Neverborn advice/models please

[Brewie]

Hi there.

This is my first post about malifaux and I need some help/advice on what to purchase.

I am going to be playing Neverborn as I love the models and they seem to suit my playstyle the most in malifaux. I come with a strong background in playing glass cannon armies from other game systems like 40k Dark Eldar, Fantasy Dark elves and WarHordes Legion and Circle. That probably doesn't matter much as Malifaux seems to play a lot different than these other games. Which is what excites me the most. And I love the back story and look of the game.

 

Anyways. On to my actual questions.

I just picked up the Pandora box with her minions + Teddy. So I am hoping that that is a good start. 

I am mainly wondering which other models are often used with Pandora so that I can vary her list a bit from game to game and why/when would I want to use them.

I would also love to know if there are any common Neverborn units that you often see spread across many lists because they are solid units and are worth purchasing no matter which masters I chose to play? Also the why/when would unusually use them?

I would also like to know about any good malifaux websites and tactical articles on the internet.

 

Thank you for any advice.

[Pikciwok]

I am new Pandora player too, so keep in mind that my advices are based on limited experience.

I also started with No shelter here + Teddy. The Plush Toy is a great model on its own and a great addition to Pandora's starter.

Then I purchased Primordial Magic, Widow Weaver, Doppelganger, Iggy, and now I'm waiting for Insidious Madnesses.

Here's some suggestions when to use the models:

Candy - durable area control model. Use her when you and your opponent have to concentrate in strategic location (i.e. Turf War, Extraction, Squatter's Rights) or when you need quite durable model with an access to healing (i.e. Bodyguard). Combine her auras with Fears Given Form, Melancholy and Incite. Consider taking with her some sort of Wp Debuffer.

Poltergeist - Walking Wp debuffer. I like him, most players - don't. Use him to get sorrows into fight from deployment zone and to deny opponent an ability to cheat Wp duels.

Primordial Magic - Cheap activation with a hand draw, also walking scheme marker. Most people love him, I prefer Poltergeist. Use him when you plan to use lots of expensive models and you want a cheap activation. Also can be used with Fuge State and Doppelganger to make all enemy's crew Insignificant.

Baby Kade - use with Depression in killy schemes (i.e. Hunting Party, Make them Suffer). Works well with Teddy.

Teddy - I almost always use Teddy. Use Teddy. It's a great distraction.

Iggy - Bargain model. Another source of Incite. Consider taking him when you take Candy for an extra Mood Swing.

Widow Weaver - great Wp Debuffer. Buffs Teddy's Movement. Use her when you and your opponent have to concentrate in strategic location (i.e. Turf War, Extraction, Squatter's Rights).

Sorrows - some people don't like them and I don't understand why. They're fast, they can paralyze things, they have two dangerous auras. Use them against targets wth hard to kill and/or armor. Use them in schemes when you have to interact with enemy models or in Interference. Use them with models that attack enemy's Wp. Use them with Pandora. Don't use them in Reconing.

Insidious Madnesses - Sorrow's Best Friends. Scheme run with them. They're Wp Debuffers, too.

Doppelganger - Use with models that have great (1) actions (i.e. Teddy, models with Lure). Helps with Initiative Flips. Great model. Some Neverborn players use her everytime.

Other Models:
I stick to the Pandy's theme, but some popular models in many Neverborn Crews are:

- Nekima
- Terror Tots
- Silurids
- The Illuminated
- Waldgeists

[Nical]

None. Because there is no "units" in malifaux as I know ...

 

In earnest, Pandora is very self-centered master. She is focused to deny and kill opponents, so She can work well with any models can force Wp duels. For Example, Bishop is very good with her, because he can make opponents use Wp to resist his attacks. 

 

And don't forget VP. Even eliminated player can win by VP in this game. But Pandora herself is not good for getting VP, so you may need some scheme runners for VP. I recommend Terror Tot / Insidious Madness / Gupps.

 

Finally, I recommend some "common" models

Illuminated - One of our greatest minions. his dealing is just awesome. 

Doppleganger - Additional Actions by Mimic and Cheating for Initiative are Great.

Waldgeists - Tanky minion, but its dealing is not bad. 

Depleted - Tar pit. good but he/she can't interact.   

Beckoner - One of our solution against Shooty Opponents. 

Terror tot / Gupps / Silurids - Scheme runners. 

 

8 hours ago, Pikciwok said:

Sorrows - some people don't like them and I don't understand why.

Simply, Sorrows and Insidious Madness are some SS models, but Sorrows are less versatile and more fragile than Insidious Madness.

So people prefer Insidious Madness to Sorrows. 

 

 

[Mutter]

5 hours ago, Nical said:

Illuminated - One of our greatest minions. his dealing is just awesome. 

 

That's because they work for Jacob Lynch ... :-P

 

Sorry, I'll let myself out.

[Clyde_Davis]

From my experience - with Pandora - her go-to models (excl. her box set) are the Widow Weaver, Insidious Madness, Candy and Barbaros.. All of these suit Pandora's play mechanics and are well rounded models that fulfill most requirements across schemes and strats.

 

in terms of Neverborn, in general, great models across the board are Stitcheds, Illuminated and Doppelganger. Again, these are pretty versatile and can get most jobs done. 

[Rathpex]

On 23 February 2016 at 11:28 PM, Mutter said:

Sorry, I'll let myself out.

No, Mr Graves will show you the door!

Mr Graves is very useful.

He's a decent beatstick and has armour and hard to kill.

He can also push friendly or enemy models as well with his show the door ability.

