hydranixx

100% this, I glue Treasure Map to Anya2 for this very reason. It's basically the equivalent of an extra 5 Walks throughout the game, except those Walks happen in the End-Phase, just before scoring, so you can scoot her around to deny enemy Scheme Markers. I also really like Treasure Map on Botanists (with McCabe2 Relic attached), if Catch & Release is in the pool, and/or if the opponent is bringing a particularly marker-reliant master, provided I can afford the 2ss. Deadly Pursuit allows it to effortlessly score 1-2vp off Catch & Release, and it also becomes a serious threat to marker-reliant masters like Hoffman, Kaeris and so on with the trigger on its Flesh-Eating Spores combining with the Buried Treasure action to rip their markers apart. Buried Treasure also has natural synergy with the Botanist since it will get a grow token and heal when it removes most types of marker, and if you're counter scheming with it you'll get to draw a card if/when you remove enemy Scheme Markers. Treasure Map will often just make your Master completely immune to enemy schemes like Catch & Release and Public Demonstration so if I'm not bringing any Henchmen, I very strongly consider stapling Treasure Map to my Master just to remove those options from the scheme pool. In some games where I want a Henchman, I'll consider putting a Map on each. It's not cheap, but it can be worthwhile to dictate what kinds of schemes your opponent is allowed to take. Outside of that, Flush with Cash is rightfully very popular on Minions. The Once Per Game effect is particularly strong when you cheat for initiative, and it's even more powerful if you end up tying with your opponent and cheating for initiative twice, or even 3 times, since regardless of how many cards you discard, you always get to redraw to your maximum hand size. It's technically possible to cheat 3+ times for initiative, then pitch your remaining cards and get 6 or 7 new ones, but that'd be a one in a million play.

Ancient Technology is not going to be relevant every game - but when it comes up, it can be pretty punishing by pulling cards from your opponent's hand. It's particularly nice against Candy as Maniacal Cackle suggests, but it's also great against Intuition, Regeneration, Looted Supplies, Life of Crime and so forth. Antique Timepiece can be useful for helping other models get value from Relics, or keep passing those Relics around, but don't worry too much about it, Cryptologist can be pretty happy just handing out Relics or using the bonus actions on any of those Relics on himself. In general play, he's deceptively tough as far as Wastrel models go, especially in McCabe2 crews, and Depths of Malifaux is terrific. I'm already interested in playing McCabe on boards with lots of Severe and/or Hazardous, so this guy having Depths is a huge plus. I find the built-in and permanent on his Cursed Translation makes it dangerous to a lot of crews despite its weird damage track, and his melee attack is perfectly respectable and can be hugely threatening since it strip conditions like Focus or Burning from enemies. With a built-in on the first of either of these attacks, he's pretty flexible whether he's attacking friendly or enemy models. I enjoy playing Botanist-heavy McCabe2 crews, and in those crews, Cryptologist can be an important source of generating Scrap and Shielded early on. My preferred order of operations is: Make sure when deploying that one Botanist is within 2" of most of the crew. At some stage, activate Cryptologist and attack that Botanist with Cursed Translation, getting a built-in . The Botanist relents in the duel, takes most likely 1 damage, and then you splash out Shielded +1 to every model (including the Crytologist) within 2" ie almost the entire crew. Attack a different Botanist with Cursed Translation, this time use a for Throw Yer Arm at 'Em to generate a Scrap, again the Botanist relents. It takes +1 damage, and the Cryptologist takes 1 damage as well, but the Shielded covers both. When you remove the Scrap for Treasure Trove, the Botanists gain a grow token and heal the damage that the Cryptologist dealt them. If you don't have a low in hand, you can just go for the scrap with 1ap. TLDR it's a niche model, but when it's good, it's good.

I'd be so down for this, but unironically.

I could believe it. It strikes me that I didn't add anything about using the clock for all four games - but I'm a big fan of it now. Rather than pressuring you to play fast it actually does the opponent, because you have visibility over your own remaining time, so you don't feel guilty for taking 2-3 minutes to ponder what to do. I'll probably pick up a clock for my own IRL games at events.

