Brewmaster Assassin

[Four_N_Six]

So with talk of people considering Brewmaster more useless than our other options, I've been thinking pretty heavily about a Brewmaster kill crew.  Essentially, Brew's AP is spent hitting either multiple targets with Swill, while a heavy kill crew mows over them while they're essentially helpless.  Brew uses Drinking contest, just because it's a (0) and there's no reason not to, giving himself a little bit of added defense for things coming at him.  The idea is that he isn't focused on things failing the contest, but if it's up it's just another card drain (think of it like Manipulative 12 that he doesn't lose after activating).  Only thing is, if they fail that first test, it then essentially becomes like Manipulative 13, then 14...you know how he works.

Anyways, I was wanting to throw the idea out so we can get some feedback on the best models to bring with him.  Potentially I'm thinking Old Cranky in this crew over Wesley, and I am considering Mancha Roja to keep his challenge up, giving Brewmaster some added defense.  The idea is that he'll be rolling up the board toward targets rather than sitting in one place pulling things in.  Roja isn't required, but thought his Challenge would synergize well with this build, since Brew wouldn't have Wesley for the protection (but haven't a  from Old Cranky might balance that out enough anyways).

I definitely want Banjonistas in this crew, probably 2 of them.  That makes Brewmaster push 4" a turn for free, along with the rest of his crew if positioned properly, plus their condition works well with drinking enough, on paper.  Other than that, I'm thinking the usual suspects.  McTavish, Francois, Burt.  Room for scheme runners (I prefer Fingers, just because he fits well, maybe First Mate for the push he can bring).  I figure, just because the build is focusing on a different style of Brewmaster play doesn't mean I can't get a couple of models shoved into the mobile contest while I'm at it.  Hold them there until something can take them down.

[Math Mathonwy]

Two Banjonistas and Fingers? My initial thought is that you'd need more killyness. Though Banjonistas can admittedly be plenty killy depending on the opposition.

But yeah, Roosters make good Scheme runners as does Raphael. And both hit very hard if needed. 

I would also strongly consider the Sow (though in that case Slop Hauler and Hog Whisperer would also likely be needed but Whisperer can actually kill stuff really well when needed). She hits like an absolute truck, has Terrifying and her only weakness on offense is her Ml which can be fixed by Swilling enemies. Oh, and Smell Fear to really take advantage of Swilling.

[Macumazahn]

I like to use Raphael for killing stuff. His damage is ridiculous and he can heal just by being close to the brew, his Sh 5 is not a big deal against someone that defends at negatives too. For the same reasons François is great.

Sammy with Binge is also a good option.

And I would never take old cranky over wesley. He's just so good: a significant minon, that can do brewmaster casts and count as an extra life for him. If the plan is to rely on swill over the drinking contest then Wesley is even better, he won't be in the thick of it.

[Dogmantra]

2 hours ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Two Banjonistas and Fingers? My initial thought is that you'd need more killyness. Though Banjonistas can admittedly be plenty killy depending on the opposition.

I do agree with this very much. Banjonistas are fairly killy for their price - Banjo "Music" is comparable to Magic Blasty Stick and the Slop Hauler's attacks, slightly less damaging but doesn't have to randomise, and being able to double up on masks makes up for not getting reckless. I probably wouldn't take two though. The trigger on Paranoia is tempting, but I rarely seem to use it except against the Voodoo Doll (which by the way is a great use of it). That said, it's probably much nastier with the Brewmaster if half the enemy crew is at s and has -3Wp.

Also agree on Roosters. Brewmaster has Obey, and sure it doesn't have the suit but even if you have one turn where you draw a 7 or 8 , you can do some serious damage with a Rooster out of activation.

I'd also think about using less elite models. If you can single out a target and put it on s to Df, suddenly Bayou Gremlins only being Sh 4 isn't such an issue. Crowd 'em round Lenny, who could use his own Sh to success against enemies too, getting you some piglets. Hm, this is actually making me want to play Brewmaster.

[Four_N_Six]

I am one of the rare few that also like Bayou Gators.  They're not amazing, but 5 stone models with Melee Expert surrounding a target with  on everything is very dangerous.  Maybe loading him up with a lot more cheap models and letting them rip down the big guys.  Would help getting around the potential armor of bigger targets.

