Maniacal_cackle

I suppose you could also change it to "Models summoned this turn are not counted for this strategy", or "Friendly models summoned this turn are not counted for this strategy" (so that your opponent can still score off of them).

For strategies, I was thinking of some that would reward hiring lower cost models to give them a bit of a boost in game, since it is frequently complained they're a bit too weak. I also think that ideally some (but not all) strategies would not be slanted towards summoners. So here's some thoughts I threw together for a hypothetical gaining grounds. Let me know what you think! Errata: if a model would be summoned without an upgrade, attach a summon upgrade to it. It has no effect and no plentiful limit. (Ideally word it so models like Ikiryo and Som'er can still eliminate the upgrade). This just patches up a lot of loopholes in the rules. I can exorcise Asami's summons, but not Toshiro's? What? A summon should count as a summon, full stop. Strategy 1: Claim territory. Set up markers like in Turf War/Leylines. At the end of each turn, if there are more strategy markers with a friendly model within X" than you have scored points for this strategy, gain 1 VP. Possible addition: Models with summon upgrades are ignored for this strategy. Strategy 2: Hold Your Ground At the end of each turn, if there are more enemy models engaged by friendly models with lower costs than you have scored points for this strategy, gain 1 VP. Possible addition: Models with summon upgrades are ignored for this strategy. What do you think? I don't think you'd want to have a blanket rule that models with summon upgrades are ignored for strategies, but I think it could be a neat thing to tack on to some strategies so I put it as an option for both. Playtesting could determine the final form of each strategy, of course. Both these hypothetical strategies reward low cost models. I also like that Hold Your Ground creates a strategy where the flow of battle is determined by the position of each crew, but isn't killing oriented like the previous three incarnations of this type of strategy (Reckoning, Public Enemies, Recover Evidence).

As some background info, Lampads are in the top 5 models that get complained about in the Ressers forum. Poor defense, poor offense, decent to good utility. Not what you're looking for with an 8 stone model.

Lampads are undead, is there a reason they don't have hard to wound? It would make a big difference to their survivability, and it IS our faction ability/the ability of undead. So why isn't it there? No space on the card? Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse. But you know, we are Ressers, so... Beating the dead horse actually gets a response.

I think one issue they encountered with multiple upgrade options for a single crew like this is it tended to result in one upgrade everyone always took every time as being the best one. It is quite tricky to balance a crew around one Hive upgrade, I imagine, so balancing around several options would be pretty crazy.

The thing is the markers don't even have to be useful. Even corpse markers can turn the ability on. Very strong after facing it in the last world series game.

ALSO PICTURE THIS!!!! One of the Ramones uses Ride With Me on Desper to carry him forward, but he falls off the vehicle. The Ramone zooms off down the road, and so Desper uses his grappling hook to grab onto the vehicle and slingshot himself forward, leaps and somersaults through the air, and grabs the prized possession (Symbol of Authority) before disappearing into the night. Coolest sequence ever!!!

I'm getting very excited to play Desper LaRaux. Don't mind me + Leap on a model has got to be one of the most potent scheme-running combinations out there. Not to mention his grappling hook is a potential ~12 inches of movement with the mask trigger! Really solid potential for Take Prisoner. Plus he ignores terrain and models while moving. In a pinch, he can situationally hit for min 3 that ignores armor (kill a Necropunk in a single activation), can situationally steal/harvest soulstones, and can situationally draw cards. The only thing I don't like about him is that his defenses are garbage, but when you have leap you don't really need as much defensive tech. Desper seems like he will be a strong reason to declare Rollins/McCabe, particularly in things like Symbols. Just another ~2 months until I have the crew on the table at my current rate of painting >.>

One thing we often discuss is doing stuff like trophies for these things. So you could have a "most unique" trophy, so whoever has the least shared masters with others gets the most unique trophy. That way some people will intentionally go for it, without it skewing the tournament as a whole.

Good... Good... The longer they take to release the sand worm, the longer until my next order, and the more time I have to paint up what I already have of ES xD

Still, always nice to have the rule directly on the forum!