Hey Explorers, Yesterday I completed my 4th and final game of the Vassal World Series event: Trials of Time, and while (some) of my memory (and notes) are fresh, I thought I'd share my picks and experiences. This was a 4 round single Master, mixed packet event, with mandatory clocks, run via Vassal. Anyway, let the essay begin: Round 1 - Nexus2 vs McCabe2 (Ten Thunders) - Nickdubz My Crew: Nexus One of Many x3, Shambling Nest x2, Botanist x3, Archivist, Nightsilk Creeper, Winston Finnegan Opponent's Crew: McCabe2, Luna, Desper LaRaux, Corpse Curator, Cryptologist, Rough Rider x2, Huckster, Low River Monk Crew Construction: This round hugely emphasized movement and raw AP, so there was no real choice to make - I just had to pick Nexus One of Many with 3 Botanists. Picking the crew above enabled me to efficiently grow my Botanists and then unpack from my corner so that I could dominate the Strategy and score all my scheme points. My Unpack: I position all 3 Botanists within 4" and LoS of the area in which I'll be creating Web Markers, and all Cadmus models within 4" on a Single Nexus One Of Many, near where those Web Markers will be if at all possible. Creeper Unpack - the good unpack - If I have a mid-low : I activate Nightsilk Creeper first, use his free action to Create Web, then use his Web Strand with the trigger on a centrally positioned Nexus One Of Many, ensuring that both webs are within 4" of all 3 Botanists. The Nightsilk Creeper then Slams one of the Web Markers. One other model Slams the second Web to hand out the second grow token. The Stunned and Staggered Nexus One Of Many uses Playthings three times to move itself and all nearby Cadmus models 6" up the board. Archivist unpack - the bad unpack - If I don't have a mid-low : I activate Archivist first, generating a Web Marker, ensuring that it is within 4" of all 3 Botanists, Slam it, then Concentrate. I activate Nightsilk Creeper next, use his free action to Create Web, ensuring that it is within 4" of all 3 Botanists, Slam it, then Concentrate. At some point in time a Nexus One Of Many uses Playthings three times to move itself and all nearby Cadmus models 6" up the board - especially important here so that your Archivist and Nightsilk Creeper are further up the board for turn 2. Gameplay: I took the bottom right deployment. In this game I had a low so I opted for the first unpack, sending 1 Botanist to each flank with a bomb to secure my Strat and Spread VP while everything else in my crew moved up the middle. This unpack is significantly better in my opinion since the Archivist can activate later on in the turn, after being pushed up the board, which lets it position a new Web for the Nightsilk Creeper to jump to on turn 2, and of course lets it attack enemies. I came very close to killing a Rough Rider with the Archivist in this way, only missing out on the kill due to a Black Joker on the damage flip. In response, Desper dived through the crowd to finish the Archivist off and then headed for my deployment, carrying 2 Explosives. My opponent played pretty well all things considered, and used several tricks with McCabe and the Corpse Curator to contest the centre, while launching Desper into my deployment zone, where he scored 3VP all by himself. However, the Ten Thunders just couldn't cope with the amount of AP Nexus2 offers. My Botanists dominated the flanks they were assigned, while the rest of my mob grinded down McCabe's crew, planted their explosives, and I was able to inexorably build my lead turn after turn. I win 8-4 My Schemes: Spread Them Out: 2vp Deliver a Message: 2vp Strategy Points: 4vp Opponent's Schemes: Deliver a Message: 1vp Power Ritual: 1vp Strategy Points: 2vp Thoughts on game: This game all but confirmed to me that Nexus2 in their current state are far too strong and need to be nerfed. They don't require much thinking other than getting your initial unpack right - in some cases you'll have more than twice as wounds in your crew as your opponent does, with some of the most efficient healing and damage available, backed up by Parasites which apply massive pressure whenever they're on key models. Nick played pretty well, and I played pretty mediocre, and it... just didn't matter... since Cadmus is so strong. The discrepancy in wounds, AP and damage was just too much for him to overcome so me playing ok and him playing well kind of... just didn't matter. Round 2 - Maxine2 vs Sonnia2 - Khyodee My Crew: Maxine2, Orville Agassiz, Harata Ngaatoro, Beau Fishbocker, Kiya Manimi, Intrepid Emissary, Calypso, Dr Beebe. Opponent's Crew: Sonnia2 with Lead Lined Coat, Purifying Flame, Spelleater x2, Guild Mage, Pale Rider, Guardian. Crew Construction: Maxine2 is very strong in theory on Recover Evidence, since her keyword is full of 2" melee to control Evidence markers, and because they heal really easily. Seeing I was up against Sonnia, I stacked the crew full of brawlers, and aimed to get to melee as soon as possible. I was slightly concerned Kyle might take 2 Lead Lined Coats, since it stops Mass of Tentacle trigger from pushing and damaging enemies, so I was pleasantly surprised to see only 1, and to see it only on Sonnia. Gameplay: I was given the left deployment. With Harata declaring Ngeri on Haka to switch off enemy flips, I bubbled up just past the middle of the map near the bridge with most of my crew turn 1, clustering around Orville. Sonnia wasn't able to ignore the flips from Orville's Concealment, so couldn't land a hit. Late in the turn, Calypso rolled right into the Guild crew, tying up the Spelleaters and pushing models around with Mass of Tentacles, plinking them for some chip damage. However, being unable to cheat with Sonnia turn 1 meant that Kyle had sculpted a godly control hand, so when he won initiative turn 2, he went first with Sonnia. Without Ngeri protecting my crew, she dropped several nuclear missiles, killing Orville, Harata, Beau, and half-healthing Maxine all in a single activation before I could so much as blink. In doing so, 3 Evidence markers were placed in the centre of the board - which wouldn't be easy for the Guild crew to capture as they were so deep in their own deployment - but I was 3 models and 3 activations down, and Kiya and Emissary are slooooooooowwwwww without Beau to help push them. Shortly after this, Maxine was put to 0 Health by the Pale Rider, triggering her Demise. This gave her some free movement to reposition down near the boxes just across the river from the Rider. From there, she used Converging Ley Lines to cross the river, and dove into the Pale Rider and Sonnia. With Kyle's hand depleted by removing half my crew, he wasn't able to protect the rider, which succumbed to Injured, Mass of Tentacles and a lucky Severe damage flip killing it efficiently. Meanwhile, Calypso and Dr Beebe continued slowly chewing through the Guild standing before them, healing themselves as they went. The continual healing and Mass of Tentacle chip damage was telling by mid turn 3, with the Guardian and Purifying Flame dead, Calypso still alive (barely) and Maxine still healthy - and by this stage Kiya and the Emissary had caught up to help pick up markers and finish off models. In the extreme late game, Kyle popped down a Scheme Marker and killed a model to secure a Dig Their Graves reveal, though since all my evidence markers were left half way across the board, wasn't able to score anything for the strat. I win 7-1 My Schemes: Vendetta (Dr Beebe on a Spelleater): 2vp Let them Bleed: 2vp Strategy Points: 3vp Opponent's Schemes: Dig Their Graves: 1vp Vendetta (Spelleater on Intrepid Emissary): 0vp Strategy Points: 0vp Thoughts on game: Mobility and good melee wins Recover Evidence! I genuinely thought I was done for after Sonnia picked up 3 models at the start of turn 2, before I had activated anything. But, Recover Evidence only really rewards you for killing models if you have the ability to pick up the markers they leave behind. Half of my 2" melee models died before doing anything but the remaining 3 still proved more than capable of controlling Evidence Markers and locking enemies in melee - all the while Calypso and Dr Beebe more or less solo'd the rest of Kyle's crew. They didn't kill anything quickly, but they grinded down most of his crew periodically over the course of several turns, while healing themselves, picking up an Evidence Marker, and scoring both sides of Vendetta for a tidy haul of 3vp between them. This game is another example of why you see 2 Lead Lined Coats in almost every single Guild list. It would probably have been a completely different game had the Pale Rider purchased one, as it would have taken only about half the damage I inflicted upon it with Maxine in the turn I dived it, instead continuing to stack Fate Tokens for the Irreducible damage so desperately needed to take down Calypso, and offering a meaningful way to break out of the deployment zone and collect Evidence Markers. Round 3 - Maxine2 vs Nexus2 - Radek Note - The Strategy in this pool was replaced with Covert Operation as GG3 was released partway through the event. My Crew: Maxine2, Orville Agassiz, Harata Ngaatoro, Beau Fishbocker, Calypso, Dr Beebe, Mr Ngaatoro, Vernon and Welles Opponent's Crew: Nexus One of Many x3, Shambling Nest x2, Botanist x3, Archivist, Nightsilk Creeper, Winston Finnegan Crew Construction: I knew Radek would pick Nexus2 as he's been soloing them for quite some time now, but I didn't want to play the mirror match; Nexus2 vs Nexus2 just sounds awful, even if it would be the best option. Instead, I landed on Maxine2. As she targets WP, I have a way to avoid Nexus' Df trigger. I brought in Vernon and Welles to add additional WP defense, as surviving the endless Drain Life pressure that Nexus unleashes is absolutely pivotal to surviving in the match up. The plan was to combine Vernon and Welles aura with Orville's Concealment aura to reduce the efficacy of Drain Life and Inaudible Whisper, and in the timing allowed, combine this further with Ngeri to make it almost impossible for any Nexus to land hits on my keyword models. I also brought in Mr Ngaatoro, figuring that the abundance of 8ss and cheaper models around him would give him plenty of options on his Bully ability, and since he can switch off Soulstones and Triggers if he gets near an enemy with Poison - which he himself can hand out - all of which is great tech to take down Nexus. Obey is also the only way of dislodging a Botanist if it gets in an awkward position, so the inclusion of Mr Ngaatoro gave me at least one option to reach out and meaningfully threaten them. Gameplay: I had considered several (and practised a couple) of different unpacks from the north deployment in which my wall of flip models carefully move forward, staying in each other's auras, covered by Harata's Haka. However, it would mean surrendering the middle of the map for the entire first turn, letting Nexus set up and move around me too easily, which I deemed unacceptable. So, I aggressively moved forward with Vernon and Welles just shy of the Centreline, discarding a card to place a Scheme Marker either in preparation for Leave Your Mark, or to bait Radek to come try deny it. I planned to move Orville next to stack their auras, and thirdly bring Harata's Haka aura to support. Immediately following Vernon and Welles activation, however, Winston used Fortune's Favour twice to move forward and stack his deck, then cast Dirigible Ride to fling Vernon and Welles 4" towards his crew, and with a 50mm model, that's a huge distance. He ended up touching a Cactus, completely isolated from the rest of my crew. Fair play - that was the perfect counter to my castle, it was a massive psychological blow, and I would spend the rest of the turn and basically all my cards trying to keep Vernon and Welles alive and salvage things. At the same time, Radek poured cards and AP to