CaptainTrouser

I normally don't use kirai in smaller games [<35 ss ] but in larger games I'll normally take one just for the control on them- they can absolutely burn through your opponants hand if used right. Also, using Hangman's Knot to drag enemie's away from Squishies like kirai is often rather useful- if you can set it up right you can shut down a melee threat for a few turns with a hanged. Still, not a common choice for me, 'cos Kirai has more important things to take, LL, Seishin and Datsu-ba almost always go in.

First off: malifaux needs TONS of terrain: open ground should be an exception, there should be walls, platforms and towers all over the place. 2: the neverborn have plenty of anti-shooty stuff. Using the dreamer to dump a ba-jillion nightmares (teddies and stitched, mebbe?) into the middle of an ortega gunline is perhaps your best bet: I know it's screwed me over when I play Ortegas or laCroix.

it doesn't have the muzzle, but other than that one of the GW dark elf harpies without wings might work nicely.

ok- usefull things to remember: Squee pushes 4" away from melee. This will always put you out of melee range, and as such will slow down a rampaging beastie like LCB if you can survive the first hit. It also keeps you out of terror range, which is nice. Slop haulers are invaluable- you keep ophilia and her kin alive, as they should be burning through wounds quite quickly with Dumb Luck and it's ilk, and reckless. Activate your least important stuff first- you should have a brazillion gremlins, each of them unimportant. Once he's run out of *stuff* to respond with, pick his key thingies (daydreams etc) off with your heavy-hitters (ophilia, remi, popa boom etc). Young 'uns are worth their weight in gold. Companion them to Ophilia and get 4 Right Between The Eyes casts off in quick succession- not a lot survives that. Stay spread out- a clump of wee gremlins are a wonderful target for a beater like LCB. our range is 12", his around 3", so force him to fight on YOUR terms IE at a distance. If you want blast damage to hit a clump of nightmares that just arived., shoot your own gremlins in melee, as you can cheat down their defences. Be wary of companioning all your good models on activation 1- sometimes a huge alpha strike pays off (say if you kill LCB dead turn 1) but often it just leaves you out of options. Drop Raphael and probably Francois, take more bog-standard gremlins, young 'uns or slop haulers. Slop haulers are invaluable, getting enemies defences down to managable levels with their pulse. Young lacroix are pretty survivable and can cast the wonderful Right Between The Eyes. Gremlins are cannon fodder, and you NEED that. My other tip is to play Som'r teeth vs the Dreamer. Because A Gremlin's Luck gets rid of his hand and spawning constant gremlins is wonderful fun.