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Mr. Moustache aka Hulk Hogan aka Von Schill / M3E


Jafar

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35 minutes ago, Barmution said:

That's a message we've been receiving quite loud and clear for some time.

And probably that's not gonna change anytime soon.

 

EDIT: Although I must admit I didn't remember that Engineers can now heal every non-minion Freikorps, and that's certainly huge. 

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So I'm gonna sing my love song to the Freikorps

 

They can do A LOT of focused damage.

They can do TONS of nukes

They can be REALLY tough

They can become fast AS HELL

They can disrupt your opponent's play with the Land Mines, their places and pushes, or destroying your opponent's markers.

And they are funny to play.

 

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45 minutes ago, Zebo said:

So I'm gonna sing my love song to the Freikorps

 

They can do A LOT of focused damage.

They can do TONS of nukes

They can be REALLY tough

They can become fast AS HELL

They can disrupt your opponent's play with the Land Mines, their places and pushes, or destroying your opponent's markers.

And they are funny to play.

 

What tune are you singing that to?

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14 hours ago, TheJoyInGaming said:

What tune are you singing that to?

Sorry, I was improvising.

 

I feel it in my fingers
I feel it in my toes
Freikorps is now the best crew
All over Malifaux

They kill you with their long guns
They crush you to the ground
They treat your hits like wind breeze
They run you over around.

You know they'll win you, they always will.
The ground is sown with corpses of their enemies.
They're your perdition, they will be your end. 
So run away, away from them. 


Better?

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So zieh'n wir unter eigener Fahne,
aus Malifaux's Toren hervor.
Zu meiner Seite mein Kumpane,
Wir sind das stolze Freikorp.

Wir haben hinter uns gelassen,
was uns daheim war wert und gut,
und können lieben oder hassen
aus eignem Trotz und eignem Mut.

Der Gouverneur-General hat uns verstoßen,
er steht in Feind's Gewalt und Macht.
Wir sind getrennt von seinen Losen.
Wir zieh'n in unbekannte Schlacht.


I used an old german "Soldatenlied" - a soldiers song (those were meant to be sung without instruments) and reworked it a little so it still rhymes in german but added a few Malifaux references.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, here I want to put on paper my thoughts about the Freikorps crew.

MODELS

VON SCHILL - MASTER
Von Schill is the soul of the crew, a support Master that improves his crew.
He has quite astonishing stats, even improved his movement since his M2E version.
He keeps being quite tough. Even tougher than before thanks to Survivalist improving the amount he's healed. He no more protects nearby Freikorps with pseudo-HtK, but he helps his crew with Shouting Orders, that is a kind of pseudo-I Pay Better (and I absolutely loved that upgrade in M2E).
His attacks are really not a reason to be afraid for his enemies. 
A :melee with quite meh damage spread, but interesting triggers. Useful to disrupt the enemy positioning and deliver some powerful shoot combo, but it's not reliable at all unless you spend some resources in it (cheat or spend ss).
Then a :ranged with a bit better damage spread, and really good range, but irrelevant trigger. It can be used to add some damage at range, but again you need to dedicate some resources to do real damage (actions for focus).
So Von Schill's attacks are a bit lacklustre unless you set up some resources for them to become useful. 
It's on Von Schill's tactical actions where his true power relies.
Maybe his :ToS-Fast: are not game changers, but removing one condition on himself or saving a friend from engagement can be situationally useful, and thanks to Shouting Orders he can always be discarding to stack Focus.
Then there's Load Up, which push, has four triggers (some really interesting) and attach an special upgrade from the list of Equipment. This action is so freakingly good that is gonna be tough to find a situation in which you prefer to spend an action in an attack instead of using Load Up. 
We need to talk about the Equipment Upgrades
Rocket Boots - One of the three aces, it allows to use Leap, what means increase the mobility a lot. The other advantage it provides is to add a :+flip to the damage of the attack from a charge action. Give it to one of your beaters (Hannah Lovelace or Arik Schöttemer) and enjoy crushing your foes.
Reinforced Assault Shield - Another of the best Equipment upgrades. It's main function is to improve the protection of your troops, and is always useful. It can also help you to take out some friendly model from a bad engagement. 
Rocket Launcher - The third of the best upgrades that Von Schill can attach. It's a really good :ranged area attack, that puts :blast:blast even on weak damage. It also can be used to destroy terrain (hello Ice Pillars) and negate cover to Freikorps target's.
Land Mines - This upgrade can be useful to disrupt enemy movement, and to turn an ally into a suicide bomb, but its usefulness is a bit more situational than the previous three.
Grenade Belt - No doubt this upgrade is the worst of all. It only can be used via spending a :ToS-Fast: (and usually :ToS-Fast: are really useful… at least more useful than this upgrade's :ToS-Fast:). It serves to place a shockwave in not really good range, with not so big area and really not very difficult to succeed TN to make 2 damage or Distracted+2. The good thing is that shockwaves markers can be placed out of LoS, but the effort (One action from Von Schill or the Steam Trunk, one :ToS-Fast: from the user and a 7) is too big for so little compensation. It can be useful, but usually you are delivering the other upgrades and attaching this is a waste of time and actions.
Discarding Effects: 2

