Plaag

great art, but awful title-she means to be in melee battle, but she cannt survive there, also some stupid actions-drop pyre and move models, why not rework them with some action, like light under their feet with trigger for stagger and drop pyre, focused attention

as i told-kaeris crew have many mv duels, but only one stagger in faction-kandara, so all those duels without stagger are not effective

also why sonia have blast on min dmg, while kaeris have only on mod, max-in arcanists we have no focus stacking

On 9/4/2021 at 1:36 AM, Jordon said:

I can't really see any particular reason to play her in theme. She really only cares about Decoys, Doves and the occasional scheme marker. She doesn't really do anything with the performer keyword at all. 

Cassandra is about the only model you'd really want to piggyback off of Colette's shenanigans. Maybe Harata? Not sure how his aura's act with decoys. Other than that, I don't see a reason to stay in theme here. 

bad thing is that we have no model in keyword/faction that intaract with decoy markers at all

On 8/3/2021 at 6:30 PM, Ravencroft said:

Hello all, I have been trying to wrack my brain with this one. I have been running Kaeris with GG2 and I keep running into the same dilemma. I’d like to use a Firebranded in my crew, but I don’t see a spot for them nor much use for them. Any suggestions as to when to put in the Firebranded and what role they would play? Thanks

firebranded are useless, better take other models

2 hours ago, Jinn said:

Competitively? A Silent One would be my choice. Thematically? Firebranded are the only eligible target I think.

The only other living minion I think would be hired into Kaeris would be a Saboteur, but I don't like them very much personally.

saboteur is useless

in arcanists we have only few minion models for training: silent one, steamfitter, order initiate, mei feng minions 

1 hour ago, Erik1978 said:

Apart from Explorers being a new faction people need to adjust playstyle against, Cadmus is so different from everything else that people probably need more games before they know how to play against them. That said, I think a few adjustments to Cadmus would be in order. 

I'm reluctant to play them at the tournament next month, I'd hate to be that guy bringing people frustrating games. I do like the crew through. The totem models are so cool.

cadmus is very broken, it is so easy to play with it while your opponent suffering

17 hours ago, trikk said:

Is it the Melee stat increase?

scavengers and melee, yes

On 8/26/2021 at 9:39 PM, 4thstringer said:

I'm glad it's not just me who can't deal with Levi. It has at least felt better since the nerf, but Levi is always the nightmare for me to the point my meta mates would laugh at me about it.

leveticus become more powerful after nerf

19 hours ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

It is possible no one considers cadmus good for a competitive environment (particulary with timed games?) with the summon changes.

Or people could just be wanting to do something different. I know several of the players still think Cadmus is insane.

Any thoughts @Plaag, why no Cadmus?

cadmus is too easy

people just give a chance to win not again cadmus)

2 hours ago, Alcathous said:

Player pack is up on the original post!

The player pack describes how round pairings will be determined; each round comes with three maps and teams will assign each of their players to a map. Pairings will be revealed at the start of each round.

We are also going to require that players in a team each declare a different master within each round. E.g., if a team has a Bayou player and a Neverborn player and Neverborn declares Zoraida in Round 1, Bayou cannot declare Zoraida that round.

so player cannt take same master for each round?

2 hours ago, Ravencroft said:

Hi all, I have a couple of tough games coming up this weekend. One against McMourning, one against McCabe and another against Seamus. Any advice on how to combat these crews would be greatly appreciated. They are all 50 SS games and model selection is not going to be a problem, as I have all of the Wildfire keyword and all the Arcanist versatile models. Thanks for helping out.

take envy in each crew, vs mcmorning take miranda+ssc, against seamus silent one+train and no enforsers+other minions(without ssc)-just only ss users;vs mccabe look at your position-dont get blasts, also take effigy for dispel

i will not advice take any of kaeris keyword but borgman; sometimes u can take carlos, but better to take ook

3 hours ago, Graf said:

I am in the same boat. In Tormented the Effigy is reasonably protected against melee, but it can still catch a bullet. I picked models for this list which somehow interact well with the crew (Student hardly made it e.g.) and "one 6SS model becomes 10SS" is not enough reason for me. My list picks have to provide something to the crew, not just be playable models on their own. If that is the standard, I would have to include dozens of OOK choices to cover them all.

