Your Neverborn crew cores

[Mununkulus]

Hi guys,

so in a lot of topics, the fact came up that most people use a core of models with every master and adapt a few things based on opposing faction and strategies. 

So I'm curious... what are your core crews for the different Neverborn masters and what are the "Extras" you swap in for specific opponents/strats ?

[Voodoo Specter]

The most common cores people I see people using Doppleganger, dark omens, don't mind me and the ability to copy other models attacks make her useful in any situation. Mr Graves for a tough reliable beater with a good push mechanic and to a lesser extent Nekima because she is just plain scary as hell. Also Primordial Magic for masters whos totem isn't a key part of how they work.

For good minions to cycle depending on satrats and schemes. Terror Totts are great cheap scheme runners, Illuminated are respectable beaters with good staying power, Wildgeist are great for holding points on the board and Silurids are expensive for scheme runners but very efficient in a lot of set ups.

A lot of people like a lure minion and will usually Choose lilu or a Beckoner.

But it is worth taking note of what master/s you want to play because there are a number of models that would be considered core for some masters due ro thwir synergy but not worth it with others.

[Ergonomic Cat]

The general name for that is the Neverborn All-Stars.

Typically, that's Mr. Graves, Primordial Magic, Nekima, Doppleganger, Johan.  Then toss in a scheme runner or two and some upgrades.  Some people would consider Lilitu instead of Nekima.

That group, generally, is very good for their points, has the ability to cover nearly anything that comes up, and doesn't have any significant weaknesses.  

Graves pushes and hits things.  PM gives card draw and activation control for a measly 2ss.  Doppleganger is amazingly flexible, can interact while engaged, and lets you cheat initiative.  Johan has a good hammer and condition removal (which the Doppleganger can copy).  And then either Lilitu, who has reasonable damage, long range, and a great lure or Nekima, who just makes things dead.  

I find that I rarely take the All-Stars as a group.  I typically have 1-2 of them every game, but rarely more.  But if you don't know what you're going to face or what your opponent will do, taking that crew means you'll probably have answers.

 

[Thana.]

Agree with Ergonomic but imo Lilitu replaces Graves or Johan, not Nekima. I tend to use 2-4 of these models irrespective of master, schemes and strategies. Very, very rarely take all 5-6.

The models that most often round out the crews are totems for some masters (Lynch and Dreamer mostly), Waldgeist, Illuminated and scheme runners. 

[catbat07]

Changelings! There is no crew where I wouldn't take three. They have amazing mobility, are good scheme runners, can pack a punch and can be very difficult to take down.

[Argentbadger]

Are you looking for pre-built crews where different masters can be 'slotted in'?  Or generally good pieces to include?  In the case of the latter, I suppose that the above responses probably cover your question (though I don't necessarily agree with all of them).  In the former case, I have a couple of crews that I have tested with multiple masters to reasonable effect.  Interestingly I find that being able to do this is most prevalent in Neverborn, where there is a lot of synergy between individual crew members that doesn't need to include the master.

First, try this Swampfiend-themed crew for size:
2 Waldgeists, Spawn Mother (Hexed Among You), Bad Juju (Eternal Fiend), McTavish and a Will O' The Wisp

I feel that the crew works best with Jakob Lynch at the helm (tournament battle reports can be seen at link and link).  However, at various times in non-tournament I've used it with Pandora, Dreamer and Lilith, who add different aspects to how the crew plays.  I don't care for it with Collodi who has to compromise too much between its own personal contribution and the internal synergy of the Swampfiends, and Dreamer arguably has the same issue (plus the Spawn Mother summoning engine isn't really needed with Dreamer).  The crew is quite good for board control, and the threat of Bad Juju falling out of anything killed can really allow you to boss which pieces die and where.  In an ideal world, the victim will be a Gupp hatched from the Spawn Mother / Wisp combination.

Another favourite is a Nephilim list:
Barbaros (One Thousand Faces), Nekima (One Thousand Faces), 3 Terror Tots and a Black Blood Shaman

I've used this lot with only very slight variations in tournaments using Collodi (link) and Lilith (link, link, link link and link), and have also run it in non-tournament games led by Pandora and Dreamer.  I have no reason to think that Lynch couldn't also lead the crew effectively, but haven't tested it.  This crew spreads out really well and is quite handy in Interference, Stake A Claim and Squatter's Rights.  It also loves Dig Their Graves as you can use the cheap activations from the Tots to drop scheme markers where needed then send in the master or Nekima to murder whatever comes near.

