TheStranger

YES! I've found Ramos is able to be played a lot differently when he's got his crew close and the objective doesn't need you to be mobile. If they'd just strap some steampunk arachnids to his feet we'd be well away. Does anyone else get the sense that book 2 units seem designed to help make Ramos more playable. The Toolkit, Borrowed Tech with Hoffman, Arcaneist ties, Ramos can lead his special forces, mech rider and SS miner for speed boost, Gunsmiths for range. I only play M&SU so it's probably true of all the crews but having access to book 2 changed the game entirely for me. Enjoying your notes, hints and tips MythicFOX, thanks

Sounds like you did well. I reckon it'll get alot more close quarters vs the dreamer in the future. Keep reporting back, I love learning through these forums.

Happy to help. So the list i played against was 25 SS:- The Dreamer/LCB Teddy 2x stitched together 4 Daydreams (might've been 3) Essentially the Nightmares start "buried" (but not with markers or anything, think of it like in reserve). The day dreams are fast and the dreamer has an ability (I can fly-IIRC) that allows him to keep up with them. They can be where they need to in 2 turns depending on the terrain. When they get where they want to the Dreamer uses All My Friends to unbury all nightmares within 6 of him (and swap himself out for LCB-IIRC). So basically you can end up with all the heavy hitters within 6" of each other and surrounding what they want dead. Ranged strategy-wise any attacks vs the dreamer go against the day dreams if they are a legal target instead (attack, not wounds ). That will hamper ranged attacks vs them before the nightmares get to you. Ranged units if you do take them need the Gunfighter ability as you'll likely be in CC most the game. They don't have companion thankfully. Stuff what i learned:- - Arcing Screen becomes useful when the fight comes to you and your constructs are near enough to benefit. - Linked in (0) is important once the nightmares get in your face. - LCB is nasty upclose especially vs Ramos low DF. Always cheat and soulstone on his first attack to get the crows in the total and limit his attacks with the pneumatic grip trigger if at all possible. Otherwise he will get attack 3 times + the onslaught trigger for around 10 million more attacks. - Don't forget surge to help with the above required cards. - The dreamer has WP8 so isn't a push over if he has a WP resist to do. - LCB and the dreamer will swap out between each other to save damage going on LCB. - Another lucky break i got vs LCB was charging him with a SPA swarm and getting paralyse off on him. Anything you can do to limit his onslaught fuelled offence will be important. LCB is killable if you can stop him from murdering you first and get attacks on him. - Neverborn have allot of Terrifying models, no probs for your constructs but any human assets have to pass the duel to attack. I think that's everything. Any questions, shout.

How about the Soul Stone Miner? Rock drill ignores it's armour and you can use overdrive for extra attacks. I've only used this model twice but it seems a good fit on paper.

I had a great game on saturday. One thing i learnt about using Kaeris in addition to the inability for Ramos/Toolkit to heal her is that she also doesn't have WP duel buff that constructs do. I had to remind myself as the rest of the crew were constructs. I was fighting the dreamer and was the first time so was caught off guard by the unbury play style. It actually forced me to play smarter with Ramos and really look at his ability past summon spider and electrical fire. Linked in (and some luck) was a game changer. In the past most the crew was out trying to get to an objective and Ramos was lurking back field and summoning - with the enemy coming to him and his assets close he actually was alot better. If only he could keep up with the rest of his crew normally he'd be alot better. Strap his feet to some SPA's. If anyone is interested it was 25 SS, i took no strats for the extra stones:- Ramos/toolkit Kaeris SS Miner Guardian Dreamer had to kill Ramos (hence Guardian) and i had to get more models in his deployment.

Mr Mythic Fox Sir, please take this question in the friendly manner i am trying to imbue it with. How does the above work on the table top? I am struggling with Ramos and find he is either moving (slowly) and not summoning or is static and summoning. The book 2 stuff has stopped me quitting Ramos as i find it helps him greatly but i still struggle with the man himself.

