Sybaris

I'd say that's a typical "good day" for her when she can kill more than she is worth before she dies, but most importantly when she gets the right kill at the right time. That's why she's worth hiring...on bad days she dies too early or is bogged down by useless fodder.

Combining a Mature + Nekima and Lilith provides alot of saturation at the cost of being out-activated. I've tried games with a similar list but Tots instead of Graves (fluff reasons). Worked decently enough so i like it.

About the same as most here, started with Nekima for another game...saw the setting but didn't settle on it for a while. Didn't like the look of the nephilims at first but they grew on me. Ordered the first book and my wife really digged the artwork...she wanted Raspy and the viks.  This started the collection. By now we have...alot of masters and their minions from all factions except 10-Thunders.

Nekima is really good at this. In fact it's one of the main effect she has on a game. As mentionned above the Hooded Rider and Killjoy are great too.

The hooded rider is different as his threat grows with the game, while Nekima is more the kind of "threat" you hold back then spend it in a frenzied oubturst.  Both are high threat in their regard.

Strangely enough, if Nekima is almost a given in growth mechanic discussions/tactics, i dare say i've never actually grown a single thing in all my games with her (which is about 66% of the time). Thing just never happened. Tots are too useful for running around, so while the Youngs are ok-ish, it's not enough so that i would want to spend AP and resources into making a tot grow. During that time it could have planted scheme markers  on its own and get me a VP. That, and growing a Young into a Mature may happen once in a blue moon,  almost depending on my opponent making some serious mistakes to let it happen.

I find that the true mother's upgrade is costly and requires too much baby sitting to plan for, leaving you with no real gain if it fails at any point of the chain. That's why i don't work to make it happen...now if it does occur one day, it'll be fun. It perhaps has to do with how you use Nekima and the other models of the crew. I use her as a brutal fighter first and foremost, so the tactical stuff is left to the small runts . Furthermore my experience is slanted a bit because i've faced a lot of blast in my game...so gathering tots near Nekima ended up badly quite a few times...so in my mind, tots need to be operating on their own, far and away from where the big guns are gonna show. 

Add to this that i enjoy Fears given form on Nekima...and it makes the surrounding area quite hostile to my own models.

If you did have success with a "grow" list please let us know.

@Ikvar: the doppleganger is an awesome asset with Nekima, as taking the initiative can be crucial in some turns. There's also the added benefit of the doppleganger mimic'ing Nekima's great attack action profile. Iggy...honestly i'd try to squeeze in a Lilitu if you could.

Zoraida can really work well with Nekima, at least it has for me when i used them together. Bring a Lilitu with the duo and procede to execute whatever gets lured close. It does tend to hog alot of resources though, as Nekima drains cards and stones no matter what she does. It makes Nekima an even greater threat than she usually is, and if killed Zoraida will loose alot of omph by the same token.  If you're on a budget, try a Mature Nephilim, the "obey" action is definitely violent and it's less prone to require high cheats thanks to the  on the attack and the +1 armor.

That being said, don't discount Lilith for one (if not the) best match. This creates a sort of target saturation on the table, as both are very powerful melee fighters... so going after either of the two sisters makes it a catch 22 for your opponent...if one assigns too much focus on one, she's leaving the other a little too "free" for comfort. Lilith can "protect" Nekima simply by her presence on the table; the enemy will have a hard time choosing the right dose of attention.  Added bonus, the two complete each other for resilience: Lilith can tackle models who attack on Df, while Nekima is better shielded from Wp aggression. Then add Lilith's forest cover and model displacement shenanigans and you can create truly horrible deaths situations for opposing models.

Indeed that (0) action choice is very important, as you need to think ahead what she'll need most during her activation. 

She's not like the illuminated, guild austringer, rotten Belle or other high efficiency investment, but she does have the potential to seriously impact a game. High risk, high reward.

Just make sure she isn't caught within range of the models who can cripple her easily (Justice, Perdita, Killjoy, Howard, Desolation engine, Izamu,...to name a few.). The list is actually pretty long, but during a game, those models will sometimes/eventually be isolated or wounded...just enough for Nekima to come finish them. Vs shooty crews, the mimic's blessing upgrade can help protecting her a bit.

Keep in mind that Nekima is both a headache for its controller and its opponent. It'll know she's not that survivable, but if it fails to finish her...she can get back in good shape, and a single "extra" activation from a well positionned Nekima can swing a fight for her crew.

I think, overall, that they found a decent spot for her...a model that is used in a variety of lists, considered good, but not overpowered is what i consider a job well done on wyrd's part...and with her extreme concept it was far from an easy task.

I use counters with transluscent bases (usually purple for NB) with a base designed to fit what it should represent. In the case of trees there'll be some folliage stuff, however there won't be trees glued to the counters per see on them so that models can pass through as they should for that terrain type). For the fun of it i have "mobile" trees i can put on the counters if they're not occupied, helps to remember their effect.

