Getting The Lone Swordsman to work

[chris_havoc]

Hey guys,

I have tried to get The Lone Swordsman to work but unless he's being shot at he seems squishier than squash. Which troubles me because he's supposed to be in the face of big nasties who can get 7 Wounds and past HtK relatively easily. 

So how do you get him to do his job? 

[Astrella]

Focussing. Recalled Training helps a lot too. I ike him a lot with Shenlong so that I can focus / defensive stance for (0).

[Badluck&blood!]

He needs to hug cover a lot. He also benefits from Sensai Yu giving him pushes. I love his model and the idea of him but he is pants on the table so I mostly leave him on the shelf. 

[valhallan42nd]

He's a cruise missile. He's gonna die most likely, but if he drags a key component of the opponent's crew with him to Jigoku, then so be it. My friend Eshadie uses him all the time, against my friend who brings big beefy threats, and Eshadie is pretty pleased with him.

[chris_havoc]

Hmm. I will have to Tey him more. Sometimes it takes a while for a model to click.

[Astrella]

The reactivate thingie is more like a bonus rather than indicating his primary purpose.

[valhallan42nd]

The reactivate is there for Hard To Kill Models.

[Inquisitor Wall]

Recalled training is a must for him. On turns without it focus is almost always a must to reach the severe with a good trigger. Also, he is never going to last the game. He will usually kill 1-2 keys models from the enemy crew. 

[Duront]

He is another ten thunder model that I have learned to never take. He seems really good on paper, 2/4/6 with triggers to cut through defensive stuff but he never pans out that way on the table. To make him usable recalled training is a must so he is 9 stones that is only 7 wnds with hard to kill. You have to hid him behind cover and then use wandering the earth to push him into a charge lane which negates the reactivate. If he had an ability to discard a card and add suits he would be great but right now he is way too luck intensive to get the right triggers. Most of the time he will charge and do maybe 4-6 damage and then die immediately. Graves, Sidir and Kang are much better options and provide very helpful tactical actions.

[Bumpasses]

He is another ten thunder model that I have learned to never take. He seems really good on paper, 2/4/6 with triggers to cut through defensive stuff but he never pans out that way on the table. To make him usable recalled training is a must so he is 9 stones that is only 7 wnds with hard to kill. You have to hid him behind cover and then use wandering the earth to push him into a charge lane which negates the reactivate. If he had an ability to discard a card and add suits he would be great but right now he is way too luck intensive to get the right triggers. Most of the time he will charge and do maybe 4-6 damage and then die immediately. Graves, Sidir and Kang are much better options and provide very helpful tactical actions.

I agree with this mostly...he needs that additional movement to get him into playing position so your not having to burn your wander (0).

First thing I have learned to ask when I run him is who are the opponents enforcers and henchman (YSNSAS), then I choose one for him to target.

Its still difficult to get him there so im going to try him with Indiana McCabe for the pushes and will try to keep him in the Promises bubble with Sidir on stand by for By your side. (he will have Recalled)

Im not planning my game around it per say, but want to see how many reactivates I can get out of him if the rest of the game flow will allow it.

Obviously Shen Long/Sensei Yu would provide this as well.

 

I have been getting better with him by using him on a flank and moving him up the board with cover dropping scheme markers on his way up then going all out turn 3. I have only gotten the reactivate a few times but it was brutal when I did.

 

 

-Bump

[chris_havoc]

Hmm maybe the scheme dropping Swordsman could work. With Tengu trailing. They aren't bad at hitting if he needs support and can give him Regeneration which will be doubly effective when he does reactivate and - maybe - survive. 

[tomjoad]

For me, the biggest problem with the Lone Swordsman is that I have never once, in all my life, remembered to use Recalled Training. Without it, he's mediocre. I could see taking him, especially against Guild, for Murder Protege or some such, but my Swordsman is never on  to anything, so he always stinks.

[Inquisitor Wall]

The only master I would consider him without recalled training is Shenlong for the 0 focus when you don't need wander or reactivate. Another big thing to remember lots of enforcers are easy for him to kill so the reactivate can be pretty effective. I love searching out samurai and, oxfordian mages. 

Also, bulletproof 3 cannot be overlooked. Against crews like guild, most shooting attacks are doing 1 wound so players will often ignore him. 

He is also an amazing frame for murder choice since they cannot afford to ignore him. 

[Ludvig]

On 2015-12-21 at 7:18 PM, tomjoad said:

For me, the biggest problem with the Lone Swordsman is that I have never once, in all my life, remembered to use Recalled Training. Without it, he's mediocre. I could see taking him, especially against Guild, for Murder Protege or some such, but my Swordsman is never on  to anything, so he always stinks.

If you forget to use the key abilities you more or less take them for, a lot of models get pretty bad. It sounds more like a problem with you than with the swordsman   After all, if you forget that Ten Thunders brothers protect scheme markers or that McCabe can toss out upgrades those models are going to underperform.

