Starting with Zoraida

[meestho]

Alright I just started malifaux and I was suppose to start with Som'er but my store ordered me Zoraida instead so I decided to keep her. I know it's not optimal but I'll still start with her. Since I really want to play Gremlins, I will not focus her neverborn aspect. Therefore I'm asking you some advice on where to go next to have a decent list with my swampfiend. I'm aiming to play 50ss with what I have at the moment and expend slowly after that. So any suggestions on what should be my next purchases?

Thanks JN

[Math Mathonwy]

McTavish if you can find him and don't mind getting a metal model has the most synergy with Zoraida.

Waldgeists are very good models and offer something unique for the Gremlins: endurance.

Ophelia's box gives you Francois, Pere, Raphael, and Rami. All are highly destructive models that Zoraida loves to order around.

Slop Haulers are great utility even though they can't heal Swamp Fiends so if you go the Waldgeists route, then maybe save these for later.

Bayou Gremlins are amazing Scheme runners and general mayhem makers.

Piglets and War Pig can Charge as a (1)Action thus allowing Zoraida to obey them to Charge which is very nice. Hog Whisper can keep them under control and give them Reactivate.

All of the above are good choices and you can't go wrong with any of them.

What's your budget?

[meestho]

I don't know, maybe 50$ per month, maybe a 100$ depending of the month. I'll wait for Mactavish, I like the new models and I'm not in a rush. I was thinkin getting the Som'er box next for bayou gremlins and Leny. Do you guys think this could be good? Otherwise I might go the waldgeist option. 

JN

[Math Mathonwy]

I don't know, maybe 50$ per month, maybe a 100$ depending of the month. I'll wait for Mactavish, I like the new models and I'm not in a rush. I was thinkin getting the Som'er box next for bayou gremlins and Leny. Do you guys think this could be good? Otherwise I might go the waldgeist option. 

JN

It's a good box but if you only have the Zoraida box and buy the Somer box, you will end up with too many Scheme runners as that's what Bayou Gremlins and Silurids essentially are. And since Bad Juju kinda sucks on the Gremlin side (since he can't take Eternal) all you would have for hitting would be Lenny and Voodoo Doll.

So I would suggest getting Ophelia's box for killyness or Waldgeists for durability.

[zFiend]

McTavish if you can find him and don't mind getting a metal model has the most synergy with Zoraida.

Waldgeists are very good models and offer something unique for the Gremlins: endurance.

Ophelia's box gives you Francois, Pere, Raphael, and Rami. All are highly destructive models that Zoraida loves to order around.

Slop Haulers are great utility even though they can't heal Swamp Fiends so if you go the Waldgeists route, then maybe save these for later.

Bayou Gremlins are amazing Scheme runners and general mayhem makers.

Piglets and War Pig can Charge as a (1)Action thus allowing Zoraida to obey them to Charge which is very nice. Hog Whisper can keep them under control and give them Reactivate.

All of the above are good choices and you can't go wrong with any of them.

What's your budget?

This is a really good rundown and order of purchases. I concur 100%. 

For Zoraida you want ophelia order Somer. 

[meestho]

Alright so how about for a short time purchase plan?

Hog whisperer
piglets
slop haulers
ophelia box
walgeist

JN

[Math Mathonwy]

Sounds good! Though if you go with Hog Whisperer, consider getting the War Pig instead of Piglets since you get one Piglet with the Whisperer and War Pig is really good stuff with Zoraida. Piglets are a lot of fun and nicely versatile so they are worth getting but I think that you will get more bang for your buck with the big fellow with Zoraida.

[Vorschlag]

You'll want a war pig, possibly a hog whisperer, a nurse, waldgeist and a piggapult.

Lenny will also be useful once you get the somer box and extra bayous will add to Somers summoning machine and will let Zoraida push activation bonus.

The warpig, hogwhisperer and piggapult will work well with Somer aswell.

McTavish as already suggested if you can get your hands on him will help.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Vorschlag

[meestho]

Thanks guys. 

