Sonnia advice

[Shock & Awe]

I'm a relatively new player (about 6 months) and I've had a bit of trouble finding a good base crew for Sonnia.

At current my base 30-ish with her is: 

Sonnia (Cherufe's Imprint / reincarnation and/or badge of office) 

Malifaux Child

Brutal Emissary (Conflux of Inceneration) 

Witchling Handler

Witchling Stalker 

Brutal Effigy

I liked the idea of using a DM to box Sonnia and then shoot with the Emissary, so perhaps I could dump the handler, but I like being able to drag the stalker around.  

Is there a better base crew to run with her?  I like building burning lists with her, though I know that isn't always the most efficient way to play her, but what lists do ya'll have that really shine with her? 

[4thstringer]

Not a big sonnia player,  but that list needs scheme running. 

[Stonewall78]

Played Sonnia a lot, most of my lists where horrible at scheme running. Well anything really where you needed to get to the other side of the board.... I need to paint more models lol You don't want Sonnia in melee without Frank and the effigy. No point to have her not blasting everything otherwise.

[Myyrä]

It might be worthwhile to wait what wave 5 brings her. Two new master upgrades could contain something useful, that affects what you want to play with her. Gencon is just couple of weeks away.

[Shock & Awe]

9 hours ago, 4thstringer said:

Not a big sonnia player,  but that list needs scheme running. 

Absolutely.  That's what I save my last 20-ish stones for.  Depending on the scheme/strat I can add to it to round it out.  

Maybe Pathfinder/traps/austringer combo - or a couple hounds - or a Death Marshal

those last bits shift from game to game, but I'm trying to build a base group I keep with her from game to game.

[Shock & Awe]

7 hours ago, Stonewall78 said:

Played Sonnia a lot, most of my lists where horrible at scheme running. Well anything really where you needed to get to the other side of the board.... I need to paint more models lol You don't want Sonnia in melee without Frank and the effigy. No point to have her not blasting everything otherwise.

I feel like I play the Frank style wrong because he ends up not getting into the fight from needing to be 2" from Sonnia.

though I tried this once with a Sanctioned Spellcaster and let Frank shoot through them and it was cute for a minute.  

I always run effigies.  Regardless of what faction I play.  I bought all 7 of them because I loved the idea of them, and I never build a list without them.  

[Shock & Awe]

7 hours ago, Myyrä said:

It might be worthwhile to wait what wave 5 brings her. Two new master upgrades could contain something useful, that affects what you want to play with her. Gencon is just couple of weeks away.

Good advice.  

Though, speaking of new waves, am I correct in understanding that the Wave 4 Witchling Thrall still doesn't have a model out? 

[Ludvig]

2 hours ago, Shock & Awe said:

Good advice.  

Though, speaking of new waves, am I correct in understanding that the Wave 4 Witchling Thrall still doesn't have a model out? 

Think so. Rules are generally ahead of models and some models encounter hickups. I think the idea is that everything from the last book should be released before the next book hits. They also do pre-sales so if you bought thrm on black friday or gencon you can have stuff a lot earlier than the general release.

[Stonewall78]

Take a look at Franks upgrades. He has one that moves a model within 5" into base contact. This keeps Sonnia close and moves her up the board while still getting buffed if Frank activates before her in the turn.

As far as I know Thralls are the only model from the last book not released. They where also only available on Black Friday (which happens to be when I was lucky enough to order them).

[PanzerHarris]

Personally I never run Sonnia without either or both of Francisco and Phiona Gage. These days if you're taking a casting Master, you need a way to get them out of engagements they don't want to be in. Both Francisco and Phiona are great at this. 

My own preference is not to take Witchling Handlers or Stalkers. Yes, they're good models. I just don't think they add much to a casting game. 

Absolute favourite scheme runners for Sonnia are Watchers. I've taken 3 of them with her before now. Relay Information coupled with their ability to negate cover and never be flipped for when randomising makes them very much appreciated. 

With that said, I've never summoned a Stalker. Ever. I would much rather Sonnia was 14" away and relatively safe than be forced to close to 10". I also think Burning is a bit of a trap. If it happens, great. But if you really need it the model best placed to hand it out is Sonnia herself with her first cast. Stone for the tome if needed. She's CA9. She hits if she wants to! 

