chucking a spell. A stud bullet with 2 influence is very solid for his cost/upkeep. 3/5 for Arsenal, 1/5 for other outfits.
“Lucky” Sky Borne - Lucky compares well with say, Kyle Wagner, and I believe her lower cost, influence, and bullets compensate for her upkeep. I really like her ability to help mitigate expected Judge or Kidnappin’ shenanigans. The best option for her ability remains Marty (see below) for extra support. Right now, the only gadget sidekick is Mutant Cattle - another fine meat shield indeed. For all her versatility, I see Sky as best-suited for Gadgetorium - 4.5/5 and 3/5 in other gadget-centric Morgan builds.
Miranda Clarke - Either via the original outfit or Desolation Row’s ability, Miranda is a gal who loves to get into an opponent’s grill. Of course, this means that she is always going to be in harm’s way. Not to mention a continual target for P-Marks and sometimes shotguns. Makaio is always there to shift some blame her way. 4/5
Elliot Smithson - No, Elliot does NOT work with the Desolation Row home ability. That said, he works with any other action job and is a great way to make some more rock for the Sloanes. But what I most dig about him is influence without upkeep, a rare commodity indeed for the resident scofflaws. Elliot is also a sneaky splash for say a LD Judge deck as the dogs are usually hurting for cash and need to keep the Judge fed. 4/5 for the original outfit, 2/5 elsewhere.
Shelby Hunt - “The bigger they are, the harder they hit…” Well, this big bad boy from Texas can stand up and dish it out with the baddest bullies that Gomorra has to offer. Oh, and he paid actual ghost rock to get to Gomorra. Buff him up for sure, and give Wendy the raspberries. As a drifter, he’s happy to go big game hunting with any aggro outfit. 3.5/5
The Joker’s Smile - Now we get to the deeds. As the name suggests it’s all about the Jokers. How many times have you heard, “I don’t run Jokers as I run a tight draw structure and an in-hand Joker only clogs things up.” Now you can unclog your hand and gain some ghost rock as well. Near a reshuffle, pay the ghost rock to fish a joker back into play. I also see some synergy with the Whateley Estate. 3/5
Old Marge’s Manor - With a useful ability plus a control point, I Ol’ Marge is going to oversee a whole lot of fighting to control her manor. Simpatico cards include Lula’s Exploit and Recursive Motion Machines. Aside from fueling actions, note that the manor does not lose the accrued ghost rock and can thus ‘bank’ rock from the Exploit each turn. The ability is strong, but the need to defend/prevent takeovers mitigates it. I consider it well balanced - 3.5/5
Xemo’s Turban - A nod to classic (Xemo scan here - possibly TVG artwork) Deadlands: Doomtown. The Turban is another experimental card that thrives in the clubless or pull-mitigated environment. If you have a steady ghost rock engine, then the card-draw for this gadget is just bonkers. It is influence and free to play, but not it fails its own difficult pull. Even without the ability, it oddly enough combines with Fancy New Hat for some solid immovable influence buffing. Like other experimental cards and deck builds, you either buy in or you don’t. 2/5
Blight Serum - While powerful, you can smell this card coming a long ways away. First you have to pay a ghost rock to attach this card to a dude. Barring other card effects, the dude has to be in a location that you control. Then the dude has to move to (or already be at) the desired location. Then as an action, you have to play it on the deed. Once all that is said and done, you do have some pretty solid defense. The most obvious counter is to send an exependable weenie over to take one for the team and then send the main dude(s) around to sort things out. That said, that’s not a bad way to buy some time to set up your own defense or carry out business elsewhere in Gomorra. DnD decks will love this for sure, but overall it appears to require too many moving parts for full effectiveness. 2/5
Guide Horse - Morgan Stables and horsey decks will love this cheap, high value horse. Unlike other non-gadget horses, this one succeeds most pulls giving it a versatile place in pull decks. On the other hand, Queens are pretty well stacked across a variety of builds. I don’t see this card beating out Blood Curse or the Holster or Neutralizer for example. 4/5 in dedicated horsey decks, 1/5 otherwise.
Marty - Lucky’s faithful assistant is a good target for her ability, but this minion buffs any mad scientist and brings a whole bunch of mid-value cards into the realm of viability. As yet another Queen goods, Marty suffers the same problem as Guide Horse - he competes with other strong cards. I can, however, live with this to access the lower value gadgets. Marty is great in Gadgetorium and meh elsewhere and for that outfit he is a must start: 5/5
Righteous Fury - Poster child for the ‘win more’ card. The good - it clears out posses like nobody’s business. The bad - it fails nearly every pull in the game. There are other less risky ways for Miracles to manipulate shootouts. I’m just not feeling any love for this card beyond Brent Chumley’s amazing artwork. 0/5.
Owl’s Insight - Owl sees far, knows all… I’ve always been a fan of Fetch, and now the Wardens get to cast some serious Cheatin’ punishment. Get the bad out of the way first - you opponent needs to cheat. But if he does, the play out and redraw is amazing throughput for a 0 cost spell that makes its own pull (and most others with any decent Shaman). 4.5/5
Outgunned - This may be the most thematic artwork in all of Reloaded. Again, by Brent Chumley. The need to keep the shooter unbooted is trickier than you might expect - at least for me anyways. May have to pack some Missed! to set 'em upright again. On the other hand, I can use it in my various Kung Fu decks, and can stay legal knowing that help is just a card away. 3.5/5
Martyr’s Cry - Blech - Yet another “don’t lose” card. Other than setting up Evanor/Abram, I’m not feeling this one at all. Maybe I just don’t get Lawdog Blessed as a thing. 1/5
Deliberate Infection - Expensive card for what it does - albeit forcing a discard due to upkeep or hosing influence are no small things. I like it to play off of Sanatorium, as well as being a Forced Quarantine trigger. Otherwise, only DnD decks should have the money to play this hoser. At the end of the set, however, it’s a risky investment for a situational (again they have to cheat) card. 2/5
Bunkhouse (errata) - Updated version of a base set deed.
