admiralvorkraft

Love it! And it's clear that you like spending time with these characters. It means I do too

I would say his most powerful abilities are "Commanding Presence" and "That's What Lackey's Are For" with honorable mentions for "Hidden Sniper" and "Devil's Deal." "Lackey's" is one of the most powerful repositioning tricks in the game, and it gives you a scheme marker for free (not that you probably need it, but they're nice to have). Commanding Presence means that you can use that trick without sacrificing any AP - I usually have Lucius taking 2 walk actions an activation unless there's really something that he alone needs to do (which is basically never the case). Hidden Sniper has a nice damage spread for a (0) and can complete your schemes for you or block theirs. "Devil's Deal" helps to mitigate the cost of Lucius', well, everything, and lets you pick when and where your minions die. I'll use it to deny distract/CO/Plant Explosives if I don't have other options, kill off something with Finish the Job, kill off a Performer to get reactivate on something, etc. I treat Issue Command as a nice bonus if the cards and board state are right. Otherwise I don't mess with it much.

You're correct. Which sucks for those of us that don't have access to a lot of Ca damage. Those Sanctioned Spellcasters can't come out soon enough, my Lawyers can't fight Kirai all on their own...

Boo. Clearly I need to find one of these "friends" so that I can help level the scores...

Honestly I think Neverborn Lucius is crazy powerful (Illuminated, Silurids, Austringer, Riflemen, Lawyer, that'll do nicely) and I've always found him to be extremely flexible. He suffers against crews that can wipe out a substantial chunk of minions in one activation, but he also doesn't have any really key models to take out.

After a week of covert operations I'm afraid we've encountered a minor set-back in the Northern Quarantine Zone. An elite crew of Guardsmen was attempting to set up a forward operating base when a strange young woman, of Three Kingdoms descent, approached the formation. The Pathfinder on point warned her back but was forced to open fire - only to be torn to shreds by some half-seen creature or force. Unable to fight back effectively against the unreal creatures the woman brought with her, our forces made a brave stand and tried to break as many survivors free as possible. The Governor's Secretary took personal command and ordered the use of several strange amulets as a weapon against the spirit horde. Unfortunately a talking head in a careening pram foiled the escape route and the men were routed. We know what happened because a lone Hunter escaped the carnage, and I saw the whole thing through a sniper's scope from the bell tower. I'm trying not to blame myself, but I had a clear shot at the head, and a sneeze fouled it. Had I been just a bit better... But no, that way lies madness. The Secretary? Missing in action, though I shouldn't be surprised if we see him again soon. (OOC) So yeah, first real game against Kirai and it did not go well. Everything staid in a bubble around the lady herself and virtually everything was incorporeal so shooting wasn't a thing that was going to happen much. I got three of the squat markers flipped ASAP and held them all game, scored two points off of Cursed object, and planted the markers for Breakthrough about three times over. Phillip and the Nanny survived through a combination of really bad flips and all of his soulstones (its not like he needed them for anything else...). Meanwhile his Emmissary scored ALitS without breaking a sweat, killed things I handed Cursed Objects to, and hung out being incorporeal with Kirai's upgrade which let it score Bodyguard pretty casually. A loss for the Guild 10-7.

Bring him, but only if you're willing to spend six months bashing your head against the brick wall that is his card before you start winning.

I really like it, right up until the last line. I think there's a way you can show us that thought process without saying it out loud, as-is it feels really awkward. I would probably change it to something like, "David sat low in the prow watching his broken reflection in the water. Callie kept one eye on him as she shuffled and reshuffled another deck of cards." Except of course your voice and your ideas. You just have this great ambiguity built up and the last paragraph kind of kills it. Other than that? Great characterizations, good concept. It's a really fun read.

Any chance you guys are auditioning alternate voices? Say, maybe an American Baritone with passable American Southern/RP/Fargo accents and years of acting experience? Theoretically what would a person need beyond a microphone, a pop filter and audacity? Great job on the podcast by the way

I'm pretty sure the Marshal trick doesn't work with the Guardian since its buff ends when it leaves play - not when it's killed.

If I were to play Gremlins (I'm not playing Gremlins) I would paint Wong the usual shades of green, and his nose some kind of human flesh tone, like he's just got it stuck on for show.

I think only non-peons can take the Distract action, right?

I will say that I also struggle against crews that seem to punish you for playing the game. That's especially true the first time I see them on the field, but generally crews like JD, Brewmaster, Collodi, or the Boondoggles - sorry, Crossroads 7 - just make me question why I took the time to build and deploy a crew. Obviously that's not a reasonable response though. Denial and control masters are a part of the game. It does tend to take me a few times looking over their rules to realize what they can't do, and then my outlook starts to improve.

If you're running Arcanists then a Malifaux Raptor or two will make your life a lot easier against Sonnia. Take to the sky turn one and set up conservatively, unbury engaged with Sonnia and then rush her. Try and get Rake the Eyes off if possible but mostly just try and waste her second turn activation dealing with the birds. Wise use of cover is the other thing. Sonnia can blast models 8" away from her target on severe, but she still can't place blasts outside of the target's line of sight. These days there's probably a DM and Papa in her backfield which means relatively few models that can reach out and touch you on that second turn. So you've got that going for you. I would imagine Marcus plays well against her, and games between Sonnia and Rasputina are by turns tense and hilariously destructive. Ramos games end up with more scrap on the board than you would believe possible but that doesn't mean he can't win. I imagine Sonnia v. Kaeris would be interesting but I have no idea how I would play it as Kaeris.