2 Banjonistas were basically just so that the little push they give out would be better used.  Fingers is a crutch for me because I love his heal, but he isn't required, especially if I'm trying a bunch of other cheap models instead of bigger elite hitters.  Maybe the emissary in this build wouldn't be too awful, and leave that as the one big model.  If I have a huge crew of cheap, and the Emissary lets off his (0) where they're all flipping a card, that's a whole lot of benefit spread across the board.

I never did get around to buying Roosters, so they're not an option.  Sow or War Pig might be alright.  I was considering Gracie, just to give a saddle so Brewmaster doesn't waste AP walking.  She's probably too much of an investment just for that, though.

[Vorschlag]

Don't under estimate 1pt charges when you have obey.

Granted the mask isn't built in but the ability to debuff a model and then obey a warpig or rooster rider into them before they can respond could be useful for the style your suggesting.

[Flinroz]

25 minutes ago, Vorschlag said:

Don't under estimate 1pt charges when you have obey.

Granted the mask isn't built in but the ability to debuff a model and then obey a warpig or rooster rider into them before they can respond could be useful for the style your suggesting.

Man, I really need to get myself a Warpig.

 

[Vorschlag]

Just now, Flinroz said:

Man, I really need to get myself a Warpig.

I think they're excellent, I especially like them with a hog whisperer but then that's a lot of stones for a one trick pony, even if it is a henchman eating pony.

further to the "assassin" style play another underused model is the taxidermist, his positive damage flips should make him most agreeable for use on debuffed models.

[Clement]

Their new upgrade "one pig against the world" gives them one turn of hilariousness too.

[Boomstick]

I'd use Drinking Contest less often than normal,  actually.  One For The Road, even at full range, is an instant -2 wp for the target, so I'd spend a higher card for that to make swills on a hard target that much easier. The Drinking Contest as a passive defense is good, but by putting whatever threats are nearby on - flips will do a lot of that job for you, combined with your opponent being more worried about your scary models who haven't activated yet and are breathing down their neck.

[Four_N_Six]

I'm thinking Emissary and Burt is enough for big models, and leave the rest smaller. I really do like the idea of Taxidernists in this one. Especially since the plan is to overload with cheap models, being able to summon in another one or two cheap models is great

[Boomstick]

I think Taxidermist are underrated in general, most likely because people see the points cost and compare to Burt and Francios. I see them work well to take flanks. Give one Dirty Cheater and a stuffed pig and watch him chop up opposing scheme runners, sending new pigs into the middle to explode. 

Could definitely see them in a killy Brew Crew.

[Four_N_Six]

 so right now I'm thinking of: 

Brewmaster with stilts

Old Cranky

Sammy with Binge

Burt

Emissary or a Taxidermist

2 Gators

2 Banjonistas

I might be better off swapping Burt out for that Taxidermist, but cracker jack might come in handy, and I've never used the Emissary with Brew to know if he'd work in this type of crew idea. 

[Bazlord_Prime]

I haven't played these ideas out yet, but:

If you like Mancha, he can insta-kill anything that's paralysed (you may need to stone for it tho). If you have the Emissary, it can paralyse things that're on Poison +3, right? And Brewy has that upgrade to do something similar.

The Sow is Terrifying, and Brewy can Obey enemies to attack her, fail the Horror duel, and become Paralysed. Sammy can put a condition on models causing extra Horror duels. Ama No Zako can be hired in to do some Terrifying/Obeying tricks of her own, and can also eat Paralysed models.

And everything within 6" of Brewy is at risk of having lowered Wp and/or . 

Seems like there's a lot of options for trading off Brewy's Wp debuff aura to spread paralysis and then auto-kill those so afflicted??

[Four_N_Six]

I've tried the Mancha/Emissary trick before and boy did it not work.  Emissary can slow at range 6 I think, and if the target is already slow, it paralyzes instead.  So it's both of the Emissary's AP so Mancha can kill 1 model, and you have to burn the stone to guarantee it.  My build was those 2, plus Old Cranky so I'd just get that stone right back anyways, but it ended up being too much AP and too many little things needing to fall into place to make it work effectively.  Maybe different if Brewmaster has the paralyze upgrade, or maybe throw that onto Sammy instead of Binge.

