When to play Who

[necroon]

Hey fellow Neverborn Players, 

 

A question if you will as I'm confused (again), 

 

Some of the other factions have conversations about when the play certain masters: Like ones that are good for Reckoning or when schemes involve scheme marker placement and things like that. 

 

Does anyone have a general guideline they use for what master or crew competition they roll with? 

 

Thanks! 

 

~necroon

[Joel]

Lilith. For everything.

Not much help I know, but she is a real toolbox of a master, able to do everything well.

TBH it's more of a "this is the style I want to play, or the tricks I want to use to win" rather than "if I make the wrong master choice I'll lose" situation.

Look at the strategy and scheme pool, think about how a crew could go about it, and then look at the amount and types of terrain, and finally at the matchup.

Decide which models you'll be wanting to use in the crew to achieve your goals - then pick the master you think has best synergy with you style/those models and will be able to work well with the terrain and in the matchup with the opposing faction.

This will not be a clear cut choice, it's a personal thing. It's as much about your experience and style than master choice.

For me, my default position, unless I fancy trying out something new (model or technique) is:

Lilith. For everything.

[necroon]

Honestly I do find that helpful as I may not play her as much as I should. If she is a toolbox getting her on the table more may help me learn by experience when to drop down a different master. 

[OrderOfTheGash]

I used to feel the same way about Pandora, I used to use her for everything especially with 1.5.  I still need to play M2e alot more but I still feel drawn to her playstyle.  I do have been trying to use all of my Neverborn masters more so I can find the utility of all of them and what exactly each master is good at.

[necroon]

I used to feel the same way about Pandora, I used to use her for everything especially with 1.5.  I still need to play M2e alot more but I still feel drawn to her playstyle.  I do have been trying to use all of my Neverborn masters more so I can find the utility of all of them and what exactly each master is good at.

 

I had Collodi and Zorida as my "go to crew" in 1.5 when everything was Bodyguard and Breakthrough or Holdout. 

Man did that extra turn really make a difference in pacing. 

Now I find that if I have no idea what to do I fall back on Lynch but for me that is just a comfort zone: I played him almost exclusively in the Beta so I feel okay with him. I've moved to Collodi since wave 2 Beta first came around but so many games has me burnt out on him and kinda thinking in a box as far as strategy and crew selection goes. 

[Joel]

That getting stuck in a rut, as far as crew design goes, can be a problem - but at least the scheme pool helps with that.

My go-to guys were dreamer (my first, favourite and most-played master of last edition) collodi and lynch.

Lynch is sat in by display case

Collodi has yet to have a non-beta game for me

And dreamer I have not touched, in any form, in over a year now

Coming into m2e and looking at new ways of doing things has really helped me.

[Gorbad]

I really like Pandora, if I'm playing Neverborn its probably her. Since she is independent you can tailor her crew to do whatever the game demands.

Been struggling working out what I'm supposed to use Zoraida for. Obey obviously, but I'm not really sure why I'd pick her over someone else.

Lucius and Collodi will join the fold as soon as the plastics are out, both offers interesting play style challenges. Lots of buffing and/or control.

Lilith is someone I've not gotten around to buy yet, but will probably be my one beatstick master.

Leaving just Dreamer and Jacob that I don't really have any opinion on or intention to bring.

But really I think what master to use is more about how you want to play and what you want to do rather than what master needs to go with what strategy/scheme. I think its perfectly viable with most masters to play everything with them and expect a high level of competence.

[bigbopper]

Seems to come down to peoples preferences and play style. Zoraida i see as being good for any strat and schemes. On the other hand I have used lucius twice now and I'm not bringing him out anytime soon. 

[Joel]

what happened with Lucius?

 

I was planning on getting him out in my next game...

[Gorbad]

He was a lot of fun when I tried him, he is however very crew dependent and will absolutely not suit or even work with every crew. I'll definitely need to adjust my selection as its usually quite enforcer heavy. And really need to get some Lawyers/other guild stuff to go with him as well.

[bigbopper]

what happened with Lucius?

 

I was planning on getting him out in my next game...

