Ichordite
By Bryant Durell
July 30, 1997
Foundations
5 Friends of the Dragon
4 Hackers
4 Sinister Priest
Hitters
5 Ex-Commandos
3 Johnny Tso
Events
3 Slo-Mo Vengeance
4 Pocket Demons
3 Dirk Wisely's Gambit
States
4 Fusion Rifles
5 Pump Action Shotguns
4 Flying Guillotines
4 Both Guns Blazing
Sites
3 Turtle Beach
5 Festival Circle
4 Whirlpool of Blood
Notes:
60 cards even. It doesn't spam, and while 60 cards may seem like a lot
for a speed deck, bear in mind that only 12 of them cost more than 1 power,
not counting the sites. 16 of them are free. Even better, the BGBs help
you cycle and Johnny Tso makes guns cheap.
The foundation characters generally double as hitters, so the lack
of hitters is not a big deal. One needs to be careful about playing the
Ex-Commandos and the Johnnys -- make sure you have an unturned Festival
Circle before you go to town.
Don't screw around with defense. Defense is not important. Offense
is important, and you should use it to the hilt. Your characters are way
too important to use in defense. Don't waste them. It is OK to use your
Turtle Beaches defensively, particularly if it'll force your opponent to
use his Whirlpools on his turn rather than on yours. The same goes for
the Fusion Rifles.
You shouldn't worry about losing sites, though. The Pocket Demons are
your real power generation, along with a sometimes boost from the Gambits,
although they're more useful as resources than as power generators. The
Gambits will sometimes jump-start an aggressive turn for you, but don't
be afraid to play them for the resource alone. The BGBs and the Guillotines
allow you to explode without very much power, and the Guillotines are your
key to offing those annoying characters. Your opponent either doesn't intercept
your characters, in which case you take sites, or he does, in which case
you play the Guillotine and kill off that pesky Chinese Doctor who's at
the same site. (And unturn your Ex-Commando, if that's the flavor of the
day.)
Their power isn't so good that they're worth putting in any random
Lotus deck, but in combination with the BGB they fly. The Slo-Mo Vengeances
are not that important; one could replace them with Who's The Big Man Now?
for an interesting effect. However, they do keep your opponent guessing,
which is always a good thing, and they
generally mean you can get that one key card out of your smoked pile.
I had more than 3 when I first built this, but it didn't help at all. You
could replace the Friends with Redeemed Gunmen, but in my local circle
I was *never* getting to use their ability. On the other hand, they do
force you to play offense rather than defense. No huge arguments one way
or another.
Last modified: October 25, 1997.