tournament Welcome to my head [Tournament Advice]

[Fictor]

Hi dudes!

The next Saturday I'll go to a tournament [Declare faction + 50ss], and someone that knows me a little you can imagine I'm a very very meticulous man xD

First of all this will be a hard and long post, if you keep reading assume that, and... if that are the case... thx!!!

I'll go to explain all the shit of my head, and if you can and want, I'll really appreciate all the advices can give to me, thx for all blue mates =P

I promise a report later if can ^^

I'll divide the post on sections:    1. Introduction
                                               2. Miniatures that i have
                                               3. Better Masters vs Factions
                                               4. Better Masters vs Schemes
                                               5. Schemes explanation
                                    
    1. Introduction
    
Thats are my opinions for the tournament and masters:

Colette doesn't shines vs any faction but she doesn't are bad vs any faction, and she really shines on practically all Schemes, is a solid election for that reason if I doesn't know the enemy
Sandeep is a new Master and I can get advantage of that if the enemies doesn't know all his tricks and he is strong like the fucking thunder kebab (Joke of my group of friends xD, don't kill me)
Marcus is my better hitter with all of his Alphas for try to win fast and it's very versatile, can give me the oportunity to change hitter Marcus on control Marcus
Ramos are a safe election if I doesn't trust on a victory, he can give me time to analyce the ground thanks to his arachnids and go for the victory
Raspi doesn't are awesome on Schemes but with a gunline Crew and Ice Pilar can give a mental win before a real win on the adversary, and let me be honest, she is a fucking killer, and if the enemy doesn't have crew he can't score any VP

    2. MiniaturesI have these masters: Colette[C], Victor Ramos[vR], Sandeep, Marcus[M] and Raspi[R]

And these miniatures: Colette, 3xDove, Cassandra, Angelica, 2xCoryphee, 2x Manequin, 2x Performer, Ramos, Brass Arachnid, Joss, Howard, Mechanical Rider, Johan, 6xArachnids, 2xSwarms, Arcane Effigy, Sandeep, Banasuva, Kudra, 3xOxfordian, 3xSantionated Spellcaster, 2xPosionG, 3xIceG, 1xMetalG, 1xWindG, x1 FireG, Marcus, Jackalope, Myranda, Cerberus, Cojo, Rattler, Raspi, Wendigo, Snowstorm, Essence of Power, Arcane Emisary, Envy, Ice Golem, 3xDecember Acolyte, 3xMoleman, 2xSilent One, 3xRaptor, Mobile Toolkit, Rogue Necromancy, 3xCanine Remains, Dawn Serpent

    3. Masters vs Factions

The order of Masters it's below the factions with my decisions

    Guild                (M > R > C > S > vR)
    
Marcus and Raspi can hit fast and hard all his masters except Hoffman, if I can kill enemy miniatures fast I usually can get sobreactivating for easy win
Perdita is a famous Guild master and didn't want Obey on Ramos for explode to Howard...
    
    Resurrectionists    (S > vR > R > M > C)
    
Sandeep it's awesome in that match, Ca burn incorporeal and can summon
Ramos have a lot of armor and summon too
Raspi have Frozen Heart so good vs Horror duels
Marcus can get down easy his Masters

    
    Arcanists            (S > vR > C > M > R)
    
In general they have a lot of armor, the best Masters vs armor are Sandeep and Ramos, and the worst Marcus and Raspi (In the other hand, its really fun Alpha Ramos for explodes Joos and Howard =P)
    
    Neverborn            (R > S > C > M > vR)
    
In that matchup the best Arcanist hablity IMO it's Frozen Heart and if we add Ice pilars and Paralyze...
Sandeep and Colette can do nice tricks here and can give tricks to Arcane Effigy a must on that matchup
Again time I doesn't want Zoraida Obey Ramos for explode

    Outcasts            (M > R > C > vR > S)
    
Viktorias are the best hitters in the game, but Marcus really shines here, he can Alpha further and better, can kill his master in T1 and hit hard other Outcast masters
Raspi can go to kill Masters too and blast are good vs Hamelin
Sandeep and Ramos play's style is on a bubble, and Arcanist faction play's a lot of armor models, solid reason for play Viktorias and if i take this masters probably lost the game on T2

