The Road to Adepticon is Paved 10T goodness

[rancor709]

Joe here from Cheated Fates Radio and I'm taking 10t this year to adepticon. I'll be playing in the masters and in the team tournament and wanted to as I did last year have a working thread to post some game thoughts, Highlights and ideas as I start my tournament preparation for adepticon in April. I'll try and provide you with all my hard won knowledge as I go on this journey to Adepticon Masters and team tournament. Be sure to sign up for Gas Light League, the after hours party of awesome and prizes.

Okay Plug out of the Way.

Let's straight talk Jacob Lynch. So far my Favorite 10t master as I'm waiting on more parts to come for Yan Lo, namely his ancestors. I ordered Izamu and beckoners from the lgs today so hopefully should see those in the next few weeks, merry christmas to me.

Okay but Lynch, well Lynch and HD provide one of the most interesting tandems in malifaux. They are a nice self contained unit that can slot into a variety of builds, evidenced very strongly by Craig during the Uk masters. Lynch is a very subtle piece and requires board time to more fully work out some of his interactions. on the surface many of us will immediately look at Dead Man's Hand and utlize that ability add nausem. However that spell is not always his best action. And Frequently I find myself not casting it and not feeling worse that I did. On the simple math surfaces this ability is most likely going to cause a surge like effect to your opponents hand. On average they will draw 1 card and discard 1 card each time you use the ability. Everytime you Dead Man hand its a gamble so keep that in mind when using it. I often look at it as a hand replenishment or builder if I've drawn that mediocre hand, not terrible where mulligan is a clear choice and not amazing were the likely hood of my opponent having a similar hand is unlikely so no sense feeding them cards potentially. at least that my view on it and the games where dmh has been limited tend to work better for lynch.

That out of the way lynch may have one of the single best mechanics in the game, namely Cheatin' Bastard. Meaning I shot my opponents model, i flip lower than he does, I then get to ask him if he'd like to cheat. That's right folks you always cheat last in an opposed duel. This forces hard choices on your opponent and can force them to burn resources more rapidly which is better for you. The best thing is to flip low and see your opponent so afraid of what you might do, as Lynch is currently the only model with access to 2 red jokers. That they burn a decent card on the def and potentially flip a soulstone as well, only go oh I miss. after they've wasted the resources. while it helps defensively the true value of cheating bastard to me is offensive.

Malifaux Roulette perhaps the single most interesting trigger in the game. Its bascially enlue of damage you get to play a minigame. I tend to trigger this only if I am on double negatives or if I have a good idea what cards my opponent is hanging on to due to triggers. However it has been very entertaining to use and has done some great things because I found the mask my opponent forgot to get rid of .

Pip the ace is a stronger trigger particularly if you have either the ace of masks or the joker in you hand. as it let you go to straight damage flip by discarding cards.

Damage range Lynch gunfighting damage profile is solid 2/3/4, nothing to sneeze at and repeated pops from the pistol down models and masters. He's a solid piece on his and his fighting abilities are more than meets the initial eye.

Tune in tomorrow for some HD breakdown and we'll go over my favorites in the 10t list builds.

[Odin1981]

I really really hate that cheatin bastard ability .

[Orboros]

As i am in love with Huggy the hungry Hippo and his padawan aswell i wanted to ask you if you ever tried playing desperate mercs with Lynch.

This is the first thing that came to my mind when reading Huggys abilities in the book and i havent seen it on the board yet. What i thought about: give the desperate merc brilliance. Activate it and "For my family"+"uncontrolled fire" something. Reactivate the Merc with Huggy and shoot 4 more times --> stuff dies

I have to say though that i am currently waiting for my Lynch box and this is all Theoryfaux.

[rancor709]

Absolutely i havent tried desperate mercs yet but diffidently a nice combo to try. Its a nice combo to try out i think a smart opponent will focus out the mercs before they reactivate but i love the concept will jhave to try it.

---------- Post added at 09:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 AM ----------

Absolutely i havent tried desperate mercs yet but diffidently a nice combo to try. Its a nice combo to try out i think a smart opponent will focus out the mercs before they reactivate but i love the concept will have to try it.

[Gruesome]

I have a feeling that the team tournament is gonna be a 10T fest.

[nix]

I am still deciding between Neverborn and 10T for the Masters. With that said, there are a couple additional things you may want to look at with Jakob.

I find that at the start of the game using Jakob's "the source" is really helpful. I typically have an extra AP (nothing will be close enough for a shot or DMH) so adding an additional +1 walk to my beckoners is great. The difference may seem small, but extending that 17" to 18" can be really helpful for grabbing a model with Honeyed Words or Come Hither. If that's not viable, simply grabbing 2 extra inches of movement on turn 1 is excellent for positioning in preparation for turn 2.

