Nicodem Starting Guide / Tactics

[doombladez]

"

Or just Ca duels. She doesn't like Witchling Stalkers much. But then, who does?" -Dirial

Well I guess Sonnia probably does, but she's got a pretty similar reputation so they probably have a nice support group together. Izamu is a really low maintenance model to keep alive compared to Bete, more durable all-around and is nice at cutting off 

LoS

 against shooters trying to get at Nico and Mortimer. In my (admittedly very recent and limited) experience Izamu is exactly what Nico needs in an Enforcer, and while I really like Bete she's got a few weaknesses that in a Nico crew are enough that I see little reason to take her over Izamu or even Toshiro. 

EDIT: Quotes seems to be having issues right now, there's supposed to be a quote by Dirial at the top.

Edited August 23, 2015 by doombladez
Fixing a quote issue.

[MEGAHORSE]

I agree Bete isn't the best choice. I decided to just try her out since the scenario was based on models killed and she could tarpit pretty well. Problem was I was against Neverborn which in this case have no shortage of Ca damaging options. Against my friend who uses Marcus it would have been a more solid choice, but not ideal. 

Played a short game over the weekend against someone who didnt know what Nico could do, and now that I sort of understand his playstyle... Toshiro and Izamu were taken

[zFiend]

Izamu is a staple on many TT crews and highly rated there. What Nicodem does is make all of that he is just better. I can't speak highly enough of how good Izamu is with Nicodem and pretty much an auto include in all my lists with Nicodem. 

[Patzer]

Izamu is a staple on many TT crews and highly rated there. What Nicodem does is make all of that he is just better. I can't speak highly enough of how good Izamu is with Nicodem and pretty much an auto include in all my lists with Nicodem. 

I have played a lot against Izamu vs Nicodem, and they can tear through a crew together. Giving Izamu Fast means he got 4 AP to swing, and there is plenty of tech in Ressers which can move Izamu around (Mortimer's Fresh Meat, Belles Lures and Pushes). Nico can heal Izamu with ease too.

Watch out for enemy models who ignore armor though.

[MEGAHORSE]

I only really take Izamu in Turf War, alongside Graveyard spirit as mentioned. They're just too good together. I also like to summon another 40mm base model to help hide the GY spirit, and provide more of a deathball of evil. Then break them up when needed. 

Validictorian isnt mentioned much, but she's also pretty amazing. I think her main use is being useful outside of the bubble. Chasing down scheme runners if your Crooligans are dead, tying up a leader/support piece, and just being a pain in the arse to remove.

 

Bete definitley isnt terrible either, if you can afford the cards, continue summoning bodies in, and when they die, she can continuously pop up and in doing that, she can be played as a cheap 8-9 point frontline beater that ties up pieces. 

[zFiend]

Added to the 3rd post finally after many months of forgetting and too busy etc excuses the basic principle of Poison Nicodem build and a whole new way of playing him while stealing McMourning's thunder.

[doombladez]

Added to the 3rd post finally after many months of forgetting and too busy etc excuses the basic principle of Poison Nicodem build and a whole new way of playing him while stealing McMourning's thunder.

Sweet, that looks like a fun crew. Now if Wyrd will release some plastic Guild Autopsies....

[MEGAHORSE]

Added to the 3rd post finally after many months of forgetting and too busy etc excuses the basic principle of Poison Nicodem build and a whole new way of playing him while stealing McMourning's thunder.

Two little corrections

A Fast Shikome with a (1) Charge to Poisoned models and still having 2 AP after that is brutal!

They get the 1AP charge only to models with Adversary, not poison. Other than that, I friggin love the list. I'm a longtime Magic player and by their terms, I'm a Johnny. This screams Johnny. It has so many small interactions and synergies that make a great engine. Nico's Def bubble also helps protect Sebby from too much hurt, which is an issue I deal with when I pilot McMourning. 

And you forgot to list the two Night Terrors. Cant wait till they and the Shikome boxes come out!

Hope you get back from the dirty dirty Guild soon and give us some battle reps with the list!  Thanks again man!

[Adran]

I'd check your cards again. 

Shikome have the Scent of death, allowing a (1) charge against a model with poison, and the (0) action Taken by the skay which puts them in base contact with an Advasary model. 

 

[MEGAHORSE]

I'd check your cards again. 

Shikome have the Scent of death, allowing a (1) charge against a model with poison, and the (0) action Taken by the skay which puts them in base contact with an Advasary model. 

