SevenThirtySeven

The spell has a range value bc Wendigo can cast it too. I don't think it was an oversight. I think placing wall markers 22" is a bit ridiculous, and I love Raspy.

Read "Cold Nights" one more time. Ice Pillars can't be placed more than 12" away from the casting model. Meaning, while you can ice mirror through another model to case, the place range of the pillars is still 12" (and since its a place, no need to ice mirror for LOS anyways). I made the same mistake early when I was playing Raspy, before a more experienced player corrected me.

Wow, I did not know that. I was under the impression that when a joker popped up on a flip you had to use it in every situation. Let me review my rule book.

I literally say in my next paragraph, which you didn't quote, that making someone a beast w a raptor is a calculated risk I take when I need to. 😉 Im not arguing against attacking your own models, just saying it's not a risk free maneuver. I think we are both in agreement here hah. I would disagree with the black joker bit, since it would take some convincing for you to say that making someone a beast would be worth 5 dmg from your own raptor, especially when Marcus could just use a (0) Feral on them if he had to.

Academically, sure, it isn't that much trouble. But to guarantee it going off it requires that you have a tome in hand (which is not always guaranteed), and Marcus loves his tomes. And let me know how you feel when you red joker the relented double neg dmg flip on your own model 😩. It has happened to me twice already. Only slightly better is when you black joker the dmg flip, bc the beast trigger is only after dmging Overall it's a gamble which I take when I really need a big model to be consistently buffed or alphaed all game, but it's still a risk, and I'm not sure if it's always as simple as you say. And I wouldn't add the extra risk for the slim benefits which Venomamy provides.

I've played 2 games w Venomancy recently, and the only no-brainer crew selection pick I'd make is to include performer. Lots of beasts and arcanists can stack poison, but having 4-5 poison on a model doesn't do much unless you can expunge it for damage. I think a huge problem with any Marcus poison list is that Venomancy is so limited in model scope. For the Toxic Musk (0), so many of the choices for him which dish out poison (Myranda, Dawn Serpent, Kudra, Rattler, etc) don't have an Infect trigger. For the 2nd ability, Virulent, the poison only stacks with Marcus and.... Beast Henchmen..? Isn't the only Beast Henchman Myranda? Sure you could use Feral or a raptor to hand out beast, but that's way too much effort for an additional poison damage. For this to have a chance to be any good it would have to buff a large part of your crew. The upgrade needs to be buffed to be taken seriously, because Marcus already has such a good 3 upgrade set up. Especially since Frame doesn't look like it will be a suited scheme anymore in GG2018.

The golem couldn't use Sandeep's 6" place bc he's not an academic and he's an enforcer. Only Academics and minions can borrow Deep's actions. I guess you could take Tutelage now, but that's a total waste to force a bad model to be average. And its the 6" place which would def be most useful for him, not he incorporeal.

I have found that to only be situationally useful. Since usually your opponent is making you flip cards after any of your activations, its hard to plan when and where a good card will be. Not to mention, it then adds another parameter to consider when activating your models.

It is possible I have not explored him fully. I think he's great as a defensive deterrent vs. snipers for example, but havent faced any sniper lists recently. And he can definitely buff your big beaters and master. If you don't use him for markers I can see how he could become less resource intensive. There are some great models in arcanists for between 5-7 SS, and my lists are pretty set overall. But perhaps I should give him some more time on the board, I'll give you that.

I'd much rather just focus shoot the enemy to get the straight dmg flip. That way you don't have to worry about having an 8 of tomes in hand for the summon, or worry about using a stone. Plus, the summon is a short 6" range. Sure, you could Ice mirror through someone to cast, but that means you also have to have another unengaged frozen heart model within 6" of the combat. It may be useful once every 3-4 games if the situation lines up correctly. But hardly something you will be doing with her consistently. In general, I think killing blasting your own models to kill is not as useful as a consistent strategy that some make it out to be. I've heard ppl cite Somer's ability to shoot his own models to great effect, but it works for him bc not only are Bayou Gremlins cheap as dirt for him but he also draws 2 cards every time one of them dies. Which makes it far less of a net resource drain.

The summon for the Ice Golem requires 3 tomes. Only one is built in. Wendigo cannot summon the Ice Golem, since he would need to stone a tome in and he's a minion who cannot stone.

My first impression after a few games: Models I think Kandara is by far the best model arcanists got in Wave 5, although our models were fairly average compared to other factions. I will qualify my feelings on Kandara by saying she is so perfect for Sandeep and only Sandeep, and middling for anyone else, even Kaeris. Steamfitter is ok, but resource hungry. He slightly buffs Ramos since now Ramos isn't chained to the Joss+toolkit combo when he builds his lists. Upgrades Asides from Ironsides' upgrades, all of our masters got situational upgrades but no auto-takes. So big buff to Ironsides, and maybe slight buff to Kaeris. And Marcus got a buff just bc his upgrades provide 2 totally new playstyles for him (tank and poison) to throw an opponent off. Not that I'd take either very often, but it allows you to solo him more confidently in a tournament. The Wave only furthered the distance of the Top 2. Ironsides makes a big leap to distant 3 or 4. 1. Sandeep (A+, upgraded from A) 2. Marcus (A, upgraded from B+) GAP 3. Ironsides (B-, upgraded from C-) 4. Ramos (C+, upgraded from C) 5. Raspy (C, flat from C) GAP 6. Colette (C-, flat from C-) 7. Kaeris (C-, upgraded from D) 8. Mei Feng (D, flat from D) I'll be at Live Free Die Cheating in New Hampshire in a few weeks, and will see if my opinions hold true in a competitive setting.

Very impressive tourney record w Raspy. I don't hear about that too often, and I personally find her so tough to play when opponents bring top tier masters. What's your secret?

Hey everyone - I've been dabbling in 10T, and was wondering what are good masters/crews for Stake a Claim? Thanks!

Love the latest episode on the henchmen! Great analysis by all the guests, as always. Suggest an alternate name for the episode: "Ben and Carlos take on the world" I'm sure it's been mentioned, but ranking episodes can be fun from time to time; perhaps another episode ranking enforcers again, then maybe minions or upgrades?

Hey everyone - outside of the Arcane Emissary's charge, does our faction have any models which discard or use up corpse markers? Are there any mercs who do? Thanks!

Your point on not wishing an extra burden on TOs is well taken. As far as simplicity, I don't think most players know off of the top of their heads exactly how many points they accrue from placing at tournaments like you do. I'm also not sure if knowing the exact amount of points they accued right after an event is critical to them. I'm not sure how real of an objection that is. I think many of your other objections are not necessarily against a modification to the system but against ranking systems in general. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, good sir.