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.

40 minutes ago, spooky_squirrel said:

Start: Mages are jammed to break crew synergies and deny them their magic shooting (Watcher, Merris, Silurid, Terror Tot, Clockwork Trap w/ pathfinder, etc.)
Blood Ward mage activates and attempts to free other two mages via pushing (or when presented with a softer target, killing the runner/jammer).
Opponent activates, continues jamming mages because it helps them break my crew synergies (softer jammers that can be summoned, or they're doing something nasty like popping up a Killjoy).
Captain activates and burns his AP pushing mages out of engagement and hopefully into a better position or killing a cheap runner/jammer.
Opponent gets another activation. Two of my melee beaters spent their activations trying to free one or two shooters from a model that only was there to jam/distract them.

The problem I have here is that I hired a control group to control the battlefield on my terms, not my opponent's. The goal with a control crew is to minimize your opponent's activations and their ability to score on scheme/strat. If I'm spending activation after activation trying to free up a mage so that it can try to do its job, I'm not running schemes or scoring on the strategy, I'm not slowing or pushing the key pieces of my opponent's plan. I'm reacting to my opponent instead of setting things up in my own favor, which means that they're out-controlling a control crew and my crew has no Plan B because it's skewed for control.

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. 

20 hours ago, spooky_squirrel said:

For Kaeris I could see bringing 1-2

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?"

55 minutes ago, Tris said:

I´m tempted to support the Arcanists this time around to get myself a werewolf for another faction^^

Really cool idea for his first round

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.

 

With that being an official proxy for Carrion Emissary I'd sure ask a TO beforehand if they'll allow it.

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.

9 minutes ago, Guslado said:

Crazy idea that seems like it costs more stones than it's really worth but worth considering--using Hans' "Smile you son of a..." ability and shooting upgrades off of your own Gamin.

Thoughts?

Way too expensive. Tiny payoff.