Nekima Crew Essentials/Builds

[Nagi21]

1 hour ago, Kharnage said:

As for Nekima's living in the melee prospects... what? Her death is a rare cause for celebration amongst my foes, even if it costs them the game. I think she's died maybe 3 times in 15 tournament games? I think the false assumption is that she has to die. 

We've had this exact conversation before.  Also shove aside is once per turn.  If you can't hit a single mask once on stat 7 with 3 AP and all the focus she should have on her by the time she starts murdering things, somethings gone horribly, horribly wrong.  To your first point however, vs a competent opponent Nekima should usually be dead at the end of the game, just with more losses on their side as compensation.  Unless your opponents are just bringing tons of junk models that're easy to murder in 1 AP...

[Ogid]

Different folks, different playstiles guys 

Nekima reminds me of Misaki in the sense that she seems squishy, but her "tankiness" rely in more subtle mechanics than Armor+2 and H2W.

One of her "defensive" abilities is how ungodly hard she hits and how fast she moves; that's enough to hit first and hit hard enough to put at least 1 model out of the equation. Kharnage list is optimiced to double in this concept with a high boost to initiative (2 AP + low model count) to get 2 activations (last of a turn, first of the following). I guess when some of the models that can threat her die before they can attack her, it doesn't matter she has little defensive tech. Her regeneration and heal on kill will help her to outlast enemies after the big hitters are out.

The second big defensive mechanism is range 2 and butterfly jump; range 1 models will be losing AP versus her when engaged and won't be able to Focus+Attack. This becomes extra important because SS damage reduction, regen and BFJ will be much more effective versus those small attacks. SS is very important, a SS is closer to 2 damage reduction than 1 and can also be used to put 2/4/6 kind of damage tracks in a which is huge.

And there are other shenanigans she may use, but much more situational. Shove Aside for example can be also used as a decent escape mechanism using the last AP to charge out of the bubble, attacking a tanky model in the way out (not killing it) and using the push to gain extra distance; that may put 12'' between her and the target she attacked before the last AP. Hayreddin can pull out some minor cheeky heals (specially if Enraged by Insolence is triggered) and Matures 2'' range and mobility also help to control other models.

She can be killed, but it's not easy if the right tech and models aren't included, she times well the attacks and/or the initial attack deals enough damage.

[out4egos]

Maybe it's me but neck dies probably 60 % of the time for me.  Hell last night against sheamus. Turn 4 she had I think 4 wounds left she was trapped she had aura of decay on her and was stuck between well everything and everyone . And I hate losing her but I did I traded her for 2 tots. Which gave me the win ultimately.  

[out4egos]

She has no healing mechanics so it's only prevent and reduce.

[Kharnage]

Just now, out4egos said:

Maybe it's me but neck dies probably 60 % of the time for me.  Hell last night against sheamus. Turn 4 she had I think 4 wounds left she was trapped she had aura of decay on her and was stuck between well everything and everyone . And I hate losing her but I did I traded her for 2 tots. Which gave me the win ultimately.  

And sometimes, you have to sacrifice your queen to win the game. I can respect that. My argument, which apparently I've given before (at least I'm consistent) is that it should be a weighty decision to make, not a lifestyle choice. Also, letting the Effigy or Emissary live past turn 2 is like, a cardinal sin for Nephilim. He's scary, but he's not anything Nekima can't kill in one go, and he's SUCH a pain with Seamus because of his other bonus action granting Cause for Celebration zombies. His 0 inch should be blade-rushed into the floor, yes? If you can get a moderate, another charge into a minimum with blade rush, and a little splash of black blood (or another blade rush) he's toast. Mod's not too bad to farm for, considering the focus we have access to. I get that there "might have been other priority targets" or what have you, but that model can 100% cost us the game simply by existing, and it is usually hunted with extreme prejudice. 

 

5 minutes ago, out4egos said:

She has no healing mechanics so it's only prevent and reduce.

It shouldn't have been prevent either, with aura of decay. That ability is murderous for healing stone users. 

[Adran]

25 minutes ago, out4egos said:

She has no healing mechanics so it's only prevent and reduce.