I think a Gravedigger is a solid utility piece for certain strategies (Break the Line, Leylines) and schemes (Research Mission, Deathbed) though. Tormented itself does not need corpses, but I always have GST and/or Killer Instinct somewhere and often a Bone Pile. When those reasons combine, the Digger becomes a valid choice imho.

From those games, I know the turn #1 focus pulse is nice and it is kind of a staple for all crews and factions, but I never felt like I want to spend list SS just for a walking corpse marker. But I have not tried it in my games, so I am sceptical but will not put a final verdict out. 

most of jack crews goes with 7-6 ss left and u cannt hire useless models like gravedigger in tormented, but 2 ss for mass focus is very cheap

4 hours ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

Isn't it a major downside that effigy can't heal hanged? Also his heal is an action (not a bonus), so he can't walk + focus + heal. If he could he'd be sooooo much better IMO.

I do like Mindless Zombies for focus if you can spare the AP and positioning, although there's also sometimes better options (like you have to ask if it is worth including a gravedigger or a mourner at that point).

effigy is still 6ss significant model that become 10ss emissary

and zombie cost only 2 ss, but gravedigger cost 6 and in tormented crew he is not good at all

7 hours ago, Graf said:

Effigy: I prefer Bone Piles/Nurse for healing, while they cost more, they also bring much more to the table. Anti-healing aura is already covered by Hanged (anti-stoning not though). If nothing else, it is at least a cheap heal bot, worth a thought if you do not have 6-7SS left. I think I will listen to your feedback here and include it in the list, even though I do not have much to say about it.

Mindless Zombie: Is there anything noteworthy about them here?

Datsue Ba: I know she sees a lot of (OOK) play in some areas. Not so for me. Her unique stick, summoning, requires way to many hoops to jump through OOK. Not good enough imho for a 10SS model, which you need to spend SS/cards for to get results. In GG2 the summoning even lost scoring value. Her other abilities... Demise hate: Manos works better with Tormented. Staggered: Manos is way better and Drowned can do the same for less SS.

You could include both Yakuuna and Drowned to benefit from her Guide Spirit. But as written before, I cannot see more than one (maaaybe two in very rare cases) Drowned in this crew and a single bonus action walk does not change that. Imho she is not worth her points here. Even if one plans to put a lot of points into Yakuuna/Drowned, a question rises in me: Why not play Kirai/Urami from the start?

effigy can play in most crews with upgrade of fate and first 2 turns he can heal undead and walk+take focus

if i had some way in arcanists to pay 2 ss for mass focus-i would pay them; zombie can be taken for this

datsue ba-she can make drowned/jakuna walk/charge and she is much more tanky than manos because in jack she has terrifying 13+incorp, and she summon with atack against wp, so stat 7 near jack 

and st.clair can be added to this list as anti-summon

On 7/9/2021 at 4:20 PM, Graf said:

In-keyword models

Jack Daw

Role: killer, curses, card draw

His first card is pretty straight forward. It may be just me, but I often forget Disturbing Whispers, be better than that! Also remember: Due to Ghost of Malifaux, Jack Daw cannot body block, but if they move through him normally, they still need to disengage.

A question you will encounter with him is: Do I use my Slow AOE or do I just kill one model? There is no easy answer, both can be a strong play. My general guideline is: killing a model takes at least 2 actions (per turn) away from your opponent and might give you last activation. But Slow can take away 1 action per model in range. TN13 is good, but will not go through with every model, therefore I take extra time to consider Whispered Truth once he catches at least 4 models and/or needs to slow down multiple models.

Daw’s first turn usually consist of rushing forward and dragging something along with Drawn to Betrayal, to establish dominance over the middle of the board as soon as possible. Turn #1 (if possible) and turn #2 is used to apply as many curses as possible. Do not hold back and spend all his actions, if you have targets, you will need those curses going forward. If your opponent was nice enough to give you enough (now cursed) models close-by, you can start drawing cards. Luckily, Suppressed Memories both applies a curse and lets you teleport to your enemy – do not hesitate to spend stones! You better start drawing a considerable amount now, if you start turn #3 it might be still okay, but you will feel the difference.

