Nico's Shifting Loyalties

[Je ne c'est LaCroix]

Hello raisers of the mildly unfortunate and dead

Starting another Shifting loyalties shortly and I found myself debating over McTavish vs Trixiebelle, Lenny vs Raphael, Francois vs Francois and settled on a Nicodem crew, having never played with or against one (in fact my only prior experience of The Ressurectionists came from a poisonous blur of a drubbing in the final of my first tournament at the hands of McMourning et al). So I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to be here, as I am in fact a Gremlins man. However the guilty secretive summoner inside me seems to have taken over as I type, I've spent a day on the Rezzer forum (you seem to be a decent sort despite your dire dealings in decay, death and destruction) and so I appeal for patience and advice.

So my Loyalties have quite literally Shifted, and I'm excited to try out Nicodem, with the idea being that a SL campaign will be a natural way in to a new faction as designed. It's a three-way where I'll be up against the makings of a Tara Crew OR Viiktorias Crew, and the other can be Guild Perdita, Neverborn Pandora or Marcus Arcanist. However, a clue today makes me think it may actually be a Dreamer Crew, with Nekima likely to join in sooner rather than later. So my money is on Viktorias and The Dreamer.

I've had a look over the writings and at the S&S podcast. My dangerously uneducated feelings of a starting crew look along these lines:

Mortimer 9

+Maniacal Laugh 1

Bete Noire 8

Toshiro 9

Crooligan 4

Crooligan 4

Planning to add in subsequent weeks (from):

Rotten Belle

The Valedictorian

Yin

Shikome

Nurse

Carrion Emissary

Dead Rider

Upgrades

 

So a couple of questions if I may:

1. Am I starting in the right place, can this starter crew mount a challenge from week 1?

2. What am I missing?

3. Can these guys and girls cope with Taelor and Chompy?

4. Is there a summoning method other than Mortimer/Maniacal Laugh before Nico arrives in week 4 to bolster my crawling legions?

4. What should I be buying sooner rather than later? I want to be summoning and summoning, so I'm thinking alongside the Nico box and Mindless Zombies more Crooligans, Necropunks, Flesh Construct, Punk Zombies, Students, The Hanged?

 

I'm really rather keen to make a good showing in the campaign so help with any or all of the aforementioned questions would be gratefully received by a pig-swill covered gobbo with an unhealthy penchant for Rooster.

Thanks

Gold27

 

 

[Fog]

Ms. Noir may not make a showing for a few weeks, sadly, as your opponents may try to avoid letting models get killed. Injuries are harsh so cagey play should be expected.

[Kadeton]

Toshiro has his own summoning upgrade, Command the Graves, which you might want to look into - the Ashigaru it summons can be a nice counter to models like Taelor that want to charge into your crew (and you can also get Komainu if you want). I think you should also look into taking Spare Parts rather than Maniacal Laugh, as the models you can summon with it are actually useful!

I think I'd avoid Bete Noire at this stage, simply because she requires some finesse and is far less effective against non-Living crews. A tough utility model like Yin will normally (in my experience) be much easier to use and give a better return on the stones.

[Paddywhack]

Personally I think starting with the Valedictorian as your leader will serve you better. I've tried campaigns with Mortimor and he was underwhelming for me. You may get more use out of him, but I think the Valedictorian is more useful overall, especially in the early part of the campaign.

Definitely look at either Spare Parts or Toshiro's Command the Graves upgrades as your first upgrade though, no matter which leader you choose. They will be far more useful than Maniacal laugh, especially in a campaign. 

[Je ne c'est LaCroix]

Great thank you all for your help - I have completely amended my undeadly plans

The Valedictorian certainly looks to be stronger particularly earlier in the campaign, however, Spare Parts or Command the Graves would really need Mortimer's Corpse Markers - particularly early on with so few models and likely cagey play?

 

[Paddywhack]

Not necessarily. I think people get caught up in the summoning engine too much sometimes. Even in early games things will die (your crooligans for one). And you have Bette who can murder stuff as well as Toshiro who can hit harder than he looks sometimes (his +attack flip built in helps). if you are really concerned you could bring a canine remains as they can dig up a corpse with a high crow and 2AP. Not something you do often, but if you get a good card draw first turn, it can get a corpse marker and potentially new summons right off the bat. Also, the doggies will likely die as well, but can get a few things done before you turn their corpse into something else.

I might lean towards Spare Parts as if I recall correctly you don't pay extra for the one upgrade you buy at the beginning. It will be cheaper to buy Command the Graves later. However, the Ashigaru are Hard to Kill, so are great as summons. The Guild Autopsies are good minions overall and if you ever get the chance to summon a Rogue Necro late game it can be brutal. Really down to personal choice which one you start with and what summons you prefer.

[Freman]

I'm pretty sure you pay for your initial upgrade, but if I were starting a Ressur campaign list I would pair Mortimer with Spare Parts to start with, and slap Corpse Bloat on him as my second upgrade purchase. It allows him to pull out a Guild Autopsy a turn, and they're a good significant minion who you can throw into situations knowing that even if they die, it doesn't matter for your crew. I did the same thing with Rusty Alyce and From the Aether, although I had to get Instinctual as a campaign upgrade. I went through our entire campaign without taking an injury on any of my crew.

[Munindk]

If you want to use Mortimer as a summoner and you're worried about corpse markers, you could switch out your Crooligans for Canine Remains, who can dig up corpses for you.

I'd replace Bete Noir with a more durable and reliable beater or maybe going without a dedicated beater and instead concentrate on buffing your minions.

This list has 7ss to spare:

Mortimer
 +Spare Parts - 2ss

Canine Remains - 4ss

Canine Remains - 4ss

Toshiro The Daimyo - 9ss

They could be used for a Nurse, a Dead Doxy, Sebastian or a Rotten Belle from the "support category". They could also be used for either Rafkin or a Punk Zombie in the "beater" category.