STEAM TRUNK - TOTEM
The Totem of this crew is also a support for it. It can provide Equipment upgrades (but with less awesome action than Von Schill), can heal and can remove the Poison or Burning conditions, which can be critically useful in some situations (or versus some crews).
It's not specially easy to kill, thanks to Armor+2, but it must be too close to friendly models to being safe, and as it explodes when killed, it's really endangering his allies.
Discarding Effects: 1

HANNAH LOVELACE - HENCHMAN
The older of the Lovelace sisters (or is the younger, or are they twins?) is almost an indispensable model for her crew.
She's not the tougher model on the crew, but is well protected thanks to the Armor+1, Counterspell and SS. Not forgetting her strong WP stat and 10 wounds. She also can choose her triggers easily, thanks to Siphon Power, although at the cost of doing 1 damage to herself or a nearby friend.
She's a mix between a beater and a support piece.
She can beat like a truck, with her :melee having the best damage spread in the crew and good triggers.
Her ranged attack has decent damage, but is more used for its bury trigger.
Then she really support a lot her crew thanks to Arcane Reservoir and her tactical :ToS-Fast:, which can copy any other tactical action in her crew with the exception of Von Schill's Load Up, and helps her to become extremely versatile and boost the possibilities. She can copy Arik's melee damage buff (she could do damage 9 in a single punch), if you need healing, copy Librarian action, if you need protection, copy Engineer's one, if you need to destroy terrain, copy the Drachen's one… anything a Freikorps can do, she can do it. And clear a condition in the process.
Discarding Effects: None

ARIK SCHÖTTEMER - HENCHMAN
The second Freikorps Henchman is almost as indispensable as the other one, but it's a bit less "useful" and a bit more specialized. 
Arik is a beater, as strong as Hannah, but a bit more mobile (Diving Charge) and tougher (he has Armor+2).
His :melee can ignore Armor, and can gain :+flip to damage, so he's best suited to engage enemy tanks.
He can also put shockwaves out of LoS, take advantage of enemy area attacks to gain Focus, and disrupts enemy placement near him, so it's a really complete tool for Freikorps. 
Discarding Effects: 1

LAZARUS - ENFORCER
Lazarus acts like a MBT for the Freikorps. 
He's really tough, mainly because of Armor+2 and his self-healing tactical :ToS-Fast:. 
He's quite good :ranged, with reliable shockwave attack not so easy to avoid.
This along with his not so good :melee, makes him a priority target to be engaged. At least, his Bayonet can trigger Pull, and he can unengage without help (with a :mask).
He's really a bit slow, and needs help to arrive to good places to start firing, so can be a bit tricky to take full advantage of his possibilities without him being countered. 
He's bad for two reasons. First he's easy to avoid, spreading, engaging etc… Second for 1ss more you can hire Hannah or Arik, both of them are quite awesome. 
Discarding Effects: 1

DRACHEN TROOPER - MINION
The Drachen Trooper is the main damage dealer of the Freikorps Minions.
He has average defensive stats, being a bit slow.
He has the usual Freikorps toughness, with Armor+1, but this edition Clear the Area is quite less useful, since Corpse and Scrap markers are no more so vital to many crew's playstyle.
His main function is to use his Flamethrower to make reliable damage and stacking Burning. It can also push enemies around or drop a Pyre marker, but it's not reliable at all.
His Knife is a bit low average at damaging, but can trigger Reposition to help him push out of engagement.
This model can also remove destructible markers and the conditions Slow, Staggered and Distracted in a :new-Pulse:, so can disrupt a lot the play of the opponent.
This guy is not a must, can be useful and I would recommend him if you expect to face horde/bubble crews, crews with lot of the conditions removed by him, or crews with many destructible markers.
Discarding Effects: None. 

