Hobby Wyrd

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Hey Wyrdos! With Gen Con fast approaching, everyone at Wyrd HQ has been getting ready to provide you all with a great show! Even Waldo’s been helping out. Granted we have to bribe him with cookies, but still, him not causing chaos for one week is a nice change of pace. Now, let’s take a look at some of the great things you’ll be able to experience at Wyrd’s booth! There will be the usual array of core, title, and supplement boxes for your favorite Crews, and more than enough to tempt you into trying out a new Master or two… but this is also a chance to get some pre-release product, including: Product Code Product Name Price WYR23335 Factory Reset $18.00 WYR23534 Malpractice $24.00 WYR23639 Ten Gauge Ten Gallons $30.00 WYR23641 Step Right Up! $42.00 WYR23829 Slipstreamers $42.00 WYR23830 Widdershins Lane $27.00 WYR30213 Penny Dreadful: Fully Loaded - Vile Volume $30.00 Plus, the brand new July releases: Product Code Product Name Price WYR23930 Twisted Alternative - Free Hugs $35.00 WYR23831 Cayce Jones $15.00 WYR23642 Abandon Ship $24.00 WYR23438 Heartspike $35.00 The Other Side will also be here, with Allegiance boxes and Titans enough to make your opponents shake in their Stratagems! Stop by for a quick demo on some beautiful tables featuring the Kimon invasion, and pick up some of the oni hordes for your very own! Two brand new games will be here too, available for both purchase and demo: Smyle and Pocket Cats! Both are delightful and quick, so you can add a little Wyrdness to your game nights if there’s not enough time for a Malifaux game. Product Code Product Name Price WYR11102 Smyle $20.00 WYR11801 Pocket Cats $18.00 We're also thrilled to showcase our latest Nightmare Edition: Off With Her Head! This special edition brings a twisted, darkly whimsical flair to your games, featuring unique sculpts and a chilling theme inspired by classic tales. Don't miss the chance to add this exclusive set to your collection! Product Code Product Name Price WYR21446 Nightmare Edition: Off With Her Head $65.00 As always, we have this year’s special edition model: He-namatsu! This alt-Hinamatsu can be yours for free by spending $100 at Gen Con or during the Wyrd Gen Con Online Sales Event. All the fun will kick off next week, so keep your eyes peeled! For those who can’t make it to Gen Con, don’t worry! We’ll be running an online sales event from July 31st through August 7th, so you can still grab all the goodies, Nightmare Box and pre-releases included. Do you still have some room in your Gen Con schedule? Consider learning the basics of our new game Smyle, join a game of Through the Breach, or have some fun at our Malifaux B.I.N.G.O. Our Events page has that and much more on offer for Gen Con 2024! That’s all for this week, Wyrdos. Show us how you’re planning to #PlayWyrd at Gen Con!

http://www.breachsidebroadcast.com/e/chronicles-59/

Hey Wyrdos! Waldo has a dentist appointment this week, and he is not happy. Even though he claims to brush his fangs every day AND floss, we told him it’s still important to get regular checkups. While we all try and trick him into getting his teeth taken care of, let’s take a look at an upcoming game that focuses on exactly that! Smyle is a game that runs on a mouthful of mischief, a taste of trickery, and a whole bunch of teeth! You play as a tooth fairy determined to get the best pearly whites possible. The best way to do this, of course, is stealing them from your buds. Players select Fairies (who give, steal, swap, and discover new Teeth) and Gadgets during their turn and resolve them in order of Initiative. Will you be brave with a powerful, low-Initiative card to make your plaque golden, or go the safer route and risk a stronger Smyle messing up your plans? Not all fairies are the same! Each one has different tastes. Some like rotten Teeth, some prefer your standard clean and pristine, while a rare few even favor ones with some work done on them. Getting bad Teeth isn’t always a bad thing… except for the Troubled Tooth. That’s almost never good. Might need to grab an X-Ray Card and see just what’s going on in there… You’ll need to remember which teeth are which in everyone’s Smyle: once they’re placed, there’s no peeking! Fairies are known braggarts, of course, and can’t help but show off the delightful dental prizes they’ve stolen acquired. Everyone flips a single Tooth at the end of the round. Sometimes those Teeth have minty-fresh effects. Other times you’ll find your prized Teeth laden with Tooth Decay, rendering them almost worthless. It’ll take a few rounds of bracing yourself against thieves and preparing to crest towards victory, but fairies reveal who got the best haul of teeth when their presence causes the Decay Token to hit the Final Round. Winning should be smooth sailing on a mouthwash river… unless you picked up the wrong Teeth by mistake! If you missed Wyrd at Origins Game Fair, this is your next chance to check out our second