Mouseketeer

Quick one that I think I've worked out, but was curious if there was an other opinion... Lazarus' "hate the maker" states he cannot be hired by masters who "belong" to the guild faction. McCabe as master - declares 10T as the faction. He's a dual faction master, so "belongs" to both factions (pg 8) So even though I'm playing 10T as my faction, McCabe still belongs to the Guild faction (as well) therefore can never hire Lazarus as a merc. In short: which faction is "declared" is not the same as which faction a master "belongs" to. Thoughts? Mouse

It's where I've started going, getting more advice less summary.. I think it'll take a couple of runs through to really be happy with it.. Yeah - started touching on that with the latest edit.. I'm going to need to flesh it out a little more..

Easy done. All stuff I'm hoping to tackle in round 2. Was actually hard trying to draw the line regarding how much to discuss with Blood & Ash synergies, since they're two separate models.. I've come to the conclusion there is just going to be a lot of cross over. Also I've been TRYING to steer away from personal opinion (always take Shez'uul on Pokey. Always) but since it's a wiki, I figure I can add in as much opinion as I like, call it fact, and people can always edit from there... Am hoping to get most (if not all) of those questions answered rather shortly. Cheers, Mouse

Made a decent start on Viktoria of Ashes last night.. Will try and finish it off tonight / tomorrow. With that in mind, it's probably also worth me touching on Viktoria of Blood, since they're so inter-related... Unless that's already been claimed? Cheers, Mouse

Happy to help out.. using a HTC one.. can probably steal the missus' Galaxy s4.. Also for the name - Malifaux: Bag o' tools Mouse

Happy to do Vik of ash...

I like him. In theory. He's expensive, good damage spread, amazing range, gets around a lot of LoS blocking tricks, can shoot into combat... If anything is getting through your lines to him, he's gonna struggle.. but that shouldn't be happening... He should be shooting them. OR Viks should be deleting them... I also love the upgrade removing option.. Situational, but REALLY handy (Pokey doesn't like having mark of shezuul removed from her for example). My issue really is cost. He directly compares to the frreikorps trapper in my books.. (I'm never gonna pay for upgrades for him) and when stones are getting tight, I can generally do very similar things with the trapper. I'm generally happy to take a slight / situational reduction in effectiveness for 1 model to get more models on the table.. So whilst I like him.. He rarely actually gets a run... Mouse

I like the second personally.. Just the lighter filligree etc creates better balance IMO. Looking good though! Would quite happily grab a deck or two if available..

I've considered a range heavy Vikkies crew (Hans, trappers, lazarus, vanessa / librarian) I figure my opponent is less likely to come to me when I have a pair of sisters ready to take anything apart.. But I just haven't really got around to it.. I think that terrain + strat / scheme pool play pretty big into this. eg: If I have reckoning +vendetta + protect territory then it's a solid option.. but I don't think it's great for more mobile / scheme marker / interact dependant strats & schemes. I've found the biggest thing is really utilising the movement of the sisters and catching people out when they overextend.. Mouse

Yeah, as has been said.. but, there's a couple of key players. The trapper & Libby are too good to ignore. I'd be targeting them early. Vs is killable, but takes a lot of ap. That being said, dita, lilith, raspy and mei are all decent matchups.. I'd be looking for models that can pull models out of position and out of vs buffing range.

Vanessa isn't bad IMO.. 2 action heal, but heals a higher amount than the libby. Another sister, which means she's relatively survivable, good casting action that gets better once she's on the centreline, and a decent melee, so she's no slouch if something runs at her. Wanna go stupid healing crazy, run both her and the libby, means you can get angry with the Viks, and heal her with the libby.. Survivalist would be fun as well Mouse

Yup: Ash - Sisters in spirit, syncronised slaying.. then whatever floats your boat.. (survivalist, sisters in fury etc) Blood - Mark of shezuul, oathkeeper Mix well and serve Vanessa, I pick between her and the friekorps librarian. Healing is good, I think both is overkill. The libby @ 1ss less usualy gets the pick. Only other upgrades I really use is oathkeeper on anything big and stompy.. Mouse

Which is why the void wretches are handy.. I like having a second threat on the board, so 1 more high ss cost model generally. Given that I haven't paid for the Viks I don't find it's a major issue. Also, above is kinda turn 2-3 plan when you've worked out where you want stuff to be, and played the move & position game for a couple of turns.. So the crew generally looks something like: Outcasts Crew - 50 - Scrap Viktoria of Ashes -- 6 Pool +Sisters in Spirit [1] +Survivalist [1] +Synchronized Slaying [2] Viktoria of Blood [0] +Mark of Shez'uul [2] +Oath Keeper [1] Bishop [10] +Oath Keeper [1] Freikorps Librarian [7] Freikorps Trapper [6] Ronin [6] Void Wretch [4] Void Wretch [4] 8 activations generally isn't bad, and there's a few that you can "throw away" the 2 wretches & ronin aren't pivotal early, the trapper will generally get a focus + shot turn 1 & 2, Bishop will threaten something, the libby moves to where you want Ash to be later & sometimes takes a few shots at things.. So I'm still trying to pick off weaker minions so I can out activate my opponent.. the trapper + libby are great for that, Ash's gun can also come in handy, the Ronin's less so... Mouse

