Is anyone using Nekima?

[Sybaris]

So it's been a few weeks since the rules were published in their final versions, and i was wondering how she is doing with the new book for the rest of Neverborn players..

 

I keep reading on Teddy, Graves and the like, but nothing about Nekima, so here's a thead on it.

 

What master do you use her with? What upgrades do you pick?

 

She's obviously not going to be mentionned in the top 5 pick thread, so how does she perform for you?

[Insidiously Mad]

I really want to try her, but have no interest in her metal model so I am waiting until she gets a plastic release before taking her out. I think I would use her more as a piece in Reckoning regardless of master. Not sure I can see purchasing a 13+ point beatstick outside of Reckoning. I currently only play Dreamer but am looking at picking up Lynch and Pandora who I think would have the same role for Nekima. That being said I think she is fantastic in a Lilith grow list if you want to try and run one

[Tuttleboy]

Quite honestly I've not played her since beta. She's an excellent beatstick and works well in killy stats & schemes and has a place in a grow list, but she's so damn expensive. If you take her upgrade she's 15 SS, I can get 2 Black Blood Shaman for 12 and put the Rapid Growth upgrade on another model and be ahead an SS. Or she gets any other upgrade and I'm ahead by that much. I really like her a lot and will play her. I've got to find out how to fit her in best and haven't done that yet. I'm still trying to get Dreamer down, not to mention Collodi.

[bertmac]

Reckon she's a tasty harcore choice

[4thstringer]

I think I read that she was the reason that in hardcore, they stopped allowing people to buy additional soulstones.

[bertmac]

Yeah nekima plus 7 ss is pretty gruesome to face!

[DeleteAccount]

I don't play Neverborn, but I do play against them and I do see her on all of the Lilith crews I face. Basically I face 2 players, one is still getting the hang of her and loses her quick without getting anything out of her. The other uses Tangled Shadows masterfully to deliver Nekima and pretty much gets a tot per turn without too much dificulty. Her black blood indirect damage has also given me fits outside of getting her the tot with stuff like Kirai not being able to summon the Ikiryo or pawn of the damage to another spirit or Seishin not being able to be kept alive with Seishin Beacon.

 

She is very solid on my book, but she has to be used with care, but after the 3rd tot she's almost paid for herself while still causing mayhem.

[Sybaris]

To the guys above, what do you refer to as "hardcore"?

 

@Razhem: that's also how i feel, a pretty good model overall, but not easy to use given the cost/survivability ratio.

[cdhay]

I use her with Lilith everytime Assassinate is in the pool. You can throw Lilith at people with Nekima close behind and then when Lilith get's low on wounds get Nekima to kill her to transfer leadership to her and give her melee master (so pretty much 4 AP). That means for the opponent to score VP on assassinate they have to take down a df7 10 wound master with soulstones and then a df5 12 wd monster as well who can also use ss.

 

But I agree that Nekima is a bit of a glass canon and I certainly wouldn't let her out on her own. She is a beast in melee but she can go down easy which is a lovely waste of 13 points.

 

The other thing that is awesome is her black blood 0 action with the trigger to do it again. So many times I have got a model down to HTK 1 wd and just needed another 1 damage to kill them off. Just so happens.....

 

works well with BBS healing her back up.

 

but defo think she needs handling well by the controlling player and not just throwing at stuff which always seems tempting with her damage output and melee expert

[Hateful Darkblack]

I just took her in a hardcore match. She wasn't the leader: Widow Weaver was (so that I could deny Assassinate VP to my opponent, and start with more stones). She was the star of the show. Absolutely effective.

[Sybaris]

How many ss do you have in that mode?

[4thstringer]

Generally it is 20 ss henchmen lead, turf war and assasinate with close deploy and a 4 model limit.

[Sybaris]

Well, if there are any henchmen she can be paired with, she sure will do well. I wouldn't trust her with 0ss though, especially since other henchmen get 20ss of models + their cache.

[StaticVortex]

I rather enjoy using her...I tend to take her with Lilith, though have recently been branching out and taking her with Zoriada.  My early play with her was too aggressive and she ended up being pointless.  I think she's designed to take over for Lilith, however Lilith is so good...I've not be in a position where that would make sense to do.  I have been considering a summoner Dreamer build...get some new stuff out and make her leader and see what happens.

[Mastershake]

My issue with Nekima is that 13ss before upgrades means it's hard for a list with Nekima in to not turn into a Nekima list.  I still use her with Dora and Lilith (probably would use her with Zoraida as well if I used Zoraida), but she's not exactly a model you can just toss in for the hell of it.  Her natively somewhat lacking defensive tech also means that cost of 13 comes with a giant asterisk because you'll probably spend at least two SS on prevention flips just on her.  All told, Nekima costing your list an effective 16-17ss is not ridiculous or even rare.

 

Despite some claims in the field test that her weak damage of 4 would break the game, she's merely ends up being a good beatstick that deserves consideration and that' about it.  I will say without her, grow lists tend to be a little dodgy and her 6" range to pass out kills makes the grow work much better than it normally does.