new offering in the game world: Pocket Cats. It’s a casual game of strategic tile-flipping that’s perfect for players of all ages. Even old dogs might be surprised by how strategic this game’s tricks can be! Pocket Cats focuses on revealing matching pairs in the game’s rows and columns. Doing so earns you points… if you act quickly! Different groups of cats earn you bonus points based on positioning, can hinder opponents from scoring, or even pull victory from the jaws of defeat on the very last flip! There’s just one universal rule: make sure you avoid the dogs and get the birds. To entice you even more, here’s a peek at some of the great art adorning each tile: You can try out Pocket Cats and Smyle for the first time at Gencon 2024. Head over to the Gencon events page to sign up and play these games, or other wonderful Wyrd offerings (Vagrantsong, anyone?): Wyrd Events at Gen Con That’s all for this week, Wyrdos. Keep an eye on this space; with Gencon fast approaching, you’ll want to make sure you’re the first to know about all things Wyrd!

Heya Wyrdos, Asami Tanaka has struggled to find a healthy place in Malifaux, Third Edition. Her special connection to the Oni is very interesting and ties her to conflicts in Malifaux, Earth and the Beyond. Asami was also one of the first non-Dual Factioned Ten Thunders Masters in the game, giving her a lot of visibility and name recognition. Oni models are flavorful and a lot of fun to paint. All of these things should combine into a Master and Keyword that folks are excited to play, but Asami has struggled to translate that excitement to gameplay. In the lore, the transitory nature of Oni models makes perfect sense, but its current implementation makes her difficult to learn and explain to players. This is a shame, because the Oni Keyword has some of the most interesting sculpts in the Ten Thunders Faction. To help Asami Tanaka and the Oni Keyword out, we’re taking a similar approach to what we did with Som’er Teeth Jones and his Big Hat Keyword by giving Oni a full Keyword Rework. There are a lot of reasons for doing a full Keywork Rework instead of changing a few specific models, the biggest one being the number of shared Abilities in the Keyword that need to change. Reasoning for Keyword Rework When we were reviewing the Oni Keyword cards, the same thing continued to come up as one of the major issues: Flicker Tokens and how the Crew used them. On the surface, Flicker Tokens seemed like an interesting direction for the Crew but they had a lot of problems, mainly around balance and ease of learning. In regards to balance, Flicker Tokens made the models into the ultimate glass cannons. Flicker Tokens added a + to both the duel and damage, this allowed the Keyword to gain the benefits of the Focused Condition at the cost of gaining a Flicker Token. This meant that Oni models punched above their weight class and did not need to spend precious Actions Concentrating. The downside to this power was that any Oni model that used From Beyond too often would die. This made expendable models, like Summons, too good with From Beyond, while lynchpin models like Henchmen often avoided using their Keyword mechanic. Balancing Flicker Tokens required adjusting multiple Abilities, shared across loads of models throughout the Keyword. An Oni needed both From Beyond and Devour Souls to give that model a way to gain and spend Flicker Tokens, or they had no game effects. Additionally, Emerald Shimmer was necessary on the Leader of an Oni Crew to prevent enemy Obeys from forcing Oni models to gain Flicker and die. This caused a lot of problems when designing Oni models with more than one Keyword. Defining Flicker Tokens took up a lot of space, and if they used Flicker they were a liability to a Keyword not designed around helping manage their Flicker. This resulted in newer Oni models only interacting with Flicker Tokens in passing. Flicker Tokens also increased the barrier to entry for the Oni Keyword. Most Summoners in Malifaux follow a similar template. Fulfill the requirements for targeting and have the correct card and suit in hand, and you can Summon a model that will stay on the table until it dies. Oni models bucked this trend as Oni Summons came in with enough Flicker Tokens to die after they Activated. This caused an issue for newer players as it was harder to understand how to use their Summons compared to other Masters. It also made the Keyword have a lot of resources to track as models were Summoned in with Flicker Tokens and gained more Flicker Tokens with From Beyond. Understanding when a model reached a dangerous point took a lot of trial and error. That said, once a player understood the workings of Flicker Tokens they could be abused. Between spikey damage tracks, Unnatural Speed Triggers and Demise effects, an Oni player could dominate an opponent by gaining five or more Flicker Tokens in a single Activation as nothing stopped an Oni model from going past the three Flicker Token limit during an