Sandeep experiences so far?

[Alexander Tsikarev]

My experience with Sandeer is just 4 games played with Academic-Crew, as i dont own all the models mentioned here. My opponents didnt also have a lot of experience n the game overall, we're all just starting to play, so we're not playing the 50 ss crew yet, 35 or 40 ss for now. However, i'm absolutely sure that 3 mages+sandeep is a must in the crew. The mages provide absolute board control with their push/slow abilities. I'm running one Shastar Vidiya Guard, he's helping the Mages and protecting them. However, running more than one seems too expensive for me. 

I do not understand the reason to not summoning two gamins on t1. Firstly, these gamins allow you to wait till your opponent finishes his activation, and they are also able to do some nice tricks on him. I usually push Sandeep 8-10 inches to the center before he activates, so he can have a good position to summon. If the opponent comes too close, it is possible that he will be engaged with Banasuva t1. If he is concentrating 12-16 inches away, there is an option to summon a fire gamin and Banasuva and toss the gamin into the crowd.

As for Banasuva's 0 ability, it proved very useful to copy Leave them to die from Poison gamin, because he often ends his activation having killed the nearest enemy (and this push is also a surprise to the opponent). Deadly Reflex and Explosive demise might be good, too, especially versus armored models.

The main problem with Sandeep is his vulnerability, he never wants to take part in a melee action unless he is sure not to take any retaliation strikes.

[retnab]

33 minutes ago, Alexander Tsikarev said:

The main problem with Sandeep is his vulnerability, he never wants to take part in a melee action unless he is sure not to take any retaliation strikes.

Unless you're taking the Visions upgrade, then you can bop any threats on the head and give them Paralysis (as long as you can get above min damage).  Can't take damage if they can't attack you  

[Nick86]

13 hours ago, Alexander Tsikarev said:

My experience with Sandeer is just 4 games played with Academic-Crew, as i dont own all the models mentioned here. My opponents didnt also have a lot of experience n the game overall, we're all just starting to play, so we're not playing the 50 ss crew yet, 35 or 40 ss for now. However, i'm absolutely sure that 3 mages+sandeep is a must in the crew. The mages provide absolute board control with their push/slow abilities. I'm running one Shastar Vidiya Guard, he's helping the Mages and protecting them. However, running more than one seems too expensive for me. 

I do not understand the reason to not summoning two gamins on t1. Firstly, these gamins allow you to wait till your opponent finishes his activation, and they are also able to do some nice tricks on him. I usually push Sandeep 8-10 inches to the center before he activates, so he can have a good position to summon. If the opponent comes too close, it is possible that he will be engaged with Banasuva t1. If he is concentrating 12-16 inches away, there is an option to summon a fire gamin and Banasuva and toss the gamin into the crowd.

As for Banasuva's 0 ability, it proved very useful to copy Leave them to die from Poison gamin, because he often ends his activation having killed the nearest enemy (and this push is also a surprise to the opponent). Deadly Reflex and Explosive demise might be good, too, especially versus armored models.

The main problem with Sandeep is his vulnerability, he never wants to take part in a melee action unless he is sure not to take any retaliation strikes.

A very solid play.

Ive just found in the games I've played there's been things I've been able to do with Sandeep of with cards that have gotten me closer to VP in the first turn than summoning would have.

I'm not saying summoning isn't great, it just hasn't been the most valuable thing for me to do so far in my games.

[spooky_squirrel]

Here's some advice I gave in the Resser section:

Commands Sandeep has a very strong control game with 3+ attack vectors that can cross the table in Turn 1 (if needed), but more importantly and tactically: can be held for a Turn 2/3 dive to get the momentum on your side during the middle game.

I'll keep trying to make things like the Valedictorian work, but I've noticed that when I use Sandeep in the most optimal ways my meta has come up with to use him, my opponent ends up feeling helpless. His speed and Impossible to Wound make him a solid take for Undercover Entourage, especially if there's not strat/scheme reasons to kill a Master. The biggest obstacle my opponents feel helpess against is the (0) for a 6" place that can be copied. They don't realize how often I've not been able to use it because of lack of cards to support it (or stones, when trying to copy with a Minion or Enforcer), but when it works, they feel completely steamrolled.

