Jump to content

I've got that Hoffman/Mcmourning fever


4thstringer

Recommended Posts

Immediate thought upon reading your title: "And the only prescription, is more cowbell!"

That said, I have little helpful knowledge to offer on either master, except that I hear Hoffman works especially well with a metal gamin and can make a steam aracnid swarm really shine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 SS Guild Crew
Hoffman + 3 Pool
- Arcanist Assets (1)
- Field Mechanic (2)
- On Site Assimiliation (2)
Mechanical Attendant (2)
Ryle (10)
- A Debt To The Guild (1)
Joss (10)
- A Debt To The Guild (1)
Brutal Emissary (10)
- Conflux of Amalgamation (0)
Mobile Toolkit (3)

There is 8ss left over. Those are best spent on scheme runners like Reporters, Watchers or Steam Arachnids. Hoffman will spend his ap on the first turn on throwing some upgrades. Later in the game he will be mostly using Machine Puppet on Joss or Ryle. Using ap to power loop anything isn't a great idea here, because everything important already has high durability and high attack stats. The only exception would be if you wanted a really strong turn of shooting with Ryle, but it probably won't ever be worth it. With :+fate for damage from Toolkit the damage this list deals is monstrous. None of the models rely on triggers too heavily, so you aren't losing much when targeting them with Machine Puppet.

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Franchute said:

@Myyrä you used to like Langston + emissary. What changed your mind?

Short answer is that most of the time I have been explaining how to do nasty alpha strikes with Hoffman, not showcasing my preferred lists necessarily.

The long answer is as follows:

Langston lacks staying power compared to the other alternatives and is more expensive. That makes him easier to counter to an extent. If the scenario or the situation demands the destruction of a specific enemy model Howard can definitely have a place in the list, but if you need to also keep your own models alive Joss and Ryle become more attractive. Either one of them will also likely win vs. Howard 1 vs 1.

I'm not saying that Joss and Ryle should always be taken over Howard, but there several good reasons to do so with Hoffman. First is that they require less support to function. Howard will likely need significant investments from Hoffman to see two turns of combat. Second is that Howard's extra ap from nimble and flurry don't make him any better machine puppet target. Third is the fact that Ryle and Joss are both henchmen. Hoffman doesn't really need his SS for anything specific, so he is free to use them to protect the model the enemy is trying to take down first. If your beaters are both henchmen, your opponent hasn't got the option of targeting a model that hasn't got the ability to use SS. That means that you will be fighting with full strength longer.

Ryle and Joss also happen to both have unique abilities that give them some extra utility. Joss can ignore most defensive techs and Ryle can heal friendly constructs.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I've always had a lot of fun with this;

50 SS Guild Crew
Hoffman + 5 Pool
 - Field Mechanic (2)
 - Arcanist Assets (1)
Howard Langston (12)
 - A Debt To The Guild (1)
Peacekeeper (11)
 - A Debt To The Guild (1)
Rail Golem (11)
 - A Debt To The Guild (1)
Watcher (4)
Watcher (4)
 
 (exported from CrewFaux)
 
Which particular nimble, heavily armoured juggernaut would you like to be hit with first? Oh, and in the meantime, my Watchers are flying around the table scoring schemes or being a taxi for Hoffman. 
 
I know it's not optimal but I don't like taking non Constructs with Hoffman. And it's hilarious on the table. One of those crews where the opponent doesn't even know where to start. 
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hoffman gets the performer, sometimes, because of all the things he can do for constructs, Don't Mind Me isn't one of them. Plus the occasional explosion of a 0-interact scheme marker upfield never hurt. And Johan, of course. Preferably with Numb to the World so he doesn't get turned. :P

I don't actually fancy the performer as much with McMourning, partly because I like giving him the weird hiring choices anyway and there's only so many soulstones. I swear by dual nurses. A single just gets neutralized by slow walk or focused fire. Along with Francisco (this is the only master I will auto-include him with--McM's just too fragile otherwise) and the brutal effigy, that's half the list already hired right there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Gnomezilla said:

Hoffman gets the performer, sometimes, because of all the things he can do for constructs, Don't Mind Me isn't one of them. Plus the occasional explosion of a 0-interact scheme marker upfield never hurt. And Johan, of course. Preferably with Numb to the World so he doesn't get turned. :P

I don't actually fancy the performer as much with McMourning, partly because I like giving him the weird hiring choices anyway and there's only so many soulstones. I swear by dual nurses. A single just gets neutralized by slow walk or focused fire. Along with Francisco (this is the only master I will auto-include him with--McM's just too fragile otherwise) and the brutal effigy, that's half the list already hired right there.

This might be part of why I suck with mcmourning, but I found dual nurses to eat each others lunches when it came to needed suits.  do you manage to avoid that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, 4thstringer said:

This might be part of why I suck with mcmourning, but I found dual nurses to eat each others lunches when it came to needed suits.  do you manage to avoid that?

