How Do you Deal With....

[Mxbedlam]

We have some times where we struggle with certain keywords or abilities across the table. Feel free to chime on in this thread with a "HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH..." of your own.

Good examples: How do you guys deal with heavy armor or incorp crews?   How do you guys deal with blast heavy crews? 

Mostly when my mind comes to these its after I've already picked my master and they show up with Hoffman, etc. So try to think from a counter pick inside the crew rather than "I just take this keyword"

[Jesy Blue]

The answer is usually Zipp, honestly.  In anything not Reckoning, Infamous have an answer.

[GrumpyGrandpa]

5 hours ago, Mrbedlam said:

 So try to think from a counter pick inside the crew rather than "I just take this keyword"

Vs.

5 hours ago, Jesy Blue said:

The answer is usually Zipp, honestly.  In anything not Reckoning, Infamous have an answer.

 

Joking aside, I too play Infamous into a lot of the current Strategy and Schemes.

That being said, my local playgroup seems to hate picking schemes with scheme markers, and prefer crews that can melt the enemy. Especially Infamous models. Nephilim, Family and so forth. Do you have any experience with these situations?

[Scoffer]

6 hours ago, Mrbedlam said:

Good examples: How do you guys deal with heavy armor or incorp crews?   How do you guys deal with blast heavy crews? 

Mostly when my mind comes to these its after I've already picked my master and they show up with Hoffman, etc. So try to think from a counter pick inside the crew rather than "I just take this keyword

Warpigs with Inferiority Complex are a good option to deal with armor/incorporeal. They can ignore armor on trigger and Stampede damage ignores incorporeal and other defencive abilities. 

[Jesy Blue]

You can smell blood lust rather quickly... or at least I can.

I learned the game with Viktorias, but I never Alpha Striked, just completly outmanuvered people and getting my scheme points.  After 15 years of 40k, I loved the change of winning by not killing and that's really what I do best.

Once you smell the blood lust on an opponent, the kill first/score when tabled mentality, you leave them false hooks, run them in circles, and make them waste their time chasing and not scoreing or killing until it too late, then let yourself be killed to occupy them and now they're not counter scoring, next thing they know it's 5-1 and they can't win no matter what they kill and watch them deflate.   Makes my heart soar!

[Rathnard]

Well my standard crew these days is Wong, so...

Blasts/Pulses: A minimal problem for Wizzbang crews, thanks to having Blast Resistant on most of the crew! If the mass-damage adds up though, the crew does have some healing available from the Lighthing Bugs and Bokor, as well as the Slop Hauler I often take.

Armour/Damage Reduction: The crew is capable of dealing mass plink damage, but Swinecursed and Lightning Bugs also have triggers to ignore armour. It can be a bit costly to pull off (requiring a suit and a Glowy token), but with a bit of effort I can push damage thorugh as needed.  

Stealth: Shockwaves and pulse damage from the likes of Wong and the Pigapult can sort this out, as would the Pigapult throwing a Taxidermist or some other melee fighter into range of the sneaky Stealth model. 

Hazardous/Blocking Marker Generation: Gluttony and the Lucky Emissary are both great at removing alot of the markers your opponent might try to throw down. A stuffed piglet or other summoned cheap fodder remove the odd destructable marker too, IIRC. 

Negative Conditions: Olivia Bernard has a bit of condition removal, and assist actions from cheap fodder (summoned piglets of all varieties again) can help keep some of the conditions under control. Beyond that, I *think* Big Brain Brin is the only other decent option? I need to check up on that. 

Terrifying/Manipulative: The crews Shockwaves and Pulse damage gets around this easilly, as can Inferiority Complex on your key beaters. Bayou Gators could also work as Ruthless flankers in a pinch, and the Pigapult is also Ruthless.

[Mxbedlam]

So I have after several big games with hoffman figured out a better strategy than relying on armor piercing attacks. I think its about quantity of attacks over quality. In general a focused attack vs an armored opponent isn't going to do much vs hitting them with 4 or 5 attacks. This is where you have to options: Chaff models like Bayous shooting them down or blasts and shockwaves knocking them down. 

We have several options for this: Whiz Bang, Big Hat, Kin all have tons of area attacks and chaff models to pump the number of attacks up. 

[theamazingmrg]

6 minutes ago, Mrbedlam said:

So I have after several big games with hoffman figured out a better strategy than relying on armor piercing attacks. I think its about quantity of attacks over quality. In general a focused attack vs an armored opponent isn't going to do much vs hitting them with 4 or 5 attacks. This is where you have to options: Chaff models like Bayous shooting them down or blasts and shockwaves knocking them down. 

