Jinn

Kassa's King's Empire upgrade is a LOT better than her Abyssinian one. If you take the KE envoy you can hire Kassa's KE asset (I'm 95% sure) and get easy access to glory (discard a tactics token when you activate) and probably +2 tactics (it's +1 Tactics per Titan, friendly or enemy, to a max of +2) in an Abyssinia crew. The faster you get access to her morale action the better. I'm pretty sure you draw around 4 cards if you get the margin trigger on Emergency Repairs and just flip an Asset to the scrap side and then back again. Mechanized Infantry are absolutely amazing! You can relatively easily get 3-7 shots using the squad fireteams (with an Adjunct and a Prototype or four) and have your walker be at AV 10-14 for its two (probably) shots due to the Tracer Rounds ability. And every time you beat your opponent by at least 2 you can lower your total (after the modify step, I believe) to get that trigger to draw a card. Even if your enemy isn't close enough for the squads to attack (so outside of 14"+7" if you do the Advance order, and outside of 18"+7" for the Adjunct) you can probably shoot whatever the Titan is going after with the Zeppelin Bombardment to give it a +1AV, or do the reverse to be at +1-2AV for the Prototype attack. As an aside, Titans are quite hard to tie up in melee due to their special engagement rules, so unless a melee Titan is up in your face you should be able to keep shooting enemies on the other side of the board. Another good Titan combo is to get your Crow Runners to glory ASAP (using Zeppelin/Rocket Launcher Prototypes) and then get all of them to use Lead the Way on the Dreadnought and use any 11+ cards, or 9+s with their easy inspire tokens, to move the Titan its speed and get it to use the Mortar attack at range 28", potentially ignoring cover and LoS. You'll likely draw a card or two from s here as well. In my last game, against cult, I destroyed a Wandering Portals unit, most of a Warped unit, and a fireteam of Doomseekers purely using the MI Walker's Battle Cannon, a Crow Runner's Zeppelin Bombardment and the Dreadnought's Mortar Bombardment into my enemy's deployment zone on turn 1, which crippled their mobility and did a lot of area damage.

Doesn't his trigger give HIM burning, not the target?

I'm only comparing info we have. Other than that, I'm pretty sure Mason said that upgrades are going to be rarer but more impactful, which, combined with the less offensively focused base cards of Raspy and Marcus, makes me think that these Masters are changing somewhat in playstyle and likely won't have all of their old styles and upgrades make it to 3e. Obviously this is all speculation, I could easily be wrong. If Marcus gets his insane upgrades as well as this buffing focused playstyle, even as mutually exclusive options, that would be awesome. Hmm, what if he gets an upgrade that attaches all of his mutation upgrades onto himself and ignores the rest of his crew? That could be interesting...

I think Masters have less of an overall impact on the game in 3e because they (at least Raspy and Marcus) have moved to a role in which they support synergies in their thematic crews. Current Marcus is doing up to four 4/4/6 attacks (with the Trail of the Gods upgrade), plus sense fear triggered from a (0) action, so actually five attacks and he may have the enemy at to all duels if he feels particularly mean. He can also scheme with wk 8 (I loved last minute bodyguards with Marcus, just a casual 24" stroll to the enemy deployment zone), he can alpha friendly or enemy models, he can give a beast to attack and damage (with the small downside of to df). New Marcus is doing 2/3/5 damage and is focused around giving his crew buff upgrades. He can make friendly beasts charge, which keep in mind is a weaker charge than 2e charge (in this case at least). Obviously we haven't seen any general upgrades from 3e and we can only go off of what we have seen, but I think it is pretty obvious that old Marcus would murder new Marcus 1 on 1. Current Raspy is base 7 with a 2 / 4/ 5 attack which is routinely buffed to 3 / 5/ 6, she casts through friendly models (which can move), can give them armour, can summon 50mm blocking, indestructible terrain with very low cards and has a trigger to draw on a . She can also paralyse (and has a totem that eats paralysed models with an attack that is ml8, Seamus is tasty) and she can be teleported by Snow Storm out of trouble. New raspy is base 6 with a 2 / 3/ 4 damage attack and an action that summons 30mm destructible markers (which provide lots of synergy to her crew, but her crew also places). Her bonus action I honestly can't judge. I'm assuming the Mv 14 duel is a simple duel that targets have to flip, and if these 'cataclysm markers' are 50mm then that seems like a very potent debuff attack. Despite this, new Raspy isn't going to be doing the same kind of damage old Raspy did. She will interact with her crew a lot more though. I'm excited to play with the new masters given that they seem to have more direct synergy with their crews.