This seems like it might be worth editing into the original post, so that new players looking at the thread have a good place to start. Thoughts, @HomelessOne?

Jeez, if Ressers are a weakness of Ivan, I'd hate to see him at full strength. For Jedza, I assumed she'd be bad against Ressers since we have tons of anti-healing tech, not to mention solid tools to deal with bubble crews (Reap on Dead Rider).

I think other sizes are okay for starters, but game balance will change a LOT on funky shape maps. For instance, for some encounters, I can exactly pull off an attack against an opposed enemy leyline on wedge deployment, and only on wedge deployment. Changing how fast models can get around the board will be tricky. For example, on a 2x2 map, Archie can get to any spot on the board from most spots on the board and still make two attacks. Same with Dead Rider. English Ivan can nuke things from 17" away, etc. So if you're planning on playing regular games, I definitely recommend a 3x3 map. But to start out, whatever is fine.

Ohhhh, right, so it is only 25 stones. Yeah, that makes it tricky to balance the boxes.

It also seems super weird for Hopeful Prospects to be included in a keyword-free crew so they can't transform. I guess they really wanted it to be 29 stones and there are sprue logistics. But what a weird mix of models. Botanists would have been cool, but what do I know. I wasn't involved with testing them xD

I guess it makes sense for a starter kit! And also for people like me who suck at assembling xD I know that is a disappointment for a lot of people, though. This is the first I've heard of it, but I'd be really surprised if they did it both ways. Thatd be so expensive for them.

Let me caveat this by saying the rules aren't terribly clear on what is responsible for effects, so there is probably some wiggle room in interpretation. However, I read Bombs in yer Belly as just adding a blast to the damage track (controlled by the upgrade owner). So I would say the damage is part of the attack. Thus, Izamu gets credit for any kills from the attack, and the blast ignores armor. But I could be wrong, and there is no strict justification under the rules for how to assign responsibility for effects like this, iirc. I think it just has a tautological statement (a model counts as killing something if it killed it, or something like that).

Even Emissary I feel like is unnecessary on many maps (although unfortunately IS necessary on most of the February maps).

Yeah, will see how I go! Plus February and March are very hot months here in NZ (optimal for lung health/I should be healthy enough to play)! Plus this is such a cool set of rules, I'd be gutted to miss it. But will see, waiting til Feb to sign up.

Well, Hamelin + Wretch is 20 stones of models. If you plant yourself near Dead Rider + Archie, you're going to be taking a similar level of damage. It isn't like the wretch can do that damage itself. It enables the keyword, and personally I love keyword synergies. Plus if you removed the ability, would the model ever be taken? Although I wonder if they ever experimented with stat 4, similar to the Chihuahua.

I agree. Big Jake is already strong, and this would make him a sure two points in a lot of games. Obedient Wretch, the model seems fine to me. It is a lot of work to get those blight tokens onto models, so I wouldn't say it is the wretch doing all that damage. And the model can already be one shot by a single focused attack. That said I haven't played against it that much, and maybe it is too strong against ranged crews. Manipulative AND stealth is certainly a lot of tech. EDIT: oh, I Forgot tummy aches. Yeah, not everyone has access to a model that can stay safe and run across the table to one shot the Wretch. That does seem a bit much.

True, although both Seamus and Reva seem fine in the strategy, just not excellent. Like compared to Zoraida, Colette, and Tara, I'm not sure we can smash it as well as they can (with a single master). Well, maybe Tara, I think we can keep up with her by denial via killing perhaps.

I think I started with Pandora core box + Teddy + Hooded Rider, so I think that sounds like a decent start. I get the impression Hinamatsu is extremely good in the crew, so worth considering as well. Iggy is also great, but more situational (and you may find the pools you take Pandora into, you don't need Iggy?) Most people don't like Aversions or Lyssa. I quite like Aversions on paper, but every time I make lists with my friend, Aversions seem like the model to cut.

TBH, for casual play as long as you avoid crews that are clearly too powerful (like summoners), 35 stones is probably fine. It just changes the meta, but you shouldn't have anything too OP.