inefficiently try to kill Vernon and Welles before they could escape, including Black Jokering a crucial flip. It was a very, very strange opening turn, since the start of turn 2 saw Vernon and Welles still alive (though with only 1 wound) and most of my crew more or less where I wanted them to be. Plus, not all of Radek's Botanists were grown up. I pulled Vernon and Welles back into range of Orville, healed them up, abused Harata's Distraction aura to auto-bury Winston with, killed the Nightsilk Creeper, and felt like I could still make a game of this. However, by using Focus and a Soulstone to get a plus flip to counter my stacking auras, one of the Nexus kids sniped out Orville, effectively halving my defenses. Orville dying was pretty much the turning point of the turn, as the Shambling Nests were now in my crew, and I started failing the plethora of Simple Duels thrown at me. Vernon and Welles died shortly afterwards, leaving me completely exposed to the unbridled fury of the Nexus kids, who were in good positions and had saved Focus on them. By the middle of turn 3, the damage and Parasites were stacking up. Although I had inflicted a lot of damage on Radek's crew, there were just far too many wounds to get through - plus their healing is extremely efficient. My Soulstones were gone, and my crew was now being removed wholesale. The writing was on the wall with Orville dying, and although I managed to secure a couple of points before the game ended, I was never going to come close. I lose 3-7 My Schemes: Leave Your Mark: 1vp Bait and Switch: 0vp Strategy Points: 2vp Opponent's Schemes: Leave Your Mark: 2vp Breakthrough: 2vp Strategy Points: 3vp Thoughts on game: It's fitting that Radek, the same player I spanked 8-2 in the last tournament when I played Nexus2, picked up Nexus2 and came back with a vengeance to curb-stomp me 7-3 with them 😂 Is this another game confirming Nexus is far too strong and need to be nerfed, or was this just the result of me making a single (albeit fairly big) mistake and the game snowballing from there? Probably both. Sending Vernon and Welles so far forward so early was a massive blunder, as I ended up having to react to the catastrophe of them being ~6" further forward than I intended instead of playing out the rest of the turn as I planned to. My castle was eventually restored, but the resources I spent it were dearly needed to pressure Nexus with Maxine late turn 1 / early turn 2 as I originally intended. Looking back at the game, though, I'm not sure trying to stack auras was ever going to completely work - if at any point Haka was down, a single Nexus with Focus could easily scalpel out Orville. Even if I had Haka up, with Drain Life being Stat 6 and Orville's WP a mere 4, sustained attacks would most likely hit even through several modifiers. Maxine was probably not the right pick. She certainly isn't very good at the scheme pool, so I probably would have had more success with Anya or Nexus. How would I actually beat Nexus? So, scheme pool aside, how do Explorers actually beat Nexus2? Sadly, and unironically, I think the correct answer is by also picking Nexus2... Nexus2 is really well placed to counter an enemy Nexus2 - Drain Life avoids enemy Nexus' Df trigger, can hit Botanists (who are pretty much doomed as soon as they get a Parasite) and Drain Life has a stat advantage over most of the rest of the crew. The Archivist's bonus action would also be great for nullifying the plethora of non-,non- attacks. Plus, you can actually compete with the insane AP Nexus offers since you'll have that as well. When I was pondering if I would make it a Nexus duel, I also thought to myself that Spell Eaters, as mediocre as they usually are, seem like they'd be really good in the mirror match. They strip enemy suits in all opposed duels, meaning that they can freely target enemy Nexus models without fear of their Df trigger, plus they get their Drain Magic trigger built-in for free since that is built into Nexus' duel Df total. They'd also never get hit by Drain Life's or Inaudible Whisper's Parasite triggers. If I had my time again, I would definitely go with Nexus2 myself, bringing 2-3 Spell Eaters, 2 Botanists (3 is almost always correct, but I think they're really weak to enemy Nexus so 2 feels right in the mirror match up), and of course, the Archivist. I'd probably avoid Nightsilk Creeper since his abysmal WP would make it easy prey for the enemy. ...it's kind of depressing to think that the best way (and, maybe the only way) to beat a good Nexus2 player in Explorers is to also play Nexus2, but with them being as strong as they are right now, I think that's just the way it is. Round 4 - McCabe2 vs Reva1 - CapShin Note - The Strategy and Schemes in this pool were replaced, as GG3 was released partway through the event, to: Flank Deployment - Guard the Stash Secret Meetup, Load 'Em Up, Public Demonstration, In Your Face, Set the Trap The building used Advanced building rules, so models could not be Placed inside if there were outside, or vice versa. My Crew: McCabe2, Luna, Huckster, Cryptologist, Hopeful Prospect, Calypso, Dr Beebe, Botanist x3 Opponent's Crew: Reva1 with The Whisper, Corpse Candle x2, Dead Rider, Bete Noire, Shieldbearer, Draugr, Restless Spirit, Gravedigger. Crew Construction: When I first read the scheme In Your Face, I knew I had to find a way to break it, and this is the closest I've come to doing just that. The list has 7 6ss models, all capable of scoring the end point of the scheme, and your opponent can't score the Reveal against you. At the same time, the Huckster and Botanist line up gave me great options for scoring Set the Trap, Public Demonstration and even Secret Meetup was a possibility, and McCabe is the only model which is available for the opponent to score Public Demonstration from. Gameplay: I took the lower left deployment, and split my Botanists up, one going north and one going south (with a Faded Mirror) outside of the mausoleum, while the third carried a Phantasmal Mask into the building itself to contest stash markers, accompanied by my Cryptologist, Calypso, and McCabe himself, with the Prospect and Huckster trailing in the doorway behind them, Luna left behind. Across from them, Reva's crew handed out Focus courtesy of Blasphemous Ritual and also elected to split up, with the Dead Rider and Gravedigger heading south, the Restless Spirit going west, the rest of the Revenant crew piling into the mausoleum directly and Bete Noire burying herself. We began trading blows just above the pool of blood (which was Hazardous, Concealing, Dense and Severe!). Despite having impressive stats and handing out an aura of -1 to enemy Attack Actions, Botanists are vulnerable to ranged attacks, and to Jokers. This poor botanist suffered both, as Reva hit it with Feed on Grief from outside of the 5" aura range, and Red Jokered the damage flip. CapShin continued piling on the pressure with endless flips courtesy of Blaze of Glory, and killed my poor plant shortly thereafter - a massive blow since I had picked it for Public Demonstration, though McCabe did killed the Draugr around the same time. Calypso hopped onto Reva and swung wildly, but her periodic healing and shielding kept her healthy throughout. In the meanwhile, the Dead Rider had made its way down to the southern most stash marker with the Gravedigger, and, deeming the Df7 Botanist with Faded Mirror too annoying to deal with (correctly!) entered the mausoleum from the south east entrance late in turn 2, charging and nuking the Hopeful Prospect down to 1 Health, preparing for a big turn 3. The southern Botanist and Gravedigger would spend two turn trading blows. I was happy with this, as I had more control on the other stash markers, so just tying up the Gravedigger meant he was denied strat points. Eventually the Botanist did dispatch his foe, proving once and forever that Plants > Zombies. Bete Noire appeared from the Corpse of the Draugr and almost killed the Cryptologist. However, my Huckster and Calypso could both ignore her Df trigger, so once she had committed, I dogpiled her with both, using Mass of Tentacles to push her within 3" of McCabe before finally killing her to secure a point for In Your Face. The Dead Rider revelled in death, declaring Soulfire, Injuring almost my entire crew, and killing the Hopeful Prospect, before diving onto my home objective. McCabe managed to Stun it in preparation for the next turn, but it still managed to one shot my Huckster on the way in. In response, Calypso killed the Shieldbearer, and McCabe pushed the Dead Rider off of the Stash marker. I was already ahead on the strat at this point, and my Botanist in the south was able to freely meander his way to CapShin's home stash marker to claim my 3rd Strat point and seal my In Your Face end game vp. However, Capshin had deviously positioned enough Corpse Markers and a Scheme Marker near McCabe to score the end game vp for both Set the Trap and Load 'Em Up, and used a trigger to push Reva away from the Botanist that had spent most of the game camping up north, and which had run inside the mausoleum to engage her to try to score Public Demonstration at the last moment. I win 5 - 3 My Schemes: In Your Face: 2vp Public Demonstration (all 3 Botanists): 0vp Strategy Points: 3vp Opponent's Schemes: Set the Trap:1vp Load 'Em Up: 1vp Strategy Points: 1vp Thoughts on game: This was a very, very difficult game, because CapShin played very, very well. On paper, I had all the advantages. It was extremely difficult for him to score against my crew, and fairly easy for me to secure In Your Face. My crew was full of tech that countered his crew; Grim Feast and Treasure Trove to pick up Corpses, a way to Stun Dead Rider/Bete Noire and two models that ignore Df triggers outright to take them head on, and plenty of cheap, durable models to contest and control the Stash markers. Despite this, my over-reliance on Botanists to not only score VP, but also to deny VP and to try tie up enemies, meant that when the first one died on turn 2, it was a massive blow to me. Looking back, I think it would have been better to pick Public Demonstration with 1-2 Botanists, Calypso or Dr Beebe, and possibly the Huckster. While I continue to enjoy playing Botanists with McCabe, they are susceptible to randomly dying to Jokers and occasionally to sustained pressure, and the entire game plan can come crashing down with them when they do. When you bring 3 Botanists, you have very little damage output in those 18ss. That's completely fine with Nexus2 since they bring damage in spades, but McCabe only has 3 AP, and he needs to be very careful with where he commits himself, so at times you can feel like your crew has literally no damage output - luckily Calypso and Dr Beebe could pick up the slack and carry the DPS front. At 14ss out-of-keyword, however, and being vulnerable to any anti-armour in the game, I don't think they're going to be a frequent hire. Final thoughts of the event: I ended the event at 3 wins and 1 loss, and a decent differential of +8. Masters' new titles were picked 7/8 times, with Reva1 being the lone original title selection. McCabe continues to prove hard to play for me - even though he is a great master, it's just infinitely easier to pick up Nexus2 and steamroll people. Speaking of, Nexus2 is, in my view, way too strong already, and looks to be even stronger in GG3. Of course, the scheme pool and map plays a part, but Nexus is fantastic at 3 out of the 4 strats in GG3, and is only realistically weak in 1 Scheme, being Assassinate. Even then, killing even just 1 Nexus through 6+ Soulstones is extremely hard if they position well. In the Explorer vs Explorer match up, it feels like if you do not pick Nexus2, and your opponent does, you're almost immediately behind. None of the other masters appear to have a good match up into Nexus.

