London OP4 2nd Place, 4s, 6s + Clubs SF

Deck that I got 2nd place with at today's OP4 kit in London at Leisure Games (10 players attended). Ultimately going 3-2 with both my losses to 4th Ring Shooter/Minor control (once in regular play and losing in the final, @swider says he doesn't want it called control). We don't have Foul Play yet here in the UK so only Dirty Deeds was legal.

I wanted to build something around Strength of the Ancestors since +3 bullets and making someone stud seems great. I probably should have run these off value because if you choose 4s then you give up any reliable pull on nearly all other Spirits since I originally tried to pair this with Spirit Guidance and last minute changed to Winchester Model 1873 because it turns out trying to pull 7+ is not possible with such poor Shamans.

So going for a shooty EW deck I decided to go for Zachary Deloria and pair him with Enapay. Turns out this works really well, especially with Town Council because if you win lowball and can have a shootout these 2 dudes are 7 stud (give +3 influence to Enapay and Zachary gets +6 bullets and then the extra Enapay bullet). I would probably replace Dead Dog Tavern with Town Council since you don't have enough bullets to control Dead Dog anyway.

How do you win lowball and still shoot strongly? 2x16 (ish) with Straight Flush through the middle. The Extra Bet really helps here if you can afford it because the extra draw increases the lowball likelyhood. For any of the London people reading this #NewMeta but I just want to see how it works.

Round 1 vs Adam's 108 CP rush

Adam was playing his 1.5 trick pony as he described it but when I sat down I had no clue. Starting Doris Powell and Bai Yang Chen I didn't think it was slide but I wasn't sure on Kung Fu. His first lowball hand of Kings and other high values indicated it wasn't Kung Fu so I had no clue. I contested town square while he put out a couple of deeds. Bai Yang Chen came out and I killed him but Doris flipped around gaining CPs with 'Railroad Station and Asakichi Cooke but he lacked dudes so I could contest a deed to get out of check. I Kidnappin' Doris next turn and felt a lot more comfortable as I wasn't in an immediate danger of losing and ultimately just got a lot of dudes out to contest CPs and have a lot of influence. 1-0.

Round 2 vs Andrew's Morgan Lilian shooter

It's always going to be a tough game against Andrew as he knows the game well and has a lot of experience from the original Deadlands. He uses the home ability to play Huntsmen's Society for cheap but I get some deeds out for income which he can't really contest as while he has 7 influence it's only Lilian and Irving Patterson. Town Council appears, I win lowball and kidnap Lilian. He moves a few dudes in but I have some Sun in Yer Eyes to reduce his bullets and he cheats. I Coachwhip! Lilian and go home leaving him with only a little influence. I was close to winning but Andrew hangs in for the long game. He's a little strapped for cash and I get a lowball Coachwhip on Max Baine (Exp.1) which prevents him getting more dudes out. I'm rolling in cash but can't find any dudes but he plays The Union Casino allowing me to get some extra control points to win the game at time. 2-0.

Round 3 vs Marcin's 4th Ring Shooter/Minor Control

Marcin beat me to the London Deputy with this deck so I know it but also know I'm not going to have a good time. I get a Blake Ranch early for the income but he eventually contests it. After moving Funtime Freddy and The Ghostly Gun to my deed I try to kidnap Dulf Zug at home. I don't draw great and we tie but 2 Hex Slingin' later I lose both Enapay and Zachary. He gets Puppet on Valeria Batten so I have to call her out when she comes to my home. I don't use Strength of the Ancestors when I should so 3 draw vs something not terrible causes me to lose several shootout rounds and the game. 2-1.

Round 4 vs Jimi's Abram's Crusaders

I'm personally of the opinion that Abram's Crusaders isn't that good. Dudes with the Deputy keyword are all over the place value wise so I presonally prefer to play The Arsenal over it if you're going the Miracle route. Jimi is playing 9s, 10s and Js with some off value Miracles. I don't see a lot early and Jimi is pressuring me quite a lot but I have a lot of influence on the table so I'm not losing. I'm struggling quite a lot mostly through cheating in lowball and getting hit for Consecration constantly. I'm keeping his money low though so he's not got too many dudes out. We have some skirmishes and I lose Enapay, Zachary and Mazatl eventually but he also loses a couple of dudes. We're fairly even on influence but Jimi has slightly more control and we're into the chess point of the game. Rev. Perry Inbody keeps unbooting people moving back to the town square so I have to be a bit defensive but as time is called I've got dudes in the town square just as he runs a Recruitment Drive. I oppose with John "Aces" Radcliffe and get sent home with Lepus but he has a lot of dudes home booted (including Revered Perry) and I see off Clyde Owens at the Undertaker for the game win. 3-1.

Final vs Marcin's 4th Ring Shooter/Minor Control

I think I win lowball at the very start and probably should have just gone straight for the Kidnappin' but I hold off. He gets a lot of Paralysis Mark up but I have a few deeds and dudes out. I manage to get a favourable position against Dulf Zug at my own deed and have a shootout. I draw legal 5oaK but he cheats Full House. I coachwhip Dulf but he has a Hex Slingin' and It's Not What You Know... so we draw and I have to lose Zachary. My hand gets filled with deeds from this point and I'm getting booted by Paralysis Mark everywhere so I have so start moving around my own deeds to stay alive. He keeps playing Steven Wiles and eventually gets a Puppet on Valeria to take over Richard Faulkner for the game.

So a happy 2nd place. I knew this deck was unlikely to do well against 4th Ring control because it just has so many low value dudes and I didn't see any Strength of the Ancestors to stop them getting booted. I think I drew 2 or 3 straigh flush so I'm happy with how this deck structure is working. It's also strong just for the shootout actions since Sun in Yer Eyes and Faster on the Draw can really turn shootouts from being even to heavily in your favour. An Accidental Reunion strikes me as a great card since it really hurts those cheating decks with the 2 extra casulties. I'm surprised at how strong Eagle Wardens can shoot since the home ability can really help for getting those extra shootout cards and they have a lot of influence for contesting deeds in the late game. We'll probably have Foul Play before the next OP kit so lots of exciting new decks to try when that comes out.