Advice vs. Parker

[Cadaverousbirth]

Does anyone have advice about facing the masked bandido? Specifically with Lynch.

I expect to be blindsided by the new stuff but if anyone has tips about priority targets or schemes to avoid that would be neat 

[Valgaav]

Having only looked at the card, not played against him: Choose nothing that requires Scheme Markers.  He uses your scheme markers as his resource.  Kill the healer first, as per usual, and beyond that it depends on what else he brings.  Sensei Yu is a great choice, because he's going to shove a million of your Scheme Markers on the board, then at the end of the game claim them as his - put them where they won't be useful.  The man himself is well worth taking down, and if you can do that it shuts off most of the scheme marker shenaniganry, but while he's doing the shenanigans he can be rather tough to remove.

[Skitt_Happens]

I've played against Parker: aside from Lynch, I've never seen a master cycle cards as much as Parker. Your biggest advantage as Lynch is only a slight one against Parker.

He's a good all round master, so their is little to exploit (that I am currently aware of). Sensei Yu is probably a good shout, as above, but I would also look at "birds and bros": tengu to get rid of any unwanted scheme markers (friendly or enemy) and 10t brothers to protect your own.

Don't give him easy kills (=more card draw) - illuminated are probably a good shout.

[skoatz]

Your opponent will probably bring Bandidos with Parker.  They are incredibly obnoxious because of their Df trigger.  The trigger allows the bandido to push 5 inches in any direction after resolving.  I can't remember the suit needed, but the trigger is so obnoxious.  Either bring Wp attacks or bring Ohaguro Bettari to block the triggers.

I'll echo the 10T brothers.  They prevent Parker for discarding your own scheme markers to use against you.  The 10T brother will be a high priority target for Parker though.

[InvokeChaos]

Information is power with Parker. He cycles cards and soulstones really really well. Be mindful of that and take mind of his abilities. I would absolutely read his card and all his upgrades. It's a lot of reading if you don't have the wave 4 book already but TRUST ME on this. You need to know his potentials. He can pop multiple 0 actions on triggers and he has several abilities that are REALLY good. But he's also easy to make mistakes on (when you need to discard soulstones, upgrades and other things) so you want to make sure you have an idea at least of what he has to pitch and when.

So for you, if you don't have the book, or anyone else... here's a rundown. I emphasize specific aspects I felt are important. 

Quick Notes on Box

Mad Dog is a severe threat. He has a way to shotgun blast in melee (after granting Burning +2 no less), removes cover in a radius and his shotgun does good damage. He can also rapid fire and gets  to attack and damage at half health. Parker can absolutely help set him up too. So be wary. Bandidos are really solid; they're guns can do some damage. and they have a great 2AP action that allows them to push, shoot, push. Doc is... cute. He has potential do get some work done, but like most totems, if you deny that potential, he's kind of useless. Be wary of his gun, which pops up only if he's out of LoS from Parker, it's got great damage (weak Sh) for a totem. But if he uses it within LoS of Parker, he sacrifices.

Parker - Front of card
Lots things here including card draw (when things die near him) and soulstone gaining (when he pitches an upgrade) but the big one for me is that at the end of his activation, he can pitch up to 4 cards to change scheme markers from yours to his. This can be VERY potent.

Parker - Back of card
Six-Shooters - Decent damage with a  to attack with three triggers: boost damage per upgrade discarded, place an enemy scheme marker within three inches of the target, or push 3". The second trigger is the most potent because of his crate of dynamite upgrade. But the push and potential 5/6/8 damage spread if he really needs to kill something at the cost of his upgrades isn't bad.

"Hands in the Air!" - Decent action that makes you discard cards when trying to do a tactical. The ability reminds you, but Walk and Charge are both tacticals. Doesn't really affect range. Going defensive or taking a Focus action are tacticals as well, so this can either really mess with you, or you don't care.

"The Job's Not Done Yet!" - needs an 8 to go off and pushes a model its walk. Very mobile. It's a tactical so can target himself.

Five Finger Discount - this is how he attaches upgrades and he does it via spending stones or enemy scheme markers. There's a trigger to allow a different 0 action. Yet another reason his attack action to force enemy scheme markers to drop is really good. If he shoots you twice and drops two markers within 3" of the model, they don't have to be completely within. The range on discount is also 3" So that's about 7" where he can shoot you, drop a marker and use it to buy upgrades. 