One example of Sandeep's maneuvering for a dive: Start at 6" line; early in the turn, something with relatively quick movement (i.e. Wind Gamin), moves up and copies Sandeep's Lure to pull Sandeep up (typically not more than 4 inches, but if you get leap off, you can get the full range), on the Tome pitch a card to get an action (1 AP) with Sandeep; Oxfordian Mage with Nemesis Ward blasts him up the table 6-8 inches. Two activations in and Sandeep's already 12"+ up the table, either with a summoned Gamin (for more activations) or a walk to a better position for the actual dive itself, without having activated yet. On his activation, he can (0) 6" further up the board, and start summoning things in 6" past that. That's a Banasuva with a 3" in the opponent's deployment zone in Turn 1. During Turn 1, Banasuva would borrow the (0) to place for a better position, and in later turns borrow Sandeep's Lure to pull things into him. This can be while Myranda is running up, morphing into a cat or bunny and giving you 4 more cards and leaping into things that were angled away from where Sandeep lunged in.

After Turn 1, your opponent is likely committed to a course of action, and if you held off on diving deep in Turn 1, that's fine. You can still do it in Turn 2 as long as Sandeep is still alive. The difference is now your opponent is committed to the course of action that they will be using to try and score points. You can focus your attack vectors on the things that are trying to score, while the rest of your crew does the work it needs to do to actually score the strat and schemes.

I've found that even more experienced opponents find themselves wondering how they can deal with the toolbox Sandeep brings to bear. I had a game recently where a Gamin walked up, copied Sandeep's Lure to pull Sandeep up, used the Tome ability on Beacon to pitch a card to have Sandeep summon in an immune to slow Wind Gamin, and my opponent was cross-eyed at how much work I got out of a Gamin (effectively giving Sandeep 2 AP, one used for getting further up the table, the other for putting another activation into play).

[Frozen Feet]

Had my first game with Sandeep yesterday.  Encountered Molly, never met her before.

GG2017 Interference

Lost 7:6 in Rnd5.

The Crew:

Sandeep  -Command -Unaligned Sage -Enlightened  ,  5SS

Valedictorian   -Warding Runes   -IE

3x Oxfordian Mages with full Load out.

3X Fire Gamins   (i do not own any Wind Gamins at all....so far..)

Gun Smith

Molly was Horror Molly,  with Philip and the Nanny for card cycling, Chiaki, Dead Doxy,Crooligan, Necrotic Machine, KILLJOY and a Nurse..

The Game was quite a lot of fun.

My first hand was real crap. Molly managed to summon 2 Punkzombies near my models..Sandeep summoned Banasuva engaging the 2 Punks and Molly also.

Rnd 2: Killjoy unburied and charged Sandeep killing him in one Charge.. Rnd3: Valedictorian Charged Molly left her with one wound.. She healed up..

Rnd4:the Oxfordian "Brawler" Mage killed Molly in Close Combat.. Rnd5: My crew killed several low wound summoned  and some hired models..

No Rnd 6... I lost.. my Survivors: Valedictorian , the three Mages!! , one Fire Gamin.

I am sad about loosing Sandeep early against Killjoys lucky and brutal attack..

My model of the Game was the Valedictorian with Warding Runes. Because my enemy was unable to kill my Mages, the Valedictorian ate a huge amount of AP and survived.

Banasuva killed Killjoy to retaliate his deceased Master. Satisfying..

Hope to get more practice with Sandeep soon.

 

 

[Boomstick]

Had my first game with Sandeep this year over the weekend (third game overall, the other two both ended in ties). Faced another Arcanist who is known to be a very solid player in the area, my first game against him as well. 2nd round of a tourney, Interference. I took Accusation and Hunting Party, expecting Ramos and not wanting to get into a mirror match. He ended up taking Claim Jump and Hunting Party. Pretty straightforward Ramos list with Joss, Hank, and Envy as the centerpieces. I took Sandeep with 3 mages, Angelica, Carlos, and Mech Rider.

A lot of interesting things happened throughout the game.

Turn one he quickly gave Hank reactivate, so I found myself unwilling to move too far up the board in any one particular area until I saw at least one activation from Hank as well to get an idea of what his target would be. That said, I had Angelica push two of the mages to present a unified front up the opposite flank (really just off the center). Long story short, I ended up with Banasuva whiffing when trying to Beacon Sandeep's place, couldn't get close enough to Hank to pummel and try to slow him down before he could use his second activation to reach Mech Rider and commence her decommissioning with extreme prejudice. But I had to do something, if only to slow Hank down by an AP. So Banasuva summoned a Metal Gamin engaged with Hank. And instead of dying, the little guy not only held Hank there for two activations (with Banasuva managing to teleport in the second turn and distract Hank from bothering with the Metal Gamin), he did 5 or 6 damage to the big guy that first turn and Accused him first thing second turn! This gave the Mech Rider a chance to come in and finish Hank off. The whole nonsense had both of us cackling at the absurdity.

