Dead or Alive, You're Coming With Me
AlmostAsCool 8
This is my first real attempt at deck-building, and I wanted to build a straight flush Law Dogs deck. I'd been playing with a slightly tweaked version of the Law Dogs deck that can be built with 2x Base Set + TCaR, and it just wasn't keeping up with what my friends were bringing to the table.
My basic strategy is to spend a few turns using the outfit and Stewart Davidson to make sure that all of the opposing dudes are wanted, along with trying to play a couple deeds and get my dudes outfitted with some equipment before sweeping out into the town with a deck that has been largely cleared of my off-value cards. With a pumped up Thunder Boy and his crew, my odds of drawing a straight flush are pretty decent, and then my play hand is normally full of actions to utilize.
I've only played 3 games with it so far, and it handled decently. I suspect I might have a touch too many Cheatin' Resolutions, and I definitely had a game where I was sitting on plenty of ghost rock but never drew into anything to spend it on, so I could probably use some more cycling. But I welcome any feedback or tips!
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| Jul 18, 2019 jordan caldwell |
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Jul 18, 2019
Redgar
As usual, @Jordan Caldwell is on point. 100% agree on Henry or Willa (Willa, probably, given your small number of dudes), and Ol' Fashioned Hangin'. Not sure about JIE, but only because I haven't made it really work yet. I might steal your deck and try it out! :) |
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Jul 18, 2019
AlmostAsCool
Justice In Exile looks like it could be fun for this! I'd have to proxy it. I don't have Ol' Fashioned Hangin' or Framed, either, but I bet I could track them down, as they seem like they would work really well here. Willa Mae MacGowan or Henry Moran also makes sense...I had gone with Clementine Lepp for the extra influence to buy me time to thin out my deck a bit, but the other two would be a bit more actively useful. Do I have too many clubs? It had been mentioned to me that I might drop a value in my straight flush package to make room for some more cards in the other suits, and that I might try to match their values up so I can draw into full houses and the like early on, but I kinda liked the idea of winning early lowballs until I was ready to go on the attack. |
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Jul 18, 2019
jordan caldwell
I admittedly don't play SF (Straight-Flush) decks. But I do play against them often, and can comment from that perspective! A solid strategy is, during a shootout, keeping your poker math favorable while turning your opponent's poker math unfavorable. In my experience, SF decks generally need a larger margin to reliably pull SF, as even in a stacked deck, SF is a more statistically unreliable hand to obtain than, say, a Full House. I like to think about it this way: My standard ("3-value") deck has a "floor" hand rank of 7 (Full House), and a "ceiling" hand rank of either 8 (without Joker) or 10 (with Joker). Your deck has a "floor" hand rank of 6 (Flush), and a "celing" hand rank of 9 (Straight Flush). These benchmarks typically assume your poker information is around 8-12 cards (examples: 2-stud + 5-draw, 3-stud + 3-draw, 4-stud + 1-draw, etc). Then, if you spice in cards like Sun in Yer Eyes and Faster on the Draw, you can sometimes "break" someone's "floor" leaving them with hand rank 3 (Two Pair) or worse. ... This in mind, deck-building-wise, I generally see two kinds of SF decks, defined by their "back-up" structure. One in my playgroup, Tom, usually plays SF decks that also concentrate on two other values (say, 3's and 5's), such that, if he can't put together a SF, he "falls back" on Full House. His deck looks something like: Five Starting dudes, Twelve each of two values (3's and 5's), and Twenty-something clubs, arranged in a band (say, 2-7 or 3-9), with maybe one floating back-up dude whose value doesn't match anything (ex. Sloane). The second type of SF deck is the one you have here: Your "back-up" hand is a Straight. I know this because I see you have sprinkled one-each of various hearts and diamonds on your core SF values (3-9) into the deck. Comparing the two, this structure is more likely to win lowball, but has a weaker "fall-back" hand (Straight). And so, to answer your question: It depends on what you want to do! Sorry if that's not very helpful - maybe someone else can chime in. Which reminds me, as a Straight-Flush back-up Straight deck, strongly consider Comin' Up Roses for some of your 7 slots, as when you have this card in hand, it greatly improves your odds of putting your "ceiling" hand (SF) together in a fight - and brutally punishes someone who tries to cheat you! Cheers. |
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Jul 18, 2019
AlmostAsCool
Wow, thanks very much for the breakdown! That's really helpful! |
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Jul 19, 2019
Findegil
I'd suggest dropping the 9s altogether (except Wendy, natch) - as you say, you're well stocked with Cheatin' cards anyway (and I'm not a big fan of Cheatin' Varmint to begin with). |
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Jul 19, 2019
DoomDog
I like 'Straight Flush with backup Straight' builds, and Comin' Up Roses is essential for that structure. |
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Aug 09, 2019
broudebush
If you update this deck can you repost, looks to be promising and fun. |
This deck might benefit from Justice In Exile, which comparatively as Lawdogs homes go, and with the right setup (such as starting Stewart Davidson), can be a way to generate cash from bounty faster than the base home.
Assuming you stick to Law Dogs, have you seen the card Ol' Fashioned Hangin'? Great way to close a game, especially if you get Xiong "Wendy" Cheng out.
Framed is another goody that is on-value with your straight-flush core.
Either way, may I recommend either Henry Moran or Willa Mae MacGowan as your fifth starting dude over Clementine Lepp (who, as you are not running any saloons, would never get to benefit from her trait)?
Cheers!