[dmeep]

I see i need to be more offensive with Lynch as i mostly keep him out of the way and make huggy do the heavy lifting.

Ive not been to keen on DMH as i find myself drawing mediocre cards and my opponents hand increasing instead of depleting. Im aware this is based mearly on personal perception in the same venue as my friend never again fielding a model after i redjoker one shotted it before it got to do anything.

Since Huggy goes away if Jacob is killed ive been hanging back with him to avoid the: kill one model, remove two for free scenario.

[rancor709]

@Nix: I simply dropped the ball on discussing Source, I typically cast this early in the game when there isn't an apparaent target for Lynch to help out on. Sources ability to enhance movement is huge and shouldn't have been overlooked especially beings I use it. Thank you for pointing out the oversight!

@Dmeep: Lynch is indeed a double sided coin, you have to keep him safe but Your missing out if he just sits on the board. You have to work to make him actively safe while being useful. Its a delicate balance but never forget, losing Lynch you lose huggy. So absolutely keep this in mind, and I'm sure opponent will be.

Hungrying Darkness:

HD or as I call him Hugz not Drugz is a Lynch pin of the pair. He is the muscle and at the same time he is also key to the subtly with which to harm you enemy with.

Heed my Voice: Perhaps the coolest Obey since well obey as it allows a bypass of immunity if the target is brilliance, some great fun to charge your opponents Master with there rail golem. THis spell can only be used on enemy models a quite nuance. This ability really adds punch and threat to Huggy who already is an angry angry HD.

Serve me: this is an ability that has a lot of potential in different games in different ways. Now it will sacrfice the model at the end of the turn, however if that model is going to die anyway, there is some great comboniations that you can dream up for this. Also very nice an an objective game, Or if you have your opponent in a critical position, I could even see casting this on a well placed beater to deliever the death blow to your opponents crew. Again lots of situational use.

Tendrils: Paired Cb with Use soulstone you dish out brillance if you wd with them. And if your attacking a brillianced model you get plus damage. This is just excellent for a melee beater to have, strong damage profile excellent excellent weapon and where a lot of your hurt goes.

Remember your 0 action if you brilliance your opponent force that duel

Remember ram trigger is absolutely brutal particulary if you malifaux roulteed and it came up a :tomes on your opponent. That a tough duel to make and every wound counts.

More on HD soon.

Edited December 23, 2012 by rancor709

[nix]

Heed my Voice: Perhaps the coolest Obey since well obey as it allows a bypass of immunity if the target is brilliance, some great fun to charge your opponents Master with there rail golem or even better to have your own crew getting additional actions. This ability really adds punch and threat to Huggy who already is an angry angry HD.

This is something a lot of people miss. Heed my Voice can only be used on Enemy models, not your own friendly models. It is really a nasty ability as it can bypass immunities, but comes in short of Obey since it cannot increase the actions of your own crew.

I am interested to read your take on Light Inside. This is a great series so far, I am looking forward to reading more.

[rancor709]

Nix,

Absolutely Right Target Enemy NonMaster, I've over read that probably 100x times. Thats a bit of an oops on my part.

Light Inside: I love that ability for quickly getting say someone like Kang Brillianced up turn 1 with no Damage. But outside of turn 1, 2 that spell is sidelined in favor of Heed my Voice. The really nice thing about Light Inside is if you are able to cast it, you've automatically triggered You are mine meaning the brilliance is on for the game. No muse or fuss they are just brillianced.

[rancor709]

I recently picked up Mr. Tannen and some proper Beckoners now that they have been released.

Lovely bits of kit decided to go with the ace hand for Tannen and have him in more of a piano player pose. The Beckoners are lovely and may have to get a second box of them to use as mindless zombies will see.

Okay let's start some minion talk cause thats where my head is at this fine Christmas eve morning.

Let's talk about a minion I'm finding more and more uses for in my 10t lists, namely the lowly Rail worker. He is a fine swiss army knife piece for 10t as he offers, armor ignoring, a paired cb5 that can easily go to 6 as I only recommend taking him when you take kang. He's slow to Die which as a resser player I'll tell you is nasty. And one of my favorite defensive triggers in the game, metal on metal, for the cost of a :tomes he gets armor +2 for the duration of the attack. This trigger has saved his bacon a bunch and with Lynch I often find myself with a lot of cards this helps me utlize even the lower ones so that I can metal on metal and ruin an attack. I also like that he can have an effective charge of 9" and impecable assault hurts. For 5 stones he does what a basic footman in my crew should do however again its in 10t Lists where he shines. If your playing as arcanists he is firmly in my back of the bus.