Perdita is an absolute monster at Cursed Objects, so this does seem like a tough one. Even grown up Botanists will fold quickly to any kind of sustained pressure by her. One consolation is if it's Perdita2 and she summons, they come in with Cursed Objects on them. If it were me, I'd probably try build a Lord Cooper list with two Crypsis Corps to maximise the Concealing and Stealth advantages, with a nasty melee deterrent or two to keep Francisco honest, and then see if you can pick off some of the flimsy Family models to secure your Cursed Object vp. If you can at least maintain parity with Perdita on the Strat, you should be ok, since Cooper's dogs score in that scheme pool a lot better than her. If you do end up picking Ivan, the Concealing aura you have everywhere will be useful, but with the amount of Focus that Family puts out, I don't think it'll keep you completely safe.

It's probably best to consider your opponent's faction and possible master. Do you know who you're against yet?

If you end up taking Ivan, be careful of summoning, since the summons come in with Cursed Object tokens on them. Lord Cooper 1 with both dogs looks really well suited to handling a pool like that.

I've lost once to Asami summoning Obsidian Oni to blow me off the board by end of turn 2. I think summoning more than one is wrong, irrespective of the intention of the rule or not. The keyword is already oppressive enough. It would be down to 1 or 2 Soulstones, depending on the variation of the build after the change in costs (ie Meredith + Eyes and Ears or another 8 cost model plus tax like Winston). I don't think spending only 4ss to show up with 13AP and 37 Wounds in their current form brings them back in line enough. You'd just cut a Botanist or that 8 cost model from the list and still absolutely crush people with the same build.

They could probably also have their wound count reduced to 6 and Shambling nests' wound count reduced to 6 as well. They'd still have 30 wounds just for turning up, but at least it's not the current 37 wounds.