JN

[D6Damager]

Get a nurse for Zoraida so you can do condition shenanigans with the doll.

[meestho]

Finally i had a problem with my finances and I went the cheapest 10 point I could get so that I could play 50ss with the starter.  I now have Gracie. It's not what you guys suggested but it'll have to do until I can straighten my situation. 

JN

[Greenman]

Well, now that you have gone that route, I would say save up for Burt Jebsen next. He was literaly made to go with Gracie. Slap the saddle  up grade on her and drag him along with her. Tons of fun to be had there. 

Edited October 1, 2015 by Greenman

[bandages]

Math has given a superb overview of where to start.

In terms of play style, I’d say that you really need to consider Zoraida’s upgrades when deciding on a crew. In my experience she is the VP scorer, be that via Animal shape movement shenanigans or Tarot reading’s Scheme marks shenanigans , and subsequently you can afford to tailor you list to; killing things or denying your opponent’s VP.

Some potential tips:

-          Don’t be afraid to Obey your own models to focus (Obviously before they activate). The more I play the more I see the value of plus and straight damage flips. Being able to cheat in those 6-10’s for moderate damage really makes a difference for some models. This is even more prominent when Playing Gremlins, as you have many models that can go reckless; Focus, attack, focus, and then Zoraida can use their focused attack with the Obey.

 

-          Use Bewitch. On a master, every turn, if you can. The potential of having 12 cards in your hand for those focused attacks to get maximum usage cannot be under estimated.

 

-          I’m awful at using this one, and it is situational, but Repulsive can be a game winner on its own. Not many models will easily pass the TN 17WP duel.

 

-          Proxy some Rooster Riders.

 

Wow, I’m actually getting exciting about playing Zoraida again!

[meestho]

Well, now that you have gone that route, I would say save up for Burt Jebsen next. He was literaly made to go with Gracie. Slap the saddle  up grade on her and drag him along with her. Tons of fun to be had there. 

Yup that's my plan. Beside Burt is cheap for a budget so it shouldn't be a problem. He will be able to take Bad juju place if needed or a silurid. After that I'll probably go with Hog Whisperer, war pig, slop hauler and then I can go and check another master crew.

[meestho]

Math has given a superb overview of where to start.

 

In terms of play style, I’d say that you really need to consider Zoraida’s upgrades when deciding on a crew. In my experience she is the VP scorer, be that via Animal shape movement shenanigans or Tarot reading’s Scheme marks shenanigans , and subsequently you can afford to tailor you list to; killing things or denying your opponent’s VP.

 

Some potential tips:

 

-          Don’t be afraid to Obey your own models to focus (Obviously before they activate). The more I play the more I see the value of plus and straight damage flips. Being able to cheat in those 6-10’s for moderate damage really makes a difference for some models. This is even more prominent when Playing Gremlins, as you have many models that can go reckless; Focus, attack, focus, and then Zoraida can use their focused attack with the Obey.

 

 

 

-          Use Bewitch. On a master, every turn, if you can. The potential of having 12 cards in your hand for those focused attacks to get maximum usage cannot be under estimated.

 

 

 

-          I’m awful at using this one, and it is situational, but Repulsive can be a game winner on its own. Not many models will easily pass the TN 17WP duel.

 

 

 

-          Proxy some Rooster Riders.

 

 

 

Wow, I’m actually getting exciting about playing Zoraida again!

 

I'm still learning the game but I'll think about this after I've mastered the basics.

[Dogmantra]

For voodoo doll shenanigans there are two things that come to mind, one a little more niche than the other.

1 (this is the niche one). Pigapult. Sadly not that helpful for someone on a budget, but if you manage to Hem an enemy model while the voodoo doll is next to the pigapult, just use its place ability to drop the voodoo doll nearby again. It's a free paralyse on the hemmed enemy model, which costs you 1Ap and you can repeat for the rest of the game.

2. The downside of this one is that Sammy LaCroix isn't out yet, but she has some fantastic conditions she can hand out via Jynx. Notably the ability doesn't have a damage flip, it simply deals 2 damage, so if you hem an enemy you can just relent with the doll and get off free powerful conditions like no triggers or no walking/charging alongside a respectable 2 damage.