Upgrades

Grave Spirit’s Touch: After getting a few games in, I was under the impression that you need this upgrade less, the more experienced you are with Daw. Blasphemous Ritual is wasted on Daw and after turn #1 he has other things to do with his bonus action. I returned more and more to GST though, the longer I played Tormented. The thought is true regarding his survivability, but if you can gauge his toughness better, it also means you can afford to be more aggressive with him, if necessary. Regen +2 also means you save up to two hand cards you could use well somewhere else. In short: While it is not mandatory, if you can take GST, do it!

Killer Instinct: A worthy upgrade for Daw’s offensive, but I take it only if I require Ruthless, but then I do it gladly. Wasting a master’s action or cards for a failed terrifying check is rather bothersome. Loot their corpses is solid, if you do not need these markers for something else. Daw is deadly and can collect a few stones over the course of a game.

The Whisper: It is well known how good Intuition is on a master and being the killer he is, Daw can even draw you a few additional cards. Despite this, Whisper is the upgrade I take the least. All three are good options, but I have found that GST ito be the better pick and Killer Instinct is mandatory against certain crews. If I take Whisper, it is usually because I do not need KI and both Hanged already get GST.

Lady Ligeia

Role: aura and debuff support

Ligeia’s debuff aura is the strongest reason, why it is dangerous to go into the Tormented bubble. Even when it combines with only occasional discard, it gets expensive for your opponent very fast. A single, strong model can get some cheats through, but if you have to deal with only one model, it generally is to your benefit as long as they cannot teleport out. Sadly, she also is not very survivable. Measure well how far she needs to be to cover your models and keep an eye out for models with longer (melee) ranges.

Her Projected Voice attack is what she usually spends her action for other than moving. The damage is surprisingly solid for a Totem, but the important part is guaranteed Stagger trigger on blast. Her stat is rather low though, if you really need to debuff something with her, better plan to cheat for the attack.

Since she prefers not to be in direct contact with the enemy, Talons is largely irrelevant – except when used on your own Guiltys.

 

Montressor

Role: utility, tank

Montressor will always have things to do, since he can obey any non-master Tormented model. There is not much finesse to him, just look which models need an extra action. His attacks are solid and their triggers fit well to Tormented with the possibility for min. 3 and Execute. Noteworthy, he is a great roadblock with Terrifying, HtW, 10 Health and his Demise ability. I have found Suffocation and Hanging Ropes are nice to have, but usually not worth playing into them.  My biggest “problem” with Montressor is keeping up with the rest of the crew. He has no native mobility option and therefore requires being pulled by other models, if he wants to make use of Cured To Watch until you established a good position for your bubble.

Guilty

Role: utility support

Guilty decouple many of Tormented’s janky movement abilities from enemy models and their positioning because you may count them as enemy models. With this, they are an absolute cornerstone for the crew’s mobility and counteract the crew’s common Mv4. You will find examples of such plays with Daw or Hanged later in this guide.

Whenever your opponent does not give you enough good target to curse and draw cards from with Daw, you can employ Guilty instead. As long as they keep 1 life, it does not have any drawback.

What do you do with Guilty other than taking hits? They are usually the first models I activate during early game. They are one of the few who do not ignore terrain, so they need a good position to go straight forward during deployment. A perfect position for them is within 8-10” to the enemy’s line, so they can serve as jumping off points or retrieval targets, while they themselves are in range to apply Staggered themselves and/or can drop scheme markers. After you are done with your Hanged and Daw, Ligeia comes in and removes the curse from them with her Take It All trigger. Likely you will have to cheat a ram in, so you will not have more cards, but it can help with cycling through your deck.

How many Guilty do you need? Sadly, I cannot answer that clearly. One is absolutely mandatory and you should not let it die quickly without being very sure you get one back asap with their demise/curse. If you play 2 Hanged, it is sensible to go up to two Guilty if you can afford it. It massively increases your ability to jump from one flank to another within a single turn and gives you the option to leave one of their curses on your opponent without suffering unnecessary control loss over your teleport capabilities.