Kang: Far and away the best melee nonMaster piece in the 10t arsenal. This mighty brute is cb7 with the best healing mechanic in the game. Its turn 4 before we start activating I heal 4 wds. which lead to his name becoming "G&(*UONG) Kang! You can't keep this guy down no matter how hard you try. He can have his boys fight with him and lets not forget auto knockback on his shovel, the thematic nature of shovel under the chin and throwing them back a few feet is awesome to imagine. Not to mention he has a great df trigger as well. That right you miss him, he can then perform an attack on you. Aura's won't save you he can see you. He is a true predator and something very fun to use. additionally as with all the pieces you take that are 10t. he can be swapped around by a torakage and he can be companion activated by 10t brothers.

more to come and happy christmas or what ever you celebrate or don't.

[rancor709]

Been getting a lot of games in on vassel which is always helpful as the more you play regardless of the games outcome you can glean something of value from it. Be it a combination that works well, or something that flat doesn't work. Its also a great way to test out those schemes you've always heard about but were afraid to try. Because heck its just a game and if you find you can do it in your casual its something that can eventually help you out at a tournament.

[rancor709]

Had a very fun Game with my Rail Crew today. Playing them as 10t Exclusive. My inlaws gave me a gift certificate to the wyrd online store so I'll be having the rail golem ordered here shortly. The game today was 35 stones crew build again remember no rail golem yet.

35ss

Mei

Emberling

Kang

3x Rail Workers

Torakage

Went rest in cache, yes leaving some stones on the table but that's How it goes some times.

Observations from the game, Mei can place a devestating amount of damage out in relatively quick amount of time, and the emberling can be a nice compatriot in casting Searing Breath in conjunction with Mei. This game I actually never railwalked. Charged in really primarly on triggers to do the damage and for the most part it worked. 10 wds has a very hard time surviving against indirect damage as def 7 means nothing. Although Mei was able to just barely last the game.

Kang Damage output again is exceptional and should not be underestimated. More and more I'm finding him a key component of my offensive and set up strategy. Even if my opponent can kill Kang, he often gets excellent revenge in death. And if not killed Kang tends to dominate the game.

Rail workers continue to be some of the best anti construct pieces that the 10t have access to. The ability to ignore armor and nearly guarantee a straight damage flip means they are very adapt and cracking constructs even rather large angry ones. I'm still finding them to be staples more and more of both 10t Mei and the other 10t masters if my opponent has access to armor.

[rancor709]

A game last night with Mei, and a game finally with Yan Lo both against 25 test lists for Somer Tooth Jones.

Results were as expected at 25 pt, a pts level that base 10t masters will struggle in, and factory summoning gremlins and skeeters just eat things if you can't get over to dislodge them.

That aside the game highlighted some base issues I'm having with Mei Feng as a 10t master.

Mr. Graves-I'm trying to work Mr. Graves around into other lists for the 10t and I'm finding him a let down far more often than I am a star. It may be my playstyle but even as a crowd controller for other forces he is a bit lacking. More time with him to see if I can glean some better results with him before I write him off.

Mr. Tannen-ability set that I'm primarily avoiding bring out to the table till I really start working on tournament prep. He's abilities are the type that remind people how nasty this game can be at times and i dont' like to do that in casual play.

Mei Feng as 10t is something I'm trying to make work, and I am already seeing I'm going to need a lot more board time with it to make it work, than I needed for Lynch. There are some base handicaps that Mei has when playing 10t that she doesn't experience as 10t.

The primary handicap is how does she interject herself into combat, while I do enjoy railworkers, they don't quite have the staying power of true constructs or the base mobility provided by arachnid or even say scout. Additionally lack of inherent armor makes them highly vulnerable to pulses and blasts. So as rail walking pts they are highly suspect. I do want to test more once Guild traps are released, as they may provide the connection pt needed in a 10t crew to speed up Mei as it were. I'm going to experiment more with utilizing torakage to motor mei and then use Rail walker as an excite strategy for her, so perhaps it will be a very different looking crew than I orginally thought. I do have fire gamin and will experiment with them as a way of beefing up the numbers, but I've never had much luck with gamin outside of metal.

Yan Lo-Did not dissappoint and Izamu is every thing I've wanted in a resser minion for a long time. Finally something truly scary to role forward and break the enemy with Staying power. yan lo ability to hulk out as things die is both helpful and awe inspiring. I look forward to the release of the remaining ancestors to fully get the potential out of this crew, but initial thoughts are very positive. But it is a radical shift in playstyle for me which is always good.

All and All I'm enjoying the 10t as a faction and look forward to getting much more practice in to unlock there secrets.