Upgrades
I will be brief here as this post is already quite long

Coordinated Heist - probably will start on him as it gives a 1st turn Wk action to all bandits within aura 8 after 1st turn initiative. But it also has a pitch this upgrade on Sh effect: rather than randomizing, just shoot everything engaged, then he may push his friendly models 5". Really solid.

Human Shield - limited misdirection basically. It grants soft cover when near another model and they can pitch it to shunt an attack to a friendly. Situationally good.

Stick Up - This is AMAZING. He targets an enemy enforcer, hench or master and they either take a decent chunk of damage or pitch a soulstone and Parker gains one. Only usable once a turn though. He can pitch it at end of activation to take a walk, which helps fuel his soulstone gain if he hasn't pitched an upgrade yet that turn. This is an easy to use ability, but only rg 8.

Hail of Bullets - gives two 50mm hazardous terrain with soft cover. Not bad. The better aspect honestly is the trigger added to his Hands in the Air ability which spawns another enemy scheme marker.

Highwayman - One of the 0 action upgrades, also grants some defensive tech and the ability to cycle cards for removing enemy scheme markers. The 0 action isn't bad either, allowing a 1AP attack from a friendly model (pitch the upgrade or a stone if it wasn't a bandit).

Black Market - The other 0 action upgrades, more defense tech and this time they gain a soulstone for removing enemy scheme markers. The 0 action is the same, but for a 1AP interact this time.

Crate of Dynamite - here's the one that everyone is scared of: all models within 3" of any scheme marker takes a moderate Df duel or gets blow up with 4 damage. The marker is discarded and then the upgrade or a SS is discarded. It does not need LoS when it's an enemy marker. This ability not only flips cards, but causes damage and potentially fuels Highwayman and Black Market.

Conclusion
Parker has a lot of internal synergy and tricks up his sleeve. With Highwayman and The Job's Not Done Yet! he can position threats and use them. With his plethora of abilities to gain back SS and cards, he has resource control. He controls YOUR scheme markers and can use any scheme marker to punish. He can also be quite hard to shift at range, and the Human Shield works great with say Doc hanging around behind him for healing. All in all, he's a tricky opponent, and you just need to be prepared to alter your game plan as needed. That being said, he is still a primarily ranged Master, about 8-12" range, and his crew box is in that same category. So try to exploit that. They don't like melee, but they aren't bad in it. And there's so many pushes and such it's hard to really get a bead on things. 

One more note on Mad Dog: his melee attack does burning 2. He can charge into range, and hit for burning 2, trigger to shoot you with his shotgun, then do it again. His Cg is 7, and Ml range is 1", but parker can enable this easily. If he lands both shotgun triggers, you are looking at 10dam on minimums... 4 burning plus two shots at 3. And he can still push you out on the last shotgun blast in case Parker hasn't gone and he needs you dead now (with Highwayman). So respect Mad Dog's range and melee. He actually does more minimum damage on a charge then he does on a rapid fire, as long as you have the suits and hit. So it's arguable which he is going to want to do and will depend on board setup and position. His upgrade gives him hard to kill, so there's basically no reason for him not to have it.

I had good success getting in his face and staying there. If he wants to get that explosion off, he's going to. He has too many ways of getting it to happen and mitigate his damage to his own crew.But putting pressure on him is key. Just remember that he can drop your schemes in melee, which fuels his ability. So if you notice he doesn't have highwayman or black market on, shooting him might be a good idea. 

Lynch has a strong response to Parker in his final debt combo. Parker has no way of dealing with this other than having a Wd count for 14 and SS. If you can soften him up with your beaters, Lynch can absolutely put the kill on him. Punish your opponent for putting Parker too close, but be respectful of his counter attack.

[Cadaverousbirth]

That's a lot of info! Thanks for the write up. I ended up winning the Child scenario 10-7 thanks to a TTB getting shown the door, and hitting his mask trigger to get her out of harm's way turns 1 and 2. She spent the rest of the time sitting in my deployment. Good stuff.

Parker is really flexible and tricksy, I love the depth of his play. Whenever I start Outcasts he will be a must-have.

[InvokeChaos]

Nice! And yeah, I absolutely want him when I start looking into outcasts, but that's a ways away for me!