 

Hanged

Role: mobile beater, occasional schemer

I lovingly call my Hanged 10SS Henchman, as they operate similarly once you give them an upgrade. For me, they are the most important pick for Tormented, even though they are quite an investment. They give Tormented much needed mobility and I rarely leave without 2 of them. With them and Daw you can make use of every card in your hand, even the Black Joker. With a bonus action attack, they are a pseudo-3AP model and their usual attack pattern look as following:

Safe approach: Toss the Noose + On your heel trigger on enemy, 1-2x Dead Man's Collar on enemy, Horrifying Whisper on Guilty (tactical retreat)

Aggressive approach: Toss the Noose on enemy, Horrifying Whipser + On your heel trigger on enemy, 1-2x Dead Man's Collar

The combination of Hanged, Guilty and Dead Outlaws is potent. Guilty provide a scheme marker, Outlaws hand out Fast and Hanged therefore become AP4 models with a huge threat range (up to >20” with 3 attacks). It is one thing to read about it and another to see how much ground they can cover. I will cover their movement shenanigans more in a later post.

It is of note, that Hanged require either Guilty and/or enemies for their mobility. This means, the more models you kill, the less teleport options you will have. This means success in your killing game can lead to trouble with scoring during late game. Be aware of this and try not to avoid scheming until then.

Upgrades

While Hanged are good models without any upgrades, they turn them up to 11. Definitely take them, all of them are legit choices.

GST: Hanged have solid defensive capabilities, but their Df4 will be felt sooner or later. GST helps you twice: Increased Terrifying means your opponent will have to dedicate a serious amount of resources to get rid of them within a single turn, as long as you do not run in front of a ruthless beatstick. If they do not, they will start to heal back up with Regen. My biggest reason not to always give both of my Hanged GST, is that they compete with Daw over it and I like to play my Hanged redundant with the same upgrade. Same as with Daw, Ritual is largely wasted on them, but the other two abilities are worth it already.

KI: Prime models to give Ruthless if necessary, since Hanged can pick their target more freely than most Tormented models. Due to Plentiful 2, I prefer KI on Hanged and something else on Daw. Other than Daw they also benefit from the minion-only ability, which eases the necessity to stone for their teleports and often makes them double up as a schemer.

TW:  Similar to Daw, the other upgrades usually have a higher priority. But occasionally I take Whisper on them, if my opponent forces many Wp duels.

Dead Outlaw

Role: (anti) schemer, support

It honestly baffles me, why Outlaws are rarely recommended. I guess a circular logic lies at the bottom. People assume Tormented is a pure killer and bubble crew, without any scheming potential and therefore do not take Daw when the pool involves anything other than murdering – which is not when Outlaws reach their full potential and therefore get branded as underperforming models and are not testes in more scheme heavy pools, strengthening the first assumption.

Outlaws are what I consider the crew’s scheme runners. They are not great when compared to dedicated runners, but Run & Gun at least gives them the ability to move while they use their attacks at the same time. Their abilities also make them very flexible, and I usually try to squeeze at least one into my list and often take two, if the pool demands it.

While Hanged can also drop schemes with their attacks, catching an enemy model at a suitable location is much more likely, when it comes on a 12” gun. Staggered and Slow also are much more useful at that range.

Outlaws are the only in-crew source for Fast. They are the reason, why Guilty will always have productive activations, they can drop a marker to provide the cost. Naturally, it is better to destroy an enemy marker and get Fast on top of it! Even if Outlaws move away from the bubble, they can remove one marker for free each turn, putting Fast on themselves (it is not an attack action).

Crooked Man

I have never seriously played them, even do not own them. That might be due to them being hard/expensive to obtain in my area, but I have not missed them much. Their min. 3 trigger and blast Staggered looks appealing, but they are a bit too expensive when I could take cheaper options for the similar capabilities. In theory they combine well with Drowned, Jakuuna and Montresor, but this pronounces their price tag even more. While Malifaux Mining Law is unique and may be helpful in certain situations, I prefer to simply not pick schemes which would require their protection.

