Guild McCabe: Teach me your ways

[terminalc]

Just picked up the McCabe set and I'm interested in trying him out. His crew seems to work pretty differently than Sonnia or Perdita, so I'm a little at a loss of how to play it, or what models to take with it? Any advice?

 

thanks!

[Myyrä]

Take a look at Pull My Finger, and if you still have questions after that please come back.

[horvagab]

What do people think of Master Queeg and how he might work with McCabe? He seems to give minions a boost, which is good considering the Wastrel and Guards that McCabe can field.

[Ludvig]

He mostly boosts (0)s which they don't really have. He can boost guardsmen close to Dashel but the wastrels don't gain anything. I'd say Queeg does a lot more for TT, their minions have cool (0)s.

[Myyrä]

I'd say Queek is mostly useful if you want Promises without bringing Sidir or McCabe, which is usually outside McCabe lists.

[Rurouni Benshin]

I'd say Queek is mostly useful if you want Promises without bringing Sidir or McCabe, which is usually outside McCabe lists.

I second this.  Queeg is a good carrier for it if you're having trouble with making room for other models.  Even at 7ss, he's pretty reliable for a Henchman.

[Chumbalaya]

I've gotten some good use out of Queeg and a Spellcaster when Ressers are in the mix.  He can set up the anti-lure bubble before the wizard even goes, giving you some flexibility. 

One of my favorites McCabe inclusions is a Warden.  He's a cheap minion and once toy give him the Glowing Saber he can go off on models that have already activated.

[Ludvig]

I've gotten some good use out of Queeg and a Spellcaster when Ressers are in the mix.  He can set up the anti-lure bubble before the wizard even goes, giving you some flexibility. 

One of my favorites McCabe inclusions is a Warden.  He's a cheap minion and once toy give him the Glowing Saber he can go off on models that have already activated.

If only it had a model...

[terminalc]

I feel like the pullmyfinger does a great job at serving as an overview of what McCabe can do, but he seems really different from Perdita (who is my usual go-to) that I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around him. What upgrades do people normally take with him? Or on other models for that matter? And outside of the crew box, what works well with him? I'm trying to play as Guild focuses as possible, and the wiki mostly mentions Outcast models that synergize with him.

It seems like having McCabe himself run around slowing things and doing some damage with the barbed net upgrade is a fairly good play, but I've never seen him on the table, so I don't have much to draw on for comparison.

[ArcticPangolin]

It takes a little getting used to, and there are a few differing playstyles. The upgrades he takes depend upon what crew you're bringing along.

I'll usually load up on Minions and roll him around as support for the first 2 or 3 turns and keeping him within 10" of his distributed upgrades. Most McCabe players I've seen or heard about see Badge of Speed as an autotake which plays well with this type of crew. The Glowing Sabre adds some great Swiss-army knife melee potential to any model, whether they be Hounds, Guardsmen, Watchers, or a biggun struggling with Incorporeal or Armour. Wastrels, Wardens and the Pale Rider can be even nastier with the Sabre due to their ability to get extra .

When Reckoning comes up, an elite crew of Henchmen and Enforcers with upgrades gets great use out of Promises, whether it's held by Sidir, Queeg or McCabe. I personally like to use McCabe's slots for his personal upgrades and leave Promises on Sidir.

The other McCabe upgrades come down to personal taste, the opposition, the board and the Strats & Schemes. Think about what (0) actions models in your crew have and if they compete with those provided by the Elixir of Life and the Strangemetal Shirt. Some players will always take Barbs for some extra damage for McCabe, but don't forget that it can also be tossed to your guys for a Push.

[Yvarre]

I almost always take Badge of Speed, Elixir of Life, and Strangemetal Shirt.  Glowing saber can be good if you think you might be facing alot of armor (Arcanists)

A general Baseline of 27 points I find super effective is the 5 points of upgrades, Luna, 2 Hounds, and 2 Austringers.  With the hounds such small, cheap, mobile scheme runners, you can usually get your scheme markers set on the first and second turn.  These in turn help with activation control and free up AP in later turns for strat, opponent VP prevention, and consolidating your own position.  The rest of the crew will change for the strats.  Elite beaters come out for Turf War, Extraction, Reckoning, headhunter.  For recon and interference, a couple smaller models like wastrels can help with bodies, though you can take more dogs or even just try to gun the opponent's crew down

McCabe then can hand out a reactivate to a minion each turn, heal models, and push models around.  He also has some great debuffs and can be super effective in melee with a possible Df 7, armor 1, and a couple stones along with the occasional heal, he can be difficult to unhorse, and I've found he can win in close combat with many melee masters- Lady J, Mei Feng, Misaki, etc. 

Then there is the last ditch blitz of activating him on the horse for 3 AP, dismounting as a 0 for 2 more AP, and then zeroing again for a 3 AP desperate gambit.  That is a possible 8 master AP in a turn, though you sacrifice him at the end.

And giving an Austringer reactivate is the only way around that pesky (and necessary) rare 2 restriction.  Austringers make things dead and are great to push and give reactivate and sometimes nimble to.  Also reactivating, nimble hounds that start an activation near Luna, gaining Wk 7, are my favorite scheme runners in the game.  Chain: Backflash, Take this to give the reactivator badge of speed, pushing 4.  Walk 7, drop a scheme, walk 7, reactivate, drop a scheme, walk 7, drop a scheme- that's 3/4 of ALits turn 1 with 1 3pt model, boosted by 1 support master AP and a 0 action. 

