Sunday, February 27, 2011

Character Guide: Bart Cassidy



Name: Bart Cassidy.

Inspired by: Butch Cassidy, infamous leader of the Wild Bunch Gang, train robber, bank robber, and partner of the Sundance Kid.

Life Points: 4.

Ability Type: Defensive.

Ability: Each time he loses a life point, he immediately draws a card from the deck.

Activation: When Bart Cassidy takes a hit.

Cards enhanced by Bart Cassidy's ability: Beer, Saloon, Missed!, Duel, Dynamite, Volcanic (somewhat).

Cards less effective when played against Bart Cassidy: Volcanic, all attack cards, Dynamite.

Characters who counter Bart Cassidy well: Jesse Jones.

Ideal Roles for Bart Cassidy: Sheriff, Renegade.

2-player Value: Not bad if you have some health by the time this occurs. Picking up some cards when you have to take hits at this point can be crucial in turning the tide on your opponent to win the game.

General Strategy as Bart Cassidy: The most basic thing to remember as Bart Cassidy is to remember his ability. When Bart Cassidy takes a hit, draw a card! You cannot expect the other players to tell you to do this. Besides Bart Cassidy's basic defensive benefit, you need to think of how to use it wisely. Bart Cassidy doesn't want to use it all of the time because having one less life point still means a greater constraint on his card limit. Thus, a great time for Bart Cassidy to take a hit is when he has a Beer card in his hand. He can immediately replenish the health lost and get an extra card--sweet! The drawn card can sometimes translate into a greater defensive (getting a Missed!, Beer, or Barrel card) or offensive position (it can be great to pick up a BANG! when Bart Cassidy has a Volcanic out after all). Even if Bart Cassidy doesn't have a Beer, there are also better times to take a hit rather than others. For instance, when another player plays a Duel against Bart Cassidy--he may not want to deplete tons of cards out of his hand just to not take a hit, when he will pick up a card from the hit anyway. Bart Cassidy's opponent may in addition have some Indians! stored up, and that can hurt if he depletes all of his BANG! I recommend trying to create distance from Bart Cassidy and other players, so that you only choose to take hits on "no distance" cards (Duels, Indians!, Gatling). On the flip side, certain cards like Duel and Dynamite are more advantageous for Bart Cassidy to play. Bart Cassidy may be able to afford the risk of dueling another player with 1 to no BANG! in his hand. Even if he loses the duel he initiates, he can still get a card draw. Oddly, maybe you could try to duel an opponent and lose it, just to try to pick up another BANG! to shoot at them with your Volcanic (they could have BANG! in their hand but no Missed! after all). If the Dynamite Bart Cassidy plays explodes on him, he still gets to draw 3 cards from the explosion (as long as Bart Cassidy has enough life points to survive the blast; he draws after losing the life points, not before).

General Strategy against Bart Cassidy: There are not many particularly specific strategies to effectively apply against Bart Cassidy. Since he is trying to store up Beer in his hand to have no eventual repercussions from taking hits, Cat Balouing, Panicking, or otherwise stealing/discard from his hand with a character ability (such as with Jesse Jones) can be a great idea. Also think of how to hurt his Beer acquisition. When a General Store is in play, it can be an especially good idea not to let Bart Cassidy pick it up if you can help it. Watch Bart Cassidy's life points closely: when Bart Cassidy's health is lower, Dynamite becomes safe to play because he will probably not survive the blast and so get no 3-card benefit from the lost life points. When you hit Bart Cassidy, you will need to try to hit him hard and not let him recover. Chances are that you will not be able to eliminate him too quickly in a round, as he has bound to pick up at least 1 Missed!, BANG!, or Beer, but team mates (if you have any) will need to try to focus fire on him to put him down.

Dodge City cards enhanced by Bart Cassidy's ability: Canteen, Whisky, Tequila.

Dodge City cards less effective when played against Bart Cassidy: All new attack cards (green and brown).

General Strategy Adjustments for Bart Cassidy: Bart Cassidy's strategy does not change too much with the addition of Dodge City. There are now some new brown and green cards to help him regain life points (Canteen, Whisky, Tequila), which can help him when he chooses to voluntarily take hits. The new green attack cards give him some time to prep for when his enemies have gained some fire power, which can also aid him in his decision making. Some of the new cards hit a player at any distance (Howitzer, Buffalo Rifle, Springfield), so Bart Cassidy (as before) has to be cautious with thinking that he can avoid hits solely through distance modifiers. Nonetheless, the new Hideout card could be handy to stack with a Mustang. Like usual, Bart Cassidy should try not to store up too many cards that regain life points in his hand as they can get easily discarded or stolen. The moment he loses a life point, he should try to regain it as quickly as possible to aid not only his card limit, but to keep that Beer (or similar card) from getting removed from him.

General Strategy Adjustments against Bart Cassidy: Your strategy against Bart Cassidy remains the same, you just have new cards to help you execute this strategy. Can Can, Conestoga, Brawl, and Rag Time can help you remove cards from Bart Cassidy's hand, and hopeful help you nab life point modifiers. You have many new attack cards under your belt to help you build offensive combos against Bart Cassidy, many of which are green cards. These cards have the unfortunate problem of warning Bart Cassidy a round in advance, so think about what you are communicating with those cards. If Bart Cassidy is out of range, you have a few new cards that hit players at any distance to help you. As with the original game, try to coordinate your attacks against Bart Cassidy with your team mates. Although he draws a card with each hit, there is a high chance that these cards are offensive, as they are the majority of the cards in the deck. This means that Bart Cassidy will have a lower card limit on his round, encouraging him to dump attack cards back at those who shot at him. So if you can knock him out before he gets to his turn, this is best.

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