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Welcome to the Show! A M3E Colette Tactica


Vangerdahast

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Colette has been a huge debate during closed and open beta but seems to have disappeared from view since the official launch of M3E. It's time for her to use her Showstopper Ability and reappear in the spotlight!

This tactica is based upon my experience after nine months of M3E games played with Colette (around 75 games). I haven't tested all the Keyword (Carlos Vasquez and Ice Dancers are not part of the show for the moment) and I should test OOK and some Versatile models. I will supplement this tactica accordingly if I play them. Others players can share their experience and I will update with their feedback. Some conversations with other forum members show that Colette can be played in different ways and I have yet to explore some of these ways. This tactica will be evolutive. I also plan on updating it when new Gaining Grounds Seasons will be released.

 

The gameplay: a brief description

Performer is a Keyword that is not centered on killing things. It uses more subtle ways to achieve its goals. The Crew is specialized in Interacting and giving the Distracted Condition as well as speed and repositionning (of the Crew or the ennemies). The killing game is really not the Performers' main purpose and their defenses won't be what will save their lives. But they have the perfect tools for scheming and you should score 3 to 4 points for Schemes each game.

 

Let's see the common Abilities that we can find spread in the Keyword.

Don't Mind Me: It's the Ability that you will find on every Living Performer. It grants you the opportunity to Interact when engaged and after having used the Disengage action. So you can always drop a Scheme Marker, no need to worry about nearby ennemies.

Celebrity: After Interacting, an ennemy within 6'' gains Distracted +1. Always good to give to an unactivated ennemy. The Distracted Condition is one of the best means of defense for the Performers.

Manipulative: Attacking models gain a negative flip to their attacks as long as you don't activate this model. That won't negate the threat, notably with how Focused work in M3E, but it can mitigate it, if coupled with Distracted, then your models have a better life expectancy.

Nimble: Using your Bonus Action to Walk makes the model a very good scheme runner.

Agile: Leaving an engagement with a Walk allows you to Interact in the same activation even if the model doesn't have Don't Mind Me. Also great for scheming.

Distracted + X: This model's actions that target an ennemy model suffer a negative flip to their duel. After resolving such an action, the value of this Condition is lowered by one. As said in Manipulative, a single negative flip won't save your model, but coupled with Manipulative or Colette's Serene Countenance, the ennemy won't be able to cheat.

 

After this brief general description, we will look deeper at each card, and first the Star of the Show:

 

Colette Du Bois

Her Df and WP stats are quite average for a Master as is her Health.

Concerning her Df, the built-in Tome for the Fade Away Trigger is what makes her so difficult to pin down. If her Wp is targeted you can Cheat or use a Soulstone to gain the Tome. When Colette suffers damage, you can reduce them by 2 (to a minimum of 1) then Bury Colette. Generally, she will only be hit once by an ennemy. Some models have attacks that prevent Rst Trigger, so Colette won't be able to use Fade Away versus such ennemies. That will restrict your options for repositionning Colette but you know exactly what models you need to avoid or to kill quickly.

Her second mean of defense is Serene Countenance. As opposed to Manipulative, the negative flip is always suffered by the attacker wether Colette has activated or not. It stacks with Distracted and (theorically) the ennemy wil have at least one negative flip to attack and won't be able to Cheat. Exceptions exist like a Focused Samurai using his Gatling Gun.

Why would you Bury Colette when she is attacked (apart for reducing damage)? Because of her Showstopper Ability! When you activate her while Buried, you can Unbury her within 3'' of a friendly model or a friendly Scheme Marker. That gives you the opportunity to reposition Colette where you really need her (more about that later). And at the same time, all ennemies within 3'' of Colette gain Distracted +1, a good thing for the survivability of your Crew.

This synergizes with her Illusionist Ability because each ennemy within 6'' with Distracted that activates gain Stunned. Preventing Triggers is a powerful mean of reducing the effectiveness of some models who are strongly dependant of their Triggers.

She also has Don't Mind Me as well.

Before diving into Attack Actions, let's take a look at her only Tactical Action: Practiced Choregraphy. This is a Bonus Action that generates a Pulse that allows you to move up to 3'' each Performer model within 4''. Not a strong action but in some games it can be necessary to reposition slightly your Crew. Its main drawback is that it competes with her other (powerful) Bonus Action.

Distracting Illusion is her Melee Attack. It won't deal damage but it allows you to stack Distracted on the target and give it Stunned. Distracted +1 or +2 is generally not a big problem for a model but when it gets to Distracted +4 or +5, the opponent might cease to attack with this model and Performers don't like to be attacked too often. The Mental Trauma Trigger can be good to make the opponent discard cards, especially near the end of a turn when he only kept one or two good cards or don't even have cards left in his Hand. This Trigger can be enough to kill a weak (but annoying) model.

Presto-Chango is Colette's main spell for repositionning her Crew and her ennemies. The range of this action is about 17'' as the target can be 8'' ahead of Colette and the friendly model 8'' behind Colette. She threatens one quarter of the table with it. You can use it to swap Colette and a friendly model or to put an ennemy model in harm's way (near an unactived Coryphee Duet for example). The most efficient way of doing it is having a Dove 6-8'' behind Colette and target an ennemy 6-8'' ahead of Colette. The ennemy will be repositionned near your Crew (far away from its allies) and your opponent can only retaliate by killing a Dove (so frustrating for him and not so worrying for you). Used in turn one, this trick can allow you to kill quickly one important ennemy model (Minion of Enforcer beaters are good targets). To succeed, you need a Mask that is not built-in, so prepare to stone if necessary. If you target a friendly model, a 7 Mask is what you need at least. If you have a Severe with Mask in Hand, keep it for Presto-Chango. The Mask doesn't compete for Triggers of other Performer models, so keep your Masks for Colette. The Trick of the Hat Trigger is nice but you won't have use of it often. You need the two suits to succeed so if you cheat a high Tome and have spent a Soulstone for the Mask, you can summon a Dove (if one has already been killed). Moreover, the Scheme Marker will generally be more valuable than a new Dove.

