"Move it, Fatty!" - Getting the Executioner across the Table

[Werner von Urslingen]

Hi, guys!

Having collected a large force of Outcasts, I have decided to move away from laser-shooting steampunk necromancers and mercenary Hulk Hogan-lookalikes and venture into the world of big moustaches, big knockers and big six-shooters that is the Latigo Posse.

I’m not big on the gaming-aspect of Malifaux but it’s still fun to play once in a blue moon, and in those few instances it’s also fun to have a crew that is actually half-decent as well as awesome-looking. One of my favorite models in the Guild’s arsenal is that lovable tub-o’-lard, the Executioner – however, I’m starved for ideas about how to use him to best effect. The main problem, as far as I can see, is his slow speed compounded with his average (although not abysmal) Defense and Willpower as well as lack of defensive triggers.

Being new to the Guild’s own (Oath Keeper-less) way of doing things, I don’t feel informed enough to make a decent enough crew-list (and, subsequently, a to-buy list). Therefore I turn to your collective wisdom, in order to shamelessly plagiarize any good idea you might have. What are you guy’s and gal’s thoughts on how to get your blubbery butcherer across the table in the time and condition to wreak sufficient magnitudes of face to justify his price? Preferably using Perdita Ortega as Master, but for sake of discussion it would be fun to hear any ideas you might have with any of the Guild’s Masters.
 

"The Executioner's coming to get you... eventually..."

Cheers!

/Werner

 

 

Edited October 9, 2015 by Werner von Urslingen

[Myyrä]

Perdita's totem is very good at getting stuff across the table. Abuela can make other friendly models take (1) action with her (0) action. She also has the ability to give a model the family keyword which will give some useful synergy benefits.

Perdita's crew has no difficulty of getting Executioner across the board quickly. The problem is the fact that they usually choose to move something more useful, like Francisco or Perdita herself.

[Tapdancer]

Mounted guild guard is the answer. Gives the executioner a scary amount of reach.

 

Edited October 10, 2015 by Tapdancer

[heretek]

There's also the old standby of stuffing the Executioner in a Pine Box and having a Death Marshal lug him up the board. 

[ArcticPangolin]

I also love my floating fat man and the way that Crooligans quake at the sight of him.

In addition to the suggestions above, the Hermanos de Armas (or whatever it's called) Family upgrade can also be used to haul him up some. I will also often put El Mayor on our rotund Edward Murderhands when possible. I think that Perdita probably gives him the most mobility options over any other Master. What's great with Obey and Influence is the option to attack (once) or walk, as once you start to get around his movement limitations, you really start to notice that there's no Flurry or Melee Expert, and people will only fall for a great Trail of Gore run so many times before they adjust their playstyle and stop dropping Scheme markers willy nilly. I can't wait to bring him against Shenlong/Yu in a Scheme marker-heavy game...

McCabe can also make him quite mobile and more survivable.

In addition, Expert Sleuth can be great to throw on him cheaply for extra movement and initiative shenanigans. It gives him a competing (0) action, but it's at a longer range. Also, don't forget to get creative with his (0) Trail of Gore ability (eg if your opponent's been dropping Scheme markers see if you can catch 2 (or more!) markers in range whilst engaging an enemy in melee).

[Ludvig]

The Judge likes playing with him. Get upfield with the push t1 and def-stance Mr X (or whatever you need to do to keep him safe). Turn 2 you use unrelenting leader to get 4 extra attacks after the executioner has charged/walked up further.

I very rarely see enemies dropping schemes voluntarily before he's dead but enemies with finish the job are pure gold  

[tjntin999]

If you want to proxy, the Brutal Emissary can be a fun idea, catapulting these beautiful lards. Also they can use his melee attacks while they are buried (could come in handy). I just like the idea of throwing this majestic fat man at an enemy scheme marker, eating that up and running around at your enemies models not caring. 

[Ludvig]

If you want to proxy, the Brutal Emissary can be a fun idea, catapulting these beautiful lards. Also they can use his melee attacks while they are buried (could come in handy). I just like the idea of throwing this majestic fat man at an enemy scheme marker, eating that up and running around at your enemies models not caring. 