 

ty

[Daysleeper]

So I had a while back an epiphany about a whole new Nicodem build. Stealing the thunder of McMourning and focusing around Poison Shenanigans. It worked really well, I liked it a lot. But then I got on my Guild run and had to leave my beloved Rezzers in the shelves. Anyway here it goes, the basic core is this, season to schemes and strategy with the 8ss that you have left, 2 Night Terrors for Activation control is a nice touch and also you need to pick up one more upgrade. Reaper Grin, Necrotic King is always good:

Nicodem -- 6 Pool

 +Maniacal Laugh [1]

 +Undertaker [1]

 

Malifaux Child [3]

Guild Autopsy [4]

Guild Autopsy [4]

Mortimer [9]

 +Corpse Bloat [2]

Rafkin [7]

Sebastian [7]

 +Transfusion [1]

 

Idea is to abuse poison with Nicodem and take advantage of the (1) action charges with Rafkin and Shikomes (Canine Remains have it too) that you will be summoning. I got in a full wounded Shikome on turn 1 and turn 2 thanks to Patchwork trigger. Guild Autopsies were there to dish out Poison at range, Sebastian would give out Poison with either his ml or by Transfusion and hurt people with his auras and Mortimer also was there to give out Poison if needed, move models around and dig up corpses (Also don't forget to use Corpse Bloat offensively if you don't need the corpse markers!).

 

I summoned: Two Shikomes on turn 1 and turn 2. Mortimer drops a Corpse with You Don't Need a Spleen Right? and digs up another one. Nicodem Manical laughs them up, summons from one of them and declares Patch Work sacs the other one and gets card from both, first full health Shikome right there, repeat turn 2 and if you happen to lose either one of them. Mainly Nicodem was there to give out Fast to either the Autopsies or Shikomes and Malifaux Child was there to help with that, share the Fast to those winged gods of death.

 

It actually works quite well. A Fast Shikome with a (1) Charge to Poisoned models and still having 2 AP after that is brutal! With their triggers they really tear models to shreds. On top of Shikomes being really fast with wk 6 they really are the key models to this. Guild Autopsies with sh5 and Infect can really put the Poison in quite reliably with Fast as well as you can move, focus shoot, shoot 3 times or double focus and shoot.

 

This was in my mind one of the funniest ways of playing Nicodem. You get the engine rolling with his buffs and debuffs and Nicodem is actually running across the board instead of just standing and summoning. I encourage you to try it and please, leave me feedback how it went. Once I get back to Rezzers I will start experimenting more with this list! 

Sorry for the big Quote ;-)
I want to try a variant of that. Basicly i'll drop Sebastian + Rafkin for a Belle and a Nurse an with the rest of the points i'll get a Rogue Necromancy with "take back the night".
Rogue Necro, Shikome, Autopsies, Punks etc. are all horror or Spirit ... soooo more cards more good?
Thoughts? Could it work? 
Nico Crew + Shikomes are in my Black Friday order so it'll be some time for me to just try it out :-)

[Erik1978]

Quote

Night Terrors.  These little things with incorporeal, 4 wounds, hard to kill and minions (oh yes) are an absolute bargain for 3ss. Granted their insignificant won't let them do schemes that require interacting but they do account for strategies and schemes that need you to hold places. They are fast. They do some bit of damage in melee. Reconnoiter coming up? 3 of these with Nicodem and you aren't losing any points in the strategy. Seriously.

I don't understand what makes them good with Nicodem, he can't give them Fast since they are not Undead, so what's the trick?

[jonahmaul]

The fact that they're cheap and non-Peons.  You won't take them in every list but in Reconnoiter/Interference they are gold as having 3-4 cheap fast guys that can stay out of trouble combined with Nico's summoning means you can easily flood all four corners and score for yourself as well as have a good chance of denying your opponent scoring.

[Freman]

Is this a fairly typical Nicodem list?

 

Resurrectionists
50ss Crew

Nicodem -- 7ss
 +Maniacal Laugh - 1ss
 +Undertaker - 1ss
 +Necrotic King - 2ss

Vulture - 3ss

Chiaki The Niece - 6ss

Izamu The Armor - 10ss
 +Decaying Aura - 2ss

Mortimer - 9ss
 +Corpse Bloat - 2ss

Nurse - 5ss

Rotten Belle - 5ss
 

And which would provide more utility, the Graveyard Spirit or the Vulture?

[jonahmaul]

I'd day there's no such thing as a typical list but Mortimer is almost an auto - take (if I run a non - summoning Nico I might not take him and take Corpse Bloat on a beater instead as you don't need as many corpses), I usually take his Shovel too for some utility. 

 

Necrotic King is a waste of 2SS in my opinion as Nico is normally too far back for it to really have an effect and wants to be concentrating on summoning and/or support.

 

Otherwise things he can't summon are a priority so Chiaki/Izamu/Nurse are all good shouts though Chiaki could be dropped depending on whether you expect to face conditions.

