Sybaris

There's been a few threads started lately about Nekima, and her pseudo ability to lead crews. Fluff: Nekima had her debut in Malifaux since first edition. She was a minion (!) brought in the Rising Powers book. In the stories we learn that she used to rule the Nephilim, albeit quite brutally. Her sister Lilith got the better of it and now bears that crown. This means that Nekima, at one point in her life, certainly qualified as a leader. She's is actually working to get her position back from Lilith, and from the looks of it, has started to "recruit" humans into the fold under the good care of the Black Blood Shaman. She is also said to have her own fortress near Latigo. All in all, she's great material for a stereotypical bloodthirsty, very powerful yet flawed, villainess. Rules: I've always wanted Nekima to lead my crews and while Henchmen can do this at 40ss, i feel Nekima is above the generic henchmen when it comes to leading capacity. In fact few other henchmen can boast to have been victim of a coup from a Master and lived to tell the tale. Her birthright trigger is very cool in terms of fluff, but has very little applicability in the game itself. So here's what i've been using so far in case others would like to do so, put into upgrade form for simplicity. House Rule suggestion: A birthright to rule Upgrade Restriction : Nekima This model may act as leader for games over 40ss and counts as a Master. It may take up to 3 Upgrades. This upgrade does not count toward this limit. This model generates 2AP per activations and may not use the Birthright trigger and replaces the Melee expert ability with the following: Melee Master : This model generate up to 2 extra AP during its activations. These actions may only be melee attacks . Basically it's exactly what nekima becomes once she activates Birthright, with an extra upgrade slot to allow for more diversity and to get in line with master's level of flexibility.

As a side note, Birthright only works during Nekima's own activation. The whole idea of Birthright is about fluff, and i certainly appreciate the intent, but the problem is that execution was clunky at best in game terms. It's using rule-text space so it should make sense game wise. There would have been many ways to make it an optional and fun trade-off rather than a bad choice 99% of the time. By trade-off i mean that it should not make Nekima more powerful, nor be a no-brainer to do, but something highly dramatic showing how uncontrollable Nekima is (as Zoraida said) and how close she is to be a Master herself. Deep down, i can't help thinking that if they could go back to designing this, they'd go a different route or simply remove it entirely. Lastly, even going by the fluff, the trigger only really make sense if she kills Lilith with it...we never see Nekima work or interact with any other neverborn leader in the stories. In game terms, it's possible that Lynch be the most efficient master to kill with the trigger, like Ergo Cat says.

Hey there, someone just as crazy as me it seems :). It's not really about effectiveness, but about a theme and character that suits me better. It's easier on low point hench vs hench games because you can get a cheap henchman like Widow Weaver and cut it down quick, and you don't have to deal with a master afterward. At 50ss there's two options: 1. Easiest way: House rule it. Course on the competitive scene that's not an option, but outside of it, why not? Here i am lucky, i get to house rule it from the get go: 50ss games with Nekima, she basically gets birthright from the start instead of having to pick a master. The other thing is that she gets an extra upgrade slot. So she has 2AP+Melee master, which means less flexibility than a normal master, but that's perfectly fine and fitting the fluff too. She also has less cache than a master for her stats, i believe, and has no dedicated upgrade set. Still makes for an amazingly fluffy list with Nephilims. There's already one henchman who can play Master from time to time (Wrath), and there's no reason why Nekima is less of a leader than that chap. 2. The Hard way: birthright trigger If you're going to attempt to have Nekima take the lead during the game, you have to find a master that will be spending itself about so you loose the least possible. You will loose more than you gain, though, as stated above 3 AP with master stats are nothing to scoff at. I've chopped Lilith's head once, as she was down to 2 wounds anyway, but i didn't gain that much out of it except personal satisfaction. We don't do this for a true gain, just as a sort of "take that" burst of insane logic. There is something about Titania who could get Nekima as the Queen's champion before she dies, which can be great when combined with Malifaux Provides. then Nekima can just pop her and get down to business. Anything that will linger on regardless if the master is alive or not is worth it. That's alot of conditional effects (Nekima must be the first to kill an enemy, and then the one to kill Titania) but pulling it off could be interesting. No matter who you take to be killed off, bring a BBS (pretty much a given with Nekima) and doppleganger (super important as you will need Nekima to kill Titania before the opponent does it). I've always eyed the Thousand Faces upgrade with suspicion there...as the upgrade's timing could help Nekima get back an AP if it'd work just after birthright. Something about the order which things occur.

