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Hmmm yeah that's a good point. I think that some more choices over his AP is a good thing for sure

Agreed. I wonder if something as simple as taking the gun symbol off Unmaking would be enough? Considering the fluff (or rather my assumptions about the fluff...) of this attack iut DOES seem weird that it has a projectile icon in the first place. Isn't he just magically "unmaking" somebody? That's why the damage can't be reduced etc...

It's a niche case, but in a game at the weekend Von Schill used clockwork arm to punch steam trunk into the right location so that Hannah could use the heal and then (thanks to engage at will) copy the librarians heal to save Johan. Good old engage at will.

That would be extremely good, and also might differentiate him from other 10ss models (he's basically a 10ss model) sufficiently.

Or make him a henchman!

Hahaha good point! Perhaps it was too close to enemy deployment? Or the sniper is Hans?!

That is true! BUT... I agree - the "not in terrain" line is definitely to prevent "feel bad" plays, like tossing an enemy in the middle of impassable terrain they can't get out of, or tossing a sniper on top of a height 15 building that no one can get to. In situations where the whole board is severe terrain I think it's time for a gentleman's agreement to ensure that there are no dumb things done with places, but also that models and abilities CAN work the way they are supposed to. So @Raimu, you'd obviously have to agree this with your opponent, but I think in this case it's correct to play the way the rules are intended (and allow Von Schill, and other place/summon effects for markers, models etc. to work) and just make sure that you are also not abusing these effects (e.g. placing Sandeep in the middle of a building to keep him safe for a turn, or something).

Here's hoping! His biggest weakness recently has undeniably been the scheme pool...

This is true - it DOES put you on the back foot and make you have to start the game reactively instead of proactively, but the sooner you can switch into proactive mode the better, and this is what A&D excels at. He can zip off down a flank that the enemy has a scheme runner or two on, merk the scheme runners, do some schemes himself and perhaps even generate another activation. Having a piece that fulfils the role of schemer AND hunter, and even beater later in the game, is a good second place to activation control. It might not generate as much AP as 4 bayou gremlins, but the flexibility of it's AP nearly makes up for that.

The Bigger They Are! And @FunWithKnives - this could all change of course with the new Gaining Grounds, but what worries me about that list (as sweet as it looks) is the fact that it's only 7 models, and in the current GG that makes it pretty hard to score most schemes.

The place from Clockwork Arm doesn't let you place the target in terrain, unfortunately...

I think that's the way to go - although I get so much use out of Engage At Will and the Steam Trunk that I think in some match ups I will definitely be dropping The Bigger They Are for Engage At Will. And then there are also the times that I'll want Hannah or Anna over the Emissary, which means I might take The Shirt Comes Off in there somewhere. I think that's what makes me so pleased with the Von Schill upgrades though - thinking about what to take is always going to be interesting and the playstyle of him and his crew will vary based on that (I feel like a lot/most Outcast masters have pretty fixed upgrade configurations and/or playstyles, even with wave 5).

Out of interest, what do ARE the riders strengths and roles in the crew? I have never played with a rider before, and I've only played against Mechanical Rider (well, I played against Pale Rider in a campaign, but it didn't do anything and then the Strongarm Suit punched it a new one).

BUT neither McTavish nor Rusty Alyce have a lucky poncho, or a cigar to stub out in peoples eyes, OR a stylish moustache. Other than that, I totally agree. And considering all of those things have basically no bearing on the actual gameplay... well, poor old Mad Dog.

I am not sold on Mad Dog - I WANT to like him, but every time I have taken him one of two things happens. Either he dies really early, taking out a model or two on his way out (with his hard to kill Foaming At The Mouth activation), or I play way too cagily with him (to avoid scenario one) and he doesn't really do anything. I want to play him more to get used to the right way to play him, but for the time being I find myself preferring other models in the 10SS range (like McTavish!) It makes me die a little inside as well...

