Devious Carnival

I'm  disappointed he lost the Beastmaster ability. Even if it's only a 1 soul stone tax to bring in an OOK beast now it still feels bad, as that's one of the things I like about playing him in NB (although I acknowledge I still have Myranda to shapeshift). With all that said, I like the passive upgrade mechanic and I really like that they didn't make it an aura around him, so you can spread your "packs" across the board. I also really like that he has the most bizarre defensive tech I've ever read on a card (permanent cover by virtue of the fact that he's constantly surrounded by weedy undergrowth). Overall I'm excited to get him on the table, and this may finally be the excuse I needed to get the Slate Ridge box so I'll have the bears to bring in instead of my NB beasts

Really appreciate the videos, they’ve been a great resource! Was curious about your thoughts on Vogel / Beast within. I love the werewolf shifting concept but have struggled to find a good reason to slot him in, as there always seems to a better option. I noticed it didn’t look like you ever thought he was viable either in you list building. Are there any strat or scheme pools where you would be inclined to bring him?

18 minutes ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

That was exactly it. I assumed the Cerberus was going to die, and wanted at least one ancient pact to maintain the initiative advantage. It was a really tough decision.

And then the Cerberus black-jokered a super important flip and I was filled with regret 😜

Video will be up in the next day or so

Haha well of course that's what would happen. Looking forward to seeing it!

I’d be curious to know why you took ancient pact on Marcus over the Cerberus? I would think the additional card draw on Cerberus would be better, and it would be in more situations where you don’t want to risk a black joker. Is it because Cerberus tends to be more expendable?

Great to watch and to see your thought process, thanks for sharing! I think I've struggled to go offensively with Chimera which has hurt me, so seeing how other players manage it is very helpful.

Yea, I went against LJ last week and my biggest takeaway was to not go for a center fight. My opponent had Pale Rider as well which made for a very strong bubble with its shielded ability. I focused on leveraging my maneuverability to put pressure across the map (it was for Turf War, so the goal was to quickly reposition models after he committed to a quadrant).

2 hours ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

At a minimum, you want to understand how the upgrades relate to your models and the matchup.

Bandersnatch always benefits from horns, but if he is against molly's Lethes caress suddenly it isn't as good. Myranda likes horns but it isn't as good against Titania's cruel disappointment. Camouflage doesn't stop most of Titanias attacks, but does reduce her to a 6 inch attack range instead of 8.

If you understand that, you can get the upgrades in roughly the right spot that should be good enough for most of the game.

Appreciate it. I also really like the idea of adding in more versatile or OOK to put less pressure on upgrades. I dont have Emissary or Aeslin yet but I have the rider, Serena, and Hinamatsu (and widow). Want to try some games with fewer beasts.

3 hours ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

Oh, one more thing - Bandersnatch is a LOT better in pools with research mission and strategy markers.

Even if the opponent doesn't let anything squishy near it, it is good if it can swap to scoring points. Research mission is a dream come true for bandy.

Haha yea I can certainly see that. Haven't picked research mission yet but will keep an eye out for it. Do you always take the same upgrades or flex? I assume horns is a given but could see armor being better if you plan to focus more on hunting things vs camo or wings if you plan to scheme more and depending on the terrain or ranged threats.

1 hour ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

So I used to go after high priority (I.e. strong) models with bandersnatch and it just died to a few hits.

Now I send it after smaller things like scheme runners, and it can kill them and then focus on scheming. My bandersnatch last game killed a waldgeist and then scoring 3 points.

Nice. Yea that makes good sense, thanks!

@Maniacal_cackle I just started playing Malifaux and went all in on Neverborn Marcus, so have really been appreciating your posts on him! Was curious what the advice you got was on how to play Bandersnatch that made him work well? Want to learn everything I can!