Specky

You could consider the captain for an additional anti-shoot bubble and the relic hammer. Similarly Megarachnids might be a good counter pick with their Precise. They're not quick so maybe consider Diesel Engine on one/both but that might be over doing it.

I've not had too much experience against Outcasts so can't comment with much authority.

I found one of the most interesting points about this was the discussion around relenting during an obey if a friendly is being obeyed to attack another friendly. Definitely FAQ worthy.

Surely Ramos can't hire a mechanical dove because they are totems?

Amina is good but I don't think she's auto include.

Howard wanders off pretty quick so you'll get the Grit turn 1, but you can maybe just use Toni's bubble.

Gunsmiths have the next best / equal best grit - but most of their triggers are good. You can consider the upgrade that grants Attuned and stone the suit if it's a clutch moment.

The M&SU Crew is relatively slow and a bubble so you might want to consider fast movers to fill the gap.

I'm a huge fan of the captain, especially when claim Jump is in the scheme pool. He is agile, has a massive reach and can push opponent's models on a melee trigger. Just very handy and the protection from range is also good

24 minutes ago, doktor_g said:

I'm not sure I want a brute Force crew. Id like some tricks too. Are Arcanists not the right direction? MeiFeng sounds like a 10thunders? I'm lost. 

She swings both ways. Arcanist or 10T. She can also hire 3 different Bayou models (Sparks, Survivors and Mechanised Porkchop).

I don't know much about the 10T but people say she's got better options in Arcanist. I'd agree as Mecharachnid, Soulstone Miner and Steam Arachnids all go great with Mei. Joss, mobile toolkit, Kandara and firestarter have some synergy/speed to keep up.

Hoffman and Toni might struggle with some of the more mobility orientated schemes/strats. Yes you'd go around killing better than most but I don't how well that will translate to the score board.

Hoffman to me has more severe hard counters than Toni with ignores armour. You can put up tempered steel of course but that's only one guy.

I think Mei can bring a more flexible crew with the option to bring in some bigger hitters like the Emissary if you want more punch. Neil, Kang and Mei should be able to dish out a decent amount of damage. The crew is generally pretty resilient with armour and hard to kill all over the place. Anyone who can remove scrap efficiently will hurt you - but that's not overly common

This or that choices example makes this pretty clear. I'd certainly not realised this. Makes Rasputina I think considerably better given how easy it is to hand out slow at range.

With the large arachnids (Megarachnids) think they are fantastic. If you go with them early and gobble a scheme marker/ scrap marker having positives on defense is great not just on the offensive. 

I think you are more likely to get a scrap marker gobbled rather than rely on a scheme marker. For this reason I like them in Mei.

You can go down a path for Toni too using either the Union Miner to make a couple scheme markers or the steamfitter. People rag on the steamfitter a bit but I think he's fine. You can charge a construct to heal which is a neat trick.

Hoarcat and Blessed tweaks i agree with. As a Tina player mostly comparing these 2 models side by side it obvious they were needing attention.

I think the +1 cost on the BoD is fine. Stealth to the cats + manipulative helps define its role.

Gunsmiths i think were too good. This change too i think was fair

Overall pretty happy with how everything has landed.

12 hours ago, retnab said:

Remember this is a model with cost+1 health, and the same attack as the crew's melee beater henchman, on a supposed scheme runner.

I don't believe you should consider the Blessed a scheme runner. Its much more flexible than that.

It's very good model for its cost for sure. Probably needs a bump to 8ss at a minimum and I'd still take it in most Rasputina crews.

Everyone has been complaining about the Hoarcat for weeks (myself included). It needs deadly pursuit and for swallow whole to not be so bad (it doesn't even ignore Denise effects). I'm a Raspy player not an Marcus player but I'd pick a gamin +1ss over the cat always.

It just needs a more clearly defined role.

There's always a level of abstraction with these things. I think M3E is all about streamlining. I don't see this as an issue, there will always be things like this - like how does a robot get poison? Thinks don't have to be so literal.

Just watch out however because it's not simply within 8" but instead Aura8", like all auras, you need LoS to the pillar. It couldn't be on the far side of a Height 5 blocking building for example.

If you're using LoS from the pillar, it's height 4, so use that is how I've been playing it. You can see over lots of things at height 4.

I've only played 2 games of M3E so I don't feel overly qualified to comment.

Hoarcat seems pretty bad side by side with the Blessed of December. For an extra 2ss more you get so, so much. Probably a blend of BoD being really good vaue and hoarcat being garbage. 

I don't get the hate on the Steamfitter. I think he's fine. Virtually all of the versatile models are constructs which I also think are in a good place. Discard a tool is a great bonus action I think for a 6ss model. In an M&SU crew you're going to get more out of his Grit ability and then in a Mei, Ramos or Hoff crew you'll be getting more value in other parts of the card. In my most recent game i sent Steamfitter and Envy out on a flank and they were a good team.

I think magical training to get Arcane Reservoir in every crew is pretty much an auto take. I'm not sure if other people view that the same.