What's been gleaned so far,

Torakage may be a keystone model for my playstyle the versatility of this model and its interaction with the crews is like having a specialized form of lilith transposition spell but available to a lot of different builds.

Railworkers-are incredible at dropping things with h2w and Armor, additionally there other types of strikes make them a very strong anti contruct and anti undead choice. Less useful if opponent is living and shooty.

Rail golem-Is a plus 1 for Mei, if your going to run Mei I don't see where you can't run Rail Golem as 10t

10t brother- Or as spencer calls him the Angry Hobbo *****

I'm finding him an interesting piece that I'm using primarily for his companion capabilities. I think he works best the archer, Torakage and himself and can be used as well with melee beaters to achieve similar results. I like him but he's often scratched in my 30ss builds at 35 its hard not to justify him if you have the 10t characteristic on multiple peoples for the options he provides.

[ukrocky]

Just a quick one to say I really like this blog, always like seeing new posts in it, strange the few replies you're getting!

[rancor709]

Thanks Craig, I'm doing it primarily for myself so if people reply or not i'll keep doing. As if nothing else its nice to refer to later. And hopefully this helps someone or at least generates thought and discussion with friends.

[Odin1981]

Why do you feel tannen is nasty? Lol, maybe over the next week or so we can play a game a piece where we each use him in a list and can glean some ideas out? I am dieing to try him out in a misaki list and I just picked her up yesterday. And I'd love to see what you want to use him with also.

[rancor709]

Its primarily when you combo activate to get him in position and than place your heavy hitter up front, it virtually keeps the hitter immune to retaliation. When comboed with say a misaki style crew it can be the little bit that places it over the edge. He's a great minion and he is sustible to retalition but I feel you can mitigate that through combo activating and clever use of torakage and 10t bro.

I have to try it more and I'll be sure to bring him up next week. But its one of those that I feel may be out of place in a casual game but I have no issue when practicing for tournament in utilizing it. Course with more games, I may find that its perfectly fine casually, I'm simply cautious with denial mechanics as those can leave a bitter taste.

[nix]

Rail workers continue to be some of the best anti construct pieces that the 10t have access to. The ability to ignore armor and nearly guarantee a straight damage flip means they are very adapt and cracking constructs even rather large angry ones. I'm still finding them to be staples more and more of both 10t Mei and the other 10t masters if my opponent has access to armor.

Are you looking at them outside of playing Misaki, who has access to Ronin? Or, do you find them better than Ronin vs Armor?

[rancor709]

I don't really utilize misaki, I'm finding them vital for lynch when against construct heavy opponents of which I see a lot locally. there ability to be moved about by torakage which ronin cannot be in a lynch mob edges them over ronin in my book. If I were using Misaki I'd recommend Ronin, unless against undead, as eliminating slow to die is nice. I also really prefer the metal on metal trigger but I tend to find myself with a lot of low tomes, at least when I'm playing with them.

[rancor709]

10t archer- in the games I've played with him I've been too aggressive and lost him early thatss on me a traditionally ive light on ranged models in my builds.potential is strong on this model looking forward to more games with it.

Taking a different approach to utilizing mei as pure 10t. Thinking johan may see some action cold be a bishop sighting okay no bishop but johan has some potential in the buikd

[rancor709]

Mei Feng as 10t.

The focus over the next few weeks aside from finishing terrain for adepticon and finishing painting my Yan Lo crew will be figuring out a few actual builds that will work for Mei Feng as a pure 10t. As I'm taking 10t for adepticon all the super fun Tricks Mei gets as an arcanist I can't take. So this is focusing on what I can.

So Far some universal truths Rail golem is awesome he'll be ordered up soon. Metal gamin, help quite a bit looking forward to there general release. Johan is not just great swedish coffee, but a frighteningly good addition to Mei Feng's 10t crew.

I take Kang and Johan and a metal gamin and that forms the core of the list. You'll note a distinct lack of rail walker targets in this build. For my playstyle rail walker gets in the way at least for now, am playing with some sling out ideas for the build, but over the few games I've used the basis of the list I've not seen the need.

[ukrocky]

Can't wait to hear some more thoughts on Mei. I've used Misaki and Jakob a fair bit, just waiting on McCabe and Mei now, not such a fan of Yan yet.

[dgraz]

Mei Feng as 10t.

Still can't go wrong with Torakage.

[Odin1981]

If anything the torakage would be better for movement due to not costing a master's ap use. Also the swap (I believe off the top of my head is 12" but could be just 8" unsure book isn't on me atm) is basically the same range as a railwalk with the only exception of two 50mm base size railwalk.