Hamelin Tactica: Drown them in Rats

[PraetorDragoon]

Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at writing a Tacitca for use. I'm writing it for a master which I played a lot (and influenced) during the Beta, so I know a few of his tricks. The main idea is to share these with new players attempting to start him or old players trying some new tricks out.

 

I speak, of course, of Hamelin.

 

To make things easier, first blocks will describe the master without any upgrades. Improvents on certain things will be noted under the respective upgrade section.

 

Stats

First thing to see are his stats, which are pretty decent, yet average, across the board. A good wound pool and great wp, his other stats are among the average mold. He however, lacks any station characterstics (living, undead, etc) which means there are quite a few abilities that don't work on him, wheter good or bad.

 

Lastly, he starts with a meager cache of 1. Remember this when construction your crews.

 

Defenses

Hamelin has two abilities toward defense: Nihilism, and Lure of Emptiness. He doesn't have any damage migation abilities, such as Armor, or Hard to Wound.

 

Lure of Emptiness grants backup lives with nearby stolen. When Hamelin is killed or sacrificed, he may sacrifice a nearby stolen instead and heal some wounds. An useful ability that migates a bit Hamelin's innate squishiness. However, watch out for having a lack of stolen in a critical moment, as Hamelin is easily hit and takes the full brunt of an onslaught.

 

Nihilism, on the other hand, is one of the most powerful defensive abilities in the game. It allows you to ignore any conditions as you see fit. This is entirely optional, and allows you to still gain the condition if you like it. Perfect if your opponent is handing positives mixed with negatives, as you get to ignore the negative conditions while keeping the postive ones. Don't forget to thank your opponent after that.

 

Another thing to note is the Tyrant characterstic. This grants weaknesses towards the infamous Relic Hammers. Keep them away from Hamelin's face! (Relic Hammer bearers are Johann, The Captain, and Taelor)

 

Blighted

Blighted is the condition that Hamelin and his friends spreads out like candy. What does it do, you ask? 

 

Absolutely nothing.

 

Don't let this discourage you! While I am saying that it does nothing, it does have important tricks to consider. The most important and deadly to remember is Bleeding Disease. This nasty spell deals damage equal to the current blighted stack to an enemy. It does not remove the stack, so you can freely fire away, racking huge damage for only a few AP spend. There are also other tricks with certain models, but we'll leave that for later.

 

Blighted increases on it's own at the end of turn. Nifty right?

 

Rats

Hamelin wouldn't be Hamelin without his little rats. One rat is an unintersting sight, but there are far more hiding right out there. Rats spawn for free when an enemy within 6 of Hamelin dies. Other models can also spawn them. Rats are weak, cheap, small, and pathetic. They think so too, so they swarm together when there are four of them close to each other. (friendly or enemy) The resulting Rat Kings are more intimidating, providing a nasty way of getting rid of scheme markers, as well as improved damage output. (it's a little better)

 

Due to the free rats, expect to always being able to out activate enemies. 

 

Actions

Hamelin has several actions open to him. First of all, the Black Staff is his basic melee attack. It has a unimpressive damage track of 1/2/4, but ml 6 is nothing to scoff at. It has always access to two basic triggers, one which hand out blighted and another which increases damage by the blighted on the target, to a maxium of +3. His second action, are the Pipes, which is basically a  lure. It has an auto trigger that deals damage and moves the target further if it has blighted. Lastly, bleeding disease has been covered already.

 

Under tactical actions, he has a Lure Malifaux Citizen, a (0) that allows him to summon a Stolen in base contact. Stolen are jeleous and murder all non-stolen totems summoned this way. If you spend a soulstone, you are capable of hitting a trigger that allows him to do it all again. (sans trigger)

 

Upgrades

Of course, there are always upgrades, and Hamelin is no exception.

 

The Plague

First of his upgrades, Virulent denies any removal of Blighted within 6 of Hamelin. Prefect for letting enemies build larger stacks of blighted.

