barghest7

Okay, so I get that Tara can whip Bete out of the air when she needs to, but what makes Bete an autoinclude for you here? You've said several times that Bete's really not your thing anywhere else, so what makes her more effective here in your eyes? I ask because I really want to like Bete, but most of my opponents play armor crews and she really just lovingly caresses them instead of impaling them in horrific ways...

Seems like this is a topic which keeps coming up, but hasn't really received its just due: So, if you had unlimited access to all the Ten Thunder masters, which masters would you pick for which strategies, and why? I'm traditionally a resser player, but have been branching out in my collecting. Now that I'm almost done with school (ONE WEEK TO GO!!!), I'm looking forward to getting some serious playtime in, and I'm thinking that the thunders will be my first starting point. I have zero actual experience with them, though, and they are obviously waaaay different then my ressers. I already own Misaki, Lynch, and Yan Lo, but plan to pick up the rest soon, so advice, experience, or even just theory-faux would be welcome. Given this topic has come up a couple of times in the past, looks like I'm not the only one that would benefit from your experience, either, so speak up! Thanks!

Haven't played Pandora since M2E became a thing, so take this with a grain of salt. Sorrows are (or at least WERE) useful, but there are a lot of factors to consider. A strong gunline or a crew with good casts will eat them alive without some way to mitigate the incoming damage. Creepy fog could get you some mileage. Beckoner lures could let you get some early game use out of them by bringing the enemy in piecemeal and tearing them apart with stacked auras, a la Seamus and his belle lure chain. Combine the two for a sturdy front line that lets Pandora and sorrows eat key pieces early.

Everything Fetid said, +1. If you are in a spot where you need to disrupt the engine, most of them have a weak point which will cripple its effectiveness, if you can take it out. Resser henchmen, like Sebastian or Mortimer, tend to be pivotal, and generally are easier to take out than Resser masters. Remove Sebastian and the damage potential of the poison bomb drops dramatically. Mortimer is usually on corpse production, the Nico machine slows down quite a bit without him, especially if you can do it early in the game. Fetid covered the really important points, though.

Chiaki's chain slow seems like a sweet combo with Sidir's machine gun. +1 to punk zombies

Have tried, but had more success with Seamus and copycat spamming "discard or die" abilities. One card just won't do the trick (at least for me) without other abilities to back it up. That said, might be successful against some masters/crews who use their hand more actively, as they're doing half the work for you at that point. Graveyard spirit might be the proverbial straw at that point... Long story short: my experience is unless they are dumping cards anyway, spirit by itself is unlikely to have enough impact to accomplish your goal.

No actual experience here, but was thinking that Cursed Object or Distract would be a good time to reach for these- interact, then defensive stance. Enemy still subject to disengaging strikes, no damage, but doesn't need to. Enemy can't remove while engaged, leaves pushes and attacking the monk, who'd be defensive. I don't know how good it is on the table, but it sounds good in my head...

Standard disclaimer: it should depend on strategy, board, schemes, and opponent. That said... I mostly resser, but I enjoy Guild McMourning occasionally. I like him for scheme markers, especially. You can do poison, of course, but his resser crew is way more efficient for that, generally, while the guild models really are better at scheme's, for the most part. Austringers, for standard austringer schenanigans- making others drop scheme markers especially. Executioners to eat opponent scheme markers. Tamper evidence- should be pretty self-explanatory. Cant' remember the name of the upgrade, but gives Dougie Mac an aura of undead. Works decently with Judge and (theoretically, haven't tried it myself) exorcist to expoit their shiny new undead status. There's almost certainly plenty more, but those are the one's I've used thus far personally. Mike from Malifools has a Guildougie fetish currently- check out some of his tech on the "Before We Begin" podcast. He's got some interesting synergies in there.

You've got the guild symbol in the outcast colors. Otherwise, looks sweet

Generating corpse counters- can be done a variety of ways, but the standouts include killing models (of course) and slapping corpse bloat on your henchman. With Toshiro, you can toss out a spleen a turn if you don't mind using one of Nico's actions to heal him back up. Since Toshiro is undead, Nico can slap him back into shape in a hurry. With Nicodem summoning, you don't really NEED Toshiro to do it too, especially if you're working with few corpses, but you could include his unique upgrade to deal with scrap counters, if you wanted. I haven't used Komainu (spell?) yet, but more bodies fighting for you is rarely a bad idea. As far as game plan, similar to Nicodem's usual strategy: stock up on low cost minions and make them rock. The double-pump of aura's, and both Nicodem and Toshiro handing out fast actions to key pieces makes for a sick combination that's pretty tough to crack. This works primarily best in killing strat's and scheme's, but if you do enough damage early, you can probably afford to fan out and nail down scheme markers in later turns, if you plan it correctly.