FREIKORPS LIBRARIAN - MINION
The Librarian is one of the focal models in the Freikorps keyword. 
Her stats are average, although her wounds are a bit low for her cost, but she's better protected than the rest of the Freikorps thanks to Arcane Shield +1. She also has easy access to her triggers due to Siphon Power.
Her attack is reliable, good stat, good damage spread and a pair of good triggers, while a bit short ranged. It can be used both at range and when engaged.
But it's for her tactical actions that you hire her. She's the main source of healing in the crew (although sometimes feel a bit low for a 7ss model), and has a quite useful push in her :ToS-Fast:, what makes of her a versatile support piece and almost a must (it is for me).
Discarding Effects: None

FREIKORPS ENGINEER - MINION 
The Engineer is another key support piece for the Freikorps.
They have one of the best card-cicling/suit building abilities in Tools for the Job. Although not sure what sense has Sabotage on this model instead of the old Looted Supplies, it's like "what useless circumstantial ability would fit with this model?"
Their attacks are reliable, at least. Same average damage track with anti armor and Injured on :melee and extra damage at :ranged. Although being quite supportive, the Engineer should not be ignored in combat, although their stats are a bit low for their cost.
But the main reason you bring them to the table is their tactical :ToS-Fast:. It protects the target and improves the crew's toughness, providing a bit of extra healing to constructs (every non-minion Freikorps counts now as construct, so more helpful than it seems). The only negative thing is that you need to discard a card to use the action, so if you are keeping a high in your hand, this action is quite painful.
It's not a must, but I hardly can let one out of my list. I would recommend one when playing the two henchman (or one henchman and Lazarus), and versus heavy armor/construct crews even a couple of them.
Discarding Effects: 1

FREIKORPS SCOUT - MINION
The Scouts are the dedicated scheme runners of the Freikorps. They're not specially fast, but can be deployed exactly wherever you need them to be.
Their :ranged is a reliable good ranged rifle with average damage and in-built Reposition, which increases their mobility while shooting. They can also trigger Critical Strike, but should not be an option to rely on. 
Their :melee has been improved since their M2E profile, but really not very worth, since they can push out of combat with their tactical :ToS-Fast:. At least it can trigger Critical Strike and stab with 2/4/5.
This model is strange for me, because I love them and I think they're really good, but I've been struggling when playing them. I use to play them a bit isolated from their crew, and too exposed to enemy counterattacks, so they are hard to keep alive enough to become a real treat, o more exactly they start being a treat and a priority target to my opponent, and they use to die easily and soon.
Discarding Effects: None.

FREIKORPSMANN - MINION
As the Freikorps crew lineman, this guys succeed on being versatile enough without became too expensive or too good.
They are not specially fast, but with a pair of Rocket Boots and their Equipment Training can be as mobile as any other scheme runner.
With Armor+1 and Survivalist, they're not squishy, and with some effort they can engage models quite more expensive than them and become really hard to take down.
Their attacks are also average. Their :melee is more trustworthy for improve their endurance than for making damage, while their :ranged is better to damage, but with some resources both can be dangerous. 
So this soldiers are another really useful tool for Freikorps. If you need damage, they can do up to 7 in a single shot. If you need endurance, they can take some serious blows and stand on their feet. If you need mobility, they can jump around and keep their Rocket Boots, if you need disruption, give them some Land Mines and he would cover a big area with Difficult and Hazardous terrain.
I like to hire one, since they need some resources to be really effective, and two would drain too much.
Discarding Effects: 1

Total Discarding Effects: 7

TACTICS

KILL
Well, Freikorps are quite good at killing, for surprise to no one. Every single model in this crew, with the exception of the Steam Trunk, can fight both in melee and ranged. Some of them may be better at range, and others at close combat, but close combat models can attack at range and ranged models can avoid engagement by themselves. 