[Bumpasses]

On 12/21/2015 at 11:18 AM, tomjoad said:

For me, the biggest problem with the Lone Swordsman is that I have never once, in all my life, remembered to use Recalled Training. Without it, he's mediocre. I could see taking him, especially against Guild, for Murder Protege or some such, but my Swordsman is never on  to anything, so he always stinks.

try using semi-precious stones as markers.

I went to my local gem and rock shop where I purchased 10 pieces of carnelian for about 3$.

very small, about the size of an eraser head. Whenever I lite something on fire or get lit up, I will place a stone nekst to my dood or theirs so I remember.

 I also have some small clear polished quartz I use as chi markers, some purple amethyst I use as Soul Stones etc.

I had the same problem with remembering abilities and such. Even to this day using stones, writing with dry erase on my cards and setting upgrades right beside the model card...I still forget.

 

When the battle is joined...

 

-Bump

[Rurouni Benshin]

Whenever I pop Recalled Training on any model, I take the upgrade, and place the card right on top of his stat card, until the end of the turn.  Before it's used, it remains below it.

As for making the Lone Swordsman work, I've always had positive results with him.  Granted he does not live to the end of every game, but if he's earning back his worth in taking out opposing heavy hitters, and ends up dying, I can live with that.

As for his crew synergy, I've only taken him when Sensei Yu is on the table.  "Airburst" and "Mighty Gust" are the key abilities to making him most versatile.  Otherwise, getting him into striking position is considerably harder.

[Bumpasses]

On 12/28/2015 at 3:53 AM, Rurouni Benshin said:

As for his crew synergy, I've only taken him when Sensei Yu is on the table.  "Airburst" and "Mighty Gust" are the key abilities to making him most versatile.  Otherwise, getting him into striking position is considerably harder.

Or Misaki's Downburst is another way I have been doing this pre and post Sensei you!

 

-Bumpers

[scarlett fever]

The Lone Swordsman is one of my all time favourite models to use, however it took me a few goes to get him to work.

The biggest trap is trying to use the 'you shall not see another sunrise' (I love saying that in game) to take down a big enemy outright. To use it in that way you need to basically use your whole hand on the Swordsman, two cards on the reactivate and then enough high cards to make sure you kill it. Considering you've probably set him up the turn before, waited for the right moment, given him fast, dropped Recalled Training and charged, there are just too many ways in the twisted halls of Malifaux that your opponent will throw a spanner in the works and, doh, you've lost him before he's really done anything. There's times when this will work/be worth it but in my experience it's not always what he does best, and we all know that not finishing off an enemy and dying yourself can be a cardinal sin in Faux.

For me reactivate is slightly set-up and slightly opportunistic. An enemy enforcer is already hurt, play sunrise first, then charge and finish him off. Tag team with him. It's important to think about whether you want to use sunrise before or after a charge. If you're not certain how the fights going to go you should probably charge, see how you did, then decide to drop it. If it's in the bag drop it before the charge. In a tight spot turn 5 and need to drop schemes, name a model anywhere on the board for sunrise, Swordsman just runs and drops a couple of markers, or finishes off some unrelated model that's hogging VP, then commits seppuku.

Obviously his key assets are his triggers and these are awesome, especially the tome, not a heap in Thunders outside the Glowing Sabre that can do that. Yes you need the suit but it doesn't always have to be a high one and if there is something key hold on to a high card until next turn. And of course his 2" push.

He's squishy, but anything with Hard to Kill is really frustrating when you play with Shenlong, or worse, Shenlong and Yu.

[rrw360]

I could also see him being interesting with a Lynch crew if Hungy/becks can make the targets walk towards LS and then having him carve the target up. ( I haven't gotten mine yet, but brainstorming ideas)

[chris_havoc]

What bothers me is that he is heavy hitter points and seems unreliable in killing things according to what you say above unless it's to finish off a model. He's also really soft in combat so he can hold up models efficiently. More Charge in and Push out of combat which could be frustrating for the opponent but then you need something else holding the heavy hitter in place.

[InvokeChaos]

I think he's a powerhouse.  Granted I always take him with some form of pushing and recalled training, but I tend to have him eating something top of turn 1 for at least an equal point trade.  Usually more.  I send him specifically to die.  Sometimes, he even lives and then just infuriates my opponent.

My tactic is usually to out activate my opponent, letting him be the last model, usually in charge range of something big.  If Yu is present, he's fasted.  Then I charge in, usually with a good hand still because not a lot happened that first turn for me, and obliterate a model or two with a popped recalled training.  If I have a spare AP and no targets, I'll go defensive.

Walking in with that strategy helps me, because typically my opponent loses something they need, while I lose something I never planned on keeping around.

If I win initiative for turn 2, I typically have gotten 3 full activations out of him and sometimes even can pull him back to prep for another assault.

Misaki is my go-to with him, because the one-two punch of Swordsman plus stalking Misaki is brutal. I have been very curious to try him with Lynch. 

Though I do agree, his reactivate can be a trap.