Agreed. When you get Joss for 9 or the mech rider for 8, they don't seem all that worth it. i don't tend to start with a swarm as i like to use the SS pool for things i can't summon in. I'm going to get in a couple of games at the weekend and one i want to revisit the spiders see if i can figure them out. I think book 2 has really helped Ramos, i've not played loads but my last game i ran Kaeris, mech rider and a gunsmith and was impressed with the speed and ranged fire power they added to the crew. I do find salvage under fire is to be used alot as Ramos struggles to be mobile enough to go get scrap himself. OP, i'd recommend the M&SU special forces assets as soon as you get the coin together, they really help with Ramos' box set weaknesses.

C.Hoffman too IIRC, which made me chuckle

I feel your pain! I'm now 5 games in with Ramos, all losses and agree mobility is a challenge. I tried using the soulstone miner in my last game to address this (destroy evidence) but forgot he is insignificant when he surfaces so couldn't interact before my opponent had taken him below 3 wds and made him insignificant again. Because he was so far out ahead of Ramos and the toolkit i couldn't heal him. I'm quite liking the large Steampunk Arachnid for significant speed, not truely fast but easy to use and priced right. I'm planning on going with Kaeris and the Mech Rider as my next purchases to see if they help things. Another tip, spider swarms loose insignificant so can sometimes help.

Hey there, yes i have the clicker pen activator and use Filla glue on occasion - the advantage of a holding medium is more that you check positions on several components before glueing and know that everything will fit in place with no issue. The supports just allow you to position all 8 separate legs if you want, add glue and leave to set. Glue isn't so much the issue as having reference points and a easy solution to holding things in place so you can pose. Cheers

Thanks guys, it was an experiment in terms of the technique, i think it occured to me as i have alot of the clay around (it's useful for base landscapeing). Oddly my LSA didn't have any foam, that's a good idea too. My only thought is the possible advantage of the clay is you can easily resize it, both for the support and the "boots". you can take and add and even shape your jig at will. Cannon Fodder - the steamborg really had me annoyed, i ended up using greenstuff on the joints to hold them in place then painted the GS as flesh so it likes kinda creepy. I sorta failed on him and am glad i only have to build one. Thanks again

OK, so these bad boys are a PAIN to assemble. The separate legs are challenge and after some playing around i decided to try and build them with the help of some modelling clay. Now, Disclaimer: I am not sure this is the best way to do it, your milage may vary, The Stranger is not liable etc etc.. So the first step in this is to get some animators clay or plastercine. Something that won't dry out but will hold shape (and spider legs in place). There is some experimentation involved in this so dry fit everything and make sure you're happy before you glue. 2. Divide the legs into pairs. Using the ref picture on the card or the malifaux site to ID which are the rear and front legs. 3. Take a small ball of the clay for each leg and fashion a small boot around the bottom of the leg with the tip poking through. See below. 4. Take some clay and make a pillar to support the weight of the spider body. Now dry fit the rear legs in place allowing the clay boots to hold the legs in place. 5. Once you get the back legs into position (paying attention to the angle), do the same with the front. And when you are sure you're sure, glue the legs into place and let the clay hold things together. Let it set. 6. Once the main legs are in place you can use the boot method to get the position right for the others and glue them in place. 7. Remove the clay boots carefully and base as per your taste Well, i hope that helps someone to get this built. Any queries feel free to ask.

Thanks guys! Stern, yeah simple but effective. I liked the idea of the spiders clambering over them. Made by Strip Styrene, pack number 225 (5/32" Tube). Little theme ties them all together, my fav is the rat on the hunters base sat on the pipe. JB, yeah looking forward to it - thank for the encouragement. Jackanory, thanks for the feedback will think on that - on the Hunter, i've used him once and it didn't end well. Having said that i'm pretty awful at this game. I think for a Ramos crew he has some good movement capability and could be useful depending on your objectives. I'm going to try him out a few more times to get a feel for him. Vinncent, cheers man!

Hi Guys, Just thought i'd post a few shots of my Ramos crew. I've gone for a worn, dirty, working feel for the crew. I'm a tabletop level painter so go easy on me as they're meant to be viewed from table top height (usually just off the board in a pile of casualties as it happens most weeks). Bases are built around steam piping and water pipes in the badlands setting. Some touching up required on the spider flocking but we'll get there. Thanks for looking!

Cool, let's stay in touch in terms of results. I'm not a world away from you and go to London a couple of times a month so we even get a game in one day!