Focused Damage
If you need to take down big targets, the weaker of the Freikorps can do severe 5 (or 4 + Burning), but some of them can do more. They also have access to easy Focus thanks to many sources, like Shouting Orders from Von Schill, or the Preparations trigger from Von Schill or the Engineer. 
At range, both the Freikorpsmann and the Engineer can discard a :ram to trigger automatically Critical Strike, and with an extra :ram flipped/cheated they can inflict 7 damage. 6 damage from them is more cheap and reliable, and still a big hit. 
In melee, both Hannah and Arik can inflict severe damage quite easily, specially with the Rocket Boots Equipment. Arik's damage can go easily to 7, and with a :ram flipped/cheated/stoned, he gains :+flip to make easier to succeed on severe. Hannah, in the other hand, can hit Critical Strike easily thanks to Siphon Power, and with the help of a nearby Arik to copy his Charge Up, Hannah could do up to 9 damage with a single blow. Von Schill also can trigger Critical Strike with his :melee, but is less reliable than Hannah's one and he really can do better damage by triggering Pull and allowing another model in his crew to shoot at his target. 
If the enemy is protected with Armor, both Arik and Engineers can trigger Armor Piercing in :melee. 
If the enemy is protected with Hard to Wound, Von Schill's Clockwork Rifle ignores it, and Arik's :melee can stack :+flip with :ram (and Hannah also, with Focus and Rocket Boots), but high weak damages also can go round Hard to Wound, like the weak 3 from a Freikorpsmann or an Engineer after discarding a :ram, or the weak 2 + Burning from a Drachen Trooper. 
If the enemy is protected with Terrifying or Manipulative, the Freikorpsmann has Ruthless, but indirect attacks like shockwaves (like the ones from Lazarus, Arik or any model with Grenade Belt upgrade) avoid those defenses as do :blast like those from Hannah in-built trigger on her fists, Drachen Trooper, Librarian trigger on Ancient Words… or any model with a Rocket Launcher (see a pattern here?) when attacking nearby models without those defenses. 
Oh, and every big hit that Hannah/Arik do can also be done by Lazarus. Because Lazarus can copy other constructs's actions. Maybe not the special buffs, but those are good attacks.


Spread Damage
As stated when talking about facing enemies with Manipulative/Terrifying, Freikorps has plenty of options when you want to do damage to many enemies. I would say they are the best Outcast nukers crew.
Speaking only about individual models, Lazarus has one of the best shockwaves attack in the Grenade Launcher, with shockwave 2, Df 13 and damage 3. Arik's grenades can be also annoying, with up to shockwave 3, Mv 13 and damage 2 + Distracted +1.
They also have a lot of :blast. Hannah's Enhanced Fists can auto trigger Sweeping Strike, doing up to 4 damage on :blast (up to 5 if she copies Arik's Charge Up) while Drachen Trooper can damage and put Burning on every model he damages with his Flamethrower's :blast. The Librarian also can trigger  Burst Damage on her Ancient Words easily thanks to Siphon Power, and this attack can be made both at range and when engaged (and the :blast is also up to 4 damage, which is quite high at least when compared to M2E :blast).
But sadly for their foes, Freikorps don't rely exclusively on their individual capabilities. Von Schill (and the Steam Trunk) can provide themselves and the rest of the crew with a pair of Grenade Belts, which adds an extra shockwave attack (not very powerful, but the option is there) and a pair of Rocket Launchers, that allows to do a really good :blast attack (is damage is not high, but it puts :blast:blast even with weak damage).
So if the enemy bubbles or have lots of light models, the Freikorps can clean the area with lots of :blast/shockwaves, both at range or in close combat. 

SURVIVE
The Freikorps have average stats and Armor, so they are not a squishy crew, and some of them are naturally capable of take a lot of damage before going down.
But they have many tools to increase their toughness and can become a real pain. 
Freikorps can heal with different sources. The Steam Trunk can heal with its :ToS-Fast:, short ranged and only once per activation, but also removes the Poison condition. The Librarian is the best source of healing, since it has better range, can heal in :ToS-Pulse: and can do it twice per turn, although it feels a bit weak healing for a 7ss model (gladly she can also kill xD). Then we have the Engineer, who can heal friendly constructs a bit when buffing their protection, and every non-minion Freikorps counts now as construct, so useful. Finally, Von Schill has My Loyal Servant trigger on the Load Up action, but it's a bit difficult to take advantage of it, since you need another friendly model 3" from the model that you want to heal, and probably you don't want to waste Equipment upgrades on models only to heal another ones. Still an option available.

