Thridi Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Greeting Malifolks I'm running a standard Mei list at the moment (Kang, Rail Workers, Willie) in my regular games with my wife (Rasputina). I want to add some mobility and range to it and have settled on Tengu as the mobility and/or scheme control models. However I am less certain on what to bring in as a ranged option. I feel the models with melee options (Samurai, Dawn Serpent, Katanaka etc.) are kind of overkill as Mei plus Kang and crew can usually handle that side of things. Which leaves me with the 'pure' shooters 10T Archers and maybe Guild Pathfinder (I totally love this model incidentally)? Any ideas? Or am I being overly hasty in discounting a melee capable option? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Convict Gunslinger. No idea about the TT options. I think Archers are underrated but maybe that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonahmaul Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 If you're running them as TT Archers are a pretty solid choice. The double focus is quite nice for when you want to make sure you can some good damage to something (they get an extra +1 focus first time they take the focus action). They can also shoot into combat which is useful when you have a lot of melee based guys. Otherwise Convict Gunslinger as mentioned or Freikorps Trapper. Desperate Mercenaries might be worth a punt for some cheap(ish) options although they're not as reliable as the other options mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sholto Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 You could also consider Hans, to shoot off Sub-Zero (which can mess with a melee-oriented crew such as yours) or even get rid of Shattered Heart, which limits Raspy's casting. Even the threat of losing either of these two upgrades could cause the Raspy player to play more defensively. 10T Archers are ideal, however, as they can Rapid Fire into the melee Mei Feng and Kang have created and ensure they will not hit friendlies. A melee crew dealing with a ranged crew might not be best suited to adding generic ranged support however, since you cannot really compete with the enemy in ranged damage output and might hit your own guys. You might consider some back-field disruption models instead, who can get into the ranged elements and shut them down. The Soulstone Miner is ideal for this, and a Raptor is not too bad, either. You can unbury the Raptor in melee with Raspy at the end of the Turn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirial Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 A melee crew dealing with a ranged crew might not be best suited to adding generic ranged support however, since you cannot really compete with the enemy in ranged damage output and might hit your own guys. You might consider some back-field disruption models instead, who can get into the ranged elements and shut them down. The Soulstone Miner is ideal for this, and a Raptor is not too bad, either. You can unbury the Raptor in melee with Raspy at the end of the Turn I have to say that I find some ranged models nearly mandatory against Raspy. If one can pick off her Frozen Hearts, she can't arc her spells. Lure is even better, though, so you might think about Oiran. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thridi Posted July 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Yeah I've found that picking off a key node for the spell arc is central to controlling how much damage I take. Hadn't thought about Convict Gunslinger, wasn't there a thread saying that with the new Samurai upgrades it was better in just about every way? That not the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythicFOX Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 <MOD HAT> Just rail-walked this thread over to the Ten Thunders part of the forum. Carry on </MOD HAT> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sholto Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 I prefer to engage her Frozen Heart minions rather than shoot at them, but shooting them is certainly an option. Lure is certainly a good option. If you are playing Mei as Arcanists, the Captain has some very good movement effects to push enemy models out of range of Raspy's casting net. Sue is excellent ranged support, but he also brings a 3" aura of neg casting flips, which really hurts Raspy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonahmaul Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Engaging Frozen Heart models means she can't use her to cast spells which helps a lot but then them being dead helps even more! Shooting or Casting at Raspy is usually better than melee too if she's got Sub Zero (which is horrible). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengt Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 If playing as Arcanists December Acolytes are pretty nice ranged as they have a good damage track + slow + discard a card trigger with built in suit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarkham Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 I would just echo the idea of convict gunslingers, and Hans as excellent ranged choices, as well as the TT archers. I think all of them bring something to the table, it just depends of what you prefer in terms of feel and what they add. Do you want to keep it fairly themed? In which case TT archers. Want a single versatile threat, go Hans. Want something quite aggressive, go gunslingers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_havoc Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 One of our playing group recently got Rasputina too and have been thinking about using Mei against him. I am pretty comfortable with a horde style list of 3 Metal Gamin, 3 Rail Workers, Rail Golem with Hard Worker, and Mei with Vapromancy, Misdirection, and Seismic Claws. Metal Gamin should make fairly short work of Ice Gamin also because of Rasputina's crew being construct heavy it adds an element of mobility to Mei's crew. With Hard Worker all the Armour/Hard to Wound in the crew becomes fairly meaningless. The Vent Steam action and Trigger are obviously great against Rasputina as it means she is either focusing or using Soulstones to even out her Ca duels. It also gives you an Ml action that dishes out blasts meaning you can drop those on Rasputina and not have to worry about Sub Zero quite as much. The Snow Storm poses a definite problem for any shooting crew and melee crews given it's explosive demise but you can at least use that against your enemies too. Barring the Snow Storm I would really suggest the Guild Pathfinders. They are amazing at disrupting your enemy in his own deployment zone and if the December Acolytes make that difficult it is very easy to get your Pathfinders and traps into combat with them to prevent Rasputina casting through them but if you can get them into where Rasputina is she can't cast anything useful basically. Personally I find two Traps and two Pathfinders work best. Also with the Traps potentially dishing out slow it should mitigate that the Acolytes can ignore armour with their (1) action. Katanaka Snipers would also work despite them not having a model yet because they have a very decent Ml attack. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythicFOX Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 I'd actually give some different advice to the above. Players tend to react to counter things by bringing their own version. So in this case 'Tina's out shooting you, so you look to bring the guns. The problem is you'll never out shoot 'Tina, that's what she's good at. Instead I'd look to maximise your own strengths rather than get into a fight for ranged supremacy you can't win. All IMO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falconrider Posted July 31, 2014 Report Share Posted July 31, 2014 Lazarus hands down is the best shooter for Mei. 1. He is a self-repairing construct. 2. He is a self-reparing construct. 3. With Recalled Training he can auto fire blasts all over your enemies extremely well. 4. If you have Toshiro, the Emberling can charge Laz and make scrap for Komainu. 5. He is a self-repairing construct. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonahmaul Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 Lazarus is ace for Bodyguard for reasons 1, 2 and 5 above! I like to use him in my Outcast crews with either the Steamtrunk or a Librarian following him around just in case! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancor709 Posted August 1, 2014 Report Share Posted August 1, 2014 I'll provide some general list building advice. Build to your strengths and build in tool kit. Most models in malifaux either do there dmg at range or they do there dmg in melee. so I am a proponent of balanced lists. That meaning a list that has elements to deal with the 2 above problems. So adding a limited range element can help your list balance as you can whittle down am opponents ml threats before they make contact or you can help cover the advance of your ml units by applying some sh pressure. Although you have to weight it vs say greater ml threat redundancy to just make sure you survive the gun fire to get into ml with enough threat to be decisive. List building is a skill an art and trial and error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thridi Posted August 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2014 Thanks for all the advice! I've grabbed some Archers mainly because of the theming side of things. And I take the point that you should maximize strength but I'm really only playing for fun and am a fan if balance in gaming. So I'll try the archers and then maybe grab a pathfinder. And then since Lazarus seems so popular might try him out as well. All of which will postpone my next crew selection... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osoi Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 Not to discount the OP but in the year that I have predominately been running Mei I havent found need for dedicated ranged attacks for her. I would consider Hans for support or the Freikorps trapper but I have never once felt I need a ranged element in her crew. I find if facing constructs that having Magnetism from Metal Gamin gives me some ranged game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falconrider Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 Not to discount the OP but in the year that I have predominately been running Mei I havent found need for dedicated ranged attacks for her. I would consider Hans for support or the Freikorps trapper but I have never once felt I need a ranged element in her crew. I find if facing constructs that having Magnetism from Metal Gamin gives me some ranged game. Mei defiantly doesn't need ranged models to work though ranged opens up different play styles with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 Gunsmiths 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Godlyness Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 BFRENCH!!!!! Hello to you. Coming to gencon I hope. But Willie and gun smiths are fine. Or ten thunder side archers snipers Fuhatsu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 Not this year, opted to spend a week in Portland plus the new job (which is great in every other way) doesn't have paid time off. Additionally, we just got licensed for foster to adopt so I really want to be around to meet my kiddos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfrench Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 On a side note, You and I need a rematch. That was such an epic game. And sorry to hijack the thread 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uktena Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 My 2 cents but as a Rasputina player I've never cared about my frozen heart models being engaged. I can either hold one of my opponents models in place with a cheap gamin who, if he was in range for shattered mirror, is in range to eat a Decembers curse. Worst case, he ties up an enemy model. The golem loves being engaged, since he can pound enemies flat, and the Acolytes and Blessy can just leave combat. That's without Snowstorm. Engagement isn't bad for us, except on Raspy if Armor of December was left off. Edit: the idea that engaging frozen heart models is beneficial is pervasive even where I play. They make Cursed Object and Distract superb scheme choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevorin Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Luckily with 10T we have good range, and melee options on the same model. Samurai, and Katanaka Snipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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