It was actually the FAQ that got me to thinking about the whole concept... Re-animator does not specifically mention a model's name, but does use the verbiage "Name a...model." Wouldn't be surprised in the least if that counts, but it's only a minor drawback as far ad I'm concerned. With the -3 to cast, you'd need a face card to pull a canine remains, let alone a flesh construct, and the red joker to pull a punk zombie. Doesn't seem a terribly cost effect use of resources. I suppose you'd need a face card to accomplish just about anything, though...

Wouldn't worry about being too wordy- the point is to offer insight, after all. People who don't want to read it don't have to. Well organized and easy to read. If you're not going to cover the "Chompy" version of Dreamer, might want to make that clear in the beginning, for those who're looking for that. Loved the presentation, though. WIll be directing my local Dreamer player this way. Maybe I can get a game out of him soon!

Things seem a bit slow in here, thought I'd throw something out and see if it get's people talking: Has anyone used the Malifaux Child with Nicodem? He's got a fair variety of cast actions the Child could take advantage of, and while Nico can already be card intensive, he can also work up quite the card draw engine, which could potentially supply the Child with enough hand fuel for success. Extra summons seems fairly unlikely, but another cast of fast/slow or an extra heal seems good, especially with the triggers. Personally, I don't care for the vulture model, nor am I especially fond of how it works on the table. For the same cost in stones, you'd get an extra cast, rather than a different origin point, and, IMO, a cooler model. It seems fun in fluff to me, as well, reminiscent of the Kirai story from Rising Powers. Anyone tried it? Anyone got some awesome theory-faux about why it would or wouldn't work?

Heh, I get it. I actually quite like the Toshiro model- in fact, he's the reason I bought the Yan Lo set to begin with, as having Nicodem-style aura of awesome on a henchmen would let me try something different while still getting to hold on to my security blanket. Also, the idea of stacking those auras is vaguely horrifying... Sadly, my gaming group, while still loving Malifaux theoretically, haven't responded to game invitations at all in nearly 6 months. Sigh... How badly do you hate the model? Is there something specific about it you hate that could be removed or altered? How often do you actually attend official tourneys/conventions? Seems to me if you're mostly playing casual, doesn't really matter. If you're playing a few tourneys a year, maybe buy an alternate as well as an official model? Use the alternate for your friendly games, and glare menacingly at people when they require you to pull your (likely unpainted) actual Toshiro out of your bag? Seems like a waste of money to me, but maybe you hate the model badly enough? Toshiro is awesome, in my book, and while I haven't used him in a wide variety of crews, I don't think there's a crew that doesn't benefit from his abilities in some way. He's hands-down my favorite resser henchman, far and away. I say get him.

Nice find! That will be a great beginning for a Nicodem crew. The mindless zombies are only available via an upgrade (Maniacal laughter, iirc), and then are probably only handy with another upgrade which will let you sacrifice them for fun and profit. Otherwise, they make fine speed bumps... temporarily. So long as the characters are not rare 1, it is legal to field multiples of a unit type, so multiple crooked men and mindless zombies are fine. Old Malifaux allowed Nico to hire multiple vultures, but that is no longer the case. Nicodem and Mortimer are unique individuals, so you'd never be able to hire more than one of either. The models you have will make an excellent core for a beginning crew, but right now would be only useful for very small games. While some crews will be able to get by on 5+ models, ressers tend to have more bodies than that, and Nicodem in particular works better in a horde of zombies, as a general rule. If you're looking to flesh things out, I'd look at acquiring some samurai punk zombies and rotten belles. Both are available in old metals or new plastics, so you can snag the ones that you feel fit with your other models best. Whichever way you choose to purchase them, they'll come in packs of 3 non-identical models which will add variety and bulk to your zombie horde. Since you're talking about not gaming with them (a shame! Great crew in a great game!), I assume they're either for aesthetics or resale? Either way, getting a pack each of those two units will considerably raise the gaming potency of the crew, and the bigger horde will look a lot cooler as a "mob o' zombeh!"

Nicodem's ability to heal his minions, while simultaneously buffing them makes a fairly tough nut to crack, especially if your opponent has to focus on scheme's as well as eliminating your minions. As pointed out earlier, putting down a fully functional flesh construct takes some doing, and 2 or more are that much tougher. Mix with some solid killers like punk zombies, as well as the obligatory board control belle's, and you'll be choosing many of the fights. Drag them into your fleshies, keep the fleshies standing with nurses or just Nico's healing spell (one corpse counter to fully heal 12 of the 13 wounds is an amazing feeling when it took your opponent 2 full turns to drag him that low to begin with...), and snipe the minions out of combat with the PZ's. Of course, nothing is undefeatable, but that's a rough combination to deal with, esp. if Nico is handing out plus flips on most of your tests.

