Starting with Zoraida (purchase help needed)

[Hawkoon]

Despite owning the model, I haven't played Zoraida myself yet, but I do have a few games against her, and I mostly play neverborn myself so I'm quite familiar with the faction.

Eldritch magic is a situational upgrade that I only take when I know the opponent is bringing a lot of conditions. (if your oppnonent declares masters like McMourning, Brewmaster, Kaeris or Sonnia etc.).

I also think you should have more SS cache with Zoraida. To get the most of her you probably need a few stones just to ensure the trigger on Obey every turn. You'll also want some SS to keep your henchmen alive longer, I'd reccomend around 4-7SS cache.

I won't comment much on the crew selection, but I have noticed wisps beeing really good in combination with the voodoo curse. That and the fact that you don't really want to do much walking with Zoraida, so you should always include something that can move her around outside her activation. (Hooded rider is really good at this, as you don't waste any AP moving Zoraida with "Ride with me")

[NAX3011]

The problem is I don't like the look of the hooded rider.

I'm really confused how to build a crew.

[Barmution]

In both your crews you are including models that you should be summoning; in the first you're starting w Gupps and in the second you're starting with Stitched. Both of these should be left out of the initial crew IMHO, leaving you soul stones to spend on other stuff.

My take on your lists (based on your purchase list) would be something like this:

Zoraida (6SS Cache)

Bad Juju (9)

- Inhuman Reflexes (2)

Spawn Mother (8)

The First Mate (9)

Gautreaux Bokor (6)

Silurid (6)

Will o' the Wisp (4)

 

Spawn Mother's role here will be to try to get her hands on a 6+ of Rams to use w soul stone to be able to keep her first egg in play while spawning a Gupps model. Next turn she will pop out a second egg and then you can expend both eggs to get 2 more Gupps. After that she becomes a beater and you've effectively got her + 9 SS worth of Gupps. Bad Juju + Inhuman Reflexes should be a massive threat wherever you put him on the table and will probably give First Mate some room to do whatever needs to be done. Remember that you can use the Voodoo Doll to prick your Bokor for 1 damage to give him Fast and try to keep him in range so that you can heal Juju and/or First Mate as needed (that will become immensely frustrating for your opponents).

 

2nd list is a bit of a bother to make improvements to because I get the feeling that you want the puppet theme going. Still, I'd remove the Stitched Togethers and let Vasilisa summon them from Voodoo Doll scrap or dead Wicked Dolls.

 

Zoraida (6 SS Cache)

Hinamatsu (9)

-Inhuman Reflexes

Vasilisa (8)

Wicked Doll (3)

Wicked Doll (3)

First Mate (9)

Silurid(6)

Will o' the Wisp (4)

 

You will still get to play with the dolls but you keep some Swampfiends at hand for drawing LoS through Eyes In the Night and scheming + the Wisp for Voodoo Doll shenanigans.

 

As @Hawkoon said above, keeping a healthy cache is pretty important for Zoraida in general since there will be a lot of pivotal points in the game where you need stones for her various triggers and the First Mate will make good use of some as well. I also agree that ideally you'd want some way to move Zoraida around outside her activation to make sure that she can pop out the Doll on a juicy target. In these crews the Wisp will have to do that job with lures.

 

[NAX3011]

Wow. Okay very big THANK YOU, that helped a lot.

I got a Grootslang too dont know if it fits in.

[Hawkoon]

Edit: Ninja'ed by @Barmution... as usual

[Adran]

There are several different ways to build a crew. I'm going to  split them into 3 general approaches.

1 The "universal" crew. You build a crew lsit that is capable of doing anything in the game. Its not the best at any one thing, btu can compete in every game, and your better knowledge of what you crew is capable of helps you overcome the areas the crew is weak. This often has minor tweaks to the lists, btu if you picka  master and start with 30+ss the same each tiume you're probably going this style.

2 The "customised" crew. You build a fresh crew each game to try and make the most of the board, strategy, schemes and opponents crew. You may never play the same crew twice though so the down side is you need to have a good understanding of a much wider range of models.

 

3 The training crew.  You are trying to learn the game. The aim of the crew is really to try and minimise the things you need to learn game by game. This approach will start of losing more games because your aim at that point isn't so much to win as to learn.

For this sort of crew you want to minimise profiles. So if you have 3 of a minion, you may well want to hire all 3. You'll get a much better idea of what the model is capable of because you'll get more chances to see where the do and don't work. I would start out avoiding hiring upgrades as its one thing less to worry about. You probably wan the crew to contain some form of beaty model and some form of mobile model, and you then at least have a chance of doing what the game wants you to do. I would start playing a list with few stones then try playing the same list but with 1 model less so you have a nearly full cache and you can start to see how you use stones. Once you're happy with the models you start with, you then start changing things around and find out what other mdoels do, and start looking for combinations between models, and things that suit your play styel.

This way works if you get to play lots of games, and you have the patience to play even if you carry on losing. It should make you a better player in the medium to long run as you have a better idea of what things do. You can then decide how you want to build crews with a better knowledge of what your choices are actually doing.

[Barmution]

4 minutes ago, NAX3011 said:

Wow. Okay very big THANK YOU, that helped a lot.

I got a Grootslang too dont know if it fits in.

