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This is a big part of facing off against Brewie, McMourning, Kaeris, etc. They want the condition on their models, and it's almost better to go on the offensive and strip what they need off than it is to constantly fend off all the conditions they'll apply to your models. I enjoy using Lures and lots of repositioning tricks to isolate and strip key models and murder them early on. It can really catch your opponent off guard when you do. Pandora is excellent for this, and I also like Iggy with Eldritch Magic because Reckless gives him that extra activation to remove a key condition when you need it.

Nice win! Interesting choice using Coppelius in that crew. I always want to try him but the cost always makes me shy away as for one more stone I get the utility of the Hooded Rider. However, with two other Nightmares in the crew he seems like a solid choice and is always fun to use.

Giving Pandora a mask with Despairs Influence is a really good way to ensure she stays out of trouble. Pandora, more than most NB masters, is hugely dependent on really good positioning. I like to also have Iggy near her for an additional Misery proc when he inevitably gives something Burning.

Killed off, of sorts. He's now considered a part of Dead Man's Hand. Some theorize he'll make a return as a part of the Explorer's League.

I agree with most on here that NB have a different setup than most factions, in that we just have solid models that can kill but also scheme when necessary. The "scheming" models that existed in 2E are gone and it's likely for a solid design reason: there's just no other purpose for those models in certain pools. You see the same with most of the other factions, with some exceptions, and I think that's a conscious design decision to give models more utility in a more focused window (the keyword mechanic).

Against Perdita, Candy's Glimpse teleport can really screw them over, especially if they're bunching up at all. Don't be afraid to be aggressive with Pandora too, as her Terrifying helps quite a bit, and having her eat all the Focus off the Family models is a huge help. Serena Bowman is a great model for that matchup, and Hooded Rider is a threat they have to worry about all game. I also like Doppleganger against them because of the bonus action that gives Concealment, and I love copying Serena's Twist Reality, using the Tomes trigger to get Family models way out of position, which forces them to waste AP to just save models.

And at the rate Wyrd is going lately, we may not see them until next December

I save his fate tokens for his defensive trigger. Most of the games I've played, my opponents know what he's capable of and do not allow the bomb trigger of Greatsword to be a possibility.

No but she can give it to herself with Despair's Influence for the entire turn, thereby guaranteeing it for all Df/Wp duels. That's a pretty standard play for her once she gets into the fray. Inhuman is meh, it can be great on the right models but I agree with the sentiment that solid play lessens the need to spend two stones on this. Ancient Pact is a great upgrade for certain crews, not so good with others, and can win you some games of Corrupted Idols so I tend to run two of it in those lists. +2 Initiative is big. Eldritch Magic sees play against Kaeris, and maybe McMourning or Brewmaster. That's it. Pandora being able to pull all burning and injured off a model for one action is pretty devastating to a Kaeris crew.

I use this all the time on Hinamatsu for an 8" move. People look at me like I'm cheating when I do it

This. They require some finesse, like most things in Malifaux, and they're fantastic for pinning down fast models that tend to be used as scheme runners. I've had a couple games where they've basically negated a model with Butterfly Jump thanks to Misery and Misery Loves Company (looking at you Silurids).

I think he's solid for the Nightmare crew. I would not, however, take him as an OOK model unless I had some kind of gimmick for him.

Two words: Soulstone Miners

Nice job!

Pandora and the Woes. Super versatile, synergies are great, requires a high skill cap to execute but when you do it's super-oppressive. Mood Swings on a key activation can win you a game, Candy is one of the best models in NB. Overall just super good and fun.

This is often the case. Opponents that want him down will have to sink quite a few AP into doing so, and that is often worth losing him at times to score key points in a game. Just like with everything else in a game of Malifaux, there's an opportunity cost to investing effort into killing a fairly resilient model like the Hooded Rider.

This. I've used this quite a bit in the past with him, and it makes him so much harder to bring down.