Regeneration? (Edit -Or where you talking about this specific situation where she is somewhere that she can't heal)

 

The death rate of Masters depends a lot on how you choose to play them. Personally to me they are pawns, that if their death allows me to win the game I am happy to let them die. Other build their plans on the existence of the master, so need to devote more effort to the survival of the master. Both ways can work and have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

[Ogid]

Note Aura of Decay prevent healing and damage reduction with SS, but blocking damage (put that damage flip in a ) is still fair game. But i agree with the above, versus Seamus the Emissary have to die fast or those "cause for celebration" will cripple the crew fast. Another option is including some cheap Lures (the Effigy having also H2K could be great for example) and lure those 3Wp Zombies away from the Coffins to prevent Seamus from teleport, double shoot and teleport away (or being Nephs just kill the zombi and eat the corpse lol). Nekima vs Seamus has to be a very interesting (and bloody) game.

However Nekima does have healing appart from Regeneration, "Teach them Fear" apply to herself and she may also heal with the Fast Food trigger (but that's a bit hard to set up and cost her damage tho); as long as she can get the kills and attack from outside of that aura she can heal. But if that play gave you the game, then Wp.

[out4egos]

No the prevent is reduce is in general.  Yes she regens 2 but that's 10 wounds per game,  if she makes it to round 5, where everyone else has grim feast. I rely on other people splashing her with bb allot. 

She can fast food herself??? I didn't know that.  Il waste an ap often to heal hayreddin or a mature.

[Adran]

13 minutes ago, out4egos said:

No the prevent is reduce is in general.  Yes she regens 2 but that's 10 wounds per game,  if she makes it to round 5, where everyone else has grim feast. I rely on other people splashing her with bb allot. 

She can fast food herself??? I didn't know that.  Il waste an ap often to heal hayreddin or a mature.

Yes, she can use fast food on herself, but then the target has to be 3" from her so the Corpse marker after moving is within 2". She will also benefit from her own teach them fear.

 

And healing 5+ wounds per game is pretty solid healing in this game. Especially for free. Not many masters will heal that much. (The 10 wounds in a game is pretty unlikely I know, and the fact she has regeneration makes it less likely she will use it, as I'm not going to try a hopeful shot if she is just going to heal it up anyway, where as I might if she didn't have regen, so it could stack up slowly across the turns).

[out4egos]

He killed both mature turn 2 before I activated while they had 4 wounds on them.  I thought it was over but I kept playing one point at a time.  His avatar if the dead get kept way back his deployment from turn 1 till turn 4. Corner deploy.  Plant exp. 

[out4egos]

Another thing I do badly with her us ss refuse I use 6 as with grow crews I let 2 and 3 damage go a lot I need to use as better.  I finished with 3 last night.  I guess I'm used to everyone having reg. And some healing effects as well your right 2 reg is otay good.  But now I know I can ff herself that's going to change a lot for me thanks

[Ogid]

36 minutes ago, out4egos said:

He killed both mature turn 2 before I activated while they had 4 wounds on them.  I thought it was over but I kept playing one point at a time.

OMG, that has to be awful! Glad you made it.

Versus Seamus Serena could be a good pick in a grow list, you may grow the Matures in turn 1 (I guess that's why both had 4 wounds, right?) and heal both of them with Serena and Hayreddin to not leave them so vulnerable to being one shooted in turn 2. Serena with Df 6 may hope to at least match the card he uses if she is the target to avoid a straight damage flip, with that, Eternal and her healing she should be safe enough versus him even being an enforcer and if she isn't the target she may patch up other models. The only negative point in that match up is her 2/4/6 damage track, without double to damage isn't very good versus H2W.

7 minutes ago, out4egos said:

with grow crews I let 2 and 3 damage go a lot I need to use as better.

Grow lists may be unreliable; I did some numbers and simulations of initial hands and flips to get a feel of how reliable these kind of list are because going blindly without a mask in the hand and risking losling Wds and AP is a big no-no for me, too unreliable.

With a initial hand of 6 cards most of the time (around 85%) you may count with 2 corpses, 1 from the pig and 1 from a mask/RJ in your hand (using a RJ for that is awful tho; and in that 15% you may cut your loses and use 1 SS with Hayreddin to get the second corpse).

