Gaston

Question #3 on the most recent FAQ covers this.

To tag onto @4thstringer:

Your only WP 6 model is Reichart. Leave him at home. No more Broken Ghost summoning. Without the Brocken, all of a sudden Dua struggles versus Armor and Damage reduction which....psst...Guild got. 

Instead of Rechiart consider two models: Peacekeeper and Guardian. The Peacekeeper is a min 3 with 3-4 attacks, Hard to Wound, Armor +2. It is quite undervalued. If you are worried about Mv 4, use Kick Up, poke it with Quicksand, and teleport it up. That shit alone will nab ya like 5" of movement. You can also Baby Basse Bring It, and if it swings on her......I mean......oops? Now the Guardian is just dirty. Filthy. WP 4, Arm 2, min 3, things Dua hates. BUT!!! It has Take the Hit. Take the Hit specifies that it becomes the new target of the attack, ignoring LOS. Which means Ivan loses the concealment bonus from terrain, and now needs both to hit, a high crow, and a soul stone to summon anything. 

Both Guardian and Peacekeeper like scrap, which Traps provide.

Traps are dirty. They attack Mv (remember, ES has lower than Average Mv, usually 5 or worse; Ivan and Moordrake are actually Mv 4). Hit them with Staggered. It turns of moving outside of activation, so Antiluminal Bridge, gone. And so on. Also takes Ivan down to Stat 2 vs Caught in Quicksand having a Stat 7 and Ignoring Concealment. If you do this, stack Injured, bring Austringers, etc, it puts an IMMENSE amount of pressure on Ivan.

Hitting a model with Among the Willows makes it into Hazardous to Ivan's crew. 

Everything ignores Concealment, Pathfinder, Austringer. 

Good amount of marker removal for Guild, esp when it is just random incidental removal like Thrash. Eva hates this, btw. 

I've played Basse into Cadmus a lot.

• The traps can be very crucial, as you can keep the Nests engaged until you can deal with them thanks to from the Shadows. REMEMBER TO NOT DEPLOY 4" FROM YOUR DEPLOYMENT ZONE HOWEVER!!! 3.99" MAX.
• The crew does enough damage. The crew also brings a butt ton of healing.
• Caught in the Qucksand picks on Mv, not Def, good for going for Emissary. Injured doesn't hurt either, and, terrain depending, the places can be brutal as well.
• Additionally, there's a fair amount that attacks movement, which is a traditionally lower end stat in ES in general. With the Staggered that the Frontier keyword can hand out, you can prevent Cadmus from teleporting models around. Don't forget Staggered does more than just reduce the Mv stat.
• A big part of my games into the Husks are Swarm of Mites, where they try to run in and pulse out damage, Injured, and Parasites. Riot Gear on No Prisoners is a fairly effective counter pick upgrade to this strategy. It's also useful with Frontier so that you can use your own models to make terrain hazardous. In theory you can put it on a Pathfinder, summon a trap, and pop it over with the Catch Them! but......Idk in practice on that one. If you do it, you're a BAMF in my book though.
• Frontier has a huge deployment advantage on Cadmus with Home on the Range. This lets you scheme more effectively, but also allows you to pick strategies and game plans to stretch the field, making it more difficult on Cadmus. Don't play to the center.
• You have Austringers who ignore LOS, and can pick on those softer models from safe locations very effectively.
• The Sand Worm is also an interesting piece into the match up, where he can pop up with Terror from Below, get into some of those backline models. Thrash trigger also allows him to remove web markers, limiting summoning and mobility. Understand however, he is likely to die after he pops up, given the amount of WP based attacks some of the Cadmus crews build for (Spelleater, Archivist for example). 
• Emissary stops Will of Cadmus cold (crowd control).
• Overall, engage from range, not melee. Make them spend AP coming to you.
• Bring Shielded (Lawyer! And he can Obey!). Cadmus pings, they don't have min 3 beaters, so damage reduction can be very useful. Witch Hunter keyword with Shielded is good for this too.
• Keep cards in your hand, even crappy ones. You need the discard to help stave off the parasite tokens. Basse's card draw (Claim the Bounty) is good for this too. As is the Lawyer, again.
• Going OOK, consider Jury (WP attack, errata to summons) and Alan Reid (Boring Conversation). Exorcist, Lone Marshal can now also one shot Husks from summoned Eyes and Ears, thanks errata! Kill them the smart way, not the hard way.