But I would be happy to hear any success stories about them and which factors lead to it!

Jaakuna Ubume

Role: utility

She is a control piece. Lure on stat 7 is great, especially when the enemy is already close to Daw and suffers -1 Wp. It has two main functions: Scoring control and pulling enemy models into your death bubble. This is especially important for a bubble crew, because scheme runners can potentially sneak past on your flanks. With her, you do not need to run after them to hunt them down.

Be aware, while she has okay defensive capabilities, she is a bit squishy for a Tormented model. Do not leave her alone, she likes to stick to your bubble. This is also where you can benefit most from her bonus action aura, stacking with the other auras from Daw/Ligeia.

Drowned

Role: utility

While Kirai can summon them wherever they are needed, Tormented have to actually move them across the board, to make use of their min. 3 trigger attack. Since all your mobility abilities for other models are single target, there is a built-in limit, which can leave Drowned behind. On the plus side they apply Staggered with a ranged bonus action and Projectile Vomit can both Debuff beaters who are brave enough to come close to your bubble or mess with your opponent’s positioning – a footprint of 6”+50mm covers a lot of ground, though it requires a suit. All in all one could say they are more of a control model for Tormented, instead of a beater minion, which is another reason why I usually take only one, as more are not needed for this task.

 

Versatile & OOK models

I have often read that Tormented plays in-keyword only. I beg to differ. Spending 25% of your points for non-keyword models might not always be necessary but is absolutely normal for Tormented. You can go up to 50% without running into major trouble. You just need to look out to include enough curses and draw sufficient cards.

 

Bone Pile

Role: heal/condition support, teleporting schemer

Who played against me more than once knows, I am a fan of Bone Piles. Personal preference aside, there are very good reason to take them with Tormented, since they cover two of their main weaknesses: lack of healing and lack of condition removal. Against condition crews (e.g. Pandora) I like to take two of them. Even if their Throw ‘Em A Bone ability is not needed in a given turn, they still can shoot stuff from the safety of your bubble.

In Corrupted Ley Lines they are my turn#1 Lodestone bearer. Move to the first strategy marker turn #1/2 and bring a 2^nd model into position. Turn #3 you bury and therefore throw the Lodestone any distance to the closest model – the one you positioned to be in range to go to the next marker. Turn #4 you unbury at marker 3, all you need until then is a close corpse token.

Break the line might also benefit from them, though it needs a few more resources. Shoot a scheme runner shoving a strategy marker, cheat for Dismember and bury. Next turn, you pop up next to them and, if necessary, kill them with the Pick the Bones trigger. Those are a few loops to jump through, so it will not always work, but keep it in the back of your mind.

Gravedigger

Role: utility/support

I would like to include a Gravedigger more often, especially in combination with Bone Piles. Commonly, I cannot find enough free point for them though. In my opinion they should be central to scoring at least two of your strategy/schemes (e.g. Leylines + Research Mission) to take them in your list.

Dead Rider

Role: beater, utility

I still have to find a crew, which does not benefit from including the rider. Its damage potential is not as needed as in other crews, but a mobile beatstick like him will nearly always find usage. Tormented specifically like to have another taxi and love to get enemy models pushed into their bubble. This combines very well with Jaakuna’s lure. Both on your flanks and your opponent will think twice to try to sneak around your bubble. 

Manos

Role: utility, debuff

As usual, Manos is a mobile schemer with Demise hate, who can also hurt stuff if necessary. But with Tormented, his Spirit Barrage is especially noteworthy. An 12” AOE Staggered trigger without TN once you have hit your original target is easily worth stoning and cheating for in this crew. The whole package he brings makes him a serious consideration, even when you do not need his Demise hate.

Nurse

Role: heal/condition support

Usually, I prefer Bone Piles for healing/condition hate due to their offensive and mobility capabilities. Bedside manner is not as needed as with other crews, your models are quite tough on their own or your opponent is hesitant to get close to your bubble anyway. But it would be foolish to ignore their capabilities completely, if you only need a heal bot and nothing else from your non-keyword pick, they are your go-to model.

