New to the game - General Viks tips?

[Reagusmage]

Sooo brand new to the game, played through the two player starter and understand the core rules (for the most part!)

I've gone and bought/assembled the Hired Swords box, and bought Johan and Vanessa to the party. What newbie tips would you recommend, or keep and eye out for when playing all these guys together?

Literally all I know so far is: Glass Cannon, Vanessa is good at healing, and kill as much as you can

[daniello_s]

General tip:

Wait for opening, charge, kill, win initiative next turn, charge gain, kill, win the game

[CapnBloodbeard]

On here there are a few recommended builds for their upgrades etc.  Basically, Ash can be used to pump up Blood so she's going to hit hard, then throw her in.  You want 5-7 stones in your cache for damage prevention.  also, if you throw them in the middle of a few models, it's worth burning a stone for Whirlwind

 

Unless you're going to throw them in to do some major damage, try to activate them late in the turn.  Don't be afraid to take an extra turn to reach your opponent to keep them in cover, partcularly if you're facing a shooty crew.

Don't forget - it's all about the strategies and schemes.  

Make sure you're as familiar with their cards as possible - they can be tricky because their buffs depend on how close they are to each other.  It can do your head in a bit.

Vanessa is good at healing, but that's both her AP if she heals.  And she goes down very, very easily.  Personally, I think Malifaux Child is a better addition than Student of Conflict, and then Vanessa can heal her to heal all the sisters.

[SlackerLM]

So the base crew for a Vic's list: 

Ash, Blood, Vanessa, Librarian. 

Librarians can 1Ap heal Vanessa, which in turn heals all other sisters. It keeps Vanessa out of the scrum and where she wants to be, the centerline of the board.

[Freman]

The best purchase after the Hired Swords set is the Hired Guns set. That gives you the ever useful Trapper, and the equally useful Librarian, along with Von Schill who is a solid master.

Johan is almost a staple in my lists. For a mere six stones he is a budget beater, condition remover, and reasonably tough nut. He can get bonuses with Leveticus who can, with Pariah of Iron, take M&SU constructs for a little more synergy, but for six stones he is always great value.

If you have the Malifaux Child you can have him follow Vanessa around, mimicking Sisters in Fury and casting heal on Vanessa (when you have the cards) to heal up her sisters.

Lazarus is pretty much almost always a good option. Vanessa can prompt him to move into position, and then he can unleash hell. Remember that often Focusing to ensure you get one good shot off, perhaps with blasts, is usually better than two non-Focused shots.

[MR TORGUE]

Oh yeah; always keep Blood in line of sight of Ashes - Remember all sisters in LoS of her gain melee expert; blood does not have it as an inherent ability (something I remind my friend of all the time  ).

Further that means that The Student and Vanessa also benefit from these buffs. Including the Sisters in Fury bonus. Meaning Vanessa can mess people up in combat with 3 strikes if in sight of Ashes. 

[CapnBloodbeard]

19 hours ago, SlackerLM said:

So the base crew for a Vic's list: 

Ash, Blood, Vanessa, Librarian. 

Librarians can 1Ap heal Vanessa, which in turn heals all other sisters. It keeps Vanessa out of the scrum and where she wants to be, the centerline of the board.

Malifaux Child can also 1AP heal Vanessa.  I've tried Librarian + Vanessa.  I don't see the point in it (unless you're facing incorporeal and the casting is useful then).

 

I often find it's hard getting Vanessa onto the centreline and keep her safe - as soon as she pops her head out she gets targeted, and she doesn't have the damage output to make a few critical hits before that happens.