I think most has been said and you'll find even more information on the Pullmyfinger page, but i suppose i can give my perspective as i use Nekima as a leader since...well since she appeared in Malifaux (1st ed). She's definitely my favorite character of the setting and i honestly hope someday she'll be able to lead crews no matter the ss limits, but of course we've house ruled it over here already. The backbone of her crew is the Black Blood Shaman as stated above. They synnergize extremely well with her and even her upgrade. I always take one, but i wouldn't mind 2 on a turf war. The triggers from the pustules are nothing short of awesome, especially on , a suit we barely use. Pustule also works better than on a Lilith list because of Nekima's 50mm base. I think that the BBS are the only models that i associate with Nekima's theme automatically. I'll even go so far as to say that they make the investment worth it, as she is extremely expensive if you go all in. I've had a lot of success with the Lilitu in order to pull the opponent out of position, but she often didn't make the cut as the BBS are already support models. Nekima is all about catching people at the right time she needs a sort of bulldozer momentum in order to work at her best. This is also where the Doppleganger comes in. With Nekima, there is always a sequence where having the initiative will determine if she dies before activating or not. Goes without saying that on that turn, having the Doppleganger can help immensely to get back on the investment. Initiative can translate into damage of course, but this is also needed for regeneration/teach them fear or the BBS to heal/buff her up. Now you need scheme runners, and we have some of the best around. Terror Tots are amazing at this job...in fact, it is often counter-productive to grow them up. I never forcused on growing anything in my games. This is peculiar because Nekima is the center of that whole strategy when it comes to the game. But see that's the problem, it's a strategy...and it gives no VP. So to me it's a nice bonus, but nothing to really work for. And that's probably how the designers wanted it to be i guess. So it occured a few times, but more often than not it was a tot that was summoned by Nekima in the first place. I hire Tots with a job in mind...and it rarely is about killing or standing around a fight. I take a minimum of 2 tots, more often 3, to run those schemes. I've once hired 5 of them...so it varies alot. With their price tag in such a juicy range, the Young Nephilims are often at odds with my choices. I see them made for Lilith's pounce-o-thon tactics, and i would rather use those SS to buy a doppleganger or a shaman. That being said, i did hire a Young Nephilims in many games where i thought i'd need to hunt scheme-runners while i couldn't send Nekima or a Mature. Last but not least, the Mature Nephilim often made my lists. He's a massive pain in the sides when there's another similar threat around like Nekima. Also, the "largest" neverborn female is a real hog about resources, and the Mature's to attack makes it highly reliable without spending those good cards. While she has to plow through armor the hard way, the Mature is one of our best candidate to carry Retribution's Eye. He is also very happy to dislodge enemies from contested areas...with his automatic push 0, or even his trigger to charge through. The main drawback at 40ss is that you will tend to loose on the activation numbers or your ss cache/upgrades, but there's something about target saturation with the combo of Nekima+Mature, so if they entirely focus on one, they'll let the other do its thing...and if they divide their attention, it might just not be enough to stop them. So basically, models i use mainly: Nekima, BBS, Doppleganger, Terror Tots, Mature Nephilim, Lilitu, Young Nephilim, with varying quantities depending on game size, strat/schemes available. As a side note, this crew has its banes, and some strategy/combo will have you play against the odds....but it's a wonderfully thematic crew. Nekima and the BBS are fluffy as can be. Variety/Novelty: Angel Eyes, Tuco, Scion of Black Blood, Blood Wretches also fit with Nekima as per the stories. Edit: Scion of the Black Blood is an option that can definitely come in handy if your opponent is a tad too keen on conditions.

I'd go for a Dracula style Nephilim.

Excellent. Currently we only have Malifaux First edition books' stories to go for and her M2E's description, which is abysimally short. The tease about a neverborn supplement is also highly appreciated. She's an awesome villain character, and utterly unexploited so far, so i hope she gets some camera time someday.

Forgive my sort of focused interest, but will it have any details on how the neverborn/nephilim rulers came to be? We know Lilith dethroned Nekima, but we don't know how Nekima came to rule in the first place. Who was the first ruler of Nephilims? That sort of thing (as far as i know, TTB did not explore neverborn as much as the other factions yet).

While Graves is a Nephilim, i don't feel he's as in theme as someone like Tuco for example. There's plenty of melee beaters in the list already, Tuco offers something different.

I've always seen the growth capacity of Nephilim to be a fortunate accessory rather than a true strategy. Growing a Tot here and there is possible, but not always a great trade if you've got schemes to run as you said; growing a young to a mature is...well, hypothetical at best. I think that deep down, the real theme of Lilith is push-shenanigans, and if a crew is built around this, then Youngs might have a clearer purpose, since they have auto-push triggers built in. Same with the Mature, he can push stuff out of position automatically with careful positionning. This can create synergy with all the pounce/mandrake stuff in the faction. Lastly, there is something the Mature Nephilim does better than Nekima and it's hunting very highly armored targets, since he can get the upgrade to tear through it. He's also terrifying...so he does force wp-duels outside his activation, unlike Nekima. Speaking of inefficiency, Nekima's Birthright trigger, while fluffy, adds extremely little to the game (and takes alot of text uselessly). IIRC, it was made inefficient on purpose...but my point is that it's a flawed mindset to design a rule in the first place. There's most definitely ways to make things balanced and interesting...

