i9haunter

I am half way through a shifting loyalties campaign as arcanists and started with Joss working up to a Kaeris crew and just unlocked and hired Kaeris for my master. Soulstone miner has been MVP countless times for grabbing 3-6 points for schemes. He can also use Soulstones too, which is quite handy. Firestarter is also amazing in the campaign. Emissary I hired week 3 and has done work. Just was able to purchase the kaeris confluence upgrade.

But would you take anything instead of the guardian?

The errata is nice, but since the release of the brutal Emmissary I stopped taking the Guardian with my Hoffman crew. 17 ss for support pieces and stat buffs is too many points invested for what they do. I haven't played Newcious yet so can't comment on that. I just know that I don't want to have both the Emmissary and guardian hired In the same hoffman crew because I have them filling the same role and the emissary can do so much more and is faster. ML 7 is nice to have power looped in but ML 6 usually works just fine.

I usually take Luna and 2 hounds and a hunter with McCabe. Also an austringer, because I like to deliver orders more often than falcon attacks, especially now with the reduced threat range. The pathfinder usually finds a way into my list, traps and a blast gun are very useful. I haven't tried the emissary with McCabe yet but it looks like fun. Usually have a beater like the Peacekeeper or executioner along with McCabe for dealing damage and tying down opposing models. Looking forward to trying Phiona with her shenanigins.

Nellie is very versatile. I find that the first turn or two I dish out fast to henchmen and then Nellie flips over to control mode for the rest of the game handing out conditions and pushing enemy models out of threat ranges meanwhile dropping schemes with Phiona and the field reporters with the trasparency upgrade (and pushing/scheme shenanigins ) So yes, by having a control master in our hiring pool we will be giving opponents something that they may not expect.

Based on your tendencies you probably want Perdita and her crew and austringers to help compliment lady j. It's good to be familiar with 2 different masters to have options when playing in tournaments. The models in the Latigo posse box, franc & papa in particular, can be used to good effect with lady j. They also come in handy down the line with Sonia and McCabe. McCabe's box along with guild hounds/austringers/pathfinder would be my second suggestion. Very scheme and can ccomplish different starts and schemes that the other masters. I find him to be the most versatile of the guild masters and adept at adapting to the game state. Good luck, lots of good info on here

Howard langston and joss are good adds with arcane st assets. Both an handle themselves and can be targets for the opponent while you power up the hoffball. My favorite in faction add is the peacekeeper. Load him up with debt to the guild and either nimble or the mod that gives him rams. Min damage 5 for the turn, yes please. Wiped out izamu in 2 attacks my last game with the super peacekeeper. The emissary is also a good value add. Positives to other power looped models within 3 inches and gives df6 to the team. I use the plastic hoffman avatar as my emissary model. So nice. When I play guard the stash or other suitable starts I usually rock the peacekeeper, emissary and one of joss or howard. Very threatening and tough for the opponent to move. Soulstone miners, as said previously are also great for back field scheme shenanigans I use hunters occasionally when I need a mobile kill units skirting the edges of the bord.

A second watcher & Peacekeeper work wonders with Hoffman! I second the McCabe box suggestion as well (with a box of guild hounds/Austringers). A suport master that fills the gaps that Hoffman doesn't cover as well. I also recommend the Ramos box to augment Hoffman and his arcane st assets for Joss and Howard.

I love using ethe patfinder. He synergies well with austringers. I usually place him in cover near the middle where he can be supported by other models and normally drop 2 traps,in a game and do positioning shenanigins to deny my opponent access to where they want to be and place the traps in engagement range of them to slow down blobs. Austringers can deliver orders to the traps to move them around and drop scheme markers. I also forget the if model dies within 6 inches of the pathfinder that you can draw a card. Situational but useful.

Love this Alt model. Much improved upon the crazy hat version from the box.