The first of those two games was: 50 SS Outcasts Crew Parker Barrows + 4 Pool - Highwayman (1) - Oath Keeper (1) - Hail of Bullets (1) Doc Mitchell (3) Hodgepodge Emissary (10) - Conflux of Stolen Goods (0) Sue (8) Freikorps Librarian (7) Wokou Raider (8) Dead Outlaw (6) Bandido (5) (exported from CrewFaux) And the second was... 50 SS Outcasts Crew Parker Barrows + 4 Pool - Highwayman (1) - Oath Keeper (1) - Hail of Bullets (1) Doc Mitchell (3) McTavish (11) - I Pay Better (1) Sue (8) - Return Fire (1) Johan (6) Dead Outlaw (6) Dead Outlaw (6) Bandido (5) (exported from CrewFaux) I normally err towards 9 models if I can, but in both these cases I was just trying out some different lists and so on. The first list ended up in a 7-7 draw vs outcast Tara (I took the librarian just as a second source of healing, then saw a million incorporeal models that target willpower and felt like I got pretty lucky!), and the second a 6-4 win vs Lilith.

I think ignoring line of sight gives you more flexibility in where you can put the Winged Plauge to unbury Misaki. There will be some boards where the trapper is fine, and some where you want Hans, I guess. Also if the I Pay Better focus on Hans is just to minismise the chances of Black Joker you could forgo the Yamaziko + I Pay Better all together and take another 8SS model that might help to do something else - perhaps Marlena Webster to add a bit of protection to Misaki (although given activation control perhaps she won't need it), or Scion of the Void, who might a bit better than Yamaziko after the first turn (full disclosure - I have never seen Yamaziko on the table...)

I've had a couple of games with the new Wave 5 upgrades for Parker and the Emissary, and while I don't think it changes Parker a HUGE amount, I was pleasantly surprised with them! I ended up switching into Hidden Steel Plate quite a lot - the ability to put minions on flips when it is discarded was the main draw for me, especially given that it happens when it is discarded for ANY reason. I had my Wokou Raider charging in with (one built in) a few times that game, and putting Dead Outlaws on to their gun was really nice as well - it took pressure off my hand which I needed for other things. I never used the damage reduction ability, but purely for dishing out Inspired I think this goes along with Stick Up as one of the most used Parker upgrades for me. In one game I didn't use High Noon at all except once to remove paralyse from a Wokou Raider, since there didn't ever seem to be a chance to get much mileage out of the condition, but in the second game I took McTavish and got some pretty reasonable work out of it. Since McTavish ignores cover and doesn't randomise (AND has a 14" range) he's a perfect pairing with High Noon. He got a couple of free shots out, but mostly it just stopped the models I tagged with the condition from ever finishing an activation in LoS of McTavish unless they gave me a soulstone. Once they are out of soulstones they can't end the condition, which along with Stick Up led to me getting it on an Illuminated that couldn't do anything without getting shot at. It wasn't great, but it also wasn't terrible. Along with McTavish and Stick Up (to drain soulstones) it definitely adds to Parker's "be annoying" game. The Emissary upgrade is fantastic, but with one drawback. First the good - it helps more cards to flow through your hand, lets Parker use an enemy marker for his upgrade cycling on turn 1, lets you move trinkets around if you end up with them on the wrong models (for example, you want to move Vitality Potion from Sue to a Wokou Raider, or take Pretty Floral Bonnet off a Wokou Raider and pop it onto Johan), and gives you a way to make Parker discard an upgrade out of activation. This last point is situational, but when it's good it's great (e.g. pulse out Inspired after Parker has activated and attached Hidden Steel Plate, or get a soulstone back before Parker's activation in a pinch). The drawback is that I don't really see a good way to take Emissary AND another 10SS+ model that you might want in the crew. For example, Emissary and McTavish (my current love with Parker) don't fit nicely into the same crew without sacrificing activations. In short, whilst not totally game changing the new options these upgrades provide are a definite boon to Parker! Especially the Inspired from Hidden Steel Plate and the Emissary upgrade (if you take the Emissary tax).

