Nicodem trials and errors

[theshepherd]

I've been trying to have a bit of a running commentary of my attempt to learn Nicodem recently so I thought I'd share a few of the posts here as well.

 

http://abnormalifaux.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/hes-re-animator-twisted-re-animator.html

 

http://abnormalifaux.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/re-e-animate-when-crowd-say-bo.html

 

http://abnormalifaux.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/hey-boy-hey-girl-superstar-nico-here-we.html

 

Hope you enjoy it, maybe learn from my mistakes. I'll try and keep adding to them until something clicks and I work out what I'm supposed to be doing.

[ttsgosadow]

I've read your blogs and really like reading along with your adventures. As I have tried some Nicodem lately as well, I can relate. For me it didn't work well. Summoning feels like a trap, and one I am too eager to fall into every time. Hopefully your win-ratio will get better in the coming games!

[Anung Un Rama]

 I too am blundering along with Nico so its great to get anothers ideas. Great report. I'm finding the Nico learning curve is steep but fun. I got smashed last night by a Sonnia crew with papa in a box. First time Nico has gone down! But I learned some lessons.
My biggest difficulty is what to take in my list and then what to summon when. I find I am summoning punk zombies all the time because I love them but I am wondering if there is a better use of my resources. I am going to buy the Transmortis box today and see if I cant get some use out of them. What do you find you summon the most?

[Anung Un Rama]

Interesting idea...although last night when papa loco exploded I wish I had more wounds!!!

Don't have my cards with me but does Nico get to use that regen too?

[grandpapanurgl]

I played Nico for about a year straight when M2E first came and had a pretty good track record with him, so  i will throw in my 2 cents:

Maniacal Laugh, Undertaker, - I almost always take these together, Mindless zombie is sacrificed when you use it to summon off and undertaker gets you a card for it, so its some inbuilt card cycle, for doing what nico does anyways, and once its a mindless it makes it my corpse marker.

reaper grin/love thy master - sometimes for each but thats the disposable upgrade for me .

Mort with corpse Bloat and sometimes my favourite shovel - fresh meat used against one of my own crooligans or necropunks, will have most of my crew at centre table first turn 1 if i want. otherwise i can walk and still find a bone because of the extra AP. expensive but useful. Fresh meat is absolutely amazing. potentially giving every undead 3 extra walk actions a turn is damn near broken.

Toshiro the Daimyo - he is my front liner with all the summons as he gives the + flips to minion ML attacks and i dont have to extend Nico a lot. i will give him command the graves if some declares Arcanists so i can potentially steal their scrap markers. he also gives out fast which is excellent on punk zombies.

thats kind of the core I like other things that get thrown in a lot are Phillip and the nanny w/ take back the night, in scheme marker heavy games i will summon drowned pretty frequently so this works well.

sebastian with those are not ours sometimes as he can lurk at the back and generate soulstones for me

nurses are always great.

i will have a necropunk or a crooligan as well that can get up the table fast or in a good position to be a target for fresh meat for Morti, which will get almost everyone up the table.

typically i will summon a rotten belle and 1-2 scheme runners on the first turn, once they all get pulled forward by the fresh meat to where i want to be set up, the belle will lure nico forward, so i dont have to waste his AP walking.  then its just summoning whatever works but it is typically, drowned for fighting and annoyance in the middle, hanged if i have the cards, and for the no immunity aura thing.  you will out last him and your getting cards whenever he kills things within 6. you should be out activating him very quickly as well so it becomes very easy to control the board.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Thanks for the tips...some I already do but others are good to know....I never thought about Toshiro as moving ahead to buff the punk zombies i so love to summon!....ill try phillip and the Nanny now first i have to buy some drowned. What do you think about Bete Noire?

[Ludvig]

One of my mates played Nico a lot. My tip would be that zombie-cycling resulting in a card draw. I've had plenty of games where he summoned 2 hanged turn 1 and then kept summoning the one I killed back through all that card draw. 

I've also faced elite crews where Nico didn't summon as much but healed the big guys. I think the worst game was when I tried to take down the Valedictorian but had to cause 35 wounds before she finally went down.

[grandpapanurgl]

I dont like saving the 10 for bete when i could be using it for summoning, plus most of my opponents attempt to beat me by draining cards. I tend to win fights by overwhelming amounts of lesser attacks. 

 

[theshepherd]

Cheers for all the feed back I managed to take Nico to a tournament yesterday and didn't come last so there's hope.

Currently running Nico, Mort, Mali child, Sybelle, Necro and two belles. Oh and if you're wondering luring something close by into range of pounce and smell fear then hitting it with a fast necro all while within Nico's + bubble is a bit tasty.

 

http://abnormalifaux.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/were-all-going-on-summer-showdown.html 

[thebarbalag]

Nico, as with most summoners, I almost never run focusing on summoning. I very regularly take Maniacal Laugh, which becomes my more frequent summon with him. I have found that one or two Punk Zombies can seal a game. If I were facing heavily armored opponents, Shikome, I suppose, but really Punks are often all the beatstick Nico requires. Then use his AP to focus on buffing/healing/debuffing.

I'm excited to get the Emissary on the table with him and try out the zombie horde. Not that I expect it to be properly dangerous, just, you know, more dangerous than people expect Mindless Zombies to be.

[huntroll]

My usual core is Nicodem with Undertaker, Manical Laugh and Reaper Grin or Love Thy Master, Mortimer with Corpse Bloat, two support models or scheme runners (Nurse/Belle/Chiaki/Necropunks) and two of our awesome 10 SS options (Valedictorian, Izamu, Rouge Necromancy, Carrion Emissary), with at least one of them being a Horror so I can take Take Back the Night. Considering that all our beaters (except Carrion) are Horrors and that your usualy killy summons are either Horrors or Spirits, you'll be drawing a lot of cards with that upgrade. I prefer the Valedictorian to carry that upgrade, as she is very survivable, gets into position easily and usually she is taking care of the weaker models so she isn't likely to die to a counterattack.