 

Secondly, it allows the usage of two triggers, both which trigger automaticly. The first hands out blighted, which is handy for putting blighted on ranged. The second only goes of on blighted+4, but grants the target a condition that forces the enemy to discard two cards for each interact action... Or it simpely fails. Putting blighted on range is

 

The Piper

Hamelin's near-auto-take limited upgrade grants two powerful abilities. Irresistable Dance, and Obey.

 

Ireresistable Dance forbids enemies from ending charges within 6 of Hamelin. Protecting him and his crew from charges, it negates one of the weaknesses Hamelin has. 

 

Obey with a build in suit is a very powerful tool in any master's crew, and Hamelin is no different.

 

Tools of the Tyrant

This upgrade grants triggers to the Black Staff, as well providing even more interact denial.

 

Unhealty pallor allows Hamelin to heal for each blighted model within 3. Blight your friends first, and then use them as health packages! Remember that blighted doesn't do anything when not forced upon you....

 

The second trigger puts blighted on a single target within 3" of the damaged model. It allows you to put blighted on certain elusive models hiding away from your ranges. It has it's usages whithin certain combo's, such as setting up the 1 AP charges using Drawn to Contagation.

 

The main selling point of Tools, however, is Face The Inevitable, a 6 that let's interact actions of enemies fail unless they discard a card. Suddely delivering messages, or distracting becomes a lot harder to do.

 

Sewer King

Last of the four Hamelin restricted upgrades, Sewer King grants Infiltration (Lost) allowing you to hire up to four out of faction Lost models. Currently they are Crooligans, Baby Kade, Iggy, and Candy. More on them later.

 

It also grants Useless Toy, a (0) that let's you sacrifice any model of choice to draw two cards. If a stolen is sacrificed, enemy models within 3 of the stolen get blighted. Of course, you wouldn't want to kill stolen off all the time, as sometimes it's better to get rid of a near-dead model that has already activated. Or you could just kill rats.

 

Infectious Melody

A Nihilist option, infectious melody allows Peons and Minions to gain fast at the start of their activation. They die at the end of that activation, going out in a blaze of glory. Sometimes you just need that 1 additional AP.

 

Survialist

Not Hamelin exclusive, but deserved a special metion here. Most importantly, it grants him ridicilous levels of defense in the form of Hard to Kill. Hard to Kill works hand in hand with Lure of Emptiness, soaking attacks in tandem. First, hard to kill goes off, reducing you to 1 wound. Then, lure of emptiness goes off, healing you above Hard to Kill thresshold.. It's certainly worth the ss if you find that you die too often.

 

Oh, it also grants on healing flips. 

 

 

Spreading & Utilizing Blighted

Decided to make a list of sources & blighted utilities.

 

Spreading Blighted

For all intents and purposed, Rats & Rat Kings are immune to Blighted.

• Diseased gives blighted to enemies that activate within 3. Source: Obedient Wretch & The Stolen, ability.
• The Taint trigger gives Blighted +1 for each in the final duel total. Source: Hamelin, Black Staff.
• The Decaying trigger gives Blighted +1. Source: Hamelin, Pipes. Requires The Plague upgrade.
• The Contagious Touch trigger gives Blighted +1 to a model within 3" and LOS of the target when damaging. Source: Hamelin, Black Staff. Requires Tools of the Tyrant upgrade.
• Useless Toy, when you sacrifice a Stolen with this action, all enemy models within 3 of the sacrificed Stolen gain Blighted +1. Source: Hamelin. Requires Sewer King upgrade.
• Feed On Anima gives Blighted +1 on a hit. Source: Nix
• Rusty Trap gives Blighted +1 on a hit. Source: Rat Catcher
• Swarm of Yellow Teeth gives Blighted +1 on a hit. Source: Rat King.
• The Spray of Filth trigger gives Blighted +1 to all models 6 when the target is killed. Source: Rat King.
• Yellow Teeth gives Blighted +1/+2/+3 depending on the damage flip. Source: Malifaux Rat
• Drink Spirit gives blighted to all within 4 unless a Wp test is passed. Nihilist models are immune Source: Nix

