Gencon 2017 World Championship: 2nd Place

published Aug 21, 2017 | | |
Card draw simulator
Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
None yet

shekky_ducky 97

I don't often post my decks online, but I got a few requests for this one at Gencon 2017. I've been working on this deck for the better part of the past year, trimming values, adjusting the balance between aggro and defensive builds, and figuring out which arrangement of dudes work best together. The deck is built to play fast, hamstringing decks that rely on having multiple rounds to set themselves up. The draw structure is fairly reliable, allowing you a degree of confidence when running multiple jobs per turn using even your weakest dudes (depending on the other tricks in your hand at the time, of course). If things go right, victory can be achieved in 3 turns or less. If things go wrong, the game can end in a single shootout. I've had it go both ways. Win or lose, this is my absolute favorite deck to play so I hope you enjoy it, too.

13 comments
Aug 21, 2017 Prodigy

Congratulations on making the final table, and way to represent the OCTGN crew! Considering how many Law Dogs decks there were this year, it's even more impressive that this deck did so well. Going against a constant barrage of Hattie DeLorre, "Thunder Boy" Nabbe, Bounty Hunter, and Ol' Fashioned Hangin' is tough to beat when most of your dudes have bounties.

As a fellow OCTGN-er, I've played against this deck many times, and it is always a struggle. The pressure is immediate and constant. If you wait to build up for a couple turns, this deck then has enough money for a hard cast Cheatin' Varmint and It's Not What You Know, making flushes hard to beat, and straight flushes nearly impossible to beat.

Great showing with this uniquely deed-less and heart-less deck!

Aug 21, 2017 Redgar

I'm still really embarrassed that I mistook your game purchase as a flag for "casual GenCon Attendee to whom I need to sell the game"... you certainly schooled me! :)

I have to say, even though it knocked me out, I greatly enjoyed our match. Some of the most enjoyable and excruciating play that I've ever experienced, full of torturous decisions and tense shootouts! I hope we have the chance to play again... .

Thanks, also, for posting the list. You've got a lean, mean machine here, and I appreciate the opportunity to glance under the hood for inspiration.

Aug 23, 2017 Harlath

Congratulations on making the final and in particular for doing it with an unusual draw structure. It is great that the game has matured and we're seeing a variety of draw structures flourish.

Desolation Row is one of my favourite homes, so I'm glad to see it still doing well. Seconding @Prodigy in that this is particularly impressive given that there were three law dogs in the T8.

How do you find this normally gets on against slide? Strong due to Fred Aims or struggles due to a lack of back-up dudes to sit on opposing deeds? Normally I find Desolation Row very good against slide as you just need one dude to crank out a ton of deeds and dudes to beat them at their own game, but I appreciate that this is a different beast!

Aug 23, 2017 shekky_ducky

@Harlath, thank you for the kind words! Law Dogs, especially those with bounty-triggered abilities like Thunder Boy and Hattie, are always especially vexing for this deck. With them in play there are no easy solutions. I usually have to make some very calculated risks if I'm not holding counter cards (SIYE) in hand.

As for facing off against slide decks, Fred is crucial. Raising his bounty with the Des Row job or, even better, a Kidnapping or Ambush keeps the opponent in check. Meet the New Boss was a recent addition to this deck and is intended to allow Allie Hensman and John "Aces" Radcliffe to gain permanent influence for taking over deeds. The rest is spot removal. Mugging, Kidnappin and Ambush aren't very hard to come by with Antoine Peterson retrieving whatever is needed from the discard pile. Foreboding Glance is also great against a turtling slide player. Fred can usually waltz right into their home and call out any high value target, booting them and their cards in the process!

Aug 27, 2017 jordan caldwell

This is a super cool deck.

One question. Out of all the other dudes possible, why did you settle on exactly the three clean-up hitters Mario Crane, Antoine Peterson, and Alice Stowe?

And (btw) why only three?

Cheers.

Aug 27, 2017 jordan caldwell

This is a super cool deck.

One question. Out of all the other dudes possible, why did you settle on exactly the three clean-up hitters Mario Crane, Antoine Peterson, and Alice Stowe?

And (btw) why only three?

Cheers.

Aug 28, 2017 jaythejester

I am one of the people that have had to play against this deck the most. I won't lie, it is very good. If played correctly it is very very good. I am about to be a jerk to Ducky, but only because this deck deserves it. I am about to tell people how to beat it, if only because someone out there might start wrecking there local meta with it. Duck, please forgive me, I really like you.

As the Duckster has said, Bounty tech can do quite a number against this deck, screwing up it's influence on Fredd, and keeping it from gaining control points. Taking out Allie is another key part to keeping this deck at bay. If you kill Allie with a Shotgun, Soul Blast, or Point Blank after lowering her bullets (and he doesn't have Antoine out). Running multiple low risk high reward shootouts with cards like bounty hunter, Bobo, Steven Wiles can work well (though this deck rarely likes giving shootout opportunities other than the job run once per day) This can cause them to play out shootout actions and resolutions to win the shootout, but be far weaker in the second engagement. Also hit and run tactics like Shotgun/Legendary Holster + Highbinder Hotel/Make the Smart Choice/Rabbits Deception, just remember about Unprepared. Finally, if they don't take you down quickly with spot removal jobs, and you get your horses into play, Calling The Cavalry often be effective. Be VERY careful about cheating against this deck (unfortunately often unavoidable after your shooters bullet values are ravaged) You'll frequently be punished harshly.

Sep 01, 2017 shekky_ducky

@Jordan, to answer your questions: I chose only three dudes because I didn't want to reduce the ability of this deck to reliably draw flushes. The original deck had 0 backup dudes. Through playtesting I figured out what a mistake that was so I added just a few. Mario to capitalize on my mid-range legal hands. Antoine to add extra bounty, give a quick influence boost in emergencies and to fetch spot removal jobs if necessary. And Alice was chosen more or less to be Fred's bodyguard when Ramiro was either unavailable or unaffordable. I've tried different combinations of dudes, but these three, in my opinion, align best with this deck.

Sep 28, 2017 RedClover

@shekky_ducky hello! New player here and this deck looks super cool. I don't have all the expansions yet, so I'm missing these:

John "Aces" Radcliffe

Antoine Peterson

Alice Stowe

2 Inner Struggle

Back Ways

Fool Me Once...

Fiddle Game

Someone Else's Problem

Outgunned

Foreboding Glance

Nightmare at Noon

Any thoughts on replacements? Maybe things that got cut from earlier versions that I can use until I flesh out the rest. Thanks either way for posting the deck, it's very cool!

Sep 28, 2017 Harlath

Hello RedClover,

Which expansions (if any) do you have access to) to help me/the deck's author suggest alternatives? :)

Sep 28, 2017 RedClover

Thanks!

I have Base Set, Double Dealin, Bad Medicine, Dirty Deeds, Faith and Fear, Immovable Object, and Election Day.

Going to get New Town and Nightmare at Noon next I think.

Sep 28, 2017 Harlath

Suggested swaps, apologies if I accidentally take anything to >4 copies and deferring to any suggestions from the deck's creator!

Aug 22, 2019 Welsh Wizard

So I just faced off against this deck with a pretty strong gadget Lawdogs deck and got wrecked. By Day two I had 7 cards in Boot Hill and was beaten.

This deck is very, very strong indeed. So many actions, so much anti-cheat!