I rarely use the vulture but that's personal preference, other people get good mileage out it. I have had fun with the GS making Izamu Armour +4 (make sure anything that ignores armour is a priority to kill or it'll ruin your day!). But if there's any schemes/strats that reward killing Peons then leave them both at home.

[Erik1978]

I've played more than 10 games with Nicodem, I've only used Mortimer ONCE. I'm doing fine without him. Got a bronze medal at a lille tournament with ressers, Mortimer was at home unpainted. I don't have any auto includes really, always depend of strategy and schemes although Rotten Belles are almost always there, at least one of them. 

One of the great things about Malifaux is that there isn't ONE list that's just "the shit" and everyone plays that, as soon as they read about it on the internet, lots of lists work depending on playing style etc.

[jonahmaul]

27 minutes ago, Erik1978 said:

I've played more than 10 games with Nicodem, I've only used Mortimer ONCE. I'm doing fine without him. Got a bronze medal at a lille tournament with ressers, Mortimer was at home unpainted. I don't have any auto includes really, always depend of strategy and schemes although Rotten Belles are almost always there, at least one of them. 

One of the great things about Malifaux is that there isn't ONE list that's just "the shit" and everyone plays that, as soon as they read about it on the internet, lots of lists work depending on playing style etc.

Agree 100% with this.  I've played 30+ games with Nicodem and have taken Mortimer in the vast majority of those because two corpse markers a turn is just too good early game when you're focusing on summoning IMHO.  I would value Nurses over Belles too because you can summon the latter.

[MEGAHORSE]

On 3/26/2016 at 3:56 AM, jonahmaul said:

Agree 100% with this.  I've played 30+ games with Nicodem and have taken Mortimer in the vast majority of those because two corpse markers a turn is just too good early game when you're focusing on summoning IMHO.  I would value Nurses over Belles too because you can summon the latter.

This, while you can make do without Mortimer, he is clearly by and large one of the better pieces to take with Nicodem regardless of scheme/strategy/terrain due to how powerful Nicodem's summoning mechanic is. Sort of like Sybelle moving Molly around, you can do without, but you lose quite a bit. With Wave 3 giving us the Emissary who can make Mindless Zombies, I think you can move away from Mortimer, but turn 1 you wont have those easy corpses without some other shenanigans. I think one could run the Nurse+Chiaki+some other model that can run with Corpse Bloat instead of Mortimer, like Sybelle or Sebastian, for example, who cost less points and may be more useful otherwise. You still lose the Corpse off Found a Bone though. 

I have to highly agree with you Jonah on Necrotic King. Make use of Nicodem's strengths rather than shore up a weakness. It helps casts and gives you another + flip to damage, but for 2ss and a 1 action off Nicodem, you'd be better off making another Punk zombie to get 3 swings in over this. Largely, it seems most Nicodem crews dont need + flips to cast actions, and if you'd want some, run with the Emissary and his generic upgrade, which does + flips for all minion attack actions (Sorry chiaki!) within 4" as a passive aura, requiring no actions or soulstones. The upgrade [Necrotic King] on first glance for me was always super juicy, and I'd take it and never use it. 

I always, ALWAYS, take Undertaker (for the insane card draw, whether your opponent is killing your models, or you're summoning off your mindless zombies!). The other effect on it, Patchwork, is situational since that corpse marker could be made into a mindless zombie to be used for damage prevention with Reaper Grin, more activations, and more things to summon off of! Then I take Maniacal Laugh for Muahaha obviously, making numerous additional models to activate, and turning on Undertaker, and making it his premier 0 action to use. Proper positioning being key for it to catch as many corpses in the 8" aoe as possible. Then, Reaper Grin. This I take to prevent anyone trying to murder Nicodem, as he can sacrifice a friendly undead within 5" to reduce damage from an attack action to 0 (crow trigger). In addition, it offers The Fog, requiring an 8 of crows or greater to grant a small bubble of soft cover. It's also situational, but can make a bad deployment a bit better and is well worth taking for 1ss if you expect a ranged crew to hamper your ability to move upfield or you fear assassination attempts. It's the flexible upgrade for me, as Undertaker and Maniacal Laugh are pretty much required to make his engine just silly

edit: fixed some grammatical mistakes, weird wording, and sentence structure for clarity. 

[ttsgosadow]

Hey, I wanted to share my recent Nicodem experiences.

Inspired by this guide I have tried to get the most out of Nicodem, playing three games so far. Two of those I wanted to try the 'wall of armor', and went with graveyard spirit + Izamu + Hannah. I feel that Nico has a large mandatory list, summoning in the models needed for the schemes and strategy. Thus my lists didn't have much variation so far, and with all the big expensives (Mortimer, Izamu, Hannah) there's not much room for anything else than a Nurse and some other cheaper critters.

