Regelridderen

Sun was up and I grabbed the camera again.. First up is my first crew : The Latigo Family, I got them, because I loved the look/feel of 'faux, but knew no-one who played the stuff. However, I was playing in a Deadlands campaign at the time, so I thought, it'd be practical with some models. Abuela has been lying on my paint station ever since, and is slooooowly making progress. Very slowly LOST IMAGES - SORRY

It’s all theory and no practice - although, when Alan and his Witnesses becomes available on spec order. Lucius will finally hit the table.

@Nagi21 big difference between 9 and 12, yes. But Carver requires one action from Candy (Fast for two damage) and one action from ‘Dora (built in ram) to get there. Teddy goes up to 12 too, if Candy gives him Fast at only 1 damage, AND she can do this at 8” rather than 3” without hobbling Teddy. @Adran you’re right, and if it wasn’t for Carvers Glimpse, I’d use him a lot less. My point isn’t that Carver is useless in a fight. But to me he is more a tech pick vs Terrifying and Focus crews. And I’d rather get him in position to capitalize on his blasts and pulse to drain opponents resources.

Thanks, I’ll be watching this - I’ve got four Guild crews as well

Iggy definitely punches above his paygrade. I rarely use him, but when I do, I focus on his Reckless for running schemes and his Arson for denying. He tends to die fast, if he engages stuff - or even just gets a little too close, as he’s got a big bullseye on him.

Not intended, Carver can definitely have his moments. Trouble is, if you want a min4 3attack Carver, you need to spend 1 ‘Dora action, and 1 Candy action, while making sure that Carver himself doesn’t go down (or get stunned) in that time. Doing the math, that effort will yield 6 damage (while hurting Carver for 2) and the question is whether ‘Dora and Candy wouldn’t be able to cause 6 points of damage if they spent their actions on themselves rather than channeling through Carver. Another point is, Carver can do 12-18 damage boosted in this way, while an unboosted Teddy alone is capable of dishing out 9-18, so action efficiency-wise Teddy is just a better choice in that role. So I look to the shears more as an opportune trick, rather than a strategy to pursue. That’s why, I’m looking more to Carvers ‘crowd control’ capabilities. That have the added bonus of being less taxing on your hand - leaving your high cards to spend for your other models. - Of course this is all general and the game is very specific and match up dependent. So I’d love to hear, when/why you decide to focus on Carver as a melee beater?

Give Lynch a second thought. He’ll give you more variation in playstyle compared to Misaki. He’s a tricksy guy with cards up his sleeve, rather than the more straightforward kung fu champ.