False Reality: It can be seen as a lesser version of Presto-Chango. It is easier to cast (no Mask needed) but you only gain a Place effect of 2'' but also 2'' for each Distracted on the target. If the target is Distracted +2, it is a 6'' Place effect. It can be effective but you won't use it each game. The Bewilder Trigger is a bit of a trap as drawing cards is good but keeping Distracted on the target is best in general. The Delay Trigger that gives Slow to the target is nice but is based on the card you flip or cheat. You won't use a Soulstone for this.

Sword Trick is THE Bonus Action that you want to use as often as possible. In a Crew that lacks damage, being able to deal 3/4/6 damage (even only once per activation) is very good. But you also Bury the target and control where it will be Unburied. When your opponent activates the Buried model, Colette's player Unburies it within 2'' of an ennemy Scheme Marker, so be careful to the position of ennemy Scheme Markers on the table before Burying an ennemy model. If there is no ennemy Scheme Markers, the owner of the Buried model nburies it in his deployment zone (can be dangerous for you at times). The Twist Ending Trigger (on a Mask, it can compete with Presto-Chango) is also sometimes crucial. If the opponent doesn't want to attack Colette and you need her in another part of the table, you have a mean of repositionning her. If you know that the target will die, use this Trigger each time (discard a Soulstone if necessary).

 

Mechanical Doves (Totem)

When you look at this Totem, apart from Mv 7 with Flight and the fact that you have three copies of it, the rest of the stats and abilities are quite low. Insignificant has its advantages and drawbacks. They don't count for Schemes and Strategies (bad for you and bad for your opponent), don't drop Markers when killed and never engage ennemies. So what is their use?

First, when they are killed, you draw a card (Demise (Expandable)), nice. They are immune to damage from Shockwaves, Blasts and Pulses, nice too. You can use it as a Soulstone for Colette (Smuggled Soulstones), doing that kills the Dove but you draw a card ans have spared a Soulstone, also nice. I won't recommend doing that because the Doves have another role to play in the show (more on that later).

Their attack is also weak but versus an opponent with low Health left and with the built-in Tome that generates the Overheat Trigger, you can kill some models and draw a card as the Dove is also killed.

Annoying is a Tactical Action that gives Distracted to an ennemy model within 2'' which takes a Tactical Action other than Walk or Charge (Tactical Actions are actions without a Rst, page 22 of Rules PDF), can be good near unactivated ennemy models but isn't reliable. Generally focusing is better.

 

Angelica Durand

An Enforcer with average stats but good Mv. She also has Manipulative and Don't Mind Me. Her Get Off the Stage Df Trigger is not very reliable as you need to win the duel (no timing written so After Succeeding) and have a ligne of sight to a Scheme Marker within 12'' (but it can be a friendly or ennemy Scheme Marker).

Herald is a cool bonus at the beginnig of first turn as free move is always good.

Her Fancy Cane Attack Action is average and her Next Act Trigger on a Tome can disengage her from her ennemy. It can be good to avoid a Disengage Attack that could reduce her movement, but you need a high Tome.

Suddenly Doves! is an Attack Action that drops a Shockwave Marker that doesn't deal damage like many others but gives Distracted +1 to ennemies failing a Wp 13 Duel. It is not very strong but it can force your opponent to cheat cards from his Hand which is always good. If you center the Action on a Dove the Wp Duel becomes Wp 15 Duel, good but situational (depending on where your Doves stand). The Not a Bomb? Trigger allows you to convert a Shockwave Marker into a Scheme Marker, can be good but very situational. It can be good if you chose the Search the Ruins Scheme and the Shockwave Marker is near a terrain, for example.

Her Tactical Action Give Them An Encore gives movement to friendly Performers without flipping cards and it's a Bonus Action. You will use it each turn. Please note that Angelica can target herself with this action.

 

Carlos Vasquez

First, I need to mention that I have only played him once. I think that he is better with Kaeris than Colette.

An overall good Henchman with good stats and some very good defensive tech (Butterfly Jump). Fiery Presence is a liability in a Performer Crew and you need to keep him away from the rest of the Crew, you really don't want to burn your pretty Performers. When he suffers damage from Burning, he can give Distractd +1 to an ennemy within 6'' (always nice) and he can reduce 1 damage to a minimum of 0 (Fireproof).

Ennemy models that take the Assist Action within 6'' of him suffer 1 damage (nice too).

He also has Don't mind Me as well.

His Melee Attack (Flaming Baton) deals damage, Burning +1 and Distracted +1, very good even if the damage output is a bit low for a Henchman. The Critical Strike Trigger deals one additional damage and the Blaze Trigger deals additional Burning.

Breath of Fire is an Attack with a range of 6'' but without the Gun Icon, so you can take it while engaged. It deals damage and Burning as well as Blasts (always goods versus clumped ennemies). It also has the Blaze Trigger for more Burning. Beware of the Up in Flames Trigger, it removes all Scheme Markers (even your own Scheme Markers), so don't declare it if you have some near Carlos.