The Core i run for Perdita looks something like this: Perdita - Trick Shooting - Aura Ancestral - Maybe vengeance bullet if assassinate/neutralize the leader is in the pool Francisco - Wade In Nino (If there are scheme heavy strats and schemes) Abuela (to add that family member in - either the pale rider or guild pathfinder) Enslaved Nephilim (help push the family around) Pale Rider Austringer/Guild Pathfinder/pistolero I usually have Franc and Perdita move to the middle of the table and start bossing the open spaces and challenge my opponent to give me something to shoot/charge. meanwhile Abuela is holding down a marker and the pale rider is dropping schemes and the Austringer/Pathfinder are making a nuisance of themselves. Nino, if positioned properly can shut opponents from getting any interact related scheme/strategy points. I have used him to deny Exhaust their forces, convict labor, squatter's rights, anything that the opponent need to take interact actions for.

I always take a metal Gamin, 2 watchers and the Peacekeeper. The rest is variable. I flex between taking either the Guardian or the Brutal Emissary for DF 6. I just recently started testing out the Brutal Emissary and have found that it is much more versatile than the Guardian. The metal gamin is great with the Hoffball. Metal Gamin provides Cast 8 and DF 5 along with being the main target for slow to give Hoffman Fast (with O.S.A). The two watchers normally go about dropping schemes and doing dirty work while Peace Keeper/Rail Golem/Langston & Co. knock out the opponents important models. I always give the watchers the Hydraulics and programmed directive upgrades from Hoffman to ensure they get where they need to be to take care of schemes. I try to always power loop in at least 3-4 models so that the buffs can be shared. A typical list I bring looks like the following: Hoffman - Arcanist Assets - Field Mechanic - O.S.A. Metal Gamin PeaceKeeper Watcher Watcher Howard Langston/Rail Golem Brutal Emissary (for DF 6 and Shenanigans)/Ryle/Joss/Guardian I normally take Hoffman with the following Strategies: Head Hunter, Turf War, Extraction, Stake a Claim, Reckoning, Collect the Bounty, Guard the Stash And with the following Schemes: Hunting Party, Covert Breakthrough, Show of Force, Undercover Entourage

Have you tried this list against Sonnia? I have played Sonnia against a very similar list and there weren't many models left after turn 1. (Not gonna come up in the campaign but worth thinking about to think of how to handle. More campaign related scenarios to consider below. 1: Langston with imbued energies goes after you riflemen t1 killing one and engaging the other. 2: The enemy deploys 2 Freikorp Trappers (range 28 and each trapper will one-shot a hound or rifleman each turn). 3: The enemy deploys 2 Waldgeist from the shadows, moves up and engages your riflemen with one and the other is blocking your hounds. These are a couple of thought exercises to consider for any potential campaign list. we are currently in week 3 of the campaign and no one has been able to purchsse their master yet. Because you need to get enough scrip, purchase a bounty, complete the bounty, etc. I think week 4 we will see some people with masters. Yes, Sonnia and anyone with blasts can ruin yor day, but it also depends on board set up. I have held my own against a list with two trappers so far. You can counter the waldgeist by shooting/engagng them. It's a campaign game and if they wish to sacrifice some models as a bumper then so be it. Thats a third of their list. And with no master for back up. Just some thoughts. No one is playing with howard or waldgeists in my campaign group.

I tend to only include Nino if distract or cursed object are in the scheme pool. With the proper placement he can prevent your opponent from accomplishing schemes. This also makes him a prime target, so you will need to take measures to protect him while maintaining a good view of the table.

Riflemen are good if you have something else for the opponent to focus on. Riflemen with dashel can put out a lot of damage and hvae reach. I usually have them move up and focus first turn, then have them pick models off turns 2-4 and then if need be turn 5 drop scheme markers for protect territory or alits. I also have 3 guild hounds running around dropping schemes and causing distractions. Otherwise you only have a lot of punch with no mobility. Can't get across the board if you are standing and shooting all game :-)