There's so many ways Wyrd could bring Nexus2 back in line. My preference: Remove the built-in trigger on their Df. Remove the built-in trigger on Drain Life OR add a stipulation that this trigger may only be declared Once Per Turn per crew, so only one Nexus may declare it. Add an Ability that reads: When this model activates, if another model sharing its name has already Activated this turn, it gains Slow.

Did you include round 3 where Radek piloting Nexus2 beat my Maxine2 7-3 into this list of wins? Can't see it above. I added some specific tech pieces to try reach parity with Nexus2 but still got demolished pretty easily. I guess that probably adds to the 'complacency' factor you refer to; I counter picked fairly well against Radek's Nexus2, he didn't need to counter pick against my Maxine at all, and he still absolutely steamrolled me.

Very quickly. The core objective if you bring 2+ Botanist is to hand out two grow Tokens on turn 1, ideally before either of them activate. They're just not impressive without 2 tokens. Such lists run more of a positional / attrition based plan so they seldom need to table the opponent, so it's pretty rare that I'll hand out the Timeworn Blade until turn 3/4. Instead, over the course of turn 1 and 2, I aim to hand out 2x Phantasmal Masks and 2x Faded Mirrors. Of course, if the opponent has models that really demand a Timeworn Blade answer, then I'll change it up and equip the sword earlier. Correct. If you luck out and have aof about 6-10 available for the Huckster, that's ideal, but that won't come up very often, so in some cases I did default to going for the trigger on Take what you can carry. It's not great though, and I think going forward, I'm building in more Scrap generation. For instance, If you hire the Corpse Curator and/or Calypso and Dr Beebe, then you have multiple triggers to generate scrap as that'll save McCabe an Action. Jessie is.... ok. I've used her before as part of the scrap engine. The big issue as you've pointed out already is you need another Marker, plus she still needs to hit a 6+ on her TN. Outside of that, she's also pretty weak unless you're very interested in removing enemy Markers. I think I really, really like McCabe for the In Your Face Scheme in GG3 The current build I'm working on for In Your Face pools is: McCabe2 Luna 3 Botanists Huckster Dr Beebe + Calypso OR Corpse Curator Either 14ss or 22ss remaining to season to taste, but only purchasing models of cost 6 or below. For instance, in the game I'm playing later this week against Reva in a fairly positional-based pool with In Your Face, I've taken: McCabe2 Luna 3 Botanists Huckster Dr Beebe Calypso Cryptologist Hopeful Prospect 4ss cache @Beta

Some of the new strats and schemes will need gametime to get a feel for but they do look exciting from an Explorers perspective. A couple of the schemes punish Henchmen, and punish models of cost 8 or above, so it's possible we'll see more value from hiring cheaper models play more of a role - which is perfect for our plethora of great 6ss or 7ss Enforcers, and of course, our beautiful Botanists. At a first glance, I suspect that Carve a Path will play out much the same as Break The Line. Which is to say, if you own and play Nexus2, you should almost definitely pick them, hire 2-3 Botanists, and have a massive strat advantage going into most match ups. Outside of that, between Covert Operation and so many positioning based schemes in the season, I think Treasure Map is going to be a clutch upgrade.

Could be, but that seems very, very, specific, and you'd need the chosen enemy model to be in range of another relevant enemy model and still hit the trigger, so it also seems fairly unlikely to actually come up.

Could be true for Daeva, but it feels more like an accident than intended for Turncoat (the Obey). It even says any actions generated from Turncoat receive a which makes me think it should work on a Charge.

Correct. This is partially why I think they went too far removing Umbra from Ivan1. It's really weird having different keywords on the same master.

It's true that they shine best with those masters, particularly McCabe and Nexus, and yeah, agree that they're terrible without 2 Growth Tokens. I would basically only hire them if I know I can get to at least 2 Growth Tokens turn 1, ideally as a by product of just unpacking the rest of the crew.

Do you find them being pushed off the Leyline to be much of a problem? Especially when you have to come closer to the opponent to claim your 3rd or 4th Leyline? Since I've started playing Botanists, I've become allergic to hiring any other model as a Leylines runner - that Planted Roots with Df7 (or effective Df8 with McCabe2) is just so hard to ignore.

I think you can offer a brief summary without delving too deep, and based on your audience's reaction, pivot to another direction: "This old guy here channels his own life force to power up his attacks, and when he dies, uses undead husks to reanimate himself. Every time he does this, he loses more and more of his soul though. He's also a bit sketchy lore-wise, as he's known to capture/kill people to serve as those dead husks. But, don't worry, if that's not really to your liking, there's another 40+ masters to pick from. For example, here look at this goofy green dude that captains an airship and flies around dropping pianos on people"

Totally agree with this. I play 2-3 Botanists every time I pick Nexus2, and when they're not scoring me pretty much every VP I get, they do a great job at denying the enemy from scoring theirs, tying things in melee, getting in the way of Charge lanes, Staggering, Injuring and/or pushing enemies around with their attacks, and like you say, their trigger to Remove Markers at range can be an extremely powerful part of their kit which I'm starting to appreciate more and more as I get them on the table.

Not really, at least not on a strat level alone. He used to be strong enough and tough enough you just pick him and faceroll most opponents, but since his nerf, his kit is much more reasonable now lol. At the moment, in my opinion, he's a great pick if the board is flooded with Forests/Fog etc so you can really push that Ungentlemanly Affairs advantage, or when you see Schemes that really work for his kit, but outside of that he's just ok. I have tinkered with Ivan2 a bit as well, but a lot of the mechanics of his kit just don't work since they take place in the Start Phase (so you can't make an enemy model Charge, and can't get the free attack from Made to Kill with your Daeva, as those things can only happen in the Activation Phase) - plus most of Ivan2's actual actions are situational at best - so, unfortunately, I think he's pretty close to unplayable till they fix him, which is a real pity since I love what his kit is trying to do. It's interesting you say you dislike the two Strats that place Concealing terrain - I really thought Ivan's keyword would appreciate the ability to just get free plus flips while running the strat, and Eva seems great for both on paper. Since Malifaux Burns dropped, with the raw power level that it introduced across so much of the game I worry that the keyword is neither tough enough nor killy enough to endure 5 turns of Turf War. For Leylines, while Nocturnes are plenty quick, they're made of paper so anything in the game will kill them, or just push them off the Leyline, so you're playing with fire if they're your Leyline runner. I think Ivan can support a Botanist well enough by feeding it Shadow Markers that it's always worth spending 1ss more to bring one of those instead. That said, these are just my opinions based on my experiences - if you're having success with Ivan, in any Strat, that's awesome, and more power to you!