We have several options for this: Whiz Bang, Big Hat, Kin all have tons of area attacks and chaff models to pump the number of attacks up. 

Any crew that relies on Armor is going to be vulnerable to Death by a Thousand Cuts (as I learned in M2E against Pandora )

 

If your objective is to kill them, the lots of small attacks will always be better for you than a couple of big ones (unless you've got the Armor Piercing to one-shot things).

[wizuriel]

On 10/8/2019 at 4:59 AM, Rathnard said:

Well my standard crew these days is Wong, so...

I've been finding Wong's crew is pretty vulnerable to ranged crews. 

What do you run with him?

[Mxbedlam]

1 hour ago, theamazingmrg said:

Any crew that relies on Armor is going to be vulnerable to Death by a Thousand Cuts (as I learned in M2E against Pandora )

 

If your objective is to kill them, the lots of small attacks will always be better for you than a couple of big ones (unless you've got the Armor Piercing to one-shot things).

The problem with armor piercing triggers is that i"ve learned not to rely on them. Very few are in anyway Guaranteed and in hoffman's case a good use of counterspell from magical training can really hamper you 

[Jesy Blue]

7 minutes ago, Mrbedlam said:

The problem with armor piercing triggers is that i"ve learned not to rely on them. Very few are in anyway Guaranteed and in hoffman's case a good use of counterspell from magical training can really hamper you 

Also, Hoffman has an healing action with a built in trigger that prevents armor from being ignored.

[Mxbedlam]

52 minutes ago, Jesy Blue said:

Also, Hoffman has an healing action with a built in trigger that prevents armor from being ignored.

That too

[Rathnard]

On 10/14/2019 at 10:00 PM, wizuriel said:

I've been finding Wong's crew is pretty vulnerable to ranged crews. 

What do you run with him?

At the moment, my standard crew tends to be something like;

Wong w. Ghillie Suit
Olivia
Taxidermist w. Inferiority Complex
Pigapult
Swinecursed
Gracie
Slop Hauler
Lightning Bug
 

Admittedly I've not really faced a dedicated ranged crew with Wong, but the Pigapult would probably be key. Bombing the crew with stuffed piglets, followed by hurling the Taxidermist at an isolated shooter should be very effective vs a crew that wants to keep their distance.

[ShinChan]

On 10/14/2019 at 10:00 AM, wizuriel said:

I've been finding Wong's crew is pretty vulnerable to ranged crews. 

What do you run with him?

 

13 hours ago, Rathnard said:

At the moment, my standard crew tends to be something like;

Wong w. Ghillie Suit
Olivia
Taxidermist w. Inferiority Complex
Pigapult
Swinecursed
Gracie
Slop Hauler
Lightning Bug
 

Admittedly I've not really faced a dedicated ranged crew with Wong, but the Pigapult would probably be key. Bombing the crew with stuffed piglets, followed by hurling the Taxidermist at an isolated shooter should be very effective vs a crew that wants to keep their distance.

Mechanical Porkchop + 1-2 beaters + Sammy. You move them together like a wrecking ball (Thanks Miley), they will have concealment, they're going to provide you some nice cards and they hit really well. 

[Mxbedlam]

6 minutes ago, ShinChan said:

 

Mechanical Porkchop + 1-2 beaters + Sammy. You move them together like a wrecking ball (Thanks Miley), they will have concealment, they're going to provide you some nice cards and they hit really well. 

Swine cursed work really well in this instance

[GrumpyGrandpa]

Any tips on dealing with Riders (Pale, Dead og Hooded)? I've had several games where they just AFK on the sideline, and then explode turn 3, 4 and 5. 

Normally I pick BBB to discard a card, and ignore their insane triggers, but I don't feel like being pushed into BBB for every single game against Guild, Neverborn og Ressers. Stunned would also be nice, but their WP7 makes Willpower-attacks hard to hit.

I've tried using Obey, and simply spending the auto-suits myself, but that just doesn't seem reliable. Maybe if my opponent gets too offensive with it, but that rarely happens anymore.

[ShinChan]

6 hours ago, GrumpyGrandpa said:

Any tips on dealing with Riders (Pale, Dead og Hooded)? I've had several games where they just AFK on the sideline, and then explode turn 3, 4 and 5. 

Normally I pick BBB to discard a card, and ignore their insane triggers, but I don't feel like being pushed into BBB for every single game against Guild, Neverborn og Ressers. Stunned would also be nice, but their WP7 makes Willpower-attacks hard to hit.