Then we have the models that can heal themselves, like Lazarus with his tactical :ToS-Fast: or Freikorpsmann with the Survival Skills trigger on their Knife. So a respectable quantity of sources for healing, indeed. I'm gonna have to apologise for my behaviour on this.
Oh, and Hannah can copy those healing actions.

Then you can also buff your models resilience by giving them Shielded. This is mainly the Engineers role, with their tactical :ToS-Fast: that provides Shielded+2 and can also put Focused+1 or Concealment on the target. We also have the Reinforced Assault Shield Equipment upgrade to give Shielded+2 to the owner, and win a special tactical :ToS-Fast: that allows you to save a friendly model from engagement and can trigger Defensive Reflexes to give the owner an additional Shielded+1.
Oh, and Hannah can copy those actions too. 

With those options you can make any Freikorps quite though, stacking their Armor+1 with Shielded makes them hard to deal, but there's a pair of options above the rest, like Hannah or Von Schill himself, with decent stats (both Wp7 but The Man has also Df6) and ss reduction, or Lazarus with Armor+2, that becomes a real pain with the extra of his own healing; but the most interesting options for me are the Freikorpsmann, which can engage an enemy model and resist a lot thanks to their healing (a lot for a 5ss model), and Arik, who is gonna be a nightmare to bring down thanks to his Armor+2 and ss reduction. 

Also should be considered here the ability of not being where you don't want to be, like being engaged when you don't want to (specially with Lazarus, Drachen Trooper and Scout, but can be true for any bad match up). 
Von Schill can use I've Got Your Back to rescue any ally from an engagement as a :ToS-Fast:, and can simply attach an Equipment upgrade to any friendly model and push it up to 2" out of danger (like out of engagement). He can also charge some model and punch it into the sky with Pull. 
 The Reinforced Assault Shield also allow to do the I've Got Your Back action, so more ways to save people. 
Also the Librarian can push friendly minion thanks to Consolidate Power tactical :ToS-Fast:. 
And any model with Rocket Boots can simply Leap out of combat.
Oh, and Hannah can copy any of this options.
 Also Lazarus can trigger Pull with his Bayonet, Drachen Trooper can Reposition with his Knife and the Scout can Quick Retreat, so the most focused on ranged attacks can unengage themselves if no one can help them. Even models not uncomfortable in close combat like Von Schill or Arik can charge out of combat with Diving Charge, and Von Schill can also Pull enemies out of engagement. 

Oh, and while a bit circumstantial, don't forget that Lazarus provides Cover to nearby friends. 

RUN
Yep, the Freikorps were already strong and tough in M2E, but in their new version they can be surprisingly fast.
Let's be honest, this guys and girls alone are not gonna win any race. With an almost universal Movement stat of 5 (unless the slower Lazarus and Drachen, and the fastest oldie in Malifaux) with no extra pushes, actions not movement tricks, the best you can say about this crew mobility is regular. 
The trick comes when you combine their capabilities.
Well, more exactly, Von Schill's capabilities.  
The little extra push from Load Up is more useful than it seems at the first look. That extra 2" push is every time you succeed, so if you trigger Quick Reflexes, you push both targets (up to 6 2" push in a single activation). 
But the key to increase Freikorps mobility rely on the Rocket Boots Equipment upgrade. Leap is a fantastic :ToS-Fast:, even if only used once to make your beater/gunner arrive to a good place. And thanks to Equipment Training a Freikorpsmann can turn into a great scheme runner, put on him also a Reinforced Assault Shield and he should not even worry about the damage from Equipment Training while leaping around. 
The Librarian has also an extra push from Consolidate Power that indeed helps to improve the crew's mobility, nothing astonishing, but truly helpful. 
Don't forget that Hannah, again, can copy Librarian's action.  

DISRUPT
The Freikorps has many options to counter the enemy's playstyle, since tools to get rid of their strengths to ways to affect their movements and placement. 

First, Freikorps are really good at removing conditions from themselves. 
For those crews that rely on Burning or Poison, the Steam Trunk can remove Both easily. 
The Drachen Trooper can remove Distracted, Slow and Staggered in a huge :ToS-Pulse:, what really can annoy crews that rely heavily on this, like Showgirl, Tormented etc…
Hannah can also end one condition per activation on one friendly model. 
And Von Schill can finish one condition on himself without help.