On the other side of the board, Carlos was paying dividends by fire-punching spiders for hunting party and pushing on top of the scrap left behind to make Ramos really have to work to summon, engaging Joss and remaining spiders to prevent Interference points and keep them from spreading out. Sandeep made judicious use of keeping the mages from needing to randomize into combat and they made the quickest work of Joss I've ever seen.

The second highlight of hilarity of the game was the last two turns which had Sandeep and Ramos locked in combat with Sandeep blocking LoS to the last scrap marker, and the two of them were swatting at each other like two stereotypical Professor-types in Pugilism Club.

Game ended 9-2 in my favor. I was and still am a little in awe of how well Sandeep shut down Ramos in Interference, especially when my previous showings with him felt like I was doing more things right and ended in ties, while this one, especially at the beginning, I felt I was Beaconing the wrong thing at the wrong target at the wrong time. Neither of us were having much luck getting the suits we needed for our summons, and our decks were all over the place all game as far as what was coming up.

Super fun in any case, I'm looking forward to trying more of our Academic master out. Definitely agree the mages provide a lot to the crew. I think I want to try a Librarian running with them as well.

[SevenThirtySeven]

On 2/14/2017 at 10:45 PM, Nick86 said:

I'm really loving Sandeep as a ranged damage dealer/sniper.

In the 10 games I've played so far I have summoned Gamin/Banasuva only 4 times. I generally run the 3 mages and the Essence of Power and depending on the cards in my hand of course can generally delete an opposition big hitter with Sandeep in a turn.

Im finding the EoP great not only because of its +1 cast aura, but because of its innate + to any duel if a soulstone is used Sandeep can use Soulstones as Focus if you stone for a ram. 

In a good turn you can dish out 16 damage with him, I've found him deceptively punchy, certainly much more than I expected when first reading his card.

Great post. Question in Essence of Power - his (2) gives everyone within 3" +1 cast. If another academic more than 3" from EoP uses Beacon to copy a Sandeep cast, does it get the +1Ca too? All the Beacon ability says is that you have to "take a Ca action printed on the models stats card", doesn't say anything about having to use the exact Ca profile.

 

[Boomstick]

6 hours ago, SevenThirtySeven said:

Great post. Question in Essence of Power - his (2) gives everyone within 3" +1 cast. If another academic more than 3" from EoP uses Beacon to copy a Sandeep cast, does it get the +1Ca too? All the Beacon ability says is that you have to "take a Ca action printed on the models stats card", doesn't say anything about having to use the exact Ca profile.

 

They should get the +1 CA too, so long as they're in 3" of the EoP. But since Beacon specifies "printed on the status card" the mages would still consider the action's starting cast as Ca6, -1 from Beacon, +1 From EoP within 3", they Beacon at Ca6.

[Panfuricus]

Not really much to add but I'm intending to run Sandeep and I'll post how that goes.

[benjoewoo]

As a quick note, because someone mentioned having Banasuva summon--you can only copy actions on Sandeep's card, and unfortunately that does not include actions given by upgrades.

I haven't faced off against Howard yet with Sandeep, but I'd probably stop him with a chaffe gamin summon or two. One chaffe gamin requires at least 1 AP from Howard, and that means he can't charge without IE. If he pops IE, he can charge, but hopefully you have a second gamin, banasuva or otherwise, blocking charge lanes. 

Alternatively, oxfordian mage shoots Howard with double tome on elemental bolt, pushing him from max 10" range to 4" away, meaning Howard cannot nimble charge that particular mage without IE. You can add a 0 place from Sandeep as insurance.

[Nick86]

On 21/02/2017 at 5:24 AM, SevenThirtySeven said:

Great post. Question in Essence of Power - his (2) gives everyone within 3" +1 cast. If another academic more than 3" from EoP uses Beacon to copy a Sandeep cast, does it get the +1Ca too? All the Beacon ability says is that you have to "take a Ca action printed on the models stats card", doesn't say anything about having to use the exact Ca profile.