Other than fighting for masks for uppers turn one, they don't have a task assigned which requires a suit. If I have a low crow in hand that turn, great, someone's getting healed. Otherwise I just want to shut down an opposing model that turn and they can grab any suit available with a high enough number that'll work. And I do get inordinate joy from having a hand of middling cards, top-decking against an enemy model, flipping high of a suit they'd really like, letting them choose not to cheat, and then cheating in the mid-card to change or fail it.

Also part of the reason to have two is that they have to devote full turns to walking to catch up with the fight, sometimes, so they leapfrog and only one is casting meds on any given turn. -_-

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I enjoy dual Nurses for similar reasons when playing ressers. Meds is so intimidating that your opponent will likely cheat in a high card if you are winning the initial duel, regardless of whether you actually have anything useful in hand. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, I'm going to try dougie against outcasts tomorrow.   It's a scheme heavy pool, with extraction,  search the ruins,  dig their graves,  set up,  eliminate the leader.   The player is a good mini gamer but took a three year break from faux so I feel comfortable experimenting a bit.   I expect levi, but I don't want to build for levi, given the experience levels. 

So I came up with this speed based list

50 SS Guild Crew
McMourning + 5 Pool
 - Plastic Surgery (1)
 - On The Clock (1)
 - Evidence Tampering (2)
Dr. Grimwell (9)
 - A Debt To The Guild (1)
Nurse Heartsbane (8)
 - Disrupt Magic (2)
Nurse (5)
Orderly (5)
Nurse (5)
Orderly (5)
Witchling Stalker (5)

 (exported from CrewFaux)

This crew should be able to get a ton of markers down;  The question is can I keep them alive, and can I nail set up? .

I dont like my chances of surviving to the end so search the ruins is out.   Too easily denied.    He's not going to be afraid of my conditions,  So ill have to just deal with that.  

Don't love the matchup but figure its nit good just to play new lj  and nellie constantly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What do you think about the chihuahua for activation control? I woild probably consider Frank instead of heathbane and put disrupt magic on Grimwell, especially if eliminate the leadership is in the pool. Moreover evidence tempering to negate search the ruins makes sense only if McM survives until the end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Franchute said:

What do you think about the chihuahua for activation control? I woild probably consider Frank instead of heathbane and put disrupt magic on Grimwell, especially if eliminate the leadership is in the pool. Moreover evidence tempering to negate search the ruins makes sense only if McM survives until the end.

I usually take evidence tampering just for the scalpel slinging. Considering I'm trying to learn to not use him as an all the time fighter,  I probably need to stop doing that. 

As far as frank goes,  He's probably a flat out better model especially given the schemes,  but the speed which hb brings  and the denial conditions is something I value in this crew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So how do people play Guild McMourning then? I dabbled with him and couldn't really make him click, then he got swatted aside in 2 turns by one of the UK's best players and hasn't been seen since.

Looking at On the Clock he seems to be more of a support master that can take care of himself, rather than the front line beatstick that he is for Ressers. In Guild there's no particular benefit to him making the kill compared to, for example, giving Ryle Precise and letting him dismantle things.

As for Heartsbane, I wrote the PullMyFinger on her. Loved her. If only she was less suit hungry...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, PanzerHarris said:

So how do people play Guild McMourning then? I dabbled with him and couldn't really make him click, then he got swatted aside in 2 turns by one of the UK's best players and hasn't been seen since.

Looking at On the Clock he seems to be more of a support master that can take care of himself, rather than the front line beatstick that he is for Ressers. In Guild there's no particular benefit to him making the kill compared to, for example, giving Ryle Precise and letting him dismantle things.

As for Heartsbane, I wrote the PullMyFinger on her. Loved her. If only she was less suit hungry...

It's probably part of why I struggled with him,  but I always ran him as a more mobile lady j.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The nurses are about the only models that did perform.  They put uppers on the performer, paralyzed levi twice, and healed McMourning to full, (which denied a eliminate the leadership point, and almost denied two of them).  My big problem was I had so many models that are dependent on conditions, and Ashes just ran a swath through my crew.  I was also quite sad when a waif severed my executioner for 5 pts of damage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've also been failing with McMourning. Having someone ignore armor is cool sometimes but at the cost of a master ap it seems kinda meh (especially when your opponent isn't using armor). Ignoring htw is mostly good when you have focus or the Loco buff and the latter got significantly more risky to use lately. My mirror match against a resser Mcmourning a few months back also made it seem like summoning a flesh constructs at full wounds is a lot better than getting a scheme marker near a friendly model for your master's ap. Granted that player is better than me and has more experience with the doc specifically but damn the efficiency difference was real. Having nurses and Sebastian is fun though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information