jonahmaul

I tend to summon 3-5 models over the course of the game but spend a lot of my AP giving out Fast to key models or Healing. I think viewing Nico as just a summoner is a mistake for the reasons you've highlighted very articulately.

It's not just Laz, everybody hates the Guild scum!

I was thinking of a list for a game I'm playing this week yesterday and wondering whether I could put Killjoy in my list because of Undead synergy with Nicodem but couldn't face the 25-27SS cost with Mortimer involved too and so Killjoy got dropped. I don't think that Mortimer is a crutch for Nico in the same way that Francois is considered a crutch for every Guild Master ever (not that I agree with that) but rather he is necessary to get Nico doing his thing. Nico needs corpse counters and if he hasn't got them then your Master is not doing his thing very effectively. Mortimer is the most reliable way of getting corpse counters (multiple if you take Corpse Bloat which I always do) and he has some other very lovely tricks that you've mentioned. If I was playing Turf War or Reckoning and was using Nico more for his support abilities (i.e. Aura and giving out Fast like candy) then I might consider not taking Mortimer because you could put the SS to a beatstick but I think 95% of the time if I take Nico then Mortimer is coming along for a ride.

Very sneaky on the Nurse, hadn't noticed that before! Want to play devil's advocate on the second point for a minute. I don't think this is how it works but I wonder if there could be a case for saying you can't do this. McMourning's Injection says that you 'Push the target up to it's Wk in any direction, then place a Scheme Marker in base contact'. Does this mean that the Wk has to be completed before the 'then' can take place which a Trap can't do because it doesn't have a Wk? Compare this to the Austringer who states that you 'may push 2" in any direction and then take an immediate (1) Interact action'. The 2" takes place even on the Trap because it can be Pushed. I can't remember the interaction of things like 'then' and whether the first part has to take place before the second can because they are part of the same thing? I'm pretty sure that you can do this but I'm wondering whether there might be contention with it? Is the Nurse the only thing that people take from the Study Group for Guild Doug? I've only run him once so far and went with Seb, Nurse and Chihuahua.

I'm probably going to be using Nico as practice for a tournament (depending on the schemes that show up as I might go Seamus) so my main concern is a Vik in the face early doors messing up my plan. Though as Nico can still summon in combat summoning a Fast Punk Zombie will bring the pain train if Nico can survive the initial assault. But I'm also concerned about devoting too much attention to combating the Viks and not concentrating on the schemes (strat will be Stake a Claim).

But if they line up against the wall we can bring them back ...

Yeah, that's what I was thinking with regards to stopping the Slingshot but then you still end up with one of them in your face and the extra damage works across all Sisters (plus my evil opponent gets Hannah to copy that so the Viks don't have to spend AP doing it!).

Twin Town butt!

It's a debate for sure. But in the end it is inevitable that our supremacy will be acknowledged!

OK, almost certainly going to be playing against the Viks again this week and wondering what strategies people have for dealing with them? I have played with them and one game against them so I know that generally trying to keep out of their range works or feeding them chaff if possible but does anybody have any specific strategies or good ways to counter them? Or any models that are particularly effective against them? I'm thinking maybe Luring one of the Sisters out of position though Luring a Vik towards you is rarely a good idea! Or maybe just trying to deploy my own Beatstick to take one/both down before they can cause carnage (however, their manoeuvrability can scupper this too). What have you guys done against Viks or other combat orientated Masters? I've got a tournament this month but realised that I don't often play against combat Masters.

Welsh people are the best. True fact.

As others have said it really does depend on the restrictions of the tournament. Unlike Kogan I don't like limited SS pools to choose from but often you are limited by a Master so can only take the models that work best with them. I would lean towards a tendency to take them all though. However, putting them in and out of a case all day is a pain and will eat into your set up time so take a tray or something similar to store and carry them on (I took a biscuit tin to my last tournament!).

It is becoming very serious! But you Guild scum must not stack the deck and take your beating from the true Masters of Malifaux!

Ace! I think either announce them to everybody here/by e-mail once they've been generated or everybody gets them on the sheet in the morning at the same time. Just fairer all around (I know schemes make a big difference to me in terms of what I take). I'm assuming Master is declared before scheme pools are revealed? Also, this is now this month! Not long to go.