    Ten Thunders        (C > S > vR > M > R)
    
In that Machup, the best master is a minion... Arcane Effigy it's a mandatory, so much conditions and tricks, and another time the masters can move and do tricks with that model are the best Colette and Sandeep
Colette, Sandeep and Ramos can do a crew with Joss and I love cut defensive triggers
Ramos and Marcus can do a great Alpha fast on his models
    
    Gremlins            (R > C > S > vR > M)

Wendigo can Devour virtually all Goblins and with Ml8... and Ice Pilars are good cover vs Snipers
Again Colette, Sandeep and Ramos can do a Crew with Joss and this is the best weapon for kill the goblins

4. Masters vs Schemes

Round1

    Headhunter - close deployment         (C > S > vR > M > R)

    Claim jump                             (C > vR > S > M > R)
    Frame for murder                    (C > vR > M > R > S)
    Leave you mark                       (C > vR > M > R > S)    --->    (C > vR > M > R > S)
    Show your force                      (S > R > C > vR > M)
    Hidden trap                             (C > S > vR > M > R)

Round2

    Extraction - standard deployment     (vR > S > C > M > R)
    
    Claim jump                              (C > vR > S > M > R)
    Eliminate the leadership            (M > R > C > S > vR)
    Accusation!                              (C > S > vR > M > R)    --->    (C > vR > S > M > R)
    Cover breakthrough                  (C > vR > M > R > S)
    Search the ruins                       (C > vR > S > M > R)
    
Raound3

    Guard the stash - corner deployment (C > S > vR > R > M)
    
    Claim jump                            (C > vR > S > M > R)
    Dig their graves                     (C > vR > S > M > R)
    Recover evidence                   (C > vR > S > M > R)    --->    (C > vR > S > M > R)
    Set up                                  (C > S > vR > M > R)
    Last stand                             (S > C > M > vR > R)
    
    5. Schemes
    
Headhunter (T2) (Colette > Sandeep > Ramos > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. Whenever a model kills or sacrifices a non-Peon enemy model, it places a Head marker within 3" of the deceased, not in base contact with a model
    B. A model in base contact with a Head marker may spend a (1) Interact action to pick it up
    C. Picking up one or more Head markers on a turn (except Turn 1) earns your Crew 1 VP.

    Tip: You can pick up friendly or enemy Heads and they score the same, so ranged attacks may just be giving your enemy points if they have another model near the target.
    Tip: From an offensive standpoint, models with Don't Mind Me are extremely useful for picking up a Head in the middle of a packed scrum
    Tip: Lures are also great for bringing opponents to your crew for easy killing and Head retrieval

    Tip: Models To Consider: (Arc) Performer; (Grem) Fingers; (Guild) Guild Austringer, Master Queeg, Nino Ortega; (Never) Beckoner, Doppleganger, Mr. Tannen, Scion of Black Blood; (Out) Big Jake, Hodgepodge Emissary (Pretty Floral Bonnet FTW!), Rat Catcher; (Res) Mortimer, Philip and the Nanny (10T) Mr. Tannen, Sensei Yu    

Extraction (T2) (Ramos > Sandeep > Colette > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. Crew 1VP if it has two or mroe non-Peon models 6" of the Marker
    B. After points are scored each turn (starting turn 2), the player with the most non-Peon models within 6" of the marker can place it within 3" of its current location (but not into base contact with terrain or a model)

    Tip: This means that, if you're winning, you can move the objective towards where you have the most strength...or towards where you want your models to be next turn. In practice, the marker's Tip: Tip: movement doesn't make a huge difference in most games

Guard the Stash (T2) (Colette > Sandeep > Ramos > Raspi > Marcus)

    A. Two 50mm Stash markers (Ht5, blocking, impassable, hard cover) on the Centerline
    B. 5" from the center of the board in each direction
    C. At the end of each turn after the first, a crew scores 1 VP if it has at least one non-Peon model within 2" of each marker.