Activation. Focus of the Rework To address these issues, we focused on streamlining the Keyword and limiting the Keyword’s dependence on Flicker Tokens. To do so we started by removing From Beyond, Devour Souls, and Emerald Shimmer from the Keyword, and instead defined Flicker Tokens on the Summon Upgrade. This allows players to always know how long a Summoned Oni model would stay on the table. To make up for the lack of + flips, we made the Oni Keyword sturdier, gave them ways to add additional damage, and situational + flips on Attack Actions. To tie these changes together and to make up for the removal of the Keyword defining From Beyond Ability, we decided to expand upon a mechanic that Asami Tanaka, Shintaku pioneered: Rift Markers. Currently, Asami Tanaka, Shintaku Drops Rift Markers and uses them herself in interesting ways, but they were not integrated into the Crew very well due to the fact that the Crew came out before Asami’s title. This rework allowed us to design the entire Keyword in harmony from the ground up, and in doing so, sprinkle Rift Marker synergies around the entire Keyword. Where before Rift Markers were used solely to teleport Oni models around the table, they now are also used for + flips, to target enemies at range, for increased healing, and other benefits. To help make sure that there are enough Rift Markers on the table to be a threat, a majority of the Oni models have a new Ability: Demise (Spiritual Tear). This Ability allows Oni models to continue to affect the board after they are removed, Creating Rift Markers that are either an impediment to enemies or a resource to the remaining Oni models. Card Break Downs In addition to the Flicker Token changes, we looked at the Keyword as a whole and solidified the connection between Keyword’s playstyle and lore. Oni are driven by aggression and are known for being a threat. In this Rewrite we wanted to make sure to keep the underlying theme of aggression across both Titles and the Crew. Furthermore, since Oni models come from the Beyond we want players using this Crew to feel like they are bending the rules of space. Now, let’s look at some of the cards! Asami Tanaka On the surface, Asami Tanaka’s card hasn’t changed that much. She still has Another Mouth to Feed, a Summon Action and a way to move models around. To really understand how her playstyle has changed we need to start with her brand new Upgrades. The Hunt Through Time and Space Upgrade is Attached to the Crew if Asami Tanaka is the Leader. This is a new way of Attaching Upgrades in Malifaux and is something we’re thinking of doing more often going forward. Attaching Upgrades to the Crew in this way allows for three benefits: The first is that it is another way to differentiate Titles, as each Title can have their own Crew Upgrade. Secondly, it simplifies model cards as we can put Crew-wide Abilities and Actions on the Upgrade and not have to repeat them across multiple models. This both frees up space on model cards and makes it easier to modify Crew-wide Abilities in the future. Finally, it means that Keyword models will not have access to Keyword-specific Abilities when taken by a different Keyword, limiting the power of hiring a model Out-of-Keyword. The Hunt Through Time and Space Upgrade gives the Crew two powerful Abilities. The first is Not of this Reality, which makes it so Oni models are not harmed by Rift Markers. The other Ability, Violation of Reality, is what shakes up the way Asami Tanaka plays. Violation of Reality allows Oni models to draw LoS and range for y Actions from Friendly Rift Markers within a8. Being able to target models 8” away through a Rift Marker forces Asami to think ahead when Creating Rift Markers, gives Asami Tanaka a benefit for having friendly Oni die near enemy models, and allows the Keyword to play more aggressively. Now that From Beyond doesn’t exist, the Given Flesh Upgrade has changed a lot. When a model is Summoned by Asami Tanaka it comes into play with up to two Flicker Tokens. Flicker Tokens can be gained by either Summoning in a model of 6 cost or less or by Summoning closer to enemy models. Flicker Tokens are removed at the end of the Turn so both players know exactly how long a model will survive. This means that it is very difficult to keep a Summon alive for the entire game, but easier to keep it alive for two to three Turns. With this knowledge the changes to Asami Tanaka’s playstyle are more clear. Beyond’s Reward gives Asami Tanaka a benefit for killing enemy models with Another Mouth to Feed. Demonic Tresses and Open the Rift are great ways to get additional Rift Markers on the table. From the Maw, They Come, may be very similar to the currently live version, but the changes to the Given Flesh Upgrade mean that Asami Tanaka is incentivized to get close to enemy models as Summoning near a clump of enemies will increase the amount of time a large model like a Jorogumo will remain on the table. All of this combines to give Asami Tanaka a definitive