Using Blighted

• Bleeding Disease deals damage equal to the Blighted condition of the target. Source: Hamelin, Nix, Stolen & Obedient Wretch.
• The Black Death deals damage equal to the Blighted condition of the target, to a maxium of 3. This is a seperate damage source. Source: Hamelin.
• Voracious Rats summons a Malifaux Rat when a model with Blighted is killed within 6. Source: Hamelin & Rat Catcher
• Pipes moves the target equal to it's Cg when the target is blighted. Source: Hamelin
• The Sick In Bed trigger gives the target the Sick In Bed condition if it's blighted condition is 4 or greater. Source: Hamelin, Pipes. Requires The Plague upgrade.
• The Unhealthy Pallor trigger heals Hamelin for each model with Blighted within 3. Source: Hamelin, Black Staff. Requires Tools of the Tyrant upgrade.
• Models with Blighted +4 within 6 of an activated Plague Pit can't take interact actions. Source: Nix
• The Quarantine trigger increases the attack damage by 2 if the target has Blighted +3 before the action is declared. Source: Rat Catcher, Rusty Trap.
• Models with Drawn to Contagion can charge models with Blighted as a (1) action. Source: Rat King & Nix, Hollow

[PraetorDragoon]

Vermin & Friends

 

The Totems

Hamelin has access to several totems, but you can only choose one of them!

 

The Stolen

The Stolen are rare 3, but don't have a rule that let you start with more then one. It's only a limit on how many you can summon. They have a stat line that's worse then rats, but have other tricks availabe to them to make up for it. Insignificant is basic for peons, sickly lets them count as blighted when killed (Important for voracious rats). Their more important abilities are Diseased and Horrible Realization. The first is a 3 that gives enemies in the aura blighted when they activated. The second is a 3 when they are killed or sacrificed. Enemies in the pulse need to pass a lowish wp test or gain paralyzed. As their actions, they have a forgettable melee attack, the powerful bleeding disease option, and a (2) action that sacrifices the stolen, but summons two rats in their place.

 

Overall they are a good purchase, but mind the fact that they have a mere 1 wound and no damage migation tricks. Also, Hamelin can summon them for free with his (0) action. 

 

Malifaux Child

The second of the Lost totems, the Malifaux child costs as much as a stolen, but offers different tricks. He has a weak, paried, knife attack. A healing trick which requires a suit, and Just Like You, an action that copies a single Ca action of the master he's accompanying. This action can be taken only once a turn, and the copied action suffers a ca decrease, but gains a on the attack, but a on damage. None of Hamelin's ca action have a damage flip, so that is usually ignored. The main usage of this, is of course, crancking out additionals of Hamelin's Ca actions with positive flips. 

 

A solid purchase, but require some build around and thought out tactics when you use them, as Lure Malifaux Citizen will murder the Child when you summon a Stolen. Keep this in mind.

 

Student of Conflict

The Sister-totem. I personally find it the weakest of the totems for Hamelin. It certainly has uses, but I haven't seen them yet. If you're taking this one, you are taking it for the Fast buff it hands out with it's (2).

 

The Vermin

The reason why you are playing Hamelin. For doubts, see the title of my thread.

 

Malifaux Rats

Rats! Cheap and weak. Peons, Insignificant, Puny (no disengaging strikes from nibbeling rats), and Plagueborn (They can't get blighted, so no rats from death rats... unless they are enemies) A Cg of - and Ml of 4 attacks with a 0/0/1 damage track doesn't make them the biggest hitters on the table. However, unlike others, the cards flipped actually matter, as weak hands out blighted +1, moderate gives blighted +2, and finally severe stacks blighted +3. Their trigger, Swarm, increases their ml by the number of other rats within 1" of the target, increasing their already respectable ml.

