Sidekicks all over

published Apr 04, 2021 | | |
Card draw simulator
Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
None yet

zenarchist 74

This deck was built to try to take advantage of Sidekicks, and some of the First Peoples cards that benefit from them.

The core idea is to survive the first round of a shootout, maybe using a Point Blank as well, and then, if the opponent can be put in a disadvantegous situation (sending home their shooters or bullet cathcers with Requiem for a Good Boy or Flight of the Lepus) to force another round with Forsaken Hound.

I didn't take notes after the games, so this is from memory:

Round 1, vs. Prodigy (Law Dogs with Lacy O'Malley)

After attaching some Sidekicks, I try to Kidnap Hattie (she had a Gadget attached I really wanted to get rid off). I play An Accidental Reunion, since I have Requiem for a Good Boy that let's me cover the casualties from a cheating hand if needed. I then proceed to reveal cheating 5oak. Requiem sends Hattie home and covers the Accidental casualties - and I think it also let me Point Blank someone, though not sure who. However, Prodigy has a Straigh Flush and a Comin' Up Roses, so I end up losing another sidekick. Since it's a Kidnappin', and Seth is in the opposing posse, making cheating very costly, i stick around. Next round, I get a legal 5oak, but a Straight Flush plus the bonus from Roses means I lose again. Counting on having a better draw structure, I stick around for another round or two - I really wanted Hattie gone - but I only got FH vs. flushes + Roses, so in the end I started losing dudes and ran home. I've since seen Prodigy's deck, and the advantage I though I had just wasn't there - it's built for Putting The Pieces Together, and is almost sure to get a Flush without cheating. It's a really neat deck :)

Anyway, I never really recover from the economic setback of losing so many Sidekicks, and a few days late I'm forced to a fight in my home where I lose the game.

Round 2, vs. TybarSunsong (Smith & Robards Trade Show)

The main thing I remember from this was how I was repeatedly prevented from using my Point Blanks. Hydro-Punchers booted my dudes, Irving got a weapon putting him out of PB range, and whatever else I tried - sending in Sarah or unbooting with Requiem was blocked by A Slight Modification - played twice in a Shootout - in two different Shootouts! Anyway, it ended in a timed win for the Entrepreneurs.

Round 3: Bye

Round 4, vs. Don Gratouille (The Arsenal)

I was under a lot of pressure for most of this game. However, at a crucial point, my deck actually worked as intended. I was able to send home Tommy and Henry with Flight of the Lepus, while keeping Judge Harry(Exp.1) and Quincy around with Forsaken Hounds - and the next round, one of them got aced, and the other discarded. This bought me enough time to slowly start rebuilding, and in the end, I won at time.

Round 5, vs. DrCthulhu (Smith & Robards Trade Show)

I must admit that what I remeber most from this game was the technical difficulties. Early on, we had to restart the game, and even after that my computer kept disconnecting. It got so annoyed by it in the end that I offered to concede if my opponent lost patience, but we managed to finish it in the end.

I played a Kidnappin' at every chance I had - two or three times I think - but I was never able to make any casualties stick. And my Sidekicks meant I didn't really lose any dudes either. So in the end, my opponents better dudes meant he was able to limit my economy, build up a stronger board presence, and outmaneuver me shortly before the time was up.

Afterthoughts:

The deck needs more ways to adjust bullets, both mine and the opponents. Beyond that, it's hard for me to judge - the match-up against S&R is definitely not good for it, I might try an adjusted version to see how it does against other deck types.

But anyway, it was still good enough to be the best First Peoples deck in the tournament :)

2 comments
Apr 05, 2021 DoomDog

There's some cool stuff going on in this deck. I really like the Forsaken Hound to make a dude stick around then Requiem for a Good Boy to send the shooter home combo. Might it help to shift from Point Blank to Outgunned? You'll get a similar (though less targeted) outcome to Point Blank, and be on-value for the deck.

Apr 05, 2021 zenarchist

Outgunned might work - I went with Point Blank because it's a guaranteed acing, and Jacks are the third value in the deck - it's not meant to cycle back in like the other two values (Forsaken Hounds are the most important Sidekicks to keep around).

Also, in two of the games (the ones against Smith & Robards), I wouldn't have been able to use Outgunned, since their Gadgets gave them so many bullets. Outgunned would really require more bullet-manipulation at least. But that would be good for the deck anyway.