I'd have to agree that the hoarcat is not in a good place.

I played a game with Ironsides today (only my 2nd game of M3E). While I was surprised to have seen some big changes in the last update I felt that she was fine. I took Amina & the Captain both against Daschel for Cursed Idols. Admittedly an uphill battle for the strat which was never going to be a great strat for her post recent update.

As I undestand her new grit ability if I punch a guy and miss I can still clock up an Adrenaline with the built in trigger? Managed to get a good amount of Adrenaline but found myself using second wind a lot.

I know this has been said by others before but I think changing the Chain Spear to both 8" projectile / 2" melee would be nice for her. Even 6" range would be workable. 

I can't see myself ever using Insight or Revelation however. Probably would rather hoard the Tome tokens for damage reduction.

On 22 February 2019 at 11:13 PM, Adran said:

If the scheme marker was a terrain marker then the rules tell us that it would have counted as moving through it. (Page 14 place rules).

From the rule book p14 i assume you're reading the final sentance in place:

"If a model begins or ends a Place effect in terrain (pg. @@), it counts as having moved through that terrain."

An ice pillar is impassible so you can't begin 'in terrain.' So in this case starting in B2B I'd say does not allow you to bring it along.

Scheme marker is not terrain either so nothing in the rules to tell us explicitly what to do here. Regardless, I think if you were standing on the scheme marker you'd count as be 'through it' for the purposes of ice skating. Having thought about this further i think i agree that if ice dancer was standing on a scheme marker, being placed off it and then that to have counted as 'moved through' after all.

It's probably worth discussing and agreeing with your opponent before the game. It's a bit weird.

I'm not sure if you'd count begining a place in base to base as 'moved through'. That's a stretch in my book.

Question: Does 'Ice Skating' work for the move part of a charge? If ice dancer charges through a scheme marker (or ice pillar) can i bring this along?

Scooting up a scheme marker is pretty neat. Gives plenty utility in another crew now that Practiced Production is no more. I suppose if you really wanted something with don't mind me in a crew you'd consider a dancer... maybe. I'm actually not sure.

For the same cost you could just grab 2 steam aracnids. Might be a better choice against some masters. Armour +1 and evasive. 4AP vs 2AP.

I'd make a case for the Blessed at 7ss. Deadly pursuit and leap pretty great.

9 hours ago, Rob Lo said:

Sonnia reduces  range of all non close actions by their burning amount for the entire enemy crew anywhere on the board vs Raspy... I dunno, can kinda maybe block things with her 30mm markers which they can also maybe use for cover?

My understanding under the new M3E terrain rules is that because the pillars are blocking they cast a shadow and indeed grant cover. The annoying thing about this of course is that the opponent standing in that sweetspot of outside of 1" but inside the sahow of 3" uses the pillars against your projectile shot. This is of course unless the pillar itself is within 8" for ice mirror, but not is more often the case.

I did find in my game that the opponent simply discarded a card to avoid slow whenever it mattered. Which is fine i guess as there's other ways to hand out slow.

My issue with Ice Pillars is the interaction with Demolitionist. If both abilities occur "at the start" of the models activation, then the controlling model can choose to blow the pillar before taking the slow penalty. This could be addressed by changing the wording on Rasputina's card to be "when a model activates within 1"Aura..." to get around the timing issuse. I think if slow effect was handed out as a hazardous terrain trait instead, there'd be a bunch of models that ignore them and this would be a worse problem

Rasputina's board control space is somewhat similar to Kaeris and all those pyre markers. Raspy is half way between Kaeris and Sonia (but yeh, that's a simplification). Sonia does have a lot going for her I'd have to agree. Shielded seems and Counterspell together seem a bit much. Do I have it right that these pyre markers don't disapear at the end phase of each turn and they're also not demolish-able? Can many enemy models remove pyre markers?

I thought perhaps the medical automaton should be versatile. A bunch of the effects on the card support living models... which aren't super prevalent in a Hoffman crew i would have thought.

Also maybe essence of power. I kinda feel that Soulstone Cache as an upgrade for 2ss is always a better pick than paying 4 + merc tax anywhere else. Would be curios to hear people's pro-EoP stance tabletop experiences. I feel the EoP should at least have a demise ability.

On another note, I just noticed the Silent One doesn't have a melee attack. Lol - this is fun. 

Do I understand that they cannot use Ice Mirror to cast out through an ice pilar if they're engaged because of projectile? I guess you really need SnowStorm's shockwave to push people out of the way. 

I thought initially that I'd like to take 2 in a crew, but if they just get bogged down maybe not. The thought of a crazy super ice pilar list made me smile but perhaps it's a horrible idea.

Did the Silent One ever have a mechanism to help her get out of melee? I don't mind if that's her one weekness - but it's a pretty big handicap. Although they can use soulstones I'm not sure I'd bother spending one on defense or for prevention. Probably a lost cause at that point but I see how it's a pseudo-defensive tech.