You're very welcome. I view Grooty as a bit of a specialist pick as I find him pretty squishy, esp. against shooters that ignore concealment and he can't hold his own against beaters at his own cost. Could be huge with the right strat, ie. Plant Explosives and Corrupted Idols (which is a big Zoraida specialty even without him), or the right scheme pool (basically anything that requires a model or scheme markers in specific places) but could also do very little vs a good opponent. He can pull off a pretty nasty trick with Wicked tho: If he's engaging an opponent's model, you can obey that model to disengage. This allows Grooty to get in an attack where you control both the offensive and defensive flip and you don't have to move the model out of engagement range since the push resulting from the disengage can be 0".

[Nikodemus]

37 minutes ago, NAX3011 said:

I'm really confused how to build a crew.

You seem to be getting good advice to get started.

I'll just add that nothing really beats actual play experience. Get a few games in, don't stress too much about optimising every last bit of your list. Once you've got some games in, in general and with specific models, you'll have a better grasp at theorycrafting some lists up to fit an individual match.

Other faction entirely, but I played over ten games with Misaki in a row. She's ostensibly a straightforward beater master. Almost every game, up to game #13 taught me more things about how to play and build her crew.

[NAX3011]

Thank you guys, it helped a lot.

 

In M2E I don't played Neverborn. I only had one Master and it was Hamelin. Hamelin and his Crew had a complete synergy. They supported each other.

Before the Emissarys were released I stopped playing M2E, so I have really no XP in playing Malifaux.

 

 

[Hawkoon]

The games I've played against Zoraida has been exclusively against @Barmution so our collective advice is pretty much tainted by his playstyle with her. But I have to admit that those games have been really tough games for me, regardless of which crew I played, so I would definitely listen to his advice.

[NAX3011]

Thank you guys so much.

[HipsterWhale]

If you don't like hooded rider Gracie has ride with me too

 

😎😎😎

[NAX3011]

XD.

I got the HR now. It was a used one an very cheap so I could not resist.

 

My Collection now is

 

Zoraida + Crew

Cooking Zoraida

Zipp + Crew

Collodi + Crew

Titania + Crew

Mysterous Emissary

Grootslang

Amphibious Assault

Adze

McTavish

Mechanical Porkchop

Merris Lacroix

Sparks

Gautreaux Bokors

Waldgheists

Stiched Together

Bayou Gators

Rougarou

 

 

I think I'm prepared for M3E. Do you guys think some essential Miniature is missing for one of the Masters (Collodi not included, because I want to play without the dead mans hand)

 

 

Greetings

 

 

 

[longfanz]

44 minutes ago, NAX3011 said:

XD.

I got the HR now. It was a used one an very cheap so I could not resist.

 

My Collection now is

 

Zoraida + Crew

Cooking Zoraida

Zipp + Crew

Collodi + Crew

Titania + Crew

Mysterous Emissary

Grootslang

Amphibious Assault

Adze

McTavish

Mechanical Porkchop

Merris Lacroix

Sparks

Gautreaux Bokors

Waldgheists

Stiched Together

Bayou Gators

Rougarou

 

 

I think I'm prepared for M3E. Do you guys think some essential Miniature is missing for one of the Masters (Collodi not included, because I want to play without the dead mans hand)

 

 

Greetings

 

 

 

Not mandatory by any means but if you don't buy the effigy now you won't be able to do so as it will only be available coupled with the emissary. Anyway, you should start playing with what you have as it will take time for you to get used to it

[NAX3011]

4 hours ago, longfanz said:

Not mandatory by any means but if you don't buy the effigy now you won't be able to do so as it will only be available coupled with the emissary. Anyway, you should start playing with what you have as it will take time for you to get used to it

I forgot to list:

Misterious Effigy

Lucky Emissary

[longfanz]

2 hours ago, NAX3011 said:

I forgot to list:

Misterious Effigy

Lucky Emissary

Then you have missed the lucky effigy XD

[NAX3011]

Oh damn true.

[Hawkoon]

Had a game this weekend against Lynch with the following list:

Quote

Titania

Gorar

Zoraida

Hooded Rider

Mysterious effigy + Upgrade

2x Waldgeist

Titania was the leader though, but the list was really solid.

I used the Hooded rider to place Zoraida in a forest close to my deployment with view to both waldgeists which ran towards the centre of the board. I made sure to litter the center with underbrush markers after deployment and also make a few more with waldgeists and Titania. From there Zoraida had a great point for Obeying pretty much anything that weren't hiding out of LOS (and with the ability to draw LOS from the waldgeists that severely limited the places to hide). Just note that Zoraida doesn't ignore the concealment from underbrush markers, so I had to use focus every now and then, but she was still a great pain for my opponent (he even used the RJ to prevent an Obey to his emissary, and I think that was a great use of it as it would have severely messed up his plans if it went through).

[NAX3011]

I'm not sure if I want to play a dualmaster list for the beginning.

If I go for Titania my learning List will be

Titania +  Black Joker, +1 Initiative Upgrade

Aeslin

Autum Knight

Rougarou

Mystetious Emissary + Upgrade

[Hawkoon]

Ancient pact should be on a minion, because the best part of the upgrade is the card draw. Waldgeist or Autumn knights are good choices as they are quite durable.

If you start with the emissary it doesn't really need an upgrade, so I'd rather spend those points on something else.

Rougarou are one of the best models in Neverborn for the Inhuman Reflexes upgrade, as that improves their defense as well as makes you able to charge them in through enemy models to get to the juicy targets. I wouldn't take a Rougarou without it unless I really need those SS for something else.

[NAX3011]

Thx for the tipps 😃