Booze, Bacon and Boomstick

[Dogmantra]

26 minutes ago, Clement said:

Absolutely take Sammy with Raven if Entourage is in the pool!  Sammy can hide out tossing the occasional jynx and making stuffed piglets, and if anything makes a run at her you just Raven away.  Sure it's obvious, but that doesn't mean she's easy to stop.

I'm a bit more wary about doing this than I used to be. What with losing a point if you're below half wounds and Sammy's low wound count, one solid hit knocks a whole point off your score, and two can totally shut you out of the scheme. This may be partially due to the fact that my fairly small group targets Sammy with prejudice, but even though she has one of the best statlines in the game, 6 wounds is just a little too flimsy sometimes.

[Bazlord_Prime]

 

8 hours ago, Dogmantra said:

This may be partially due to the fact that my fairly small group targets Sammy with prejudice, but even though she has one of the best statlines in the game, 6 wounds is just a little too flimsy sometimes.

Once again, Theory-faux loses out to real-world experience  once your regular opponents get a rude whiff of that which a specific model is capable, good luck keeping that thing safe in the future.

And!! Anything on a 50mm base, while we're at it. So now, my Sow gets wasted ASAP, and I'm scared to ever take the Whiskey Golem again after the first time. Lost it first turn. 

That's probably another reason why Burt does so well. That 30mm base is so much less threatening...

[daniello_s]

Have small tournament on Saturday and I want to bring one master for all 3 games. I'm going for fun so I'm hesitating between Mah and Ulix. I think I have to flip the coin...

[Math Mathonwy]

Ooh, I'm hoping it'll be Mah! Though Ulix would be fun as well. Whatever the coin says, best of luck, mate! I'm rooting for you!

[daniello_s]

And after tournament...

There was 8 of us in total and we played 3 rounds.

R1: Turf War, Standards Deployment, Schemes: CJ, Inspection, Leave Your Mark, Undercover Entourage, Frame For Murder

R2: Headhunter, Flank Deployment, Schemes: CJ, Eliminate the Leadership, Accusation, Hunting Party, Dig Their Graves

R3: Interference, Close Deployment, Schemes: CJ, Mark for Death, Search The Ruins, Leave Your Mark, Dig Their Graves

 

I run fixed master/crew throughout whole tournament:

Mah (6SS) - DC, Lead Lined Apron, Know the Terrain

Francois - Stilts

Taxidermist - DC

Iron Skeeter - Hovering Airship

2x Rooster Riders

3x Bayou Gremlin

 

Round 1 I played against Chris and his Levi. Chris recently came back to Malifaux but he played pretty good and till turn 4 the final result was still open but I was able to remove his anchors: Johan netting him 2VPs for FFM, Mech Rider (got some pianos dropped on her head and then was smacked to pieces by Mah) and Ryle (combined effort of Francois, Rooster Rider and Mah - Francois died on turn 3 getting me 3VPs for FFM). Ultimately I was able to pull 10-4 victory.

Round 2 I played against Thomas and his Guild McMourning. It was a true blood-bath and on his side only Austringer and Guild Sarge was left and on mine only Mah, Taxidermist, Iron Skeeter and one Bayou Gremlin. The most decisive was turn 2 when McMourning survived beating from Francois and then failed to hit Taxidermist as Thomas had quite poor hand and not impressive flips and I was able to cheat my defence flips high. After that Taxidermist killed McMourning. Still, my opponent was playing very good and I was able to pull 8-7 victory at the end of the game. It was pretty close game and I did really like it.

Round 3 I was paired with Jamie and his Viks. With close deployment and Trapper sitting on very high tower I had to stay behind LOS blocking terrain until he activated Ash and Pokey and then despite my averange I decided to throw Fast Taxidermist at Pokey's face. With 4 attacks and help from summoned Stuffed Piglet (hur-hur-hur) i was able to kill this girl (I had +1MI from Chores). Turn 2 I won initiative and Mah jumped on Ash killing her as well. At this point I was controlling the game and was trading my model for enemy model while keeping my quarters and dropping scheme markers for CJ. This way i was able to get 7-0 victory and overally won 1st place. Woo-hoo!