 

 

He was a lot of fun when I tried him, he is however very crew dependent and will absolutely not suit or even work with every crew. I'll definitely need to adjust my selection as its usually quite enforcer heavy. And really need to get some Lawyers/other guild stuff to go with him as well.

 

this is the problem I had with him. I only took two guardsmen( rifleman, warden) with him. the rest were either minions or mimics. after both of the guardsmen went down i felt crippled. I concluded that i probably need another rifleman and warden, but at that stage his crew would look like a guild crew with some token neverborn. I think he can be nasty, but at this stage I could not be bothered trying to learn or buy more guild models. if i want to play a manipulator i'll take Zoraida. 

[Joel]

I was planning on starting with 2 austringers, 2 illuminated and then leaving it there really - rest of crew as normal.

[Falconrider]

I really like Pandora, if I'm playing Neverborn its probably her. Since she is independent you can tailor her crew to do whatever the game demands.

Been struggling working out what I'm supposed to use Zoraida for. Obey obviously, but I'm not really sure why I'd pick her over someone else.

Lucius and Collodi will join the fold as soon as the plastics are out, both offers interesting play style challenges. Lots of buffing and/or control.

Lilith is someone I've not gotten around to buy yet, but will probably be my one beatstick master.

Leaving just Dreamer and Jacob that I don't really have any opinion on or intention to bring.

But really I think what master to use is more about how you want to play and what you want to do rather than what master needs to go with what strategy/scheme. I think its perfectly viable with most masters to play everything with them and expect a high level of competence.

I've been playing a lot of Zoriada lately and learning more about her every game.  So far, keeping her near my shooters and using repulsive to push enemy models away.  Obey to put focus on models like Hans and the Doppel who copies Hans.  Obey to force the enemy to target my Terrifying models and make them paralysed. Bewitching their important models to gain cards.  Have been making use of summoning the Voodoo doll and Hem.  Moving the doll into close proximity to their models and dropping blasts on both of them.  Them suffering damage from the blast and the Hem combined has been a nasty trick.   There's likely many more tricks i haven't yet figured out and hopefully after some more games i'll have her worked out.

[Gorbad]

I dont think Lucius needs Guild models specifically, but he does need minions around, preferably competent minions. He is really good with Jacobs stuff for instance. I just want to take some of the guild models because I do t play guild and some of them are cool. I think you could run him perfectly viably without a single Guardsman model, but you do have to construct his crew around him to a larger degree than some of our other masters.

[Ikvar]

I've been playing a lot of Zoriada lately and learning more about her every game.  So far, keeping her near my shooters and using repulsive to push enemy models away.  Obey to put focus on models like Hans and the Doppel who copies Hans.  Obey to force the enemy to target my Terrifying models and make them paralysed. Bewitching their important models to gain cards.  Have been making use of summoning the Voodoo doll and Hem.  Moving the doll into close proximity to their models and dropping blasts on both of them.  Them suffering damage from the blast and the Hem combined has been a nasty trick.   There's likely many more tricks i haven't yet figured out and hopefully after some more games i'll have her worked out.

 

Where are the blasts from?

[Bodiless]

I dont think Lucius needs Guild models specifically, but he does need minions around, preferably competent minions. He is really good with Jacobs stuff for instance. I just want to take some of the guild models because I do t play guild and some of them are cool. I think you could run him perfectly viably without a single Guardsman model, but you do have to construct his crew around him to a larger degree than some of our other masters.

 

Agreed. I think you could just about swap Lucius into a 'standard' Jakob crew and do very well. Lucius likes good minions, and Illuminated are spectacular minions. Beckoners, Doppelgangers, Graves+Tannen, all will work very well with Lucius.

[Falconrider]

Where are the blasts from?

I have been using Lazarus though Tuco has blasts as well.

[Myth]

Here are the strengths of the Neverborn Masters, as I've found them:

 

Lilith: She brings some serious mobility to the table. Tangle Shadows is a game-winning ability when used properly. Of the Strategies, Reckoning is where she often shines, given her ability to ensure you can get to vulnerable targets and take them out - and her ability to remove your own vulnerable models from danger (and even hide them behind terrain). She works well with Schemes where you can score the points early (Plant Explosives, Deliver a Message), and then just spend the rest of the game retreating and slowing your opponent with terrain, and prevent them from ever catching up to you in Vp.