 

Of course you could hire rats to start with.... except Rats can also be aquired from several other sources. Hamelin and Rat catchers can summon them withs the Voracious Rats ability, which summons a single rat when an enemy (or a blighted friend) is killed within 6. You only get one rat from this ability, so it's better to spread out. You can also summon rats with the Catch and Release and Stink of Death triggers, both which summon a rat when damaging. (Catch and Release only works on enemies, Stink of Death needs the target to stay alive). Lastly, Stolen and the Obedient Wretch can be sacrificed with their Inevitable Fate action, which summons 2 rats in base contact. 

 

Despite not having disengaging strikes, Rats can be utilized to block charges and interact actions (both which can't be taken while engaged) and can be used to block charge lines.

 

When Rats get together, their tails become Tangled. When a Rat activates with 3 or more other rats within 3" (no matter the controller!) , they are all sacrificed and become a Rat King. 

 

Rat King

These guys aren't the despotic overlords of their race, but rather rats whose tails have become connected. As everyone knows, a single rat is no threat, but a lot definitly are. Rat Kings have become significant minions, and lost puny. In exchange, they gained Bore, which forces enemies into a wk duel or receive slow when the Rat King ends a move in b2b with them. Into the Swarm allows them to repelenish their numbers by sacrificing all rats within 3" and heal 1 for each rat sacrificed. Lastly, Drawn to Contagion allows them to take (1) Charges against blighted enemies. They still have Plagueborn, preventing them from gaining Blighted.

 

On the combat front, they also improved. Their attack, Swarm of Yellow Teeth, deals actual damage on top of blighting the target. (But only giving blighted +1) and has 2 triggers. It's trigger, Overwhelm, let's them make additional attacks, and their trigger, Spray of Filth, allows them to blight everything within 6 when they kill an enemy.

 

Out of their tactical actions, (0) Gnaw let's them push into base contact with a scheme maker within 5" before eating it. This can be used to remove troublesome scheme markers or to allow you to gain some additional movement before setting up a deadly charge. It's final action, Rat Problem, sacrifices the Rat King and all Rats within 3" to summon a Rat Catcher and a lone rat.

 

I recommend against hiring Rat Kings, as it's often more profitalbe to hire 4 Malifaux Rats, deploy them to make sure they can join each other easily when you want it, so that you can smear it's activation out over the four rats and the Rat King itself, gaining several out activations in the process.

 

The Nihilists

The Nihilists are Hamelin's actual supporters, and provide ways to improve his abilities or gain more rats.

 

Nix

Nix is Hamelin's henchmen, and is a nasty piece of work. He has low wounds, but has Incorporeal (halving damage from non-ca attacks) and the best condition defense in the game, Nihilism. To top this off, he has Sweet Taste of Failure, healing 1 damage when an enemy model fails a duel within 3 and Weakness, which reduces any Severe damage from models within 3 to Moderate damage. 

 

On action front, he has Feed On Anima a attack that hands out blighted, as well Bleeding Disease. Other actions are both (0) actions. Drink Spirit is a 4 that forces non-nihilists to pass a wp 15 duel or gain blighted. Usually, this is used to put blighted on range or to put blighted on friendlies (for Voracious Rats purposes) His second (0), Plague Pit, gives him a 6 that denies enemies with Blighted +4 from taking interact actions, giving Hamelin another tool to prevent interactions.

 

Hollow

Hollow is Nix' personal upgrade, so it's gets a mention here. For 2ss, Nix gains a slew of new abilities and an action. First of them, Release the Hounds, allows crews that include Nix to hire all Hound models. His second ability, Drawn to Contagion, allows him to charge blighted enemies as a (1) action, a trick that you can set off with other models or with Drink Spirit. His last action, Hollow, is yet another (0) action that activates an 5, which prevents friendlies from receiving damage from , ;pulse , and effects. This is a huge boost to the surviability of Rats, Stolen and other squishy models.

 

Obedient Wretch

Aka "Hamelin's second totem". Like Stolen, she has Diseased, Sickly, and Horrible Realization. Unlike stolen, she is a minion, has more wounds and can Toss Rats. This is a weak, and short ranged  action, but it has a the  Stink of Death trigger, which summons a Rat in base contact with the target, if it is still alive. She also has the omnipresent Bleeding Disease action, as well Inevitable Fate, allowing you to sacrifice her for rats.