It should be fun in power ritual since a lot of people have a hard time resisting that one. Gives you an executioner behind the enemy forces. The big risk with that is the fat man ending up alone on that side of the table instead but he should at least get a move out of discarding the marker.

[tjntin999]

If you want to proxy, the Brutal Emissary can be a fun idea, catapulting these beautiful lards. Also they can use his melee attacks while they are buried (could come in handy). I just like the idea of throwing this majestic fat man at an enemy scheme marker, eating that up and running around at your enemies models not caring. 

It should be fun in power ritual since a lot of people have a hard time resisting that one. Gives you an executioner behind the enemy forces. The big risk with that is the fat man ending up alone on that side of the table instead but he should at least get a move out of discarding the marker.

If they have put a scheme marker down it usually means that they 'should' be near at least, however the other problem is that if they know you have lord tubs and the Emissary  they may be hesitant to drop scheme markers. However it is still a cool way of moving you majestic being up the board ( i am determined to give the executioner as many names as possible), also being able to run a scheme marker up the board, with say a watcher, would be a good way to getting that scheme marker in enemies lines.

[Ludvig]

If you want to proxy, the Brutal Emissary can be a fun idea, catapulting these beautiful lards. Also they can use his melee attacks while they are buried (could come in handy). I just like the idea of throwing this majestic fat man at an enemy scheme marker, eating that up and running around at your enemies models not caring. 

It should be fun in power ritual since a lot of people have a hard time resisting that one. Gives you an executioner behind the enemy forces. The big risk with that is the fat man ending up alone on that side of the table instead but he should at least get a move out of discarding the marker.

If they have put a scheme marker down it usually means that they 'should' be near at least, however the other problem is that if they know you have lord tubs and the Emissary  they may be hesitant to drop scheme markers. However it is still a cool way of moving you majestic being up the board ( i am determined to give the executioner as many names as possible), also being able to run a scheme marker up the board, with say a watcher, would be a good way to getting that scheme marker in enemies lines.

If my opponent is not dropping markers after choosing power ritual and still holding a model back for doing it later I consider it a win-win situatioon for me. If that situation pops up you just put your own marker down to get him within slapping range of something else and thank your opponent for the three VP they are denying themselves. If you out-activate you could prevent the enemy from getting that marker down t1 & 2 which wastes a ton of AP from that model. Denying schemes is the most powerful ability a model can have. Considering how easy power ritual usually is it's a good thing to mess with it as much as possible.

If they do it t3 or later you might be able to rebox something and easily remove a marker late t5, it could be any old 4ss model. (So not really helping the executioner anymore  )

Edited October 14, 2015 by Ludvig

[tjntin999]

I agree with you, I like the Emissary for this. It is a neat little trick. It will be interesting to see if the good old fat man makes it out of the fun zone and becomes into a competitive aspect. Versing an opponent with a heavy scheme game could be a fun, if not a physical game with the lord of lard (that has to be my favorite name for him now). What do you think upgrade wise, i like the lead line coat however i prefer the plant the evidence. So to me combo wise,move, move Emissary up, back in the box he goes, if your opponent drops a scheme marker then its summon the Lord of Lard and he can do his thing, eat up and stop schemes, then when he dies (as your opponent will have to focus him) drops a scheme marker and if done right your opponent will have focused him too much and you can focus on your own schemes. Win win win situation right there.

[Ludvig]

I like the idea of plant evidence on him. I'm not a fan of the coat because it highlights how much better the peacekeeper is

[Dirial]

If you take upgrades for him, you're only making the problem worse. The Guild upgrades aren't that good, and he is overcosted from the start.

[tjntin999]

If you take upgrades for him, you're only making the problem worse. The Guild upgrades aren't that good, and he is overcosted from the start.

Still If your playing a combo like this, he may make them points up, just needing to kill something of equal cost. I agree that the lead is too expensive, but for an additional 1 ss i think it might be worth, just for getting schemes onto your opponent side of the board. 