 

Pandora: Inflict and Misery make her very effective in Turf War, where she can punish enemies for clustering in one spot. As a very difficult to kill Master, she can be a good choice when Assassinate is on the table, especially as she can definitely put the hurt on an enemy Master who has a powerful attack. She is also well suited to Entourage. Her crew often has Activation manipulation and AP denial, which can be quite useful with schemes like Distract and Cursed Object.

 

Zoraida: Obey has a lot of uses in several of the Strategies. It can be used for denial in Turf War or Recoinnoiter, by forcing enemy models to walk somewhere useless. It can be used in Squatter's Rights to quickly get your models to the markers and let them Interact to claim them. Similarly, any schemes that involve Interacting can benefit from Zoraida channeling her AP into a few key models. As such, she is generically good at many Schemes. Her weakness is being a bit more vulnerable to enemy countermeasures, and tending to lose the war of attrition when killy schemes are in play. If they can remove her models, she has fewer targets for Obey. Proper Manners is very good defense against being casually attacked, but if the enemy wants her dead, Focused fire can bring her down pretty quickly.

 

Jacob: The Hungering Darkness comes with Heed My Voice, which can be used in a similar fashion to Obey for messing with enemy plans in Turf War and Recoinnoiter. It can't be used on your own models, so Jacob is less good at Interaction based schemes, especially as his crew numbers are usually not too high. However, he brings along a crew with some very durable minions, and ones that can pack quite a punch, which can be good for Reckoning and any schemes involving killing key targets (such as Make Them Suffer and Murder Protege).

 

Collodi: Bringing along lots of cheap minions makes Collodi vulnerable to Reckoning. But in return, he is very well-suited to just about everything else. Turf War lets him plant his puppet bubble in the center zone and take control there. Recoinnoiter lets him outnumber his enemy all over the board, and the same comes into play with Squatter's Rights. For schemes, his ability to hire Mannequins, when combined with tons of cheap, significant models, is very effective at anything involve Scheme Markers. He is another very hard model to put down for Assassinate. His numbers, along with his AP denial, also makes him great at Distract and Cursed Object.

 

The Dreamer: I haven't tried him much, so this is mainly conjecture. But I would guess that with access to Summoning, the Dreamer would have the edge in Recoinnoiter, but be a bit vulnerable with Reckoning.

 

Lucius: Another Master I don't have much experience with. His ability to give out AP to his friends, and allow Interaction while engaged, would seem to work quite strongly for Squatter's Rights.

[Tuttleboy]

I agree that Lilith does everything well, but I'd like to point out that Dreamer is just as versatile for me. With the Nightmares being pushed by Daydreams he can position them to complete starts and schemes that need you to get up the board. His summoning upgrade allows him to continually bring in the Nightmares you need to either kill the opposing crew, take some damage of of him, or just tie up another model to keep the other guy from getting points. Taking the Chompy smash upgrade will generally make an opponent keep their distance...generally. I was super stoked when the avatar upgrade turned him into a nightmare, but that may have been a bit too good.

I think you'll see more and more of the kid as more of us learn to play his new incarnation. Plus I've got nightmare LCB and I love seeing him on the table.

[Verdeloth]

I've been playing a lot of Zoriada lately and learning more about her every game. So far, keeping her near my shooters and using repulsive to push enemy models away. Obey to put focus on models like Hans and the Doppel who copies Hans. Obey to force the enemy to target my Terrifying models and make them paralysed. Bewitching their important models to gain cards. Have been making use of summoning the Voodoo doll and Hem. Moving the doll into close proximity to their models and dropping blasts on both of them. Them suffering damage from the blast and the Hem combined has been a nasty trick. There's likely many more tricks i haven't yet figured out and hopefully after some more games i'll have her worked out.

Dammit ^^ after reading your post of the neat ways to use obey i went and got myself a zoraida box same day. I really want to wait for the new models but to use zoraidas obey in these kind of ways almost made me drool ^^ cant wait to try it out this sunday.

Is there any other merc you tried except hans and lazarus?