I've tried using Obey, and simply spending the auto-suits myself, but that just doesn't seem reliable. Maybe if my opponent gets too offensive with it, but that rarely happens anymore.

My only problem is usually the Pale Rider, due to his shooting attack he can stay out of trouble and still be useful to his crew, while getting ready for turns 3-4-5.

Your strategy is going to rely on the Master you're playing. BBB is really good against them and usually is worth to pay the tax with him. For anything else, Twelve Cups of Coffee (and it's 4" aura to prevent free actions).

[Garthuk]

I was able to get around armor with Whiskey Gamin and Popcorn. Get them hammered enough that they'll take damage every turn and try to hit big with blood poisoning to finish them off.

[Rufess]

I would like some help here. My main opponent is playing Neverborn, and love to hire Nekima as a second master, like every game I play him. She is too tough to handle and I have never win a single game against him. Actually I am so surprised that Nekima does not get as much attention as I would imagine in the forum.

 

What are Nekima's strengths:

1. Mobility

    The most depressed part imo. Mv 6 + Flight means Nekima can charge through the whole board in turn 1 without worrying any terrain.

    With the mobility she can choose where, when and who to start the fight with.

    Even I try to lock her with tarpit, she can easily get out with the pushing trigger. Let alone the butterfly jump upgrade.

2. Aggressivity

    Ml 7 + 2" Rg + 3/5/6 dmg. Already terrible attack for SS user, and even worse when she aiming at enforcer/minion.

    With the multi charge ability and correct targets, Nekima can remove 1~2 models in a single activation.

    Combine with the mobility mentioned above, she is able to avoid my heavy beater/master/henchman while killing other schemer/support models

3. Durability

    Sure, Nekima is not known as a durable model like Hoffman's robots. She, on the contray, has no real defense tech.

    With SS protection, Regeneration and healing on kill, however, she suddenly can survive some quality attackes.

 

How I failed to handle her:

I had tried all keywords I have but yet none can beat Nekima.

1. Kin

    The first crew I play with him, also the only crew that, with the serious attacks of Ophelia and Francois, almost successful to kill her.

    And since that match my opponent learnt to keep distance with my main beat-sticks.

    I have also tried debuffing her with Distracted and Injured from Ophelia but did not work well.

2. Big Hat

    This is the most troublesome crew to my opponent according to his words.

    I have managed to lock her in place with GO Boys and a piece of terrain.

    But so much resources are invested into her and hence cannot handle other part of the opponent's crew.

3. Infamous

    This is the crew when I try to avoid her and win by VP.

    Spreading out the whole crew can thinning the impact of her the most.

    Yet she is managed to remove 1~2 of my key models to stop me from scoring.

 

In fact not only Nekima, other masters like Justice, Viks and Misaki, though I yet have any chance to play with, may as well trouble me. Like justice maybe less mobile and offensive when comparing the Nekima, but much more durable. I will soon leave my city and move to a environment with more active Malifaux players. So I would like to, at least once, defeat my opponent and his Nekima, and in the meantime, be prepare for new coming challenges of the same kind of moblie melee master.

[Scoffer]

6 minutes ago, Rufess said:

1. Kin

    The first crew I play with him, also the only crew that, with the serious attacks of Ophelia and Francois, almost successful to kill her.

    And since that match my opponent learnt to keep distance with my main beat-sticks.

    I have also tried debuffing her with Distracted and Injured from Ophelia but did not work well.

Kin is the first thing that comes to my mind when I have to deal with something big and heavy hitting in close combat. I think you should try again, maybe with Mah to boost your beaters with focused. If Nekima avoids combat and hides from your beaters, don't try to catch her and play your schemes. 

[Rufess]

1 hour ago, Scoffer said:

Kin is the first thing that comes to my mind when I have to deal with something big and heavy hitting in close combat. I think you should try again, maybe with Mah to boost your beaters with focused. If Nekima avoids combat and hides from your beaters, don't try to catch her and play your schemes. 

That my thought too. I believe it is more than enough to finish Nekima if Ophelia could land 2~3 focused Tar Bombs on Nekima. Spending 16SS for another beater master into an already killy crew, however sounds a bit redundant to me. Even though Mah has some sweet support abilities.

And as said above, I had tried avoiding and locking Nekima before, but neither work out. The worst game I had is like Nekima attacked and pushed away Francois who was engaging her, then charged and killed Rami and Bokor back in my deployment zone, all happened at the first activation of turn 2. So maybe deep in my heart I am too fear that cannot ignore her.