How to Improve my Nellie Game

[longfanz]

Hi!

I've been playing Malifaux for a few months now, first with Sonnia and now with Nellie. The thing is she is supposed to be our strongest master but I don't know how to improve my game with her. My typical list is something like:

Nellie - Misleading Headlines, Delegation, Guild Funds

Francisco Ortega - Wade in, Lead Lined Coat

Phiona Gage - Transparency, Lead lined Coat

Ryle - Numb to the World, A debt to the guild

2x Guild Guard 

Printing press

and then a queller, a watcher or a reporter depending on schemes and strats.

What I use to do is to move my beaters and give them fast the first turn, the second one they try to smash something but after that I don't know exactly what I should be doing with Nellie. As my beaters are fast they try to move charge so they are quite far away for Nellie to help them or there are no enemies in range, things like that. What are good uses for Nellie on the mid turns?

 

Thanks!

[Cleezy]

Nellie should have enough movement to keep up with your beaters, with pushing 6 from a marker as her 0 she can comfortably keep up the pace. Then she is in range for things like Propaganda. Using that you can really utilise your beaters (triggering for extra attacks) and Phiona's ability to get an extra attack when a model fails a WP duel.

You can also use Nellie great to push/slow models away from the key combats you want your beaters in so they avoid damage. Also hot of the presses is great to allow places so you can teleport models around.

From your list I see Ryle as your big disadvantage, he is a model to me who never earns his stones back - slow, gun is OK at best and melee is good if he gets in. McTavish is always a better pick.

I generally run a promises Queeg when I play Nellie as he makes my beaters so much more efficient, having plus flips to attack and willpower on models that want high cards is a dream. It eases pressure on your hand and leaves those vital cards for Nellie to utilise.

Hope that helps somewhat but Nellie is super useful when you get 4+ attacks per beater.

[admiralvorkraft]

I love Ryle, but I don't love the Nellie+3 beaters crew. Nellie is great because of her flexibility - she can debuff and disrupt the enemy crew, and enable your own. If she's passing out fast to three beaters every turn then you aren't going to see much success with her.

Build your crews to score points, not just murder things. Force yourself to use her whole card until you get a feel for the whole range of what she can do. Her strength is in her flexibility, not just in her ability to bounce models through a meatgrinder.

[4thstringer]

The way I practiced Nellie was to look at her attacks and abilities and practice with them individually.   Take a game and try to focus on scathing review or hot off the presses.  Take a game of trying to play control with Nellie rather than three beater kill, using propaganda to push and slow.  Set up the alpha strike and see how that feels.  Play a game or two without delegation so that you have to use the other abilities.  

Give a listen to the schemes and stones on Nellie.  It's pretty good.   

Honestly I have played 10 games straight with every master I own in guild.  So much of early play is experimentation and cracking that nut.  Give yourself side goals.  Some games aren't about winning, but instead seeing if you can execute a plan.

[admiralvorkraft]

4thstringer is right on the money. Nellie has so many options you need to break her down and see how it all works on the table.

[Impact UK]

14 hours ago, longfanz said:

Hi!

I've been playing Malifaux for a few months now, first with Sonnia and now with Nellie. The thing is she is supposed to be our strongest master but I don't know how to improve my game with her. My typical list is something like:

Nellie - Misleading Headlines, Delegation, Guild Funds

Francisco Ortega - Wade in, Lead Lined Coat

Phiona Gage - Transparency, Lead lined Coat

Ryle - Numb to the World, A debt to the guild

2x Guild Guard 

Printing press

and then a queller, a watcher or a reporter depending on schemes and strats.

What I use to do is to move my beaters and give them fast the first turn, the second one they try to smash something but after that I don't know exactly what I should be doing with Nellie. As my beaters are fast they try to move charge so they are quite far away for Nellie to help them or there are no enemies in range, things like that. What are good uses for Nellie on the mid turns?

 

Thanks!

I am assuming that your current crew list is not working out for you?

Personally I never take Francisco with Nellie anymore, I would much rather put in the Jury or Dade in his place.

Never tried Ryle (maybe because I do not have him) so no real idea if he is good, bad or ugly.  I would recommend at least one Austringer in your list, Deliver Orders is darn handy and the mask trigger on Raptor.  With Sonnia being your other master I am guessing you have Witchling Stalkers that should not be overlooked with a MI6 with a nice crow trigger and condition removal (that seems a key part in most games now).

Now this may not suite your play style but hopefully gets you thinking of things you can do.