His Bonus Action The Dance of the Flame allows him an extra move of 5'' but he gains Burning +1 (not too dangerous because of Fireproof and how Burning damage works in M3E),

His other Bonus Action (On the Pyre) creates a Pyre Marker within 12''. A good action but even better with Kaeris as her Crew has some uses for Pyre Markers that Performers don't have. Another reason why Carlos is presumably better with Kaeris.

 

Cassandra Felton

The other Performer Hench(wo)man. Good stats with Don't Mind Me, Celebrity and Nimble make her a good choice, especially for scheming.

Her Changing Plans Ability allows her to move a friendly Scheme Marker within 3'' at the end of her activation. Always good if you misplaced a Marker or you need to drop a new Marker during her next Activation.

Her Melee Attack (Balanced Sword) has a good damage output with a built-in Trigger (Reposition) that allows her to move up to 3''. Another Trigger gives Distracted +1 to the target.

Her Breath of Fire Attack is the same as Carlos' Attack. Only one Trigger differs, she has Reposition instead of Up in Flames.

Her Upstage Tactical Action allows her to copy a Tactical Action of an ally within 8''. Usefulness will vastly depends on Crew selection but in Keyword not so much use excepted The Power of Dance of the Duet or the Emergency Surgery of the Mannequin. Some more Healing in a fragile Crew is always good.

Finesse is a Bonus Action that grants a negative flip to ennemy Melee Attacks targeting her. Good but can compete with her Nimble Ability. Depending on what you need to achieve, you will sometimes have hard choices to make about that.

 

Coryphee

You can and MUST have two copies of this model in your Crew.

Concerning stats, please note that the Wp is low (4) so beware when facing some Crews (Zoraida and Pandora for example). It has Nimble and Agile, so a good schemer. Armor +2 makes it survivable but the Coryphee becomes fragile versus models with Analyze Weakness, especially because this action targets WP which is only 4. And beware of all models who deal irreducible damage as well.

The Demise (Broken Down) Ability replaces the Coryphee by a Mannequin with 1 Health after the Coryphee would be killed. Don't expect the Mannequin to survive long but it will waste (at least) another action of your opponent to get rid of the Mannequin.

The Tirwling Blades Attack deals good damage and has a Reposition Trigger to move up to 3''. The other Trigger hands out Distracted +1 to the target.

The Dazzling Flourish Attack hands out Slow with a Reposition Trigger. Always nice to hinder an ennemy model.

The first Tactical Action (Dance Partner) allows the Coryphee to place in base contact with a friendly model within 6'', It costs you a 4 of Mask but the Mask is automatically granted if you target a Performer. The Preparations Trigger on a Tome gives Focused +1 to the target. Can be good to stack Focused on your two Coryphees.

The second Tactical Action (Dance Together) which is a Bonus Action is why I capitalized MUST in the first sentence about the Coryphee. This action (that doesn't require to flip a card) replaces two Coryphees within 2'' by a Coryphee Duet, the augmented (not the Keyword) version of the single Coryphee !

 

Coryphee Duet

Upgraded version of the Coryphee. Df and Wp are 1 higher. It still has Nimble, Agile, Armor +2 (same advices as for the Coryphee). It gains the Blade Rush Ability that allows to charge through models. Ennemy models moved through suffer 1 irreducible damage (always good). And when the Duet would die, you don't have one Mannequin (like the single Coryphee) but two Mannequins at 1 Health (more actions to waste for your opponent).

The Twirling Blades are also upgraded with a stat of 7 and new Triggers. Critical Strike for more damage. Visions of Glamour to hand out Distracted to nearby ennemies. Execute instantly kill the target if the your opponent can't discard (or don't want) a card or a Soulstone. This is a good way to drain your opponent's Hand. If used near the end of turn, it can cause hard choices for your opponent. Please also note that it denies Demise Abilities. It can be very nasty versus some models (Leveticus springs to mind).

The Power of Dance Tactical Action allows to Heal nearby allies but it is a Pulse and then don't apply to the Duet itself.

Dance Partner as the single Coryphee is also available but the Preparations Trigger is replaced by the Visions of Glamour Trigger (less interesting in my opinion).

And it also has the Dance Apart Bonus Action that allows to split the Duet. Please note that the Duet suffers irreducible damage equal to half its current Health. A little example is needed here:

If your Duet has 9 Health remaining, when you split it, it will suffer4.5 Damage rounded up to 5 and now has 4 Health left. Each single Coryphee has 4 Health only and not 5 (you must choose the actual Health of the Duet as it is lower than the maximum Health of the single Coryphees). When you re-form the Duet, you add the Health of the two Coryphees, so 4+4=8 Health. You have losed one Health in the process. Keep that in mind when choosing to split the Duet or not.

Splitting the Duet allows you to have 4 Actions for one model. Generally the Duet makes two actions then split. One Coryphee is considered already activated, the other can activate. When you activate this second Coryphee, use the Bonus Action to re-form the Duet which will continue the activation and use its two remaining actions (attacking or scheming at your convenience). Be aware that between splitting and re-forming the Duet, your opponent has the opportunity to attack one of the single Coryphees which are a bit easier to damage than the Duet.

Sometimes you won't want to re-form the Duet (for example, having two models instead of one for Scheming).

 

Ice Dancer

As for Carlos, I have played them once and think that they are better in their other Keyword (December).