[meestho]

Samething that you can do with Zoraida upgrade for the damage. It's nice. However I'm really tempted to try nurses with her so I might go this way. Since Resurectionist is tempting me as well, I might wait until I can afford Mcmourning box. 

JN

[Dogmantra]

Ooh, if you're getting nurses, you might want moon shinobis too. Use a tomes and the shinobis get a to all duels and +2 armour.

Of course, I udnerstand that I have personally recommended like half the faction to you so y'know

Edited October 1, 2015 by Dogmantra

[Eclipse]

When starting with Zoraida you can keep in mind that she can hire two models with Wp 4 as mercenaries. This means you get fun and killy stuff like Papa Loco, Samurai, Ototo (!), Montresor, The Guilty... I am really tempted to start Zoraida, especially since I am already oogling at Brewmaster (although they are kinda similar as playstyle and role in-game).

[Math Mathonwy]

When starting with Zoraida you can keep in mind that she can hire two models with Wp 4 as mercenaries. This means you get fun and killy stuff like Papa Loco, Samurai, Ototo (!), Montresor, The Guilty... I am really tempted to start Zoraida, especially since I am already oogling at Brewmaster (although they are kinda similar as playstyle and role in-game).

This might seem as a bit of a downer, but Samurai can't get their 0-cost Upgrades so are pretty bad (and Gremlins have lots of excellent ranged options to choose from); Ototo kinda pales in comparison to Mancha Roja; Montressor isn't all that good to begin with and has very limited synergy with Gremlins; The Guilty are nice, mobile pieces but Gremlins aren't exactly lacking in anything The Guilty have on offer.

Now, Papa Loco can be fun in some situations and I think that he is, after Nurses, the most likely Zoraida low-Wp hire. Iggy is also sorta-kinda possible as he works very nicely with the Voodoo Doll but at 6SS he is quite expensive.

[Myyrä]

Ototo could be kind of nice if you played Neverborn. Nexus of Power + Hard to Kill makes a model near unkillable as long as you have soulstones to spend.

[Eclipse]

Yeah, I know the (0) cost upgrades are 10T only. However, you can make them shoot out of activation with Obey.
As for Ototo, I do a similar thing with Dashel and his Hard to Kill. As long as I have stones, he gets to live! Unless they can ignore the ability. Ototo would be fun there as well, although NB don't lack for melee beaters (and actually are better in this department).
I already have the models I mentioned or will have them at some point. The only difficult to get would be Papa Loco, but I could just as well convert him from another model. This is actually the thing that attracted me to Zoraida, the ability to hire a funkier, more colorful and diversified crew that others won't really expect me to field. Her voodoo shenanigans are only second on the list for me

[meestho]

Alright so you guys gave me a lot of good option to help me start Zoraida. Now If I wanted to branch out and get 1 or 2 other master that completes her, what would you suggest?

 

Thanks again

JN

[Dogmantra]

I had a whole thing written out, but basically it boils down to: you probably want a master who can dish out the hurt on their own in case the strategy/schemes call for it. That comes down to basically any of the other gremlin masters except Brewmaster and maybe Ulix. If you want a master who's out in plastic right now, that narrows it down to Som'er or Ophelia, and at that point it's mostly preference. They can both do the killy thing (though Ophelia can do it a little better), and Som'er can do... just about anything he wants really. Wong's out at the end of this month though, and Mah at the end of next, so it's not too long to wait.

The other point was that Ulix loves pigs even more than Zoraida does, so you can get a lot of mileage out of a pig-focused collection between the two of them. But again, his box isn't out until December. Something to look out for when it does arrive though (or to proxy in the mean time maybe?)

[hussar1m]

I've been thinking about playing Zoraida with gremlins myself.  Question to the group, which is probably obvious: pay for the voodoo doll up front, or summon one in game?  On the one hand, summoning saves three precious stones.  On the other, summoning takes up valuable master actions in the early game.  Thought?