 

Stink of Death also triggers on friendlies. Rats are good targets for this, as they are unlikely to be killed by this (severe damage only) and are most likey to form into a Rat King after a few tosses.

 

Rat Catcher

Rat Catchers are usable minions. They are limited by rare 2, as they can be summoned. The Catchers have a lot of rat support tricks as well being supported by rats, Voractious Rats, allowing for the summoning of Rats, Covered in Rats, which gives a catcher Armor +1 for each rat they are in base contact with. They also have Don't Mind Me, allowing them to drop scheme marker when they are engaged. 

 

Their main attack action is their (t)Rusty Trap, which does low damage as well blighting, but has several triggers to make up for it. All of these triggers are always available, as the Trap includes the nescessary for them all. The first trigger,  Catch and Release, summons a Rat in base contact with enemy target. Remeber to summon the rat also in base contact with the Catcher himself to gain benefit from the Covered in Rats ability. The second trigger,  Rusted Shut, gives slow to the target. The final trigger,  Quarantine, increases damage by 2, provided the target had blighted +3 before the attack was initiated.

 

A Rat Catcher's tactical action works only when rats are present. The first, (0) Rotting Odor, places any number of rats within 5" of the catcher into base contact with the catcher, granting makeshift armor or setting the summoning of a Rat King. The second, Moldy Cheese, gives target Vermin (Rats or Rat Kings) reactivate. Best utilized on Rat Kings, but sometimes it's also useful to put it on a single Rat. When targetting a Malifaux Rat, this action gains +4 Ca, needing a mere 4 to be used.

 

The only nihilist model without Bleeding Disease.

 

Bonus trick: The Rat Catcher summon chain.

Have 2 stolen, then sacrifce both for rats, activate 2 rats to move closer to each other, then have the third form into a rat king. Then sacrifice the Rat King to make a Rat Catcher and a Rat. This chain requires 6 activations in order to be used, and ending up with 2 additional actavtions. You also managed to turn 4ss worth of models into 8ss. Not ever Gremlins can out-activate you! (Mostly)

 

The Lost 

With the Sewer King upgrade, you can hire up to four out of faction Lost models.

 

Candy

Candy is Pandora's henchkid, and has several tricks available. Her main trick, Sweet & Sour are affected when an enemy activates first or last within 3 of her. With Rats, you have a lot of activation control availabe to you, so it should be easy to determine who activates last. Who actives first is harder to control. Her Goodie Bag can also be used to heal others, most likely Survialist Hamelin. Candy is a solid choice on her own and doesn't need much support.

 

Baby Kade

Baby Kade has a lack of Teddies in the outcasts, but he gains a new best friend: Rats. His knife deals +2 damage while another model is engaged with him, most likely a rat. He also has a low Ca Lure, which can also be utilzed to draw enemies you want closer, in case you want to conserve Hamelin's AP.

 

Iggy

Iggy is an odd piece. He has Matyr, allowing him to take 1 damage for other Woe models (Candy & Baby Kade). His Ignition and Playing With Matches actions hands out burning, which doesn't much synergise with Hamelin, but setting models on fire never hurts (unless you are set on fire, of course) His better tricks, are Incite, which hands out Mood Swing, allowing you for more activation control, and Throw a Fit, which gives -2 wp to unactivated enemies within 6. Overall, not too bad, but there are more useful choices.

 

Crooligan

Such as crooligans. Crooligans do one thing: running schemes and strategies. And they do it well. From the Shadows let's you deploy them where you need them and Always on the Move let's you redeploy them within 5" when they use an interact action. They can utilize The Mist to generate a 4 cover. This cover can also be used by other models. (such as rats) Lastly, Creepy gives them a 1 which reduces wp by 1, allowing you to land Bleeding Diseases more accuralty  When you need interact actions, Crooligans are your boys & girls.