So Mancha instead of the Emissary.  I'm also considering taking out those 2 Gators (5 stone model with Ml Expert is hard to let go with this idea) and brining 2 Swine-Cursed instead.  They can heal themselves, and if I stay in pig form, Burt can use his trigger to pull them at an enemy.  That enemy should be at  for everything, and they ignore armor, incorporeal, and hard to kill.  So that was another thing I was considering.

[Bazlord_Prime]

5 hours ago, Four_N_Six said:

 it ended up being too much AP and too many little things needing to fall into place to make it work effectively. 

Yeah - that is one glaring issue with trying to Paralyse things for Mancha. The AP requirements may be too high. If it takes 2-3 AP, a Stone and some good cards to pull off, maybe it's just better to bring something self-contained like a Convict Gunslinger, which can pump out 3-6 shooting attacks for 3AP?

[PositronMike]

Mancha can paralyze stuff himself especially if they have swill on them. The First Mate could also work well in this sort of crew as he can push enemies where you want them and can paralyze models as well.

[Four_N_Six]

Mancha can pull it off, I just think it's a lot of resources into that.  With Swill on targets, I don't really need something like Mancha that has a kill trigger.  The idea overall is to just have a lot of cheap models that can kill the big stuff, because Swill makes it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to stop it.  Even if I just use Brewmaster and send an army of Ml 4 Bayou Gremlins at a target.

I would normally use the First Mate with Brewmaster because I like his push much better than Trixiebelle.  I just didn't want to have too many high cost models instead of a lot of low cost ones that can hit well.  This might be the type of build that Akaname are good in.  Cheaper stone cost, and their Ml gets better as the target is poisoned, so they might be able to help kill a target.

[PositronMike]

Been thinking about this some more and I was wondering if a pig based build would work. Something like this:

50 SS Gremlins Crew

The Brewmaster + 7 Pool

 - Binge (1)

 - Pork Whisper'n (1)

Apprentice Wesley (3)

Old Major (9)

 - Corn Husks (2)

The Sow (8)

Hog Whisperer (5)

Hog Whisperer (5)

Piglet (4)

Piglet (4)

Piglet (4)

 

 (exported from CrewFaux)

 

Wesley and Brewie hang around old Major getting move by him upfield in range to put Swill on targets. The piglets can then charge the swilled targets and if they activate within 4 of Old Major they get  to charge attacks. They can also run schemes due to corn husks. The hog Whisperers help with piglet control and also can hit surprisingly hard. 

 

The sow is there for Brewie to obey enemies to attack and get paralysed as well as providing a hard hitter against no swilled targets. 

[Macumazahn]

The problem with using Mancha Roja finisher trigger, is that he can do another thing equaly useful: straight up kill the model. If someone is defending at negatives Mancha's damage track is more than enough to take even the most resilient model down, especially with melee expert. Instead of wasting ap giving 3+ poison to someone, paralyzing him (an action that can fail) purging all the poison, and hoping the opponent doesn't activate the model inmediatly to get rid of the condition, you just spend one ap swilling an enemy, and then wait to charge with Mancha, easy.

[Four_N_Six]

3 hours ago, Macumazahn said:

The problem with using Mancha Roja finisher trigger, is that he can do another thing equaly useful: straight up kill the model. If someone is defending at negatives Mancha's damage track is more than enough to take even the most resilient model down, especially with melee expert. Instead of wasting ap giving 3+ poison to someone, paralyzing him (an action that can fail) purging all the poison, and hoping the opponent doesn't activate the model inmediatly to get rid of the condition, you just spend one ap swilling an enemy, and then wait to charge with Mancha, easy.

That was the original plan here, just use swill to make models helpless. Maybe one big guy to do the job. Whiskey Golem might work in this crew as well. 

I hadn't considered a full pig build, but I can see the usefulness. I haven't had a ton of luck with pigs overall, but I am trying to figure out a good use for swine cursed, and this might be it. 

[Bazlord_Prime]

Pigs are good. Have had good times with the War Pig and Old Major so far, especially if you can find your way to Trixie "Luring" them upfield 8" or 9" at a time, and then Brewy and Wesley (maybe via Binge) getting Obeyed 1 AP charges happening.  Requires a few Masks to do that tho, of course...