decker_cky

Colette is probably the best one, for cassandra and the performers (when using Kaeris, scheme marker synergy is generally bigger than burning synergy). My kaeris crews almost always have at least one performer and cassandra. Ironsides is a close second. I'm a big fan of the captain. He's amazing for all crews, but I find kaeris crews really love the extra mobility. He also has some burning synergy. Oxfordian mages are great too now, and have burning synergy. Ramos box is a safe and surely useful buy - everything in the set is amazing, and does well in a kaeris crew, I just don't think it does anything too special for Kaeris.

Regenerating firestarter abusing reckless is great too. But yeah, Joss + mages in roughly midfield positions gives Mei a nice railpoint to plan around. Same with Captain in most any list - he's a nice second line assault option that can provide a huge amount of mobility to your lists to complete schemes. He makes mages better, and they make him better. He also has some burning synergy, meaning Kaeris and Mei like him.

Yeah, no reason Mei, Ramos and Kaeris shouldn't rely heavily on mages. M&SU and burning are synergies that the mages play too, and everyone loves some pushing. They're great at boosting some of the henchmen those masters like keeping around (captain, joss, and firestarter are standouts depending on the crew). Marcus too, to be honest, since he only really needs a few beasts and can otherwise bring all the synergy he needs. But Marcus players will tend towards beasts.

Sounds like a fun game of "mash everything together in the middle". Can we talk about Malifaux now?

When paying 3SS for a mage, you can still get amazing value using it our of its normal role. For example, run the blood mage as a flexible supporting melee model. The mages are actually really good support/disruption pieces with all the pushes they can cause, so are underrated in their scheming ability.

I think that the days of considering 2 mages is over. Lots of reasons to consider a single mage, but after you buy the second mage, it's only 3 SS for the third, and it's tough to find that kind of value in Malifaux for 3SS.

For austringers? It's no too hard to make sure you're behind some Ht3 blocking terrain.

Looks great - better than I was expecting. Only thing is I keep looking at the picture and wondering "why replace its claws with needles?"

As long as he ends up a beast....Marcus players won't be complaining too much.

Self-Righteous Man for arcanists! Order of the Chimera needs a third named model.

I run a similar list, plus Cassandra almost always (good on her own, drops some extra scheme markers that don't require burning, brings practiced production to put markers where the arachnids need them, and gets good use out of the performers Ca actions). I find I usually set up burning turns 1 and 2 (set up markers for arachnids to get them dangerous when I need them), but once they get stuck in, the spiders produce enough scrap that I'm not too worried about the scheme markers too much (unless they're needed for performer, or to score me points).

Unless you're facing ressers, it's not too hard to cause severe damage due to focus (which was used in the example). Win the duel by at least 1, don't flip black joker, and cheat in a severe card. While he has other things he'd rather do with his AP, considering only melee effectiveness, against something hard to wound Ramos is better off focusing twice to cause get severe damage rather than plinking away 1 damage per attack (use magnetism to get within 1" range if you don't start in it). Ideally, Ramos sits back boosting his crew, raising spiders, and zapping stuff with electrical fire. If things go wrong and your opponent closes in on him, his clockwork fist can turn out to be a nasty surprise and a pretty good get out of jail free card.

Targeting your own Guild Hounds with attacks is positively correlated with later playing Seamus...

Not sure the captain actually does anything for that list, since his wind markers aren't blocking.

Not sure the intent, but at my (Canadian) LGS, the models usually arrive in the first week of the month after their release.

Lilith can take anything - she's just a good flexible master that can work with any crew (that description applies to almost all of the 'shift gear' masters mentioned, even Marcus who isn't particularly reliant on having beasts in his crew).

Daw doesn't really change gears in-game. He's a debuffer and will debuff different models throughout the game. McCabe can change gears, but throwing out upgrades IS his playstyle.

Lilith and Shenlong are some other good options for your parameters. Shenlong can quite literally shift his rules mid-game.

Marcus is a pretty good fit the the parameters. In game, he can shift between a pure beatstick, a support master, and a debuff master. He has a ton of crew variety, but it's as easy to find a 'core' you like with him as it is with any other master (myranda is another piece that lets you shift gears with her shapechange).

Correct. With Killswitch/decoy, you can actually give them three upgrades each.

Show me a TO that has an issue with that, and I'll show you an unreasonable TO.

Simalcrum 29. Done. http://elementgames.co.uk/images/products/4883/3688-simulacrum-29-avatar-mcmourning-box-med.jpg

I think an important distinction in the Fuhatsu vs Samurai comparison is the fact that Fuhatsu can take another upgrade. He becomes, for example, probably the best model to carry hidden agenda or blot the sky, options that sadly aren't possible on a Samurai.

I've seen reference to the fact that cassandra is 9 ss several times in various threads. Am I going crazy, or doesn't she actually cost 8 ss? The availability of an amazing upgrade shouldn't be tacked onto her cost - cassandra is awesome on her own regardless of the upgrade she takes.

Way too expensive. Tiny payoff.