playstyle. She is an aggressive Master who wears down enemy models with either a lot of Summoned models or a few big Summons. Killing or allowing her Summons to Flicker out of existence doesn’t lower her threat, as each death will add another Hazardous Rift Marker to the table and another spot for models to directyAttacks through. Asami Tanaka, Shintaku The best thing about the Title system is that it allows each Title to utilize their Keyword in different ways. This is especially interesting for Summoning Masters, as a non-Summoning Title provides new ways to view a Keyword. That said, creating a non-Summoning Title that is internally balanced against its Summoning Title is a difficult task. Summoned models tend to be a bit weaker than non-Summoned models of similar Cost and Station. Som’er Teeth Jones, Loot Monger, sidestepped this issue by having a way to grow Bayou Gremlins into larger Minions. While he didn’t directly Summon in larger models, “Take This Seriously!” allowed the Crew to get a similar efficiency. Here we did not go that route. Instead, Asami Tanaka, Shintaku’s design allows her ways to protect her hired models more efficiently through the A Mother’s Love Ability. A Mother’s Love lets Asami Tanaka, Shintaku reduce damage to friendly Oni Models in a8 and suffer the damage herself instead. This elevates her to a true support piece for the Oni Crew and it feels like she takes all of their lives very seriously. To go along with this theme Asami Tanaka, Shintaku digs deeper into support with some new Actions. Oni’s Strength gives Fast to friendly Oni models and A Heavenly Design is a very efficient way to Heal the damage Asami Tanaka, Shintaku suffers from A Mother’s Love. Rounding out her update, she gained a new version of Spiritual Pressure that Drops Rift Markers instead of giving out Injured and a new Upgrade, Entangled Spiritsl, which gives Oni Models Not of This Reality and a way to teleport around the board with Dimensional Rifts. These Actions and Abilities combine to create a different type of aggression than the original Asami Tanaka has. Where Asami Tanaka is all about bogging down an enemy and taking them out via volume of Summoned models, Asami Tanaka, Shintaku powers up a few chosen Oni models and makes sure they’re exactly where they can do the most damage. Giving a large beater like Ama No Zako Fast and Focused and teleporting her into an enemy is a threat like no other, but it is balanced by the limited range from which Asami Tanaka, Shintaku can protect and support her Crew. Minako and the Katashiro Before we get to the rest of the cards we wanted to discuss Minako Rei and the Katashiro models. Minako Rei is not part of the Oni Keyword but she can Summon an Oni model, and Katashiro can use Flicker Tokens. To ensure the changes to Katashiro don’t unfairly penalize Minako, she has been adjusted alongside them. Katashiro were changed pretty radically as they were very efficient models. Between Made to Kill and Blown by the Wind they were able to be Scheme runners or melee pieces. They were even able to pitch in as anti-Condition models with a combination of Spiritual Transference and Shrug Off. This made it very difficult for other Oni Minions to find a role a Katashiro couldn’t do better. To help with this, Katashiros were updated to be more of an annoyance piece than a jack of all trades. At 3 Cost and with the Demise (Torn Up) Ability that functions similar to Demise (Cannon Fodder), they are a good model to Summon near an enemy to get a Made to Kill hit off and then die and Create a Rift. Their new melee Action Paper Cuts gives them a secondary role as an anti-Schemer. As for Minaki, she received the most changes to her Summon Action. Create Katashiro is now a f Action with a lower and standardized TN. Beyond her Summon, Minako’s Metal Claws gained the Instigate Trigger which makes putting out the Karmic Fate Upgrade easier and she has a new version of Spiritual Transference with the Focused Cleansing Trigger. We hope that these changes allow her to be just as popular, but with a different role. Current Minako Rei is a great Summoner, but she is resource intensive and has a habit of falling behind. With Create Katashiro as a fAction and more opportunity to affect the board by removing Conditions or putting out the Karmic Fate Upgrade, she should be a threat in her own right, rather than just a threat for what she can Summon. Rest of the Cards Without further ado, let's look at the rest of the cards! Updated Card Availability For those excited, the Oni Rework cards will be available soon in a few ways: Visible in the Malifaux Crew Builder Application. Print for free from the Wyrd Dropbox. Order from DriveThruRPG. That’s it for Oni! We hope that you enjoy this Rework for the Keyword as much as we enjoyed writing it and I look forward to seeing a lot of amazing Oni paint jobs at upcoming events. Get out there and show Misaki Katanaka that she is wrong for underestimating the threat of the Oni and the Beyond.