 

Generally I'm very pleased with how Mah works and how this crew performed.

Mah herself is quite tanky. DF, WP6, 12 Wd, Armour 1, DC plus access to SS makes her quite sturdy while she has nice punch herself. She did a lot of mess among enemy models today. For the wooden spoon!!!

Francois was performing task of the beast-stick who should go after most valuable model in enemy crew and he did it (as usual) well.

Taidermist + iron Skeeter is very nice combo. 4 attacks from Taxidermist (MI4 when bumped by Chores) with built in  for damage is quite impressive. I didn't want to bring Burt that's why I took Taxidermist and I'm glad I made this choice. Iron Skeeter after offering taxi service focused on dropping pianos from the save place (if he wasn't in position, Mah was pushing him in correct spot). it is only Sh5 but with 3/4/5 damage spread it is something opponent cannot ignore.

Rooster Riders despite loosing Reckless are still really good minions. Wk7 and (1)AP charge is great for catching enemy scheme runners (plus Bayou Two cards is absolutely amazing) and they can easily run schemes after they clear the flank. For 6SS I think they are good models.

Bayou Gremlins - there is nothing to be said about them. Cheap, significant, quite fast minions. Simply good.

 

 

 

[Math Mathonwy]

Great stuff, mate! Congrats - very well done! Especially nice one against Viks in Close Deployment!

Mah maybe one of the weaker Gremlin Masters but that's only inside the faction (and in fact mostly because of Zipp) - she is still very capable.

Also interesting analysis. Did you ever have trouble with the Roosters becoming uncontrollable?

All in all a pretty unconventional list - no healing aside from the DCs (and, well, Skeeter I guess) and very limited tricks. Except for Mah, naturally.

[daniello_s]

3 hours ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Great stuff, mate! Congrats - very well done! Especially nice one against Viks in Close Deployment!

Mah maybe one of the weaker Gremlin Masters but that's only inside the faction (and in fact mostly because of Zipp) - she is still very capable.

Also interesting analysis. Did you ever have trouble with the Roosters becoming uncontrollable?

All in all a pretty unconventional list - no healing aside from the DCs (and, well, Skeeter I guess) and very limited tricks. Except for Mah, naturally.

I did have problems with Roosters before that's why I use them as very mobile flanking models and position them carefully. When you do this then opponent must always consider this potential 18'' charge range crazy chickens

As for healing - i was considering swapping one Bayou Gremlin for Lighting Bug/Slop Hauler but at the end decided to keep more SS in the pool as Mah was going to be thrown in the thickest spot and i would need these SS for damage prevention. Healer would die trying to keep up with Mah.

 

Next Saturday I'll meet with bunch of friends for a gaming day and I'll use Brewie this time as I was challenged to use him in next few games. Challenge was accepted 

[daniello_s]

As mentioned in post above I had 2 games last Saturday with Brewie. This time I completely ignored his Wp debuff aura and focused solely on Swill and Obey.

I used same crew in both game as I wanted to use some models I haven't used so far (Moon Shinobis and Whiskey Golem):

Brewie - Stilts, Dirty Cheater and in second game I added Liquid Bravery (5/4SS pool)

Wesley

Whiskey Golem - Barrel Up

Burt Jebsen - Dirty Cheater

2x Moon Shinobi

Slop Hauler

Lightning Bug

Bayou Gremlin

 

First game was civil war against Wong (Glowy Manja Rocha, Swine Cursed, 2x Rooster Rider,  Slop Hauler, Merris and something more I can't recall now) in Headhunter (standard deployment): CJ, Eliminate Leadership, Accusation, Search The Ruins and Last Stand). I picked Claim Jump and Search The Ruins as I knew I should feel comfy sitting near centre of the table and counter-strike my opponent right after I put Swill on the target.

Game was really bloody and I was able to pull 8-7 win although my opponent was pretty lucky with his Manja when I put Swill +1 on him and charged him with Bug and Burt but failed to kill him (he used his last SS to prevent one damage) and then he won initiative and killed my Brewie getting 3VPs for Eliminate Leadership.

