Chumbalaya

Is the Nythera event going to have an impact on Nova events?

I'll be there, as always.

Having a beat stick handy is very nice given how static and vulnerable your crew is. Any disruptive force, really. Peacekeeper, the Judge, Doppelganger, Candy, Mr. Graves, etc. Lucius buffs minions, but his whole crew needn't be, there's only so many orders you can issue a turn. The Emissary also bears mentioning, as it can disrupt, position with bury tricks, heal and makes Lucius rather scary in melee.

A Mounty seems pretty well suited to helping Grimwell out. It can buff Df, reposition models and can even shoot in a pinch.

That's diabolical.

Howdy folks, I finally got in my first game with the Shenlong yesterday. Turf War LitS, Bodyguard, Distract, Vendetta, Deliver a Message Standard Deployment Up against Arcanists. I brought Shenlong w/ Recalled Training, Low River Style 1 Peasant Sensei Yu w/ Promising Disciple, Blot The Sky Lone Swordsman w/ Recalled Training 2 Thunder Archers 2 Bros I went up against Ramos, Brass, Joss, Mech Rider, Johan with all the fun upgrades. I picked Bodyguard for Yu and Line in the Sand. I kept Shen, Yu, Peasants and archers in the middle, Swordsman off to one side and a bro on each flank. I tried to keep the archers in range of both Shen and Yu for the (0) focus, bonus when focusing and Blot the Sky. With all the armor, I couldn't get much damage through normally, so I relied on blasts from the archers and High River Style. I had to focus and cheat damage, but killing 2-3 spiders with one attack (and finishing off Johan later on) was pretty great. Lone Swordsman got into a fight with Joss and I lucked out winning initiative next turn, so I popped Recalled Training and gave him Reactivate with a 13 tome in my hand. He nailed Joss and almost got Johan, but Johan got first activation and flurried him down. The Thunder Bros were incredible, dropping 2 schemes each at the midline and protecting them. We ended up going 7 turns and tied 10-10. I struggled with a few things and was hoping I could get some input. 1) Yu spent almost the whole game stacking focus from Airburst then later using Mighty Gust from Wandering River Style to push and pass out Fast to the Swordsman or Archers. I felt like walking was a waste of AP. Is that how Yu rolls or am I missing something? 2) What should I do about armor? Lone Swordsman has that tome trigger and cheating damage is easy with focus everywhere, but is there something else? 3) Wandering River and High River seem like standout styles, with Low River being more situational. What's Fermented River good for? I think that's all for now. Thanks.

I only run him with McMourning, Lucius or McCabe. The main reason I'd take one over peacekeeper is ignoring Df triggers. I play a lot of Gremlins and it's great to Dikembe the squealing buggers.

I use 1-2 generally for cheap activations, card cycling and the occasional heal. They aren't great, but they're cheap.

Just toss them a glowing saber.

I almost always run doppelganger for cheating initiative and interacting while engaged. Whatever copycat shenanigans she pulls off are gravy. Tannen is great for Chatty and Mr. Graves hits hard and adds mobility from Show Ya the Door. Beckoners are nice for lures and possible brilliance chicanery. Haven't used Candy yet, though she looks solid for Sweets/Sours fun and healing up Devil's Deal targets.

I run Graves with Guild Lucius now and again. Free movement, good target for What Lackeys are For, hits like a truck and can protect Mr. Secretary quite well.

Aura Ancestral is a great upgrade when facing Neverborn or Ressers, but will you bring Perdita in Reconnoiter or Stake a Claim? I do think a list of good upgrades/combos against certain factions would be a nice resource. Aura Ancestral vs Neverborn, anti-casting or armor ingnoring against Arcanists, AoE/mass killing vs Gremlins, etc.

Unless you're playing in a group where you know everybody and what they have, building against particular masters is always a risk. What happens when your bid for anti-armor runs up against Marcus's big sacks of wounds or Colette not caring and acing you on schemes? It is important to take your opponent's faction into consideration when building your crew, but you really can't predict it just based on the sheer variety. That's why it's generally more productive to build your crew based on what you do know: strategy, schemes and terrain. If I'm playing Turf War with Breakthrough, Bodyguard, Deliver a Message and Power Ritual, maybe I'm taking Hoffman with a bunch of big beater constructs and healing to get Bodyguard and a Watcher or two running Breakthrough, Deliver a Message or Power Ritual. If I'm playing against Arcanists I may consider anti-armor or anti-casting, if Ressers I may add more condition removal, etc. I don't have to build my entire crew around the opposing faction, just maybe make a few adaptations based on it. Now, if you want to talk about what those adaptations might be, I think that's a much more productive avenue of discussion.

I think you're missing a lot of important information when forming these lists. Strategy and Schemes are just as important, if not moreso, than your opponent's faction when determining which master to bring. On top of that, factions are quite diverse, so what's good against, say, Nicodem, isn't going to be as effective against Seamus.

It sounds like you've got your bases mostly covered. I'll echo the rest: scrounging up a Handler and Pistoleros would be pretty handy. Hunters and a Watcher or two are also very handy. For my own little contribution, I love the Brutal Effigy. He makes those killy masters better from healing and card draw, can pass out slow, has Finish the Job, and it a super cheap minion. Also, if running McMouring or facing Ressers, Exorcists are a fun addition. Exorcists + Plastic Surgery = Pain. Lucius really loves his Mimics, particularly Doppelganger. And Wardens. Just get everything.

