Observations on Tags and Themes

[SAYNE]

I was thinking about how Gremlins have some of the most amount of keyword synergy, and it lends itself heavily to the strength of certain models, and was wondering how many of each tag we possessed and the perceived power level of each theme.

So far there are

42 Gremlins (41 in faction, Looking at the gassers here -_-)

9 Pigs

5 Swampfiends in faction, 7 out of Faction

9 Kin

6 Tri-Chi, 2 out of Faction

3 Sky Pirate

2 Foundry

1 Crossroad Seven AND Tormented since Gluttony is the only for either

1 Emissary duh

1 Oni

1 Effigy

2 Puppet

1 Rooster

5 Beasts

1 Hound

and 1 Showgirl.

 

For Masters, Somer is currently residing at the top of perceived power, and at least, according to this, it makes sense as he has synergy with nearly the entire faction since he operates on the Gremlin and Pig keywords.

Zipp is arguably second place now (if not first due to the recent victory) and we can discuss if that's because of Zipp himself or the new upgrade to him later. He only has models with keywords, however, he largely does not operate at all with synergy and keywords and is usually considered a "solo" master whose crew act largely independent of him and therefore any theme.

Wong is similar to Zipp in that he largely does not operate on keywords either, rather generating his own in game via the Magical condition, so his thematic models aren't necessarily tied to tags. Although he has a theme, he by far and large is not bound by it giving him relatively free list building.

This is where the rankings get thrown out typically as these all tend to gravitate towards more "fun" rather than purely competitive, although it's usually just a matter of perspective. Regardless, the following's efficiency tends to be tied to a specific theme or mechanic.

Ophelia has numerous abilities with caveats that make her a tad bit specialized towards Kin and other Ht 1 models. Aim High, Boys typically only helps if you don't have a Ht 2or above melee beater on your team, which can be limiting. We have Franc and Burt at Ht 1 beaters, which both received recent nerfs, and Mancha and Golem are both Ht 3 which both received buffs, but likely won't be taken with Ophelia due to the Ht limitation and unwillingness to work out of the Kin keyword. Almost all of her beneficial team abilities directly specify Kin.

Zoraida is actually not as favoring towards Swampfiends as it might seem, considering none of her abilities directly buff or enhance swampfiends in any way. She can simply hire them out of faction, which seems slightly counter intuitive, considering there literally isn't a reason to bring them aside from a surprise factor, or because they benefit her in the case of WotW. That said, surprise Waldgeists is usually not well-received to an opponent who isn't packing anti-armor for gremlins for some reason.  I'm actually surprised Zoraida isn't more popular in gremlins, considering you can build typically whatever list you want and she can make it better. But once again, perception.

Brewmaster falls into a similar ditch as Zoraida and this time it's for good reason. Brewmaster's entire design makes the inner balancer wince. Very much a feast or famine, tends to be unfun one way or the other, you catch my drift. As such, his keyword Tri-Chi consists of some of the most confusingly designed models in the game. It pushes him farther and farther into a niche area, and this is often a trap for newer players, who see an obvious choice that... doesn't work like anyone imagines. Or works too well for you and your opponent just kinda waits to take their turn. There have been numerous improvements to him and his models over time, although it's debatable on how much it changed.

Ulix... likes pigs. A lot. and there aren't a lot of pigs. at all. That basically sums this guy up. I feel like if one truly suffers from an underdeveloped Theme, it's Ulix. He has so many good and cool toys in his upgrades, but all anyone wants to do is summon/alpha with him. Perhaps that's just his fate. I feel like if we got a really heavy personality pig to shake things up, it might make this guy have an exciting playstyle. I don't know why a pig with Liberty spikes hair just popped into my head, maybe some dark eyeliner. I have no idea. Just SOMETHING different other then, yeah I can charge for 1 ap, have 4 random triggers, and I like to charge anything in sight. I know we have the sow and gracie (even the improved mechapig) but... it just all feels so samey.

Last but not least, Miss Tucket. She often gets pigeonholed into her Chores ability and the best of those four giving out +1 Ml on a Ram is obviously going to skew people's perception. She operates on no theme, but seems to want one: Melee based Gremlins. Benefits gremlins, but nothing in comparison to Somer, as almost all of her synergies involve discarding or hurting or killing her own people to make a relatively meh thing happen. Kinda weird how the moment a melee gremlin steps onto the scene (Wrastlers) the first thought to my head is "Oh wow, a new Mah model, cool!", even though it truly has nothing to do with Mah and that just feels, weird I guess? I'm not sure yet. Whisky Golem and Mancha are both Mah buffs inadvertently... or purposely. I think Bayou Bushwhackers, Trixie, etc. should gain a keyword of some kind, and tailor Mah closer to that, and give her a damn fluffy melee character to help her out. Or better yet rework Chores in some way to be more thematic.

As an interesting aside: Rooster. One model, yet there are quite a few abilities that specify non-Rooster gremlin for their actions and I feel like that's simply odd and the only tag like it in the game as far as I know. Could definitely mean an exploration of this keyword in the future. Wouldn't mind "Chicks" or "Little Pluckers" in the future, would be a fun, squishy rampaging alternatives to Pigs.

So, in summary, I feel Gremlin is obvious enough as a keyword. Kin currently feels a bit restrictive to Ophelia. Pigs are a tad bit boring. Tri-Chi are a mixed bag as there isn't a single superb model among them. Swampfiends are practically irrelevant. Sky Pirate I think has small synergy with Zipp but not much. And need more Roosters.

 

I'm obviously extremely bored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wizuriel]

1 hour ago, SAYNE said:

As an interesting aside: Rooster. One model, yet there are quite a few abilities that specify non-Rooster gremlin for their actions and I feel like that's simply odd and the only tag like it in the game as far as I know. 

Austringers are the same way

[SAYNE]

Yes you are right. Funny I forgot them. What is it with birds and specific rules?

[wizuriel]

1 hour ago, SAYNE said:

Yes you are right. Funny I forgot them. What is it with birds and specific rules?

Lucius use to hate birds and he probably wrote the rules..... This actually also explains roster riders

[Gnomezilla]

You forgot constructs!

You’ve only got a few...and Zipp’s totem giving them a buff that makes me rust with envy. And Sparks, although the sting of his existence is now gone.