 

I play it as -1 then +1, which therefore ends up being the same cast printed on Sandeep's card. 

[Boomstick]

18 hours ago, benjoewoo said:

As a quick note, because someone mentioned having Banasuva summon--you can only copy actions on Sandeep's card, and unfortunately that does not include actions given by upgrades.

I can't give a page or FAQ number at the moment as I don't have the materials with me,  but actions gained from an upgrade are considered to be on the attached model's card. Just had this very question asked about Sandeep last week and my local Henchman confirmed upgrade actions count as 'on card'.

I'll be back with a relevant citation as soon as I can, unless someone else beasts me to it.

[retnab]

56 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

I can't give a page or FAQ number at the moment as I don't have the materials with me,  but actions gained from an upgrade are considered to be on the attached model's card. Just had this very question asked about Sandeep last week and my local Henchman confirmed upgrade actions count as 'on card'.

That's because there is no ruling on that in the FAQ and no information about it in the rulebook.  Nothing says that abilities and actions on upgrades count as being on the models card.  Only Sandeep can summon in his Gamins, or use his other actions on upgrades.

[BFOmega]

5 hours ago, retnab said:

That's because there is no ruling on that in the FAQ and no information about it in the rulebook.  Nothing says that abilities and actions on upgrades count as being on the models card.  Only Sandeep can summon in his Gamins, or use his other actions on upgrades.

This is how I've always seen this interpreted, and is likely intended as such, since every other summoning in the game can't be copied (as far as I know).

You could, however, copy another of his actions, get a tome, and use "Student of All" to summon a gamin.

[retnab]

17 minutes ago, BFOmega said:

This is how I've always seen this interpreted, and is likely intended as such, since every other summoning in the game can't be copied (as far as I know).

You could, however, copy another of his actions, get a tome, and use "Student of All" to summon a gamin.

Which is exactly something I like to do, especially with the Arcane Effigy to Companion into it  

[madaxeman]

On 22/02/2017 at 1:52 PM, Nick86 said:

I play it as -1 then +1, which therefore ends up being the same cast printed on Sandeep's card. 

I think the OP is asked no a different question, aka "with Bracon, is the EoPs effective +1 range measured to Sandeep, or to the position of the model that's copying Sandeeps cast?" 

My guess would be the position of the model taking the activation is what counts...

[Nick86]

Yeah definitely the model doing the casting

[Trample]

I've played six games with Sandeep now (4-2) and have been having a great time with him. He has such an amazing breadth of possible actions he can take during any given turn that I almost feel like it would be wise for me sometimes to cover up a couple of his abilities to really focus on what I want him to do. But the flexibility is good fun. I started out during the first couple of games thinking of him as a summoner who could do other things but migrated somewhat to thinking of him as a midfield ranged damage dealer who can summon if he really needs to do so. He's really both, plus a guy with movement tricks and a really decent melee attack so he can fill a lot of different roles. 

I've been playing him with a core list that includes 3 mages, but have recently started to look for an alternate core. The mages are OK. They never seem to die in my games due to a combination of temporary shielding and higher threats on the table, but I feel like maybe I can get more from that crew. I also don't particularly like the four 40mm bases cluttering up my deployment zone. I tried Sandeep with 2 ronin in their place in one of the games (it was one of the losses) and think maybe there is more to explore there, although 7 points is quite a bit. In the absence of unaligned sage any minion can really fill that role. 

[Blackraw]

47 minutes ago, Trample said:

I've played six games with Sandeep now (4-2) and have been having a great time with him. He has such an amazing breadth of possible actions he can take during any given turn that I almost feel like it would be wise for me sometimes to cover up a couple of his abilities to really focus on what I want him to do. But the flexibility is good fun. I started out during the first couple of games thinking of him as a summoner who could do other things but migrated somewhat to thinking of him as a midfield ranged damage dealer who can summon if he really needs to do so. He's really both, plus a guy with movement tricks and a really decent melee attack so he can fill a lot of different roles. 

I've been playing him with a core list that includes 3 mages, but have recently started to look for an alternate core. The mages are OK. They never seem to die in my games due to a combination of temporary shielding and higher threats on the table, but I feel like maybe I can get more from that crew. I also don't particularly like the four 40mm bases cluttering up my deployment zone. I tried Sandeep with 2 ronin in their place in one of the games (it was one of the losses) and think maybe there is more to explore there, although 7 points is quite a bit. In the absence of unaligned sage any minion can really fill that role. 

