Sunday, April 3, 2011

Character Guide: José Delgado


José Delgado BANG! card game character

Character Name: José Delgado.

Inspired by: Unknown. It is possible that he is inspired by Cisco Delgado (played by José Suárez), who is the rich and sadistic Mexican crime boss in Texas, Adios who murdered the father of a Texan Sheriff.

Life Points: 4.

Ability Type: Neutral.

Ability: "Twice in his turn, he may discard a blue card from the hand to draw 2 cards."

Activation: Whenever it is his turn and he possesses a blue card in his hand.

Cards enhanced by José Delgado' s ability: All blue cards, Volcanic, General Store, Pony Express, Wells Fargo, Stagecoach, Panic, Rag Time.

Cards more effective when played against José Delgado: Jail, Cat Balou, Can Can, Brawl.

Ideal role: Sheriff.

2-player value: Great. While he may wish to play blue cards in front of him wherever possible, many will not be useful enough and can be exchanged for other cards.

Characters that counter José Delgado well: Jesse Jones, Kit Carlson (when he is immediately to the right of José Delgado he can insure that 1 of the 2 cards José Delgado cards is not a blue card).

Characters that José Delgado counters well: Pat Brennan (instead of playing cards in front of him, he can expend them, and thus circumvent Pat Brennan's stealing of them).

General Strategy as José Delgado : José Delgado is an excellent character; in essence, he can use any blue card as a Stagecoach. Since his ability can be used twice, there is even a chance that he can draw another blue card by discarding a blue card, and discard this new blue card to draw 2 more cards. This ability can help him throughout the game, depending on his needs, but is often more useful in mid to late game. Initially, the blue cards José Delgado receives he will probably wish to lay down. Guns, distance modifiers, and the Barrel are all nice cards to play in front of him that will help him later on, and enhance the blue cards that he will discard in the future. A scope or binoculars is particularly useful, as it can increase the distance by which he can steal blue cards from other players. However, some blue cards like Prison and Dynamite can be useful for José Delgado to discard right away. They will not reveal anything about his role and give him 2 extra cards to build up his hand or card base (the cards in play in front of him).

Once he has some defensive and offensive blue cards in play, then José Delgado can be more free in using his ability. Drawn gun cards that are inferior to the card he has in play are no longer aggravating; they can be freely discarded to draw more cards. The same goes with blue cards that are duplicates of those he has in play. José Delgado can increase his chances of drawing a blue card by playing a General Store (and of course Wells Fargo, Stagecoach, and Pony Express go without saying). With at least 5 players in the game, José Delgado is almost guaranteed to get a blue card within the mix.

José Delgado should always try to use his Panic and Rag Time to steal blue cards in play in front of other players. That way he can not only remove cards from his opponents, but also discard those cards to gain more cards. Even if he cannot steal a card from any player within range, José Delgado may choose to play a Panic on himself. That way he could pick up a card that is lacking in utility and then discard it to pick up 2 more cards. These new cards could help him eliminate an opponent for instance, or if he has few life points left, an offensive card could be sacrificed in hopes of giving him a defensive card or a Beer.

The discarded blue cards should be used to gather some offensive card combos (although they work well for replenishing defensive cards too), and work great to gather more BANG! if José Delgado can get his hands on a Volcanic. Obviously, getting his hands on a Volcanic should be one of José Delgado's goals. When he gets a good offensive build, he should unload on an opponent. Eliminating Outlaws is especially good for José Delgado, as there is a good chance he will draw a blue card amongst the card bonus, which he can use to draw even more cards. While gathering a good card build, José Delgado has no great reason to draw attention to himself, although he may want to use a BANG! or other less useful card when he exceeds his card limit. Depending on the playing style of José Delgado's opponents, José Delgado may or may not want to store up blue cards in his hand. If they are the sorts of players that will frequently steal or discard cards from José Delgado's hand (if Jesse Jones is in play, the answer will be an obvious yes), then José Delgado may wish to discard his blue cards from his hand as soon as he can.

General Strategy against José Delgado: José Delgado is a tough opponent, and besides general offensive strategies against opponents, there are few things you can do against him to get an upper hand. Of course, like other characters whose abilities are activated on their turns, you can play a Jail against José Delgado to neutralize his ability for a round. Be careful when playing General Stores: try to make sure that all blue cards/panic are picked up before José Delgado gets to pick a card, unless more powerful cards like Stagecoach, Wells Fargo, or Pony Express are available. When José Delgado starts using his ability to pick up cards, you can try to keep him from building up a strong card base by stealing or discarding cards from his hand and playing Indians! Remove defensive cards from his hand or in play to keep him nervous to take a fully offensive strategy. Take a shot at him from time to time to also make him nervous. If possible, you will want to eliminate José Delgado before a 2-player duel, as he is a very tough 1-on-1 opponent.

Return to the BANG! Character Guides Portal

No comments:

Post a Comment