We're probably going to see some changes when the new GG3 season goes live, but at the time of writing, this is my general approach: For Turf War, I rate Maxine2. She just has a lot of sustainability and good damage output to happily trade blows with enemy crews and will usually come out on top. I think Jedza is very viable in Turf War too, but I don't own or play Seeker. For Symbols, I rate McCabe or Cooper. Both have very fast models and models with By Your Side / Secret Passage etc. I might also consider Anya2 if the board enables her to seal off Symbols with Drudges and Geodes, as long as the rest of the scheme pool is good for her. For Leylines, I rate McCabe2 with multiple Botanists. They're one of the safest Leyline runners in the game, and they can push enemies on 2 different triggers to deny enemy Leylines. McCabe2 can push enemies off Leylines and support his Botanists while he's doing it. For Break the Line, it's almost always Nexus2 as they're just extremely powerful at it, especially if the opponent has no access to Don't Mind Me. Scheme-wise: For a very killy pool, I'd lean classic Maxine2 or go for a very tanky McCabe2 build with Emissary, Sidir etc. I imagine Seeker can thrive in such a pool as well. I don't usually like picking Cooper into every killy pool since his best keyword models often give up very easy Vendetta/Let Them Bleed points - but he is great with Hidden Martyrs, Assassinate and Death Beds (strat depending). For schemey pools, sure, McCabe is a good pick, and I'd usually start hiring with Desper, a Huckster and 2+ Botanists. In such pools, I also like Anya2 as well since she has plenty of ways to Drop your own Scheme Markers, remove/deny enemy Scheme markers, and her Drudges can completely change a game. That said, she can find it difficult to compete for some of the Strats, so I'm very picky when it comes to selecting her. There's also a few schemes that automatically make me think of taking specific models to achieve them since they're just so good at them, sometimes so much I'll pick the keyword that allows me to best support those models if it suits the strat, such as: Detonate Charges: Huckster, Winston Finnegan, Austera & Twigge, Anya2. Research Mission & Death Beds: Huckster, Corpse Curator. Breakthrough: Anya2. Depending on the deployment, she can completely invalidate this scheme for your opponent. Hidden Martyrs: Artemis + Ullr, Calypso + Orville. Botanist + x. Treasure Map can be really good here too. Vendetta: Dr Beebe, Crypsis Corps, Austera & Twigge, Machinist (surprisingly good since the rest of the keyword can't be ignored, and he has 12" gun with easy focus). Catch & Release: Botanist with Treasure Map, especially in a McCabe2 list. Bait & Switch: Sand Worm - I don't play Basse, but I frequently bring the Worm out of keyword to help deny Bait & Switch. Assassinate: Intrepid Emissary, McCabe2; Extended Reach, lots of Shielded, and making enemy -1 stat to their attacks makes him tough as nails. Cooper1; Laugh Off, Armour and his rifle are all premium for scoring and denying it.

With GG2 soon (presumably) to change to GG3, it's hard to know what the right keyword to invest in would be. However, if you were to just look at it from a GG2 perspective, I'd pick Maxine or McCabe. Maxine is relatively flexible and her keyword is durable, and reliable. The card quality mechanics that EVS offers means you always have a chance, even in match ups where your opponent puts you under extreme Control Hand pressure. One advantage to picking Maxine is that she's usually comfortable playing exclusively within her own keyword, so you don't have to collect a lot of models to do well. Optional Versatile/OOK hires for Maxine: You might like to have access to the Intrepid Emissary for some brawly match ups and when Assassinate is in the pool, or Vernon & Welles to help with your scheming and to pressure opponents with their Glimpse the Void trigger (which is very dangerous to enemies within Harata's Distraction aura). I also quite like hiring a Sand Worm with Maxine too on some boards. But, none of these 3 models are necessary to playing Maxine well. McCabe is extremely versatile, and his keyword has a lot of special tech in it that helps you counter most of the nastiest things in the game an opponent can throw at you. Once you get your positioning right, you'll also have a decent amount of card draw coming in most activations to help power your plan up. The keyword is pretty unforgiving though, so give yourself time to make mistakes - it'll probably take quite a few games before you feel that you're doing most things right most of the time. Optional Versatile/OOK hires for McCabe: Botanists, Botanists, Botanists - particularly if you like the look of McCabe2. Luckily you get 3 in one box, because in some games you'll want to hire all 3. You might also want the Emissary if you're feeling like you really need to dissuade Assassinate, but it's not a high priority hire (or purchase). In the longer term, there's a looooooot of cool things McCabe can do with out-of-keyword Minions of all varieties, so if you end up collecting other keywords, you'll find reasons to bring in some of their Minions from time to time too.