Mourner

Role: utility

They are the only model to counter ruthless. Sadly, this great rule sticks to a bad model and only helps against melee based ruthless. The corpse can assist with an early-game corpse, e.g. for a Bone Pile teleport, but overall I cannot give them a recommendation. Usually, it would be better to simply safe SS for stoning to avoid damage. There might be niche cases though, so I regard them as a rare option.

Necropunk

Role: schemer

As scheme runner, they were so good, they could be taken in any crew. This changed with GG2 and their new requirement for masks on their leap. But Tormented is one of the crews with enough card draw to still include them. While you want to avoid duels, their crews ability can draw you cards, in contrast to most other OOK options.

Sloth

Role: heal/buff support

While Sloth will always be a solid pick in an undead crew, I do not think he is a priority pick for Tormented. Handing out fast is always great and might be worth the stones already, but his heal drawback requires you to take another model to get rid of slow and spend another action. He might be helpful if you have trouble against strong healing, together with Hanged, it becomes quite unappealing with a big footprint, but I have never run in such a situation.

Student of Steel

Role: offensive support

Armour hate on a stick. Not a high priority pick, even against high armour lists, but it might make dealing with them easier. You can run into trouble getting the student into position, most your mobility abilities do not work on non-Tormented friendly models. Jakuuna is the exception here, she can lure him along.

Anna Lovelave

Role: utility

She is solid without any support and gets taken as a tech piece against summoners and flyers for her Gravity Well ability alone. She fits quite well into Daw's playstile, with two (!) debuffs auras, the chance to draw cards, reasonable toughness and offensive. Personally, I am a big fan of her Glimpse trigger, as it can send anything, that even Tormented might have trouble getting rid of, back to wherever your opponent has to spend actions to return them into a proper position.

where are datsue ba, effigy, mindless zombie?

11 hours ago, Graf said:

You're welcome to pitch in and share your experiences!

Especially TT would be interesting, because nobody in my meta plays them regularly. Therefore I don't feel qualified to give tipps against them. My approach against NB is: Do they have Dreamer? No? Good, then it's at least playable. Most of them aren't much better at scheming than you, which is a plus. Keep an eye out on their anti-schemers, they might disrupt you too much (assuming you picked marker schemes). Euripides is a low model count crew, without stellar defense, Ice Pillars which do not stop your Incorpreal models, just don't forget the Totem can let one model per round ignore Hazardous terrain. I think you will be fine against him, at least I had no issue.  

I do agree. At the moment I'm still deep in the "general overview" section. As I mentioned, more specific stuff will come later. The plan is to go: general overview -> models -> game plays and scheme/listbuilding. An experienced player like you can be a tough customer, so you'll have to wait. 😉

Do you have any specific wishes? I will cover them, if I can.

i think it will be useful to make guide for jack in both ressers/outcasts, so add crews for strats in both factions

make some core for crews and some concept of a crew, main idea

and main ook/versatile models

guide says obvious things

now it is not useful

try to add some interesting combos, battle situations and add crews on each strat

1 hour ago, IronmanKC81 said:

Just buy Dashel, Lawyers, lone marshal, the pale rider, and the guild steward. Pretty much can do anything. 

 

dashel is op, i still cant believe that they didnt nerf llc and dispatcher

On 5/6/2021 at 11:46 PM, OhBee86 said:

During a game of TT Last Blossom vs NB Nephilim, my Katashiro found itself staring down the greatsword-wielding demon Nekima.  It was able to fend off death by giving it a second Flicker token, and then it was my activation.  Knowing my lowly construct wasn't long for this world, I activated it in a seemingly futile attempt to knock off a hit or two from my opponent's Master.

 

Blown by the Wind got me a free attack (which I used my third Flicker token on), and I cheated in a high mask to succeed and trigger another attack.  That got me another attack (you guessed it... Flicker), which tacked on some more damage.  Now I could start using my AP, so I proceeded to attack again and again, using Flicker tokens all the while.  I cheated in another formidable mask to trigger my fifth attack of the activation.  After everything was all said and done, my Katashiro faded out of existence and Nekima was down half her wounds.