Down the road, if you really want to go for a "forest" theme, there's always Titania's box to look for. Granted it's a different master, but Aeslin, the Mysterious Emissary, Autumn Knights and Waldegeist will really have a gnarled forest look. They are also quite tough, which is very rare for NB.

@-Loki-indeed, the cost of such box is something to take into account, and tots are surely less expensive than youngs. One of the reason for more tot variants is that when you put counters (wounds for example) on the cards, having multiple copies of the same poses can be confusing, while having more unique cards quickly prevents any mistakes. I call this the malifaux rat factor. Another reason to bring in more tots is that Nekima can summon them, so it's a good idea to have them together. If costs allow, of course a Young Nephilim would be amazing, since they can be grown from tots, and there's only 2 sculpts available at the moment. @Fetid Strumpet Perhaps, but i still hope they consider it nonetheless. I mean there are plenty of ideas for nightmare/twisted editions, and while Nekima deserves a true HT3 model in my opinion, i can't assume they would pick her out of the whole line for the next special edition release. As for the appearance of such miniature, who knows, i do believe there is a strong market out-of-malifaux for succubus models (just looking at reaper), and the old Nekima was proxied as a demon prince for GW games from the looks of it, so from a sales perspective, it may still be a good idea. I'd have no issue with a re-imagined form, but the current sculpt ain't bad, all things considered, just too small for malifaux. When i say too small, it's about the lore, sure...but also about how the miniature doesn't hint at its height. It doesn't seems like it could reach vertically so high...she isn't that much higher than a custom based ht2 model and her sword is really small, so it may completely escape an opposing crew that she can hit stuff 6" high, or that she could block line of sights so easily, or that she should be seen over quite a few terrain pieces in order to be targeted. While there are other models with similar aspects, i think there are few other models where these LOS/reach factors are as emphasized, and there's obviously less ambiguity with properly sized minis like the Ice Golem or Mature Nephilim. Basically...the current Nekima model almost feels like i am using a proxy.

That's the idea. So to recapitulate: A blood magic themed box set, bundling together the nephilim growth specialists. The Beauty and the Feast Models that could work: Nekima (increased size please!) Black Blood Shamans (2) Alternate terror tot(s) (for growing and summoning purposes, one or two depending on the costs) Then, if there is room: Tuco If it's a story encounter box, then Tuco becomes much more interesting if included. He's the first nephilim half-breed we've seen in the game, and he was created by Nekima and the Black Blood Shamans. The encounters could be around this and having a 2nd named character could be good for scenario purposes. The box could be themed around Latigo and their fight vs Neverborn. The first scenario could be to save/prevent people from being kidnapped by the nephilim after a raid on a caravan. The survivors are scattered around the place and the Ortegas (or protagonists) must protect them or get them to safety. Tuco Ortega is captured during this mission. The second scenario could be to rescue Tuco from Nekima's stronghold. The protagonists go and attempt to rescue some victims in the hopes to find Tuco and bring him home. They might succeed in rescuing some prisonners, but Tuco is nowhere to be found. The third scenario could be Tuco's dramatic appearance. Tuco strikes back against the protagonists, claiming that they abandonned him. The final scenario could be to fight Nekima and claim back her stronghold to prevent more attacks so close to Latigo. Killing her is an objective, but it is most important to claim back the land, so she can no longer operate from there. The boxed set would then fit hand-in-hand with Lilith's box and the Nephilim booster set (Mature and Youngs)

Obviously, my hope is that one day, Wyrd does produce an HT3 model that is up to scale with others in the line. There has to be some incentive for them to do so, and i simply am trying to find one I wonder if the mold for a few single miniatures can be bundled together into a larger sprue, if so...then i think the idea of a boxed set holds some merit for Wyrd. The list of miniatures to put "in the box" is just a suggestion...they could include one or two alternate sculpt terror tots for "grow lists". Since Nekima can summon them it does make sense. I did have 4-5 tots on the table in some games. I originally put tuco in there because it's perhaps a model that isn't selling as well, and also because he's tied to Nekima in the fluff. A Nightmare edition would do as well, but that one has already been suggested before and no results so far, hence the new idea.

Thanks a bunch for that.

