Tara Tactics (long article)

[SpiralngCadavr]

Another bit of an update on the article (using yellow text to highlight changes, since it's seriously long now).

 

I also worked on a bunch of reference cards and added Dead Justice (link).

 

[SevenSins]

Lovely stuff, I'll have to try tara more once i get the new book.

So I take it you steer a bit away from the enforcer heavy outcast builds? Convict gunslingers etc...

[SpiralngCadavr]

Yeah, I tend to cap lists at around 2 in the 8SS+ count when running Tara, and fill the rest with cheaper stuff with a preference towards range, but I've also tended towards playing her around 40 point games, so it's probably largely a combination of the coincidence of often running her in said smaller games, and my preference towards out-activating or at least matching my opponent's activation count, regardless of Master... which is a long way of saying it works for me, but don't take it as any sort of composition rule.

[SevenSins]

When thinking 50 stones, taking the rat pack (wretch and some rats) to get a load of activations would that have a place in taras crew? (not very thematic but still a usefull package in many crews)

Considering just your "staple" bunch that still opens up a lot of options all considering scenarios and such, good stuff as I said before

[LordFezzington]

This will all prove very useful when my smokey Tara from Black Friday turns up. Thanks SC.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Sevensins, I'm interested in trying the rat module, particularly since Nix looks to have some decent synergy with Karina's summons now so it definitely looks to have some merit if going for a non-cannon sensibility, but I don't have the minis yet, so haven't given it a whirl yet. The theory looks sound, though.

 

LordFezzington, good to hear

[izikial]

Nice article, something in becoming more fond of is a desolation engine as your bomb.

He can heal to negate taking 1 damage from Tara to gain fast, if he is a sacrifice to kill 1 or 2 important enemy's early on with the expectation of dieing its ok as you gain 2 abombs (that's more checks for the enemy and more people to gain fast) if you take alyce then you can give it reactive for a huge damage burst

Take Lazarus as another reactivate target if its worth it, both love fast so they can go into position and the use there (2) action and both fit the close support role

[izikial]

Best on clumpy non blast resist crews

Crew comp something like

Tara

Knowledge

Symbiot

Karina

0ss upgrade

Desolation engine

Rusty

Laz

Then either sue for turf or rekoning without mobile schemes or 2 wretches for more mobility.

Karina is take or leav, if you want to use summoned crooligans for objectives and things sure but if you wont get the use out of her then take her out and maybe give alyce the summon upgrade to make more deso engins

[SpiralngCadavr]

That's a really expensive/small set of models in my opinion- how are you getting mileage out of Lazarus going down to 1 damage for reactivate, without having a good volume of models to protect him with a late activation? If I saw that, I'd be doing everything I could to land that one hit on Lazarus, and he's got pretty terrible DF, so there's not much stopping that death... compared to the Desolation Engine's spawning/heavy regen rate, Lazarus being able to heal once seems like he's very vulnerable by comparison.

 

Also, how are you getting mileage out of Crooligans? I've been focusing on summoning Autopsies for flexibility of range and pseudo-regen, but, well, what are you doing with their inability to interact when they arrive/slapped with slow the next turn? I've just always felt like it's too restrictive compared to a little more muscle.

 

I've mostly been looking at the crooligans as something to boost a WP-stripping emphasis and then doing what they can later, but I'm not seeing them as that effective summons for objective running...

[izikial]

The Lazarus reactivate is very Nich I admit, I use it when the enemy has a small elite crew to, on something like reckoning and you can match or beat there activations with summons and a couple of abombs, and you really need that second kill for the point so you accept you're losing him next turn and protect the rest of your stuff so they still only get one. Also good for last turn stuff as Tara has a little more control over when the last turn is. Its not a staple I'm just saying the option is there.

The crooligans are something I can spit out almost every turn and can either be flung by Tara into a bored edge for something like recon or used as a temporary reinforcement, as you said my list lacks activations, but it doesn't lack damage so I tend to move my bulk forward and the first crooligan activation they just run in use mist and lower wp, then next turn Tara plops them out wherever to go and do there job, I don't need front line fighters I need activations (so they just stay alive) and objectives, turn 1 and 2 if I summon them then turn 2 and 3 they can run of to do there job. If I was in the thick of it with no objectives like power ritual then I switch to autopsies, its just as I lack runners that's what I make.

My meta has a huge fear of big models, especially ones associated with Levi, so by bringing the big boy elite crew my opponent is already thinking "well I'm done, I need to kill them" so they tend to focus on my fast brick and that's when summoned crooligans can run of and do there job unhindered,

On a number of occasions I have also duped my opponent into relaxing by taking something like power ritual and just going down the middle, they think I'm going for there corner so build there wall and forsake the flank, then when I summon a crooligan on the flank they move to protect it (out of instinct) next turn Tara resummons it for real on the other flank and it gose to work.

We have a very new group hear so were all finding our feat, and I love big guys. So I may be doing it wrong and in time ill get shut down, but for now its what wins me games.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Interesting thoughts.