 

I understand that luck had a bit to do with it, but triggering 5 attacks in a single activation meant that I had the law of averages on my side.  My free 5ss model was able to go toe-to-toe with the "great" Nekima herself, and leave the lady beast more than a little bloody.  So, I ask you: are Katashiro really good, or does Nekima need some love?

katashiro and minako are very broken

some games i had katashiro made 6 atacks with a lot of dmg and it is easy to make with positives for duel and dmg

just watch at leveticus-he was nerfed because wyrd finally understand that positives from channel was op but whole asami keyword takes positives just for nothing(leveticus suffered 2 dmg for it)

22 hours ago, ncwojtyna said:

Are Moleman just bad? I cannot seem to understand what their role is in a Marcus crew (cheap scheme runner?). I know they are only 4ss but I cannot tell if I am missing a trick with them or not. I was thinking of ways I could throw them up field with Cojo but that does not seem to be helpful since I would have to set up scheme markers for them to tunnel towards after.

Anyone else have luck with them? 

yes, they are bad

22 hours ago, Mycellanious said:

Idk they just compiled the VWS data and our masters, excluding Colette and Kaeris, had low pick and/or win rates. 

4 of our masters have less than a 30% wr, 3 are around 50 (which is healthy), and then there was Colette. 

Plus Arcanists were among the least represented Factions for the past few tournaments.

how many games with colette were played by me and what was overall amount of games with her? just for interest

1 hour ago, Jinn said:

Honestly the balance changes seem pretty reasonable overall, explorers not withstanding and they have a decent excuse for that.

The main problem is that all the really crappy models didn't get a buff. Last errata people thought that maybe they were taking it a bit slow and focusing on the strong stuff, maybe there'd be another buff focused errata soon enough, but that hasn't happened. Instead we have another nerf heavy errata that hasn't touched most of the worst keywords, let alone the individual problem masters and models. A handful of models were directly buffed, none of them in Arcanists.

I'm never going to hire a Moleman or a Hoarcat as it stands. Rasputina is as unfun and clunky to play as ever, and most of the gamin are hot garbage outside of Sandeep lists (and who knows how that Kandara nerf will affect this). I really hope this isn't going to be the only or main style of errata going forward.

I will say that the few models they have buffed seem to be generally pretty great changes, but they could have been a bit more aggressive with it. As an early proponent of Youko Hamasaki needing buffs, her changes seem amazingly well done and I'd like to see similar improvements to Raspy and "never take" models.

they gave talos hammer that can target buried models...look at lazar now who copy it

it was better to give him ability to target buried, not an action

1 hour ago, Jinn said:

Yeah, Dreamer definitely got the lightest touch, but the general summon nerfs might be enough to keep him in check. NB are already complaining he's useless just like they did last time he was nerfed. Stitched are still insane.

Insidious madnesses just became truly busted with the distracted change and their simple duel that can end focus and give distracted.

as i saw-dreamer plays "nobrain come to opp with all crew and kill all stuff" and it is damn hard to deal with-i failed each time

and he can score because opp need to survive all the time

and what they did with toward/away?

now u are standing in btb, for example, u can choose model to move to the other side of your base and model will go around you, because during this move u will be in btb every time and u will not go away

1 hour ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

I thought you thought the best thing about Dreamer was Lucid Dreams? Now half the cards are lost every turn.

no-i told it many times-his keyword need a complicated nerf-this is not abt lucid-even on first turns his band give too much impact-i had a game with my colette crew vs my friend that played dreamer first time-i killed bbs and 2 daydreames with up at the start of 2 turn, but i lost with no chances and at the end of a game i got near 20ss crew and he had over 50ss crew

to be fair-i didnt win against dreamer m3e with arcanists, but played over 10 games against him

1 hour ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

Doesn't colette prefer to presto-chango her doves anyway? So this doesn't hit her core play (although I know of course it is nice to have the other options).

Ohhhhhh, but it is now 8" jump instead of 16". That's pretty wild, what a nerf. That's gotta be the biggest nerf out of anyone?

presto chango got nerfed, but summon of doves get buff, so its fine