I am going 6-1 with Sandeep and currently have some of similiar thoughts.

I do not like 3 Mages that much mostly due to having Wk4, Rg10 and 40mm bases. Sandeep is hell of a hungry master when it comes to cards, so getting furious casting work is not always feasible/worth the thing.

However, I have to admit, that at 5SS for pcs they are definately a bargain. There are few arcanists model tagged 4-5 SS worth considering for Sandeep crew.

Getting 1-2 wind gaming may be an option whwere I need pure scheme-runners (e.g. inspection), however most of the scheme-work is done by summons/borrowing Sandeep (0), so I do not see a big need for them so that I would be able to replace my mages.

Performer may be an option either, but I do not feel like taking two (especially when Sandeep has push skill too and may give it out), and taking one doest not interefere with having 3 mages.

Sanction spellcaster to my mind is inferior to mages, unless you are sure that you will benefit from his (0) singularity in the game.

So any substitution to the mages I may think of (librarians, students, shastar to stay with academic synergy) leaves me with minus 1 activation (there is a variaty of combinations of 2 good models fitting into 15SS).

But I am still planning to test a game without 3 mages.

What I like in them is:

1) They are pretty endurable for 5 SS with temporary shielding and decent stats for the pricetag;

2) With their speed/range being less then average, they still presents solid thread for someone going to my part of the table coming into the gunline;

3) I like to push my models 6-8 inches forward on the first turn by attacking it with the mage with built-in-suit-upgrade. From 2 damage 1 is normally absorbed by armor/aracane shiled, the rest may be healed by regeneration if I hit a henchman wielding warding runes.

4) With 5ss price, whenever I use a mage (DD enforcer on first glance) to walk-walk-(0) for interact to pick up head or do other scheme stuff, I never feel that I lost solid DD activation which I could use more efficently to elimiante enemy;

5) They trigger Sandeep out-of-activation-cast easilly due to suits they get for academics around.

It is a pity that there is not much activity in the topic recently.

In case anyone want to contribute, I am curious to know if anyone have positive experience with:

a) Using students (transmortis);

b ) Playing complete out-of-theme list;

c) Playing with 9-10 activations right of the start (so no expensive models)

I am also thinking to get a Hannah and test it out, as Aracane Reservioir looks really helpfull and she looks durable enough to hold the front lines, though 11SS seems like a big investments.

[mythicFOX]

From a competitive standpoint I've never seen the point of hiring Mages.  We just have so many better choices under almost any circumstance.   Shooting is inherently weaker than melee in Malifaux, so I'd rather not take three average shooting models when I can just take effective models to start with.

As an example of the sort of list I'm running right now;  I won the last round of an event on Saturday 8-1 playing the below, ending the event second of twenty, my schemes underlined; 

Corner Squatters Rights: Leave Your Mark, Search The Ruins, Claim Jump, Dig Their Graves, A Quick Murder.

Sandeep Desai
+ Arcane Reservoir (2)
+ To Behold Another World (1)   [This is the only strategy where I think Visions are better than Commands]
+ Seize the Day (1)
+ 7ss Cache (3)

Carlos Vasquez (9)   [To deny Quick Murder and caddie Practiced Production]
+ Practiced Production (1)
+ Stunt Double (1)

Myranda (8)   [Stick a yammering Metal Gamin next to him for profit]
+ Imbued Energies (1)

Joahn (7)
+ Imbued Energies (1)

Soulstone Miner (6)
Performer (5)
Malifaux Raptor (3)   [Leave Your Mark]

(You'll note that this is only 49ss, so I threw Kill Switch on a model, which was as useless as I expected it to be.)

I could make a case for swapping Carlos for Cassandra with PP, and adding a second Raptor for activation control. 

[Blackraw]

1 hour ago, mythicFOX said:

+ To Behold Another World (1)   [This is the only strategy where I think Visions are better than Commands]
 

What list were you playing against?

I struggle to find the rationale for Soulstone Miner for 6SS, but I never played/faced it on board - can you please comment how you were using it?

The good thing about Sandeep is its diversity. I used Commands upgrade twice and I completely dislike it. Well definately  Flips Banasuva with 3AP makes sense, so does 3" when you need to engage opponent. However, playing with interact schemes I find visions having such a crucial role in games I have played. In fact, mostly I do scheme run with Sandeep through his summon, so I never get a chance to use his attack actions. I am pleased with result I get but just trying to find some diversity and try playing him in completely different style.