    Tip: Presence of the Stash markers themselves means that models with Incorporeal or Flying have advantages in terms of maneuverability
    Tip: Also, since players need at least one model in each of two places, there are two areas that need to be reinforced
    Tip: A single model in either location can be killed or displaced to ruin an opponent's scoring opportunity

Frame For Murder (T1) (Colette[Howard] > Ramos[Howard] > Marcus[Cerberus] > Raspi[December] > Sandeep[Kudra])

    A. Name non-Peon model like "sucker"
    B. If model is killed or sacrificed 1VP
    C. If the enemy model was Master/henchman +1VP
    D. If its before T4 +1VP

Covert Breakthrough (T5) (Colette[PP+Raptor] > Ramos[PP+Raptor] > Marcus[PP+Raptor] > Raspi[December] > Sandeep[Wind Gamin])
    
    A. End of the game +1VP for each Scheme Marker within 6" of enemy Deployment Zone

Hidden Trap (T5) (Colette > Sandeep > Ramos > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. End of the game +1VP for each enemy non-Peon within 3" of one or more Scheme Markers
    B. Remove all Scheme Markers which are within 3" of an enemy model
    
Claim Jump (T2) (Colette > Ramos > Sandeep > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. Scheme Markers near the Centerline
    B. Scheme scores at the end of each turn after the first
    C. Need at least two Scheme Markers within 2" of the Centerline, but they can't be within 2" of an enemy model or within 4" of another friendly Scheme Marker
    D. If you scored a VP from this Scheme at the end of the turn, ALL of your Scheme Markers within 2" of the Centerline are removed
    
    Tip: Be wary of taking this Scheme if you plan on dropping other Markers that you want to keep from turn to turn, since they might just vanish at the end of the turn

Eliminate The Leadership (T1) (Marcus > Raspi > Colette > Sandeep > Ramos)

    A. Reducing the enemy Leader below half their Wounds
    B. Killing or sacrificing the Leader (or reducing them to 0 Wounds)
    C. Having the enemy Leader out of play at the end of the game

Accusation! (T2) (Colette > Sandeep > Ramos > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. You cannot target a model that has already activated this turn to give the Accused Condition range 1"
    B. Condition is removed with its own Tactical Action, (1) Hold It!, which is not an Interact Action, and won't benefit from Don't Mind Me or other Abilities or Actions that allow Interacts while engaged
    C. Removing Accused is only a (1) at least
    D. Only need one Accused enemy, but the Condition must be ended to get the point, so you have to keep Accusing models each turn

Dig Their Graves (T1) (Colette > Ramos > Sandeep > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. killing an enemy model that is within 4" of one of your Scheme Markers, then a Scheme Marker within 4" of the slain model is removed
    
    Tip: Abilities, Actions, or Conditions that allow you to place Scheme markers while engaged will help, but aren't a must have since there's a good bit of distance allowed between the Marker and the killed enemy
    Tip: If your opponent is going for this one, remember that an enemy model needs to do the killing blow, so sacrificing or killing a vulnerable model before your opponent can might not be a bad idea

Leave Your Mark (T1) (Colette[PP+Raptor] > Ramos[PP+Raptor] > Marcus[PP+Raptor] > Raspi[December] > Sandeep[Wind Gamin])

    A. At the end of the turn, remove one of your Scheme Markers on the opponent's half of the board that isn't within 6" of the Centerline or 4" of an enemy non-Peon model to score a point

Show of Force (T2) (Sandeep > Raspi > Colette > Ramos > Marcus)

    A. ount the number of face-up Upgrades that cost at least 1 Soul Stone you have attached to models within 6" of the Center of the board
    B. Upgrades that are attached to a Master or started the game attached to a Master do not count to this total
    C. If you have at least one qualifying Upgrade and at least as many qualifying Upgrades as your opponent at the end of the turn, you get a point

Recover Evidence (T1) (Colette > Ramos > Sandeep > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. At the beginning of any turn, you can reveal it to put one Evidence Marker in base contact with each of five enemy models chosen by your opponent
    B. Your models can then take a (1) Interact Action to remove an Evidence Marker in base contact

