Amarel

Picking and choosing responses there - I called him out as a utility model and then listed three that I prefer (that are all cheaper for what they provide, too).

The trouble with only having one is that it makes it much easier for your opponent to set himself up a good chance of removing it on the turn Levi goes (perhaps even forcing activation orders and tactical decisions on you). It also dictates how adventurous you can be - if you only have one Waif and you need to keep it safe, that will affect where Levi can be placed, with two you can keep one safe and try something a little more dangerous with the other.

I've used him a few times with my Viks (when I just owned the boxset way back when ) and never quite understood his high cost. He can be useful, he can be a pain, but I've never once felt that he was 10ss good. I should add, for the sake of full disclosure, that we tend to play 35ss games, so Bishop is / would be a full 1/3rd of my starting force (allowing for Soul Stones). And regular opponents are Pandora, Zoraida, Lilith, Ortega-based Guild, Seamus and Nicodem. Personally I much prefer any one (or two) of the following as my 'utility piece': Hamelin, Taelor, Misaki.

There's a lot of supposition in that statement . Let's not forget that the Trapper can be placed anywhere that you could place Hans and has far greater movement. Also he can always use Reposition to get some space between him and the enemy and From the Shadows gives him so good CC protection if there isn't a shot for him to take. Being a Graverobber lets him clear up any nearby tokens before they can be used against you and even if his main use is to sit in tricky terrain and grant a bubble of Scout to your less agile guys that's worthwhile.

I agree with this ^^

As long as you're not facing anyone with Obey :flaminghe:

Everything that Karn says is exactly why the Viks, traditionally, have such trouble with Pandora: We're a crew of expensive, hard-hitting models with squishy stats, generally average WP and very limited access to blasts. Book 2 evens up those odds a little bit - the Desperate Merc is the cheap model that was needed (not sure why he needed to be cheap for all factions, though, if I'm honest), the Friekorps bring good WP (just take down any Insidious Madness as quickly as possible), healing for the fragile Viks (if they do survive a turn of hurt) and blasts, and Jack Daw has a couple of nifty tricks for making the Pandora player think twice. Don't forget, though, that you're still facing, in Pandora, one of the top three Masters in the game so it's always going to be a tough match-up (especially as the Neverborn got some *very* nice additions, too).

O gauge is 1/43rd scale (or, at least it is in the UK). This article is about finding cars the right size, but the principle is the same: http://www.smallcuts.net/articles/vehicle_comparison.jsp

Regarding Book 2 - I also don't have enough experience with any of it to make statements, rather than guesses, but both Jack Daw and the Librarian seem like they'll help Vik out a decent amount and the Desperate Merc is the cheap model that was needed to burn through activations and to bring Killjoy in.

The Viks are paper tigers and this list accentuates that (which may or may not be fun depending on what your wife prefers). As a personal opinion I would keep the SS stash to at least 5 and then drop Desperate Mercs / Student to try and fit in something a little tougher (e.g. Taelor) or something tricksy (e.g. Hamelin). Note that both Taelor and Hamelin have a trick to increase movement of their crew so that helps mitigate the loss of the Student.

I've played Viks against Pandora a lot and I can tell you now that if the Pandora player is good, you're in for some very tough games. From memory the only game where I hyper-performed against her was when the Ronin's Run Through was still just 1 AP and there was a huge amount of scenery on the board to help keep me safe. What she will attempt to do is get within 12" of any of your models and then Incite / Pacify herself into 12" range of a big hitter (causing at least one WD to everyone she does it to) then she will cast Pity on said heavy hitter following by Self-Loathing twice (or a variation thereof) before using Incite / Pacify to get back to safety. This move will kill a Vik dead*, unless you can somehow win at least two WP duels (remember that Pandora has WP 7 vs Vik's WP 6 and only needs to equal or beat Vik's score (so she's essentially starting with a +2 advantage)), also bear in mind that Pandora has a starting SS cache of 5 so is likely to always have the maximum amount of Soul Stones to burn through which is rare for Vik. If Pandora does fail then she can still escape pretty easily so don't celebrate too early. You'll need to bring a decent amount of movement with you (e.g. Ronin, Misaki) and some tricksy models with low base damage, to try to avoid death by Self-Loathing (e.g. Bishop (even though I'm not a huge fan normally), Hans (as he has no melee weapon so will only be able to hurt himself with Bash)). In terms of tactics try to avoid being too spread out (that just helps the Incite / Pacify slingshot) and take out important members of her crew first (this was more important when Incite / Pacify wasn't Enemy Model only, but those Sorrows are still a pain and need removing before you can get to Pandora). You need to plink away at Pandora little by little (as she'll use Fading Memory to get out of reach whenever you fail a WP duel to target her (again don't forget that she's WP7 so will nearly always have the advantage, and the SS's to help)). Also don't forget about Strategies and Schemes as a winning condition . *And Steamborgs, Taelor, Killjoy, etc, etc.= .

The former. It can only be cast once per turn, but you can attempt to cast it as many times as needed (AP allowing) to get that cast off.

