NeuroFire

I will agree that the Wastrels are big winners. I disagree with this, though. Sidir, when I have played him, is a great model. He survives longer than just about anything and can lay down some serious hurt. High resistance to spells and to dying plus some very good weapons has made me glad to have Sidir along. Plus, he can lay out a couple buffs and some cover (part of what makes him difficult to kill, but can also benefit the rest of his team) which can be very useful. I'm not trying to toot the horn of a playtest group I happened to be a part of, but I really don't think there are many losers in this book. The weakest model (Chiaki the Niece) is still pretty useful, and there are some really great pieces for all factions. Of course there will be a few models that don't fit a particular playstyle, but that doesn't make them losers. I'm not all that enthused about McCabe, to be honest, but he's still a really good master. Others might not be super excited about the Rail Workers, but to some players they're probably one of the best things ever, because all the models have some use. My 2¢

aPerdita kind of tricked me. I thought she was going to be SO AMAZING, and then I got her on the board and realized how very fragile she became. All her tricks for getting a great hand were as good as they looked, but her other awesome-seeming stuff (killing and de-buffing things that attack WP) barely gets used because putting her in battle is a really good way to lose her. It's a shame because she's so cool looking. (I maintain that if she had Black Blood she would be more playable.) I was mildly unsure about the Brutal Effigy, because I had to give up a totem to take it, but man... I pretty much never take totems anymore because I always want to include the Effigy. It's really, really good. Not that I didn't think it would be worth taking (wouldn't have put it on the table if that were the case) but, wow, it's so ridiculously worth taking.

I think one of the best models for Sonnia, apart from the obvious, would be Ronin. They're good models anyway, but with Sonnia the options they bring to the table are especially useful. First off, they bring some much-needed Armor ignoring, for when your opponent is Ramos. Second, they are Hard to Kill, meaning that if you want to, you can Flame Burst them twice (assuming the first one is a moderate damage) or just let them do their thing until they're near death. Then, you have two options, you can turn them into a Witchling Stalker, or they can Seppuku and replenish Sonnia's soulstones a little bit if she's had to Confiscate Lore a lot. If you get an Austringer, I would also say get a couple Raptors. They're just as cheap as the Desperate Merc, but being Easy to Wound can turn them into smart missiles with Flame Burst, and the moderate damage will take them perfectly to one wound and set them up to become Witchlings. I also second/third the Avatar and Brutal Effigy. With the Effigy being able to give healing flips and Sonnia being able to heal off strikes with her sword, she's pretty survivable even without a Guardian. The Avatar just adds more potential healing, as well as some other really great abilities. If you're really into the Constructs, though, you should play Hoffman. The Watchers are worth their weight in gold no matter who you're running, but Constructs in general really shine with Hoffman.

The versatility of Ronin (especially with Sonnia) make them worth the extra stone to me. They're currently the only out-of-faction model I'm really "sold" on in terms of paying the premium.

Tough call. I think I have to second the Ronin as wildly good. Even at out-of-faction cost, I have never been disappointed I took a Ronin. I mainly play Guild, and there are some great models in that faction (Santiago, Watcher, and Witchlings are definitely up there) but I have to say I think the best Guild model for the cost is the Brutal Effigy. Melee Expert, Object, Magical weapon, potential to give Slow, and a Healing flip? Yes, please. It's a good thing they're Unique, or I would probably just fill a crew with them. Now for Ressers, I think I'd have to say, again, that the Rotten Belles are pretty fantastic. However, if you decide to include totems, it has to be the Grave Spirit. I would never take a different totem with any Resser crew. It's ridiculously good, and I still find it hard to believe it only costs 1 SS. Punk Zombies also scare me, because if they can get to anything I have, they're probably going to mess it up badly. I'm not terribly familiar with Neverborn, but I have to say the Stitched Together have given me some real headaches. Arcanists are tricky, because a lot of the minions are so specific to the master leading them. However, I think I'd have to pick the Arachnid Swarm. It's a Melee Master that has no trouble with terrain, sits on a large base able to block movement or LoS, and it can break apart for activation control if necessary. Obviously best with Ramos, but I think it could be a pretty good threat with most masters.

Better than no healing whatsoever. Just saying. And melee expert on a slower model can still be a big deal in the later turns. It's decided games for me.

Yeah, the Guardian is good. I've found it to be kind of situational, as there are crews you don't want to be up against with it (anyone who ignores armor will destroy the Guardian in a turn, which can be quite horrifying, and if something can mess with Constructs there will also be trouble there) but other times it can be worth its weight in gold. Certainly one of the best bodyguards in the game, and some synergy with Sonnia since it has Disrupt Magic. I used to pair it with my Master all the time, but I figured out some things like helping the Exorcist move more and keeping Santiago (or Santana) in the 4 wound zone. Not really the auto-include that the Watchers are, but I can recommend it.

