Jump to content

Banjonistas


Math Mathonwy

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, edopersichetti said:

Finally, this is not an errata proposal, but more of a question. What's the point of Banjonistas??? Anybody tried them, has had success, has suggestions?

I think that the most logical point of comparison is the Lightning Bug.

The stats are virtually identical. Banjonistas have one more Cg but they'll normally never want to Charge so it's a very minimal advantage especially as Lightning Bugs have a longer melee reach.

Lightning Bugs have Blast Resistant and Knock It Off! which sorta combo but they have so few wounds that the benefit from the abilities is pretty minimal. Reckless is naturally huge.

Banjonistas OTOH get High Pitched Squeel which I think is better than Blast Resistant. They also get Bayou Blues which I find quite a bit better than Knock It Off! - someone might disagree, I guess. Finally, Pushing every non-Rooster Gremlin in a 6" Pulse for 2" - if you Push three models, that's a bit like an AP? You could Push stuff from combat. I dunno. I think it loses to Reckless probably but the difference actually isn't necessarily huge. Which is rather interesting, I think.

Actions, then. Same Range but Lightning Bug attacks with Ca 6 against Df compared to Ca 5 against Wp of the Banjos. Attacking Wp is a bit of a toss up but since so few Gremlins attack Wp, it's not bad. The big one here is that Banjonistas don't have a gun icon which is pretty great. Damage track is pretty similar with the Banjonistas losing one point on Moderate. Bugs have better Triggers but they can sometimes do unwanted things with them so I dunno. A bit of a toss-up on that front.

Bugs have two (0)Actions which can be great adding essentially one more AP. Banjonistas have an additional (1)Action that is a bit weird but can give other Banjonistas an AP.

Summa summarum - the difference might not be quite as big as it would seem at a first glance and I do think that Banjonistas have their place.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for this interesting analysis. 5SS is a tricky spot and Lightning bugs are one of our most celebrated models. It looks like Banjonistas are at the very least comparable, which is great, because it means it comes down to what you plan to do with them. Bugs with Reckless are naturally more inclined to move themselves and perhaps do a bit of scheme running, while Banjonistas look like more support - move other models. I guess it would be beneficial to field at least 2 or 3 to control the board with all the pushes - card draw is nice but a bit situational unless you're playing Som'er and you're ok with several Gremlins dying.

Yes, I can see how they can find a place, haven't tested them yet, but having alternatives is always good. Kinda what I noticed about Sammy/Brin - similar but different and that gives you a choice that goes for playstyle and goals. Nice.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good analysis as usual.

I think one of the big differences between the two is that Banjonistas are more passive support while Lightning Bugs are active generalists. You take Banjos for the push and the card draw imo, with their actual AP being just a nice bonus, while you are bringing Bugs to get things done (and boy are they good at getting things done).

12 hours ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Bugs have better Triggers but they can sometimes do unwanted things with them so I dunno. A bit of a toss-up on that front.

This one is an interesting point of comparison. I would say Bug triggers are indisputably more powerful than Banjo triggers, but you're right that they sometimes do unwanted things, and I think they also often do nothing at all (other than the crow trigger which is great) because if you position them to avoid healing your opponent's models up with the Mask, then you also position to avoid hurting them all with the Ram. OTOH, the triggers on Banjo "Music" are all pretty reliable with the only real fail state being no other enemies in 8" for the second attack.

 

To repeat what I said in the other thread where it came up, I've been using one on and off since the book came out (I got another limited Bayou Gremlin at about that time, and already having 9 bayous I decided to turn it into a Banjonista, I'll see if I can get a picture) and the main time I like em is for Zoraida to drop the Paranoid condition onto the Doll and also draw a card whenever it gets killed, but really I find uses for them in every crew except Ulix because pigs don't benefit from Banjos too much.

I really really like them and would also recommend everyone plays a big ol band of Banjos at least once (I will be fielding four Banjonistas, Three Lightning Bugs, Two Slop Haulers and a Partridge in a Pear Tree as soon as I've painted my box up) because never taking a single walk is amazing.

 

edit: I also take 100% credit for their existence because of how my avatar used to be this

hryDQq3.png

And let's be real how could Justin have resisted?

  • Like 6
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey there! Don't mean to thread jack, but didn't want to start a second thread about these guys! As a brand new player,  plus someone explain to me where banjonistas have their place/usage? Also I got a swine cursed model in my box, are swine cursed/banjonistas any good with som'er/ulix? (My only two gremlin masters) Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mateyo said:

Hey there! Don't mean to thread jack, but didn't want to start a second thread about these guys! As a brand new player,  plus someone explain to me where banjonistas have their place/usage? Also I got a swine cursed model in my box, are swine cursed/banjonistas any good with som'er/ulix? (My only two gremlin masters) Thank you!

In my opinion they're a good extra quite cheap activation who is relatively safe. Slop Haulers tend to attract a lot more fire and Lightning Bugs tend to be in more dangerous positions. The main attraction of Banjonistas is the 2" push bubble which you can use to help scheme runners and key models disengage as well as add a bit more mobility to your crew. The 2/2/3 damage track is nothing to sniff at, but not really the main reason to take them.

They work really nicely with Som'er because they have some nice triggers for Banjo "Music" on Rams and Masks, which are the two suits that you're going to be handing out most of the time. If you're summoning, the extra 2" push is really helpful to get your new gremlins into the fray. And as a very minor point they have a decent number of wounds so they can benefit quite well from Encouragement.

Sadly they don't work so well with Ulix because their two strongest abilities - the push and the card draw - don't work on pigs. A Slop Hauler or Lightning Bug is probably going to be more useful.

Swine Cursed work best with Wong because he has upgrades which can improve the Magical condition, but they are good with anyone. They are quite independent and have Reckless. They are probably quite useful in an Ulix crew because Pigs aren't the best at dealing with Armour.

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

I've had a lot of practice with them and find them most useful in somer, Ophelia, and zoraida crews. I usually take 2 in both somer and Ophelia as the usually higher activation count makes the push and card draws more worthwhile. They are especially good in somer as most of their valuable triggers are on masks which skeeters or somer can pass out. If you have you triggers and hit your attacks you can do 8 damage a turn.

In zoraida they are a bit less useful but pariniod is still very handy to spread around. I can't speak for the lightning bugs but slop haulers do attract more fire and can be left behind.

There attacks being able to hit WP is also useful as most defensive triggers are on DF

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