I couldn't agree more - I think this perfectly encapsulates the way that Parker wants to be played. He's a thief and an opportunist, and as such the plan needs to be changed to suit whatever he has the opportunity to do. On the topic of Wokou Raiders I have actually quite liked them. I feel like they are a 7.5 stone model - definitely too cheap at 7, but at 8 I wouldn't ever take 2. They are pretty good models for looking after a flank - highly mobile, accurate attack, and once they are engaged they are reasonably tough (they only take hits when the opponent gets lucky with a high flip). Being a bandit is nice as well, but I find their most useful ability is the built in Drop It trigger - it takes the pressure off Parker a little to make sure he has a marker to cycle his upgrades and generate some resources on his turn. Sue is, as per usual, a fantastic model! And I agree that he needs a beater in around 2/3 games. Personally I like to take either Strongarm or Ashes and Dust just because they stick around (or in the case of Ashes come back...) and hit quite hard. Bishop is really nice, but the 1" range hurts him somewhat, and he's not as hard to kill as he looks (at ALL). It's nice that he's suit-independent, though, and he benefits from Parker's push quite well. I tried the new Emissary upgrade with Parker and it was pretty great, actually. It's nice to be able to use an enemy marker to cycle on turn 1, it lets you recycle trinkets if they end up on a bad model, and on top of that it keeps more cards flowing into your hand, and lets Parker ditch an upgrade if he doesn't want to spend an AP doing it in a more traditionally "Parker" way - I was more impressed than I expected to be! The big problem is that hiring the Emissary makes it MUCH harder to squeeze that much-needed melee beater into the crew, so in reality I am not sure how often I will be taking it...

That's a strong point - I can imagine her doing quite well lurking around the back field putting up a ~12" dangerzone for scheme runners after protecting the master.

I've only tried him once, but I'm liking McTavish in the "expensive model" spot - his Shoulder attack is great with Parkers new "Deadan Walking" condition since it's long range, doesn't randomise, and ignores cover, and he gets good use out of random enemy markers that Parker and co can leave strewn around the battlefield. If the pool means you can get away with not having a spendy model I like to squeeze in a Wokou Raider as well - built in Drop It is nice to push them around, give Parker market food, heal Dead Outlaws etc., the On attack is nice, they fairly durable in melee, and are so mobile. They also make great No Witnesses targets.

Seishin are almost always better than the mindless zombies in outcasts. That said, I've played a lot of games with Anna and summoned maybe twice. Unless you can get seishin individually I'd just proxy one (unless you think you'll play readers and might want Datsue Ba/Kirai). It's not too likely a Seishin you summon will stick around for long anyway...

I'm inclined to agree - I think it's easy to see soulstones as OP but generating, say, 2SS from Black Market wouldn't be absurd I don't think. It might be a bit much from limited supplies but at least it would make up for the turns you discard a soulstone to keep an upgrade. Anither fix might be to increase the range of using a marker to attach an upgrade. It's normally having to be so close to the enemy that makes me use so many soulstones to stay alive (and then wonder why I bothered). Two alternatives would be either soften the cost of using his upgrades, or have some kind of buff when he attaches an upgrade as well - that way you wouldn't feel so bad using soulstones rather than enemy markers to cycle back an upgrade you just used and gained a soulstone from (essentially adding another duel to doing something). I think there are a lot of ways to fix Parker to put him somewhere in the middle of the Outcast power level without breaking him, or the game. As it stands he's a great pick if you like to break about even on resources and move soulstone counters around all the time.

To actually contribute to Parker being Malifaux on hard mode, I would totally agree. I REALLY want to like Parker, and to an extent I do, but I feel like you have to work needlessly hard for everything that he does. And I don't necessarily mean in a tactical sense, just in a "why do I have to jump through all these hoops" sense. As an example, take the ability No Witnesses. It makes a friendly model take a (1) attack action, but it has a six inch range. And if it wasn't a bandit you have to discard a soulstone or discard the upgrade. AND you need to meet the (admittedly low) target number. Or The Job's Not Done Yet - push a model it's walk, that's cool! But it needs an 8! That's the hard mode aspect of Parker. He can generate soulstones like they're going out of style, but then he has to use them up to pay for abilities and to keep himself alive (since he needs to be on the frontlines near enemies and has no defensive abilities) - the whole thing feels like a rube goldberg machine that generates resources, just to feed back into the machine to generate more resources.

Hmmm, I often find I have the OPPOSITE problem - I want to do two different actions that will both discard an upgrade, and then he will be an upgrade down, which isn't a particularly good spot for him to be in I find (although it can be fine). You can always get rid of an upgrade by shooting something (although that uses an AP).