My only worry with this approach is imagining if this had happened in 2e. Being forced to bring Mouse with Ironsides or the Eternal Flame with Kaeris would have been awful, instead we were able to hire the Malifaux Child with both of them. Obviously this is only a problem if some models aren't properly balanced, and if Mouse and the Eternal Flame (and totems in general) are balanced then I am happy. On another note, if I never see the Primordial Magic again it will be too soon

Fitzsimmons also makes Kaeris effectively Armor +2 while near him, which makes for a safer spot to place grab & drop targets. Joss can be Armor +3, and Langston Armor +2. Putting Bleeding Edge Tech on Fitzsimmons in a Ramos crew makes for some extremely tanky spiders. Combined with the Steamfitter, both Ironsides and Fitzsimmons himself can be effectively Armor +2. Combining him with Amina would make for a lot of tankiness, probably more than you need honestly. The Fire Golem seems to have excellent synergy with Kaeris apart from the usual 'don't activate near Kaeris if she has Grab & Drop or you'll lose your burning' anti-synergy, which is always clunky. Unfortunately, your opponent should be able to remove any burning you applied with your other models before the Golem gets to go, (assuming they had a cleanse, if they didn't then they're gonna hurt badly) because no burning models have accomplice. This guy should be able to dive after Kaeris into groups pretty effectively if she's used swooping angel's new immolate trigger to apply burning in a . The Saboteurs will live or die on their ability to draw cards. They're mediocre scheme runners compared to Wind Gamin (even steam arachnids, which are nothing special, are better at scheming with their better stats, armor, and unimpeded) and they have no tricks to remove markers. They have disguised, but if that was a good enough defense then Desperate Mercenaries would have been okay at 4ss. The key problem for me is that I'll probably be relying on my opponent to place markers to get that card draw, as, despite appearances, Arcanists aren't all that good at getting scheme markers next to enemies. Mech rider can do it, but she's 12ss. Performers + Mannequin can do it, but you need to hire Mannequins which I try not to do. Oh yeah, Fitzsimmons can do it and Kaeris' aura with G&D can do it (not that she's usually near enough to my crew for that to happen past T2). G&D is likely the best bet, considering the Saboteur's ranged attack isn't a so you won't randomise with the model that flew next to the enemy. I hope Kaeris is good one day.

Having a Katashiro focus and then teleport for a place within 5", to attack and damage Ml7 2/4/5 attack sounds pretty great. The high base combined with focus means you're probably going to be able to cheat for a consistent 4 or 5 damage where you need it. I think balancing Katashiro around being worse all around killy models than Yokai, but better against higher Df, having the advantage of dropping scrap for Asami, and having synergy with pushes is a good approach.

It could be interpreted either way honestly. The wording of that part of the ability is "Choose a Condition with a value affecting this model and a target model in range." which could be interpreted as 'Choose a Condition with a value affecting this model and then choose a target model in range' or it could be 'choose a condition affecting this model and affecting a target model in range'. The second interpretation is useless as an action so I'm inclined to interpret it in the first way just as common sense. Katashiro are great for Asami because they are constructs and so drop scrap. Also, summoning them with Minako Rei in a Shenlong crew would allow for peasants to charge the Katashiro and push it twice, allowing it to take two Ml7 2/4/5 attacks which is pretty decent. Their push synergy should go nicely with Shenlong crews I think. Wanyudo almost seems like it'll just be useful for when Minako kills a henchmen or master.

@whodares The action requires you to remove the condition from the Katashiro, and if it is still in play applies it to the other model. If this restriction wasn't present you could put some flicker on your opponents master and really ruin their day.

Her new upgrades are nice, but they cost 2SS each for some reason. Her new limited upgrade is double the cost of Grab & Drop, and it makes her even more reliant on putting conditions on enemies, a problem G&D sidesteps. I don't know why such a struggling master was given expensive upgrades and I'm worried she won't be viable for a long time if the backdraft models don't fix her.

Mechanised Infrantry are ridiculous in my experience. Their titan has a 36" range gun and they can all reduce their duel total by 2 to add a suit to the total, any number of times per duel. As far as I can tell this occurs after the modify step, so you can lower your total without fear of your opponent cheating to beat it. This allows you to add a for card draw whenever you want. They have some other tricks as well, but the high range of the titan and the innate card draw, all for 8 scrip is amazing in my opinion.

Sandeep + 3 Oxfordians. They all have arcane shield which makes them very strong against those misery auras before they activate, the mages have to Wp while within LoS of an M&SU Henchman, and all of them use Ca which is great against incorporeal. Also Sandeep is the best master in Arcanists and the Oxfordians are the best thing you can get for 15SS.

I've triple vented in the past and still gotten hit by damn Austringers... Why is fate so cruel?

My bad, seems obvious in retrospect as it needs burning to function. I somehow had the idea that the Eternal Flame had a potential synergy with purifying flame by allowing friendly models that usually don't take damage from burning to heal while near it, by removing immunity to damage from burning. I checked the wording on Combustible Mixture and this is not the case. I find myself disliking the design of the Eternal Flame even more. Is A&D and Lenny the only models with immunity to burning then?

And Ashes & Dust is also immune, which means that all of your opponents most threatening models are (functionally) immune. I've almost given up bringing Kaeris into Outcasts when my opponent seems likely to bring Hamelin. What really irks me about this match up is that Kaeris's default Totem removes immunity to burning within an aura but Nihilism doesn't count as immunity because they can choose to accept a condition if they want to. This means that there is no way of getting around Hamelin's pseudo-immunity and makes Kaeris's already bad Totem into an actual liability because the only immunity it removes is going to be that of your own models, like the rail golem (and A&D, but if the reason you're bringing your totem is to make you sometimes able to attack one of several immune enemy models then you're better off just using Kaeris as a scheme runner). Sorry for the rant, but Hamelin is an NPE.