This is a Minion with average stats and Don't Mind Me (as usual in the Performer Keyword). Butterfly Jump is a good defensive tech that helps her to survive.

Ice Skating allows to move through Ice Pillars and after ending the move to place an Ice Pillar or Scheme Marker she moved through in base contact with herself. Perfect for repositioning a not-so-well dropped Scheme Marker. Please also note that you can reposition an ennemy Scheme Marker and then deny points to your opponent (thanks to @extremor for this).

Her Frozen Touch Attack is average (1/3/4 damage) but deals Slow (always handy) and the Trigger deals Distracted +1. Nothing awesome but nothing bad.

Her Ice Path Tactical Action is an action that you won't use in a Performer Crew. You must target an Ice Pillar Marker and Push toward it ignoring models. Ennemy models moved through make a TN 13 Mv Duel or suffer 2 Damage. With a Mask, you can do it again for free. Nice, but in a Performer Crew, nobody is able to create Ice Pillar Markers.

The Ice Dancer can create some with her Bonus Tactical Action Freeze the Corpse, but you need a Corpse Marker and can do it only once per activation (Bonus Action). Versus some Crews that discard Corpse Markers for their own actions, it becomes nearly impossible to do.

Her second Bonus Tactical Action (Grim Feast) allows to Heal by discarding a Corpse Marker which conflicts with Freeze the Corpse and can makes it even harder to use.

 

Mannequin

This is a Minion with average stats (Wp is a bit lower at 3) and Armor +1.

The Mechanical Assistant Ability allows the Mannequin to be Pushed 5'' towards a Performer model that ends a Walk Action within 5'' of the Mannequin. Used well, the Mannequin will rarely Walk by itself.

The Take the Hit Ability makes the Mannequin a bodyguard. If a friendly model within 2'' is targeted by an attack, you can discard a card to Place the Mannequin in base contact with the target and the Mannequin becomes the new target of the attack.

The Bladed Hands Attack is weak but can deal Distracted and even Slow with a Trigger on an already Distracted target.

The Dazzling Flourish Attack hands out Slow and Distracted +1 on a Trigger. Not very good attacks but the Mannequin is not a beater.

The Emergency Surgery Tactical Action is the main appeal of the Mannequin. For the cost of a 5, Living models (so no Coryphees, Duet, Doves or Mannequins) can Heal 1 /2/3. The Preparations Trigger on a Tome gives Focused +1 to the target.

 

Showgirl

A Minion with average stats and some defensive tech (Manipulative, Celebrity) as well as Don't Mind Me.

The Sharp Hairpin Attack is quite weak excepted versus already Distracted targets as the Unexpected Ferocity Trigger deals additional damage equal to the value of Distracted Condition on the target (max +2). The other Trigger (Beautiful Clothes) deals Distracted +1.

Lure moves the target its Mv towards the Showgirl. Handy to put an ennemy in harm's way or deny some victory points (more on that later).

Seduction ends the Focused Condition on target and gives Distracted +1. Please note that it is ending the Focused Condition and not decrease it. So if the target has, for example, Focused +3, it loses all the Focused not only one. A Tome grants two different Triggers. If the target is a Soulstone user, it discards one Soulstone or one card. If it discards one Soulstone, you gain one Soulstone. Can be good depending on what you opponent has in his Hand. The other Trigger deals 2 damage to the target.

 

Versatiles Hires

I haven't tested all the models but two of them function very well in a Performer Crew.

 

Mechanical Rider

This is a high stats model that has a lot of utility.

The Fate Tokens mechanic (similar for all Riders) allows to reduce damage defensively (won't do anything versus irreducible damage) or to declare Triggers offensively.

Her Attack Action is good and the Arcane Ritual Trigger can be very good (depending on how much Fate Tokens you discard when declaring it). It adds card draw to a Crew that doesn't have any means of doing it by itself.

The Tactical Actions are the reason to hire her. Not only in a Performer Crew but you have a solid model for more shenanigans here.

Ride with Me makes your Crew even faster than it already is and can take back one of your model that ended up in combat with the wrong opponent.

Revel in Creation allows to drop a Scheme Marker (you can instead drop a Corpse or Scrap Marker, but you don't have use of them in a Performer Crew) within 6'' and as it isn't an Interact action, no worries about the 4'' limit (always good).

The first Trigger (Innovation) can be valuable in a Performer Crew but only for Colette (discarding a Mask for Presto-Chango TN) or the Duet (discarding a Crow for Execute Trigger on each attack, or discarding a Ram for Critical Strike (min damange 3) on each attack), perhaps a matter of personal playstyle but I don't use it.

Insight Trigger is very good as you can reshuffle in your deck any number of cards from your Discard Pile. Very efficient mid or late turn if you have already discarded a lot of Moderate and Severe cards.

The Revelation Trigger can be game changing if you have the Duet within 6''. The Trigger allows to activate a non-Master model after the Rider even if this model has already activated this turn. Yes, you can activate a second time the Duet if it was activated first before the Rider. Depending on the threats nearby, you can think of splitting and re-forming the Duet in each activation for a grand total of 8 AP! If you don't spend Fate Tokens to reduce damage, it can be made in Turns 3, 4, 5. If you give the Rider the Soulstone Cache Upgrade, she can use a Soulstone and cheat a Tome to do it in Turn 2!

As Ride with Me and Revel in Creation are two Bonus Actions, there will be times when you will be forced to make hard choices between the two.

 

Soulstone Miner

The actual Star of the Arcanists! Good in every Arcanist Crew.