Yeah, when I take the Exorcist I tend to pair him with a Guardian. "Driven By Purpose" is a bit more palatable when the Guardian can soak the wounds. It's still not huge, but it's a bit more movement.

I prefer blasting off Raptors to Hounds, since their Easy to Wound makes it more likely to get severe damage. Remember that Flame Burst blast counters can start up to two inches away, which means a Raptor (or Hound, if you are sure you can cheat the damage) can be about seven inches away and that third blast marker can still catch what you're after. If Terror tests are going to be a thing, bring at least one Watcher. (I like to bring two) Turning off the Terrifying ability can be really huge, as can looking at a couple cards a turn. Could also be an argument for the Pale Rider, with range damage that could take Coppelius out.

I've been asked several times about the number cards in my hand. I've always either just held it up in a fan for inspection, or responded if my cards were on the table instead of physically in my hand. Since it is a hand of cards that can be easily glanced at and counted while playing (if held in a traditional manner) it hadn't really occurred to me to try "hiding" how many cards I was holding.

Because it's a spirit? I meant Magic as a general term, for the Spirit damage. Although I will be trying to hit that thing with Sonnia's blast markers if I come up against it again. (Last time I was using Perdita.) I didn't say the ability should be restricted, though. I just think the models that grant it should cost a bit more. And when you finally manage to take out a Rat Catcher (no easy feat, in my experience) they shouldn't come right back from a few Rats.

I've been thinking about it, and I've come to the conclusion that the biggest problem is not really Hamelin, bit Nix and the Rat Catchers. They're the ones that make the rats so ridiculous. Rat Catchers should cost more, and rats shouldn't be able to summon them. Nix should also cost more, or be dialed back somehow. He's nearly impossible to take down without a whole lot of Magic, and making everything in the crew Significant is a huge deal. The only issue I have with Hamelin himself is that he can make any model Insignificant, including Masters, potentially making an entire crew incapable of targeting him. But I still think the teeming swarms of rats are the bigger problem.

I think the rule says that he can't interact with an objective before turn three if he is deployed outside the deployment zone, not strictly if he uses Pointman. That being the case, you may as well plunk yourself on an objective, set some Traps, and just hunker down for a few turns.

Intractable is the can't be buried one. Duty is essentially the can't be Obeyed one, because it says the model's Controller cannot be changed. Then there's Immovable, which prevents Pushes or movement that doesn't come from a friendly Master. Brace is something Ototo has to do as an action, if I remember correctly, it's not always on. Anyway, if it says he can't be moved by an enemy's talents or spells, that's exactly what it means. Obey is a spell, so he can't be moved by an enemy's Obey. He could probably still be Obeyed to perform a strike action, but not a walk or charge action.

Oh, the Executioner can be worth his weight in gold, for sure. He's an especially good counter to Hamlin's rats, because they tend to scatter before his Terrifying, and being able to kill a handy rat whenever he needs to heal makes him pretty difficult to kill. And anything that drains cards or soulstones is a plus. Unfortunately, going against anything with range, Executioner is going down, because his Df is so crummy. Now, I know that's a good use for Lucius, since he could probably pop the big guy into melee, but the problem I personally have with Lucius is that he's Special Forces, meaning I couldn't take the Effigy with him. Something to keep in mind if you're as big an Effigy fan as me.

Brutal is always an excellent choice, IMO. Healing flip, melee expert, Magical knife, and Object are all incredibly useful things to have. The Exorcist is good, but against a highly mobile crew like Kirai's he's probably going to have some issues. Sonnia is a good counter to Kirai all by herself, since the majority of her damage is magical. I would personally take just Watchers and no Guild Hounds; they're better objective grabbers and peeking at cards is a valuable ability. Since you have an Austringer, a couple Raptors can be a good option for Sonnia because they're Easy to Wound, so getting blast markers off them is almost guaranteed. I'm not a huge fan of the Fire Gamin; I feel like Nino or something would be a better option. Witchling stuff is of course good, as are the desperate mercs (though I would probably just include one at a time in any given list.) If you have any Ronin, consider including one. They're really good with Sonnia: if she's having a rough game where she's needed to Confiscate Lore a lot, the combo of Hard to Kill plus Seppuku for two SS is handy to have. Hard to Kill can also make them prime Witchling fodder after they've been in a few melee beatdowns.

That's silly. Mathematically, there are no numbers "twice" as much as zero. A million would still not be "twice" as many as zero, so by that argument an opponent could never get near the claim jump and still deny you VP for it. Alternatively, all real numbers are infinitely greater than zero. If this comes up again, I'd say to make the argument that 1 is twice as many as 0.5, which is a simple value that is greater than zero. Or 1 is four times as many as 0.25, a simple value that comes closer to zero than one-half does. Either way, 1 is actually more than twice as many as zero.