 

The Hounds

Giving Nix the Hollow upgrade allows you to hire all 2 Hound models. Note that Nix is not a Hound. (Despite all evidence on the contradory)

 

Guild Hounds

Guild Hounds are cheap, fast, and strong missles that aren't insigificant while within 5 of another friendly Hound. Overall, they are very useful models due to their cheapness and speed. No wasted points there.

 

Canine Remains

Undead hounds, Canine remains reduce df of enemies by 1 within 1. Their digging of corpses is not that useful for Hamlin or Nix. Overall Canine Remains are useful scheme runners and good at babysitting their living cousins, the Guild Hounds. Not a bad choice for objective runners.

 

The Rest

Non thematic choices.

 

Overall, there is no issue with taking non-thematic choices, as Hamelin is a flexible master. Models that are either heavy hitters (Taelor, Killjoy, Lazarus) or don't require other (many) thematic options are all solid options. Don't be sad with a lack of rats, you can always summon more!

 

Killjoy

Everyones favorite cleaverhurling abomination! Killjoy is a solid choice for heavy hitter. You can make use of the Melodic Rat Delivery Service^tm in order to deliver him where you want. You take Infections Melodies, a Rat, and a buried Killjoy. Then, you make the Rat fast, let it cover 15" of ground, before it dies. Then, you spawn Killjoy where the rat died. Simple, but effective. Decreases in effectiveness when people are expecting it. 

 

Hodgepodge Effigy

Effigies are damn good. All of them. The outcast one is no exception. It's (0) gives Hamelin Loyality of the Coin, a condtion that allows Hamlin to discard a card when he kills or sacrifices an enemy model in order to gain a soulstone. As Hamelin has a basic cache of 1, this is always useful. The Effigy can also generate The Mist.

[SevenSins]

Good stuff so far, as a newb drooling over Hamelin this came at the right time.

One more lost kid is the oft forgotten Iggy (as well as the malifaux child iirc)

[PraetorDragoon]

Good stuff so far, as a newb drooling over Hamelin this came at the right time.

One more lost kid is the oft forgotten Iggy (as well as the malifaux child iirc)

 

Fixed. Malifaux Child is in faction, so that's why he isn't on the list.

[cdhay]

Great post and just in time for my first game with Hamelin tonight!

[Malicte]

Great start!  You may want to change "Hamlin" to "Hamelin" in a few places, to aid searchability.

 

Hamelin will be the last of the Outcasts I acquire, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested, and this certainly stokes that interest.

[PraetorDragoon]

Great start!  You may want to change "Hamlin" to "Hamelin" in a few places, to aid searchability.

 

Hamelin will be the last of the Outcasts I acquire, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested, and this certainly stokes that interest.

 

Fixed some typos

[Patzer]

Survialist

Not Hamelin exclusive, but deserved a special metion here. Most importantly, it grants him ridicilous levels of defense in the form of Hard to Kill. Hard to Kill works hand in hand with Lure of Emptiness, soaking attacks in tandem. First, hard to kill goes off, reducing you to 1 wound. Then, lure of emptiness goes off, healing you above Hard to Kill thresshold.. It's a limited upgrade, so you'll have to forgo the Piper for this, but it's certainly worth the ss if you find that you die too often.

Oh, it also grants on healing flips. 

Is Survivalist really limited?

[PraetorDragoon]

Is Survivalist really limited?

In my mind it was.. For some reason I keep thinking it's a limited upgrade, but it isn't limited.

 

Thanks for the double check. Fixed it.

[NeverEnding]

I didn't realize I needed Hamelin so badly. I knew I was interested in him I just hadn't done my research on his card and Upgrades. Thanks for doing it all for me!   

[Zwergenkrieger]

A woderfully great read that was! Thanks!

[Rameses]

Looking forward to reading more.

How thematic would you stay with a Hamelin crew?

(IE: taking Ronin, Killjoy and Hannah) Are you best served to say thematic?

