CapnBloodbeard

It would make sense, but there would seem to be more important things to do to fix him first

Depends. has positives and negatives.

yeah cool. They're a good starter crew - trapper and librarian are handy in a lot of crews. And if I don't want to think at all, vS is my go-to crew

Student of conflict isn't bad - I really like Malifaux Child myself. Only 2SS, can do the master's cast at -3Ca (so, he can do the actions that buff Pokey Vik), and he has a 1AP heal. I usually keep him next to Vanessa to heal her, thus heal all sisters. Strongarm Suit - he shouldn't be dying that much, with Armor 2 - maybe you're overextending him? If the Viks are running into the scrum, SS could probably hunt down scheme runners. Trapper - I tend to find that he provides good board control. He affects how the opponent can move. I need to give Ronin a go again and think harder about how I'm playing them - clearly I'm doing something wrong!! I'd agree that 2x 10SS models in your list is a problem. Hannah probably goes best, and consider keeping here somewhere in reach of healing.

Ah of course. Aren't trappers also enforcers?

With your model selection that looks like a pretty reasonable list. Have fun at the tournament. I'd suggest make sure you're familiar with your model cards as much as possible and the basic rules to minimise the time it takes you to make a move

With others - Ronin's seem highly overrated. Maybe it's because I'm combat oriented, and Ronins you really want to be avoiding combat. Just run their schemes and do nothing else. You never want 3 Ronin. Even 2 Ronin, unlikely unless you want to make advantage of their no-charge. Wyrd are funny like that - they tend to put 3 models in a box when you don't want 3 of the darn things Isn't Wokou Raider a minion? expensive but useful....well, looks useful. I don't have any. I usually prefer Freikorpsmenn over the Ronin - but they are a very basic, boring model. Going to echo everybody else's sentiments. Convict gunslingers are a good 7SS model too if you want cheap. What sort of list are you running Ratchet?

Henchman Hardcore seems ideal - not only are they more likely to be able to use wild fire, but with fewer cards in hand, anything that increases the chances of opponents having to cop niggling wounds or put down cards is handy.

I've always struggled against Misaki. She hits like a truck - can definitely take down the big guys, even masters, and unlike the Viks she doesn't have any weaknesses herself. she's deceptively mobile, especially with her crew offering pushes (something Outcasts sorely lack - and pushes have an advantage over the Sisters in Spirit movement in that the latter risks leaving models out in the open) and with Stalking Bisento. Between all that and the extra attacks she gets....she's pretty brutal and less a glass cannon than the Viks are.

Then that's probably the real reason you never see them. The most expensive box set in the game and you'll barely get any use out of it. You're either using one model occasionally, or the whole thing as a theme crew in a social match. You never see Pride because nobody owns the damn thing

The other issue is that the crossroads 7 box is so physically expensive and it's either a gimmick crew or you can't use most of them. Are the models available individually?

I don't really use the slingshot build all that often. I'm happy for them to make their way up there at normal pace - slingshot build needs the right table to make it work, I find. Anyway, one time Shooty Vik was up ahead and amongst the enemy, and I forget the scheme but, plant explosives maybe - opponent gets VP for having scheme markers next to my master at the end of the turn. Scheme markers were some distance away. Sensei Yu did a whirlwind and dropped the markers next to Vik, and I realised I walked straight into a trap. She was also surrounded by, I think 4 models. And those models were out of reach of Pokey Vik. But Shooty Vik wasn't! :D:D So, Pokey Vic burned Oathkeeper charged Shooty Vik. I was left with the hilarious situation of having to either cheat in or use SS to ensure I hit the WW trigger, then keeping a close eye on the damage I was delivering to my master - I wanted her to die, but not until the last one. So despite wanting her to die I was also using SS to prevent damage!! Successful, but I think I only killed 3/4 models. Plus my own Vik One of my favourite moments. For WW, you really want to make sure you've buffed Pokey to ensure she's hitting min dmg 5 - it's annoying when you're still on min3 and WW just leaves everybody with a couple of wounds. And my god, WW burns though your deck FAST!!!

