What to buy together with Lucas McCabe?

[Merellin]

And so I am here aswell, Still pondering what to get for my second Master and crew. I considerd Wong from Gremlins and Ironsides from Arcanists, Now I'm considering Lucas McCabe since I like the models in his crew box. But what is a good second box to buy with him? Preferably non crew box to add to his box.

[Hidelfon]

Guild hounds! 

[Franchute]

Hounds are a must have. Guild austringers are good too. Just listen to this podcast by schemes and stones; they make some recommendations on how to build a crew:

http://schemesandstones.podbean.com/e/episode-31-master-spotlight-lucas-mccabe/

Some models they recommend in this podcast is the peacekeeper or the strongarm suit. If you plan to have masters from different factions, as you suggest, the strongarm is a mercenary you could use for these other factions.

[fauxreigner]

Hounds are definitely a must. Also love the pale rider with him if you are looking for a significant model to add. All those rams for the glowing Sabre!

[Surrealistik]

Man, that's the only thing that sours me about getting into McCabe; the fact that Pale Rider is so good for him and so shit for everyone else because without Sabre, it's blatantly overcosted.

[EnternalVoid]

Personally first choice would be Guild Hounds, second would be Wardens for me.  Austringers would be third.

After those I would consider adding a heavy hitter to the crew like the Pale Rider or a Peacekeeper.  Peacekeepers generally get overlooked because the Saber is not a big draw and it is not a Minion for reactivate, but that just makes it more independent.  It likes Elixir of life and Badge of speed thrown on it as it gets a push from getting the upgrade and both can really boost its weak points.  IE speed it can get from nimble and regeneration +2 and the ability to ignore sever terrain thanks to the Elixir.  An Armor +2, Ward to Wound, Regeneration +2 model is rough to take down unless it is swarmed or faces someone with the perfect counters.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Guild hounds and Austringers, hands down.

Personally I love The Lone Marshal and try to find a way to get him into most lists, because of his great mobility.

[Falos]

Riders and hounds for him he makes one of the best scheme runners in the game. 

[Surrealistik]

11 hours ago, EnternalVoid said:

Personally first choice would be Guild Hounds, second would be Wardens for me.  Austringers would be third.

After those I would consider adding a heavy hitter to the crew like the Pale Rider or a Peacekeeper.  Peacekeepers generally get overlooked because the Saber is not a big draw and it is not a Minion for reactivate, but that just makes it more independent.  It likes Elixir of life and Badge of speed thrown on it as it gets a push from getting the upgrade and both can really boost its weak points.  IE speed it can get from nimble and regeneration +2 and the ability to ignore sever terrain thanks to the Elixir.  An Armor +2, Ward to Wound, Regeneration +2 model is rough to take down unless it is swarmed or faces someone with the perfect counters.

Yeah, Peacekeeper with McCabe is a nearly unstoppable terror (Armor +3 with Strangemetal); I use it in place of a Pale Rider because I outright refuse to buy that one master model... and now it has Numb to the World for condition immunity. The definition of Big Truck.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Counterpoint the Pale Rider is a cool model and looks great.

[LunarSol]

Pale Rider is cool, but McCabe has better options.  The Saber trick is pretty gimmicky and he's got a ton of more generally useful models in that price range now between Strongarm, Peacekeeper and in particular, the Emissary.

[Falos]

32 minutes ago, LunarSol said:

Pale Rider is cool, but McCabe has better options.  The Saber trick is pretty gimmicky and he's got a ton of more generally useful models in that price range now between Strongarm, Peacekeeper and in particular, the Emissary.

I usually chose pale rider over the emissary in most games. By turn 3 the rider is a pure beast. The emissary is usually the main model my opponents go after wile he has descent movement and good stacks he seams more fit for the bound by law set 

[fauxreigner]

I hold the minority opinion that Pale Rider is a good model even outside of McCabe crews. In fact, i tend to use him in around 75% of my Guild McMourning crews. It comes down to what you value, which in turn depends on your playstyle and how the remainder of the crew works. The core of my McMourning crew (Doc, Franc, Seb, Effigy) is built around synergy and bubbles, and tends to cluster near the table center. In spending my remaining stones, I highly value the ability to function solo with no input from the rest of the crew, which is where PR excels. I usually find him trotting round scoring schemes while picking off weak backfield models, before charging in to mop up in the last turn. Nevertheless, I do completely understand other peoples animosity towards him - for 12 stones you feel like you should be getting someone who can mix it up with the toughest models out there, rather than a glorified scheme runner.

I do think that there are two factors that lead to PR being perceived as more over-costed than he actually is:

1. Tournament games rarely see a turn 5, and sometimes not even turn 4. In games like that, you can guarantee PR is going to seem over-costed. The riders were designed and costed with 5 (possibly 6) full turns in mind, and only in those later turns do they start to pay you back for a slow turn 1 and 2. If you are going to play with him competitively, you need to be very efficient with your own activations and sometimes even "encourage" your opponent to play efficiently too.

2. The fact that Mech Rider exists. Given that all the riders have the same front of card and same cost, it is natural to consider their cost relative to one another. The fact that Mech Rider's back of card is objectively better (a lot better) than the other three therefore makes them feel horribly over-costed. You will naturally compare what PR achieves in a turn to what MR does, and its no contest. Try to forget that MR exists, and PR will suddenly seem a lot better .

I do think he ranks as the second best rider, simply because of his survivability. The ability to heal a model that is already such a nightmare to wound is pretty demoralizing for your opponent, and it gets even worse now that Numb to the World exists, given that conditions are often seen as the most effective way to deal with riders. 

Sorry for derailing this into a Pale Rider thread - just wanted to defend my boy! Maybe I will write up a separate topic about him soon. For now I'd just say, if you are thinking about buying him for McCabe, don't assume that he's useless elsewhere. 

[Surrealistik]

I might consider picking him up at a discount, but given the fact that I main Levy (who gets way more mileage out of Mech Rider), Sonnia and Perdita (I tried Hoffman, I really did, but forced movement, incorporeal and anti-armour all make him a nightmare to play versus anyone competent), definitely don't see that pick up happening any time soon, as none of these have a place for the rider in their lists. I definitely feel his cost should be errataed down by 1 stone, or he should get some buffs to make his baseline better.

[fauxreigner]

I agree he doesn't really have a place in Perdita or Sonnia crews. Perdita is my main master and I can count the number of times I've run him with her on one hand. And the number of times that it was a good decision on less hands than that. Her crew is just too tight for points once you've packed her upgrades and a hefty SS stash. But I have a little more room in my McMourning crews, and love the utility that PR provides.