The idea is that re-using the current sculpt and increasing in size would be less costly than a redesign (it may be wrong). The reason behind the wish for a bigger model is simple: it's to be consistent with the rest of the HT3 and HT2 Nephilim models, and of course the lore behind Nekima. In her first appearance in the fluff, she's supposed to be one of the largest nephilim around (Sonnia's story), after all. If you have issues carrying the current Nekima, i wonder how you carry Young Nephilms or barbaros...she's not much larger and actually sturdier than the one floating above a skull, and i am not even talking of things like Riders and actual HT3 models (e.g. Ice Golem) As for the clothing, i don't really have an opinion...the previous model had a sort of lingerie too, so...she always had that succubus thing going...hence the "bloody beauty" trigger. I wouldn't mind different clothes but as i said, the suggestion was mostly about rescaling while saving costs. There are many miniatures we already can't get unless we buy a box. All masters, most henchmen and totems are also boxed sets. They bundled Rat Kings and Gupps like this, too. I honestly don't mind that, it's easier for new players to get into it. From a marketing perspective, it may also be good to get one single big box on the shelves of a store, rather than 1 ea. of Tuco, BB Shaman and Nekima. I am not aware of the real numbers behind all this, but there might be a way to get a win-win situation on the long-term. It also helps to sell less-popular models (tuco) in a quantity that is relatively similar to other more popular ones (Nekima).

It's been what...over 2 years now, and i am still unsatisfied with the size of the plastic model. I wonder if i am the only one always on the look out for another suitable one. I've got quite a few proxies but none so far look better than the original metal one in context of malifaux...even though it has its flaws. Discovered many nice compenies in the process but still...i kind of wish it was Wyrd doing it. I was reading the "build-a-masterl" threads in other forums, which told of grouping "orphan" models into a box. This gave me an idea for Nephilims. Since there would be costs involved in producing rescaled Nekima model...i'd suggest that a they perhaps could use the opportunity to make a bundle of currently "lone" models into a thematic box, a bit like what they did with the Spawn Mother and Brotherhood of the Rat. A Nephilim encounter/booster box themed around blood magic. Examples of titles for the box could be "The Bloody Beauty" or..."The Beauty and the Feast"...there's tons of things and Wyrd is obviously more creative than i am for these. Models included would be : Black Blood Shamans, Tuco and Nekima, using the opportunity to rescale her at the same time. The idea would be to price it around the same line as the Spawn mother and Brotherhood of the Rat boxes. It would also fit particularily well both in theme and on the table. In the lore, Nekima is the one trying to get the Blood shamans on her side, and Tuco is a byproduct of their magic on humans. On the table, Tuco and Nekima can both benefit from the Shamans magic, and Nekima's upgrade goes hand-in-hand with the Black Blood Shaman's grow ability. That box would allow to slowly fade out the single boxes of those models (i do believe it'd help with costs?) and it'd help new players to boost their collection with a ready bundle of Nephilim (great combo with Lilith's box), and I for sure would buy a rescaled version of Nekima if it was available. It's probable i never see this wish come true, but i'll keep hoping (and posting once per 2 years...ain't spamming i hope!) about it, and i think my suggestion isn't completely unrealistic on the long run.

Could we get a size comparison with Nekima please?

@HydroMog The Rougarou can also be pretty nasty with this combo.

I've found that there's interesting synnergy between The Queen's Champion and Malifaux Provides in games where survival is a priority. Nekima is a great champion for Titania, but any good beater could do.

You could use mini-Nekima's wings, though i guess you thought of that already, otherwise there's Barbaros (2 versions) that would have smaller wings.

Thanks, though i kind of see that more of an indication of player skill than a testimony of game balance. Then numbers of players must eventually weight in heavily too, since the pie chart from that website seems to reflect the faction ranking in a relatively similar proportion.

Just out of curiosity, where are these stats coming from?

They are very strong models in each respective factions. I certainly would never send Nekima against Archie if i could avoid it, especially if he has the armor upgrade on (Nekima hates armor). Turf war seems a situation where i could not avoid it...and the outcome of that duel would likely be the destruction of both. It's the support from other models in the crew that might tip the scales more widely.

Just found about this as i had intended to buy the mounted guards at BF. Really happy of the decision. Great move on Wyrd's part, it helps building confidence with the company we put a decent sum of money in. There are still a few other strangely scaled models in the line...not many, but a few, namely Reva and Nekima off my mind. I humbly hope that we, someday, see a decision like this for those models, even if they were not mistakes per se (although in those case there should be no replacement, just removing the old one and selling the new would be fine by me).

1. Nekima would be my MVP, but i tailor my lists around her so...i guess it's bound to help the performance. It does pigeonhole me for some stratégies/schemes, but i am loyal that way 2. Doppleganger. Has given me initiative when i needed it badly...this is perfect for glass cannon models like the big nephilim lady above. 3. Lilitu. Because there's few things more scary than being sent to hug with a pack of Nephilims. 4. Terror Tot...fragile but always making its way to my lists. 5. Waldegeist A very survivable model for our faction, and disrupting the opponent in game aspects we severely lack in.