Thought about Vasilisa

[Nical]

Hi, Everyone. I have played Crews included Vasilisa from Wave 2 Beta, and I want to share my thought about her. 

Vasilisa is not our best henchman, but I agree she is more difficult model than other henchmen, so I think we need to think about her.  

Frankly, I want to write about Collodi. But his tactica is almost completed, So I write about Vasilisa.  Now, Let me introduce her to you.

 

Stat - High Df / Wk, Low Wp / Wd 

Vasilisa is fast but fragile, so you must watch out opponent Wp attack and High accurate Df Attack.  

I think Vasilisa's low Wd make her very difficult model, because she killed by only 1-2 Attacks and too expensive to throw away. 

So if you want to use her, you must think about her survival.   

 

Abilities
The Long Journey - When Scheme Marker is placed near Vasilisa by another model, she may push some distance in any direction.
This is Vasilisa's main ability. Simply, this ability means Vasilisa can push by another model. friendly models can place scheme marker for her,

And Vasilisa can use Obey and/or Twist to other models for scheme markers.   

 

Unimpeded - Ignore severe terrain.

Good ability for mobile supporter. 

 

Sweet Nothings -  Reducing Opponent's Wp near Vasilisa.
It looks good. But if you want to only reduce Opponent's Wp, Widow Weaver may be better. 

 

Df ( ) Run Away Home - Same as Collodi's Ability, but Vasilisa doesn't have built-in suits.
Useful for escape or additional move like Collodi's, but she needs  and it doesn't work against Wp Attack.

Attack Actions
(1) Needle and Thread - High Accuracy, Low Damage, Good Triggers preventing Tactical / Attack / Walk action.
This action's basic damage is like 4ss model's melee damage. But Vasilisa can prevent opponent's actions and/or deal damage by Triggers. 

So you must think again to use this action without trigger. Additionally, condition removal can counter triggers.

I recommend to use this action with twist for Hit and Run. Because I think Vasilisa is too fragile to keep engaging opponents.

And combo with some wicked dolls is good, because Wicked Doll's Crawl away home prevents all actions except walk. 

 

(1) Obey - Same as Brewmaster's Obey (Brewmaster and Vasilisa doesn't have built-in suits, neither).
This action is very versatile and useful, but It needs at least 5+ , and you must think about your opponent's flip/cheat.

In short, Vasilisa needs high  for obey. So Vasilisa often feels hunger for . So if you want to give AP to your puppet, use twist first.

And Tannen is good to manage . Additionally, If Vasilisa is not leader, Doppleganger can copy obey. But this trick needs more high . 

Tactical Actions
(0) Twist - Give 1 AP to other non-master friendly puppet.
This Action doesn't need AP and TN, but It works to only puppets. It means you need to take another puppet to use twist.

But Vasilisa's some upgrades are for only puppets, so its limit is not bad.

Upgrade
A Friend to talk to - When Vasilisa walks, another puppet near Vasilisa may follows her.
Vasilisa's signature upgrade. By this upgrade, Vasilisa can transport another puppet. It is very useful for mobile tricks. 

For Example, Vasilisa + Coryphee + Shadow Effigy combo is very powerful combo for some schemes. 

 

Strum the Threads - Puppets near Vasilisa can get Fast by losing 2 Wounds.
Puppets(Collodi, Vasilisa) upgrade. If you want to play aggressive puppet crew, I recommend it.

But If you want to use Vasilisa as Obey caster, you don't need to take this upgrade. 

 

* Damages for Fast and Other models  
Stitched Together - Rotten Contents can be activated by damage for fast, but Eternal Nightmare can't.
Dreamer - Pleasant Dreams can heal friendly models, so you can reduce damages for fast.
Collodi - Fast by this upgrade can't spread by Fated Upgrade. 

Mimic's Blessing - Perfect Camouflage + When Vasilisa is killed / sacrificed, you get 2 cards and discard 2 cards.
Df 7 + Perfect Camouflage make Vasilisa very durable against usual and Charge Attack. But Watch out other things like Wp Attack.

Fear Givens Form - When Activated, models near Vasilisa must pass Df duel or take damages.
I think this upgrade is not for only 6 wound model. And If Vasilisa take 'A Friend to talk to', she is usually near other puppets.

So I don't recommend this upgrade for Vasilisa. Other Henchmen like Candy are better.

Fact - Black joker can't prevent Vasilisa from cheating.

It may be useful, but I prefer other upgrades. 

Nexus of Power - When Vasilisa uses Soulstone except preventing damages, she heals 1 wounds.
Useful upgrade. Because Vasilisa often uses Soulstones for , She can hit two birds with one 'Stone' by this upgrade.  

Stone of Tyrant Echoes (Leader) - Vasilisa can use Soulstone to increase Df / Wp or get Defensive+1 by discard this upgrade.
Vasilisa's Df is High, but her Wp is low. So Stat Boost is usually used against Wp Attacks. A Soulstone for Df+1 is too expensive. 

And It needs Soulstone, so Nexus of Powers is good with it, too. 

Aether Connection (Leader) - Preventing additional damage 

It may be useful, but I prefer other upgrades. Because I think her Wounds is too low to profit by this upgrade. 

 

On Wings of Darkness (Leader) - Additional Card by Soulstone Draw + Flight 

It make her mobile trick more useful and additional card can be good for more . But I think flight is better than additional card for her.

Because Soulstone makes certain for her, but additional card is uncertain.   
 

How to use Vasilisa 

Vasilisa's job is supporting other puppets and denial, But more important thing is that Vasilisa is very fragile and expensive and hungry for .

