NeuroFire

I've thought before that since the raptors are trained birds, they should be able to get whatever target you want. However, the rationale of randomizing into melee is that the characters will be moving around trying to hit/block each other. The movement is what can make a shot hit a different target. Conceivably, a sudden movement could put a new target in the dive path of the bird, so Austringer shots must still be randomized.

Outcasts are definitely a pain in the everything. I like Sonnia, as well. She has a lot of tools against a variety of threats: Magic damage to take out Hamelin's annoying Spirit dog, blasts to hit Rat Catchers or a Librarian or other thing that's hiding, the LoS thing, Disassemble, summoning, etc. I highly recommend getting her avatar, as the Pyre can deal some really reliable damage (as well as being Obscuring, another handy to she brings to the table) and Searing Wave is a good thing to have (against any crew that isn't Freikorps.) Witchling Stalkers are also handy to have because they can remove effects. (Ortegas can shrug them off, but can't remove them from others.) McCabe has a few tools as well, but I'm not as good with him yet. The main disadvantage of Black Sheep is they're a bit lacking in magical damage. That's not always a deal, but when there's an annoying Spirit on the table, I want to be able to take it out by hitting it with multiple models. Giving out enough Slow might make up for any such drawbacks, though. And they're undeniably mobile.

I think there's a lot of potential for Traps with Hoffman. If nothing else, they're cheap targets for Tap Power (they probably aren't going to be moving around much, so it matters less if they're Slow) as well as being cheap Ca boosts and cheap, well, whatever you might need a Construct for, really. They're also just good for their intended purpose, which is locking things down. Lock it down, and then Hoffman can Open Circuit its face off without having to take an attack. They also have a couple goodies he could Assimilate to make him tougher to hit (like Tiny) and if all else fails he can use them for healing. I think it's at least worth a shot, considering the low soulstone investment. The Pathfinder doesn't suck, either. Pointman is a nice ability, and he can hit pretty hard sometimes. Don't know if he would synergize with Hoffman specifically, but he's not bad in general. Plus, free Traps and potentially more Traps.

Yes, Wong is a Merc, I'll be trying him in some Guild crews soon. (However, I'm not 100% sure he can make Ophelia's pistols Glowy, because she's a Henchman. Have to double-check the wording on that.)

Don't think so, because it isn't a faction restriction, it's a Master restriction. Besides, I think that Lucious is one of those Henchmen who really relies on his Special Forces, as so many of his abilities are tied to them. Hounds are Guardsmen, and trading them in for Raptors in a Lucious list (even if it were possible) would probably be more of a handicap than an advantage.

But imagine how much easier it would be if he was turned into a piggy.

At his most basic, Wong is going to be your Spirit-killer. He puts out magical damage himself, and he can give any minion's weapons magical damage as well (this includes the pigapult.) He also has a counterspell, making him potentially handy against Arcanists.

That's not at all how I would handle Beatdown. This isn't to say I think it's not a valid way, because it likely is, it's just not what I would do. I like the Traps idea, but I would probably go the Pathfinder route, maybe with one hired Trap just to make sure he has a decent ring of them around him. Primed Traps are not only good for activation control and self-sacrificing, they're good for potentially keeping your ranged hitters out of melee for a little while. Little triangle of Traps around a Pathfinder (easiest one, since he can set pre-Primed Traps himself) or Sidir, or Sam Hopkins, I think there's a lot of potential there for letting them kill a few things before they're taken out. I would probably take McCabe, but I don't agree that the relics are filler. I think they're quite important to how any Strategy is going to be played. I would favor Glowing Sabre and Strangemetal Shirt for Beatdown, because that would make him more killy and more difficult to wound. Although, I might take Badge of Speed instead the Paired goodness, because a re-activated Sidir might be one of my favorite things when it comes to bringing the pain. Plus it means a potential for two boosted Df stats, potentially very important when VP is determined by how many models are taken out. Expensive relics, but I think they're worth it. Another great model for Beatdown is a Wastrel with Earth's Elixer. True enough that a Paralyzed opponent can't kill anything, but better, perhaps, to have a model that literally cannot be killed for a turn, guaranteed. Austringers are a good pick for a list like this as well, because they can be safely tucked away while they peck at things. I think this could be particularly effective with the Badge of Speed relic, because 'Black Flash' can re-activate Guardsmen, too. Two 18" strikes from one Austringer in the first or second turn could be lots of fun. Pair them with a Drill Sergeant for extra shooting goodness. (Only drawback there, no Effigy. Tough call to make when healing and a resilient model are your friends.) Lastly, I would definitely want some Ronin in a Beatdown list. They're really good at getting out of trouble and dying on their own terms. They're also decent at killing things. Don't get me wrong, I do like the idea of Paralyzing everything, just not sure how often that can be practical. Maybe something like Coppelius (Hoffman can take him) with a Paralyze that can't be resisted by half the models in the game. But Wardens aren't always going to manage it, nor is McCabe. They're probably not even going to manage it a majority of the time. So I'd favor raw killing power and survivability. Mix and match for game size.

Is he a Guardsman? I must have missed that.

Yes, he should have a card for his Paths. If you email Wyrd, they'll probably send you one.

I was just thinking that some Traps would be great for guarding the Archers, since you pretty much never want those guys in melee. Three of them could lock down a pretty wide line of assault, and six might be able to form a full perimeter around Archers if McCabe takes them. But yeah, the way they're being packaged is odd. I kinda figured they would come in their own box of three, which would be most convenient for everyone involved. Packaging them with the Pathfinder, a Guild-only model, isn't terribly convenient for 10T players. Packaging them four at a time isn't convenient for anybody, as previously pointed out. We'll probably be seeing a few extra traps on ebay or something.

The workers can be counted as Constructs during the game, so there are definitely things Ramos can do for them. I'm not sure they drop scrap counters, which would be the main disadvantage.

I adore Sidir and his versatility. One of the highest Wp stats in the game combined with Immovable means that he's not going to do anything you don't want him doing, but the great thing about Immovable is that McCabe or Dita can still move him, just the opponent that can't. So he'll hold his ground and probably won't be hurt by some of the nasty Wp spells in the game, so anyone facing Ressers or Neverborn should love him just for that. As others have mentioned, he takes stuff apart if he gets the chance. Big gun, big sword, all good. And, with Camouflage and Always There, he has a really good chance of living to fight another turn (the only things I've faced that he hasn't managed to stand up to for long were Ototo and Izamu.) Alternately, the Camouflage and Hunting Blind are good ways to make sure other models can live to fight another turn, not to mention giving the Wastrels cover to use their movement trick. He seems like a great Master bodyguard, but I haven't actually found that to be the best use for him. I think all his abilities are better spent shooting things and giving cover. Plus, if McCabe has full "In the Thick of it" Df and Camouflage going, he's Df 10 and probably doesn't need anyone jumping in front of him. Sidir could also give Dita Df 10. So, yeah, that's pretty amazing.

I'm not sure it does, actually. Something ignoring the Undead characteristic doesn't mean that it's Living. But, that's a question for a rules marshal. Plus, not like it's permanent, right? Something can get the heal or the Armor or whatever else once the turn is over or they're out of range.

There are plenty of things that get bonuses against undead, or have spells that target them specifically, that's why "Greater Undead" means they can ignore that particular characteristic if they wish. I'm thinking Chiaki can pretty much make anything Greater Undead, or something close to it. Plus, since her Purity can push the undead, it gives you control over who is moving and who isn't whenever that ability gets used. (You might want to push one minion out of combat if it's getting ripped apart, for example, but if everything friendly was pushed away, she'd be in that combat all by herself.)