Shotgun King The Final Checkmate: Card Review and Enemy Guide

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Review: What I think of it and when you should consider picking it (or avoiding it)
Raiting: Up to 4 stars. * Rarely worth it. ** Niche, good with some builds. *** Good but not flawless. **** Amazing, always worth considering.
Synergies: Cards that pair nicely and work well together.
Anti-Syn: Cards that directly hinder or run counterproductive.

Review: Starting off fun, we have a substantial buff combined with a substantial debuff. This is a card you make your entire build around. Grab something to bring the firepower back up, load the board with enemy pawns, move up close and get ready to watch the numbers fly! A solid pick for the late game if you focused on gun boosts but can leave you wanting early on.
Raiting: **
Synergies: Blunderbuss, Crow’s Blessing
Anti-Syn: Pikemen, Unjust Decree

Review: Great for survivability, this one keeps enemies from crowding you. This means their attacks will be less precise and you never have to worry about being sandwiched between a Queen and Rook with the same speed. Also hilariously lock down a side of the board and watch the pawns shake in frustration as their turn comes and they have no legal moves. One downside I have noticed is that since pieces can’t get next to you, you won’t get those point-blank killshots without moving and this is especially noticeable on Knights and Bishops.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: High Focus, Cornered Despot
Anti-Syn: Pikemen, King’s Shoulders

Review: This is the best card in the game. Bar none. You know all those games you lost due to getting pinned? Every time you killed that pawn at the edge of your arch and let a Rook instakill you? This is an extra life, you reform about 2 squares away from wherever you died and take your next turn. This would be a great card even if it only worked once, but it refreshes every floor! I’ve heard this does NOT protect you from the Boss King’s vore kill… but I haven’t been able to test this yet. Also, it’s stackable.
Raiting: ****
Synergies: None
Anti-Syn: None

Review: A strong upside and a moderate downside. This is great for spray-and-pray as well as point-blank blasts but that arc will be felt even two squares away. You are sending out more pellets but if you’ve played for an hour, you know RBS can screw you. Don’t take risks and you have a decent pick. Works decent with other cards that bring your arch back in line too.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: A Piercing Truth, Engraved Scope
Anti-Syn: August Presence

Review: Another card I’m a big fan of. All the perks of Blunderbuss with a conditional downside. Either B-line for the side before shooting or make a sniper build and you can kill something every shot. Be wary of Rooks as they can lock down your precious edge. Also great for when you are getting chased around the board if you bought too many enemies. Just don’t get yourself pinned without an escape.
Raiting: ****
Synergies: Anything in the Sniper build, Mobility boosters
Anti-Syn: Cards that add Rooks

Review: You got lots of knights? Get this. Not too many knights? Eh the accuracy boost is still nice. Never a bad choice but the Black Cards you take will determine how often you get free turns.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: Cavalry, Unfaithful Steed
Anti-Syn: Cards that remove Knights

Review: A staple of the Sniper build and a helper for Spray-and-Pray. A good complimentary card though it doesn’t offer much on it’s own unless you want to bully the pawns from turn 1.
Raiting: **
Synergies: Sniper builds, A Piercing Truth
Anti-Syn: None

Review: Of the ammo boosting Black Cards, this is my favorite. The passive boost to range means that even if you don’t drain your reserve to the point you need boost, you’re still getting something. Also if you’ve fired all your shots with multiple barrels, you might have noticed it takes longer to regain ammo due to the single shot reloading, this alleviates that.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: Royal Alms, Unjust Decree
Anti-Syn: None

Review: One of the best cards… back in the beta demo. This got nerfed from a permanent big boost to accuracy to a right-click activated MASSIVE accuracy boost. Obviously great on Sniper bullds. Due to losing a turn to reactivate every time you move/reload you’ll need support cards to slow the advance, extra barrels help a lot too.
Rating: **
Synergy: Extra Barrel, The Moat
Anti-Syn: Speed boosting effects

Review: The vanilla ammo booster. Not a bad pick, but there are more exciting options.
Raiting: **
Synergies: Royal Alms, Unjust Decree
Anti-Syn: None

Review: An excellent boost with a minor downside. If you got used to this game on Easy and Normal, this will make you feel much more comfortable on Hard and up where you are down to single shot. Gives you more options and increases DPS, and it’s stackable!
Raiting: ****
Synergies: Engraved Scope, Unjust Decree
Anti-Syn: None

Review: Another part of the Sniper build but a great pick on it’s own too. Improved damage and accuracy means you can reliably killshot just about anything from 2 squares away, in addition to more effectiveness at long range. Just make sure you don’t get rushed down and you will have fun with this. Stackable for more damage and accuracy under the same conditions.
Raiting: ****
Synergies: August Presence, The Moat
Anti-Syn: Blunderbuss

Review: Another boring one… but this is boring done right! A single point of damage means you can now pointblank those Rooks and Queens that get in your face, an important threshold. And with no penalty like Blunderbuss, you don’t have to worry about RBS screwing you over.
Rating: ****
Synergies: A Piercing Truth, Unjust Decree
Anti-Syn: Throne Room

