Thanks mate! I was really happy with it. I've been playing since 1.5 but took a year and a half break and before this event I decided to play somer ten times in a row just to get back into the swing of things. I played him during wave 1 but changed to neverborn and hadn't played him again until now, so quite some time had passed.
My perspective on Somer is that generally you can build the crew in a LOT of different ways. I'm going to go deep here and explain my thought processes. These aren't hard and fast rules even if I typed them out like they are, this is just how I think when using him. In my opinion the most important thing to do in malifaux when you're choosing a crew is make sure you have justifications for everything. If they don't perform, then adjust. Change it, see if it works in a different context and if something does work ask yourself why. It's easy to fall into the "podcast trap" of taking exactly what a certain podcaster says is good. Not to diminish from them, or online sources of information, they're incredibly useful. Just make sure you're learning why something is worth taking instead of just blindly taking it. Anyway, onto the show:
My core (must take)
Somer
- Do Over
- Family Tree
1-2x Skeeter (I prefer 2 but will cut it if I have to)
3x Bayou Gremlins
1x Lightning Bug
I always summon. I think turn 1 three bayou gremlins healed to full is great for all the GG18 missions even Ours just because a bayou gremlin can do a tonne of spike damage and they can help you achieve schemes, which often still require a lot of Ap. Also a huge factor is the activation control on turn 1 which I still feel is insanely important in this game. Come up against something you don't know about? Just out activate it, see what it'll do then do your stuff in return. It's a great level of control, especially against someone who wants to be aggressive.
From here, I will usually then think about a "holy trinity" of models. All I mean is that I usually only have stones for 3 big model purchases. I almost always want 1 to be able to deal substantial melee damage. This is incredible in Somer due to being able to counter attack enemies that engage you. Often opponents are choosing Hold Up Their Forces or try and engage multiple gremlins to reduce shooting in some manner. Having a beater counteracts this. I then want at least 1 very strong support piece. What these are are actually up to you and don't have to follow this formula. experiment with what works for you. I have changed what models I pick based on schemes and strats, how aggressive or defensive I want to be or if something speaks to me for the mission (fingers in ply is a good example). I'll normally take:
Trixibelle
Burt Jebsen
- Dirty Cheater
Merris
I really like Merris when Set Up is in the pool. Between her, trixie and the summoned bayou gremlins you can really easily get it on any opposing melee targets. It can be relatively easy to triple walk merris scheme marker, triple walk trixie with a marker laid by a bayou gremlin and drunk and reckless a gremlin to set up someone in one turn. It sounds like Magical Christmas Land, but it's good. I'm also terrified of blasts generally speaking and I find being able to dip deeper for a mask for somer turn 1 to be very good. THAT SAID!!! With no claim jump anymore, she has definitely lost stock and I will often replace her straight up with Raphael. Him at six is absolutely bonkers especially with Somer turning on rams. I still rate burt in this list as with the amount of models you have slipperly still does some solid work and getting weak four with a rams aura, crackerjack timing for somers blasts and just generally being a high output beater is all good. I don't like Franc because I want my beater to be resilient. I normally leave him for the more aggro lists like Zipp.
I have also tried weird stuff like Old Major. I seem to biggest hat more than some people, and saddling somer can be really powerful turn 2 whilst the saddle on rafa with a rams aura to hit something for ten turn 1 can surprise people coming from a summoner. I just generally think that trixie is really good right now due to being able to undo opponents lures, which I think are really good in GG18 (as is activiation control against said lures, God I hate activating early then getting lured to death), and the ability to ditch crows to a skeeters do it like dis and going to town on slows on the opposing crew can be game winning. She isn't the be all and end all but she's a solid model who just does a lot. As I mentioned earlier, Fingers could definitely take her slot in ply and you could try going rafa plus a taxidermist, especially since burts increase in cost. Some people also like gracie too. On heavy terrain boards and with a heavy gunline Sammy with Encouragement can make Somer a monster, being able to effectively ignore the terrain and just shooting three times for weak 4. She's also very good in the scheme pool missions with her stuffed pig shenanigans. I'm not against those options at all, but they're just that. Options. Trixie/burt/merris just play very very safely for me, protecting against blasts, having push back and slow against highly aggressive alphas (and cheating initiative turn 2, huge against an alpha) and a very resilient beater.
At this stage you have six stones left. I normally will put dirty cheater on Somer if something like udnercover entourage is in the pool because with it on he is very VERY tough to kill when played cagey or I'll put on liquid bravery against ressers/neverborn. That leaves you with 5 stones. Lately I've really liked just taking a second lightning bug. I like this option just because of how good the model is. It's fast and can scheme, if you lose one early to an insane snipe you then have backup for the heal and they can do some serious damage against armoured targets. If I think I'll be against high defense crews or think just consistent healing will be good for the matchup/scheme pool then I'll take a slop hauler, and if I think I'll get a lot of utility out of the extra draw/pushes the I'll take a banjonista. this is a flex slot in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes it doesn't exist if I take a different set of models in the Holy Trinity, or it may just become rafa if I don't put that upgrade on Somer.
Also, and just as a note, I rarely summon T2. At that stage I'm biggest hatting, focus blasting, shooting my own bayous to blast the opponent and try cards then do overing to shoot the target and all of that really really fun stuff that I truly play somer for.
SO to actually answer your question my "standard" list (which basically changes in some way every single game but is a solid base) is:
Somer
- Family Tree
-Dirty Cheater
- Do Over
Skeeter
Skeeter
Trixibelle
Burt Jebsen
- Dirty Cheater
Merris Lacroix
Bayou Gremlin
Bayou Gremlin
Bayou Gremlin
Lightning Bug
Lightning Bug
I hope this helped. I am far from the best player but I think seeing someones proper thought process can really help your own. Sorry for the wall of text!!