 

Yeah, at least in my meta, I find that small elite crews get wrecked by volume unless they've got some very good shenanigans, so I expect that's likely about the group.

 

I hadn't thought about the misdirection thing- while it relies on your opponent messing up (since if they know what you're doing, they know that the model will drop out before it can do anything), it's still one more thing they can mess up, if you're not sacrificing much in said gamble.

[Kadeton]

If I was looking to use the Desolation Engine I'd want a bit more support for it - I like the idea of Alyce giving it Reactivate, but then you need a way of Burying it safely (since it will be on 1 Wd) which basically means a Death Marshal (you could also do it with Hannah but that's way too many points sunk into elite models). I'd prefer to have a Rat pack as well to burn out those extra activations and make sure that Tara's delivery happens after the enemy crew is fully activated - that's essentially an entire crew focused on prepping a single model.

 

Sadly I think this still compares poorly to Killjoy in most areas. A Fast, Reactivating Desolation Engine gets what, 7 attacks? Fast Killjoy gets 4 with the possibility of Onslaught on each, and a better damage spread. The overall package is much cheaper, since you don't need Alyce (or a Death Marshal) to make it work, and while the Engine will likely put out more damage in its one turn of glory, it just doesn't feel cost-effective to me.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Alyce's Reactivate is actually specifically mutually exclusive with Bury protection.

 

And yeah, I'll need to try the Desolation Engine, but, for now, it's just so pricey.

[izikial]

Yh its a pain, alyce needs to be were the engine is poping out to reactivate it after the first assault, bit of a pain.

[Kadeton]

Forums whyyy I only clicked once... 

[jonahmaul]

Thanks for the detailed article.  It was a lot to take in and as with all tactica needs some actual playtime to see how it fits together but I'm hoping to get Tara on the board soon so this is very interesting.

[izikial]

Ok, I have come round to autopsies in a big way simple CUs of there reactivate, I used to use crooligans as they stayed alive and my autopsies didn't, but by using them more for range and just burning my opponents hand I now get more activations from reactivate, if the opponent didn't burn all there cards then there is more chance if things like glimpse going of as they didn't use cards to stop it

[SpiralngCadavr]

Yep, that's a lot of why I like Autopsies- forces your opponent into some tough choices if they're not holding a trash card to protect their hand. Also, yeah, they're not melee pieces at all- they're definitely there for their pistols.

I still haven't really gotten a feel for Crooligans yet, and thanks for those earlier thoughts on how you run them.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Just giving the thread a bump, since I've spent a while exploring Hannah's use in the crew, along with a few other updates.

[SevenSins]

Yet another crew that Hannah does good work in nice writeup on her, she's a strong hench for sure

[SpiralngCadavr]

Thanks, and yeah, seems like she'd basically work well in any list that could use a combat anchor and has at least a couple (1) spells not on your Master.

[decker_cky]

Ohhh...I like the Wp8 casket trick. It's too bad it has to go off on Ca5 to begin. 

[SpiralngCadavr]

Thanks

 

Yeah, it's not any easier to cast, but once it is, it's really strong, if your opponent isn't ready for it or just doesn't have the cards for the initial resist.

[Lupercal]

I love your article and went back to it last night without even noticing this bump to exclaim "Look at this whole yellow section on Hannah!"  Good to see you are still updating and changing it as you play more. 

 

Maybe I would mention that Lazarus has a few fun tricks like assimilate with a Hodgepodge effigy allowing for more of "The Mist" and Hannah can make a new entry of assimilate for even more mist it if you want to be silly about it.  Or she can assimilate the grenade launcher and you can start blasting away.  I run the hodgepodge much more situationally but I usually run Lazarus over the Strongarm Suit with Hannah just because I think the options it gives her to self heal and assimilate are more useful than copying the Strongarms "charge up".  Although of course the strongarm would be better in some situations.  It is too bad they are so expensive that it is difficult to run both with Hannah and still fit in other support models. 

 

Hannah, a Librarian, and Lazarus together just have so many options and so much ranged (and melee) firepower and healing between them they can really adapt to a lot of situations.

 

Your article makes me want to try her as resser every time I read it.  MUST RESIST IMPULSE TO BUY HORDES OF ZOMBIES.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Cool stuff- I'm actually considering branching out and trying Tara as pure/heavy-FK largely because I've also had a bunch of positive experiences with them individually, so it's nice to hear some thoughts about running a bunch of them.

 

Also, I'm always glad to hear people like these articles- while they're a lot of fun, they also take kinda' forever to put together, so it's rewarding to see people getting something out of them.

 

On Tara as a Resser, even though I like her there, I think she fits better as an Outcast most of the time (though being able to summon a Rogue Necromancy may become addictively fun). Do you mean you're not running her as a Resser, or not taking advantage of Karina's summons? Because the latter may be criminal.

 

BTW, where do you play in the Bay? My parents live in the East Bay, and I still go down a few times a year, so I've been thinking about bringing some stuff down at some point, if I know I can get a game or two in.