Just be aware that Interact is always a Bonus Action and then compete with Burying and Unburying. But being able to Walk 10'' and then Interacting is good.

If you use Mine Soulstone each turn, you will gain 5 Soulstones(near what it costed you at hiring).

As being able to Bury and having Armor +2, it is a solid model but becomes even more solid with the Magical Training Upgrade that grants Shielded +1 at the start of each Turn. And as it is a Minion, you also gain Arcane Reservoir (one more card in Hand is always useful).

Some Schemes become ridiculously easy with this model (Outflank among others).

It can also be a good tool versus Crews creating Destructible Terrain (Rasputina, Euripides...) as its Thriller Driller Tactical Action can destroy numerous Destructible Terrain in a 3'' Pulse.

 

Steam Arachnid Swarm is a solid choice as a beater. You won't necessary have use of it in most Strategies but in Reckoning games it gives your Crew more beating power. The in-built Onslaught Trigger as well as the Latch On Ability (-1 Df to the opponent) make it a reliable beater.

 

If you need Condition removal, look at the Arcane Effigy.

 

For additional beaters, please look at the Arcane Emissary and The Captain. I haven't had great success with these ones but I generally have problems to use efficiently big beaters.

 

In a more subtle way, the Saboteur can be a good tool versus Crews using (and abusing) Scheme Markers (Parker Barrows springs to mind).

 

Out of Keyword Hires

I haven't explored this option, so won't comment for the moment. But some models seem to have some assets for joining a Performer Crew.

The Mobile Toolkit can enhance the Duet by giving it Focused and/or Shielded, for example (can be great in a Reckoning game) . After some testing, can confirm all the good things the Toolkit gives to beaters. An auto-take in my opinion for Reckoning games. For other Strategies, don't seem madatory unless you choose two killy Schemes (Assassinate + Dig their Graves for example). As the Duet is mobile after the first two Turns, the Toolkit should give Focused to other models (Mechanical Rider and Arachnid Swarm spring to mind).

 

Multiple Masters

I am not very fond of multiples Masters in a Crew and haven't really tested it (one or two games only). If some people have experience with that, please comment.

I think that Colette can be a good secondary Master pick as you will have a debuffer (Distracted) that can score some Schemes all by herself. Her Unburying trick is legit with any friendly model (not only Performer models) so she keeps her denial power even out of Keyword. One drawback, you won't be hiring the Doves (too costly), this can hinder her movement shenanigans.

 

Upgrades

Magical Training: a solid pick for every Keyword especially on a Minion (for Arcane Reservoir). Perhaps don't attach it to a Showgirl (even Shielded and Counterspell won't make her last long in front of an ennemy beater). Please refer to the Soulstone Miner above for a more suited bearer.

Diesel Engine: A very good pick for single Coryphee or Duet as it is restricted to Constructs. But be aware that (as Replace rules work) you will discard it if you form or split a Duet. Depending on your playstyle, you may take it or not. Also note that the On the Move Ability (Minion only) won't work on the Duet as it is an Enforcer. But single Coryphee will love this Ability.

Soulstone Cache: Recharge Soulstone can be good if you don't play an avoidance game with your Performer Crew. Attuned gives access to Soulstones. Can be a good choice for the Duet (if you don't split it). Empower is very situational and not very powerful (and Minion only).

 

Soulstones

Colette is a quite Soulstone hungry Master. The Mask required for Presto-Chango is not built-in and you will also need a Mask to self Bury Colette with Sword Trick. One or two Soulstones used to reduce damage on Cassandra or Colette are always good to have. And I often discard a Soulstone to draw cards at the beginning of a turn (generally twice in a game, more a matter of personal playstyle here). So I would recommend starting with at least 5-6 Soulstones. If you hire the Sousltone Miner, you could start lower.

 

 

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Now that the presentations have been made, let see what are the roles of each of them in the different shows our lovely dancers can perform!

 

I will describe what Performers can do in each Strategy and Scheme but let start with some general tips about the Star of the Show Colette herself (and some things about the Duet).

 

Yes, Colette has a high repositionning potential with Presto-Chango and False Reality (don't underestimate this one). But one of her main assets is her denial power. With the Fade Away Trigger or the Twist Ending Trigger on Sword Trick you can Bury her and Unbury her later where you exactly need her. Mv 6 and Don't Mind Me make an excellent combination to deny points. Even if you Unbury engaged and need to take a Disengage Action, the ennemy will have Distracted (gained when Colette Unburied: Showstopper), so you have great opportunity to leave engagement without a loss of movement (or probably only a 2'' loss). And you can still Interact (Don't Mind Me). When you activate a Buried Colette, you should make it late in turn when your opponent doesn't have many models left to activate (so he can't react to your winning move). Look at the table, think about your Schemes, your opponent's Schemes and the Strategy. Look where you can score or deny points (more about that soon). You should try to Bury her with Sword Trick in Turn 4 and activate her last in Turn 5 (let Initiative to your opponent and use all your Pass Tokens), then you will exactly see what the score is and where you can make an action that will win you the game. This is also why your Doves are very important. Hide them during the first turns and move them in strategic positions where Unburying Colette (or using Presto-Chango) can give you an advantage.

For example, in a game, Turn 5 Colette unburied near a Dove, walked, used Sword Trick on an already activated Cojo who was scoring Claim Jump and Buried him, then walked twice to engage Paul Crockett, my target for Take Prisoner. 1 point denied to my opponent and 1 more point for me, won the game by 2 points.

