Turbodog

If a sanctioned spellcaster with Arcane Shield also has Armor +1 (from strangemetal shirt upgrade) and is hit by a damage 2 attack, does he reduce the damage to 0 and take no damage? My initial thought was yes, but I've been wrong before...

Theoryfauxing a bit...does anyone see any problem with this? An activated witchling stalker "attacks" Sonnia with dispel magic from 12" up field. You flip cards (don't relent) and many times the stalker fails outright due to not having the suit. (You could also cheat low/cheat out of suit). Since a ca action failed vs Sonnia (here you do need a suit/SS for her df flip) she can now generate blasts off the stalker upon damaging it to hit enemy models out of her activation. Benefit is really in two parts: 1 out of activation blasts and 2 possibly just need a low mask in your hand (for cheating df) to pull it off - so not very card intensive.

We played our first Tara game. She attacked her own model who relented and the attack hit. THEN the trigger occurred to force the model to take a simple duel or be buried. The Tara player wanted the bury to happen so wanted to choose to fail it. Tara had no cards to cheat down and a flip would have caused it to pass (we flipped the card to see)

Can you choose to fail a simple duel?

Okay, let's assume for a moment it makes a difference. I can envision scenarios where it would. Which way does it play.

Imagine two players. Player B has three models that haven't activated yet (a canine remains and a belle and killjoy) when player A's Pandora successfully gets Incite onto one of the models (the canine remains in this example). Which of the following is the way you play it: Choice 1: Player B announces which model she will activate next (killjoy). Player A interrupts her saying "no, activate the dog now". Or Choice 2: Player B announces she is about to activate a model and asks Player A if she wants it to be the dog. Player A decides no, betting that Player B will choose to activate the belle. Then Player B activates Killjoy. My question is whether or not the Pandora player gets to know which model the opponent -wants- to activate before deciding to initiate the Incite. Not on the wisdom of the strategy involving the models mentioned in the example. Thanks

Really my question comes down to: "If a model is made to immediately take one of its actions while out of its activation, does it count as 'declaring' the action"? I can't tell if 'declaring' only refers to when an activated model is spending AP, or any time a model does something on the back of its card. Specific case: Nurse gives witchling stalker the "Uppers" condition to increase its walk. The downside is that it can not 'declare' any actions other than walks and interacts until end of turn. Witchling activates and walks twice...into engagement range of an enemy model. It's activation then ends. Next activation, can the nearby Judge now use his Unreleanting Leader upgrade to cast Combat Effectiveness on the witchling, forcing him to "immediately perform a 1AP Ml action"? ...I suppose that other possibilties exist too, like using Obey. Thanks ahead of time.

So just to fully clarify for me (because I'm dense). Someone standing 4" away that generates a 4" pulse hits the attendant. Attendant ---------------------- Pulsing Model (attendant is hit so long as distance > 3") Someone standing next to the attendant that has an ability with a 10" aura that buffs models actually doesn't do anything - so a second enemy standing 5" away from the attendant doesn't get the aura buff (because the model next to the attendant doesn't generate it). Buffing model--Attendant ------------------------------------ Enemy "eligable" for buff (no buff happens in this case) Am I correct in this?

This was an issue for me in version 1.5 due to the wording and it didn't get addressed IMO. Do models within range not generate auras/pulses at all. Or Do models always generate their full auras/pulses but the effects never "proc" in the range "bubble"? I hope my question is clear. See the front of the mechanical attendant card for actual wording. (Don't have it with me here)

Does "See the Unseen" from Aura Ancestral mean that Perdita does not need to take Horror duels? "This model may ignore any duels required for targeting a model with an action." Furthermore, as I don't see the word "immune" - If it does mean you don't take Horror checks is it also not removed by things that remove immunity to Horror duels. Thanks!

Good advice: Wait 1 week until May 31 and see what each one looks like with their new rules.

So I was ruminating on the podcasts I recently heard and thinking about our retooled Guild Masters and the whole upgrade system thing. So, specific to guild, what do you think the Iconic things are each master requires and what things would you consider upgrades? I'll give my examples. Lady Justice, for me, is Superb at personal Melee combat. It's both highly supported in the fluff as well as on her card with abilites like sword style, riposte, her Cb, etc. She is also Inspiring to those around her. This is HUGE in the fluff and also exists to some extent on the card with her +Cb boost. I'd like to see it become more of a factor in v2. In the fluff, she seems to have flawless willpower. Totally committed (except for, you know, after a house falls on her and she thinks Ramos turned her into a robot...). I don't see that aspect currently on her cards. She also has this weird "blind" schtick going... Some quick other master thoughts: Perdita - Supposed to be super fast gunslinger - so Quick Draw and Faster than you as well as good accuracy. Nice example of her bullet bending, too, when hunting gremlins. Sonnia - I get the impression she casts Flame Burst, almost before she comes to Malifaux. Likewise, her advanced counterspell seems to be one of her biggest things (and it is on the table top for me for sure). I could see flame wall and inferno becoming upgrade options. Her sword almost definately seems like an upgrade option to me (heck, her sword is becoming like it's own character in the fluff - and besides, if it's an upgrade, maybe I can give it to Hopkins for a little fluff reenactment.) Hoffman - He needs the offensive side ala machine puppet/override edict; and the defensive side ala protected by machines/assimilate. I personally feel that most of his rules are a bit messy and hope they are redone well. He is also my first master that drew me into the game, so I don't want to comment too much here. So, anyway, I'm curious what other's thoughts are on the Iconic Abilities of the Guild Masters - or must haves vs. upgrade choices.