Game 5 (8-4 loss vs Kaeris) - 50SS Pandora w/Eldritch Magic, 4 stone pool Poltergeist Candy Doppleganger Baby Kade Teddy Iggy Sorrow Strat was Turf War, and my two schemes were Assassinate and Outflank. I have never played against Kaeris (Kaeris, Eternal Flame, Elijah, Flame Golem, Iggy, Mech Rider, SS miner, Carlos) so I had somewhat of an idea what to expect, but I think in third edition, if you haven't played against her yet, you really don't know how good/oppressive she can be until you experience it. I heard how terrible she was in 2nd edition and I also heard how good she is in 3rd edition, and the rumors are true: She's a very solid master with a very solid crew. My opponent played her well. I also played probably my worst game of the entire league, making quite a few positioning mistakes and letting some key models get caught out. I also didn't focus enough on using Pandora's condition removal with Eldritch Magic's added attack, and it cost me as the Burning and Injured build up SUPER fast. I also had some terrible cards (flipping the Black Joker 4 times does not help one's chances), but can't blame that for the loss as my overall play was marred with mistakes. Oh well, can't win 'em all! Some of the MVPs: - Pandora - She got a lot of attacks in, but shouldn't have been attacking probably. If I get this matchup again she'll still get Eldritch Magic and she'll be doing nothing but removing conditions and using her bonus action. It's that important, especially Injured. - Poltergeist - Cleared 3 or 4 Pyre markers. My opponent had no idea this was possible and had to read the card. I enjoyed the look of disbelief on his face - Candy - I just played her poorly, activating her too early and not getting max value out of Corrupted Innocence. She also flipped pretty bad on Self Loathing and couldn't get much done. - Baby Kade - Died before he got a single attack off, thanks to a Red Joker. He had fast too so I was excited to butcher the Flame Golem, but alas it was not to be. - Doppleganger - Helped score both schemes. Didn't do much else. - Teddy - First game ever with Teddy, and the Teddy/Kade combo. I got him killed quite early thanks to an aggressive charge on Kaeris. I was able to get in a charge, and then had two attacks queued up and then flurry. However, my opponent cleverly had Iggy with Kaeris, and as soon as you hit Kaeris, you gain Burning. As soon he gained Burning, Iggy's misery aura pushed Teddy back 2", and I was then out of engagement. My opponent used my own tech against me and I loved it. It was a good game by my opponent, who played sound, and a pretty bad game by me, so I'l learn from it. I have to be more careful with Teddy/Kade, they hit like a truck but you have to be super selective about engagements with them, because boy does Teddy go down fast. I honestly don't see a big reason to bring Teddy over Hinamatsu, I think her Armor 2 is vastly better than Teddy's healing, and that makes Kade expendable, though I do like him without Teddy in some crew setups. That concludes the escalation league. Woe will hopefully finish at the top of the heap thanks to 36 VP through 5 games, but regardless I had an absolute blast and got to play against some new crews and some new folks, some of which will be getting more games with me soon enough. Much credit goes to Rob of Nerdhammer for organizing and running the league. Thanks for reading and if I get any more Pandora games in the near future I'll be posting them here.

The visuals here are fantastic

I've used him as pretty much a support piece so far. However, you need to watch for those moments when you can put his stat 7 attack to good use. In lists with multiple lures, it's a great play to save him to activate late in the turn, when their hand is depleted, and lure him in before his own activation, then charge in with him. It's even better if early on Pandora gives him crows for the turn for all duels, as they're pitching their final cards to save models. Also, he's a nice threat for Demise models.

I have yet to use Teddy in a game, but I might try him this weekend. The synergy with him and Kade puts Kade in some precarious positions at times and against certain opponents it's tough to justify 17 (19 with IR on Teddy) stones when I could have Hooded Rider and Dopple/Serena instead. Candy is the real workhorse of the Woe crew. Corrupted Innocence is an insane ability and has won me games single-handedly. Her place trigger on Glimpse is a huge deal; your opponent feels safe in their bunker until she warps in at the end of the turn and then every model thereafter that activates before her within 4" is auto-stunned and they pitch a card. Get some Sorrows to hop in there with Misery Loves Company and you have an aura pain train by turn 3 if you play it right.

He can move 19" a turn on his own, he hits like a truck, and his defensive trigger, along with Hard to Wound, make him super resilient. Your opponent has to devote a turn's worth of actions to really get him down, and there are times where he's worth losing in the grand scheme of the game. If you bring any kind of healing, he becomes so much more annoying for your opponent. And as Kharnage mentioned, the Ruthless is great to have, as is Unimpeded. He's a very solid utility knife, one that is very sharp. One note: I have never run him with upgrades, but Inhuman Reflexes is quite nice on him. I just cringe at 13 stones for a model, because at that point I'm only a couple stones away from another master.

Good to hear! What was your final score and what were the scheme/strats?

Eldritch Magic basically allows the Woe crew to hard-counter most condition-heavy crews out there. I am eventually going to be playing Colette soon as another player in our meta uses her exclusively in 3E so far, and I was thinking about this exact strategy. The trick is to give Pandora enough mobility tricks via her crew (Ride with Me, Where's Teddy, Lure, etc.) to make sure she can be where she needs to be to strip the conditions off. Definitely excited to try it.

I decided to just use the models I had for this escalation league, but I wanted to use Aversions something fierce. I think they're going to be a huge part of Pandora crews moving forward and are absolutely annoying for marker-heavy pools.