Strange things are happening in Gomorra. Yeah, Sheriff Coleman had his own way of handlin' the law. Some folks complained about that. Now, since Coleman's demise, Nathaniel Hunter has had to step in. A nice enough fella, sure enough, but not sure that he has the cojones to handle things, when push comes to shove. Nor the experience, come to that. Sure, Coleman put a lot of stock in him. That don't mean he's the best man for the job. Maybe Bilton would have been the man for the job, maybe Corky if she had survived the shootout. But the townsfolk have spoken, so we'll have to see if the new approach beats the old one. Ya gotta admit, it's not like the crime level went down much under the old ways.

The Law Dogs

Illustration by Paul (Prof) Herbert

You get one Victory Point every time you put a Wanted dude into Jail. You get one Victory Point every time you ace a Wanted dude who has more than one Influence. Starting Ghost Rock: 19 Starting Production: +3

The first and probably best of the two Outfit abilities. But what do I know. IMO, any built-in way for your Outfit to get Control and/or Victory Points puts you seriously ahead of anyone who doesn't.

The strategy seems real simple to me. Make folks Wanted. Use Lynch Mob, Judge Henry Warwick, and Clean Up the Town to go after Wanted Dudes. Ace Wanted Dudes. Get points. Put down Deeds and get more Control Points. Win game. Repeat as necessary.

The Courthouse and the Jail make this a much more likely proposition. Ace them, send them to Jail instead for a VP, then use the Courthouse to Ace them for good (and get another VP).

For real fun, toss in an Icehouse, send the Aced Wanted Dude there from Jail, and the next time someone else goes to the Icehouse, Ace the Wanted Dude again for a third VP.

What else have the Law Dogs got going for them? Studs - lots of Studs. And the ones that ain't Studs got decent Bullet Ratings, so that if you make them a Stud, you can have some real fun.

I mention it elsewhere, but giving Nate Hunter (the "original" version) a Pearl-Handled Revolver makes him very dangerous indeed. Giving him a Shotgun or Double-Barreled Shotgun, and using Crack Shot to make him a Stud, can make him several times worse, and give such feared gunslingers as Black Jack himself a run for their money.

Unlike some Outfits, the Law Dogs don't really diversify. They've got no Mads and no Hucksters. They've got only one Blessed (the experienced MacPhearson) and just picked up one Shaman (Redbrook). Confessions, however, is a very handy Miracle for the good Reverend to use, and makes the experienced version a good choice for your starting Posse.

In fact, the trouble with the Law Dogs Outfit is less Acing the Wanted Dudes, than making them Wanted Dudes. Confession is a good start there, but Warrant is your ideal weapon here. Otherwise you're going to mostly have to count on your opponent doing stuff to make his Dudes Wanted, which is an iffy proposition.

Their other problem is that the Law Dogs ain't cheap when it comes to Upkeep. And you've got the Courthouse and Jail to factor in there as well. Wathc your costs carefully, and make sure to have some Deeds to keep your in-town income up.

Basically, the Law Dogs can count on their Outfit ability and some in-town Deeds for the win, and emphasize combat-type abilities in their deck.

Hunter's Office - Law Dogs

Illustration by Thomas Manning

All Weapons you are putting into play have their cost halved, rounded down. Noon: One of your Dudes calls out a Wanted Dude at the same location. You may perform this action any number of times per turn. Starting Ghost Rock: 18 Starting Production: +3

Okay, a new expansion and a new Outfit. I guess I'm not particularly wowed by this one, since as I noted above, it doesn't give you Control/Victory Points. That is going to make it inherently somewhat weaker than the Collegium, or Sweetrock, or the Flock.

So what can Hunter's Office Law Dogs do? Well, they get cheap weapons. A Pearl-Handled Revolver is now free! Most of your other gun-type stuff is equally inexpensive.

That leaves the second ability, which is...okay. According to the FAQ, you can use it even if Booted. That's not bad. However, if you played with the original Law Dogs Outfit, then you've probably already figured out ways to call out Wanted Dudes and make sure they don't run away. Also, since it's a card effect you can call out Dudes at their home. Good against Turtle decks, I suppose, but requires a good control of Town Square and/or the hope that they don't keep most of their Dudes at Town Square.

Basically, though, you're left with the question of what to do. It's probably almost not worth it to make them Wanted, since the advantage you get from making them Wanted isn't that great for the Hunter's Office Dogs.

In this case, it's back to your basic game win. Get out Control Point-generators, Ace Dudes, go for a "normal" win. There are better ways to get Control Points than the Courthouse and Jail, so I wouldn't waste deck space on them myself. Your mileage may vary.

I got to admit, I don't see that Hunter's Office brings any new strengths to the Law Dogs. Unless I've really got a weapon fetish, I plan on sticking with the original Outfit and seeing how it goes.