Hey Wyrdos! Waldo said he was destined to be a songwriter this week. We aren’t sure where he got this idea, but we’re just glad he hasn’t decided to go into singing as well... His current best effort is titled “Mister of Puppets”. That might not be a real song, but check out Wyrd’s own take on that theme for this year’s exclusive Miss (er, Mister?) model! Hinamatsu is reimagined as He-namatsu this year, a truly dashing take on the Qi and Gong’s infamous bunraku puppet. But don’t think that’s all this gentleman can do. Just like his feminine counterpart, He-namatsu excels at leading Puppet crews and contributing to brutal but artful kills. You’ll be able to pick up He-namatsu during Wyrd’s Gencon Sale, both online and at the convention itself. We’ll share more information about that when the time draws closer. Until then, tell us about your favorite Hinamatsu moments (or what paint schemes you’re thinking about for this alternate sculpt).

The first box, Off With Her Head, will be available both online during Gen Con Sales Event and in-person at the con. The supplemental box, We're All Mad Here, will be available during Black Friday. :3

Here's the youtube video featuring them. :3

The Anya Core Box was done by the folks at Den of Imagination!

Have you heard tale of the Library of Many Things? A strange place, curious by all accounts. Gathers stories from all who pass into Malifaux whether they know it or not. Writes them all down, tucks away the volumes, and continues to grow. It is alive, you see. Ah, what of the denizens? Oh, I could tell you a thousand stories from thrice as many minds… but where’s the fun in that? Today I’ll share a tale of an ordinary girl thrown into extraordinary situations… even by Malifaux standards. Continue reading to see 2024’s Nightmare Edition. The first box, appropriately named Off With Her Head, will be available at Gencon. It goes to the Ten Thunders this year, featuring the Red Library and Story keywords. Come, come, let’s get a closer look. Our protagonist Ms. Malice. She’s Curiouser, and so counts as Linh Ly, Bibliothecary. Not a hero I’d mess with, if that platter is anything to go by… Her Totem transforms from rabbit to rabbit in the form of Held-Up Harry. Eternally early-late-right-on-time, he’s key to making sure Ms. Malice is where she needs to be, when she needs to be. These well-suited critters are the Card Guards, a new form for the Bookkeepers. Sworn to serve Ms. Malice after their previous employer’s sudden severance, they don’t mind pulling on armored sleeves to set things right. Not everything in the Library emerges exactly right. Fuzz (formerly Mập Mạp) crawls lazily forward wreathed in story-smog. Best not breathe it in unless you’re made of paper and ink… But what’s a story without a cast of colorful, creepy, cryptic characters? The second Nightmare box this year is We’re All Mad Here, available during Wyrd’s Black Friday sale. Let’s open the cover and see what’s inside, shall we? Ms. Malice experiences changes as every protagonist does, with some being larger than others. Without Pictures represents such a shift, but is a perfect stand-in for Linh Ly, Storyteller. Purr-veyor of proclivities and merchant of madness, The Cat replaces the Story of Sun Wukong as an enigmatic and charismatic member of the crew. Armed with a similar spear and a different way to pick up speed, The Gryphon (formerly the Story of Thánh Gióng) soars across the printed skies to deliver Ms. Malice’s judgments nearer and farther. Familiar yet different, The Hatter replaces the Story of Raijin’s rain and lightning with boiling water and a crackling kettle. Not someone I’d take afternoon tea with, but to each their own. Remember, Wyrd Games still has a few open slots for events at Gencon! Click the image link below to sign up for those last remaining positions so you can get Wyrd during the convention. That’s all for this week, Wyrdos! What do you think about this year’s Nightmare set? Will you be eating up more chapters of Ms. Malice’s adventures, or delicately drink to her title as unofficial queen?