[Ludvig]

I almost always take Badge of Speed, Elixir of Life, and Strangemetal Shirt.  Glowing saber can be good if you think you might be facing alot of armor (Arcanists)

A general Baseline of 27 points I find super effective is the 5 points of upgrades, Luna, 2 Hounds, and 2 Austringers.  With the hounds such small, cheap, mobile scheme runners, you can usually get your scheme markers set on the first and second turn.  These in turn help with activation control and free up AP in later turns for strat, opponent VP prevention, and consolidating your own position.  The rest of the crew will change for the strats.  Elite beaters come out for Turf War, Extraction, Reckoning, headhunter.  For recon and interference, a couple smaller models like wastrels can help with bodies, though you can take more dogs or even just try to gun the opponent's crew down

McCabe then can hand out a reactivate to a minion each turn, heal models, and push models around.  He also has some great debuffs and can be super effective in melee with a possible Df 7, armor 1, and a couple stones along with the occasional heal, he can be difficult to unhorse, and I've found he can win in close combat with many melee masters- Lady J, Mei Feng, Misaki, etc. 

Then there is the last ditch blitz of activating him on the horse for 3 AP, dismounting as a 0 for 2 more AP, and then zeroing again for a 3 AP desperate gambit.  That is a possible 8 master AP in a turn, though you sacrifice him at the end.

And giving an Austringer reactivate is the only way around that pesky (and necessary) rare 2 restriction.  Austringers make things dead and are great to push and give reactivate and sometimes nimble to.  Also reactivating, nimble hounds that start an activation near Luna, gaining Wk 7, are my favorite scheme runners in the game.  Chain: Backflash, Take this to give the reactivator badge of speed, pushing 4.  Walk 7, drop a scheme, walk 7, reactivate, drop a scheme, walk 7, drop a scheme- that's 3/4 of ALits turn 1 with 1 3pt model, boosted by 1 support master AP and a 0 action. 

Except the fact that your second activation very rarely starts within 3 of Luna so you're back to walk 6. I also like this trick however.

I often go with McCabe carrying promises, badge of speed and glowing sabre. I often add francisco since he helps out with surviving, hits hard and always has wade in anyways so is getting buffed by promises. Luna + 2 hounds is usually enough for me, sometimes 3 if I think I will need to compete against a lot or enemy activations. Probably another henchman and then something random for the last soulstones.

McCabe with el mayor for df 9 when engaged and + to ml from promises can really tie stuff down and let the rest of the crew do their thing. 

My reliance on the sabre probably comes from playing against an awful lot of metal gamin pre errata and resser summoners with a tendency towards hanged and punk zombies.

[Khaiden]

I've gotten some good use out of Queeg and a Spellcaster when Ressers are in the mix.  He can set up the anti-lure bubble before the wizard even goes, giving you some flexibility. 

One of my favorites McCabe inclusions is a Warden.  He's a cheap minion and once toy give him the Glowing Saber he can go off on models that have already activated.

If only it had a model...

Ludvig: Im Glad you dont! =D

I dont play McCabe but ive met him a cople of times and this is what i think is strong with his team. I post this from a Ressers perspective

Sidir is amazing against ressers since he cant be isolated and is very hard to take down and . A prefect Bodyguard Target.

McCabes threat-range is amazing and has in all games engaged groups of my crew and managed to hold them in place for a couple of turns combining him with a brutal Effigy and Fransisco you get some nice staying power with Mccabe for this kind of tactic. In one game McCabe manages to charge my dead rider T1 and kills him in a single activation. You can realy take advantage of poor positioning of models that need to die.

The sword. Managing the sword is key against opponents that rely on Armor, Incoporeal and Hard to kill/Hard to would.

Wastrels, very good minions for 4 points.

The Dogs.. god damn it.. Luna makes Guild Dogs super good at scheme running.

Of all the guild masters i regard McCabe as one of the best against Ressers.

Good luck!

 

Edited December 9, 2015 by Khaiden

[Ludvig]

I've gotten some good use out of Queeg and a Spellcaster when Ressers are in the mix.  He can set up the anti-lure bubble before the wizard even goes, giving you some flexibility. 

One of my favorites McCabe inclusions is a Warden.  He's a cheap minion and once toy give him the Glowing Saber he can go off on models that have already activated.

If only it had a model...

Ludvig: Im Glad you dont! =D

I dont play McCabe but ive met him a cople of times and this is what i think is strong with his team. I post this from a Ressers perspective

Sidir is amazing against ressers since he cant be isolated and is very hard to take down and . A prefect Bodyguard Target.

McCabes threat-range is amazing and has in all games engaged groups of my crew and managed to hold them in place for a couple of turns combining him with a brutal Effigy and Fransisco you get some nice staying power with Mccabe for this kind of tactic. In one game McCabe manages to charge my dead rider T1 and kills him in a single activation. You can realy take advantage of poor positioning of models that need to die.

The sword. Managing the sword is key against opponents that rely on Armor, Incoporeal and Hard to kill/Hard to would.

Wastrels, very good minions for 4 points.

The Dogs.. god damn it.. Luna makes Guild Dogs super good at scheme running.

Of all the guild masters i regard McCabe as one of the best against Ressers.

Good luck!

 

That's just because I actually know how to play him as opposed to all the other guys who I constantly screw up   

He is also very strong when forced to deploy first since he can reposition stuff the enemy has deployed to starve out of the game. No one likes to spend a whole game just walking a peacekeeper because the enemy forced you to commit it and then just ignored it.

I find that deployment order can have an astronomical impact on games, at least for some crews.