Aeslin

[Joachim]

Hello guys,

I've recently acquired the titania box and going to try her out in the next game. I really like the models aesthetically and I like to play crews that are thematic in stead of just a group of models that have strong synergy or are just strong models by themselves. So I am planning to play most of the titania box and the mysterious emissary.

What are your opinions on aeslin though? The autumn knights seem pretty strong, but aeslin is 9ss, she does seem to have her tricks and for example the - to ca aura could potentially be very strong but with the mysterious emissary as well I'm afraid my crew will lack damage.

Does anyone have experience with aeslin and how to play her, what schemes and strats make her shine, what other models does she synergize very well with?

 

Greetings, Joachim.

[santaclaws01]

She's very good in Extraction to keep your models close to the point, as well as being very good against Ressers and Neverborn for all of the key Ca actions that will be put at a  if she's near. Also her damage isn't bad. Rot and Rend has min damage 4 if there are two scheme markers near the model, and Titania and Aeslin will be the only models using scheme markers. Additionally her with Queen's Champion can drop 2 markers at a time with A Wicked Silence or replace the scheme marker she's using to shoot into combat with Rot and Rend. She's the only other Fae model that can carry taproot, so if you feel you need it in a game it will free up Titania's upgrade slots.

[Viruk]

The main problem with Aeslin is that she goes down way too fast. She'd be much better if she had Knight's Armor and Hard to Wound. Basically only soulstones can save her and these are typically better used in this crew. That being said, if you position her well, she can help with keeping the center occupied.

[Joachim]

i think that armor on top of htw and the abilities she has she might be a bit too good for 9ss. 

 

Thanks for the feedback so far guys.

[ringsnake]

I just did updates on all the Queen's Return models on Pullmyfinger.

Use her with at least two of the knights, and put Taproot on her. The knights get to use their baked in mask on Df, and spend a friendly scheme marker within 3", to push 3" whenever they're attacked. In other words, if you combine this with Bound and Rooted your opponent is forced to accept getting only one hit at a time in against your fae models until they can deprive you of all your scheme markers, or kill Aeslin, so your other fae stop benefiting from 'fairy squeal'

It's not that obvious of a combo unless you obsessively paw over the cards to write PMF articles about them.

I consider the negative flip to casting a bit of a sideshow and distraction, because Taproot combined with Bound and Rooted is the real powerhouse combo. Though if you've got Frame for Murder you could run her up into your opponent's summon master's face, plant some schemes next to her, and use Taproot to push her out of the way until he commits to using a master or henchman to taking her out. Or decides that his summon master needs to spend one of their three actions walking away from her.

Additional amusement value can be derived from combining Curse of Autumn, As Leaves on the Wind, Widow Weaver, and Taproot. It goes like this:

Plant web markers next to enemy model(s), or in areas that they want to go, to inflict penalty to Wp on them.

Aeslin scoots up near the enemy summoner, or better still charges it, and plants a couple of scheme markers with a close combat Wp duel.

Aeslin finishes up her activation by using As Leaves on the Wind to inflict a negative flip on your opponent's summoner.

Your opponent needs to make a WP duel to avoid Slow from Curse of Autumn, and will be forced to use a cheat, because if they don't they've got an effectively paralyzed summoner. If they try to clear her out of the way by attacking her, you have scheme markers in place already for fairy squeal.

EDIT TO ADD: All this goes out the window if your opponent is doing Ressers and has even one Rotten Belle. The Belle can lure the master away from Aeslin before the master activates.

[santaclaws01]

55 minutes ago, ringsnake said:

 

It's not that obvious of a combo unless you obsessively paw over the cards to write PMF articles about them.

 

That's kind of the whole point of Taproot, how is it not that obvious of a combo?

 

Quote

I consider the negative flip to casting a bit of a sideshow and distraction

You haven't used it against a master or crew that relies almost entirely on Ca actions then, or against crews that have very important Ca actions that they need to get off. It can completely neuter some masters and models.

[ringsnake]

Just now, santaclaws01 said:

That's kind of the whole point of Taproot, how is it not that obvious of a combo?

 

You haven't used it against a master or crew that relies almost entirely on Ca actions then, or against crews that have very important Ca actions that they need to get off. It can completely neuter some masters and models.

It wasn't obvious to me. It took me several reads through the cards before I saw it, and some serious thinking before I started seeing just how potent it was. I'm relatively new to this new edition of the game, and more of a painter than a rules type guy.

