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Making the whiskey golem great again P2


DanteJH

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Hello friends and welcome to my second part of 'making the whiskey golem great again'. Through this I hope to get you to put the whiskey golem back on the table or on the table for the first time. In this post I'll be addressing the reasons I've heard why people don't take him and if you haven't already looked at it please give part one a read.

 

First off we'll start with why not take 'X'. One of the most common things I've heard people say as a reason they don't take the golem is because other models are better tanks, damage dealers, runners ect. While I will be going over common models associated with this line of argument I'd first like to say that the main reason I've taken this guy in nearly every game I've played this year is that he fits into all these jobs. While Francois deals more damage can be also move 18' a turn? He sure gets close at a cost but does he also match the resilience? Hell no, with a (1) heal on par with Fingers' and a trigger to do that heal on a ram or a tome on an attack frank can't stand up to him on that side but he still has min damage 3 or 4 on a trigger. What I'm trying to say is that while he may be outclassed as a damage dealer and arguably as a tank and scheme runner, he combines all these proficiencies into one model and most importantly, can change gear at a moments notice. I've had him do from holding the centre one turn after smashing the previous to getting me a point for leave your mark the next, he's truely amazing.

Anyway, let's get to some of these aforementioned models:

Burt Jebson is one of the best arguments against the golem. He's 3 stones less, has the same damage track that can easily rise if supported and has some durability to him. First off I'd like to draw attention to 'if supported', I can say from my own experience that if Lenny isn't around Burt becomes much less effective. He looses a lot and I mean a LOT of durability. Not only does he lose the 'big target' bonus but he also loses getting his defensive trigger for free with makes people want to target him more and he loses a very good slippery target. Now I'm not saying it's not 17 stones well spent but I'd rather spend 10 on someone who is more durable and fast though some how lacking in damage with a 3/5/6 damage track.

Fancois is one of the dealiest models in malifaux with one of if not the most damaging attacks in the game. He's 3 stones less, a MONSTER of the field and doesn't need a third reason as to why he's good. Much of my reasoning has already been said for this guy already but he plays a different roll. Francois rushes in, kills something big, maybe 2 somethings then dies and that's ok but the golem is staying around. Again, a different job

Gracie is another model I've heard is a better pick and while I don't have much experience with this model I do have a friend who has but I still can't speak from experience. I'd like to give my opinion on this one but don't think it would be an educated one so I'll move on.

Fingers is another common argument and a very good one at that. He combines scheme runner and tank in one model and shares the same cost as the golem making them interchangeable. I will admit that fingers beats the whiskey golem in the scheme runner department as while he's not as fast he can drop markers while engaged and can turn enemy scheme markers into his own but I think that the golem is a much better tank and does far more damage than than Fingers. The damage is an easy argument but a better tank, that requires more discussion. We'll be comparing these guys in the scenario of holding a point as would be one of a tanks primary functions. Looking at the cards in front of me I see the same amount of wounds, similar defences (Fingers having 1 more Df and Wp) and the golem having armour +1. While we can argue that the higher Df is better than the armour when he flip over the cards and see them both with a 1/2/3 heal and the whiskey golem with a (1) action to gain +2 Df till he next activates. Now surely if they were  putting everything into staying alive the golem would come out on top with the armour, higher defence and a better built in defensive trigger that can cause enemy models to lose attacks and fish cards from the opponents hand? I think so but please tell me why not below.

 

Secondly, we'll talk about his base size. I have heard complaints that the 50 mill base is a reason not to take him and can I say that while this is a valid concern I haven't had it hamper me yet and have even managed to make to a good thing. In games these past few weeks I've been using the golem as a screen to protect high value models like a slop hauler or a Francois en route or recovering. Please give this one a go, I think it's an underused attic on an underused model that could suprise you. We'll also talk about the 1' melee range as it also fits in the the base size argument. Let's face it, it's the whiskey T-Rex! It's not hitting anything with those arms until you remeber that big base. While it doesn't solve the problem entirely it does improve the range to add an extra half inch.

 

Now we'll move onto one of the biggest criticism which is the (1) AP to bring him up to the great DF 7 from the average DF 5. To be honest, I don't really have answer to it, it's just a thing we have to live with. Part of getting good with the golem is learning when to spend that AP to bump it up or when to start smashing, dashing, drinking or scheming. It's important to remember that bumping the DF up isn't required and knowing when to bump it is, as I said, a big part of getting your stones worth and remeber, you can't get experience without getting him on the table!

 

Before ending this post I'd like to talk about his performance at Twatifaux, a tournament in Melbourne Australia with around 60 players. I took the golem in 4/5 rounds and he did wonderfully. First game was headhunter against a guild played and he was able to control the centre and was one of the only models left on the board at the end against a brutal assault from both Fransisco and Phiona. Second game was squatters rights and he was able to nimble drop marks on the opponents side and also get me full points for inspection. Third game was stake a claim and he held the point wonderfully till late in the second turn when he died to red joker damage. Last game was collect the bounty and he scored me full points for leave your mark and I can confidently say that he was worth his stones in almost all those games.

Please give the golem a shot, I think he's an underused model that has some great potential and please leave some comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

 

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I recently used the golem in a zipp crew with sparks against ressers. Turn 1 zipp pushed him 6" up with the rope, then sparks gave him fast. He was straight into the enemy deployment where they were all bunched up, tying them up for a couple of turns and leaving the rest of zipps crew to score. Now my regular opponent fears him greatly and I've got a new found love for the big hunk of wood. 

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1 hour ago, victorybod said:

I recently used the golem in a zipp crew with sparks against ressers. Turn 1 zipp pushed him 6" up with the rope, then sparks gave him fast. He was straight into the enemy deployment where they were all bunched up, tying them up for a couple of turns and leaving the rest of zipps crew to score. Now my regular opponent fears him greatly and I've got a new found love for the big hunk of wood. 

Nice trick but wait till you try it against models who ignore armor (Dastue Ba, Shikomes, ikiryo etc) ;)

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9 hours ago, daniello_s said:

Nice trick but wait till you try it against models who ignore armor (Dastue Ba, Shikomes, ikiryo etc) ;)

Picking your targets is a big part of the game and sure it might not work against a whole crew or a few big beaters who ignores armour but if you see that across the table the golem can always change gear 

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Hate to be again the one against the Golem, but I'm not convinced yet xD I think the reason you're able to consider it a good model is mostly that you want to play him and so you work toward "mastering " the model. I really like taxidermist, and even tho they're not held as amazing by everyone, I learned how to use them, and I've being doing fine since. But still, I'm still of the idea that you can achieve the same things you're explaining with less tricks, picking the right model for the scenario (cause often specialized models>versatile ones). Still, I'm curious as I said in the last post, so what crews have you being running with the Golem?

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The main issue with the Golem, to me, is the usual problem with Gremlins. It's not bad, it's just that competition within Gremlins is feirce with stuff that's just so good for their stones. I've never been disappointed with the Whiskey Golem when I've used it, it's a fine choice. There's just other options that are flat out fantastic.

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