Davos

Important thing to note w/Stalker: any model that is engaged with him can auto walk away (disengage), without fear of being stopped. As per the rules, a model that is currently being activated counts as activated, so Stalker is unable to target it to block the disengaging strke

Strongarm Suit is always nice, with Bigger They Are, he's Min4 as well. Gets pretty gross, since he can charge out of engagement and ignores terrain.

Yea, I took it seriously when I built my arsenal (thought the Freikorps package and Sue are really standard for me #Sueisbae) so I'm feeling a little bad about how optimized my crew is. Though, I just found out one of our player's leaders is Archie, who now has +flips to all Melee actions, so I don't feel THAT bad anymore, since Archie on positives (and maybe nonreducible damage) seems utterly terrifying

I've only had one game of the campaign so far, but I've found my crew (Hannah + I Pay Better, Sue, Freikorps Engineer, and 2 Freikropsmann) might be a slightly to optimized for this...(my league is kinda casual...I think I missed up...). The potential 9 card hand makes I Pay Better insane and I basically just roll into a ball of death, with a Freikorpsmann scheming while the ball o' death distracts. Apparently, having 7 severes in hand for turn 3 is good...who would have known? My new goal is to buff up my Gunsdown Freikropsmann into demigood status. Also might pick up a Specialist and do the same to him...

So my local group is starting a Shifting Loyalties campaign, since M2E competitive play is mostly dead in our area. I'm planning on running Hannah as my leader, what other models would people recommend to take? I have 24 ss left over (Hannah + I Pay Better already spent)

For the Black Friday sale, do they usually release new alts, or jsut re-release the previous ones?

Void package works wonders with Viks. I think Sue is a better pick compared to Convict Gunslinger if the goal is to attack Return Fire, his attack is much better and his utility role is golden. Also Vanessa for full Sister, also I know people who run Hannah for the extra card and Ca copy for the Damage or Stat buffs

With the stone change for Hans & the trapper, stick with Hans, unless you want to run a full Freikorps build. Hans is better holistically, when you remove the Freikorp synergy. That being said, I have a full metal Von Schill (Von Schill, 2 Freikorpsmann, trapper, and a librarian and I think the steam trunk) that I am looking to sell

I've found that in the comparisons between the base Outcast models are the choice models that can be brought-in from outside, those models generally have some clear benefit or advantage. That being said, that's just my experience. I've never tried to run a dedicated Outcast Levi list.

I find that he works best with a combination of in/out of faction models. I run exclusively Iron and have seen very strong results. Terracotta is a must (switching upgrades allows multiple Oathkeepers on Levi which is insane, as well as Ancient Protections which makes any of the strong enforcers you're bringing into insanely hard to kill), Necropunks are universally good for basically any scheme running or interaction-based Strategy (Symbols, Ply, Dig Graves, Search Ruins, Recover Evidence, etc) I love the Hooded Rider, he is a mobile killing tank whole projects power across the majority of the board. Peacekeeper can be a strong pick, great beater (especially with Ancient Protections) and denies scheming (he can eat scheme markers in a pulse). Guardian, watcher, and hunter I don't use, but all have places in certain builds I feel. I personally feel that Levi is strongest with a mix of models from out of faction, but that's just me. Obviously it comes down to money you want to spend, but if you want to play Levi in a competitive setting, I strongly encourage some outside faction models.

I hadn't thought of using Hannah, since she dies so fast, but with infinite SS and Doc Mitchell + her copied heal, she really would be pretty tanky. Give it a shot. She does decent damage and is a fair disruption piece - I just never use her w/Von Schill cause she's so Soul Stone heavy and I'd rather use stones on VS keeping him running around cuttin' folk

I think the summons trigger is nice though something you want to incidentally get, not to strive for. IE. "oh, i happened to hit it. cool". I don't think you NEED synergies for them to be useful. They provide activation control, which is something Von Schill really really needs. So its not bad. But I wouldn't go out of my way to try to get it to happen. hitting with the trigger + moderate damage does require a fair bit of effort and probably a card or 2

i've found her decent with him. She combos with his Target Practice ability, since she can push models. And drawing an extra card is always good.

