Showboat!

I came to dtdb last week looking for inspiration whilst trying to build a deck with Showboating mad scientists and went away having put together jaythejester's Showboating Spirits deck which was a bit different to anything I'd seen in the local meta and looked like it might be fun to play. It quickly became clear in a couple of casual games that whilst it had winning potential it wasn't at all fun to play against... definitely one to take to a tournament rather than games night.

I switched out a few things from the original, basically trying to skew the cards a little more towards higher values so that you can Showboat! from your hand a little more reliably. I added a couple of Spirit Trails as they can easily be used at noon to gain Showboating control points where Crafty Hare and Turtle's Guard can't. I added in a couple of Foreboding Glances hoping they would help shut down the Legendary Holsters that have been everywhere lately. And also added a couple of high value deeds that would help with my game plan. Entirely unsure whether I had made the deck better or broken it entirely I set off for the York Sheriff event. This is what I can remember of it - let me know if I've misremembered or misrepresented anything, my memory is hazy in many places.

Round 1 v Tom's Den of Thieves

Tom is always a fun opponent. I really can't remember much about what actually happened in this game. I slowly got set up, got plenty of influence and started to accumulate Showboating points. Marcia got into the town square and managed to use the Eagle Wardens home a couple of times. She even managed to use Tom's Joker's Smile at one point. My deck was degenerating nicely. A Legendary Holster appeared but nothing came of it. Somehow we ended up in a shootout, might have been an Ambush?, in which I top-decked a four-of-a-kind (something I would spend all day wondering if I could pull off again (answer: no)) and this pushed the game in my direction and I won shortly before time.

Round 2 v Dan's Bloody 108 Rabbit Leaping Armadillo

Dan didn't like my deck much (understatement), and I don't like his much either! I was trying to pull El Armadillo De Hierro out of position one way or another so he would waste his shotgun on the non-essential dudes. I think I was lucky here that he didn't see the job cards he needed and I had a good setup with plenty of Ancestor strength; I really can't remember quite what happened and I think Dan handed me the win before he really needed to.

Round 3 v Dave's Ranches and Rides

The details of this match are even more of a blur than the previous one. I think things were going pretty well for me with plenty of influence and quite a few control points, but Dave had very similar numbers. He eventually found the Run 'Em Down!s in his deck but my dude's escaped without too much damage. When we got to time I snuck the win by being just a single chip ahead of him.

At this point I am 3-0 which is unheard of! Happy!

Round 4 v Mark's Fourth Ring Conditions

I'd played against a nasty conditions deck a little while ago (piloted by Dave in fact) and it was that experience that had made me think it was worth leaving all four Knight's Chasubles in this deck. They came in handy here! Mark had the edge for a long time and I was fighting a losing battle when time was called, another couple of minutes and he would have won anyway as I was losing all my influence getting into shootouts in order to try and keep myself out of check.

Round 5 v Robert's Slucksters

I think this was probably my shortest game. I couldn't get established in the town square to give myself a chance to defend the Des Row job and Robert was stacking up the control points fast. I think this was the game where I decided to sacrifice Marcia (she's better off aced than discarded back into the deck) to both draw some cards and to save her upkeep in order to bring in Bloody Teeth which left me with just not quite enough influence. I might be remembering the wrong game though!

After the swiss rounds I was 3-2, which put me in 5th position out of 18. Dave was in 4th and, as the organiser, had already said he would drop if he made the cut so I found myself playing a semi-final :D

Semi Final v Mark's Fourth Ring Conditions

A rematch with my fourth round opponent. Knight's Chasubles were helping me avoid both conditions and Paralysis Marks and Fancy New Hats were keeping away the Blood Curses. With these cards I really felt I ought to have a fighting chance at turning the tables on this matchup but Mark managed to keep my economy suppressed and I just couldn't afford to equip half the cards in my hand. I was turning up all the wrong cards in the wrong places: the 4-value Strength of the Ancestors was appearing for spirit skill checks and I had a hand full of Showboatings that I couldn't afford to play. I had Joseph Dusty Hill out about the town in his hat with his spirits but he got Lost to the Plague, was subjected to a Backroom Deal and I had to send in my own dude to kill him. Another nasty shootout resulted in me getting such a bad hand that even making everyone harrowed didn't help and it quickly turned into a well deserved win for Mark!

All in all, a really good day, great opponents and I was delighted with my results. Thanks to everyone!