I use Sam as a deterrent. In close combat he can get to min damage 7 against something with burning. With a single stalker on the backline with him you have a counter charge that can kill anything that makes it to your gunline. As for ranged burning I use a handler and riflemen.

Whatever you can do in a given turn.

Generally if my opponent sees I have Legalese they don't take breakthrough. As of today I have converted a grand total of 0 scheme markers with it. That being said, Legalese is hilarious vs. Outcasts - Von Schill, Hamelin, and Jack Daw are crazy with their Auras, and it circumvents the annoying debuff from Abominations.

...Yup, keeping that in mind for when I inevitably bleed into Outcasts. No DE when they've declared Arcanists. Got it.

I do die a little every time I kill my own toolkit. But the more I play the game the more I realize that I hate leaving anything to luck and even if I have the tomes in hand to pull the ZFiend I would rather hold onto one for next turn than spend it on an EC that I'm going to blow up in a second. But that's just me.

zFiend, this is a cross-thread tangent so I apologize in advance. I really have enjoyed reading this thread, especially in the context of the Sonnia discussion, because what you've chosen to do here is ignore the obvious synergy of Transfusion bombing and take a more nuanced approach to the master, get a deeper understanding of what he can do - and you've been successful at it. In many ways I think that's the same place that people get to with Sonnia after a few (dozen) games. Papa-in-a-Box Sonnia is an obvious synergy, it's obviously powerful, it seems like the only "smart" way to play, but it makes Sonnia a very one-dimensional master. Sure that one dimension is awesome, so is Transfusion-bomb McMourning. But Sonnia can also run as a heavy denial master with Counterspell Aura and the witchhunter upgrade that I can never remember the name of. Swap out Papa for a second Witchling Handler and you have a surprising amount of friendly mobility enhancement (for Guild) if you run Minion heavy which, with Sonnia summoning in Witchlings, you will be after a turn or two. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, as annoying as you find Papa-in-a-Box to be - and as annoying as I find Transfusion-bombing to be - they are a part of the game that makes a lot of sense. That doesn't mean that they are a be all and end all, and just because they are obvious doesn't mean that they are "broken" or even the strongest way to play a given master. Anyway, my two cents.

Hannah is one of the best models in the game in my opinion. Depending on who you're running her with it's worth picking up a Malifaux Child so that she can copy its "Just Like You" action with some truly annoying repercussions.

I wouldn't say it's a bad thing. I realized eventually that Lucius, the way I play, doesn't get the mileage out of expensive/resource intensive models (ie the Doppelganger/Hopkins) that he gets out of a couple of Guild Guard. In general I find he wants models that have built in positive twists, or want to be focused anyway (Guild Guard on disengaging strikes, Riflemen, Ryle's machine gun, Hunters before a model has activated, Pistelero's which I overlook more often than I should because while they're ace they compete with Riflemen at 5 stones and that's hard). Pathfinders are great so long as I hold them back - or if FFM is in the scheme pool - but I pretty much never summon with them. Witchling Stalkers are good but again they compete with Riflemen and they aren't Guardsmen or Mimics so Lucius looses out on that all-important range increase and the Ram requirement on their condition removal is a turn-off. I've found that, because Lucius himself wants access to more or less my whole hand (especially if Assassinate is in the pool), models that need suits or depend on high stats without easy access to Focus end up really limiting my ability to get things done. And god is Lucius good at Getting Things Done. That being said, to many people my Lucius lists are super boring because they simply do what they do and they do it pretty well. I've never made a play with him that's shockingly out of left field, never chained some crazy combo together that wiped a ton of models off the board. I play very defensive/reactive with him and that's not everybody's game. Good/bad? I like it - and I like it more in Guild than in Neverborn because Illuminated/Depleted/Beckoners make my style of Lucius play (redundant, reliable, etc.) massively more forgiving, plus Wings of Darkness is Lucius' single best upgrade, imo.

Honestly my Lucius lists have gotten extremely boring; a Lawyer, Austringer, Death Marshall, 1-2 riflemen, 2 Guild Guard if I don't have to move much, a threatening henchman - usually Ryle, the Scribe for Devil's Dealing. I may bring a Hunter if I feel like running breakthrough or power ritual but mostly I find that I can force my opponent to come to me by planting a nasty firebase in position to rain sweet hell on the center of the board, which leaves the bulk of my force to accomplish objectives (marker based schemes accomplish themselves in a couple of turns between That's What Lackey's Are For, pushes with Deliver Orders, and the occasional book flip for Issue Command).

I approve of your no-family pledge, there are tons of great options in Guild that aren't named or Papa Loco. Though I definitely reach for papa often with Sonia.

In fairness Mei Feng can also run with anyone else's minions. She loves Toshiro of course so the Ashigaru from Yan Lo's box work as summons. Illuminated are one of the most solid models in the game. Torakage are great independent schemers... I'd probably stay away from Wastrels with her, but someone will contradict me on that point.