[Sharp_GT]

Each master has a few models I always take, but neverborn are lucky that so many masters can be run with a variety of models in their crew. Here's just a brief list of my always takes

For titania i basically would never leave home without barbaros and a primordial magic

Pandora's new best friend is lust

Lynch obviously always has hungering darkness, and I'll almost always bring graves

Collodi will almost always have a beckoner, though that will occasionally get swapped for a performer. Coryphee are so good I almost always bring one

Zoraida always has a will o the wisp, but no must takes otherwise

Lily, lucius, and dreamer honestly can be kitted out so many ways, and not even daydreams are guaranteed to come along anymore. 

To every crew I'm going to strongly consider doppelganger, graves, and I'm sorely pressed to find a reason to not bring a friekorps trapper and at least one changeling. 

Edit: oh yeah, and burt jebsen can go into almost any crew. Seriously, he's so good

[Voodoo Specter]

43 minutes ago, Sharp_GT said:

Zoraida always has a will o the wisp, but no must takes otherwise

I'd say either Iggy or a nurse are also staples of a Zoraida crew due to their synergy with the Voodoo Doll.

[catbat07]

I would never leave home without at least five marionettes/effigies when I'm in Collodi. Otherwise I really don't feel that there are any must takes.

[Mununkulus]

What I had in mind was sorta like this:

Interferrence as strategy

My preferred crew core for this is Lilith with Spawn Mother, Bad Juju, 2 Waldgeist, 1 Wisps + additional models / upgrades based on schemes.

This gives you a lot of activations, control through Tangle Shadows to misplace your opponents models, as well as durable board presence in waldgeists.

 

Guard the stash as strategy

Zoraida, McTavish, Spawn Mother, Doppleganger, 1 Silurids, 2 Wisps + additional models/upgrades

Plenty of shooting action for McT and Doppel for anything that comes close to the stash markers and displacement through Z's obey, while gupps are more or less sacrificed to claim the markers. Silurid as scheme runner (claim jump is more or less auto 3 points).

 

open for improvement and discussion of course  I currently run Z and Lilith in most of my games, but recently finished up Lynch and have Titania almost ready.

[Mununkulus]

On 15.7.2017 at 7:52 PM, Argentbadger said:

I feel that the crew works best with Jakob Lynch at the helm.

Hmm, I used a similar crew so far with Zoraida only. I read the battle reports and it does indeed take a lot of pressure of McT, who usually is the main focus of my opponents. With Huggy up close in their faces, that would indeed shift focus on to him I assume while McT has the freedom to move in closer. Out of curiosity, why no Doppleganger ? I usually bring her with McT to generate more shots.

[Argentbadger]

58 minutes ago, Mununkulus said:

Hmm, I used a similar crew so far with Zoraida only. I read the battle reports and it does indeed take a lot of pressure of McT, who usually is the main focus of my opponents. With Huggy up close in their faces, that would indeed shift focus on to him I assume while McT has the freedom to move in closer. Out of curiosity, why no Doppleganger ? I usually bring her with McT to generate more shots.

Zoraida would be a good option for this crew indeed since she's yet another Swampfiend so (in the fairly unlikely event of her dying) could be another portal to unleash Bad Juju.

I will admit that I haven't tried the crew with the Doppelganger.  She's a good toolbox indeed and can synergise well with McTavish, though I don't value her as highly as many other posters in this forum seem to.  But I would always worry that I'm giving up too much board presence by keeping two pieces at the back; in general I've found that McTavish ends up playing a sort of 'sweeper' role, picking off anything engaged with a high front-line of Walgeists and Bad Juju.  The other reason is that my testing of this crew led me to think that the saturation of threat of Bad Juju being unburied is quite important.  When I started to mix in non-Swampfiend models then my opponent would focus on them first so as to leave me with less time using the Mire Golem.  Admittedly the Doppelganger can be quite tricky to deal with, but a determined opponent will do so.  Of course, that in turn can lead to traps being set, and this is what I love of the game.  Please try the crew with a Doppelganger (instead of a Waldgeist I suppose) and let us know how you feel it works.