Slightly off topic but speaking of Nightmare Chompy, how much is the miniature worth nowadays? Considering i very rarely play that crew, i was curious if it was any valuable still.

Barbaros (leader) Cache 3

Nekima (13ss)

Tot (4ss)

Alp (3ss)

Would this work?

this format would be all "lolz" in terms of balance, but still fun and fast.

I use Nekima as leader, as often as i can for personal fluff reasons (a master is a more efficient use of the free slot), but in games where i need to get master instead...i'd say Lilith with a grunt, though i am experimentating with Zoraida. I do have Pandora and the dreamer models...will see how fun they are once i get the time to test them.

Heh, agreed i don't think 20ss can be balanced from a competitive point of view. It's a good way to learn the game though, and have a Malifaux fix when you don't have time for a normal game.

Nekima with no soulstones is relatively easy to fend off in my opinion, in fact even in 50ss games you have to keep a part of your cache for her defense and to induce some reliability in her critically important attacks (she has no   anywhere). If prevented from keeping ss for cache, this also means you (as the player) have absolutely no way to affect the random flow of the game (initiative flips, control card drawing), it's too big of a tactical cost imho, and that has nothing to do with the 13 value of henchmen.

It's probably cool for 3-5 cache henchmen, but for a 0 one...  Again Nekima proves to be at the extreme end of balancing efforts.

Using birthright on a henchmen leader may be the only use of the trigger i could foresee, actually. I never could manage to see a point in killing one's master at all (we know that's intended in design, sadly), but...Melee master+4 healed wounds may be worth it on some occasion on a henchmen, and so cool to watch. As a side note the additional melee AP gained takes a while to pay off, as you need to use some to kill the leader first.

Wow, for some reason i didn't think that applied to hardcore mode. Thanks!

I just took her in a hardcore match. She wasn't the leader: Widow Weaver was (so that I could deny Assassinate VP to my opponent, and start with more stones). She was the star of the show. Absolutely effective.

Does this actually work? I sadly don't have my books/cards here, but i thought the weaver was 8ss (which would mean 21ss total with nekima).

I too am looking forward to make a swamp list (since a long while actually). Gator+Silurid+waldegeist certainly seems like a good mix to me. Then Bad Juju or McTavish for more muscle and gupps as shenanigan fillers.

Yeah i guess if you build for growth it can probably work, i forgot to state that my lists aren't focused on it so...it's probably logical that it doesn't happen often.

A mature with retribution's eye is a better offensive fighter than Nekima without soulstones imho. That's something to consider when building a crew.

Growth never worked for me in M2E somehow, and the 2ss required for the true mother means i can rarely afford it. She becomes a 15ss model + whatever other upgrade you pick, and then requires at least 2-3 soulstones in the game to perform and stay alive. It feels too expensive for me. I tend to pick minimum upgrades, and use her as a fighter and not bother with growth.

Well, if there are any henchmen she can be paired with, she sure will do well. I wouldn't trust her with 0ss though, especially since other henchmen get 20ss of models + their cache.

How many ss do you have in that mode?

To the guys above, what do you refer to as "hardcore"?

@Razhem: that's also how i feel, a pretty good model overall, but not easy to use given the cost/survivability ratio.

So it's been a few weeks since the rules were published in their final versions, and i was wondering how she is doing with the new book for the rest of Neverborn players..

I keep reading on Teddy, Graves and the like, but nothing about Nekima, so here's a thead on it.

What master do you use her with? What upgrades do you pick?

She's obviously not going to be mentionned in the top 5 pick thread, so how does she perform for you?

I use it to buff Nekima, i don't concentrate on growing anything at all myself...but then again i do have tots almost all the time, so the shaman's abilities aren't wasted for me.

Very nice indeed...i find her way more fitting with the rest of the crew that way.

back to upgrades: I'm looking at this for my Nephilims.

Wings of darkness for Lilith

Mimic's blessing for Nekima

Retribution's eye for a Mature

add some austringers, while at it.

I rarely take totems, except when Zoraida brings in a Voodoo Doll. It's not  that they aren't effective, really...but i try to bring as many models as possible (that can fight or interact), given Nephilims die so quickly when focused, that extra model i can squeeze in may be all i need to complete a scheme or score on strategy. At least it's how it see it, i don't go heavy on upgrades either, for the same reason. 

To be honest, i don't focus on growth even though i play with Nephilim very frequently (themed crews). Grow requires alot of energy to get going and it comes at the cost of tactical flexibility, plus growing tots into youngs isn't always the best course of action when it comes to scoring vp, even if you technically get more muscle in the process. Growing a Young is so difficult that the opportunity rarely comes up at all (at least in my games).

The core of my crew consists of 3 Tots, a Mature and Nekima. The rest varies as i feel, either Youngs or Waldegeist...or some wild card model that i fancy at the time.