If I had to pick an all comers list, bearing in mind that I do play Sonnia differently to accepted wisdom, it would look a little like this;

50 SS Guild Crew

Sonnia Criid + 6 Pool

 - Badge Of Office (2)

 - Cherufe's Imprint (1)

 - Counterspell Aura (1)

Francisco Ortega (8)

 - Hermanos de Armas (1)

 - Wade In (1)

Phiona Gage (8)

 - Wrath of The Guild (1)

 - A Debt To The Guild (1)

Big Jake (6)

 - Numb To The World (1)

Watcher (4)

Watcher (4)

Watcher (4)

Brutal Effigy (4)

 

 Big Jake can be swapped out for whatever you fancy but he's a decent take for her. 

 

The Watchers and the effigy have a lot of scheme capacity. Sonnia, Phiona and Francisco mean you can afford to advance with Sonnia and those three are all very capable of murdering anything nearby. 

[Legislat]

I am a bit buffled. Why Numb on Jake?...

[PanzerHarris]

I had a spare stone. ?

In all seriousness his slot is the variable depending on schemes and strats. If you need him to do his thing then Numb may well be what I'd give him. Being able to ignore Slow or Paralyse or Rooted can be the difference between scoring VP and not. 

[Myyrä]

I find it curious you don't have Malifaux Child there. Any reason for that?

[PanzerHarris]

4 hours ago, Myyrä said:

I find it curious you don't have Malifaux Child there. Any reason for that?

I find he's something I'll look at if the terrain justifies it. I'd rather Sonnia is making attack actions with her AP, and one Flame Wall is something the opposing crew can normally go round without too much effort. If there are terrain bottlenecks though, or some handy severe terrain to slow their advance, then I'll take the Child for wall duty.

[Myyrä]

1 hour ago, PanzerHarris said:

I find he's something I'll look at if the terrain justifies it. I'd rather Sonnia is making attack actions with her AP, and one Flame Wall is something the opposing crew can normally go round without too much effort. If there are terrain bottlenecks though, or some handy severe terrain to slow their advance, then I'll take the Child for wall duty.

Makes sense. Sounds like the tables you play on are somewhat different than we use around here.

[PanzerHarris]

I like plenty of terrain. My own collection is 8 tables with enough blocking on that the Child would appear every game. But most games are played on club or shop terrain that doesn't have quite as much cover.

[Shock & Awe]

On 7/30/2017 at 0:54 PM, Ludvig said:

Think so. Rules are generally ahead of models and some models encounter hickups. I think the idea is that everything from the last book should be released before the next book hits. They also do pre-sales so if you bought thrm on black friday or gencon you can have stuff a lot earlier than the general release.

Good to know.  Guess the Sexy-cutioner will have to keep being his proxy for the time being.  

[Shock & Awe]

On 7/31/2017 at 4:10 AM, Stonewall78 said:

Take a look at Franks upgrades. He has one that moves a model within 5" into base contact. This keeps Sonnia close and moves her up the board while still getting buffed if Frank activates before her in the turn.

As far as I know Thralls are the only model from the last book not released. They where also only available on Black Friday (which happens to be when I was lucky enough to order them).

I know all about Hermanos, but my understanding is it would work something like: 

Frank moves about 5 to 5 and a half inches (as far as he can go and still be within 5" of Sonnia.  

He zeroes and she gets pulled into base.  

Now he has one AP left, and he can't move more than 2".  So, hopefully, you've moved somewhere that he can shoot at something with the first move, but if not, he either goes defensive, or moves a max of 2".  

I understand from better players (as I am of the worser persuasion) that you only need the buff for a round or two, and by that time everything should be neutered to the point of it being superfluous, but I feel like it keeps him from hopping forward to go cut something up... which is what I really want him to do....

 

PS - Thanks for rubbing it in...

[Shock & Awe]

On 7/31/2017 at 6:41 AM, PanzerHarris said:

Personally I never run Sonnia without either or both of Francisco and Phiona Gage. These days if you're taking a casting Master, you need a way to get them out of engagements they don't want to be in. Both Francisco and Phiona are great at this. 

