Levy Hiring Mech Rider

[Kadeton]

Levy's power comes through in several ways.

 

Most obviously, he's got a 2/3/4 ranged attack that can't be reduced by anything - it goes through Incorporeal, Armor, Hard to Kill, the Riders' cheesy Armor-like abilities, everything. He can take 2 damage to give that a to attack and damage, and with a Ca 7 that means he can almost always hit and cheat damage. It even has a trigger to stop the target preventing damage with soulstones - he's perfectly capable of taking most models in the game from full wounds to dead in a single activation if they're in range. With the right upgrades, he can do even more damage to high-Wd targets and turn enemies into Abominations when they die. Then, to add insult to injury, he summons a Waif and *poof* he's buried, and back on full wounds like nothing happened.

 

Second, he's got good card draw. His Abominations aren't good for much, but they can start eating each other for an extra card each turn. He can blow up his own Undead models for more cards - including the Ashes & Dust, which can then reform at the end of the turn. Because his main attack is so effective, his use of cards and soulstones is very efficient, and you can quickly sculpt an impressive hand.

 

Third, his incredible hiring pool opens up options that literally aren't possible with any other Master. There are some crazy combos between Constructs of various Factions.

[SpectreEliteGaming]

He is overwhelming against new players and consistently difficult to deal with regardless. Though his strategy is pretty much the same all the time, knowing what to expect from him ahead of time doesn't really help unless you have specific and dedicated counters. He is a very dominating master with a huge hiring pool. This allows you to cater effectively against most matchups (if you know ahead of time what your opponent will run - iron zombies or specific anchor selection). Card draw engine built into a basically autorun base crew combination (A&D and aboms). There's more but thats the important bits I guess. If you haven't experienced playing against him it'll probably surprise the hell out of you the first time you see him play.

I prefer dedicated support masters with crews powerful enough to be effective even if the master dies late game.

As neverborn, I find Zoraida (!!!) most effective against him. Honestly, she's probably got Levy's number ( ) and is extrememly flexible.

Levy will win you a lot of games, some blowouts, til people catch on anyway

[moxypoo]

To add on to what Kadeton and SpectreEliteGaming discussed, Leveticus is incredibly mobile.  I've always been surprised at how infrequently this point comes up. 

 

With his (0), you can sacrifice any friendly undead model within 10" and be placed into base to base contact before that model is removed.  Do this with Ashes and Dust, and Leveticus teleports ~12" (10" for the (0) action and ~2" for A&D's base).  The downside here is that you can't use Sanguine Evocations to Bury, but if you absolutely have to die, then you can always have your own models kill Levy.

 

The other major part of his mobility is from dying and popping up near a Waif at the end of the turn.  I like to have one Waif in the center of the board and one on each flank after sacrificing Levy to Sanguine Evocations.  That way I have the option of popping up almost anywhere on the board at the end of the turn.  Because of these mobility tricks and the 12 attack, I rarely take walk actions with Levy. 

 

Also, my regular opponents have figured out that nowhere is safe to hide!

[Patzer]

I agree with Moxypoo. Leveticus speed is something that is rarely talked about, and a lot of people discredits him in that department. The (0) jump is really good all game. A 22" threat range that can kill an important model on turn 1 is something opponents should be quite afraid of. 

 

[zFiend]

I agree with Moxypoo. Leveticus speed is something that is rarely talked about, and a lot of people discredits him in that department. The (0) jump is really good all game. A 22" threat range that can kill an important model on turn 1 is something opponents should be quite afraid of.

Again with the Teddy! Just let him be already!

[Patzer]

Again with the Teddy! Just let him be already!

I was referring to Rafkin this time, and McMourning who ran away for the rest of the game.

[zFiend]

I was referring to Rafkin this time, and McMourning who ran away for the rest of the game.

McMourning? Doing the Sebastian? Oh I think not! He's a brave man who fights fair.

[SpectreEliteGaming]

I think the major problem with Levy's mobility is in its limitations and situational use. If your opponent manages to bully one of your Levy flanks or if he rips your anchors away all of a sudden you might be looking at one hell of an underwhelming Levy activation.

You can either have high mobility or "uhhhh-what-should-I-do mobility".