We have tools. And Frontier is good into more than just Cadmus when it comes to ES. English Ivan becomes English Ivan't. 

Its not easy, Cadmus wouldn't be top level otherwise, but we are far from helpless. We are the law!

Something else also worth noting from the errata was that it did impact how I approached Journalist a small bit.

I was playing into Nekima (melee focused) so I dumped Phiona for Reichart. With the change to Propaganda Piece, I find that you really want her into gunlines to protect Journalists, but she is far less useful in melee match ups where your opponent can position more easily around it (especially with 2" melee). So I subbed in Reichart. The gameplan I used was to have him unpack the crew for me. With Home on the Range and Hot Off the Presses from the Printing Press, you can push him forward, then he has Bring It to use on Nellie (and this case Dade too). Disguised was also a significant advantage versus a melee based, quick strike crew, taking away charges.

Then the strategy was Break the Line, so I was quickly able to get my Exclusive Interview models up the field, lock down 2-3 markers with them and put myself on a strong starting advantage. Then even when my opponent had focus stacked to get around Manipulative or Serene Countenance, a couple of Slanders put them back in their place. 

I think people are seriously underestimating the Distracted change. Played Journalist last night and it was "robust".

Take him vs Cadmus and pop a Nest back to their deployment zone.

Be careful what you ask for. A lot of models will not change. A single upgrade may.

So if you feel a lot of models are designed with the upgrade in mind, once it changes, a lot of models will now not have access to it anymore. 

Also the title of this thread is very confusing.

The Damned is the model Savage was missing. Seriously. I don't use Euripides without him anymore.

He is incredibly versatile and will support any playstyles the strat and scheme calls for. You need to stretch the board? No problem. Kill backline mooks? Leap and Pounce is fantastic. Brick up? Get extra damage from his healing aura.

Savage is completely changed by him.

I've actually thought that a weakness of a lot of Schtook builds where you have the single Valedictorian to pop to and not much else. It tends to feel like it leaves her stranded all alone, if you're able to eat the alpha successfully, which Phiona really can do. 

That's why I had questions!!! You did call the secret tech after all.

It just seemed like they'd be easy VP for even an Undergrad to pop on over and try to pick up. I was also trying to square off the cost/benefit in my mind. Do they only do enough work to justify in multiples? But then you'd taking squish bots in multiples also, so do you really get your VP back? And to top it off, Schtook has really excellent condition removal.

@4thstringer Why did your opponent not put Evidence on them and kill them off rather than chasing to your center grouping?

I enjoyed this. 

Can you comment more on the Newsies?

I'm a bit surprised people are keeping Teddy versus Schill, he's basically a big fluffy target for them to rip through. Kade doesn't need him, Kade is great on his own, time to grow up!

Versatiles: Hooded, Serena, Hinamatsu

Other adds: Changling, whatever you need to score Schemes and Strat, don't be afraid to go outside of Woe, they are not that synergistic a keyword.

Pandora will always struggle versus gunlines, it's not just you, it's her generic matchup weakness. Try not to engage directly, until you know you have the ability to get there. Hooded will help as a Pandora taxi, Candy can walk, walk, use Bonus with trigger.

Carver is a useful, but niche hire. He's mostly good for Ruthless, there isn't that much in NB as a faction.  Vs Schill, you can drop him for better things.

Armor is also annoying for NB, Serena will help a small amount.

Just now, Maniacal_cackle said:

As far as I can see, models can still unbury themselves. Which doesn't really make sense thematically (they're supposed to be frozen in the pillar), but mechanically that is how it works I believe.