Played games totally change VP difference if difference in games were wins for Ressers!

Is that based on all game played or have they been evened out somehow? After my crazy amount of games over the past month I'm only managing one game this week which is slightly surprising! I'll be playing against Outcasts so I'm expecting some Viks in the face again!

Something I forgot to comment on regarding the scheme pool too - I don't think it's fair if the people attending the meal find out the schemes before those who are unable to attend. May only be negligible but seems unfair to give the people attending an advantage and more planning time that those who may not be able to for various reasons (I am attending the meal too so this isn't coming from a 'it's not fair on me boohoo point of view!).

Couple of points that have popped up throughout the thread that I thought I will throw in my 2 pence for: I run Nico with a minimum of six stones and usually seven. They are almost exclusively for adding Crows to suits for summoning. If I draw the high crows I want they might get spent on drawing cards to help my hand a bit. But generally you should count on Nico using all his good cards for summoning. With Impossible to Wound, 14 wounds, ability to Tarpit enemy models and generally hanging out at the back you don't need SS for damage reduction. Killjoy is Undead - Nico likes Undead just a bit! If you can get him within Nico's Aura's then Killjoy is going to cause more carnage than normal. I have been running Bete again recently and I like her a lot for holding up enemy beat sticks. With Df7 she can be pretty hard to hit and if she does go down she can just bury and come back again. Having said that I don't think that she's ideal for a Nico crew because you generally want to keep cards for his summoning. Nurses are great for holding up big things like Rail Golem's because of Take Your Meds. You don't want any of the conditions going on one of your beatsticks, even the +2 damage because the only thing you can do is declare Ml actions (no Walks, no (0) actions, no anything unless it's got Ml written in it (for extra laughs put it on things like Nothing Beast or Huggy who only have Ca attacks!)) and if there's nothing to hit it's as effective as being Paralysed. As an added bonus you can also Paralyse and Full Heal your own models (which can make Mortimer pump out more Corpse Markers with Corpse Bloat). Combine with Chiaki to remove the Paralysed condition for maximum annoying. I always take Mortimer. He feels like an 11-13SS absolute necessity. Nico needs corpse markers to work effectively (whether it's for summoning, healing or adding to your Ca for the turn) and Mortimer is a reliable way to get two a turn (which means you can full heal most things when you summon by sacking off the second corpse marker). I might drop My Favourite Shovel depending on the strat/schemes but I always take Corpse Bloat with him. He also hits surprisingly hard if you need him to because of his Ml7 (if you can get him on combat and jack him up with the Nurse he hits like a truck). Apart from the Valedictorian (who can't be summoned) I don't hire the Iron Zombies. They are quite expensive when you're not sure what you're facing (though if you're facing Gremlins/Guild then its fairly certain you'll be facing Living targets making the Student of Viscera an appealing hire) so they work more effectively as summons for me. I rarely hire Punk Zombies either because they are expensive though ironically in smaller games I usually find a place for them.

Nice!

What is 'that' list?

I think that the Henchmen should have to be from the same faction as the Master that is declared to stop shenanigans.

Your reasoning for all the models is solid, you just need to think whether you need the things they bring for the particular strats/schemes that you are playing at any given point. As Fetid states, Belles although very strong, are not an auto-include. Top flipping for Nurses is often worth it depending on where the enemy model is placed as all of the conditions they get are bad!

Just our own VPs that count I believe? Welcome to team Resser MasterDisaster. Viking women will be delivered and they will never go away ...

Malifaux is certainly a game that is difficult for new players if playing experienced players. The rules are a little complex but the game is difficult to Master. As for card counting - we all do this a little (the easiest being remembering whether our or our opponents jokers have come out) but properly card counting is incredibly difficult to do.

Indeed. I have this debate with a friend a lot. Whilst Belle's Lure is undoubtedly excellent which makes them good for their SS cost when you consider them in a faction that as a whole have very little range then it seems less OP (because it isn't!). They make most of my lists (probably 90%) but certainly not all.