 

[Sybarite]

Yeah mr Graves is so far always in my lists. He is so good for his cost

[RobertSirc]

Primordial Magic is pretty much a Neverborn auto buy. 

[cryion]

PM is a must imo. There are too many models with Cast damage running around these days, which makes a model that needs to be in the enemies face pretty bad when their only Def mechanism is Incorporeal. Which is why Id never take more than one Sorrow either.

Teddy is cool

Nekima is pretty good, though heavy on the point investment. She can cause a ton of WP duels in addition to her insane dmg output

Widow Weaver. Situational, but if your opponent cant remove her those Webmarkers start to become a real issue for the opp.

Lust - 1 AP that causes 3 WP duels, and flings enemy models around. Also has 0 action to move your models around. Pretty darn awesome. Kind of expensive with the merc tax

Graves - Good beater, kind of survivable, great push effect. Either him or Lust are almost a must imo.

Johan. Not exactly necessary. Its strange. If you dont bring him, you usually wish you had to remove stupid conditions. If you bring him you wont have many bad conditions on you.

Maybe its just me, but Graves and Johanna are so good with Lilith that Im feeling naked if I play another list without them. Oh well.

Doppelganger. Always. Like, there is no reason at all not to bring it. Buy now.

[Brewie]

Thank you everyone.

Are terror tots worth a shot in a Pandora list?

[Adran]

They can be worth it, but are by no means essential. 

It is useful to have some models that can complete schemes like Breakthrough. Terror tots and Gupps are good at this, for a relatively cheap price (4 stones).  If you own terror tots already then they wiill be useful, but if you don't, and are on a limited budget, then I wouldn't prioritise them.  When you do buy them, its probably more price effective to buy the Lileth box set, than a box of terror tots. Barbaros can be useful with Pandora as well, as a sources of Wp tests with his challenge aura. And Lileth lets you change up your playstyle.

 

[Pikciwok]

Pandora loves Insidious Madnesses and they are great scheme runners too, just for 1 ss more but with more synergy with 'Dora and her Crew.

Edited February 29, 2016 by Pikciwok

[Sybarite]

Yeah but sometimes you want a 4ss model when building a list and tots are great.

[Pikciwok]

1 hour ago, Sybarite said:

Yeah but sometimes you want a 4ss model when building a list and tots are great.

I didn't say they're weak (Sybarite paint more Neverborn). They do are fast (Sybarite paint more Neverborn), cheap and have some good defenses (Sybarite paint more Neverborn). Tots do have some Synergies with good Dora models, like Lilitu, Barbaros or even Teddy (Paint more Neverborn) but overall Madnesses bring more (Paint more) to the list and are more (More!) Effective at scheme running on terrain-reach tables (More Neverborn!). Summing up unless I really need that one SS elsewhere I would never choose the Tot above the Madness (Sybarite paint MOAR Neverborn).

[Sybarite]

(I have painted a lot of neverborn lately I just got to take more photos. Maybe today or tomorrow. Not sure if I am going to continue updating on this forum though cause I usually just get a like or two and no comments nowadays but they will be on a wyrd place, twitter and my blog for sure :))

[PeregrineFalcon]

• Doppleganger
• Nekima
• Barbaros

Those are key to have available, rest are as others state, sprinkle in minions from the faction as necessary. Lilitu isn't a bad addition if you want to for a good Wp duel.

[D_acolyte]

I find Pandora can use any models, WP duals are better but not necessary because she can do a lot of that herself. I almost always take her totem because it is a fast, durable scheme runner which can synergies with her.

I also find if your doing a WP dual base crew that the Widow Weaver, or is it Weaver Widow now, is a good addition.

The fallowing link is my first few experiences with Pandora.

http://themostexcellentandawesomeforumever-wyrd.com/topic/108965-falling-into-madness-–-pandora-experience/#comment-846164

[Brewie]

Thanks for the link.  I'll check it out later

[Brewie]

Which upgrades are popular for Pandora and to another extent her crew?

Also trying to figure our where I can get some other useful upgrade cards for Pandora. Meaning other box sets or card sets. Where would one find Fear Given Form?

[Munindk]

Generally the only upgrades in boxes, are those that only the models in the boxes can take.

You need the Generalist Upgrade Deck: http://giveusyourmoneypleasethankyou-wyrd.com/collections/m2e-books-accessories/products/wyr20010

 

[Tayne]

6 hours ago, Friendly Neighborhood Ging said:

Which upgrades are popular for Pandora and to another extent her crew?

Also trying to figure our where I can get some other useful upgrade cards for Pandora. Meaning other box sets or card sets. Where would one find Fear Given Form?

For Melee Pandy, you want Fears Given Form and The Box Opens, possibly with Aether Connection if you want her to last a little longer. With this build, she's aggressively charging into either a big beater to kill using it's own damage profile or a cluster of enemies to pulse out inflict and cause multiple WP duels.

Paralyse-dora is fairly upgrade light. She needs crows to disrupt the enemy by shutting down their key models. You can add other upgrades to your flavour.

Finally, there's Fugue State. For Squatters Rights/Stake a Claim/scheme heavy pools, this upgrade alone can make your opponent tear their hair out as Pandora looks at three models a turn and says "You're insignificant." Silurids/necropunks leaping to drop markers? Insignificant. Crooligans (sorry Dan) using from the shadows to start this turn two? Insignificant. It tends to work better with Voices I found, as Pandora is more likely to stand away from the action and annoy from a distance.

They are the upgrades I look to for Pandora. For the crew, I'll generally have Retributions Eye on the Doppleganger or Johan and Mimic's Blessing on a beater for some defence.