All good suggestions above. Maximize her pew pew, throw some interference models to keep her safe and BURN EVERYTHING. Executioners are nice, but situational. I'd rarely use them outside of, say, Lucius, McCabe or McMourning (guys who can make that little fatty move faster!)

Oh, for sure, it may not always be worth it. It'll come down to the opponent and schemes like always.

Lucius has pretty good ways to get that Wastrel to keep up. Commanding Presence, What Lackeys are For (double walk the Wastrel up, swap places, use Cast Offs with a crow to jump him to the scheme marker), or Issue Command in a pinch. If you're running Surprisingly Loyal, Mr. Graves can toss him, Beckoners can lure him or Doppelganger can do both.

I haven't played any Mercs yet because I don't have any. I did just get a Taelor so I may give her a run, she might come in handy next time I go up against Arcanists.

I rarely use Wastrels outside of McCabe, Lucius is about all that springs to mind as good for them. They're fairly cheap and have a lot of utility, but they're squishy. Healing and declaring triggers can give them a lot of flexibility in a crew, even with just one. With McCabe they add in card cycling from Cast-Offs and extra AP economy by passing around the Badge of Speed after using the "free" Walk action. I rarely use more than 2 with McCabe, but I could see sneaking one in to a Lucius crew to give me another cheap significant minion that can heal up damage Lucius does to his crew by recycling soul stones.

Lucius limited to only his box is a sad secretary. Dashel buffs shooting and Guild Guard really don't have very impressive firepower. They're more suited to moving around the board dropping schemes and dying slowly, or running in a horde beating stuff up with numbers. The Lucius box is thematic and all the models are useful to him, just not all at once. Dashel works better with Riflemen, Pathfinders and Austringers (the shooty ones) while Guild Guard work better with Guard Sergeants and more melee oriented models like The Judge, Wardens or Hunters. Lawyers are super versatile and useful, just not terribly killy. Lucius himself and the Scribe are more about mobility and control, both over your own minions and enemies through debuffs. If Lucius spends his entire activation simply walking across the table while giving 3 minions free actions, it was a good turn. Your pal has a bad matchup right now, but as you expand up to 50SS he'll get a lot better. Riflemen, Austringers, and a Pathfinder are great additions, as are any Guild minions, really. Dipping into Neverborn with Surprisingly Loyal is also a good call, look for Doppelganger, Beckoners and Mr. Graves. Lucius has a ton of options to make solid crews depending on the strategy and schemes, whereas Hoffman works with what he's got, so the more options you give Lucius the better he gets.

Sonnia, the living artillery platform, is really good at accomplishing schemes that involve killings things and setting them on fire, in no particular order. Of all my Guild masters she's the one I've used least, think I might take her for a spin tomorrow.

It should also be noted that the various Masters considered counters aren't bad against other factions. Lady J, for example, can cause Arcanists/Outcasts fits by deleting scrap/corpse markers. In general, I pick my master and build my crew to accomplish the objectives. I'm still learning the other masters and factions, so I focus on what I do know, which is my own crew.

Ok, two more games with McCabe under my belt and I think I'm in love. First was against Guild in Reckoning. I picked Cursed Object and Plant Explosives. I had Lucas, Sidir, Luna, 2 Hounds, 2 Wastrels and a Peacekeeper. I went up against Perdita, Francisco, Santiago, Brutal Effigy, Abuela and 3 Pistoleros. Tossing upgrades to Peacekeeper and Sidir to get them moving up, along with bonuses from Badge of Speed or Elixir of Life's unimpeded aura. Once they got to midfield, they went to town on the aura-dependent Ortegas. Peacey harpooned Abuela and dragged her to her doom, a Guild Hound with reactivate managed to give 3 enemies Cursed Object after making a 1 AP charge on scheming enemies and reactivating from Black Flash. Peacekeeper again used his free push and nimble to plant explosives within range of 3 enemies. It was awesome! I played the same crew today against Seamus and Co. Strategy was Squatter's Rights, Schemes were Assassinate, Bodyguard, Line in the Sand, Make Them Suffer and Vendetta. The Peacekeeper with pushes and Elixir of Life got 3 from Bodyguard really easily. A Wastrel with a rather dapper hat had a score to settle with a Rotten Belle, and with some help from the Glowing Saber he cut her to ribbons for another 3 VP. I lost out on Squatter's because I lost too many minions to get replaced with Belles. I gambled on Lucas when he got dismounted turn 6, sacrificing him to pick up another point for Squatter's. However, my opponent picked Assassinate and we ended up tying 9-9. I'm really enjoying this McCabe game. He has a lot of control over his crew's mobility and can turn them into damage soaks, killing machines or track stars. The main things I'm noticing that I need to work on are proper item distribution and hand management, as I find myself down 2 cards quickly to get off Black Flash and 2 castings of Take This. In addition, I feel like I really need to run Hounds with Luna and after Wastrels I don't have a ton of stones left for my crew. Will keep playing.