44 of 49 cards in the deck (89.8%) are 7+ value or higher. The 5 cards that are not are all hearts so they should degenerate out of the deck and you should be able to keep easy track of them in the discard.
Granted, when I added Magical Distraction to the deck I was running more Kings (LOH were SOTS previously…they still might be…not sure on LOH here), which gave it a bit more bite.
The real problem is that most 9Cs suck, there’s not a clearly superior option. With the value structure as it is you have a higher risk/reward curve with Magical Distraction over Cheatin’ Varmint. Cheatin’ Varmint is more reliable in effect and can be used without a blessed in the shootout.
One upside to MD over CV though with a 2x16 deck is that it has a much higher potential return. You’re more likely to draw into a really bad hand on the rare occassion with 2x16 like a Two Pair or 3oaK than you are with a tight 3x16 structure. (With a true 3x16 draw you’re guaranteed at least a cheatin’ full house with only 2 stud bonus). Going from a Two Pair or 3oaK to even just a 6-7 value on a bad pull from MD is a 3-5 rank swing, much better than the 2 from CV.
I like it for that more than the punishment aspect. It saves me from the rare bad hand the 2x16 structure introduces. I’ve got Jael’s Guile and Tommy for the punishment.
What I really don’t like in my deck is TBYL (9C). It’s just…not good most of the time. Especially with EDS as my aggro, where I can’t use it. But…again…the 9C slot is tough. I almost went with Backroom Deals instead ::shrug::
I see your point, especially that you gain more from it than in a deck with a tighter structure, but that 10% chance of not even beating a cheating Full House is reason enough for me not to include it.
The other options on the other hand, are as you said, not the best either. The only other viable cards are Cheatin Varmint and Tail Between yer Legs which are both meh but I personally would prefer CV to MD. Maybe I am way too paranoid but the chance of drawing a 4 or 6 would really upset me. Although I kind of like TBYL… I have not yet tested Backroom Deals but I don’t know, maybe I might be useful.
To each their own, everyone has their own personal level of risk aversion. To me it’s less of an issue because the deck is chock full of Cheatin’ Resolutions. If I don’t want to risk a low pull on a MD (in the rare cases when I can’t track most of my low cards are in play/hand/discard) then I’ll likely still have Tommy, a Guile, or a Consecration to fall back on.
The Magical Distractions, to me, are more of the rare “gotcha” punishment that I can pull off at times. It’s not something the deck relies on.
Karl Odett is by far my favorite card in the set. I cannot believe how excited I am about a 1 Stud 5 of Spades. But, It allows me to take my Oddities deck from the Sheriff Season, and get rid of the some of the dudes I was running purely because of their influence.
Deck is planned, and ready to go. I forsee a lot of Soul Cage shenanigans in my future.
Odett gives me the ability to start 5 aboms, 3 influence showing, and the possibility of up to 8 influence if need be. He’s also no slouch in a shootout, which is a huge plus for him, since they will be gunning for him.
Based on what I was running in the Sheriff Season, my new Oddities deck will sport
Odett
Pags
Brute
Funtime
Tyx
as my starting posse. Yes, I give up having a gifter I would use, but I never bothered me in the sheriffs. At this point, I’ll be updating that deck, and moving forward with the same philosophy of Funtime and Tyx go do my bidding.
Since the set isn’t released, I’ll ask the question here. If all your dudes are Abomination, Would Odett lose his +3 influence if you puppet a non abomination?
yeah, it was brought up when I was working on a Sanitarium quarantine deck running puppet. Still want to try it, karl will just end up without his influence unless I puppet an abomination, or manage to suicide the dude. It was worth knowing for game play tactics.