Originally published at: http://gomorragazette.com/2015/12/19/holidays-in-gomorra-2-in-which-robo-elves-and-morgan-cattle-company-bring-christmas-cheer-to-gomorra/
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by David Lapp
Merry Christmas pardners! Bayushi Jinn-Ja here again for another installment of Bullets & Brews: Holiday Edition. For this next pairing, I celebrate Doomtown: Reloaded’s growth from the original 4 outfits that put down roots in Gomorra to the 16 currently available different outfits. With such growth and variety, I expect next Sheriff season fewer pesky clowns from the Fourth Ring putting on their shows. I nevertheless want to revisit one of the original homes, and outwitting an opponent by turning an existing concept on its side.
For those who haven’t seen it, let’s start by taking a gander at the deck that David Hammond won the 2015 Marshal Event at Gencon with. We all know that Fourth Ring control has dominated events since the first saddlebag dropped Paralysis Mark. Top players learned new tactics for handling these spell slingers. Law Dogs started the Judge for a strong blitz against key starting hucksters such as Leon and Valeria. Sloane players relied on good ole Kidnappins to keep the clowns in check. With a play style generally emphasizing control and influence reduction, Fourth Ring opponents often assume that they can go in with six shooters half cocked and still come out on top. Hammond played off of that assumption by keeping the core aspects of the deck in line; while tweaking it to be a superior shooter, running plenty of anti-cheatin’ cards, and safe measures to resist those tactics.
Let us look at how Hammond’s ‘looser’ draw structure (15 x 3) can be used for another deck type (by way of comparison BnB #1 was a 14/13/12 with an 8 off-suit structure). I’ve always been partial to my Quaterman deck. It’s evolved over the course of the saddlebags, originally built around 3s, 6s, Ks and now 3s, 4s, and 9s. Since the robots are non-starters, I play hoping that the appearance of a Landslide deck throws opponents off guard.
Pulling out the base Morgan outfit and 5 facedown dudes, opponents might assume you’ve got a slide deck and respond by swapping out some of the heavy shooters for some mobile influence. Sure, Rico Rodegain counters this, but even so they will have to out draw you quite a bit if they want to keep pace. This deck has a straightforward concept - win through your machines. 3s give you the Quatermans, with Dusters for added Influence. Bikes (née Mechanical Horses) let you run about and take deeds. Don’t forget to give Irving a coat to make the outfit ability work harder for you (and that 1 Stakes Just Rose in case he needs to get in for a ghost rock). The 4s access the new and amazing Disgenuine Currency Press which makes more ghost rock and allows you to shoot out more deeds, or bankroll the Cheatin’ Varmint reaction if need be. Discard the Press to the on value Professor. Brute and Aces are more fun friends to throw at your opponent. On 9s you get your bikes for an added starting influence on your Motorcycle gal, plus some more amazing dudes. Spit out deeds, and use your bikes to defend. Soul Blasts and Shotguns are problematic, so the deck runs two Unprepareds - never leave home without ‘em!
Robo-slide
Morgan Cattle Company 18 GR, 3 Production, 6 wealth, 1 upkeep, 2 income, 3+2 Influence
Starting Posse:
A: Irving Patterson
A: Jake Smiley
5: Travis Moone (Rico is also a great choice, more influence and you’ve got the money for him)
5: Chuan "Jen" Qi
2: Kyle Wagner
Off value:
2x 10: Unprepared
2 Jokers
3s
4x Quaterman
3x Sun in Yer Eyes
1x Stakes Just Rose
1x Yan Li’s Tailoring
1x Hustings
1x 1st Baptist Church
4x Dog’s Duster (alternatively this used to be Telepathy Helmets, and still a great choice)
4s
1x Prof. Eustace True
1x The Brute
1x John "Aces" Radcliffe
4x Disgenuine Currency Press
4x Coachwhip!