That's how I felt, rules wise, but wanted to cross check versus the advice that he is good against burrowing models.

Like you'd want to drop him into Dreamer, to counteract summons that pop out amongst your own models ... Except the summon upgrade allows them to just unbury again with the next duel!

What stops the Soulstone Miner from unburying itself?

Poor Cyclops...

@Maniacal_cackle sample size is 7.

I agree with @Alcathous, he is niche, 20% take. 

You should already be putting focus onto Savage models anyway, it stacks incredibly efficiently with The Old Ways. Adding Intuition on top of that enables you better card manipulation in order to try to consistently hit that severe 6 damage. However, he competes in this role with Geryon who are cheaper and better beaters with min 3, the same Focus/Old Ways tricks, better triggers (Frozen Trophy aside), and extended reach.

Mv 6 looks attractive, but realistically you have better scheme runners OOK, and you can always use the Gigant Postal Service to deliver them up the table quicker.

Df 6 is always great. Even better when you have cover. Shifting Ice means he can hide behind pillars without having charge issues like Geryons do. But do you care over much about that +1 Df? Like, truely?

So that brings him full circle tooooooo....Frozen Trophy, the 20% solution. It's basically good for temporarily removing a problem piece from the game that would otherwise be a lot of work. The problem you run into is intelligent opponents, play Euripides enough, and at some point they'll figure out that they need marker removal. And 4/7 of the current factions have Blow it to Hell for instance. So you have to look at your match up and say, "am I likely to need to get a model off the table". Examples could be Montressor, Jakuuna who have really gross auras. The Midnight Stalker, a painful to kill schemer, but also an oft lonely bro. Or Ashes and Dust, who can be a pain to handle. If you're going into Von Schtook, it isn't unusual to see the Valedictorian solo charge your crew turn 1 as an alpha. Ikyrio, whom you either need to kill efficiently, or not at all. 

If you kill a target, does Pouncing Strike still trigger?

Specifically, because it refers to "another model" and there is no original model to be referenced to.

@Necrosage Welcome to Malifaux and Neverborn and Savages!

A couple general things: if you ask us for model advice, we are more than happy to pile on with combos and ideas! This is good, but keep in mind you don't NEED to purchase everything we suggest right off the bat. For better or worse, this game does reward having a deep model collection, as you can better select the right model for the right job, but I'd always say play 6 games or so first, then figure out, "what would make my life easier and fit how I play".

The other recommendation I'd make is to build a core list for a master, but leave 20ish stones free for making changes. There is an expectation that your list will need to change based on the schemes and strategies and once masters are declared. For example, once you declare Euripides, if your opponent doesn't bring in a model with marker removal (example: Blow it to Hell), then they are going to have a much rougher time.

As for specific advice:

I second that Serena is a really strong model to have in hand when you need her. She is difficult to kill, our best healer, and has useful abilities on her gun.

I also second shuffling Ancient Pact to the Gigants for the card draw. Thoon has Intuition and can semi-avoid the Black Joker. The reason why the card draw matters is that the crew is going to want to hit a LOT of suits. Euripides is all about Frozen Domain early game, and Shattering Surprise to get up the table. Gigants likewise want Shattering Surprise, Cyclops need a Tome for Ice Pillars, and so on. Getting that solid Turn 1 can be very resource intensive, there are only so many Rams and Tomes. Use stones on Euripides and Old Ways to double up when you can.

Bultungin hate is because they have poor stats and are easy to kill. They literally have no defensive tech at all, and tend to die in 1-2 shots. Pack Mentality is of limited use if you're using them as fast scheme runners as they won't end up near each other. Conversely, they are very fast, putting down 16" a turn is no joke. Also the Abundant Growth can further slow down your opponent while you cage them in with ice pillars. Toss in the Mud and a 14" Forage for anti-scheming are also very useful. Then are again, niche models. I don't always take them, but when I have a specific need, I slot them in. 

