Guild Tag Team - advice wanted

[Cyranoinlondon]

I'm going to play in a league with two basic rules:-

1. You have 100SS as a pool from which your crew may be chosen for all games.

2. You have two masters from one faction for free.

As I understand it games will be at the 50SS level. 0 cost upgrades are allowed but cost 1SS to go in the pool.

I've just got Nellie and I want to use her (though why I'm crazy enough to try and learn a master whilst playing in a competitive league I've no idea!). I've got 3 other Guild Masters - Lady J, Perdita and Sonnia. I've got their crew boxes plus a few bits and pieces but I'm open to buying stuff.

So who'd make a good tag team partner for Nellie? Which of the other 3 ladies covers the territory where Nellie struggles?

And are there any auto-includes for the pool (eg Debt to the Guild x 3, Strongarm Suit)?

Finally, one query on Nellie. If Nellie hires a Merc using Embedded, can the Merc take Debt to The Guild?

Thanks

Cyrano

[Ludvig]

Any model you hire can always take upgrades from your declared faction and only your declared faction, same for Nellie. 

Autoincludes would probably be Francisco, Phiona and a couple of austringers and a couple of reporters if you ask me.

I'm not sure what weak spots Nellie has, if any. She seems good at most strategies and schemes.

[Corn]

My go to Guild models, in no particular order.

1) Hunter-  I don't think I've ever actually regretted taking a Hunter.  They are a solid all around minion and worth every stone you pay for them.  They are very fast with a 3 inch push at the end of the term, and are easily able to hold down a flank and support the main group.  Built in + flips are solid for helping them mitigate the effects of cover when activating early, and if you play it right they can get a lot of attacks by taking advantage of pounce on chest.  

2) Guild Pathfinder- I love summoning Clockwork Traps.  I find them really good at tying up enemy forces, and generally harassing the enemy.  If you have a lot of tomes they can be even more brutal with Master Queeg giving them additional 0 actions to summon more traps.

3) Guild Austringer- Deliver Orders is very good, The Bird attack is very good as well for either discard or draw.  Most guild lists include one for very good reason.

4) Brutal Emissary- almost an auto include if you are going to be taking Justice, and very strong with Nellie despite not having a conflux.  Remember that you can unbury your target in base contact with a scheme marker... which Nellie's crew is exceptionally good at placing.  Imagine a fast Bishop unburying in base contact with a scheme marker in enemy lines, activating Debt to the Guild, and flurrying twice right in the enemies face.  Burying Lady Justice and having her reappear in the enemies face is also a huge buff to her mobility and does a lot to make her more competitive if you want to take her.

5) Brutal Effigy- He'll definitely be worth it throwing into the rotation, as he is an auto include in Sonnia, Justice, or Dita crews for the healing and card draw.   He isn't great with Nellie but at only 4 stones he isn't a big chunk from you 100ss pool.

6) Field Reporters- One of our best scheme runners- especially with Transparency in the picture from Phiona or something, they also pair incredibly well with the Brutal Emissary- especially if Transparency is in the picture from Phiona.

 

In general I wouldn't go too aggressive on the Mercenary hiring.  Most Masters aren't going to want to pay the extra SS tax compared to infaction options, so you will really only be using them when you take Nellie.  And they'll eat into your available ss pool.   I would really just take one or two tops, and focus mostly on guild models.

a ) Bishop - Devastating with Nellie, and even crazier if paired with Franscisco or a Guardian. 

b ) Burt Jebson- If you end up pairing with Sonnia, Burt Jebson can be a solid addition to either Nellie or Sonnia.  Cracker Jack Timing is great, He also pairs well with Stalkers and Sonnia because of Slippery.  Basically, he can be in the thick of a melee with a Stalker, and Sonnia can blast into it.  If it randomizes to Burt, he can slippery it to the Stalker, and you can cheat up to Severe Blasts on the Stalker.  When the Stalker detonates, Burt avoids the damage from the pulse with Slippery.  

c ) Performer- cheap, and very good for any crews with lots of scheme markers or poison.  She is at her best with Nellie, McMourning, and Lucius.  She might not be worth it in your case due to only really working well with Nellie.