Freikorps can also mess with destructible terrain and markers. The Drachen Trooper can clear any destructible marker in a :ToS-Pulse:, while the Rocket Launcher Equipment upgrade allows to use the Blow It To Hell tactical action, which destroys both terrain and markers at range. No more Ice Pillars or Piano markers would annoy you. 

Freikorps can also push/place their enemies to put them in disadvantage positions.
Von Schill has one of the strongest on Pull from his Clockwork Arm, which not only placed you opponent's model up to 5", but also allows a friendly model to take a free :ToS-Range: on it. 
Lazarus also can trigger Pull on his Bayonet, equally strong and useful.
Arik can push three enemies with his punches, just a little but can be useful. 
The Drachen Trooper can push all models damaged by his Flamethrower, what can be really good since it's ranged and puts :blast.

The Freikorps can also hinder the enemy's options at movement, by dropping Minefield markers thanks to the Land Mines Equipment upgrade. 
The Drachen Trooper can also drop Pyre markers when shooting, or directly make the :aura surrounding him Hazardous with his tactical :ToS-Fast:. 

VON SCHILL, MASTER OF PUPPETS
This is the biggest change from the old M2E version. Von Schill's Load Up action has the Give'Em Hell trigger, which allows the target to use the just attached upgrade. 
With this, Von Schill can push a friendly model up to 2" and then make it Leap, drop a couple of Minefield markers, throw a grenade shoot the Rocket Launcher, use Blow It To Hell to destroy some terrain/markers, or even save another friendly model from combat with I've Got Your Back. 
Suddenly, Von Schill's options during his own activation are quite extended. He can redeploy any friendly model to set up a big activation, ricochet with a Rocket Launcher on some ally to make it shoot to models out of LoS from Von Schill, set up an Alpha Strike with a big beater/gunner, push and place himself up to 8" plus his own base, and, definitely, move his crew around or making them attack. He's no more a "two modes, mode walk and mode kill" Master. 

THE PRICE
Well, Freikorps can do a lot of things, adapt and cover many scenarios quite efficiently. 
The problem is that it's not free. You can't do all at the same time. You need to spend some resources for everything, and be sure you manage your options properly.

If you want to make damage,  you need to build Focus. That's not hard with Freikorps. Other than the classic Concentrate action, the best/easiest way is Shouting Orders, but you need to discard a card each time, which is quite costly. You can also trigger Preparations with four sources. 1st Von Schill's Load Up action which can be the most fast (can be done up to three times per turn) but you need to flip/cheat/stone for a tome, and you may be wanting hit a mask to repeat the action or maybe a crow to force the use of the Equipment upgrade. Another option maybe the more reliable Strengthen Armor from the Engineer, since they can trigger the :tome easily, and the other action's trigger is not as competitive as the Load Up triggers. The last option is Hannah using Strengthen Armor, a bit more costly than from the Engineer, but still easy.
Yeah, Freikorps has extra ways to gain Focus, but not free at all. And with Focus you can rely on any model in the crew to do 5 damage flipping or cheating a Severe). If you want to go full damage with a Engineer or a Freikorpsmann, you need to discard a :ram (with the Engineer is not such a cost) and succeed with their stat 5, preferably flipping/cheating another :ram. This puts your hand on big pressure, so it's not a thing to do every turn or without a bit of setup. 
It's easier to go full power with the Henchman in close combat. Arik only needs a Rocket Boots, Focus or a :ram (flipped, cheated or stoned) to do 5 damage with a moderate and 7 on a severe, which means a set up of 1 action from Von Schill or the Steam Trunk, 1 of the previous ways to focus, a card or a stone (or two of those options to do 2 big hits). while Hannah with Rocket Boots or Focus can make 1 damage (to herself or a friendly model) and flip/cheat/stone a :ram to do 6 moderate and 8 severe (or 7/9 if she copies Arik's Charge Up) which would mean 1 action from Von Schill or the Steam Trunk, or maybe 1 of the previous ways to build Focus (or both/two Focus to attack twice), plus 1 wound and a card or a stone; a bit more expensive but also a bit more powerful. 

If you need to make your crew more tough, you have a limited amount of ways. There's only two Reinforced Assault Shield Equipment upgrades that can be attached at the same time, and each Engineer can only Strengthen Armor once per activation, so you need to choose which models to protect, and it costs actions from Von Schill, the Steam Trunk and the Engineers (and Hannah). 
And if you want to heal, you need to have some key models well placed, and choose which models you want to heal (still not unlimited healing options).

