Mirroring the Use of Jokers? thread, I was wondering what was the general thought on them.
Are you ALWAYS including one in your deck (I have heard people stating that)? Or is it something you do only on specific deck where you really need one specific card in your openning hand (I tend to go that way)?
I am wondering as most of the time I prefer to have dudes with influence in my starting posse instead of a 2-3 costed dude without any, but I know that some people wouldn’t go out without at least Travis to prevent a bad starting hand.
There are certainly cases when you NEED Travis because your deck relies heavily on a certain card. But usually he and Gina are more than their grifter abilities - they are an extra dude to camp in town sqaure and make callouts, and an extra body to soak casualties in case a shootout goes wrong. Travis in particular can become very useful if you include cards like Pearl-Handled Revolver, Winchester, and Takin’ Ya With Me. There are always uses for these dudes outside of their grifter abilities. I’d say that you start by looking at your posse and seeing if you have some spare money left after you pay for dudes with influece.
That said, The Fixer, Funtime Freddy, and Andrew Burton, can all be an integral part of your game plan. Maybe one day Howard Aswell will be too…
That said, I haven’t seen Gina anywhere except in landslide decks. And at the time of her release she was heralded as one of the best cards in Double Dealin’…
Gina is a great card. Card advantage is not anything to sneeze at.
I personally try and avoid running Travis. The ability to mulligan is very good, but in all honesty you aren’t “gaining” anything from his use. I always feel like I have to use him or I’m not utilizing him properly. Being two draw is good, especially if you can get him to be a stud or get use from his two bullet rating.
Burton is blessed and has 2 bullet rating, but being a deputy is where he shines. He gets the benefit of a lot of cards, and Faster on the Draw is great with him. Also, the ability to make any dude wanted before turn one can lead to an explosive opening if your hand supports it.
Freddy is a stud abomination with a real skill testing grifter ability. You need to honestly consider if your opening hand is playable without him, and then consider how well you opponent can guess which of two spells you need the least.
Howard’s biggest benefit is that he lets you run fewer deeds in your deck, and that he doesn’t boot to use his ability. He can go off, and still invent on turn one.
The fixer is an odd duck. He lets you tutor for nearly any card in your deck but his insane upkeep can be difficult to play around.
Each grifter has their merits and flaws, and if built around they are powerful starters.
Weighing in with the caveat that I really only play gadget decks at the moment:
I use Travis because one of the following happens:
I really need a gadget, and almost any gadget will do in my deck.
I already have a gadget, now I have a decent shooter/body to run around.
I have yet to find a great use for Howard unfortunately. I like him in theory, but I typically have enough deeds that I won’t need to use him…and I already play low clubs for Elander and the R&D Ranch.
I may look into him if I decide to build a straight flush hearts deck…but not holding my breath yet.
When I’m making a deck I hope to include a Grifter, but when I’m also hoping for at least 5 influence across 3 dudes, and hoping for a 2+ stud and hoping for a backup stud, it’s often the grifter that falls off that checklist first…