 

 

[Cyranoinlondon]

Thanks for the heads up.

Both of you seem pretty relaxed that young Ms Cochran can handle almost any scenario. I'm a bit surprised by this. I've only just bought Nellie so I have no table time with her but my first instinct was that in the more directly brutal missions - eg Turf War - she might not be tough enough or hit hard enough. That's why I was thinking of taking a complementary master. If that's not right I can use the whole 100SS to build variants for Nellie to run, which might be more efficient.

Francisco, Emissary, Effigy, Bishop and Austringers are models I have. The Hunter might need to be proxied as I don't want to buy the Hoffman box for a single model.

Thanks

Cyrano

[Ludvig]

1 hour ago, Cyranoinlondon said:

Thanks for the heads up.

Both of you seem pretty relaxed that young Ms Cochran can handle almost any scenario. I'm a bit surprised by this. I've only just bought Nellie so I have no table time with her but my first instinct was that in the more directly brutal missions - eg Turf War - she might not be tough enough or hit hard enough. That's why I was thinking of taking a complementary master. If that's not right I can use the whole 100SS to build variants for Nellie to run, which might be more efficient.

Francisco, Emissary, Effigy, Bishop and Austringers are models I have. The Hunter might need to be proxied as I don't want to buy the Hoffman box for a single model.

Thanks

Cyrano

She doesn't need to be tough herself. She can heal and make other models fast so just take the meanest beaters you can find and hang back with Nellie while they clear the table.

There are no strats or schemes were your master needs to kill stuff. In frame for murder it is potentially even bad for your master to kill stuff. Giving extra ap to and keeping big beaters alive is a really good way to play. 

[Ludvig]

On the topic of survivavility: Sonnia is probably easier to kill but hangs back for defence in a similar way. Lady J is probably more likely to die dice she comes close to mean enemies. Perdita survives by virtue of her high stats buffed by Francisco but Nellie also has respectable stats and can use Francisco if she likes.

[Ludvig]

If I was 100% sure I would be facing massed incoporeal I guess Sonnia would out perform Nellie in that. The problem is that not even single master Kirai is sure to bring that.  iguess if I had to pick a master with the most different playstyle I might go for her.

I still think you might be better off using the ss to pick more models to let Nellie do different jobs. I'd definitely include Bishop and Francisco with debt to the guild.

[Corn]

One other Mercenary I'd consider is Hans- especially if you are going to take the emissary.

Bury Hans with a Death Marshall, and give the Emissary fast.  The Emissary can now Tyranny of Order Smile you son of a..., then proceed to either use Hans' rifle or his own attacks to take the upgrades off an opposing master.  I say Fast Emissary, because it lets him go for 2 upgrades or gives you a chance to miss or Focus if he needs to go through cover or Hit Jack Daw.

You get bonus points if earlier in the turn you used a fast Hans to drain 4 cards from the opposing Master to protect their precious upgrades.  [EDIT: Never Bluff a 6 gun requires damage, so sadly you can't chain ping!]

If you are feeling like a tactical genius, instead of a death marshal, you can command the Emissary to bury Hans out of activation (Judge's Unrelenting Leader, Abuela, etc), then after the Emissary obnoxiously discards a bunch of upgrades, you can re-position Hans to a better location in b2b with a scheme marker.  

[Cyranoinlondon]

Thanks guys.

There's quite a lot to consider there.

Hans is a model I've never come across (believe it or not) but a quick look at his actions makes it clear why he's popular!

Once I've got a list done I might share it here, or, if you're really unlucky I might post some Batreps.

 

Thanks

Cyrano

[Myyrä]

6 hours ago, Cyranoinlondon said:

Hans is a model I've never come across (believe it or not) but a quick look at his actions makes it clear why he's popular!

He actually isn't awfully popular, and the tactics involving burying him and copying his Actions are often seen as gimmicky and relatively useless for the cost.