[retnab]

I've done Sandeep both with and without the trio of Mages, and I can see where they're nice but they're not crucial picks.  They can put out a ton of damage which is nice, Blood can do it in melee range too, and the Warding Runes buffs (especially on things like the Valedictorian) can be nasty at times.  But I've happily run lists with little to no Academics and that's worked perfectly fine too.  The sheer flexibility of things that work well with him and that he makes work better is pretty great.

 

After going 10 games in on Sandeep (WLD 7/2/1), I'm still firmly in the Visions upgrade camp.  With so many schemes in GG2017 having Conditions like Spotted, Marked, Accused!, etc, being able to put out a Gamin with Earth's "discard 2 cards or you can't" aura or plopping down one with Wind's "I get to give you [scheme condition] / pick up that Head Marker immediately" effect is extremely nice to have (especially if you're doing my Effigy's Student of All / Companion combo to literally do it immediately).  Arcanists already have lots of tough beaters, but most of our schemers are fragile.  Being able to just resummon your schemers has shown to be far more handy than just hitting face more from my experiences.

[Alexander Tsikarev]

I have played about 10 games with Sandeep and a heavy Academic list (Dont own some models yet)

My core is: Sandeep + 3 Mages

On Sandeep: Unaligned Sage, Arcane Reservoir, Commands upgrade. I'm a big fan of Sage because it allows non-LoS Beacon, and Sandeep tends to be hiding as he's very vulnerable to attacks (and my opponents try to destroy him ASAP). It is also very good in a Academic-heavy crew because it allows to cycle through deck looking for Masks or 12+ card.

On mages: 2-3 wards and sometimes Well Rehearsed

Henchmen:

Captain to push the crew in position

Amina Naidu to protect crew against heavy beaters

Kudra for FFM and against shooters (forest blocks LOS, jumps on key targets)

Cassandra for Leave your mark

Raptor for Leave your mark and Interference. Also it's good to trade a low mask for a high card for summons on t1)

As for other models: Shastar Vidiya Guard is overpriced, 7 SS would be much better for him. Sometimes I use him with IE to intercept scheme runners and shoot into packs of models

Carlos might be good, but i think that Cassie is much cooler in this crew, copying casts from Amina or Captain

The question about Commands or Visions upgrade is quite complicated. In our local meta all players (including myself) are quite new to the game and therefore tend to engage in combat with the majority of their models. Commands upgrade shines in such environment. Being able to make a lot of attack with  is really crazy, and this gamin can do Accusation, Tail'em and Mark for death at the same time. The same is true for the Commands in Earth gamin. Also, any Sandeep crew has access to 2 (0) interacts. So now I see no reason to use the Visions upgrade.

I usually start with 6-7 stones as this crew is starving for masks.

My typical game is pushing Sandeep forward with mages and captain, then summoning a gamin from Student of All and then waiting for the opponent to complete his activations. After that Sandeep puts Banasuva in position for attack and the Fire lord engages opponent's models. If i dont have a 12+ to summon him, i spam with gamins who are eager to die in the middle of the opponents' crew.

The mages, despite being very slow, usually dont walk. They are either pushed by others or teleport. They need only 1 academic in 3'' to make their key triggers work, and if someone is silly enough to appear in 10'' range of a nonactivated mage, he's almost dead.

[mythicFOX]

3 hours ago, Blackraw said:

I struggle to find the rationale for Soulstone Miner for 6SS, but I never played/faced it on board - can you please comment how you were using it?

The Soulstone Miner is fairly specific in it's use.  It excels in games of Squatters and Stake a Claim, especially in Corner Deployment.   Where you just need to get a scheme marker down PP & Raptor will do a better job but the moment you need to hold ground or interact in other ways up field then the SS Miner can be golden.  

In Squatters the aim is to drop him end of turn one on whichever marker the enemy hasn't got to that is most out of the way, normally one of the end/corner markers.  Once there it can then flip / contest the marker early next turn. Once in position the 40mm base totally protects the marker, and with; 6wd, Armor 1, and Use Soulstones it's not going anywhere in a hurry unless your opponent invests way more than 6ss in shifting it, and given it's out of the way that investment rarely shows returns.  If it's totally un-harassed you can even start mining Soulstones with it (or doing half of Claim Jump).