If you want to add mobility to the crew, you only need to attach a Rocket Boots Equipment upgrade to a Freikorpsmann. But since you only can have up to two of those upgrades attached at the same time, you would be left with only one to share and choose of you want to place Lazarus/Drachen I  a good shooting spot, or boost melee damage from Hannah/Arik/Von Schill/Engineer. So while you improve your capabilities in one field, you limit yourself in others. 

Yes, Freikorps can remove conditions, but they cannot remove every condition from every model, they need to choose which models to protect, and spend actions, hit triggers etc.

Same with markers destruction, or movement disruption. They can do a lot of things, but cannot do everything at the same time, if Von Schill/Steam Trunk are attaching Reinforced Assault Shield Equipment to improve toughness, they are not attaching Rocket Boots to improve mobility nor Rocket Launcher to add :blast firepower or destroy terrain markers… The Equipment upgrades must be discarded after used, so you can be attaching the same upgrades once and again, you must realize which upgrades, buffs or debuff do you need the most, and manage your resources to do what is needed and if possible still be capable to adapt to your opponent's movements.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY, ADAPT, DISRUPT
So the Freikorps crew is a really complete well rounded one. They can do virtually everything without hiring out of keyword models. 
But let's be real, they are not gonna win any specialized crew in their speciality. 
They are not gonna outrun a really mobile crew, but they have many long ranged guns, some out of LoS attacks, and a pair of tricks to disrupt movement, so you can catch them. 
They are not going to defeat any melee specialized crew in a brawl, but they have some models capable of hold their ground in close combat, many ways to take your troops out of engagement and some models that can ignore friendly fire and shoot to engagements, so you can deal with them.

Know your enemy's strengths and weaknesses, weaken the first and exploit the lasts. Know your crew, select the right tools and use them properly.

UPGRADES
Well, I really don't like at all the Outcast's upgrades. I feel they are too costly for their impact in the game, and there's always one useless ability or very circumstantial. 
I use to look for some card draw when looking for extras for the Freikorps.
In that field, Soldier for Hire could be useful, but it must be attached to a minion to gain access to Bounty Hunter, and the minion should be killy enough to kill some models and draw as many cards as possible. The problem is that the most killy minion in the Freikorps crew is the Drachen Trooper, and, if well played, Burning makes the most of his kills, so it's not such a good choice. The Librarian has a decent damage track, but it's more valuable as support piece, and the other three have worse attack stats and rely a lot on severes to do serious damage, so hard to decide. I know there's a lot of people cheering for the HtK, but in M2E I stopped using Survivalist because half the times Von Schill was killed HtK didn't have any effect… and then it costed only 1ss, so not enough for me. 
The other upgrade that allows to draw cards is Wanted Criminal, but I feel is hard to take real advantage from Protection Money without ways to force enemy scheme markers (I think it can be really interesting in Bandit crews), so this upgrade is a no for me in Freikorps. 
The last upgrade may be the most interesting of the three, when used in a beater, but again is a bit weak without killy minions (if the enemy dies due to Burning, no healing for the Drachen Trooper) and Arik or Hannah are not gonna enjoy the Terrifying ability. 

NO FREIKORPS NO PARTY 
Well, as I've said before, I think that Freikorps has enough options themselves to not need any out of keyword model, it's already hard enough for me to choose which Freikorps models to let out of my lists to add non Freikorps and increase this number. 
That said, Freikorps could really benefit from some models adding new options to them. 
The universal Midnight Stalker can help a lot in scheming and counter scheming without using any Equipment upgrade neither special Freikorps shenanigans. 
Hodgepodge Effigy is cheap and increase the healing, although is one extra source of discarding in an already quite hand-stressful crew. 
The Emissary increases crew's mobility and resilience, so can be an excellent addition, although a bit expensive.
I like Pride a lot, and in a crew that wants to bubble like Freikorps, his Solo can really shine. His enemy's hand disruption is one tool that Freikorps don't have, and can be really useful. 