I've been thinking about Douggie Mac quite a bit with guild. The main idea I come back to is that he takes the "little used" book 1 model, the Nurses, (and sebastian) when he runs as Guild along with Guild Peons like Guild Hounds, Latigoes, and heck, even maybe Guild Guard. His mechanical philosophy is then to "burn out" his crew at the right times using the Nurse abilities. Effectively, he doesn't use his undead creation upgrade when in Guild mode. The Mac-Man himself still keeps his scalpel slinging melee badness going in guild mode (along with things like dissection and/or rancid transplant.) Anyone have other ideas of how Douggie Mac might run in Guild Mode?

Still getting up to speed. I listened to 4 podcasts last night. So I'm sorry if these questions have already been answered: 1) What has changed about and/or replaced the companion mechanic? On a related note, can models still chain-activate in some way before the opponent? 2) Now that Ca is variable by spell, will we not see any spells or abilities with a Ca resist? I guess along those lines, are Wp and Df the only "defensive" stats now? 3) Wp duels. This was by far one of the messiest mechanics in Version 1. Can you comment on any changes to Wp duels/Morale Duels/Terrifying/Anathema? and since I'm a guild player: 4) With the changes to "effects" are dispel magic and shrug off in or out for 2E? How do they work now? That's all for now. More to come! -Turbodog

Thanks for this. I've not been good about keeping up with the facts/rumors. Can I ask...what is the point of being a Henchman if there aren't any special forces?

This probably won't be the most popular post but... I hope that they entirely redo the "special forces" thing in 2.0 to be a much bigger deal. For example, guild now has 6 special forces: Death Marshals, Family, Witch Hunters, Constructs of Order, Black Sheep, and Guardsmen. Each Master is tied to a special force (like Ramos is now). In addition, the "Guardsmen" special forces is "open" and can be taken without restriction. If you take the Henchman for that special force, it open up hiring past 2 models. So if you want Sonnia and lots of Death Marshals, plan on taking the Judge since he's the death marshall henchman... So McMourning going Guild gets access to Guardsmen and a few of his own "choice" models from Ressers ala the 10 thunders hiring list style. I'd envision the same for Lucius but with some choice neverborn models or maybe new guild models. Probably less popular since you wouldn't always be able to spam Witchling Stalkers or "insert favorite cheap guild model here' in every list, but I like that way of doing special forces better. It should be able to translate well into other factions as well (Cult of December, Order of Chimera, MSU, Showgirls, Railworkers for Arcanists, etc...)

This question has come up before and all I remember from that discussion was... boy we really wish wyrd would revamp or clarify the hazardous terrain rules as they apply to Sonnia/Kaeris abilities. Incidentally, in my group, we also include Sue's Ring of Fire in the discussion, as it is a third way to apparently achieve a similar effect. We (in my group) kinda wish that at the very least, Pyres, Flame Walls, and Immolation markers worked similarly. (and the detained description of Sue's ring of fire seems perhaps a way to word it...) But I do not remember a rules marshall ruling on this. I'll keep watching like others. Cheers

@Fearlord Now that's what I'm talking about! I forgot about considering Oiran. I like it.... Great idea to try!

Jonas - I just glanced at Immovable on Sidir. It makes me think the Nephilim can't Obey him... (perdita still could...)

Hey fellow guildfolk, So for a while now I've had this idea to try to get Perdita + Enslaved Neph. + Samuel Hopkins to work for me on the table. The idea being that you have Obeys to maximize the use of "power pistol Sam". Sam also benefits from Hunter and Scout - which can help depending on the board terrain and possibly negates a big need for a watcher. Finally, Sam is not super mask dependent - in fact he'll be effective regardless of suited cards (which is very nice in a crew to me). Anyway, in the past, this hasn't worked well for me. Without going into specifics, I still can't seem to get off those big shots where I need them. But revisiting the idea in light of books 4, is there a way to make this core work with some new models? I was thinking maybe riflemen mixed in might be better at providing longer range threat (maybe also fit well into the obey list theme?). Likewise, I keep looking at the Pathfinder's Pit Trap ability... Anyway, should I just scrap the entire Ms. Ortega Mr. Hopkins idea or is there something to warrant trying it again? Ideas? -Turbodog

I believe - per the latest Bury erratta - that effects still drop off during the resolve effects step, even if you are buried.