Ahh, thanks all for the answers. Makes total sense. And yes, I was indeed right - it was a stupid question

So this might be a really stupid questions, but could I hire Hoffman into my Levi crew? The wording on Pariah of Iron states "This crew may hire non-Gremlin Faction Construct models regardless of the Crew's declared faction." Hoffman is both not a Gremlin and a Construct....soooooo can he be brought into a Levi Crew? My gut says no because you can't field 2 masters at once. That being said, I don't know of any rule/errata/FAQ that prevents it. Thinking I could have some stupidass combos running Hoffman with Levi + Iron

The way we played it my recent tournaments is I asked my opponent at the top of round 1 which they thought it was - before or after initiative, then whatever they agreed to played it as such for the rest of the game. I've had opponents say both ways, and in my local meta we've always played it as placing after initiative is determined, but per-first activation. I found it the most equitable way to deal with it, since it is not totally clear as written.

So I tried out Marlena twice at a weekend tournament. She is INSANE. I paired her with Viks and holy tyrants it was awesome. Making the master immune to death (Survivalist yo! ftw!) let you use both Viks in an even more aggressive manner and actually got some value out of their other (0) actions - + to Df or Ml is rather nice. Also got some pretty great 2AP place/attacks out of them, to clump both up and go insane. The second game was against new Hoffman and the no armor reduction is annoying as hell. The henchie died fast, but the master trucked about 20+damage (stones + 2 procs of Tethered + Survuvalist). His min4/5 peacekeeper kept flurrying and she was a champ. She killed most of his crew (that wasn't Hoffman and the Peacekeepr) and scored all my Shed Blood Points (1). Her main thing was tanking an entire Guild kill party to let my schemers score full on everything else. Marlena #champ

Agree with the above ,you need more true damage dealers. Levi can truck out damage, but almost exclusively on single targets. I personally would drop Philip and Claw and put in the Dead Rider - gets you damage, the Terror Duels, and a tanky beater you can threaten late game. I also think Sue is always a great choice he's an amazing damage dealer, draws cards, and can counter casters, plus he gives you another surivable anchor for waifs. I'd keep one Belle, since the pulls let you get stuff outta position and into a turn 1 levi/rider kill zone. I'd also recommend Lampads. they are INSANE. They're anchors, can kill well, and can potentially summon you lampads from your lampads onto your lampads Necros are great, aboms aren't really worth it. They're bad schemers and the damage they deal for cards is meh if you're damaging your scheming necros. I'd drop the aboms for either more necros, or a henchie (I adore Nothing Beast in Levi) and take the stones. I like a cache 3 on Levi, or 6 if Nothing beast is in the crew - though I normally run Iron Levi so that changes it a little bit.

He crunched up the sandy incline, chewing on a cigar, and surveyed the abandoned mining camp. At the center was the informant, collapsed from dehydration they were trying to extract, one of the survivors of the Nephlam attack, who knew the location of the cache of soulstones the miners had squirreled away as the attack descended upon them. Von Schill waves an arm back, calling forward his team, when a taunting voice called out from over the shifting sands - "Good Morning!" He stared across the rising heat shimmers and saw a collection of figures emerging from the far side of the camp. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the infamous bisteno of Misaki, surrounded by a collection of her Last Blossom cadre - so, he thought, this is not a sanctioned Ten Thunders operation, she's gathering resources for her own use. He scanned the rest of her crew, seeing a few mercenaries, desperate and frantic for a few quick scrip, as well as...oathbreakers. He heard the confident footsteps of the Strongarm, on his right, immediately, followed by the sound of aethic power charging into flexed fist. Von Schill waved a hand, "I will handle her, he's yours". He meant the oathkeepers, men who had abandoned the creed of the Freikorps. His men started deploying onto the field, the Strongarm covering the informant, while the Man in Black held the other flank, with an Engineer and Freikorpsmann supporting him. Von Schill charged ahead, engaging Misaki directly - leaping over abandoned mining equipment and grabbing Miskai with his mechanical arm, tossing her like a ragdoll. One fluid throw lead into a cascade of bullets as his peacekeeper rang out - Misaki cried out and charged back in. A grin formed around his cigar as Von Schill dodge her dancing blade - finally, a decent fight. Her bisteno crashed into his new armor, a fusion of steel and soulstone courtesy of his Engineers, to no affect. In the corner of his eye, he watched as the Stalker, that mad killer, leap into the mercs, 2 swift blows dispatched them both - at least the could defend themselves...in theory. Allies such as him were distasteful, but his talents could not be ignored or belittled. The sounds of combat reached him from behind, as a motley collection of Last Blossom and convicts did battle against his professionals. The Oathbreakers were playing it cagey, clearly uneasy about engaging with their family they had abandoned and betrayed. He ignored it - the battle was intensifying with Misaki; they clashed again, her trying to seize the rapid victory through decapitation. His armor held and she retreated back, only to have Von Schill charge her again, landing next to a treacherous sniper. Blows rained down against Misaki and she crumbled, hot blood pouring from numerous slashed and bullet wounds. Across the field, an explosion ripped the air,as the other Oathkeeper went up in flames, his suit crumbling under the enraged strength of a true Strongarm. Von Schill turned and watched as the battle turned to clean up, his forces sweeping aside the foes. A mad howl caught his attention, as a man, all in black came bounding out of the backline - he had been mucking about behind his lines - his cry echoed across the camp as his knife buried deep into the Strongarm's side, rending the armor and sending cracks scattering out across his breastplate. The Strongarm barely registered the strike, as he was locked in on a lone ronin atttempting to sneak up to the informant. He just twitched, throwing a backhand strike behind him, crushing the insane copycat's skull and sending his corpse flying. Von Schill examined the scene from above: the informant was revived and gave the location, then spirited away for more detailed medical aid, the soulstone cache was recovered, a small treasure trove of the glowing gems, and causalities had been null. He leaned back and struck his cigar against the metal of his arm, igniting it and began buffing - it really had been a good morning. Score: Von Schill 9 (4 Extraction, 3 Surround Them, 2 Covert Breakthrough) Misaki 2 (2 Surrond Them)