I would go for some card drawing source, like Parker (holy Stick Up) that not only draws cards and ss, but it also can unlock a bit Wanted Criminal for the rest of the crew. 
Benny Wolcomb could also be helpful in this area, since he can unlock Wanted Criminal and summon some rats… and for what do you want rats? Because when they die, you draw card :)
Probably, the model with better options to draw cards with fewer cost, and the best fit for the crew is the Prospector. They can draw cards, they can generate ss, they can disrupt enemy's movement, and they unlock Wanted Criminal to friendly models. 

Of course, if you know your gonna face Misaki, Collette or any other I-like-to-bury-myself model, you should hire some Obliteration model, but I really doubt anyone declares this kind of crews versus Outcast. 


This is all the wise I can share about Freikorps. I'm not by any means a pro player, and there's sure some things I don't know about them and some shenanigans I've still not learned. The field in which I fail the most is in the "know your enemy" thing (really critical to ANY player that wants to be the best).
 

EDIT: Sadly, I thought that Hannah could copy Von Schill's signature action. Edited to fix it, she can't. 

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Good choice. They're just about to release the new box, with Von Schill, Steam Trunk, Drachen Trooper, Librarian, Two Scouts and a Freikorpsmann.

Very sad for me, since I've already have the whole crew painted, including a second metal Scout/Trapper, and really don't need anything from the box.

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36 minutes ago, Zebo said:

Good choice. They're just about to release the new box, with Von Schill, Steam Trunk, Drachen Trooper, Lazarus, Two Scouts and a Freikorpsmann.

Very sad for me, since I've already have the whole crew painted, including a second metal Scout/Trapper, and really don't need anything from the box.

How do you know new box contents ?

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I'm just guessing, those are the new images in the App.

The Scout has three images, the old one and two news.

The Freikorpsmann has another three, the two old and one new.

Both Librarian and Drachen has two each, the old ones and one new for each one.

Von Schill only appears with his new image

The only model with the old image in the Steam Trunk, and I doubt it's not in the box.

EDIT: Sorry, just realized I put in the box Lazarus instead of the Librarian. My mistake.

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Freikorp Trapper (now Scouts) used to be Rare 2, and only 1 came in the starter box; now they are are Rare 3 (Plentiful 3, whatever).

Going by the standard pattern of new boxes, not counting weird things like double masters (Mercenary), or multiple Totems (Plague), the boxes are Master, Totem, Henchmen, and three Rare 3 Minions.

Henchmen are Arik & Hannah.... so chances are Arik is goimg in the box.

Drachen & Librarians are Rare 2, so not them.  That means either Scouts or Freikorpsmann will be in the box.  I think it will be Freikorpsmann in the starter box as they have actual synergy with Von Schill's Equipment action, putting Hannah with Librarians, Lazarus on his own still, and maybe Drachen with Scouts as a specialists box.

Edited by Jesy Blue
I forgot about Engineers!
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1 hour ago, Jesy Blue said:

Freikorp Trapper (now Scouts) used to be Rare 2, and only 1 came in the starter box; now they are are Rare 3 (Plentiful 3, whatever).

Going by the standard pattern of new boxes, not counting weird things like double masters (Mercenary), or multiple Totems (Plague), the boxes are Master, Totem, Henchmen, and three Rare 3 Minions.

Henchmen are Arik & Hannah.... so chances are Arik is goimg in the box.

Drachen & Librarians are Rare 2, so not them.  That means either Scouts or Freikorpsmann will be in the box.  I think it will be Freikorpsmann in the starter box as they have actual synergy with Von Schill's Equipment action, putting Hannah with Librarians, Lazarus on his own still, and maybe Drachen with Scouts as a specialists box.

Some have enforcers instead of a henchman, for example mercenaries and obliteration. 

But I do agree that Arik is more likely in the box than Hanna or Lazarus.

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But we have new art (and probably reesculpt of:

Von Schill

Drachen Trooper

Librarian

2 Scouts

Freikorpsmann

 

No new art of Arik. I seriously doubt they put an old model in the same box than a whole bunch of reesculpts

I keep my bet. The new art shows the content of the new initial box of Freikorps.

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38 minutes ago, Zebo said:

But we have new art (and probably reesculpt of:

Von Schill

Drachen Trooper

Librarian

2 Scouts

Freikorpsmann

 

No new art of Arik. I seriously doubt they put an old model in the same box than a whole bunch of reesculpts

I keep my bet. The new art shows the content of the new initial box of Freikorps.

I'll bet you 1 whole INTERNET that it's the 1+1+1+3 styling!

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