Sometimes you just have the wrong idea about what a model is supposed to do, and the game disagrees, sadly in these arguments the game always wins. So I thought, we might need a little thread on, what not to do with our models, here's my experiences : CARVER I love this creepy straw man, however I really often want him to be another Teddy, and demand that he can focus a ton of damage into annihilating one model. He can't, and he will quite often turn out to be a drain your soulstone cache, when you send him up against another beater. Instead this guy is great as a tarpit and to send into the midst of a bubble crew. Draw Essence is his thing, as he slowly drains the bubble of life and replenishes his stamina. Another fantastic use is the anti-scheming Up in Flames trigger on his Breath of Fire - and again another good tool against crowds, particularly as it can be used regardless of being engaged. His shears might look tempting - but 2 min3 attacks really isn't up to par for a ten stone model, but the few times when 'dora can give him an extra ram and Candy can give him Fast, he can be quite a terror, but that's just too much of a trick. THE HOODED RIDER Whenever I pay 11 stones for this guy, my immediate response is to make good use of his Mv7 and send him right up in the face of the enemy, which rarely works for anyone else but the enemy. He needs to hold back and bide his time to build up some masks, and let someone else draw in the crowd, before you can unleash his wrath. It might seem a waste to use an 11 stone enforcer for scheming, but its an even bigger waste to use him as cannonfodder and distraction – to me this sounds like great advice, but I never seem to heed it myself. BABY KADE You're looking at a Stat7 Carving Knife with Execute and think, this little baby is going to be a really bad boy – He won't. Kade isn't the murder machine I want him to be. But I get some really fantastic use out of him, when using him as utility for moving other models via Where's Teddy? and Lure. Then when he suddenly finds himself in the perfect position, he can hit the enemy - and hit above his pay grade, but he shouldn't be your main line of attack. Finally, you should never forget his ability to heal Teddy and himself, those 4 points every turn is crucial – in particular for allowing Teddy to hit the enemy lines relatively unscathed to start doing his thing. The funny thing is, when you start looking at Kade as a utility piece, he will quite often surprise you (and your opponent) with his propensity for violence. PANDORA and CANDY these little girls are great for controlling an area of the board, but they're really abysmal at denying it. Unlike most other models in the game, they haven't got an engagement range, so they're unable to hold opponents engaged, and they're unable to keep opponents from Interact. The difference might be subtle, and it'll rarely be relevant, but when it is, you feel like, you're caught with your pants down and bending to pick up a bar of soap. LORD CHOMPY You look at the guy, and think this guy is supposed to bring the pain. he's a big henchman, and he ought to be able to handle himself, but he really isn't – that is unless he finds some lone scheme runner to chomp on. As with Carver, two attacks at min3 with nothing but a little Terrifying to protect him isn't much. His best defensive asset is actually his model, opponents seem more afraid of him, than his stats actually warrants. So using him as a spearhead for your attack often leaves you chomp-less. I'm looking more to him for striking the final blow after teleporting in from an odd angle, maybe stoning for an Execute trigger, should the opportunity present itself, leave the minion nightmares to take the blows, they're armored, incorporeal and dispensable, they're meant for that sort of thing. - So what are your experience with these, and what models have surprised you in their role?

Aside from Lucid Dreaming, they add nothing to other keywords.

My first advice is always : go by the models, that makes you want to paint the most, and whose theme speaks to you, then the rest will come. Yet, I just started my tenth keyword, despite I’m only playing two. That said, summoners like Hamelin, Von Schmuck, Dashel and Som’er require some investment modelwise, and aren’t as straightforward. I’d definitely go with an Outcast master, as you’re listing most of that faction, so you’re halfway there. Of those, I would go with the Viks, if you just want a couple of chicks with katanas to do your killing, while the rest of the gang just cheers them on. Hamelin is cool, but a little complicated. Which leave Parker and Leveticus a cowboy outlaw and a mad scientist.

The work has begun. To anyone interested, you can check out my hobby thread -

Thanks a lot. She was a great model to paint as well - she was completely still, during the entire process (badoum-tch) – the layered kimonos calling for colour variation, yet in large and well defined areas, as well as plenty of swords for practicing NMM (I'll never get good at that thing, but I've decided never to go for TMM until I do).

Finally, you're getting some WIP of my latest acquisition. Inspired by my experimenting with the Rider, I wanted to dive deeper into directional lighting and temperature contrasts. For this I needed a new crew, and luckily I had the misfortune to face up vs Misaki in my latest tournament and that fight was a blast - only Misaki survived after Dreamer did his thing, but she still beat me 7-6. And playing that fast and mobile crew seemed like just the thing for me. Luckily, I was able to scrounge up an M2E Thunder box - with the cool action poses, and impossible small connections. I just put in the order for the Dawn Serpent and Emissary for added muscle, as I've been aching for an excuse to paint those eastern dragons. LOST IMAGES - SORRY

My third Neverborn master Lucius is waiting in the wings, for when Alan Reid and his False Witnesses is available on Special Order. Till then, I have a couple of Versatiles, I like to put on the board. LOST IMAGES - SORRY

Following the Woes is my first Neverborn master, and also a favourite of mine : Nytemare and his Dream Team LOST IMAGES - SORRY

Spring and light is here, so I jumped at the opportunity and took some photos under the sun. First up is one of my favourite crews : The Woes of 'dora. LOST IMAGES - SORRY

Thanks a lot :)