 

Coryphee Duet

Even if it is the main beater (by far) of the Performer Keyword, don't underestimate its scheming potential. With Agile and Nimble you can walk out of engagement and Interact. The Duet can drop 2 Scheme Markers in a turn if it starts its activation unengaged (with Nimble). If you are engaged, walk, Interact, split the Duet (in a safe spot), re-form the Duet, walk, Interact. The Duet has generaly enough resilience (beware of Armor ignoring attacks and irreducible damage) to spend half the game (sometimes more) scheming. Remember that only victory points win the game.

You can also use the Duet has a denial tool thanks to its large base. You can sit the Duet on a Scheme Marker to stop ennemy models from discarding it by Interacting. You can also sit on a Shadow Marker to restrict Unburying options for Misaki (can also do that on Scrap Markers versus a Foundry Crew to restrict use of Ride the Rails) as she needs to Unbury in base contact with the Shadow Marker.

 

Gaining Grounds Season 0

Strategies

 

Plant Explosives

The best Strategy for the Performers. The high speed of the Crew and Don't Mind Me make the Performers excel at this one. Give the Explosives Tokens to Cassandra (2), Angelica, Colette and the Rider or a single Coryphee, for example. No need to give one to the Duet, it will kill an ennemy with Token and drop it later. Colette, Coryphee Duet, Coryphee, Angelica and Cassandra can drop two Strategy Makers in a turn with their high movement (6'' inches between Markers is not a problem for them).

Drop the Strategy Markers early (you don't want to be killed while carrying one). Even if your model is killed just after dropping the Marker, it will cost one or two actions (Walk + Interact) to your opponent to discard it.

You can take advantage of Don't Mind Me to discard ennemy Strategy Markers. Once you have dropped your Strategy Markers, look if Cassandra or Angelica can go back in your table half and discard ennemy Strategy Markers.

Burying and Unburying Colette (I told you we would speak more about that) to discard Strategy Markers and deny Strategy Points to your opponent works very well. In some games, Colette has 3 Explosives Tokens on her at end of the game.

Use the big base of your Duet to sit on a Strategy Marker and your opponent won't be able to be in base contact to discard it. If you also have the Rider, you can secure two Strategy Markers.

You can easily score more points than your opponent for this Strategy.

Possible Crew: Colette – 3 Mechanical Doves – Coryphee Duet – Cassandra – Angelica - 2 Coryphees – Showgirl – 6 Soulstones (may vary depending on Schemes)

 

Turf War

Also a good Strategy for the Performers if you play an avoidance game. First, don't bother claiming the central Marker, it is too easily neutralized by killing someone anywhere on the table. Use your Doves to sneak near Strategy Markers in your opponent's table half. Colette will Unbury later to neutralize one and then make it friendly. You can also use the Rider and the Duet. The Duet is a legal target for Ride with Me. Then the Duet uses Agile and Nimble to reach a far away Strategy Marker and Interact with it (splitting the Duet for more movement is also legit). If an ennemy model is guarding it, use the Duet to kill it, neutralize the Marker, then Interact to make it friendly.

Concerning the central Strategy Marker, let you opponent claim it. At the end of a turn, Colette can go in base contact with it (use Presto-Chango if necessary, Unburying her less than 6'' of the Marker also works) and use Don't Mind Me to flip it to neutral then friendly. And with her 2'' engagement range, Colette denies the possibility to your opponent to Interact with the Marker later. If a model guards it and has 3 or less Health remaining, use your Sword Trick Bonus Action to kill it and neutralize the Marker. It will save you an action to make it friendly.

It can be a bit harder to guard the Strategy Markers in your table half but make your opponent use as many actions as possible in order to make him waste actions (Distracted helps here). A Showwgirl can guard the Marker and Interact to drop a Scheme Marker and give Distracted +1 to the nearby ennemy (Celebrity). Or she stays a bit behind the Marker and when an ennemy has claimed the Marker, she walks and Interacts to neutralize it and gives Distracted +1.

Possible Crew: Colette – 3 Mechanical Doves – Coryphee Duet – Mechanical Rider – Cassandra – Angelica – Showgirl – 7 Soulstones (may vary depending on Schemes)

 

Corrupted Idols

This Strategy is based on movement, so seems good for the Performers. But there is a «slight» problem: the irreducible damage suffered when interacting with the Idols. The Keyword is fragile and has no self-healing, so taking damage will highly reduce the survivability of your not-so-tough models (Colette can handle that if she is not attacked by your opponent which is quite frequent).

One solution is to hire Mannequins that can heal your models and with Mechanical Assistant they can stay near your models (I must confess I am horrible at doing that but it should really work). Beware: you can only heal Living models. Another solution is the Heal of the Duet (sadly it can't Heal the Duet itself as it is a Pulse), Cassandra can copy these two Heals with Understudy.

You can also stay near the Idols and engage ennemy models that won't then be able to Interact to move the Idols. Another tactic is to cheat Initiative in order to control where the new Idols appear (but not a pure Performer tactic, any Crew can do it). The best way is perhaps to try scoring as many points as your opponent and make a difference with the Schemes points.

Keep in mind that with Gaining Grounds Season 0, the Idols are Impassable, so you can't sit on it to prevent your opponent from Interacting.

