Card Explanations: Draw Cards

Wells Fargo

Symbology:

Translation: Draw 3 cards from the top of the deck.

Impact in Wild West Show: Discard the old Wild West Show event card. Flip over a new Wild West Show event card to be put into play.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2 only.

Suit and Value: 3♥.

Card color: Brown.

Card Family: Draw cards.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Willy the Kid (high chance of drawing a BANG! that Willy has no limit of firing on his turn), Doc Holyday (extra cards can easily be converted to extra BANG! he can fire in addition to a BANG! on his turn), Sid Ketchum (extra cards can easily be used to regain life points), Calamity Janet (Missed!/BANG! drawn can be used interchangeably), José Delgado (if he draws a blue card, he can discard it to draw 2 more), Sean Mallory (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards), Herb Hunter (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus gain a card bonus), Greg Digger (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus regain life points), Lee Van Kliff (It is likely he will draw a BANG! allowing him to duplicate the effect of another brown card; if he already has a BANG!, he can duplicate the effect of Wells Fargo, drawing 6 cards!), Big Spencer (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards and also gain important cards to regain life points).

Characters less enhanced by playing this card: Pixie Pete (hard not to run over card limit with the amount of cards drawn between his ability and the Wells Fargo), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; this is harder to do when he gains so many cards from Wells Fargo).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: Gary Looter (If not many of the cards drawn are playable that turn, this will likely make the player exceed his card limit and thus have to discard cards that will become the possession of Gary Looter), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; when another player gains so many cards from Wells Fargo it is likely he will have more cards in his hand than Youl Grinner).

Works well in conjunction with: Volcanic, Duel (both help deplete excess BANG! potentially pushing you over your card limit).

Commentary: Generally considered to be the best card in the game from its ability to give you many more cards. While it says draw 3, you are really only drawing 2 more, since the Wells Fargo was 1 of the cards you drew, and it has no function besides giving you more cards. Nonetheless, this is like having an extra draw phase! The question is whether you can maximize the utility of the Wells Fargo, as chances are that the drawn cards will push you over your card limit. Unless you draw cards that can be used during your turn, you might have to discard down, weakening the impact the Wells Fargo might have had, and seriously helping Gary Looter if he is in play (of course, if Gary Looter is your ally, this could be very beneficial). Thus, Wells Fargo is more efficient when you have a Volcanic in play, a Duel in your hand, have a strong offensive combo, or an ability like Calamity Janet's that can use Missed! interchangeably as BANG! While you may consider storing up the Wells Fargo in your hand until you are in a good position, you should be wary of event cards, if Jesse Jones is in play, as well as cards that can steal or discard cards from your hand.

Stagecoach

Italian Name: Diligenza.

Symbology:

Translation: Draw 2 cards from the top of the deck.

Impact in Wild West Show: Discard the old Wild West Show event card. Flip over a new Wild West Show event card to be put into play.

Playable: On your turn only.

Suit and Value: 9♠ (explodes on dynamite), 9♠ (explodes on dynamite).

Card color: Brown.

Included in: BANG!.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Willy the Kid (good chance of drawing a BANG! that Willy has no limit of firing on his turn), Doc Holyday (extra cards can easily be converted to extra BANG! he can fire in addition to a BANG! on his turn), Sid Ketchum (extra cards can easily be used to regain a life point), Calamity Janet (Missed!/BANG! drawn can be used interchangeably), José Delgado (if he draws a blue card, he can discard it to draw 2 more), Sean Mallory (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards), Herb Hunter (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus gain a card bonus), Greg Digger (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus regain life points), Lee Van Kliff (It is likely he will draw a BANG! allowing him to duplicate the effect of another brown card; if he already has a BANG!, he can duplicate the effect of Stagecoach, drawing 4 cards!), Big Spencer (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards and also gain important cards to regain life points).

Works well in conjunction with: Volcanic, Duel (both help deplete excess BANG! potentially pushing you over your card limit).

Commentary: While it says draw 2, you are really only drawing 1 more, since the Stagecoach was 1 of the cards you drew, and it has no function besides giving you more cards. Nonetheless, you are drawing 1 more card this turn. Unlike Wells Fargo, it is unlikely that you will not be able to maximize the utility of Stagecoach. You should be able to use enough cards this turn, so that you do not have to discard due to being over your card limit. Regardless, Stagecoach still tends to work well when you have a Volcanic in play, a Duel in your hand, or have a strong offensive combo. On the whole, I wouldn't recommend storing up a Stagecoach in your hand for a better position. The risks are far fewer than with the Wells Fargo.

Pony Express

Symbology:

Translation: Draw 3 cards from the top of the deck. Since this is a green card, it means "Your next turn after playing this card, you may use Pony Express to draw 3 cards from the top of the deck."

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2, only.

Usable: Your next turn after you play it, during phase 2, only.

Suit and Value: Q♦.

Card color: Green.

Included in: Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing (and then using) this card: Willy the Kid (good chance of drawing a BANG! that Willy has no limit of firing on his turn), Doc Holyday (extra cards can easily be converted to extra BANG! he can fire in addition to a BANG! on his turn), Sid Ketchum (extra cards can easily be used to regain a life point), Calamity Janet (Missed!/BANG! drawn can be used interchangeably), José Delgado (if he draws a blue card, he can discard it to draw 2 more), Sean Mallory (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards), Herb Hunter (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus gain a card bonus), Greg Digger (He can draw more offensive cards to play in 1 turn to help him eliminate another player and thus regain life points), Lee Van Kliff (It is likely he will draw a BANG! allowing him to duplicate the effect of another brown card), Suzy Lafayette (she can play Pony Express and keep chain-drawing cards), Big Spencer (It is likely that he can store all drawn cards and also gain important cards to regain life points).