Compared to the Witch Hunter upgrade in Guild it's relatively weak. Don't get me wrong, it's a great ability, but Bound and Rooted plus Taproot looks way more effective, and given the relative scarcity of summon masters that you can keep pinned down within 6" of Aeslin, it's not all that great. A Criid list can swamp the board in negative cast flip zones off every Witch Hunter, but there's only one Aeslin. If your opponent's Resser list has even one Rotten Belle, he can lure his own master away from Aeslin.

[santaclaws01]

1 minute ago, ringsnake said:

It wasn't obvious to me. It took me several reads through the cards before I saw it, and some serious thinking before I started seeing just how potent it was. I'm relatively new to this new edition of the game, and more of a painter than a rules type guy.

Compared to the Witch Hunter upgrade in Guild it's relatively weak. Don't get me wrong, it's a great ability, but Bound and Rooted plus Taproot looks way more effective, and given the relative scarcity of summon masters that you can keep pinned down within 6" of Aeslin, it's not all that great. A Criid list can swamp the board in negative cast flip zones off every Witch Hunter, but there's only one Aeslin. If your opponent's Resser list has even one Rotten Belle, he can lure his own master away from Aeslin.

Bound and Rooted is also situational. If your opponent can't push place or move you're crew at all then it's useless. The negative to Ca actions isn't only good against Summoners as well, ever tried playing Pandora when you have a  on all your actions?

[ringsnake]

1 minute ago, santaclaws01 said:

Bound and Rooted is also situational. If your opponent can't push place or move you're crew at all then it's useless. The negative to Ca actions isn't only good against Summoners as well, ever tried playing Pandora when you have a  on all your actions?

Must be an issue of local meta. In my relatively few games I've sustained more agony from Rotten Belles and other push/lure type things than negative flips to Ca. I've INFLICTED negative flips to casts, which is how I know about the Disrupt Magic upgrade that creates that bubble for free around all Witch Hunters. Nicodem does not enjoy playing against even people on their second game when those people add the starter set models to the Criid crew.

Also how I know about the Lure counter off of Belles. So happy that their Ca was reduced to seven!

[D_acolyte]

If you like Aeslin tools she is good but if you want fire support that does not randomize go with Hans or Angel Eye. I tend not to use her as I rather use my schemes to make Titania better.

[ringsnake]

10 minutes ago, D_acolyte said:

If you like Aeslin tools she is good but if you want fire support that does not randomize go with Hans or Angel Eye. I tend not to use her as I rather use my schemes to make Titania better.

Angel Eyes does look like the ultimate Queen's Champion to me, but I'm going to experiment with bringing them both in a 50ss crew.

Another entertaining thought that just occurred to me, not with Aeslin, but becuase the subject of Angel Eyes has come up, is taking The Tooth with a Black Blood Shaman, giving The Tooth Black Blood, and then using her Challenge to drag an enemy model and force them to hit her.

"Shoot me in the face! Not the arm! Not the leg! In face! THANK YOU!"

[D_acolyte]

10 minutes ago, ringsnake said:

Angel Eyes does look like the ultimate Queen's Champion to me, but I'm going to experiment with bringing them both in a 50ss crew.

The ultimate queen's champion is a very hard topic, I tend to try and get a mature with it but it has been killer on the young, any of the knights, Barbaros, and Angel Eye. It is gilding the lily on Nekima, as she often does not need the plus flips to hit and though the armor is nice it is not a game breaker.

A mimic blessing Angel Eyes with queen champion makes a wonderful skirmisher where there is little that is not wrong with an armor 2 double positive attacking mature with retributions eye.

Is there a topic about just what is the best champion?

[feagaur]

19 minutes ago, D_acolyte said:

 

Is there a topic about just what is the best champion?

There is. And it all came down to personal preference. Like you I prefer the mature for the armour 2 double positives on attack but some like it on Nekima. As a laugh I've also run it with Hannah in a crew, which can get all kinds of fun with her blasts!

As to Aeslin, I've found her amazing against summoners. Not allowing masters to cheat in those cards they've saved up can be really annoying. Most of the time if they really want to summon something theyre burning two soul stones (one for a suit and one for positive flips). Which means they're not doing it very often. Bound and rooted is good against ressers and TT where you might be expecting lures or pushes but can be situational. The fact that its there though means its a tool to use, which is basically what Aeslin is. She works better with other models. She puts scheme markers down for the Knights and Titania, adds another Autumns curse and can stop things getting moved. But she's not the sort of model that wants to be out there on her own. She will soon go down if targeted.