A Bayou Explorer : The Oswalts are the globetrotters of the bayou, they made a fortune selling in-sewer-ance and ensuring that there’ll never be installed any kind of sewers in the bayou to ruin it with feces. Now they’re living the good life, travelling, seeing the worlds and causing quite a ruckus. The family head is Karen Oswalt, with her giant hair and impressive figure, she’s the nightmare of the concierges of the worlds. A penny pinching entitled woman, Terrifying to behold, she Influences the game as she makes demands, Obeys, chats and holds people up in a slow inducing aura. Her totem husband is Oswald Oswalt, a tiny alcoholic man with a big flatulence, he seems to always be in the way, when someone wants to tear his wife’s heart out, but through Sheen serendipity he seems to turn their attacks against themselves, as skillets and banana peels just materialize around him. His main attack is “Tell me, do you have in-sewer-ants”, where he steals soulstones. the Henchman is 50mm Ma’n’Pa, the even more demanding an entitled in-laws. They’re old, but not too old to travel the world - in a bed on wheels - Pa is wary of the world, so always ready to fire up his trust Blunderbus, while Ma is lost in her past prime as a burlesque dancer and has the ability “Do you wanna see me nekid?” causing an aura of willpower checks to push non-Oswalts away screaming. If they hit terrain or other models, they take damage. They also have the ability “What? What did you say dear?” turning off all triggers in an aura around them. Their enforcer is only known as Butler, who will dismember opponents who’d dare ruin the Oswalts holiday with a witty quip and a stiff upper lip. The Oswalts have two sets of minions The Boys and The Grrrls, the boys are a horrible lot up for mischief, they aren’t much by themselves, yet they have an ability to teleport in and gang up on a model engaging another boy and together they can cause serious harm. The grrrrls are all about movement, as they can Lure and Terrorize models in an attempt to find a boyfriend among the locals.

Sometimes life just makes decisions for you. I got a great offer on Misaki, so looks like Arcanists will have to wait.

So I got a nice offer on the old M2E Thunder crew - and like the old sculpts way more than m3e - so that settled it, 10 Thunders is my 4th faction. So what would you suggest adding to the collection?

You’re just being argumentative for the sake of being ‘right’. The problem is, you’ll never win games, if you desist from learning to use your models and their abilities. Mood Swings works for others, and it just might be, it can work for you to - if you’re not too Stubborn to learn. Activation order is one of the most key ingredients to winning this game. Pandora has - as the only model in this game - the ability to dictate the opponents order of activation. That is a superpower. Now opponents might want to avoid ‘dora, but most games demand some close contact - unless you’re only facing Parker and Perdita. That said, even if he tries to avoid you, your opponent can’t dictate where Pandora goes, and you’re free to place her, where she annoys him the most - which is in the middle of his crew, near his most powerful models. This makes Dark Thoughts a wonderful ability, as not only does it work defensively, it is also a very offensive ability. You’re, not only, denying the model, you’re standing near it’s activation, you’re also forcing a different model to activate, when its owner wouldn’t want it. This allows you to : a: beat up the non-activating model before it gets to do its thing. b: force a model to tip its hand, perhaps move into position without being able to attack, and then be set up for the charge by one of your models. The setup is quite easy, you rush Pandora into the mids of the enemy - where you want her anyway to open her box. Then you profit. - Pandora isn’t a simple point’n’click master. She demands you understand the synergies in her crew, and that you do not play her in a vacuum. You should have at least 7 other models on the table to back her up and disrupt your opponent.

So a simple keyword that isn’t straightforward? - I’ll revert to my standard answer. Go with the models, that makes you want to paint the most and play to have fun.

Congratulations on now setting your hobby difficulty setting to ‘God damn hard and fiddly’. It’s tough, but the game is worth it.

Next crew is Seamus and his lovely ladies. LOST IMAGES - SORRY

Depends on how you define fun. Hamelin demands a buildup of tokens to do damage, yet when he does, he can be oppressive e.g. Min4 minions. But there is a lot of activations and calculations. So what do you define as ‘fun’?