New to arcanists

[Killersox]

Hey guys so like the title says I am new to archanists. I have Mei fang because of ten thunders being my main faction (and gremlins) but other than get box I only have rail golem and metal gamin. I got the dark carnival crew for Christmas and I am super excited about it. My problem is that I need help filling out the Colette/dark carnival crew. Also, I think my Mei fang is mostly done because of so many dual faction stuff but is there anything else I would need for her? Thanks for the help.

[Jordon]

Well if your looking to stay in theme then Mei got some awesome new models in the crossroads book with the mechanical pork chop (gremlin foundry minion) and sparks (gremlin foundry henchmen). I'm not sure if you already have them since you play gremlins but both are really solid inclusions to Mei, while also staying in theme.

The dark carnival has the nightmare coryphee if you can find them. If not than regular Coryphee also stay somewhat in theme with the nightmare Colette crew. If your really feeling creative, the slate ridge mauler just got a "circus bear" upgrade so you can slap a tutu on a 4 armed bear if your so inclined. 

Outside of specific themes, you cant really go wrong with mech rider (although you may need some additional models for it to summon). Also the arcane emissary is a great model that is a real swiss army knife in terms of what it brings (and it's Mei Feng specific upgrade is quite good)

[Bengt]

Ramos' box can fill out any Arcanist crew. Howard and Joss as differently flavoured beaters and Arachnids as cheap and moderately fast little minions.

You might also want to consider Malifaux raptors as they go really well with Practiced Production for certain schemes (as you already have Cassandra (or whatever the nightmare version is called)).

[retnab]

Welcome, I hope you enjoy the faction!  I definitely agree on the Mecha-Porkchop, Sparks, and Emissary, they really help Mei Feng's game a lot.  I like taking Large Arachnids with her too, they're the less damaging but very tanky big brothers to the Rail Workers and they all work nicely together.

As far as Colette goes, her box already comes with most of what you need for the Scheme side of things (though Large Arachnids are nice here too, they can eat spare Scheme Markers for 's) so bringing some beaters is usually a good plan.  I'd say find a long ranged model you like the look of for Colette to Prompt (I like Envy personally, but he does come in an expensive box so maybe not the first buy you should make), and as Bengt says the Ramos crew is very nice for her too.

[Killersox]

Thanks for the help guys. I like the idea of the circus bear. Where would I even try to find the nightmare coryphee? Aside from the advice you gave I think I heard her liking some rasputina stuff. Anyone know what that is all about? Also I love all the gamin models, who uses them and would any of them be useful?

[retnab]

Nightmare Coryphee are a special edition model so they might be a bit tricky to get.  The Frozen Heart model Colette likes would be December Acolytes, they're a nice shooting model with built in enemy discard and Slow effects.  Very efficient for their points!  Most masters use the Gamin for different reasons, Mei Feng and Kaeris like Fire and Raspy like Ice for example.  Sandeep likes them all.

[hydranixx]

I can't speak for Colette, but with Mei Feng you already have a good base to work with. If you were looking to add to her hiring pool, I would recommend acquiring Coryphee, Langston (Colette wants both of these too) Porkchop and Mech Rider, in that order. I've really been loving Coryphee with Cassandra in my Mei, Ramos & Kaeris crews, and I know that Colette will get even more out of them. 

Mei as an Arcanist is more support oriented since she can't take Misdirection or Recalled Training. She's not quite as capable as Thunders Mei for getting that one turn of railwalking-melee carnage and surviving in the thick of things forever. She will want to work more with her Construct and Burning synergies to get the most out of her. 

3 hours ago, Killersox said:

Thanks for the help guys. I like the idea of the circus bear. Where would I even try to find the nightmare coryphee? Aside from the advice you gave I think I heard her liking some rasputina stuff. Anyone know what that is all about? Also I love all the gamin models, who uses them and would any of them be useful?

Colette likes Ice Dancers, maybe. I've never used them myself, but I often hear great things about them. Maybe they're what you're referring to about her liking some Rasputina stuff. 

Gamin vary between being ok scheme runners, decent point holders and good synergy pieces/enablers. They can be slightly weak as hires if you don't bring them in for a specific purpose such as Rasputina's Ice Gamin field or Wind Gamin to run schemes on a board with lots of terrain everywhere. They also make for flexible and reliable summons - we have Mech Rider who summons Ice/Fire/Metal Gamin on a (0) and Sandeep who summons and buffs Gamin too. 

I like the option to bring in 1 Fire Gamin with Mei and Kaeris, but I don't deem it necessary. Rasputina needs her Ice Gamin for cheap activations and setting up her network. If Sandeep tickles your pickle, you probably want at least one of each Gamin for the flexibility it gives you.

If you were looking to play just Colette and Mei, I would say you probably don't need any extra Gamin.

Also, buy Malifaux Raptors. They're the best Arcanist model in the game!

[Boomstick]

On 12/9/2016 at 11:38 AM, Killersox said:

Aside from the advice you gave I think I heard her liking some rasputina stuff. Anyone know what that is all about? Also I love all the gamin models, who uses them and would any of them be useful?

As stated above, December Acolytes are great for ranged damage/opponent hand depletion/handing out Slow. as such, they make excellent Prompt targets. the other Raspy themed all star Colette/Cooper can make excellent use of is the Silent One. Not only is a little healing always helpful, but their Freeze attack is a Ca action Cassandra (Baritone Lola) can Understudy, it has no gun icon, meaning it both doesn't randomize into combat or care about covery, and can be shot from combat at something at range. Plus it has a trigger to take the attack again. So the dream setup is Cassandra attacks, cheats/stones forn the mask for Understudy, Freezes with the tome to do it again, attacks again with the built in push away trigger then walks somewhere annoying with her Nimble. Makes her hit like a truck (and the Freezes don't have to be aimed at her initial target, or at the same one for both Freezes, so if you need to finish off a few things with just a few wounds left, it's solid).

Colette/Cooper On Ice is a pretty great show to perform, all in all.

As for the gamin I mostly find myself summoning them via the Mech Rider, and then it's Fire if I need a little shooter/Burning support (usually not with Colette, though Carlos may like having one along) otherwise, for scheming I grab a steam arachnid. Mostly these days I find myself using the gamin with Sandeep, as the Mech Porkchop has pretty well cut out my need for Metal gamin with Mei, and when I need a 4ss model to fill out points I always go for the Arcane Effigy first. quick, durable, cheap, and provides condition removal, the little book puppet is a solid addition to any Arcanist crew.

[spooky_squirrel]

If you're already liking Raspy's stuff and thinking about putting more frozen heart into your crew and want to run something of a carnival, Luther the Pascha Hare (counts as Blessed of December, comes in a special edition kit featuring a tortoise and hare) is pretty fun and definitely in the visual theme. Ice Gamin give it a boost that makes its attacks even more dangerous, which adds to the prompt fun (Colette/Cooper prompts the Hare to attack).

I've messed around a little bit with some of the Wave Four stuff and Luther/Coryphee in a Colette list. The Blade and Claw upgrade came in handy for swapping them around so that Luther could chase and eat scheme runners while the Coryphee Duet went after harder targets--but if you're hoping to use it, you will end up needing to build for it.