Heya Wyrdos, As we continue counting down to the Best Four Days in Gamingtm, we're excited to share our Gen Con 2024 Event Packets with you! The link to event details and rules for the following Miniature Events are on our Gen Con Event Page: M3E Tyrant Tournament Double Random Rush Malifaux BINGO! Malifaux Masquerade Against the Odds Folks heading to Indy in August, what events are you the most excited about?

Hey Wyrdos! Waldo took up birdwatching this week, equipped with homemade binoculars lovingly crafted from paper towel tubes. He’s mostly just thrown sunflower seeds around and claimed making a mess is crucial for attracting good birds. While we clean up his mess, let’s take a look at some new releases who might lend your crew their talents… for the right price, of course. Shadowlark and Blackbirds Shadowlark Shadowlark is a highly mobile assassin that excels at controlling a flank. Phantasmal Blade’s great damage track allows her to remove weak models or apply Distracted to disable stronger models. This makes Shadowlark a strong 1v1ing model even against higher Cost enemies, provided she gets the jump on them. With her phenomenal Shadow Jump Trigger and Diving Charge, she’s hard to tie down and is ready to do a lot of damage. At range, Surprise Shot’s Unexpected Ferocity Trigger allows her to do enormous damage once someone else sets up Distracted. High damage isn’t her only draw. She can also support her Crews in a few ways. Phantasmal Blade’s built-in Distracted will keep weaker models alive around Shadowlark. Thief’s Pocket is a perfect way to complete Schemes like Ensnare or to Drop Scheme Markers for friendly effects. In Performer In Performer Shadowlark has options. She can run up a flank and Drop Scheme Markers with Thief’s Pocket, or she can stay closer to the battle and help with the Performer Distracted game with Phantasmal Blade. Disguised is helpful here as with her speed she can stay out of enemy melee ranges, and force enemies to spend an Action Walking up to her. Possibly the most exciting thing about her in Performer is her ability to boost the Scheme Marker Dropping capabilities of the Keyword. With Don’t Mind Me and Thief’s Pocket she can easily Charge into an enemy model’s engagement range, take a swing, Interact and use Thief’s Pocket to Drop a Scheme Marker. That’s a very easy way to set up Scheme Markers for proximity-based Schemes. Speaking of Thief’s Pocket, it is especially efficient in a Performer Crew as it allows a player to discard cards from either their Hand or Configuration. This means that Shadowlark can place a bad card into the Configuration with Repository to draw and then use that card in the Configuration to fuel Thief’s Pocket. In Witness In Witness, Shadowlark pushes the assassin angle to 11. As a Witness Crew will be able to set up free suits with the Configuration, Shadowlark is able to guarantee a Trigger without spending a Soulstone. This means that Shadowlark can plan on getting Shadow Jump or Execute Trigger each Activation. Shadowlark plays especially well with Damian Ravencroft, Aspirant as his Maintain Order Ability can decimate an opponent’s hand, giving Shadowlark the opportunity for a timely Execute to finish off models. Shadowlark is also very beneficial to a Witness Crew in that she’s a speedy model in a Keyword not known for speed. Between Mv 6 and Thief’s Pocket, she’s a superb in-Keyword choice for Schemes that require Markers on the enemy table half like Espionage or Protected Territory. If she needs a little boost to get there, targeting her with Damian Ravencroft, Unbound’s Absolute Control Action or Bellaventine Thrope’s Outmaneuver Action will allow her to go the extra distance. Blackbird Like Shadowlark, Blackbirds are a great way to put Distracted on enemy models. Both Phantasmal Knife and Spotlight can give out Distracted. This means that they are one of the better options for Crews that want a guaranteed way to Distract enemies. Beyond placing Distracted on enemies, Blackbirds are awesome at Dropping Scheme Markers. Much like Shadowlark, Blackbirds have Thief’s Pocket, but in addition to that, they have the Set the Scene Ability. Set the Scene allows a Blackbird to Drop a Scheme Marker next to enemy models that lower or end their Distracted Condition. Between these two things, a Blackbird can easily Drop two to three Scheme Markers a Turn. If they’re not used for scoring, all those extra Scheme Markers can Move enemies away from objectives with Spotlight’s “Next Act!” Trigger. In Performer If Shadowlark was good for a Performer