I usually play guild, although I have dabbled with Leveticus and Seamus as well. I have to say, as guild, the inclusion of Special Forces rules causes me No Difficult Decisions when making crew choices. This is likely due to the fact that there are only 4 special forces models for the Guild's Elite Division and one of them is the Henchman. Let me explain why: 1) Guild totems are decent and the guild has access to superb 4 ss models. So when it comes to the Brutal Effigy - he's not causing me any concern. Maybe I was thinking about him and didn't realize I took Ryle...so I have to take a Witchling Stalker instead. Oh darn <sarcasm>. Brutal is just par for the course compared to Stalkers and Marshalls, which are also 4 pts. ho hum. 2) Guild Guard Captain? I'm only taking him in a Lucius list anyway where I'm going guardsman heavy. Otherwise, I have better 7 pt models in Santiago or Nino or the Judge or... well you get the idea. ho hum. 3) Ryle is decent with Hoffman, but it's not like Hoffman (or really anyone) is going to want to take Ryle (unique) and the GG Captain (rare) and the Lawyer (rare) and have to fight any mental battles on which to drop...which brings me to... 4) The Lawyer's Special Rule...which is "NEVER TAKE THE LAWYER". It's been a terrible model in any guild crew I've tried it in. (maybe it's for Marcus...) Note that if I ignore the Lawyer (which is a really good idea imo) then I only have 2 special forces models that aren't the henchman, and one is unique. Honestly, where are these difficult decisions akin to what the Arcanists need to make for me as a guild player? I will admit that I have run into trouble once when choosing a list because of special forces a few times. It was when I was making Hoffman lists, and Hoffman was trying to take arcanist constructs! That's pretty much where the trouble is I think. Smack dab in the Arcanists Faction So yeah, does Special Forces hurt arcanists? Well, maybe "hurt" is the wrong way to put it. But I do think that as a faction, arcanist players need to consider special forces alot more than guild players do. That's gotta be some kind of self imposed faction handicap, no? Anyway, my two cents. -Turbodog

Yes, Yes she does. I agree. I think that the Latigo Pistoleroes not needing masks would be a good thing, if they weren't so, um, un-useful on the tabletop. Redesign of the Latigo was covered in another thread, and you can find my ideas there. I also think that Abuela is overcosted (largely due to her being so mask dependent - but wanting a Moretega crew). I think it would be a great move to simply give Granny a (0) action called "Family Secret" that grants her +mask to her own Ca stat. It think that's balanced and helps the Moretegas alot. I never worry about the tomes for Shielded since I can use a low tome for that. Likewise, since Sonnia can give herself tomes, I never feel her suited need as much as I feel Perdita's. For Sonnia, I just need more cards overall! Hence Sue (who also has Tome reqs) makes it into alot of my Sonnia lists. I say this even considering a Witchling Handler (who also can use tomes). I do consider this when I craft crew lists. It is a difficult decision sometimes what models to include knowing I will not be able to give everyone their cool ability every turn since I won't have that many cards! (Incidentally, alot of guild models like crows for some nice abilities too...) They are somewhat important. For example, while I often consider mixing models into the Ortegas (like adding Sam Hopkins), I usually steer away from the Judge as an addition. Because he wants masks too. In Lady J's crew, it's fine, because he's the rare one that does, but in Perdita's crew? It's a non-starter for me. So it's a consideration. If I can build "suit diversity" into my crew I like that. The less suit diversity I have, the greater the chance that I'll draw a hand of Off-suit cards that won't allow me to cast many spells or get many triggers. It's those times that Hero's gamble is quite handy for our girl Perdita. -Turbodog

I don't run the same list as you, Jonas, but I essentially have done the same thing with C. Hoffman. Incidentally, you aren't really giving up initiative here... In many games, having "initiative" means you get to act first, but declare your intended action last. This is an advantage because you know what your opponent is about to do before you commit to your own action. You're essentially doing this with your Hoffman crew. You're waiting to make your "important" models go after the opponent has committed his/her forces. The BIG reason you can afford to do this in a Hoffman crew is its mobility. With other guild crews, You can't afford to hang back because they are slow, and if I need to get somewhere (objective, across boards, out of my deployment, wherever) then I need to spend every chance I get moving. I can't afford to hang back. But you're running Hoffman (free movement) with a toolkit (free movement) and a Peacekeeper (insane movement between Wk 5, arachnid, and +1 Relentless - not to mention potential reactivate) oh, and Watchers...don't need to mention them. So I think it's really just a strong way to play Hoffman. All the book 2 masters, I am finding, were designed in many ways to allow this kind of playstyle. They give really good movement options so that you can play them as reactionary to what your opponent commits to. It's at least true of the Dreamer, Kirai, and Collette (not sure about Hamelin any more...) who can do a similar "trick".

Thank you, Ratty for speaking on this one... But a spell that I can cast on any number of dolls, spirits, and other "non-living" and sacrifice them into oblivion creating nothing... But I can't cast it on living or undead models to do the same because I have two waifs in play already? I wouldn't call that sense "common". I was done with this thread a while ago. I confirmed I know a decent game way around it and can play it however my opponent wants and we can both have fun. I can accept it's what the rules say. But in a "character-driven skirmish game" it doesn't feel right to me. Thanks Ratty for chiming in.