Overall my experiences gave me this idea of Nico:

• I learned to really love the Nurse. Usually I play her with McMourning ,where I use her a lot to make poison. But as Nico doesn't need poison she's freed up for giving the enemy some doses. She is bonkers, paralysing multiple models every game, and a heal-in-dire-need when the oppertunity arises (usually when people try to kill Nico but fail);
• A large part, if not all, of the crew is very repetative, which I found a bit of a boring playstyle. Mortimer just spams corpses, Nico just spams summons, etc, etc. I feel there is hardly any combo's or smart play to make, but to try and stack the summon advantage as much in my favour as possible;
• I have summond loads of Hanged, and they are great, but not for damaging. So far I feel the crew is really low on damage output. Mostly because it doesn't contain that many beaters, but also of all the summoning draining your hand, making it hard to actually hit stuff you want to hit. In one game I threw everything I had on turn three on a Colette and she survived on one wound (after making her teacher's pet so I could finish her off). Another game it took my entire crew two turns to kill Shen Long. I am not impressed at this department;
• Summoning scheme runners had most effect for me ingame. But it made me wonder: instead of summoning them over a couple of turns, would just recruiting them in the list not be much more effective? I feel it's such a shame to burn a soulstone for a summon of just 5 ss;
• The crew is very very slow, it's easy to clog yourself up with too many models, and it tends for a grinder like playstyle. I didn't really enjoy this, tbh, as I think I favour a more mobile playstyle.

I think I will give Nico a couple more goes before I come to my conclusion if I want to add him to my fav masters, or not. So far I think I won't get into him, sadly. On paper he looks really cool, but on the table he (and his crew) becomes very repetative and predicable. I do see him being a strong master (even if he lost me 2/3 games, when usually I win all my games). I want to try to run him with Toshiro instead of Izamu, and try to summon more midranged beaters. That way I can start with two belles to speed up Nico and Morti, so they can actually get into an effective position on the board. Also the poison list is something I would like to try!

[jonahmaul]

The only must have with Nico for me is Mortimer and other people have got mileage without him.  I do like running Seb because he can kill Mindless Zombies for easy SS and cards.  I'd never hire a Hanged and would be very unlikely to take Hannah either.  If you want some damage then you want to be making Izamu or a RN Fast and preferably keeping them within Nico's Aura to get (+) to their Ml attack so that you can offset some of the card loss from summoning.  Have you tried playing him as a support Master rather than just a summoner?  A lot of people see his summoning card and assume that's all he does but he can be so much more.

[ttsgosadow]

I think I have fallen for the exact trap you've named: I am mostly just summoning. I check my hand, and see every high card become something nasty. It gimps my gameplay, I think.

Will give Rogue Necromancy a go, sounds like a good one. Sebas crossed my mind as well, but spending so many points just for the occasional card + ss? Rather hire something I want to use straight away.

[Erik1978]

I've played at least 15 games with Nicodem and I use his FAST/SLOW more than I summon. Perhaps that's why I don't see his crew as "slow". I keep up with the crew to boost with his 6" buffs rather than just summon from the back.

I never use Mortimer since I have enough corpse markers with Nico himself, people dying and canine remains. I like the versatility of summoning what is needed.

BTW I have won about 90% of my games with him so it can't be all wrong.

[jonahmaul]

On Sunday, May 01, 2016 at 7:45 PM, ttsgosadow said:

Will give Rogue Necromancy a go, sounds like a good one. Sebas crossed my mind as well, but spending so many points just for the occasional card + ss? Rather hire something I want to use straight away.

He's only 8SS with the upgrade and can pretty easily get you a card and a SS every turn. Nico makes Mindless Zombies for fun and you can also use it on any models that are almost dead. Plus it's very easy to cast (4 of anything). On top of that you've got an anti - projectile Aura,  an Ok-ish attack (if you got late in the turn) and if there's any poison about (RN or Shikome for example) then he amplifies the damage. Plus he can summon too.

[ttsgosadow]

Run Nico without Mortimer? That's something I want to try, if only to not fall for the '2 corpses a turn + summon' trap again. What would be a semi regular list (or core of your list) when you run Nico, @jonahmaul?

[jonahmaul]

I've never run Nico without Mortimer so it's usually Nico with Maniacal Laugh and Undertaker, Mortimer with Corpse Bloat and more often than not his Favourite Shovel, and a Nurse.  Otherwise it's just flavour as per the strats and schemes although I've started taking Sebastian with Those Are Not Ours a lot for the reasons mentioned above.  I've come up with a Reckoning list that has Nico, Killjoy, Izamu and Rogue Necromancy but yet to run it!  Give one of them Corpse Bloat for some early markers (to use as fully heal batteries) then spend the game giving them Fast and/or Healing them.