[Dirial]

Different lists for different people, I guess. I'd always just take a Peacekeeper instead.

[ArcticPangolin]

If you take upgrades for him, you're only making the problem worse. The Guild upgrades aren't that good, and he is overcosted from the start.

Did you ever take Expert Sleuth for a spin on Mr. Handsfree?

[Ludvig]

If you take upgrades for him, you're only making the problem worse. The Guild upgrades aren't that good, and he is overcosted from the start.

Did you ever take Expert Sleuth for a spin on Mr. Handsfree?

I went through a phase where I measured for sleuth numerous times every game to see if I could have used it (didn't bring the upgrade). Even when I didn't have it, the enemy was almost never forthcoming enough to put scheme markers within range. If it had been unlimited range I could have used it now and thrn, now it rarely matters. You guys might have nicer opponents who like putting down scheme markers in good spots for you, in that case I say go for it!

[Dirial]

I also tried Sleuth. My experience is that opponents seldom take Scheme marker heavy Schemes with an Executioner in the game, or resolve them after he's dead. Sleuth doesn't change that. I tried Sleuth on the Peacekeeper, and that worked better. People tend to forget that the Peacekeeper can remove Scheme markers, too.

[Ludvig]

It's weird when you're wishing that you could give your own AP to make the enemy do interacts. If only he could target friendly markers or corpses or scrap or anything really. You are basically relying on your opponent being a good sport and helping you out to make you get full value from your model. His (0) action is a lot like a really really really bad locomotion on the rail golem that you will never get to use.

[Dirial]

It's also a reasonable deterrent against something that wins games, to be fair. The Peacekeeper just does it better.

[tjntin999]

It's also a reasonable deterrent against something that wins games, to be fair. The Peacekeeper just does it better.

I do agree with this, for 2 extra ss it does the lord of lards job but better. Which kinda upsets me because i  love the model for the executioner and like the idea of it. In a fun game situation it could be a fun model. but if you dont want a tank that shoot  things and want a fantastic melee model the you take DR. Grimwell. which kind sucks cause the lord of lard just sits there and if like oh okay ill just sit here and do nothing.

[ArcticPangolin]

Thanks for the feedback, I feared it might be like that.

When I have gotten use out of Trail of Gore against someone who knows what El Fatso can do it's been by propelling him from one area to another faster than the enemy anticipated (eg with Perdita or McCabe) where they have been dropping scheme markers, and he cleans them up.

When I get around to getting a (plastic) Peacekeeper it'll likely be the more serious alternative. I just love Senor Tubguts and those infrequent special moments where he just shines so bright (no defensive triggers (Ironsides, Molemen, RIders), or a magic Pacman scheme marker run wokkawokkawokka).

[Ludvig]

Thanks for the feedback, I feared it might be like that.

When I have gotten use out of Trail of Gore against someone who knows what El Fatso can do it's been by propelling him from one area to another faster than the enemy anticipated (eg with Perdita or McCabe) where they have been dropping scheme markers, and he cleans them up.

When I get around to getting a (plastic) Peacekeeper it'll likely be the more serious alternative. I just love Senor Tubguts and those infrequent special moments where he just shines so bright (no defensive triggers (Ironsides, Molemen, RIders), or a magic Pacman scheme marker run wokkawokkawokka).

One of my favourite models too! Against people getting a bit too reliant on the mech rider he is pure gold. He just isn't one of those models you can always take and get good mileage out of. 

[Dirial]

Yeah, he still smashes face... if you can protect him. Just... don't make him more expensive. Play him light.

[psychogeek]

So I am trying him with Lucius and I have to say he is quite fun. Lucius using "that's what lackeys are for" can bring about a suppressing bit of movement, plus get him tied into combat quickly so as to extend his chubby life. I tried 2 and it was meh but one was fun and probably will continue to use him. It was really fun to see my opponent's face when he healed for 4 after killing a peon. Then continued to chug along. The hanged was a bad experience though....