So I present some way to use Vasilisa effectively. My classification is not rigid, they are just ways to introduce how to use Vasilisa simply.

Vasilisa can be used by 2 or more style in a game.

 

Transporter - With 'A friend to talk to' 

Vasilisa can move another puppet by 'A friend to talk to', so she can be used for mobile tricks like disengaging, scheme run. 

But Vasilisa become 11+ss / 6 wound model by this upgrade, so I recommend to choose schemes to be able to get VP in early turns.

Because opponent can remove your 11+ss by just 1-2 Attacks, so they usually think her as 'fair game'. (At least, Easier than Teddy )

 

Denial Supporter - Focusing to use Obey     

Vasilisa can use Obey to deny opponents in the rear. If you want to keep Vasilisa safely and/or use her cheaper, this style is better choice. 

But her Obey usually needs high , So you think about how to manage your  in hands and Soulstones.

 

AP Booster - With 'Strum the Thread' and Twist  

Vasilisa can give AP to puppets by Twist and 'Strum the Thread'. This style focused AP boosts makes your puppets very aggressive.  

But if Vasilisa is killed, Additional AP by Vasilisa and 10+ss are thrown away in an instant. So you must think about how to keep her alive.

Luckily, puppet crew's usual masters can take healing measures and Wicked Doll has pseudo-heal.       

[ddot]

The question becomes: How useful does all this make her outsode of a Collodi crew>

 

I like her in theory with Pandora. The Wp debuff aura is nice, but the fact she has her own move ment shenanigans is huge as well; without them, she would never get close enough to the action for Pandora and Co. to take advantage of the debuff. In this case, cheap scheme runners would be at a premium, although these aren't always conductive to Pandora's playstyle. Definitely one to think about twice or thrice before taking her out, but she does bring a lot of things I like, so there you have it.

[Nical]

Vasilisa needs puppets to use her full power, but It doesn't mean she needs Collodi. 

Simply, Vasilisa can be used for her mobility & Obey in less-puppet crew. And If you take puppets, Vasilisa can be useful in your crew.

For Example, She can be useful in Dreamer Crew. Dreamer & Coppelius can heal her, Stitched & Wicked Dolls (by Widow Weaver) are Puppets.

And Vasilisa can provide additional Obey to Zoraida and use Twist to Voodoo Doll. 

 

I think Vasilisa is used for mobility & obey in Pandora Crew. Because Pandora Crew is usually less-puppet Crew.

So her job in Pandora Crew is usually supporting others by obey. For Example, Vasilisa can move   models like Candy to opponents. 

And Vasilisa is very mobile, so you can use her as scheme runner. But two 4ss models may be better than her for some schemes.   

[Mxbedlam]

Vasilla seems like a control based model so you have to consider what you want out of your crew. In a crew that is already geared towards control, she provides extra board coverage and more obey. Considering that most of the control oriented masters already have something very similar, (Lucius and Zoraida in particular) This might just be redundancy and a model that offers more in other directions could be a better choice. In a crew geared towards beat down she shores up a weakness the crew might have. Lynch likes bringing Stitched Together that Vassila could use to great effect. Getting off more Gamble With Your Life seems good and she can help get the Stitched where they need to be. Lynch's crew is known for controlling a single area of the board, so the inclusion of Vassila could help for Strategies like Squatter's Rights where Lynch traditionally isn't as strong. 

[Hateful Darkblack]

I play her fairly often in a Levy Crew, joined up with a Coryphee. The pair make an incredible combo of Objective-Runners together and can operate independent of the rest of the Crew. Outside Levy/Collodi, she can't hire a Coryphee, but I've found she does nearly as well with a Stitched Together in that case.

 

Really, Vasilisa needs some kind of mid-powered Puppet for all her synergy speed tricks and prompted actions. At that point, you've got a terrifying pair that can handle a lot of different situations, move fast, and break things.

[Omenbringer]

I just wish she was available outside the crew box.

[Nical]

Additionally, I think Wave 3 models can help her. So I will talk about them after Wave 3 Final.  

[HiveCommander]

Vasilisa shouldn't even be that dependent on puppets if you're using her as an Obey caster; Twist is a tactical action so she can target herself so long as she isn't leading the crew (unless there's some specific restriction in place that I don't know about). Keep in mind there's a very big difference between 'target friendly ____' and 'target other friendly ____' in relation to tactical actions; see Metal Gamin that can Protection from Metal themselves indefinitely, since they are always within 3" of a friendly Metal Gamin (namely itself).

 

I could see her being very useful in a Pandora crew by being able to Obey enemies into a cluster of Sorrows or other situations they really don't want to be in.

Note that I don't play Neverborn (yet!) so I could be way off the mark

[Nical]

Vasilisa shouldn't even be that dependent on puppets if you're using her as an Obey caster; Twist is a tactical action so she can target herself so long as she isn't leading the crew (unless there's some specific restriction in place that I don't know about). Keep in mind there's a very big difference between 'target friendly ____' and 'target other friendly ____' in relation to tactical actions; see Metal Gamin that can Protection from Metal themselves indefinitely, since they are always within 3" of a friendly Metal Gamin (namely itself).

 

Yes, there's a very big difference between 'target friendly ____' and 'target other friendly ____' in relation to tactical actions.

But, Twist's Target is other friendly non-leader puppet. I forgot to write it.  

[HiveCommander]

Oh, that makes sense

[cursingbulldog]

I'm thinking of taking her with the zoraida. She can put out two of her conditions a turn onto the doll and hemmed target and also twist the doll to switch targets, doll can remove conditions on its turn and Zoraida can heal it to start the process again.