Seems to me a silurid/beckoner slingshot would make for some fairly ridiculous objective grabbing shennanigans. If you're headed towards nephilim, though, terror tots would do just fine in the same role, and would synergize with other nephilim better. In theory...

Nick is my boy. I don't find that playing him is suboptimal against enemies that don't drop counters, specifically Ramos in my meta. I always come packing Morty and a dog, though. I generally only summon a couple of times, and usually early on, unless I'm replacing downed zombies.

This. As for upgrades, I generally play my first few games without them when I take a new master out for a spin. Nobody plays their master exactly the same way. Find out how YOU play Nicodem, and Mortimer for that matter, and then you'll know which upgrades will help you. While I like the shovel, I personally don't generally use it. I find it makes me want to spend cards and stones to power it, in an unnecessary manner, because I'll want to use that extra AP effectively every turn.

I don't have any experience with the University stuff, so can't remark there with any credibility. As far as AP goes, I use how ever many is appropriate. There is no formula where x summons = victory. I aim to keep activation control, generally by a couple of models. I also tend to summon early, before too much engagement occurs, and base my summons off of the situation (ie strats and schemes, terrain, opponents force, etc). Once engagement occurs, I generally find I don't have enough AP for summoning. At that point, I want fast punks, slow opponents, heals for my troops, or fine positioning for Nico himself, as a for instance. Utility pieces? Anything that isn't a front-line combatant, but contributes to the rest of the force in some way. Belles lure models into position, doxies debuff, necropunks run objectives, dogs dig up bodies or flank opposing models. I don't take Nico without Morty. I generally bring a dog and belle, as well. Morty can dig up a body or move the whole force. If he doesn't move, but moves the force, real often I'll lure both him AND Nico forward. Nico himself is an incredible force multiplier. I can't imagine a situation where I wouldn't be running a zombie horde/block to make use of his buffs and support spells, flankers and runners notwithstanding. Edited: because my iPhone's done button is in a retarded spot

Personally, I tend to hire my utility pieces and summon my combat pieces. Nicodem's strength as a summoner lies is his ability not only in making his pieces better, but also to pick the right piece at the right time. Punk zombies are very killy, but unlikely to take much punishment, esp. if they come into play wounded. A flesh construct doesn't bring the enemy down anywhere near as quickly, but can tank like a pro, esp. if you've got an action and a card left to decay him back to full strength. As much or more than any other resser master, Nico will benefit from having access to a wide pool of models to summon from. Understanding each minions capabilities will help you decide which minion is best in any given situation.

Sarcasm, you should check out an old '90's movie called Warlock. All about a witch hunter who tracks a warlock through time. He makes pretty awesome use of a hammer and nails at one point...

As much or more than the other rezzer masters, Nico will benefit from a wide range of models to choose from. This is because he is a combination support and summoning master, so he doesnt' generally do much work himself, but makes everybody else in the crew do their work much better. When I play Nico, I tend to take a fairly varied crew, and only rarely focus on a single minion type, and then only if that's what my strats/schemes require. I also tend to start with utility models over combat models, as it's rare to hit combat in the first turn or two. A good solid core to an all around list to start the game with (IMO): Nico Morty Canine Remains Rotten Belle Flesh Construct It's easy enough to pull punk zombies out of the ground if you have both Morty and a CR. I prefer both in a list, because they have slightly different requirements to dig up bodies, which means you're more likely to be able to dig one up any given turn. Give Morty My Favorite Shovel and you can Fresh Meat the crew forward on the same turn as the dig. I generally do this and use the Belle to lure Morty up to keep up with the crew. One or more canine remains can also be used to dig up bodies in useful places around the board, though in general when I summon, I try to keep it reasonably close to Nico so that the new body will benefit from Death's Whip. Without that, you're just trading your master's action for a minions action, because of slow. Anyway, the overall (long-winded) point is that Nicodem, more than any other master at this time, can bring whatever the situation requires to the table, when it needs to be there. To take proper advantage, though, you'll need a selection of models to do this. I'd recommend Belle's over more punks, at the very least. Necropunks or CR to hit the sides of the table, as Nico generally moves his minions in a block. A flesh construct to take the hits- punk's dish it out, but can't take it. Fleshies tank like champs. Guess I'll shut up now, this turned out to be way more gusty than I originally intended.

It could be. Think rather "it's a list with strong potential for the right schemes and strategies." Malifaux will reward you for picking your crew as appropriate to the game and board. While not impossible, its very unlikely to build a single "all-comers" style crew that will do well in every scenario, and on every board. You'd do well to learn how each of your crew members works individually, rather than set a single list.