SoSE – Shadow Gunslinger

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
Dexter Drake - Witch Hunter Captain 6 4 4 4.0

ElseWhere · 3777

I'm a magician, son. That means, with the aid of a bit of smoke and a couple mirrors, I make the impossible possible.

Never mind what I did before. Never mind that these flowers–that coin behind your ear–come to my hand no faster than the pair of automatic pistols holstered under my jacket. Never mind that some of that smoke comes not from a machine or a fire but some unwholesome stirring that leaves the air cloudy and angles ever-so-slightly non-Euclidean.

I'm just a magician. I make things appear...and I make them disappear.


Hey folks! Welcome to another Secrets of Somewhere Else, coming out of the shadows with a new thematic deckbuild. This one is Shadow Gunslinger Dexter Drake, appearing and disappearing from shadows and corners to blast away with his matched pistols, then dissolving in the breeze to rematerialize somewhere else!

As may be obvious, he is intended as a dedicated fighter/evader. The .25 Automatics that perform as his signature weapons are intended to be their upgraded forms from Into the Maelstrom, meaning that when he uses one of his evade spells to exhaust an enemy, he can immediately put one to two bullets in it without spending an action.

Sleight of Hand and Swift Reload are intended to dramatically increase the number of shots he gets each deck cycle; after all, with the sheer number of shots he could reasonably fire in a round, he'll burn through four ammo like lightning.

I also tried to build a decently powerful resource engine that he can then pour into Hard Knocks, allowing him to fight high against even the toughest enemies, and in a truly desperate pinch evade with his actual agility (gasp!).

If/when I test the deck, I'll especially be looking to see if I can reliably pass tests well enough to cut down on my skills, or if I draw through my deck swiftly enough or too slowly.

The Side Deck includes other considerations for the deck. Blood Pact in particular is quite powerful but risky; if you're in a campaign with manageable doom thresholds or limited Ancient Evils, a pair of those could easily be subbed in for some skills and/or Hard Knocks. The other skills and boosters are ones I'll consider after I've tested the deck.

If you'd like to take this deck, or a similar version, out for a spin, I recommend playing in a 3-4p group with an additional enemy management character (or at least hybrid). With Ineffable Truth and his guns, Dex can pour out a good amount of damage, and with Mists of R'lyeh his mobility is increased, but he may need a backup (or a primary for him to serve as the backup for). And he obviously needs to be paired with at least one powerful cluever, since that 2 INT won't be picking up much in the way of secrets.

Thanks for checking out my deck!

teleports away

4 comments

Mar 28, 2021 Dai · 1202

I must congratulate you: Reading this deck is legitimately the first time I have been interested by Dexter Drake. I'll want to make some modifications, but the core combo of evade spell + 2x .25 Automatic (2) is such a cool image that I have to try it.

Awesome work!

Mar 29, 2021 ElseWhere · 3777

@DaiThank you so much! I have to admit to exactly the same feeling; for as long as I've known about Dexter, I've felt like he SHOULD be really cool and exciting to me, but I've never been able to actually get inspired by him. I got close a couple times with a Curse build and an Enchanted Blade/Blood Pact build, but neither got finished because I just wasn't invested enough.

Then I saw the .25 Automatic (2), and began running through off-class investigators who might benefit from them. Dexter came to mind and BAM, instantly intrigued about the combination with evade spells. So this is the first Dexter deck I've actually finished, and I'm very proud of how it has come together.

Overall, it feels like a very Mystic take on Rogue, and combined with the crazy action compression and the delicious thematics I expect it to be quite a lot of fun to play. I'm so glad you feel the same, and I very much look forward to seeing your take on the same core combo!

Mar 29, 2021 MrGoldbee · 1391

17 assets seems a lot, even for Dex.

Mar 29, 2021 ElseWhere · 3777

@MrGoldbee Which would you suggest I cut? Each deck cycle has 16 evades, which is probably enough for the whole scenario but I also don't expect to cycle more than once so I don't think I want to cut down my evasion spells. The Automatics are obviously necessary, and Backpack is there in order to supplement Molly digging for them. Hard Knocks and Pickpocketing tie in to my economy engine/payoffs, and Liquid Courage is mostly there to make the Backpacks feel a little less pointless (as well as providing soak, draw, and theme).

So I agree that it seems like a considerable amount, but I also can't logically isolate anything other than maybe Backpack that isn't serving a useful purpose.