Characters less enhanced by playing (and then using) this card: Pixie Pete (hard not to run over card limit with the amount of cards drawn between his ability and the Pony Express), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; this is harder to do when he gains so many cards from Pony Express).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: Pat Brennan (Easy card for him to steal from other players to use), Gary Looter (If not many of the cards drawn are playable that turn, this will likely make the player exceed his card limit and thus have to discard cards that will become the possession of Gary Looter), Youl Grinner (ability activates by having fewer cards in his hand than other players; when another player gains so many cards from Pony Express it is likely he will have more cards in his hand than Youl Grinner).

Works well in conjunction with: Volcanic, Duel (both help deplete excess BANG! potentially pushing you over your card limit).

Commentary: While Pony Express has the same effect as Wells Fargo, you have to wait another turn after playing the card to use it. This makes the card far more riskier than Wells Fargo, which you might store in your hand, but since players do not know you have it (except in the case where it is drawn via General Store) it is far more protected. Chances are that the moment you play Pony Express that other players will immediately attempt to discard or steal it from you if they can. It is almost a guarantee if Pat Brennan is in play and he is not clearly your ally. If this is the case, I recommend discarding Pony Express. Even without Pat Brennan being in play, about half the time you will not reap the benefit of Pony Express yourself. So unless your allies are all dead, I still recommend playing it. There is no reason to store it up in your hand as you will still have to worry about the turn required to activate the card every time. So play it or discard it, unless you already know a player has a card that can discard/steal it from you. Storing it in play in front of you is ridiculous; if you can use it, use it immediately. Even if you do not get the best use out of it, it is better than giving it to another.

General Store

Italian Name: Emporio.

Description: When you play this card, reveal as many cards from the deck face up as the players still playing. Starting with you and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses one of those cards and puts it in his hand.

Playable: On your turn, during phase 2, only.

Suit and Value: 3♣, Q♠ (BANG!), A♠ (Dodge City).

Card Color: Brown.

Included in: BANG!, Dodge City.

Characters greatly enhanced by playing this card: Suzy Lafayette (She can play it and pick another card that she can play to keep chain-drawing), Lucky Duke (can reveal a crucial Barrel), Bart Cassidy (can reveal a Beer, making it easier for him to choose to take a hit), Jesse Jones (suggests to him which players he should steal from), Tequila Joe (can reveal Beer, useful for regaining 2 life points), Bill Noface (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for balancing cards drawn during his phase 1), Chuck Wengam (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for his ability to lose life points to draw cards), José Delgado (high chance of blue card being revealed in larger games, which he can pick, discard, and then draw 2 more cards), Youl Grinner (giving all other players cards makes it more likely for them to have more cards than him on their turns), Flint Westwood (tells him which players he should swap cards with), and Lee Van Kliff (provides a variety of brown cards to duplicate, or a BANG! to duplicate an already useful card with).

Characters less enhanced by this card: Uncle Will (Since he can play any card from his hand as a General Store, the General Store itself does not add much value, except that he can play 2 General Stores in a turn), Paul Regret (in larger games, playing a General Store may reveal guns that rivals can use to reach him with), and somewhat Calamity Janet (drawing a Missed! or BANG! when both are available can hint at her role).

Characters enhanced by others playing this card: Lucky Duke (can reveal a crucial Barrel), Bart Cassidy (can reveal a Beer, making it easier for him to choose to take a hit), Jesse Jones (suggests to him which players he should steal from), Sid Ketchum (Gains a card that he can discard with another to regain a life point), Doc Holyday (Gains a card that he can discard with another to fire a BANG!), Tequila Joe (can reveal Beer, useful for regaining 2 life points), Bill Noface (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for balancing cards drawn during his phase 1), Chuck Wengam (can reveal alcoholic beverage, useful for his ability to lose life points to draw cards), José Delgado (high chance of blue card being revealed in larger games, which he can pick, discard, and then draw 2 more cards), Youl Grinner (giving all other players cards makes it more likely for them to have more cards than him on their turns), Flint Westwood (tells him which players he should swap cards with), and Lee Van Kliff (provides a variety of brown cards to duplicate, or a BANG! to duplicate an already useful card with).

Characters less enhanced by others playing this card: Paul Regret (in larger games, playing a General Store may reveal guns that rivals can use to reach him with), and somewhat Calamity Janet (drawing a Missed! or BANG! when both are available can hint at her role).

Works well in conjunction with: a revealed Wells Fargo or Stagecoach.

Commentary: In larger games (at least in terms of living players), the General Store provides a player with the opportunity to draw a much needed card. In particular, being unable to reach a rival with BANG! is very annoying. The General Store provides a good chance of drawing a gun, scope, or binoculars that will help the player see further. Or if range isn't an issue, but you have a lot of BANG!, it might reveal a Volcanic. The General Store can provide a needed alcoholic beverage. It can reveal a card like Cat Balou or Panic! that can help you remove a particularly annoying card in play in front of another player. While it gives you an opportunity to get such needed cards, it also benefits all other players too (including your rivals). The benefit is disproportional to the other players, since the order of selection proceeds clockwise from the player who played General Store. Thus, the players to his left will pick cards before the players to his right. If the players to your right are your rivals, you should think of how they may get more of a benefit from the General Store than your team. Perhaps you need a card so bad that it outweighs this cost, but it is something to consider.

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