Levy crews suffer big time from a cookie-cutter level of consistent (though, of course, usually dominating) play - if you are facing off against an opponent that knows Levy very well and you are playing Levy, he will hire accordingly, scheme accordingly, and play accordingly - to your dismay

[Joel]

It really comes down to how fast, and at what cost, you can drop the first anchor. If you can do this on turn 1 or at the start of turn 2 then you really begin to limit the possibilities Leveticus has and therefore his influence.

Common anchors I see are mech rider, ashes and dust, soulstone miners and trappers. Working out strategies or combos to deal with these anchors is a good start. Also, you don't have to kill them - preventing movement on any of them will have a similar effect for a turn.

If Leveticus has great cards/flips he can stomp a model. So can most masters. However, even with those flips, if the opponent has equal luck then a Leveticus perfect storm won't happen every activation.

[Patzer]

"I think the major problem with Levy's mobility is in its limitations and situational use. If your opponent manages to bully one of your Levy flanks or if he rips your anchors away all of a sudden you might be looking at one hell of an underwhelming Levy activation."

"if you are facing off against an opponent that knows Levy very well and you are playing Levy, he will hire accordingly, scheme accordingly, and play accordingly - to your dismay ;)"

I agree with your first statement. If ones opponent can dismiss one flank then that might throw a wrench in your plans. You need to plan for that to happen, and be able to counter it.

 

The scenario you are describing sounds like that opponent knows and plans for playing against Leveticus. If you have that information and use it to your full benefit, it will work against any master. I don't think Leve stands out in that category.

[Patzer]

It really comes down to how fast, and at what cost, you can drop the first anchor. If you can do this on turn 1 or at the start of turn 2 then you really begin to limit the possibilities Leveticus has and therefore his influence.

Common anchors I see are mech rider, ashes and dust, soulstone miners and trappers. Working out strategies or combos to deal with these anchors is a good start. Also, you don't have to kill them - preventing movement on any of them will have a similar effect for a turn.

If Leveticus has great cards/flips he can stomp a model. So can most masters. However, even with those flips, if the opponent has equal luck then a Leveticus perfect storm won't happen every activation.

 

Out-activation and lure effects is a good way to mess with the anchors. However it can be quite hard to out-activate Leveticus as soon as he starts summoning Aboms. Also, its usually quite easy to identify what Waif will provide Leve with the best spot for the coming turn. Gunning for that Waif might push the onslaught back. 

 

In order to get pass a 7 CA with to attack and damage one often needs a bit of luck, as you said. Matching the stat (with wp buffs like the ones Scales of Justice, Von Schill, and the Oiran can provide) is one of the best defences you can have against Leveticus in my experience.

[Hateful Darkblack]

Killing a Waif will similarly limit the options.

[Grim]

Killing a Waif will similarly limit the options.

 

It's tough to kill all three in one turn.

[Scirian]

It's tough to kill all three in one turn.

True.

But whittling away at them over the game doesn't hurt.

I find losing one or two waifs puts Levi on the defensive.

Without at least one waif on the field he is a sitting duck to a mobile unit (or collodi) until he squats one for a (0) action.

[Adran]

It's tough to kill all three in one turn.

 

There is no need to.

Leveticus in this edition has 2 extra lives. You kill a combination of him and his waifs totalling 3, and he is gone. There is no way for him to gain extra lives, his sacrifice action replaces him  with a waif, and he will then replace a waif so no net gain in lives. (Although there probably is a net gain in wounds).

[moxypoo]

There is no need to.

Leveticus in this edition has 2 extra lives. You kill a combination of him and his waifs totalling 3, and he is gone. There is no way for him to gain extra lives, his sacrifice action replaces him  with a waif, and he will then replace a waif so no net gain in lives. (Although there probably is a net gain in wounds).

Quoted for truth.

 

 

I think the original point was that killing a Waif reduces the area in which Leveticus can unbury at the end of turn, thereby reducing his mobility.  In my opinion, one of the most interesting challenges when playing M2E Leveticus is finding a good balance between aggression and defensiveness with the Waifs.

 

Sometimes, it's really useful to bait an enemy model into a bad position using a Waif, but others you need the Waif in a safe, secure spot for a guaranteed unburying.