Hey Explorers, I've just completed my 6th and final game of the Vassal World Series event: Trials of Fate, and while (some) of my memory is fresh, I thought I'd share my picks and experiences. This was a 6 round GG2 event, which allowed Double Masters, run via Vassal. If you'd like to see the maps we played on, you can download the player's pack from this page (although, note that round 5's map had to be changed to a pretty hostile map due to a glitch on the original map:) Anyway, let the essay begin: Round 1 Wedge Deployment - Symbols of Authority Vendetta, Assassinate, Death Beds, Let Them Bleed, Bait & Switch Lord Cooper1 vs McCabe2 (Explorer's). My Crew: Lord Cooper1, 3x Runaways, Malisaurus Rex, Model 9, Artemis, Ullr, Hopeful Prospect, Austera and Twigge. Opponent's Crew: McCabe2, Luna, Sidir, Desper with Flush with Cash, Botanist with Flush with Cash, 2x Crypsis Corps. Crew Construction: I built a fairly standard Lord Cooper1 build. When building Lord Cooper crews, I heavily prioritise non-Minion Apex models to maximise Ullr's By Your Side targets, and optimise the effects of Artemis' Intimidating Roar on my own models. Although McCabe has good options for ignoring Armour, Model 9 is usually mobile enough to avoid the most dangerous areas of the board, is a very important node for Ullr, and can use Masks of all varieties for great value so I still wanted to include him. Knowing that Austera and Twigge is great at sniping Luna, for scoring Vendetta and helping with Bait & Switch, I added her to the build, and rounded it out with a Hopeful Prospect, which is a very useful model for Apex for a variety of well-known reasons. Schemes: Vendetta: 2vp, and Bait and Switch: 2vp vs Assassinate: 0vp, and Vendetta: 0vp I win 8-3 Thoughts on game: When I was asked to activate first in turn 1, I used Herald to shuffle Austera forward into range of Luna, so that in the first activation of the game, she was able to immediately kill Luna with Focus and Walk back to safety. With Luna dead so early, the upgrade engine slows down significantly. A massive part of any game with McCabe is assessing if Luna can be killed early, because if she dies before activating, it's extremely difficult to catch up - as was the case in this game. Apex is incredible on Symbols, incredible on Wedge Deployment, and really likes seeing Vendetta & Assassinate, so this was a match made in heaven. Predatory Instinct and Adversary means you're almost always ahead on the attack, which is where you want your AP to go while moving into position for claiming those Symbols. The combination of By Your Side on Ullr, Artemis having Nimble, and Model9 being so quick and good at moving around combat means Apex remains my go to pick for Symbols if the pool, map and faction match up is good. Round 2 Flank Deployment - Corrupted Ley Lines Detonate Charges, Assassinate, Hidden Martyrs, Let Them Bleed, Spread Them Out Lord Cooper1 vs Ophelia2 My Crew: Lord Cooper1, 3x Runaways, Malisaurus Rex, Model 9, Artemis, Ullr, Hopeful Prospect, Botanist with Flush with Cash. Opponent's Crew: Ophelia2, 3x Young Lacroix, Sammy, Rami, Francois, Raphael with Inferiority Complex, Lacroix Raider, Bo Peep. Crew Construction: I didn't feel like I needed to deviate heavily from my round 1 list, since Artemis and Ullr are a fantastic pairing for Hidden Martyrs, Bayou sometimes struggle with Armour (so Model 9 felt right) and Rex's 2" reach and Terrifying 12 can be a big deal for Bayou's low WP, plus he can push models around which is very powerful in Ley Lines. However, with no easy Vendetta or Luna for Austera to prey upon, and with capturing Ley Lines being so important, I subbed her out for a Botanist to get some Planted Roots goodness. Schemes: Hidden Martyrs: 2vp, and Let Them Bleed: 1vp. vs Assassinate: 1vp, and Hidden Martyrs: 1vp. I win 6-5 Thoughts on game: In this game I experimented with Cooper1 on Ley Lines, even though he's not particularly good at this strategy, because the rest of the pool was very good for him and map was reasonable. I usually like a crew that can support Botanists well for Ley Lines, since Planted Roots is so important to secure your Ley Lines, so I usually lean towards McCabe or Nexus. However, in this game, I turned two Runaways into Corpses and Soulstones with Cooper (one for one of their bonus actions) to grow my Botanist by 2 Grow Tokens by turn 2 which feels ok since turn 1 he's just capturing the home Ley Line anyway. It's a decent unpack with Apex for Ley Lines, but it doesn't feel as efficient as McCabe or Nexus, and since Cooper1 himself doesn't have a way to push enemies, he remains a fringe pick for Ley Lines, so I doubt I'll pick him for it again in a hurry. Ophelia2 is very interesting, and can really push the stat advantage - at one stage she had Rami launching stat7 or stat8 nukes that ignores LoS, which almost one shot my Botanist running the Ley Line and killed Artemis next to it. Finishing off the Botanist with other high stat attacks, the lodestone hopped to Lord Cooper, who was forced to Walk 3 times and have no bonus action just to secure my third Ley Line, which feels awful. I inadvertently gave my opponent Hidden Martyrs by trying to play around the obvious target (the Raider, right in my lines) and then I killed Sammy, who was the other target, yielding my opponent a vp for it anyway. It was a classic case of outplaying oneself, and a lesson that sometimes the heads up play where you just remove an enemy model, even if it offers up Martyrs, is sometimes correct, because you might just deny both points in one turn. This game also showed just how little control of the game I really had, as my opponent had last activation of the game, and all he needed was to not flip Black Joker on damage when attacking his own model to draw the game - of course, he flipped Black Joker, because bad things happen, but it really should have been a draw at best for me. Lord Cooper's just not cut out for Leylines, so I'll take limping to a 1 point win as a massive victory for him. Round 3 Standard Deployment - Turf War Detonate Charges, Vendetta, Catch and Release, Spread Them Out, Bait and Switch McCabe2 vs Kaeris2 My Crew: McCabe2, Luna, Desper, Sandworm, 3x Botanists, Huckster with Flush with Cash. Opponent's Crew: Kaeris2 with Magical Training (I think), Eternal Flame, 2x Firebranded (1 with Magical Training), Deacon, Carlos, Elijah. Crew Construction: I built this crew to apply maximum stat pressure to Kaeris' crew, while having huge interaction potential and obscene movement, in spite of the map being drenched in Severe and having plenty of Blocking terrain. I'm a big fan of Sandworm in Bait and Switch, as it can easily deny the second point. I figured that I wasn't going to be able to kill a lot (though the Sandworm was available to potentially help kill things if in the right position) but I could get around the map efficiently, pin the opponent in his half, and score most of my points - in theory. Schemes: Detonate Charges: 1vp and Catch and Release: 1vp. vs Detonate Charges: 2vp, Bait and Switch: 1vp. We tie 5-5 Thoughts on game: Loading up the Botanists with Artefact upgrades makes them almost unkillable to conventional attacks (as they're Df7, Wp6, and reduce nearby enemy attacks by -1), so after doing this I took control of the entire map. At one stage I had claimed all 5 Turf War markers through sheer AP advantage, and not one of my opponent's models ever crossed the centreline of the map. However, as I learned the hard way in Turf War, it's not enough to have supreme mobility and be almost unkillable - you either have to be completely unkillable, or kill at least some of your opponent's models - and it helps if you read your opponent's cards thoroughly. It also helps if you don't do stupid things like exposing Sandworm without good cards in hand to let your opponent score an early Bait and Switch point on it for free, while achieving basically nothing. The irony of bringing a model to help with Bait and Switch ending up costing you Bait and Switch wasn't lost on me. Kaeris2, in the last activation of the game, scored 1vp and denied me 2vp by pushing models around from across the board, then flying next to my C&R Botanist with enough burning to nuke it for 5 burning damage without flipping any cards, which is a pretty good way to remove a model that you can't usually beat in conventional duels. Meanwhile, the Firestarter claimed that burning death, and my burning Huckter's death as his own kills, neutralising 2 Markers in the End Phase of the last turn