(I'll post on Visions vs Commands tomorrow as I don't have time to do that topic justice right now.)

 

PS: If we're posting our records I'm 8-0 (+35) with Sandeep in competitive play, I don't count causal games.

 

 

[spooky_squirrel]

1 minute ago, Alexander Tsikarev said:

As for other models: Shastar Vidiya Guard is overpriced, 7 SS would be much better for him. Sometimes I use him with IE to intercept scheme runners and shoot into packs of models

Most of my opponents would disagree with this. A single Shastar Vidiya Guard can get a lot of work done, especially with the ability to give themselves focus for discarding a card, draw cards for cheating on Df, and having triggers on every suit (including handing out slow or ignoring all damage reduction) in melee. This work is all master-independent. As Academics and M&SU, they synergize with several of our masters right out of the box. Having 8 wounds and Hard to Kill means that it'll take some effort to kill them. He can also (0) to push a friend around, which makes up for inherent slowness of some models when getting into combat, or otherwise help them disengage.

His shooting is interesting, but not what I'm hiring him for. In a Sandeep crew he provides a non-summoned melee model, which is handy for getting around one of the critical drawbacks of taking the Oxfordian Trio. As @mythicFOX mentions above, shooting is weaker in general. It has more counters and foils; if your goal is to kill or tie something up, getting in its face will do that more reliably than trying to blast it from afar.
The Mages are great gunline pieces, but with two of them a fast-mover, summoned model, etc. can effectively take them out of action for at least an activation. I mention on other threads that tying them up is a good idea, but not 100% reliable because they can potentially get out of engagement without difficulty if there's enough support nearby. Here, however, because I've been on both sides of this, I'll caution prospective Sandeep&Oxfordian players to not count on that. For the (0) to place out of combat, you need a suit. For the Lure to pull one of them out of engagement, you need a spare activation that isn't going to be doing something more important. If you're burning control hand and activations to get the Oxfordian Mages (Nemesis and Doom) out of engagement so that they can do stuff, you're limiting your ability to get stuff done. Only the Blood Mage isn't stopped by being engaged by something.

So along that line of thinking, it's not a bad idea to bring along melee elements that can work with everything else you are doing. The Shastar Vidiya Guard gives you an added on Tome on the Blood Mage when they're going in against targets in close proximity (or the same target). If the Blood Mage is also working in close proximity to Kudra, then you're getting maximized Resonance (not really needed once the fight goes to melee--you just need one to do things like ignore armor or apply burning with your primary attack, or get another Soul Stone off of the (0) attack). The Guard is also an enforcer that can use Sandeep's Beacon if needed.

 

It's also not a bad idea to break theme/patterns and explore options. At some point your opponent is going to hear "Arcanist" and assume Sandeep with Oxfordian Trio, and build their crew on that assumption. That's why I keep experimenting with other ways to play Sandeep--because at some point, the local and regional meta will develop a hard counter to the regional meta's typical Sandeep (commands, Oxfordian trio, Kudra with upgrades) that involves disrupting the pushes and places that Sandeep's crew uses to bully position and disrupt their opponent. The first time you play 3 Oxfordian Mages into Levi, you'll probably never drop them into Outcasts again; he's just one example of a hard counter.
If you're trying to use your mages as a gunline and your opponent drops in some serious Ca/Sh hate (Mei Feng, Sue, Sonnia, Bleeding Edge Tech), you'll need a backup plan. My regional meta's backup plan typically involves min damage 3 Sandeep (Commands), Banasuva (min damage 3/4), and Myranda shapeshifting into a third beater to provide three vectors of attack. It works for now, but when something is able to knock down the casting, paralyze the attack vectors, or bury key pieces it's stopped cold.
This mode of play is also very card-dependent, which means that if you have a bad hand and even Myranda/IE--> 4 cards + beater beast doesn't help, you're stuck. You're spending soulstones early on just to try and create an activation advantage, because your primary plan involves Sandeep diving in, Banasuva tying up a bunch of models, Myranda shifting to kill scheme runners, and the Mage gunline pushing things into position turn one, then support-by-fire through the rest of the game. It's a solid plan with some redundancies built in, but it has several key components that can be disrupted/disabled by players who know what the overall plan is. Buried Banasuva doesn't get to contribute to the fight, and if your opponent used Anna to do it, you might see Banasuva pop up in your deployment zone with no ability to get back to the fight (tarpitting with Earth).