[RatsInTheWalls]

This is an excellent writeup.  Thank you for it.
Did you mean for this sentence in the The Plague upgrade entry to just end: "Putting blighted on range is"?

[SevenSins]

Vermin and friends?

[twee]

How many models of rats would you advise to have to never bother in 50SS games?

[Ausplosions]

Huh?

[Kadeton]

I suspect the question intended was something akin to "How many Rats do you need to be sure that you'll always have enough in 50SS games?"

 

I have 12, and I've never had them all out at once, but I've had up to 10 in unusual circumstances - in general, I think you could get by with 8.

[JSKrush]

 

Survialist

Not Hamelin exclusive, but deserved a special metion here. Most importantly, it grants him ridicilous levels of defense in the form of Hard to Kill. Hard to Kill works hand in hand with Lure of Emptiness, soaking attacks in tandem. First, hard to kill goes off, reducing you to 1 wound. Then, lure of emptiness goes off, healing you above Hard to Kill thresshold.. It's certainly worth the ss if you find that you die too often.

 

 

Isn't it the case that Survivalist would reduced you to only 1 wound if you suffered damage which would reduce you to zero?  You do not actually enter a state of killed/sacrificed since you never hit zero health remaining so Lure of Emptiness does not trigger then I believe.  Now if you suffered damage again, you would trigger Lure and could sac a model to go to 4 health and above the Hard to Kill level.

[Ausplosions]

Isn't it the case that Survivalist would reduced you to only 1 wound if you suffered damage which would reduce you to zero? You do not actually enter a state of killed/sacrificed since you never hit zero health remaining so Lure of Emptiness does not trigger then I believe. Now if you suffered damage again, you would trigger Lure and could sac a model to go to 4 health and above the Hard to Kill level.

That was his point.

[PraetorDragoon]

Isn't it the case that Survivalist would reduced you to only 1 wound if you suffered damage which would reduce you to zero?  You do not actually enter a state of killed/sacrificed since you never hit zero health remaining so Lure of Emptiness does not trigger then I believe.  Now if you suffered damage again, you would trigger Lure and could sac a model to go to 4 health and above the Hard to Kill level.

 

Exactly

 

Updated the Vermin & Friends post. 

 

Also updated the First post with a list of Blighted spread & interact. (Totally not stolen from the wiki)

[Maogrim]

Hey! Really, really great artice! Thanks for all the effort!
Could you maybe share your insights on the use of Ronin and Convict Gunslingers? I'd be really interested in those, as they appear to be more fitting to the derelict and reject style of a Hamelin Crew than Freikorps or Ama No Zako and are therefore an addition I'm particularly interested in.

[IntereoVivo]

Awesome post. Hamelin is so cool and versitile.

 

Are you planning on adding the other outcast models?

[Rameses]

Recently I had an extremely fun game with Hamelin in a 50SS Turf War game.

Here is my list

Basic tactics used:

Turn 1

Wretch tossed Rats at the Malifaux Rats creating 2 more rats.

Rat activates creating a Rat King.

Rat King sacrificed itself to make a Rat Catcher and a Rat.

Hamelin moves up summons a Stolen

Obeys the Wretch forward Twice

The Stolen that started the game 2 actions itself into 2 rats.

So on so forth.

All this was fairly easy to achieve. But I will admit it was card intense. But hey. I had them and I used them.

In turn two I had 2 rat catchers and a Rat king in play all for "free"

Killjoy was doing his thing and the Ronin were having fun at others expense

Overall I had a really fun time playing Hamelin and can't wait to do it again.

[SevenSins]

Sounds like good fun

Suggested alternatives to killjoy? I know he's a great shock trooper but 13 points? I'm cheap I know....

[NeverEnding]

Trapper with an obey and someone with the I Pay Better upgrade is always going to be a good thing. Even Hans can work with it. Activate discard for focus shoot, focus again then obey the second focus shot out of him. Yaaaaay. As a note I will be trying this combo (Hamelin as master or not) tuesday.

 

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD_imYhNoQ4

 

(How i felt when I realized that was possible)