Possible Crew: Colette – 3 Mechanical Doves – Coryphee Duet – Mechanical Rider – Cassandra – Angelica – 2 Mannequins – 4 Soulstones (may vary depending on Schemes)

 

Reckoning

By far, the worst Strategy for Colette and her girls. I have tried playing Versatile (Captain and Emissary) but without great success. I now generally play in Keyword and try to score one or two points and deny points points to my opponent by not dying (much easier to say than to do).

Generally, I use Presto-Chango in Turn 1 to place an ennemy model in my table half near my unactivated Duet (by swapping a Dove with the target). The Duet attacks and let the ennemy model with 1 or 2 Health left. You can safely split the Duet for additionnal attacks. Don't forget to use Blade Rush for free damage. At the beginning of Turn 2, win Initiative (cheat if necessary) and activate the Duet to kill the model and score your first (and perhaps last) Strategy Point. If the killed model is a beater, cool, you have disabled one of your opponent's weapons at the same time. Then, like in Corrupted Idols, score your Schemes and avoid being killed.

Please note that the Mechanical Rider can be good if played defensively by spending Fate Tokens to reduce damage.

But after some discussions on the Wyrd forums, some alternative solutions (that I haven't tested) appear, have a look here: https://themostexcellentandawesomeforumever-wyrd.com/topic/148696-colette-what-is-her-power-level/

The Mobile Toolkit seems to fit perfectly in this Strategy. It can buff the Duet with Focused or Shielded, can also Heal the Duet and as it is Insignificant it will doesn't count for the Strategy when your opponent kills it. Perhaps he will not target the Toolkit but it would be a mistake because buffing the Duet each turn can be devastating. I will try it soon. In my usual list, it will replace the Showgirl that don't fit well in this Strategy.

After some testing, can confirm that this Strategy can be handled more easily with the Mobile Toolkit and the Arachanid Swarm. Toolkit gives Focused to the Duet in the first two Turns then the Rider can use Ride with Me  to keep it near her. Then the Toolkit can always has a target (the Rider) to give Focused. The Arachnid Swarm is also a very good beater on his own. So the Crew for Reckoning could be as follow.

Possible Crew: Colette – 3 Mechanical Doves – Coryphee Duet – Mechanical Rider - Arachnid Swarm - Sousltone Miner + Magical Training – Mobile Toolkit – 7 Soulstones (may vary depending on Schemes)

 

Schemes

 

Detonate Charges

Not a Scheme that I take but it is a good one for Performers. Don't Mind Me allows you to drop the Scheme Markers without much problem.

You can also use Revel in Creation of the Mechanical Rider to drop one of the Scheme Markers needed (without worrying about the 4'' limit as it is not an Interact action).

Colette can use Presto-Chango on a model (easier with a friendly one) to drop the second Scheme Marker.

Always do this Scheme on an already activated ennemy and if your opponent doesn't have means of discarding Scheme Markers without Interacting.

If taken by your opponent, using Colette last in a turn to Presto-Chango your model placed between to Scheme Marker. Swap with one of your unactivated models (or Colette herself, she will leave the danger zone with her remaining actions). You can also swap a Dove which is Insignificant and so won't count for the Scheme.

 

Breakthrough

This one is easy but the first point can be tricky. In order to avoid having an ennemy model less than 3'' of your model, you can use Colette's False Reality to take away the ennemy model. Or you can simply Bury it with Sword Trick. A Showgirl can also Lure the ennemy out of position.

The second point is easy as long as you have one or two models in your opponent's deployment zone. The Duet can drop two Scheme Markers a turn if it starts its activation unengaged (if engaged, split and re-form the Duet for the same result). The Mechanical Rider can drop one with an action and drop another one with Revel in Creation.

As for any Marker-based Scheme, you can sit big base models on your Scheme Markers to stop your opponent from discarding them.

Be aware of one thing: if your opponent has no Scheme Markers in play and Colette Buries an ennemy, this ennemy will be Unburied in his deployment zone by its owner and then can deny the first point. Don't Bury ennemies when you choose this Scheme, Bury Colette instead.

Also note that it becomes harder in Corner Deployment has the deployment zone is very short. Depending on terrain, it can be difficult to drop 3 Scheme Markers with Interact Actions (4'' limit), use the Revel in Creation Action of the Mechanical Rider to solve this problem.

To deny this one, nothing special apart using Don't Mind Me if possible and don't let an ennemy alone in your deployment zone.

 

Harness the Ley Line

This Scheme requires a lot of Interactions but with Don't Mind Me it is not a problem. However, as you have to stay near the centerline, it can put your models in harm's way.

A second hand choice if no other available Scheme is good. The Mecahnical Rider with Revel in Creation can mitigate that.

As for any Marker-based Scheme, you can sit big base models on your Scheme Markers to stop your opponent from discarding them.

If your opponent chooses it, Colette will be pleased to discard one of its Scheme Markers each turn to deny it (other models with Don't Mind Me can do it but Colette is more mobile).

 

Search the Ruins

An easy Scheme for almost everybody and a really very easy one for the Performers. Hide your models behind terrain and Interact.

Drop more Markers than needed, it will discourage your opponent from taking actions to discard them.

The Mechancial Rider can also help with Revel in Creation.

As for any Marker-based Scheme, you can sit big base models on your Scheme Markers to stop your opponent from discarding them.

When using Presto-Chango drop the Scheme Marker so that it touches the target and a terrain at the same time. In one action you have teleported a model and contributed to the Scheme. Actions are a ressource, don't waste them.

To deny this Scheme,you have Don't Mind Me and Colette to discard Scheme markers nearly as fast as the opponent drops them. Even if he scores, it will costs him so many actions that you should gain an advantage for your own Schemes or for the Strategy.