[StaticVortex]

I feel that Nekima suffers from a 'do all' expectation had of many models with her point cost; almost as if it is weighed against 'what else' one could hire.  For instance, instead of taking Nekima, I could hire the twins...so if I'm spending that much, then I expect her to do as much as both of them combined could, right?  Though, you do get a model with 3 AP, a hefty wound count, regen, flight, black blood, a strong walk, and a powerful attack with damage arc.  Taking her comes at a cost, for sure.  Then again, so does Killjoy or Hooded Rider...even Teddy, who only costs two points less and is more fragile.  Taking Nekima as your muscle is a tactical decision that will not fit all situations, nor will she single handedly take all the VP.  In fact, I really don't think she has much variety...she kills things, that's her job, and she is very good at her job.

[Mentat_Canis]

I have used her a few times and like most have said she is just one choice in the expensive heavy hitters that Neverborn can field.  My main opponent refers to her as she activates and something which has been true recently because ML 7 with 4/5/6 is very strong. I have not taken any upgrades on her recently because I have felt it not needed.

 

Personally when I am looking at 10+ss Beaters in Neverborn I look at Nekima, Teddy, Mature, Rider.  I take them all in different games depending on what I need.  I think that out of these 4 Nekima is best in the early game because of the inbuilt 3 AP and wk6 with flight, it allows for turn 2 engagements with killing power and she can easliy run on the flank by herself.  If I am looking for a model that will be around all game I don't take Nakima as I fully expect her to die turn 3ish after disrupting the enimy and most likely getting at least one kill.  If I think I will need a heavy hitter all game I will take the Rider and hide him turn 1 then bring him into action end of 2, or I will take teddy with the healing and Terrifying all. He is also slower to get into the fight so is more of a cleanup model after a vanguard disrupts early actions.

 

Last game with Nekima was Reckoning where I took Nekima, Rider, Mature, BBS, and Collodi vs the Viks where Nekima was a flanker that handled Tealor and a convict gunslinger allowing for the rest of my force to deal with the Viks in the middle of the table.

 

So like everyone else has really said she can be good but only really when it is called for and I have not put an upgrade on her since mid way through the beta but that is a personal choice.

[Uktena]

http://justindrawingdead.com/?p=91

 

Come for the study in cost balancing, stay for Gremlinzilla.

[Myth]

She's a tricky one. I think she can definitely work, but having so many points invested in her means you really don't have much room for mistakes with how you play her. Get too aggressive, and she gets killed off before she can really go to town. On the other hand, if you find her the right targets and can put her in the right place at the right time, she can walk through half an opponent's crew, healing back up as she does.

 

If I'm just looking for a big elite model, I'm more likely to take a Mature Nephilim. He's both cheaper and more durable, and much easier to toss in to a general crew. As noted above, Nekima really demands you build a list with her in mind.

 

I haven't had much luck with growth lists, myself. But the things that work well with Nekima, I feel, are having a good number of models to avoid being out-activated, having repositioning and mobility elements to move your crew around, and having a couple other threats that can distract from her presence.

[Sybaris]

A mature with retribution's eye is a better offensive fighter than Nekima without soulstones imho. That's something to consider when building a crew.

 

Growth never worked for me in M2E somehow, and the 2ss required for the true mother means i can rarely afford it. She becomes a 15ss model + whatever other upgrade you pick, and then requires at least 2-3 soulstones in the game to perform and stay alive. It feels too expensive for me. I tend to pick minimum upgrades, and use her as a fighter and not bother with growth.

[Mastershake]

A mature with retribution's eye is a better offensive fighter than Nekima without soulstones imho. That's something to consider when building a crew.

 

Growth never worked for me in M2E somehow, and the 2ss required for the true mother means i can rarely afford it. She becomes a 15ss model + whatever other upgrade you pick, and then requires at least 2-3 soulstones in the game to perform and stay alive. It feels too expensive for me. I tend to pick minimum upgrades, and use her as a fighter and not bother with growth.

 

While I agree in theory, in practice a Grow list that just spams tots (with a cherub because...cherub) alongside Nekima and Lilith does really well or at least it has for me.  You start with tots and the Cherub throwing out every scheme marker you need then, usually starting with your last activations turn 1, you can start getting young out of the deal.  Once you have Young they're pretty autonomous and can kill things on their own just fine.  The list transitions from scheme dropping to violence pretty easily and with all the tots you can usually have a target exactly where you need it for Tangle Shadows.

[Sybaris]

Yeah i guess if you build for growth it can probably work, i forgot to state that my lists aren't focused on it so...it's probably logical that it doesn't happen often.

[Csonti]

I use her with Lilith regularly, mostly with the Tot spawning upgrade on differrent roles (summoning factory, weak wing cleaner, assassination runner, board control (with her trigger) etc.) I rarely if ever felt that she underperformed. Obviously she is not a rock coated with diamond dust. Use it with care and she delivers.

[bigbopper]

I haven't used her since beta. when I did it was with Zoraida. found the obeys great for getting her in position. Only took one upgrade with her and that was obsidian talons.

[Mastershake]

I haven't used her since beta. when I did it was with Zoraida. found the obeys great for getting her in position. Only took one upgrade with her and that was obsidian talons.

 

Yeah, she can't really use that anymore (she needs to stone and flip/cheat just for the trigger now).