Parker and why is he Malifaux on hard mode

[apes-ma]

On 17/09/2017 at 9:57 PM, Sol_Sorrowsong said:

I think he plays best like a thief than a thug (scheme first shoot second)... 

I couldn't agree more - I think this perfectly encapsulates the way that Parker wants to be played. He's a thief and an opportunist, and as such the plan needs to be changed to suit whatever he has the opportunity to do.

On the topic of Wokou Raiders I have actually quite liked them. I feel like they are a 7.5 stone model - definitely too cheap at 7, but at 8 I wouldn't ever take 2. They are pretty good models for looking after a flank - highly mobile, accurate attack, and once they are engaged they are reasonably tough (they only take hits when the opponent gets lucky with a high flip). Being a bandit is nice as well, but I find their most useful ability is the built in Drop It trigger - it takes the pressure off Parker a little to make sure he has a marker to cycle his upgrades and generate some resources on his turn. Sue is, as per usual, a fantastic model! And I agree that he needs a beater in around 2/3 games. Personally I like to take either Strongarm or Ashes and Dust just because they stick around (or in the case of Ashes come back...) and hit quite hard. Bishop is really nice, but the 1" range hurts him somewhat, and he's not as hard to kill as he looks (at ALL). It's nice that he's suit-independent, though, and he benefits from Parker's push quite well. I tried the new Emissary upgrade with Parker and it was pretty great, actually. It's nice to be able to use an enemy marker to cycle on turn 1, it lets you recycle trinkets if they end up on a bad model, and on top of that it keeps more cards flowing into your hand, and lets Parker ditch an upgrade if he doesn't want to spend an AP doing it in a more traditionally "Parker" way - I was more impressed than I expected to be! The big problem is that hiring the Emissary makes it MUCH harder to squeeze that much-needed melee beater into the crew, so in reality I am not sure how often I will be taking it...

[beevison]

On the topic of melee beater for Parker.

I tend to prefer Ashes and Dust. Not just because he's a great piece. But also because of the way your opponent will react A&D.

9 times out of 10 his reputation will precede him and your opponent will spend significant resources to neutralise him. Which you can use to your advantage and lets the rest of Parker's crew (or any other crew for that matter) get on with the game. That is why I often take him. Yes he's a great model, but more often it's so I can screw with my opponent.

 

[Sol_Sorrowsong]

13 stones though! Hiring him just makes me feel I'm starting from behind.  Yes he's strong but on an activation level is just one model in a crew of 8 maybe.

 

[Nikodemus]

1 hour ago, Sol_Sorrowsong said:

13 stones though! Hiring him just makes me feel I'm starting from behind.  Yes he's strong but on an activation level is just one model in a crew of 8 maybe.

 

Maybe in our next game I'll do Outcast Misaki with A&D and you can judge it yourself 

[Sol_Sorrowsong]

15 hours ago, Nikodemus said:

Maybe in our next game I'll do Outcast Misaki with A&D and you can judge it yourself 

Your Misaki is scary enough without another beatstick, but I'll be all the more able to scheme then.

[beevison]

I tend to run A&D as a kind of pseudo scheme runner (yes very expensive one) but with 3AP and 3/4/6 dmg track he munches on other scheme runners and has a trigger to summon an abomination on kill. And once he's dealt with scheme runners he can move back to fight and be beatstick A&D. 

I'm so used to not having activation control, considering my two main opponents run Ulyx and Somer respectively. So I've had to learn ways around it (some of these involve throwing a Vik down their throat  ). A&D is one of these. 

I get why everyone goes on and on about activation control and count. Personally I see it as an advantage but not an unassailable one.

[apes-ma]

1 hour ago, beevison said:

I get why everyone goes on and on about activation control and count. Personally I see it as an advantage but not an unassailable one.

This is true - it DOES put you on the back foot and make you have to start the game reactively instead of proactively, but the sooner you can switch into proactive mode the better, and this is what A&D excels at. He can zip off down a flank that the enemy has a scheme runner or two on, merk the scheme runners, do some schemes himself and perhaps even generate another activation. Having a piece that fulfils the role of schemer AND hunter, and even beater later in the game, is a good second place to activation control. It might not generate as much AP as 4 bayou gremlins, but the flexibility of it's AP nearly makes up for that.

[beevison]

Agree. And I think that's the point, I don't see activation control as just having more models activate than your opponent. It's also having the ability to use your activations to control your opponents. 

Well that's my opinion and I'll probably stick to it. 

At least until I play against Hamelin...