 

Second game I played against Neverborn Crossroads 7 crew in Extraction (flank deployment): CJ, Eliminate Leadership. Leave Your Mark, Undercover Entourage and Hunting Party. Because of Hunting Party my opponent hired Primordial Magic to keep it in his deployment zone

I knew all these auras and Manipulative abilities might present a problem for my crew hence Liquid Bravery on Brewie. I picked Claim Jump and Eliminate Leadership.

Game went pretty well for me starting on turn 1. I obeyed Golem into position and charged Lust. First hit landed with Red Joker on damage and Lust was gone. Turn 2 Wrath charged Golem (buffing MI damage before this) and hit him once and then hit again but flipped Black Joker on damage. I immediately activated Golem and had to use Nimble to get into 1'' melee distance to Wrath but Golem failed Terrifying test by flipping Black Joker... Crap... Thankfully Burt was close by and he charged Wrath hitting him twice with Ram for extra damage and with second hit I flipped Red Joker for damage again killing Wrath instantly (I putting my opponent in despair).

I was also quick with killing Envy and this way I cleared middle section of the table letting Greed and Pride chase my minions for Hunting Party and then drop scheme markers for Leave Your Mark when I was scoring points for Strategy and my schemes. It is worthy to notice that Sloth dies of third damage Red Joker as well 

Eventually at turn 4 and 9-5 score my opponent decided to call a game.

 

Few comments on Brewie, Moon Shinobis and Golem.

Brewie focused on Swill and Obey seems to work OK although it is pretty boring to use him only this way. I hope these new upgrades will allow to use him in a bit more interesting way although still I think Swill/Obey style will be most effective way to play Brewie with occasional extra damage from Poison. Once I get upgrades I'll give him a run.

 

Moon Shinobis - these are quite interesting models but I think they lack bit of mobility unless we have some Poison on model in from of them so they can push a bit towards it or we put Poison on them so they can push at the end of the turn. Problem with second option is that they don't have that much wounds nor healing to afford using them this way.

Their attack is surprisingly good. MI5 only but if you hit then it is hilarious to see opponent cheating a card to get me straight/positive flip and then me cheating to give me negative/double neg flip and use Shinobis ability to swap positive/negative flips. 

In general I don't think they should cost 6SS especially when we compare them to Bug but this is just my opinion.

 

Golem - I think his 0 upgrade should be really an errata to the card rather than an upgrade. His damage spread is very good but MI range in a scandal. I might use him again but this time with Mah's crew where she might have a chance to boost his MI. At the moment I'm 50/50 about how to judge this model so I'll hold with my opinion until I use him again.

 

[daniello_s]

On Sunday I'm back to (official) gaming and will try to put some short reports/conclusions after every game here. It won't be full report style writing but possible something like my last post from August last year (see above).

Wish me good luck with Gremlins in GG18 environment

[Tris]

Looking forward to some actual Gremlin experience in 2018

[daniello_s]

And a game behind me.

We played today this:

Standard deployment

Symbols of Authority

Punish the Weak (me)

Hold Up Their Forces

Inescapable Trap (me and my opponent)

Show of Force  (my opponent)

Take one for the team

 

I had:

Zipp - DC, 6SS

Fingers - DC (I should take Stilts)

Trixie

First Mate

Merris

Slop Hauler

Lighting Bug

Earl

 

My opponent took Titania (3 upgrades), Barbaros (upgrade), Emissary (upgrade), The Tooth, The Claw, Cyclop (upgrade), Primordial Magic (surprise :))

I knew my crew was not killy at all but I was fairly sure Zipp can nicely hunt down enemy minions while Merris and First Mate can run to pick strategy markers. Zipp could also help with that by dragging Earl around. Fingers supported by bug were tasked to drop scheme markers to get VPs for the Trap scheme. 

I made horrible mistake during deployment as I deployed Trixie on far left when she should sit near the marker at the centre where she could use Gremlin-lure on almost all enemy models. 

I was loosing my models in frightening speed - first Bug died at the start of turn 3 then Slop Hauler a moment later. Hopefully Zipp killed The Claw at the start of turn 2 and shut down Cyclops with his gun for the turn. I was able to push Merris and First Mate along my left flank so in the next turns they were able to bypass enemy crew and start collecting Strategy Markers. Fingers and Trixie delayed enemy crew long enough so my opponent was able to pick just one strategy marker this game.