I did not know that! I have the first books digital, I'll have to read them!!!

So the fluff is different in the first ed books?

Echoing others - a social game can easily take 3 hours or more as there's a bit more chit-chat. Tournament play, being under a timeframe you do tend to get it done quicker. As for how to get quicker? - Know the rules as much as possible. So much time is occupied by checking the book. Even put sticky flags for quick reference on pages you frequently need (eg who can use soulstones) - Know YOUR models as much as possible. A big timewaster is 'hmm, okay, my turn......who do I want to activate.....what does Vik of blood do again? Hmm....what about Johan? Umm.....I wonder....let me see that student card......wait, what was Vik's ability again?' - try to have a pretty good idea of at least the basics of your cards so less time is wasted reviewing that with indecision. Also, being uncertain about your cards means you'll often miss doing awesome things (so many times I've forgotten the heal my Viks get from killing a model) - just make a decision! It's so easy to get caught into the trap of 'hmm, who do I activate?' or 'do I want to move this model up or don't I, I think I do, what firing lines is that in? Hmm, what if I put it 1/4" this way? No? what about 1/4" the other way? Hmm, that's about the same...what to do.....what to do.....what to do......maybe instead I can....." - if after thinking about it for a short period of time you can't decide which option is better, then they're probably all about the same. Make a decision, do a thing, see what happens. Same with deciding whether to cheat and that sort of thing. Think about it for a few seconds, then make a decision. It can even help to have a rough plan when you start - know that your 2 6SS models are going to run up the side and drop schemes and your beater is going to attack the master, or whatever. Of course be adaptable and expect your plan to go to crap, but if you have a rough plan then it makes decisions so much easier.

Has Wyrd considered permitting local printing in other countries, say via licensing or some such? POD cards is a good idea but it's still fairly expensive, especially given international shipping.

To echo others, problem with a codex is the moment a new wave is released, all the codexes are out of date. So too many new purchases are required - it's not a system that's friendly to the community. Wyrd want you to spend money on beautiful models, not a stupid number of books. Unlike WH40K, many people play multiple factions too. As with others, I'd like to see an app with all the cards. Especially if they were printable to cover the erratas or new upgrades...... (those are still difficult to buy)

As said above, I think he's better at strats that schemes. Often 'not dying' is a fair goal of a strat (eg holding position in turf war, or table corners). Schemes are tougher.

Aside from that, have you checked out the pullmyfinger wiki?

Every faction has an Effigy and an Emissary (emissary is relatively new, and is a 10SS model that does a lot of funky things with the crew). Every faction has their [SOMETHING] effigy/emissary Ours are the hodgepodge effigy/emissary. Neat little 4SS model.

I don't even have a desolation engine. So basically, unless I'm designing my crew/playstyle with the specific purpose of abomination spamming, I should be right without an additional box?

So I've just picked up the Levi box set - so I need to pick up some more abominations? How normal is it to end up needing more than 4 in a game?

So I get the idea of wild firing as 'death by a thousand cuts'. Some people are saying it makes opponent waste cards to cheat, though I'd think the opponent would just prefer to hack the 1dmg...1dmg...1dmg...1dmg.......rather than waste cards. Rapid fire brings the Sh down to 2. A Positive flip on that makes Sh roughly equivalent to Sh 4 again. So, even against a weak minion (df 5), you're going to lose most flips even without cheating (and you're not going to cheat to win here). And forget about anything in cover.... So, even using wild fire a lot, unless you're attacking something with Df4, I'm still struggling to see how this works....

I've just bought Levi, along with Ashes and dust. Already have a fairly sizeable outcast pool, and a number of random models from other factions. Definitely don't intend on buying out-of-faction just to support Levi.

Some people like scion of the void to introduce something different into vS. I reckon Wokou Raiders might have a space if you can afford them SS wise. they introduce some scheme marker manipulation, but could also team up well with vS with their action making another model take a melee action. This could help get the opposing model down to the 2 wounds needed for '....finish the cur'