    Tip: Reveal this Scheme early and the Markers will likely be grouped together, but rather far away. Wait and the markers might be closer, but they'll probably be more spread out.
    Tip: Keep in mind that you can score multiple points in a turn with this Scheme, and you only need three out of the five Markers to get full points

Set Up (T1) (Colette > Sandeep > Ramos > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. Scores 1 VP for each Scheme Marker within 4" of an enemy Master, Henchman, or Enforcer model that you chose at the beginning of the game

Search the Ruins (T5) (Colette > Ramos > Sandeep > Marcus > Raspi)

    A. Score 2 VP at the end of the game if you have at least three Scheme Markers within 6" of the Center of the board
    B. Get a bonus point if at least two of those Scheme Markers are on the opponent's half of the table
    C. Be careful, because Scheme Markers within 2" of each other don't count for scoring
    
    Tip: Also watch out if you took Claim Jump, since that Scheme removes Markers near the Centerline and might make a marker you needed vanish

Last Stand (T1) (Sandeep > Colette > Marcus > Ramos > Raspi)

    A. Get a point for having at least three Henchman and/or Enforcer models completely outside of your Deployment Zone
    B. Need to have fewer models in play than your opponent.
    
    Tip: Keep in mind that you need to reveal this Scheme the turn before you can begin scoring, so reveal it early or make sure that your Henchmen and Enforcers will last through the next to turn to start scoring

[Adran]

Did you mean to cross out most of it? 

1 thing I have noticed, you are worried about your master being Obeyed. Obey is non master, so Perdita and Zoraida can not obey Ramos to blow up the rest of your crew. 

[Fictor]

I did something worng, now the post can be read xD, thx

And thx!!! I didn't have obeys on Arcanist and Marcus can Alpha Ramos xD

[Adran]

head hunter Tip

Models need either 3 ap, or a way of moving during an activation to kill an enemy and pick up the head in the same activation. Howard with Nimble, Blessed of December or Cerberus with Leap are the obvious ones for this. If you don't Go for this approach, you may want killers with Companion, or cheap models with Accomplice to get the head before your opponent can eitehr get it themself, oe engage to stop you being able to interact. 

 

Extraction counter tip

Remembering that the marker can move, if you have just the 2 models on the edge of the 6" then your opponent is likely to move the marker to make them leave the area, causing you to have to spend extra Ap to get models in it again.  If your models are well inside the area, or spread out, then it moving is a much less painful issue. If you play knowing it can move, it moving doesn't matter as much because you should have allowed for that already. 

[bertmac]

Game one for me would be Marcus. take a silurid for picking up heads maybe a performer too and marcus cerberus myranda/blessed for dropping them

[Fictor]

For the Round1 unknown the enemy faction I think the best option IMO is Colette + Cassandra [PP] + Doves for Schemes and Howard + Myranda to kill

The head places at 3" and Prompt push 3" and Interact =P

[Adran]

Colette has got a lot worse at Head hunter following the Errata (Its probably the biggest change) because now she can't prompt a beater to kill a model, and then prompt it again to get the head.  She is still good at it, but its not as good as it used to be. Unless you have several models close together...

Sandeep with Visions and Wind gamin seem good to me

[Mxbedlam]

3 hours ago, Adran said:

Colette has got a lot worse at Head hunter following the Errata (Its probably the biggest change) because now she can't prompt a beater to kill a model, and then prompt it again to get the head.  She is still good at it, but its not as good as it used to be. Unless you have several models close together...

Sandeep with Visions and Wind gamin seem good to me

Lately it really is hard to look at a potential scheme pool and say "Sandeep can do this" or "Marcus can do this" I'm having a hard time looking at any other masters lately because even our "specialist" masters like Ramos only does Extraction marginally better than Sandeep. 

[spooky_squirrel]

2 minutes ago, Mrbedlam said:

Lately it really is hard to look at a potential scheme pool and say "Sandeep can do this" or "Marcus can do this" I'm having a hard time looking at any other masters lately because even our "specialist" masters like Ramos only does Extraction marginally better than Sandeep. 