Trixie allowed me to get initiative almost every turn so i was able to do the most important things before Gavin could stop me. 

At the end of the game I had on the table First Mate, Merris on last wound, Fingers on 4 wounds left and Earl but i pulled 9-7 victory. I had some good luck - I drew Red Joker on turn 5 so i could beat Gavin's 13 initiative flip so I could run away with First Mate from nearby Primordial Magic and his Nullify and pick last strategy marker. i had some bad luck - Cyclops on 3 wounds left with no cards in the hand couldn't be hit by First Mate. Then 2 turns later Zipp hit him twice dropping Cyclops to last wound and last hit i flipped Black Joker... So I'd say cards were quite fair that game.

I was thinking about bringing Pigapult and few Bayou Gremlins to launch them towards strategy markers but i decided to use First Mate and Trixie and it was worthy.

 

[daniello_s]

Another game behind me and again I played against Titania

The encounter was:

Standard deployment

Ply for Info

Surround Them (my opponent)

Inescapable Trap (my opponent)

Take Prisoner (me on Titania)

Vendetta  (me: Burt vs Coppelius)

Public Demonstration

 

I took this crew:

Zoraida - tarot Reading, Poisoned Fate, Crystal Ball (5SS pool)

Fingers - Stilts

Burt - DC

Iron Skeeter

2x Waldgeist

Bayou Gremlin

Will O' The Wisp

 

Gavin brought Titania (upgrades, 7SS pool), Widow Weaver, Doppel (upgrade), Coppelius (upgrade), Tuco (upgrade), Bandersnatch, Gupps, Puke Worm

 

My plan for a game was simple - keep my crew close by around Zoraida who will Obey my models to walk and interact to get Strategy condition. Burt will wait till Coppelius is close enough and will use Iron Skeeter's taxi to murder him ASAP. I knew Titania will be in my face quite soon so I was going to focus on killing any other enemy model which would be too close to her and negate me VPs for Take Prisoner.

 

On turn 1 I was able to punish Tuco who was hiding behind building with double Defensive Stance - I used Hem on him, then Fingers hit Doll with +3 Poison, Zoraida used Aetheric Punishment on Doll (4 damage on Tuco) and then Skeeter hit Doll for another 2 damage. Tuco was left with 1 wound remaining at the end of this turn with +2 Poison so he was as good as dead in next turn. 

Gavin pushed forward and on Turn 2 I had Titania close by, Widow Weaver, Doppel and Gupps advancing in the middle, Puke Worm and Coppelius flanking me along each edge of the table. My cards in hand were not great (I had to use 11 to give Burt Fast with Hop Aboard!) but taxi service worked well and Coppelius was torn to pieces by Burt (3VPs for me - Vendetta). One Waldgeist went to intercept Puke Worm and he effectively stopped him from scoring and points for Surround Them in the game.

Fingers was a star again - he withstand attacks from Titania, Doppel and Weaver till turn 4 and got me 2 points for Ply the Info. Of course I spent almost all my SS on prevention flips on him but it was more than worth it. He will rule in GG18 (I wonder when people start complaining about him and he will be cuddled???...)

Waldgeist with their 4'' range when touching severe terrain (and Germinate of course) were great as well. Their Armor +2 allowed them to survive on the table and get Ply condition very effectively.

Will O' Wisp was so annoying that Titania had to kill him personally. His Doll summoning action works miracles for Zoraida as she can utilize her 3AP on Obey/Bewitch or to hit enemy models with Aetheric Punishment. Her Obey was great and allowed me to maneuver and interact with my other models outside their activation. 

Burt gave me 3VPs for Vendetta and then he killed Doppel it was well spent 15SS (Burt+DC+Skeeter).

At the end of the game Zoraida was engaging Titania and there was no other enemy models nearby the queen so I scored max VP for Take prisoner.

Game has ended with 8-4 victory of the old Hag. Zoraida is a good choice for Ply for Info.

 

 

[PositronMike]

Interesting read, I agree Fingers is amazing in GG18. I also think our competitive masters have been shaken up a bit as well Zoraida has been given a big boost as has Wong for me and Zipp is as amazing as always.