1x The Extra Bet
1 B&B Attorneys
1x Dead Dog Saloon
1x The Town Council (great with the outfit ability, use Varmint to help win lowball too)
9s
4x Cheatin' Varmint (this can be one or two Back Room Deals to snag those pesky Stevens)
1x Bunkhouse
1x Surveyor’s Office
1x Morgan Research Institute (allow Motorcycle not to fail if made by that extra inventor)
1x Angélica Espinosa
1x Elander Boldman (another scientist for y’all)
1x Arvid Mardh (Wendy and Mario are also great choices)
1x Jarrett Blake
4x Mechanical Horse
For our beer, with the amount of variety I’ve had with different values with this deck and how easily it accomodates different values (Quatermans with Telepathy Helmets and New Hats doing Election Day Slaughters is nice), I went with something in the Perennial Artisan Ales Dealer’s Choice series: Jack Rose (named for the brewery in DC they collaborated with). This hybrid beer and cider mimics our mix of dudes and robots. Fermented with apple juice, pomegranate, and key lime juice, plus a twist of citrus and bit of spicy rye makes it truly unique. I discovered Perennial brewery on my trip to Kansas City for the first Sheriff event of 2015 and found their 'off the wall' beers. I recommend anything in their line if you find yourself out in the St. Louis area. Have a safe and happy holidays everyone!
Bonus List:
Since most of y'all somehow managed to find yourselves on the 'nice list', here is an extra-special bonus deck. I'll throw in my two ghost rock and take a different approach than what you might expect with the newly-arrived Den of Thieves. I’ve seen quite a few options of how to play this gang, so I’d like to provide a different approach than the all-out cheatin’ variety. Let’s take a look at a Grifter Swarm that aims to misbehave.
Grifter Swarm
Den of Thieves
17 GR, 3 Production, 1 GR, 1 Income, 4 Influence
Starting Posse:
5: Barton Everest
5: Travis Moone
6: Makaio Kaleo, Esq.
8: Milt Clemons
Q: Rico Rodegain
Off-suit :
1x 2: Bottom Dealin’
1x 4: Coachwhip!
1x Q: It’s Not What You Know…
1x 6: Bobo
1x 8: Steven Wiles
2x Jokers
Aces
4x Hustled
1x Bank of Gomorra
1x Pony Express
1x Mayor’s Office
4x Outlaw Mask
1x Allie Hensman
1x The Fixer
1x Butch Deuces
1x Benjamin Washington (free dudes are the best dudes)
3s
1x Funtime Freddy
1x Lawrence Blackwood
1x Buford Hurley
3x Shotgun
1x 1st Baptist Church
1x Hustings
1x Yan Li’s Tailoring
4x The Stakes Just Rose
7s
4x Kidnappin’
4x Monte Bank
1x Blake Ranch
1x Hunter Protections
1x Quarantine Tent
1x Ulysses Marks
1x Androcles Brocklehurst
1x Samantha “Sammy” Cooke
While I know those new jokers seem mighty fine, there’s times where I just don’t want to cheat. Regular jokers are powerful as is, and the deck has the potential to still win lowball. If it doesn’t, feel free to use the outfit ability to give Rico or Travis a bounty, then have Makaio transfer it over to Milt, essentially still winning that money. Monte Banks and Hustled help make up for the 2 starting ghost rock. I initially saw Rico as a means to start Barton if my opponent doesn’t open with a cheating hand. I figure why not line him up with Milt and he can always go back into the deck if need be. Rico provides quite a bit of versatility, so feel free to throw Ulysses, Androcles, Allie, or anyone else you want in there for the ideal start. The deck has a fairly tight draw structure (15/14/13 with 5 off-value cards in the deck.) the same as my Turkey Day special. The looser structure allows for some off suit anti-cheatin’ cards (since we have nothing on value), and a couple more cheap dudes to fit the swarm theme. Like the Quaterman deck, it lacks some proactivity, but it should be able to overwhelm opponents via sending expendable dudes to run Kidnappins. Then set someone up with a Mask in the town square to keep your influence afloat. Allie, Lawrence, and your deeds help set up dominance after Kidnappins remove your opponent’s influence.
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