I find synchronized slaying an almost auto include. Ash: Sisters in spirit, syncronized slaying (sometimes survivalist) Pokey: Mark of Shezuul, Oath keeper Beatstick #2: Bishop (he's my go to), Taelor (if another henchman is needed, or I'm facing a summoning crew), Lazarus (If I want some extra ranged support) + Oath Keeper Scheme runners: 1 - 2 Void wretches Support: Librarian, Ronin, Freikorps trapper (vendetta = this guy, always), Johan (if condition removal is required) sometimes the student... I would struggle to drop shezuul, either of ash's upgrades. I treat oath keeper on Pokey Vik as a cheaper student of conflict if stones are getting short.. Bishop + oath keeper = 2 flurries, or just 4AP = amazing. Even just the extra AP for swift + access to target Df / Wp + auto suit is all kinds of awesome. I maintain some kind of healing is almost necessary. The librarian is my usual go to, a stone cheaper than vanessa, and (1) heal actions beats the (2) action Vanessa has IMO. + she still works at good ranged support. The trapper is usually in the crew.. he's really good at dropping other ranged threats.. So I tend to use him as a bit of a counter gunline early, then drop scheme markers as required late game. Vendetta is almost automatic points with him as well. Big thing with the Viks I found is everyone underestimates the threat range. With ash walking, slinging Pokey, then casting the extra dmg spell (this is when to make it happen).. then Pokey dropping oath keeper for a walk + (0) for positive dmg flips + charge + melee expert swing all paired, positive dmg flips with the buff from ash's spell, ignoring most defensive stuff + whirlwind... She's been known to drop 5+ models in an activation, after starting her turn 21-22" away from what she's hitting. Then you just need her to live.. and bail her out.. Overextending is also really easy to do... Mouse

See, I don't massively rate the strongarm suit, and lax is either here nor there.. he gets a run, I just don't find him amazing. Generally my go to is bishop.. but trying out killjoy, ama no zako, the desolation engine, taelor for games where an extra henchman is handy, or against summoning crews.. Haven't tried rusty yet, but that could be on the cards.. I tend to play something like: Viks Bishop + oathkeeper Librarian Freikorps trapper 2 void wretches Ronin Mouse

Rule of thumb from me. Mark of Shez'ul. Always. Survivalist is god on ash, but not amazing. Healing by killing stuff with pokey negates some of the necessity to stock up on extra healing models.. I find a single Libby / Vanessa enough. Separating the Viks mean they die. A couple of dedicated scheme runners can be handy.. Void wretches, desperate mercs.. something cheap. I don't find many more than 4-5 stones are necessary... You can prevent a lot of damage with movement / not being in range / +ve Df flips / +1Df bubble etc... I really like a second beatstick in a lot of games. Means you can push something scary in people's faces, make them react, and then sling Pokey in later. Mouse

2 options in my books: 1. cheap, fast, Ht1. Void wretches are my go to. Crooligans when you can get em, Desperate mercs. 2. The tank. Biggest nastiest thing in your crew. Hard to deal with.. Ashes and dust, Bishop etc. That's for dedicated scheme runners. I tend to use those mid priced models (Ronin / Freikorpsmen etc) as a jack of all trades. So I do use em for schemes.. but don't necessarily dedicate their role to capping schemes at the start of the game. Mouse

Pokey Vik gets it a lot.. Bishop, Taelor, Killjoy, Nothing Beast, Laz.. Anything big and stompy really... If it's 10+ stones. Oathkeeper is good. On the libby it isn't bad.. Although you can't furious cast heal.. Since furious casting now only lets you cast attack actions (from memory). Mouse

I've tried a bunch of stuff.. Void wretches: Solid scheme cappers Freikorps: The Librarian (healing + a bit of ranged support) and trapper are pretty solid.. The strongarm suit was underwhelming.. haven't given the specialist a run yet Oiran: struggled with this one.. Potentially using her agressively to stop her hitting stuff is good.. The lure just relied on a decent crow(?) that I never seemed to have when I wanted to lure something though.. for 6ss she got the chop. Gunslinger: Eh, not BAD, not great.. just shorter range than he needs Bishop: solid Taelor replacement. Worth considering Hans: Expensive @ 8ss better than the trapper - but you need to be able to afford him Vanessa: 3rd sister + heal + ranged support & decent melee is solid!! Still wanna try Killjoy, Hannah, a few other b1ts and sh1ts... Mouse