I think you can place the target, or Kaeris, on a tall bit of terrain so that you aren't engaged. This has the added possibility of using the blinding flame trigger to push them off the building after dropping them there.

Also, models with flight take no damage from it. So don't try any aerial duels against Zipp.

The Guild was considered a relatively weak faction outside of a few key models/combos which have been nerfed for a while. Recently they've gotten a bit of a power boost with Nellie, Debt to the Guild and, from what I've heard, Monster Hunters. Neverborn on the other hand have always had some exceptionally strong masters and models, the Dreamer being one of them (though he has been nerfed as well, he is still great at summoning and his new upgrade is strong). I would estimate that the general consensus would put Neverborn above Guild in power level, at least if we're not including the newest models that aren't in plastic yet and haven't been fully tested (those monster hunters are coming for us all). These tier lists are usually less important than experience/skill though, but know that you aren't losing with overpowered models to weak models or whatever your opponent claims. You may wish to swap crews with your opponent for a game to get a feel for what their crew can do, and a feel for what your crew feels like to fight against.

You might already know this, but you can't actually remove friendly scheme markers with the (1) interact action that all models have access to. Your opponent is probably going to have a lot of trouble removing those markers.

Are you sure the Steamfitter's Armor +1 even works with Carlos? His Dance of Flame ability says that he has the Armor condition equal to his burning condition, and by the rules conditions with the same name are combined and are considered to end when the most recently applied condition should end. Turn ends, burning ends, Armor ends. I really wish I could get an Armor +3 Carlos, so I hope you can change my mind on this.

So... Katashiro are Oni and constructs huh? Given that Asami really likes scrap markers and given that none of the other models she summons drop any markers, what do you think the chances are that Katashiro have a rule ("Only Paper" or something) that means that they don't drop scrap markers on death? Perhaps more likely, they may be peons meaning Asami wouldn't be able to summon them. If they do drop scrap, and they're minions, then Asami is going to have a field day with them. I am really excited about these models either way.

It may not seem it, but 2SS is a lot of stones to make a model just bad in Df instead of absolutely godawful, especially when if you were going to hire an Ice Golem you would ideally want Imbued Energies on it so that you can get a walk and charge on turn 2 (Walk 4 means the Golem isn't exactly going to get into position). So now you're bumping his cost up to 11SS with no upgrade slots for a Df 4 model with Ml6 3/3/6 and a situational (3)AP super attack (and you can prevent 2 damage by discarding Imbued Protection). For 11SS I could hire Joss with Imbued Energies who has Df 5, Wk 5, Hard to Kill, drops scrap markers on kill, has a Ml6 3/4/4 attack that ignores Armor/H2W/H2K/Triggers and a slightly worse (2)AP super attack that does 5/8/10, but paralyses. He also gets reactivate when he gets to H2K. Even in a Raspy crew, I'd much rather have Joss. The Wendigo can just use Raspy's cast to make him get +2 Armour and Frozen Heart if you want. I honestly just would avoid hiring the Ice Golem until he gets an errata that fixes his rules.

The Ice Golem was considered to be one of the worst models in the game at 10SS and you never saw it used outside of Henchman Hardcore (Snowstorm + Ice Golem + Silent One + Ice Gamin) which is mostly a secondary game mode. Recently Rasputina got the ability to summon it with her new upgrade, but it needs an 11+ and a soulstone and a scrap marker and it comes in on 6Wds. I doubt any serious lists were going to be using this upgrade or the Ice Golem. Most recently they dropped the cost of hiring the Golem down to 9SS from 10SS. I still doubt it is going to show up anywhere competitive. Df 2 really kills it, Df 4 is the lowest you should go with models unless they are seriously cheap or have an absurd wound pool for their cost (like the Resurrectionist's flesh construct). I did have a game against someone who drew more than five 11+ in a game and managed to summon four Ice Golems. I still won because Ice Golems are bad, and are even worse at 6wds.

"So, how does one use the Ice Golems at all?" You get incredibly lucky with your draws. Really though, it isn't a viable strategy and you should probably stick to what Raspy does best: summon walls and throw snowballs at people. If you want to try and do the summoning upgrade you should bring Myrandabus with Imbued Energies, put Seize the Day and Arcane Reservoir on raspy, and hire a steamfitter or two. You up your chances of getting that 11+ quite a bit. The summon TN should've honestly just needed a single suited 13 so that it could be stoned for; maybe with two scrap markers or something.

Our local Lynch player noticed that Burn Out says that if an enemy model with the 'brilliance' condition is killed near Lynch, you summon a depleted. This should read brilliance characteristic, as Lynch's models technically don't hand out brilliance, they instead hand out the 'under the influence' condition, which gives the brilliance characteristic. Obviously, most people aren't going to object to the upgrade working how it should, but there is the case of the Illuminated's brilliance marker aura which applies brilliance but isn't a condition. Some players may interpret the upgrade as being intended to be the under the influence condition rather than the brilliance characteristic, which may cause problems.