Math Mathonwy

Great minds!

Read the part you quote again. Edit: Oh, wait, you bolded the wrong occurrence of Henchman in that quote of yours. "Fantastic Henchman" is Francois but "great Henchman" should be "great Enforcer", yes referring to Lenny in Somer's box quite obviously.

I think that the Wave 4 Masters are a bit too complex for complexity's sake. Parker and Titania are IMO the worst offenders in that they fiddle around with lots of things but ultimately they don't do anything quite interesting enough to warrant all that. Sandeep is similar but he sorta achieves something new (though I consider him somewhat badly balanced and a nightmare to face for the first twenty times when you learn how he works...). I understand that design space is getting more limited when there's more Masters but they seem somewhat gimmicky and unrefined. In this they remind of M1.5 TT Masters - when they came they were really complex. M2e distilled them far better into the essentials and streamlined them (arguably Mei Feng lost a bit in the translation, though) and probably the next iteration of Wave 4 Masters for Malifaux 3 (whenever that is) will be better. Similar to Tara, btw. That isn't to say that they are badly designed, mind. And I do like quite a few of them. Just that they are a bit needlessly fiddly. As for the actual question (sorry, went on a bit of a tangent there), I really, really like the Wisps. They aren't too complex but are quite interesting and they boost a bunch of pretty lackluster models to new heights. They are arguably OP but they don't reach their full potential unless you take underpowered models so it evens out. I find them really, really neat (though they have made a bit of a problem on the Gremlin side for me, unfortunately).

Francois? ...this seems like a trick question somehow?

I haven't seen any of the previous always availables be quite this ubiqutous but I do agree that balancing the always available Scheme is difficult. As for the suggestions on Raptors and how Guild have it rough - yeah, outactivation is needed for it to be easy and that is always a bit tricky for the Guild and yes, Raptors are indeed super annoying here also (it's amazing how many Schemes and Strats they counter). But that is a bit beside the point, I think.

I think that Lenny is still a solid choice for Ophelia but that's probably because I like Young LaCroix. Focus with them next to Lenny and the opponent will have real trouble with them simply due to their outrageous damage potential. Lenny also works nicely for Raphael and Rami. And Bayou Gremlins are always useful so getting the Ophelia box, the Somer box and Slop Haulers is still a very valid way to start with the Gremlins. Merris, Sammy LaCroix (she can order Ophelia to shoot using My Threatening Gun as her positive twist cancels out the negative and getting a Master AP for a (0)Action on a Henchman is nice to say the least), and Gracie are all good choices. I find Burt a bit superfluous as Ophelia box has enough of that sort of model (yeah yeah, Burt is the bestest there is but still, Raphael and Francois are very nice).

Note that you're flipping for Lenny so might get a Tome high enough there (you don't need to cheat 100% of the time) plus you might have some card draw available (from spending an SS at the very least but Gremlins have quite a few different methods as well and those are always useful so don't add up to the cost of the Pult as such). So somewhat better than 45% (though still not claiming reliability, mind).

I must admit that I haven't really seen much of a story coming out of the Malifaux campaigns I've been a part of. I play different games if I want that. (Though not Mordheim since I consider it probably the worst minis game system I've ever played and I, stupidly, have played lots of it ) That said, I do understand your point. It's just that I don't play Malifaux for that particular itch. Though I must note that I consider even tournament Malifaux a game and play it to have fun. (I know what you meant - just couldn't resist - sorry!)

What are your thoughts on the always available GG17 Scheme? I'm thinking that it might be a bit too easy. If you outactivate your opponent, it's pretty easy points. Especially if the center line is diagonal - then you don't need outactivation all that much, either. Though somewhat intensive on the AP front, it's not too bad compared to the rest of the new Schemes. I see my opponents taking it really, really often and have been taking it quite a bit myself as well lately. What are your experiences?

Well, almost all of them do something at least - can't think of any that don't do anything off the top of my head, though some are indeed really minimal like "Rooster" (only for Saddle or is it somewhere else as well?) though I may be overlooking something. Oh, I'm not defending status quo - just noting that it is a difficult balance to strike.

I can sorta see both sides of the coin here. While I do agree that having thematic models as valid chocies for their own crews is important (and anti-synergy like Bushwhackers with Mah is entirely inexcusable), but too much and it will result in very cookie-cutter list builds (given a specific Master) pretty easily. If Rotten Belles' Lure was like that, I doubt that we would see them with anyone except Seamus and he would load up on them probably even more than now since they would be less often taken into account when the opponent is building their force. I definitely don't want a situation where a Strat dictates a Master and the choice of Master dictates the list but that would be a real possibility if the thematic synergy were taken too far. If all Brewmaster forces start with Wesley, Fingers, Whiskey Golem, two Moons Shinobis, and an Akaname, that will get stale quite fast.