If I want more than that, then I'd include extra resources. Some suggestions: use 1SS to discard/draw 2 cards from the initial hand and/or include a Lelu for "A good laught" (that would increase the % to get at least 2 masks in the initial hand to 67.5% with 8 cards and 80.5% with 10 cards). Aside from that, 1 wicked doll to put Adversary (Nephilims) in Nekima is also a very good idea to fish for that trigger.

32 minutes ago, out4egos said:

But now I know I can ff herself that's going to change a lot for me thanks

Glad to help! . As said above keep in mind she can also heal herself with Teach on Fear. If you still struggle to keep her alive, you could try Serena a few games. With Sz2, Matures can taxi her forward, Focused is great with her damage track (not versus H2W tho) and the extra healing in Nekima/Hayreddin has to be a pain for the other crew.

[out4egos]

You need four Masks and 2 Rams to grow 2 Black blood to make sure turn one any Mask any rams cuz of the relent. now if you stoned and you still don't get what you need you can use the Blood Hunter drop a corpse marker that gives you an edge for the mask

[Ogid]

12 hours ago, out4egos said:

You need four Masks and 2 Rams to grow 2 Black blood to make sure turn one any Mask any rams cuz of the relent. now if you stoned and you still don't get what you need you can use the Blood Hunter drop a corpse marker that gives you an edge for the mask

Yep, my point was the odds to get all that with an initial hand of 6 cards without cheating/expending  SS is low. That opening requires a high commitment: Start with most models clumpled, 2 AP from the master, 3 APs from BBS (or from Hayreddin if you need to stone triggers), 5 suited cards (+ the free pig corpse marker) and taking some damage; if after all that you get a 7-8SS net increase in the crew Value and Focused+2 in everything but the 2 Matures (Focused+1 instead) then it may be worth it; but if you have to stone a lot of things and the net gain is like 3-4SS and some failed attemps to get the triggers make you lose extra AP and hurt your models even more (plus all the momentum lost by giving up turn 1), then it starts to not be a so good opening.

If you don't mind taking some risks, it may be an option; but I'm not confortable with an opening that may cost me the game if flips/hand don't go in my way (that's why I'd include extra card draw/Vasilisa/Adversary in this kind of lists).

[Adran]

You also discovered a big risk to the Grow route - if your opponent can put a strong pressure on you in the first turn, the wound cost can be critical. As here it allowed Seamus  (I assume) to kill the 2 matures before they had a chance to heal up. 

I'm not saying its a bad idea, because it will work out in your favour some games, but there are times when it will cost you. If you're happy with that risk, then go for it (but be aware when facing things that increase that risk)

 

[out4egos]

I had already moved hayreddin out I didn't think sheamus could Get there... opposite corners. Ive got a counter for Seamus next time ready. But I have never had not grown t mature by beginning of turn 2. Hayreddin can do mask trigger too. Also twins both have card draw so if you don't have cards even with ss. And even with blood hunter dropping corpse. You can get 2 cards from lilu discard 1from hand. 1 from lelitu That's only if you don't have anything in your hand

[Ogid]

Ah ok, I didn't know you were also running twins. Agree, that's enough card draw to grow both matures reasonably well. Which was your grow list exactly?

Another reason I like Vasi in a grow list is because she trades the need of a suited card in turn 1 for any 8+ card (easier to get) and also free 1 Nekima AP in turn 1 for any model's AP (like a doll) to set up the scheme marker (with the extra benefit of getting an additional Focused+1 pulse). Also in the case you had a really awful hand and you may get only 3 corpses in turn 1 (including the pig's one), she let you grow a BBS in turn 2 with pulling the strings before it activates using the pig's corpse generated in turn 2, gettting the same healing than the one grown in turn 1 when that Mature activates. And if you also include a Lelu, she may use pull the strings with the lelu to draw 4 cards (2 in her activation and 2 in the lelu's) with him if you had the bad luck to get no masks in hand. She isn't needed for a grow list tho, but she makes all so flexible that she'll be in most of mine for sure.

[out4egos]

Nekima ir

Blood hunter . Regurgitate  drops corpse

Hayreddin  . Mask trigger drops corose

Bbs 1 . Mask trigger drops corpse

Bbs2 same

Lelitu  card draw

Lelu card draw

Young 

6ss pool