Geryon are very solid, you can use Shoulder Rush to make them a bit faster Turn 1 and stack some focus.

I've also take a Black Blood Shaman with the crew to spread out focus, then have it grow into a Mature Nephilim on Turn 2. Focus is useful with The Old Ways. Shot one, focus, hit, get straight on damage, cheat a severe. Shot two, Old Ways that Severe in, very efficient. Gigants can get 7 damage off one card that way, and Stat 6 on them is really solid (the Rng 8" is much less exciting). 

The crew can have some serious mobility problems, which is why Shattering Surprise is something you'll look to leverage a lot. Alternatives are hiring in Lyssa (in keyword) for Spd 5 Incorporeal. You can bring in Grootslang to teleport all over and be a durable scheme runner (also Lair/Ice Pillar/Scheme for Research Mission). Tuco has from the Shadows and Stealth to get across the table also. Gigants can use Shattering Shove to teleport friendly models, sometimes this will get done on Candy to dump her into the middle of an opponent's crew. I've taken the Mysterious Emissary or Hooded Rider before to create Hazardous Terrain for models stuck behind the ice pillar wall. Angel Eyes brings some long range fun. Vasilisa and Tangled Threads help with movement duels, and Move Along doesn't hurt a slower crew.

TL;DR: you have a TON of options, but play first, learn the strengths and weaknesses of the crew, and then decide for yourself!!!

It's closer to niche control. Last Pine Box I did was to get Montressor and his aura off the table for example. 

If you cannot make the stream, will there be a way to view it later?

I think what works against Lelu is that he has a specific role versus a Young which has a generalist role (and is thus a more attractive hire on the whole).

For me, Lelu has been a source of indirect damage, crowd control, and summoning.

Consider that Masochistic Thoughts and Blood for Blood have no targeting requirements, allowing you to sidestep undesirable defensive triggers, negatives to hit, Terrifying, etc. Additionally, he is an enabler to counter HtK models by giving your entire crew a bubble of Blood for Blood (via Masochistic Thoughts). That ability has been very useful for me as a finisher on Nekima, when you just couldn't get the job done otherwise (last game it finished a Pigapult and Alphonese for example). If you decide to attach IR to him, then you get the Blade Rush, BfB, and MT for 3 damage without interacting with your opponent. This can also be useful for tackling armor, as these are all 1 damage pings, so they circumvent it. If he does hit, then he'll do his 1 weak damage (vs Armor +2 for instance), and poison, so 5 'ping' damage overall, but only needing to hit once. 

Crowd control is fairly self explanatory--all of this ping damage from the two main abilities is in an aura, so the more models you get with it, the higher the payoff. Likewise for Hayreddin Tot summoning, Lelu does a whole lot of Black Blood spraying, increasing the chance of making some adorable Cherubs. 

So, niche? Absolutely. Has glaring weaknesses? Sure. Useless? Hardly, but you do have to have a plan, targeted match ups, and he relies on other models to shine. 

Actually dropped Marcus last night into Brewmaster and had a blast. I really do encourage Order Initiates with him with IR, that combo stacked very strongly, but they also take some of the pressure off him to have a perfect turn 1 with handing out upgrades and you get some card draw to boot. Also have loved the Adze with him, having a Lure to isolate enemy models is great.

@Fixxer are you finding Myranda worth the cost?

An upgrade on a pistolero seems risky?

1 hour ago, Trample said:

Fly With Me, unlike Ride With Me, can not be used in combat or to carry someone who is engaged. The Iron Skeeter shouldn't have been able to do this. 

Thank you for the reports BTW, I enjoy them. I just bought Dashel  during the Easter sale and I love some of the new models! 

From memory, we were playing it as the Skeeter could not be engaged, but the target could. Reading the card though, you are correct, that little "unengaged" word slipped in there somehow...  Dashel is amazing, other than the part that I cannot play him very well, lol!