Som'er can easily have a cache of 8. As I repeatedly stated, all he needs to do is hire a skeeter and a Bayou Gremlin or two, plus whatever beefier models you might want. Then Som'er can sit there going "Get Your Bro, Take A Swig" and just pump out a bunch of range 12 models that can act as killers and distractions while objectives get taken care of. At the same time, skeeters can reproduce and slowly sting the opponent to death. These are cheap guys, so there's plenty left over to build whatever cache you want.

You're really missing my point about the cheapness of the minions. Outcast masters can build their own cache by taking any number of the cheap and powerful minions readily available to them. That is the balance of the game. I've run against plenty of Outcast crews who have a full compliment of SS and still have the minion resources to kick my teeth in because there are so many good models for a low cost. So no, I don't see any reason to give them another two stones to hire another model with.

Yeeeah, a lot of those models are still pretty cheap. The Bayou Gremlins, for example. Super cheap (and, essentially, summonable) range twelve models with a totally decent damage profile. "Get Your Bro" makes up for the fact that they die easy. A horde of Bayou Gremlins and Skeeters coming at me? Terrifying. So'mer doesn't need a native cache, he can build one by hiring a few cheap killers. Levi has wide hiring options, since he can take any Undead or Construct. There are a lot of good ones in the game. I've only gone against him a few times, but he's fairly formidable. And he wants to be dying, right? So fewer SS needed for defense. Viks can only hire Mercs, and they get them all for cost. Viks terrify me., even without a bunch of really good, cheap models on the board. They consistently wreck me. Bring a Librarian and they're nearly invincible. They don't need a cache. Hamelin? Also wide hiring options, as well as having cheap rats. Doesn't need help.

I'm really not a big fan of the Judge, he's too mask-hungry and seems to be the first to die more often than not. There are 7-stone models far more worth the cost; the Guardian is pretty fantastic for keeping Justice alive, Nino tends to lay down more damage and live a bit longer, and Santiago is supposed to be quite good (I'm waiting for Santana to arrive, so I can't speak from experience yet.) Or, for the same price, you can take a Witchling and a Watcher, which are both good models to have around. One of the biggest issues I have with the Austringer is that once there's a lot of melee going on the board, their effectiveness plummets, so being able to check cards with a Watcher before randomizing into melee can be a godsend. Witchlings are also highly useful, since they can remove problematic effects like poison or slow, they're Hunters, their swords are magical, they can force discards, their melee Cb is really good, and they do damage when they're killed. I'd take them over Death Marshals in almost any game, btw. In terms of 4-stone models in Guild, I really don't think Marshals measure up. I do like the Scales. Balance is a great ability. Bit slow, but he can keep up with someone like the Executioner or a Witchling to cast Combat Prowess. I've also made use of the Drill Sergeant from time to time, since he has Link (and grants a on melee attacks with it) but the Scales has the advantage of a built-in Ram on the Ca. Scales is also pretty cheap.

I completely disagree with this. IMO, a great many Outcast minions are undercosted, and it's (presumably) for this very reason. Quite a few Outcasts are fully worth their out-of-faction cost, and they of course cost a stone or two less for an Outcast master. (Yeah, I know some of them come cheap and some of them are no good, but my point is that an Outcast master can build quite a strong crew and still have a nice cache left over.) I'd like to have an alt for the Watchers, just for the sake of variety (and they should be smaller, if that's at all possible, since they're technically ht 1 models but are bigger than Witchlings.) I'd also kind of like an alt for the Exorcist. I think all the Henchmen should get alts eventually, since the masters have alts. That's all that comes to mind right now.

If the Death Marshal (2) Pine Box spell included some movement (e.g. "Move this model up to its charge towards target model...") it would make the models much more attractive to me. I almost never get a chance to use the spell because it's short-range and eats all their AP. That or make it a (1) spell. A Nurse, as they are, is almost a one-turn model; their job is to dose something up and send it off to die. The healing spell almost never gets used because it requires base contact (if I'm remembering right.) Give a Nurse Link, and she's a useful model worth her points. She's not a book one model, but Avatar Perdita desperately needs something to make her more defensive. The logical solution would be to give her Black Blood to go along with her Neverborn characteristic. (Not really a fix, but by all rights the Executioner should be Ruthless, something that didn't come along until book two.)

I've thought about this before. There are several models (from more than just the first book, too) that could become infinitely more playable with a single rule change. I know there might be problems involved with changing the old models, even single rule changes, but I still kind of wish they would.

I pretty much always take a Watcher, regardless. Even with some better objective grabbing now, Watchers are super valuable. But yeah, with From the Shadows and Terrifying being a little more common their value is only heightened.