Crew’s Distracted game, Blackbirds are amazing. Spotlight is the real star as targeting an enemy model that is engaging a Performer model means that Spotlight will give out Distracted +2 instead of Distracted +1. This plus the Quick Reflexes Trigger means that a Blackbird can place a large amount of Distracted on multiple enemy models in a single Activation. One thing to note is that Spotlight is not restricted to enemy models, so a Blackbird can place Distracted on friendly models for Colette Du Bois’s False Reality Action. When not playing with Distracted, the incidental Scheme Markers Dropped by Blackbirds are very helpful to a Performer Crew. Extra Scheme Markers help a Performer Crew in a lot of ways, like giving Colette Du Bois more locations to Unbury, powering up Colette Du Bois, Smuggler’s Magical Flourish Attack, and giving Cassandra Felton Scheme Markers to move with Changing Plans. In Witness In Witness, Blackbirds are there to weaken enemies so they cannot kill important Witness models. Building in Triggers with the Configuration means that a Blackbird can count on Confusing Feelings or Quick Reflexes to spread out more Distracted on enemies. In Witness, Blackbirds are surprisingly sturdy. Using the Configuration to gain the m needed for the “Get Off The Stage!” Ability combined with the incidental Scheme Markers a Blackbird Drops means that a Blackbird can easily move an enemy out of Attack range. That's all for this week, Wyrdos! If anyone's already managed to track down Ms. Tina Grenville and her Blackbirds for a rare photo, feel free to post it below!

In "Together," true love inspires a young florist to travel through the breach in pursuit of a beautiful member of the Guild Guard. http://www.breachsidebroadcast.com/e/chronicles-58/

Hey Wyrdos! Waldo’s been running around the office with a terrifying serpent he’s managed to tame (really just a sock on a string with some googly eyes). While we all try and survive Mr. Slithers’ reign of terror, let’s check in on some other serpentine releases making their way to your local game stores: The Keepside Strangers are aristocratic necromancers who believe the magic of undeath can, and should, be elevated to an art. Their acumen drew the attention of something very old and very curious. The Strangers follow a new leader now, for she has whispered promises of rewards eternal should they succeed… If you’re wondering how best to fit this pair of models into your Forgotten and Redchapel crews, take a look at this handy guide below! The Strange Lady The Strange Lady is a model that amps up any Crew she’s hired into thanks to an incredible amount of versatility and support. Cloying Darkness and its ability to give models Distracted is a great way to turn the incidental Poison that runs through Resurrectionist models into something very scary. Terrifying Gaze is invaluable into Obey focused Crews like Swampfiend. Rounding it out, The Healing Dark is a very efficient Heal, that can also Drop Scheme Markers thanks to the Draw Out Secrets Trigger. Outside of her support options, The Strange Lady has formidable Attack Actions. Obey with the Infectious Words Trigger means that The Strange Lady is a perfect model to focus on offensive Obeys. With the Infectious Words Trigger a single Action can command an enemy to take an Action, do damage, and give Poison and Distracted. The Gorgon’s Kiss plays perfectly into her mechanic by either providing additional use for Conditions with the Finisher Trigger, or allowing her to get off extra attacks with Onslaught. The most interesting thing on The Strange Lady’s card is Kiss of Death and how it affects her playstyle. Activating The Strange Lady early in a Turn is effective, but Activating her later when she has 3 or fewer cards in her Control Hand is amazing. Getting a M to her Actions means that she can freely Obey or use The Healing Dark or build in the Onslaught Trigger on The Gorgon’s Kiss. No matter what Action The Strange Lady decides to take on her turn, the M is very useful. In Redchapel In Redchapel, The Strange Lady synergizes with a lot of the Keyword’s Abilities. Having an Obey means that The Strange Lady can move enemy models into engagement with friendly Redchapel models to set up Bump in the Night or Pounce. Both Obey and The Gorgon’s Kiss are resisted by Wp, which means that she works especially well when paired with a model with Scarlet Temptation. She’s very useful for Redchapel’s Distracted sub-theme. The Gorgon’s Kiss combined with Cloying Darkness can put out 1-2 Distracted a Turn which