My own preference is not to take Witchling Handlers or Stalkers. Yes, they're good models. I just don't think they add much to a casting game. 

Absolute favourite scheme runners for Sonnia are Watchers. I've taken 3 of them with her before now. Relay Information coupled with their ability to negate cover and never be flipped for when randomising makes them very much appreciated. 

With that said, I've never summoned a Stalker. Ever. I would much rather Sonnia was 14" away and relatively safe than be forced to close to 10". I also think Burning is a bit of a trap. If it happens, great. But if you really need it the model best placed to hand it out is Sonnia herself with her first cast. Stone for the tome if needed. She's CA9. She hits if she wants to! 

If I had to pick an all comers list, bearing in mind that I do play Sonnia differently to accepted wisdom, it would look a little like this;

50 SS Guild Crew

Sonnia Criid + 6 Pool

 - Badge Of Office (2)

 - Cherufe's Imprint (1)

 - Counterspell Aura (1)

Francisco Ortega (8)

 - Hermanos de Armas (1)

 - Wade In (1)

Phiona Gage (8)

 - Wrath of The Guild (1)

 - A Debt To The Guild (1)

Big Jake (6)

 - Numb To The World (1)

Watcher (4)

Watcher (4)

Watcher (4)

Brutal Effigy (4)

 

 Big Jake can be swapped out for whatever you fancy but he's a decent take for her. 

 

The Watchers and the effigy have a lot of scheme capacity. Sonnia, Phiona and Francisco mean you can afford to advance with Sonnia and those three are all very capable of murdering anything nearby. 

Very interesting, and it's given me several things to think about.  

I bought the Latigo Posse mainly to get Frank (and I am one of those weird guys that only runs female masters, so Perdita was inevitable) because I figured out REAL quick how fragile Sam is.  

Frank was always in Sonnia's list for me, but, as I said before, I felt like I was holding him back by needing to drag her around and not move to far from her.  The way I play (read: stupidly) He's just a taxi most of the time and doesn't accomplish much other than keeping her buffed.  This helps her not get hit quite as much, but it also means he's not making much of his AP other than - move, pull, *maybe shoot once.  That, and I love using Enfrante with finesse on beaters... it's just fun.

As to the watchers.... I have resisted Hoffman's box, and will continue to, because he holds no interest for me (and he's not female...)  That said, I love the idea of the hunters (they're basically ravage from transformers!), the guardian seems useful, and obviously the watcher is really good for both Perdita and Sonnia.  Even so, I have so many other Malifaux things I really want, and I feel like this would be one of those... "well, I guess I need this stuff" purchases.  

Being in Japan too means I can't ebay the things easily or find a second hand shop that might sell individuals of them.  So for now I'm stuck with trying to find good proxies for the model.  Any advice?  

Even then, I think two would be my limit... I'd definitely take the child. 

Thank you for response though, it has turned me back to the idea of using Frank with Sonnia.  This leads me to a different question.... but I'll post that in another topic.

[Shock & Awe]

14 hours ago, PanzerHarris said:

I like plenty of terrain. My own collection is 8 tables with enough blocking on that the Child would appear every game. But most games are played on club or shop terrain that doesn't have quite as much cover.

I had this problem when I first started playing too.  Every board was much too sparse terrain wise and it always ended up really unbalanced.  I went and built a kaka load of paper craft terrain, made a river and a graveyard, and now it's like a big maze.  Much more fun that way, IMO.

[Ludvig]

Except that he drags her up turn 1 Franks main job is to keep Sonnia unengaged. When I face arcanists I usually have Howard Langston or a Cerberus engaging Sonnia from turn 1 or 2. It can also be a 3ss malifaux raptor since anything with df 6 is basically invulnerable against her since she ia only ml 5 and then she will spend the rest of the game engaged and not contributing unless you have Frank to wnfrentste a mi or just kill whatever it is that engages her.

[PanzerHarris]

Personally I like to get Sonnia up to the centre of the board. It makes it very difficult to hide from her, and means that Francisco can still influence the games. He's just on a short leash! 

I've used Hannah and Samael Hopkins as a pair and will do again. Having Hannah use her 0 to copy Burn Them Out, in order to light up a target for Hopkins to Rapid Fire from safety, was quite effective.