Her gun is hella good - ignoring everything is sexy. And the anti-heal is a nice touch. And since Parker wants to tank damage (I think? I've never seen him, only know the theorycraft) hgealing him by 8 or whatever seems really nice I think the summon is more fluff-based - little girl makes creepy dolls - but for a 7mask, its not bad. And providing extra actions never hurts. I could see the summon maybe being useful in a Von Schill crew, where you're rather activation light early on. Granted, the Dolls themselves aren't great, but they can soak AP, which is pretty nice

I meannn, the synergy is that you get a second version of Levi's gun. But @ 8ss, not benifiting from her main thing -tethers- just isn't value enough

So, with the in-store arrival of Webster (I GOT MINE, WOOHOOO!), where do you see her fitting? I think the obvious usage is with the Viks - undying Master = scary (also sorta kinda really toxic) as well as Outcast Storm Misaki (along with risk & reward and oathkeepr?) You get 2 hyper aggressive alpha masters, who suddenly can truck a ton of damgage and survive the counterpunch. This is gonna make them even more powerful and frequent (well, Viks, I've only seen Outcast Miskai once, I really want to try it). Now, I think Hamlin and Tara both don't need her, since the synergy isn't there, Hamlin is already bascially immune to death (stolen) and Tara it just breaks up her style to much (less room for Void Wretches, etc) I know the clear synergy (thematically) is with Levi - her fluff stuff makes it clear he "adopted" her (also ewwwww) and her attack is literally a *slightly* weaker version of his CA. But, I really don't think she's needed. Her whole point is to provide the Tethers Condition, to avoid Master death, but Levi's whole point is to go in, and die. Seems like a waste of 8ss to bring her, when Midnight Stalker is avaliable (or Sue, or any 8ss-ish model from Iron/Bone) Now, the one I'm the most excited for is Von Schill, cause he's my one true love. I think between her and the engineer, he can become a mainline tank, while might not be able to put out a ton of damage (comparatively to Viks/Levi/Misaki) he can hold up a crew to let your models get into position (I also would bring him with Oath of the Freikorps, along with a mostly theme crew, for all the positives) Webster also provides a pretty strong CA attack that Hannah can copy, increasing the damage output even more. So, thoughts? Where do you think she fits? Are you as excited as me to field her?

You can prevent with a soul stone (if legal). And I'm pretty sure, in the case of Sebastian's poison damage (when taking damage from posion, you take +2 - wording obviously isn't exact) that if you stone for the first point of damage, you negate all of it, since the extra damage is contingent on poison damage happening in the first place. Correct, @Khyodee?

Hell, I'd just take some Bunraku and use them as normal. They're pretty good minions. Granted, I don't know if they bring anything "different" to a Levi crew.

I think it's cute, but does it really get you anything? Bunraku are 6ss (i think?) so you're saccing a 6ss model to give reactivate to what minion? They have to be a construct, so maybe you hired in a warden, or a stalker (the mech-wolf from Guild, can't remember its name, which is 7ss) Giving it another full action is nice, but replacing a 6 stone model with an abom (whose summon requireda 10(?) with a 2ss upgrade, is just a ton of effort and resources for limited useage. I think towards the end a game it might be a cute trick to eck out a win, but generally speaking it doesn't do nearly enough. It is a cool idea though, I just wish it was more useful! If it was, you could do some INSANE stuff!