Just wondering if the new V2.0 card updates are going to be just an update based on the current errata or if a little more updating based on book 2 is going to happen? I ask as: 1) There are rules in book 2 which feel like they were made for some of the models in the first book but didn't exist at the time of design / print (e.g. 'Tiny' on the Young Lacroix for the Steampunk Arachnids, and 'Bond' on Lelitu / Lelu instead of 'Companion' on the Viks). 2) There are also some errata fixes which fixed the model in the simplest fashion (as makes sense) but perhaps weren't the ideal solution in the long term (for example, 'Run Through' is now 2AP, but perhaps the Ronin should, on the back of that, trade 'Melee Expert' for 'Fast'). As a reminder this post is about the possibility of a more considered update on the new cards, rather than just errata fixes, as opposed to being about the examples I used, as examples .

It's an interesting thread, but some parts are a little out of date now. I have to admit that I have trouble getting Ramos working well and the cuddle to the Steamborg (already, in that thread, mentioned as not being brilliant before it got cuddled) along with Swarm Together being a replace rather than a summon now and the need for less insignificant models to complete schemes / strategies all further amplifies that. All that said, I think Kaeris and the Mobile Toolkit are going to be major boons to him. Whether they're enough to stave off some of the monstrosities the other factions got, well only time will tell .

You do still have Nekima and the Shaman to do other stuff with, though . I rather like the idea of Zoraida summoning Wicked Dolls for a Shaman to turn into Nephilim so as a Lelu or Lilutu can summon more of themselves on the cheap.

That poll is interesting, too. I wonder if the disparity will remain (without giving spoilers to those yet to vote) as the numbers participating grow...

Good site (bookmarked). I hadn't notice the conversion rate disparity until now, though <sad face>.

Hi, Got some spares so thought I'd see if they're useful to anyone before they become scenery . Have (all 'new in box / plastic baggie' unless noted otherwise): Ramos (no card) 6 x Steampunk Arachnids (3 x Steampunk Arachnid Cards, 1 x Steampunk Arachnid Swarm Card). 2 x Wyrd 40mm Sewer Inserts (already attached to 40mm bases). I'm happy to shift that around to make it a 'set' (e.g. Ramos, 6 x Arachnids, 3 x SA cards, 1 x SAS card, 4 x 30mm base, 1 x 40mm base + insert). I've also got a box of Stormblades (without the box, but everything else ). Want: Showgirls (boxset / Coryphee) Lilith (just her, maybe a couple of terror tots) Rasputina Steampunk Abominations Desolation Engine Waifs Punk Zombies Yell if you want more info / photos.

Common usage means it's no longer derogatory. I don't think writers get offended by their work being described as 'fluff' anymore (well most don't anyway ). The South West is becoming the English home of Malifaux .

I agree on the Librarian's ability to keep Taelor on her feet, but it's a rare day that a Vik who leaves herself even slightly in the open is able to be healed - 7 wounds and no defensive abilities on a model that can deal out awesome damage is a focus-fire death sentence .

Well they're Mercenaries (so Vik can take them) and then, on top of that, they're also Friekorps.

The trouble with this is that bringing a Steamborg against Pandy is basically throwing points down the drain - he'll either be dead via self-loathing at the top of turn two, or will spend the entire game hiding behind Ramos.

I don't agree with you so I don't have a good grasp of how she works? Good argument, well done. I think I'll stay out of this now, seeing as you're clearly working an agenda rather than thinking about the game as a whole this really can't go anywhere, can it? Just for the record though, if you play Pandora well, you can kill a high damage output model (e.g a Steamborg) in one turn from 18 inches away and then put yourself back out of harm's way with no fear of any retribution. If you really think that's good for the game as whole, that's a concern.

She's only an attrition master if she's facing low damage models, and if that's the case then she's got half the game wrapped up already. Against any high output model (and most people are going to bring something to try and take out the rest of her crew) she destroys them. Utterly. And let's not forget that she has a WP advantage against most other models and is the one who decides when to make her move - wait until you've got the cards you need then swoop in and take out. It really is that easy, I've seen it over and over again. Yeah, once you "get around the whole [WP] thing". So, firstly, catch her (which is no mean feat given her speed around the board) and then, at a disadvantage, beat her in a WP duel (for most models you can have the red joker and not guarantee anything, especially once you take into account the amount of Soul Stones she starts with). And if you fail then end your activation and die. Simple.

But the problem is that she was never 'a very good model' for the game as a whole - she was horribly broken and playing against her was pretty much pointless once her controller knew what they were doing. The changes to Link don't 'fix' her (as in they don't make her fun for opponents, whilst still being fun for her controller), but they do, in a slightly cack-handed manner (with apologies to the designers for my comment) put the problem on hold for now. Pandora either needs to remain a movement and WP duel queen but do a lot less damage (e.g. remove / change self-loathing) or she needs to be more catchable (shorter spell range) or, at the very least, she needs to be a little easier to hit once you do pin her down. Once any of these happen (or whatever other major fix the designers might have in mind) then link needs to be 'repaired' again. All imo, of course (and based off of my experience, which may differ from your own).