can then be used for Unexpected Ferocity Triggers or to keep an opponent from hitting the Redchapel models. In Forgotten In Forgotten, The Strange Lady rewards a player for utilizing Fading Abilities. While she herself has a hard time resolving her own Fading (Mind Read) Ability, she benefits from Activating after other models have used their Fading Abilities. The Strange Lady has two different things that get stronger the fewer cards she has in her hand, so getting to three or less cards to get the most out of Kiss of Death and The Healing Dark is critical. Fading Abilities will get her there very quickly. Beyond her synergy with Fading Abilities, The Strange Lady is a great way to get more out of Forgotten models. Her Obey Action is very versatile as it can either command a large model like Archie or the Rogue Necromancy to attack, or tell a Crooligan to Interact to Drop a critical Scheme Marker. Combining the Obey with Healing from The Healing Dark, means that Forgotten models are serious threats. Keepside Strangers Where The Strange Lady is a powerful presence that forces an opponent to rethink the battlefield, the Keepside Strangers are tricky models that have powerful Auras that are difficult to escape. The Ability that stands out the most on the Keepside Strangers is Sidekick. This allows the Keepside Strangers to pop around the board for the cost of a card. This is exciting because it allows them to generally be wherever they need to be without Walking. Once in position Keepside Strangers have two roles. The first is to do a surprising amount of damage with Strength in Numbers. Strength in Numbers combined with Handful of Snakes can do a lot with Blasts and the Unexpected Ferocity Trigger. The second purpose is to put up one of their Auras. Serene Silence and Suffocating Sound are two sides of the same discard a card coin. Serene Silence gives out Shielded to friendly models who discard cards and Suffocating Sound gives out Distracted to enemy models that discard cards. This allows the Keepside Stranger to adjust their role depending on the game’s state. In Redchapel In Redchapel the Keepside Strangers have a few possible roles. As the Keyword does not have a Sidekick or By Your Side model, the Keepside Strangers can be used to keep up with Seamus’s Secret Passage jumps and either Interact or finish off enemies that escape Seamus’ .50 Flintlock. When not following behind Seamus, the Keepside Strangers are a capable ranged threat. Ranged attacks and Blast damage is not something a Redchapel Crew is known for, and the Keepside Strangers provide these things with Handful of Snakes. In Forgotten In Forgotten Sidekick is less critical because Crooligans cover the teleporting schemer role. This allows the Keepside Strangers to focus on their Auras. The two Auras on the Keepside Strangers are noteworthy as they allow the Forgotten player to build their Crew in different ways. Serene Silence’s effect is keyed to friendly models discarding cards is very helpful for Fading focused Forgotten Crews. As the discard will fuel both Fading Abilities and Serene Silence’s Shielded, Forgotten models with Fading Abilities are very efficient near the Keepside Strangers. Suffocating Sound’s effect is keyed to enemy models discarding cards. This is important as it allows a Forgotten player to not feel restricted to a Fading focused Crew to get the most out of Keepside Strangers. Suffocating Sound means that Triggers like Execute or Blank Stare are even more dangerous than usual, as the enemy model will have to discard a card, suffer the effects of the Trigger and gain Distracted. Even if the Forgotten player hasn’t built around discard Triggers, Suffocating Sound has a role as a tech pick into Crews that discard cards often like Family or models with Abilities like Flurry. Whichever Aura the Keepside Strangers choose, it’ll give extra survivability to the Forgotten Crew as Distracted and Shielded will make the Forgotten models harder to kill. As a reminder, Wyrd Games will be at Origins Game Fair from June 19 to June 23. Stop by the booth and get a glimpse at everything Wyrd has to offer, including the brand-new tile flipping game Pocket Cats! Finally, there’s still time to register for Gencon events! There’s space left in the M3E Tyrant Tournament, Vagrantsong’s Amigo the Devil scenario, and the ever-popular Double Random Rush, among others. Take a look at our Events Page, or visit the Gencon page directly to claim your spot before they run out! That’s all for this week, Wyrdos. We’ll see you all at Origins!