That "or" between "Sammy or Nurse" was meant to an exclusive or, not an inclusive one. I have never taken both (though I admit - I've been tempted!). As for the Crystal Ball - well, in my last two games I've managed to hit the TN for Obey and Hem four times total when casting them probably thirty times total so I kinda feel like I need all the card draw I can get! Also, I've never had problem positioning Zoraida as her ranges are long and she doesn't care about cover. As for the Bayou Gremlins - yeah, they aren't bad but Spawn Mother Summoning Gupps was kinda subbing for them. Finally, the suggested list of Frank, Lenny, Raphael, Burt, Slop Hauler and 2 Bayou Gremlins is 41SS without Upgrades so it's basically a whole list and no room for Wisps or Nurses or anything. I suppose you can get away with Zoraida using less cards since her AP goes into flying around and summoning the doll. Edit: reading that, I suppose it sounds dismissive of the advice I got - didn't mean it that way. Zoraida is the Gremlin Master I've played the most and I've used all sorts of crews with her including something very, very close to the suggested crew (several times in various iterations) but I'm not all that enthused about going back to Wispless life of yore so it doesn't really address my concerns all that well, I don't think.

I like Zoraida a lot. She gives me this feeling of LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES in that usually, no matter what needs doing, she can do it by Obeying friendlies and enemies and utilizing her other abilities. Her toolbox is deep and she is a force multiplier. Also, Voodoo Doll is fantastic - especially with FFM being so common, I feel that the Doll alone brings something very different to the usual Gremlin toolbox. And then there's of course Nurse who also brings something new to the table (an aspect of the Brewmaster, sort of) and Waldgeists (super durable Minions aren't something that Gremlins have in abundance normally). Wisps also made her a whole lot better. 3SS for a Minion that can sortakinda give your Master 2AP per turn? Um... wow! But now we come to the problem. Ever since the Wisps I've felt obligated to take a Wisp. And since you need the 2SS Upgrade for Wisps on the Gremlin side, and since they are pretty squishy, maybe I should take two? And if I take two, howabout a Spawn Mother as she got so much better with Wisps? And since I'm using a Wisp for Voodoo Doll summon, I'd better have Sammy or a Nurse as well to make the Doll better. And a Crystal Ball is cool as well. ...and suddenly I have a Support Master with 25SS spent on extra support. So I'll have enough for about three workhorse models (Francois, Gracie, Roosters, Burt, whatever) and Upgrades and Pool and whatnot. And then the enemy kills the workhorse models and my LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES turn into very limited possibilities since Obeying a Wisp around is thoroughly unsatisfactory. Oh, and even worse, workhorse models might include Fingers or First Mate and what the devil do I do then? Please help!

That's very clever! Sorta kinda yeah, but when the Nurse is trying to keep up with the Shinobi (and keeping him in meds), I've had difficulty using her for the normal Zoraida stuff. Also the Nurse tends to die easier than normal when she's following the Shinobi. Might just be that I need to learn to position better, though!

His melee prowess is usually something of a nasty surprise to whoever comes near him rather him actually seeking out chances to use it himself. But I've had quite a few opponents who, after "cornering" him and then enduring his melee wrath desperately want to double check his card

I wouldn't go quite that far - he is arguably even more squishy if you slingshot him forward

Agreed - he is one of the models that most often begs the question of "why not just take Burt (or even Francois) instead?"

They are very funny then but the logistics of the whole thing is a bit difficult (the Nurse has to keep up with the Shinobi and the combo costs 12 SS and is only doable with Zoraida. Lots of fun, though, agreed. I suppose so but OTOH I think that 90% of the faction are not lackluster so either 90% of the faction are overpowered or that 10% are indeed somewhat lackluster.

It's just a realy shame that they took out the best-looking one

Fingers can bear the brunt of your Interacting style stuff so I would opt for killing power with the rest of the force. I vote for Burt (who is great when you can heal him with Fingers). Also, I could see Fingers being interesting in the campaign if you manage to give him a flame thrower or a relic hammer or something

I still haven't had a chance to test this (don't own Anna Lovelace yet) but it might be worth a shot:

You've said this before and I've challenged your view before: Mah has plenty of interesting choices to make each turn - she has a very versatile Push, a different Push effect, and can Charge wherever she likes, basically. She has a lot of options. If you play her as you would Lady J she probably feels very boring (and extremely weak) but I would argue that she is quite a bit better than LJ when you utilize her options.

I strongly believe that there should be a progressive metal band Drakespirit with an album called Swine-cursed in Limbo. That is my contribution.

I dislike campaigns since some additions to models make them completely broken on such a fundamental level that they are essentially impossible to value on the SS (or scrip) scale. And I dislike the way these models distort the game in really weird ways. Now, I suppose that this could be helped by simply everyone in the campaign being on same page either aiming for the most broken stuff ever possible or alternatively avoiding the craziest things but this can be a bit difficult to arrange in practice. That isn't to say that other people are somehow wrong in liking campaigns, mind! Just that I don't enjoy all that much.

I'm not sure that either one of these changes would make much of a difference in that the Masters that do stuff better than Seamus would still do stuff better than Seamus. That said, perhaps somewhat contradictorily even, I'm slightly concerned about the insta-death trigger on Seamus getting easier due to how Belles can force discards and how Seamus's Wp shenanigans can also force opponent to rely more on their hand than usual. This would be good, agreed! Oh, and wanted to also note that that was a good post and thank you for articulating it even if I don't agree with everything 100% but I think that you raise lots of very good points in an in-depth way. Good job!