to deny me my 4th Strat point. Overall, my opponent played very well and found a way to overcome the insane stat advantage I had on basically ever opposed duel. I still think hiring 3 Botanists is very viable in a pool like this, especially given the map, but I think I needed to use the Sandworm more carefully (or just not hire it), and I needed to realise the dynamic threats that Kaeris2 and Firestarter pose earlier in the game so I could try to play around them. Round 4 Break The Line - Corner Deployment Vendetta, Death Beds, Outflank, Research Mission, Bait and Switch Nexus2 vs Mah2 My Crew: 3x Nexus2, 2x Shambling Nests, 3x Botanists, Sandworm, Archivist, Nightsilk Creeper. Opponent's Crew: Mah2 with Inferiority Complex, Little Lass, Sparks, Big Brain Brin, 2x Survivors, 2x Soulstone Miners, Mechanised Porkchop. Crew Construction: It was Corner and Break The Line, so I wanted tonnes of AP, so 3 Masters and 3 Botanists gets me there. From there, I needed to support the Botanists, so I nabbed web generation models. It helps that those models also have Place effects to contribute to the Break The Line plan. You can also build the list with Meredith Stanley and 1 or more Eyes and Ears to grow Berserker Husks while you grow your Botanists, but I generally find Meredith to be a pretty lacklustre investment for my playstyle; I want 3 AP out of just about every model in this list to continue to push Markers and reposition my models, and I want to be able to engage enemy models to stop them pushing the markers back. Meredith often doesn't do anything meaningful with her AP (when I play her) so I opted for the Sandworm in her stead to apply some threat to the entire map and have the ability to deny Bait and Switch at the end of game very easily - but this time I would play it more carefully! I didn't know which way Mah would go - either with hyper mobile Rooster Riders and Bushwhackers to control the mid board, or a mechanised list - which is what he opted for - but the raw AP and Parasite control that Nexus2 offers made me feel comfortable either way. Schemes: Death Beds: 2vp, and Research Mission: 2vp. vs Death Beds: 1vp, and Research Mission: 1vp. I win 8-2 Thoughts on game: Nexus2 is an absolutely brutal master for Break The Line - by having 3 Masters with 3 AP each, and having 2 Totems with From The Shadows and 2" melee engagement ranges, you have good AP count and control for the Strat markers before you even hire a single model. My opponent screwed up his unpack slightly, which stopped his Survivors from getting near the mid board efficiently, but he did managed to start spitting out Scrap and Pit Traps around the middle of the board. I covered two Strat markers with my Nests to keep them from being pushed into my half, grew my Botanists up and sent them to the flanks, then surged forward with my keyword models courtesy of Playthings to take control of the middle. From there, I applied pressure with Parasites to keep Mah off balance, heal my models, and control the Strat markers to ensure my opponent couldn't score any Strat points. Round 5 Wedge Deployment - Corrupted Ley Lines Breakthrough, Detonate Charges, Claim Jump, Hidden Martyrs, Catch and Release McCabe2 vs Tara2 My Crew: McCabe2 with Treasure Map, Luna, Sidir with Treasure Map, 2x Botanists (1 with Flush with Cash), Alpinist, Malisaurus Rex. Opponent's Crew: Tara2, Karina, Thirty Three, Scion of the Void, Talos, Nothing Beast, 2x Void Wretches, Prospector. Crew Construction: I built this skewed crew to try and withstand the potential Tara2 kidnap by having high Sz stats, the ability to reduce enemy attack stats, having Extended Reach to keep my crew safe turn 1, while bringing in Ruthless to handle the Terrifying models that Tara can bring and the Alpinist to get around the board successfully - there were 3" platforms, walls and pools of Lava everywhere. With Tara's unbeatable activation control, I was forced to pick Treasure Maps for Sidir & McCabe to deny Catch and Release and try to score Claim Jump, depending on his crew selection. Schemes: Claim Jump: 1vp, and Hidden Martyrs: 1vp vs Claim Jump: 2vp, and Hidden Martyrs: 1vp I lose 6-7 Thoughts on game: I deployed very, very carefully to deny the kidnap, placing McCabe on some boxes so that his 2" Extended Reach could protect most of my crew, while my Flush with Cash Botanist and Rex were further forward. My opponent didn't realise I had Extended Reach, so activated Tara first activation of the game, and spent several cards and all his AP deploying 33 into my lines. Being unable to hit the target he originally wanted, he instead went for Rex, but I had a 13 in hand to keep it safe. In spite of this massive advantage, I couldn't really capitalise since 33 just vanishes back to complete safety in his deployment zone courtesy of Rewind. It's a really crushing psychological blow when know you your opponent wasted their masters activation, but it just doesn't matter, since you can't retaliate - especially when, in first activation of the following turn, 33 is flung in again to Bury McCabe anyway, placing in b2b to negate Extended Reach, and then once more hop back to safety with Rewind. I applied pressure to Tara and Talos as best as I could, but sure enough, McCabe and Sidir were Buried, were not allowed to Unbury, had their stats reduced, and were systematically chewed through over the course of turns 2 and 3, through 7 of my Soulstones. I've always struggled against Tara, and when she's piloted by one of the best Outcast players in the world, you really have to temper your expectations. Considering the above, I was overjoyed to only lose by 1 point. Round 6 Flank Deployment - Symbols of Authority Breakthrough, Hidden Martyrs, Catch and Release, Research Mission, Spread Them Out McCabe2 vs Kirai2 My Crew: McCabe2, Luna, Desper, 2x Botanists (1 with Flush with Cash, 1 with Treasure Map), Intrepid Emissary, Corpse Curator, Huckster. Opponent's Crew: Kirai2 with The Whisper, Ikiryo, Datsue Ba with The Whisper, Lost Love, Gwisin, Seishin, Jaakuna, Manos the Risen Crew Construction: Although I enjoy Lord Cooper in Symbols, he has some poor match ups vs Ressurs. So, I opted for McCabe once again, who can play a pretty good Symbols game and has some great match ups vs Ressurs himself. When building a list vs Kirai, I figured I had to either avoid her crew at all costs to deny her summoning, or play a list that would have a stat advantage big enough that the summons wouldn't really matter. I decided to bring a crew that could do both, bringing in plenty of high stats, and plenty of interaction prowess. As I also really rate 2" engagement ranges on Symbols, I brought in the Emissary to hold the line with McCabe and protect a Symbol, while the rest of my crew could focus on scoring and denying points. Schemes: Hidden Martyrs: 1vp, and Catch and Release: 2vp vs Hidden Martyrs: 2vp, and Breakthrough: 2vp I win 7-6 Thoughts on game: Knowing that I had Don't Mind Me on Desper, and my opponent didn't have any Don't Mind Me models, I set up to defend my Symbols as planned in crew construction. I set up my Symbols in easily defendable places, and unpacked slowly and carefully to maximise card draw from Looted Supply and ensure I got the right Artefacts out at the right time. Leveraging Looted Supplies and Faded Mirror on both of my Botanists was extremely helpful in this game, keeping my hand topped up throughout each turn, and cycling out Weaks from my hand during Opposed Duels. Having a good Control Hand is essential with a build and match up like this, as every turn you have to make sure to dodge multiple Ikiryo attacks, hit your TNs with Desper, Luna and the Huckster, and in some cases you'll want to deny Kirai's summoning too. My overall plan worked - even though my opponent outscored me on Schemes, I managed to dominate the Symbols game and take out the win. Catch and Release on a Botanist with the Treasure Map is very, very strong with McCabe2. Final Thoughts on event: I ended the event at 4 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, and a healthy differential of +12. Despite being a Double Masters event, no extra Masters were hired in any of my games - unless you count Nexus2! Masters' new titles were picked 10/12 times, with my Lord Cooper1 pick for Rounds 1 & 2 being the only original title picked. McCabe has an almost never ending skill ceiling, and I can't wait to get more games in with him. In all 3 of the games where I played him, I feel I could have done better with more experience and time playing the keyword.