[rrw360]

So, I used the Wandering swordsmen in 2 games of the Malifaux tournament in Waaagh!paca. The first game I used him as a minion hunter and the big red target as he started moving towards enemy Lynch (It was a Lynch v. Lynch game!) he butchered one Illuminated and got the other down to a wound before he died from three or four things casting and attacking him. Definitely worth it for the intimidation factor alone.

In the second game I used him, it was against ophelia and more or less every named kin model (remy, raphael, fracois, Lenny, Burt jebsen, and of course Ophelia) and he got thrown up the board by Graves and walked more or less up to his crew. Whilst various grems tried shooting him, his bullet proof 3 made it a joke and he put a lot of wounds around before succumbing to lots of melee attacks from francois, a pig, and leny.

All in all, it worked great for me, because he;s got an infamous reputation, so people want him dead and target him, taking some heat of the rest of your crew for a while.

[Patzer]

My two cents. 

Swordy is a specialist. In some ways he is a poor man's Misaki. A scalpel who can dish out a lot of hurt, but will not survive a solid counter hit. As rrw360 shared, he is great against gunlines. That Bullet Proof +3 is legit. Thus making him a pretty good option against Outcasts, Gremlins, Ten Thunders, or Guild. Second, he is pretty good at controlling a flank. He is a threat against most models and needs to be respected. Runners will be cut down, while Enforcers/Henchmen will probably need support to handle him safely. As previous posters said he wants to stay hidden, push/reactivate and then go for the kill. Finally, he is a finisher. He can go in for kills after a target has been softened up. The different triggers should be able to handle almost any kind of defense. 

NB! Beware of condition removal! 

[Furycat]

I like him as a very solid melee killer, but I would pretty much always drop recalled training on him. There's a few ways you can deliver him into combat reasonably reliably. The obvious one is to take Sensei Yu and airburst/mighty gust him into position. This also has the advantage of making him fast. Then discard recalled training and charge in for 3 tasty attacks, and finally (0) for 'You shall not see another sunrise', to get another couple of swings later in the turn with recalled training. If he's killed his initial target it can still be worth doing this, even if he cant reach the declared target, as he'll handily chop up most minions with recalled training up and that can be a very worthwhile trade. If there's another good enforcer, henchman and master nearby simply using the reactivate can really force their hand into committing resources to killing him before you can reactivate, which can give you some powerful control over their actions. Plus, at df 6 / wp 6 with recalled training he can take some fairly serious effort to put down.

Another option is to move him up behind 1 or 2 minions that can shield him from being charged (this prevents you having to use his wander the earth (0) to pop out from hiding to get the charge. Provided the enemy dont have any nasty ca attacks to throw at him, he can cheerfully shrug off an activation or two of gunfire before charging in. So long as he's still got a wound or 2 left he can do his thing, and force further resource commitment to killing him by popping the reactivate.

Mr Graves is also a decent companion model, as you can show the swordsman the door, then move around in front of him to block LoS and shield him as you advance, or use Graves no-charging-here ability to shield him from a pre-emptive strike. It's a fair chunk of stones, but Graves is a solid model in his own right, even after the Swordsman is committed or killed.

As with many big beatstick models, he doesn't necessarily *have* to kill his stones worth of enemy to be worthwhile, the sheer threat he represents and the way you can force your opponent to react and commit resources to him to deal with that threat can be valuable entirely in their own right, and with recalled training he's perfectly capable of laying some serious hurt on the opposing crew. I've had him killed before doing anything in plenty of games, but my opponent always has to commit resource to do it, and last game out he killed Hannah and a Ronin in a single turn (With reactivate), before he was finally put down. Totally worth it.

[maca1066]

I use the Lone swordsman alot, like 50% of the time when I play McCabe and Shenlong. He is a scapel and will remove a model on turn 1 if you play him well.

So with McCabe I take Him, Yu and McCabe then a lot of hounds and tengu for activation control I need at least 9-10 models to do this well and not against a summoner. push the swordsman with Yu twice gaining fast and moving 10' up to board, then push Mccabe with wonder weasel, reactivate some random minion then hand out items to swordsman and move McCabe within 10' of where the swordsman is going to be. wait till last activation and activate swordsman with recalled training, you can now threaten any model within 19' with 'you no see another sunrise' or 21' with the push due to nimble from badge of speed and fast AP. Which, including pushes, is a total threat range of 37' or 39' from my deployment zone. so on a table that is only 36' by 36' is the whole board in most deployments.

pop recalled training no sursie an enforcer within 19' then remove them in 2-3 hits, then nimble to another model and hit it either killing or not and then 2' push into cover. this cruise missile apporach has killed the following things turn one:

Lust

Howard Langston

Mech Rider

Mei Feng

Kang

Cassandra

good for neutralize the leader (no stone for prevention trigger)  and even better for quick murder. if your opponenet doesn't see this coming it will knock them of their battel plan so much you may then be able to just win as they respond by putting all their resources into killing the swordsman.

In conclusion he is boss.