I'm noticing the same thing: Sandeep does everything we need to score points well enough where it's easy to overlook other models.
I have to remind myself that Ramos can do attrition better: virtually unlimited summons with a max of three per turn for one AP, where Sandeep is hard capped at 3 in play/buried; has upgrades/abilities that give positives on attack and defense; his summons can regenerate when using other tech that synergizes with his typical hires. Marcus using Alpha relies on soulstone, card in hand, and/or baked-in tome. One of Ramos' upgrades gives him Counterspell, and his crew has access to tech that puts all casts on negatives, so you can make it harder to get Alpha'd (but not impossible). Where I run into the most trouble running Ramos is that his beaters/support rely on armor to keep them alive and that his summons cannot do as much work as his hires. These combine to make him vulnerable if you go after his support (similar to Sandeep) instead of his summons, and anything that hates on armor and constructs will have a field day (unlike Sandeep, who can summon things like Wind Gamin and Banasuva who are not constructs). If you can bring the spider factory online against an opponent who doesn't have an easy answer for it, Ramos can do Extraction extremely well. That's relying on two if statements: if you cannot bring the factory online due to cards/stones, Sandeep would have similar trouble, but if your opponent has an easy answer for the Spider Factory, Sandeep may have a bit of an edge with his speed and ability to drop Banasuva some place strategically important even though he cannot overwhelm the objective with numbers.

Colette can get more work out of her crew, so the right crew with her can do a lot (Sandeep's crew gets more work out of Sandeep, though if you bring in Sanctioned Spellcasters, he and any henchmen can use the Collar ability to get more work out of the Spellcaster), but that learning curve is steeper. My best game at the last tournament I was at was with Colette (Ice Show with Carlos instead of Cassandra, got full points on both Tail 'Em and Undercover Entourage), but it was not an easy or straight forward game for either my opponent or I. I don't think Sandeep would have done as well against my opponent on that terrain with the strat (Collect the Bounty) and scheme pool for me, because I make exploitable mistakes with Sandeep even when I'm running more optimized lists (such as not using my AP to work towards VP/denial).
Where I run into trouble with Colette is strategies like Guard the Stash because it relies on my models being alive. She doesn't give me as much ground-holding tech as other Masters herself so I would have to build her crew for it and hope that my opponent doesn't figure out an easy answer for what I drop (for example: armor or trigger-reliant models).

[BFOmega]

You focus way to much on the Alpha-ing Ramos thing. You need to make him a beast first, so something needs to get past his crew to him and hit him. Then you need to get Marcus in range and get the alpha off, so a stone and a high card assuming you're running under pressure as you should be. Then you need more 10+tomes or 10+ and more stones. Besides having to be facing Marcus in the first place. It's basically a non-factor.

[spooky_squirrel]

I think the only reason to be aware of Alpha is because it's possible in the first place and Ramos can target himself with his detonation. If that happens, the Ramos player is dead in the water. Marcus has a pretty long total threat range and can make things a beast with his own attack, which eliminates the need for two-stepping it. If Ramos has Counterspell, it'll take a high suited card and a stone to get off, so it's not something to plan for or be paranoid about. The fact it can target Ramos, unlike Obey, is why it gets special mention.

It seems like something that will almost never happen, but my regional meta (wider tournament scene) has seen things like Marcus using Alpha on models that the opposing player thought were safe, which completely tilted the game for them. When facing an Arcanist player (regardless of own faction) in a tournament, it's important to be aware of that risk if you're trying to place.
When playing as the Arcanist, it's amusing to think of "What can Marcus Alpha?", but that runs the risk of committing the same mistakes that I frequently do: seeing what you can get away with instead of trying to score VP. Generally a bad idea during a tournament, but great in casual games. For instance, in round one of the last tournament I was in, I discovered that I could get 24"+ of movement (pushes, places, etc.) out of Kudra in Turn 1. She died in Turn 2, making it impossible for me to use her for what I hired her for, because she was too far forward for what I needed to do.

[Mxbedlam]

I agree. I managed to get an Alpha off on Lilith to have her kill Nekima. Still lost the game by 2 points because Lilith turned around and erased Marcus after

[Fictor]

As I promised, here you can read the report of the tournament