Review: Like Ermine Belt but less boring. This is for the sustained fight, the player who likes to take out everything before moving in on the King. A fair way to play if you have the firepower to keep from getting swarmed. Warning: Theocracy causes ALL Bishops to get +2 health.
Synergy: Kingly Alms, Unjust Decree
Anti-Syn: Theocracy

Review: Grenades! These are for the gambler, high risk high reward. They can eat through ammo fast, the farther you throw them the more likely they are to bounce away, and they CAN KILL YOU if caught in the blast. However if you have a swarm of pawns chocking the front lines, this is not only a great way to thin them out, but take out the big pieces behind them. Not for every build but can be fun.
Rating: **
Synergies: Revolution, Ritual Dagger, Ruins, Small Fry Harvest,
Anti-Syn: None

Review: This one’s a bit silly and there’s some that the card doesn’t explain. You pick up a piece within reach and get a free turn. Then, you carry that piece around until you take your next shot. You next shot does not use your gun, but instead you chuck the piece you were carrying at your target, dealing 3 damage to each. If the piece you were carrying had more than 3 health, it lands next to your target… It’s not bad at all but I usually use it accidentally when trying to just pointblank something. Could be useful if you’re otherwise in checkmate. Needs additional testing on Iron Maiden…
Raiting: **
Synergies: None
Anti-Syn: None

Review: Like Extra Barrel, this will help new players tackle higher difficulties. Extra Soul Slots are very nice but personally, I only use them when I’m otherwise trapped. Has some powerful synergies and hey, free bullet.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: Gradual Absolution, Speed Chess, Unfaithful Steed
Anti-Syn: None

Review: This thing has killed me more times than it’s saved me. The knockback is inconsistent unless you get it twice and if a piece is knocked back into a potion that has a line on you… game over (especially bad with knights). It also makes going for the King harder as he’s likely to be blown away from your gun and behind surviving pieces. Unless you’ve got The Moat… buyer beware. Need to test if it has any effect on Iron Maiden.
Rating: *
Synergies: The Moat
Anti-Syn: None

Review: Back in the beta, this was the best card along side Engraved Scope. Now it has a fire range penalty and it’s still pretty decent. You win as soon as the King is dead and this basically takes a full shot off his health. Powerful if you can capitalize on it.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: Crow’s Blessing
Anti-Syn: A Piercing Truth

Review: Why pick being ‘Move’ and ‘Shoot’ when you can do both! This card enables otherwise impossible plays, greatly increasing your survivability. Also, you can take advantage of the lock-on even without moving to guarantee a perfectly aimed shot (note, RBS can sill f**k you over). Arguably the best right-click option.
Rating: ****
Synergies: None
Anti-Syn: None

Review: A gift that keeps on giving. The penalty to King and Queen health is great and brings Queens into the one-shot threshold without a firepower upgrade, the movement penalty guarantees that they won’t be harassing you until you’ve taken out half the pieces already if not already won. What’s more, the movement penalty applies to reinforcement from Genderqueer AND promoted Pawns! For the full duration!
Rating: ****
Synergies: King’s Mistress, Genderqueer
Anti-Syn: None

Review: A game changer. This one is more useful the more non-pawn pieces you have to face. Very high potential, especially with Sniper builds but not without a catch. The Moat also hinders you should you try to use mobility tools to cut across. That said it is quite fun to kite the remaining Rooks and Queen to one side of The Moat, only to cut back across and go after the lonely King while they struggle to cross again.
Rating: ***
Synergies: August Presence, Rightful Curtsy, Speed Chess
Anti-Syn: Unfaithful Steed, Wand of Wings

Review: Like souls in general, a great mobility tool I often forget to use. Knight souls are easy to stock up on as they are usually the first pieces you kill in a round so fueling up is easy. Note however that you can not move diagonally more than your usual 1 square from what you can normally as of writing.
Rating: **
Synergies: Courteous Jousting. Majestic Censer
Anti-Syn: Gradual Absolution

Review: Another fun one to build your playstyle around. This one cranks up your DPS the more barrels you have and lets you shred whatever you point at. Your ammo will drop fast and it’s useless if you don’t have more than 1 shot loaded but I can’t knock its effectiveness and powerful effect on the board.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: Blunderbuss, Extra Barrel(s)
Anti-Syn: A Piercing Truth

Review: You won’t need this every round but it can come in clutch. It moves ALL enemy piece that aren’t already at the top of the board, giving you several more turns before the pawns reach promotion and potentially getting yourself out of a pin.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: The Moat
Anti-Syn: None

Review: While all wands are good, this one is the most boring. Free movement up to 3 squares is certainly enough to get you out of trouble though.
Raiting: ***
Synergies: None
Anti-Syn: The Moat

Layout is the same as Black Cards but with new Rating guidlines.
Raiting: Up to 4 stars. * Very dangerous. ** Risky but workable. *** Mostly safe. **** Almost free, always worth considering.