 

Dig ther Graves

I wouldn't recommend this one. The first point is relatively easy with Don't Mind Me. You can also Presto-Chango Colette near an ennemy and kill it near the Scheme Marker dropped by Presto-Chango.

The second point is tricky as some models don't drop Corpse or Scarp Markers when dying and others Crews can use them for their actions.

To deny it, nothing special apart from Don't Mind Me to discard ennemy Scheme Markers.

 

Hold Up their Forces

Largely depends on the ennemy Crew composition. Take a look at the Crews before choosing this Scheme. If you play the same lists that I play, you will often have problems to have more than one or two legal targets.

But my lists are a good incentive for my opponent to choose this Scheme. With Colette, the Duet and the Rider, there are three targets for your opponent and as you don't kill much, it can be easy for the opponent to score. He should always score the first point.

But you can deny the second point in the last turn by running away from your ennemies. You generally have more speed than them. Colette and Duet can move 18'', the Rider 19'' in one activation. Not all models can be that fast.

 

Take Prisoner

A really good one. The 4'' limit can be tricky with a lot of crews but with Colette's Presto-Chango or False Reality this shouldn't be a problem to isolate the already activated prisoner from its allies.

When you select the prisoner, don't take an expensive model (generally you prefer it dead). Instead choose some Minion (that is not Insignificant) like some Totems (The Scales or the Forgeling for example) or an Effigy (if the Emissary Upgrade is not attached).

You can allow you to let them live the whole game and even a Showgirl can be enough to keep the prisoner under control. In this case, the Showgirl walks if the prisoner try to evade or concentrates and interacts which gives Distracted to the prisoner (Celebrity). If the prisoner runs away in the last turn, Colette should be able to re-engage it.

If your opponent chooses this Scheme, you can easily deny the second point with Colette (Presto-Chango, False Reality, Burying ennemy model) in the last turn, just play Colette last.

 

Power Ritual

Also a good one. The easiness depends of the deployment. In Corner of Flank Deployment, you don't need to go to the farthest corner to be able to score. In Standard and Wedge Deployment always drop a Marker in each of your corners. Your opponent should discard the two Markers to deny the second point (generally he won't do it, too costly in actions).

Here again, the Mechanical Rider can help a lot with Revel in Creation. The Soulstone Miner is a good tool too (even if it can't Interact the turn it Unburies). As always Don't Mind Me is your best tool here. As for Breakthrough, be cautious when Burying ennemies with Colette, they could be Unburied in their deployment zone and be an annoyance to Interact and score this Scheme.

As for any Marker-based Scheme, you can sit big base models on your Scheme Markers to stop your opponent from discarding them.

To deny it, Don't Mind Me is your best mean, as usual.

 

Outflank

An easy one. However I won't recommend it in Standard and Wedge Deployment as your models will be under numerous threats and can die relatively easily. In Corner and Flank Deployment, it is a good choice as your opponent can has problems to reach these far away locations.

The Soulstone Miner shines here. You can guarantee one flank with it by Unburying the turn you want to score the first point. Then Bury it and Unbury it late in the last turn. For the other flank, use other resilient models (the Duet and the Mechanical Rider for example) or Unbury Colette in last Turn.

You also have the tools to easily deny it. A Showgirl can Lure a model out of scoring position.

Colette can use Presto-Chango or Sword Trick to deny it. But she also has a cheaper mean of doing that. Use two actions to put Distracted with Distracted Illusion, then use False Reality (cheat your biggest card if needed) and place your already activated ennemy as far as possible.

 

Assassinate

Generally not a good choice for the Performers. You don't have the tools to take down Masters.

However, you can score relatively easily the second point. In last turn, delay Colette's activation until the ennemy Leader as activated. Then Bury it with Sword Trick. A the end of the game he will be automatically killed so he is not more in play and you score the second point. The first point can be really hard to score. Take this Scheme only if no other Scheme is appealing.

If your opponent chooses this Scheme, be cautious, that certainly means that he had hired some specific tools to achieve it. Without specific counterpicks, Colette is generally nearly unkillable. So look at your oppnent's Crew to see if he has taken some counterpicks to Colette's defenses (Masked Agent Upgrade for Ten Thunder for example) and play around it to avoid losing Colette (killing the counterpicks models, use movement shenanigans to avoid being attacked).

 

Deliver a Message

Also a good one especially versus melee Masters. You can use Presto-Chango to put the already activated ennemy Master near one of your unactivated models that will deliver the message. Colette can do that herself if need be (by Unburying near the Master, for example).

For the second point, activate Colette or a model with Don't Mind Me to drop the Scheme Marker after the ennemy Leader has activated. If he has run away, Colette is your main asset to go after him. You can also use the Mechanical Rider (14'' of movement and Revel in Creation as a bonus Action to drop the Scheme Marker within 6'') or even a Duet that splits and re-form (nearly 20'' of movement and one action left to Interact).

If your opponent chooses this Scheme, he will certainly score the first point as Colette will sooner or later finish a turn near ennemies. But the second point should be impossible to score. In last turn, activate Colette last and use your movement and tricks (Presto Chango, False Reality, Sword Trick) to finish unengaged.

 

Claim Jump

A Scheme that I never choose. In theory you could score the first point easily as you have means (Lure, Presto-Chango, False Reality, Sword Trick) to move away ennemies that would want to deny you this point.

But the second point will be difficult as you don't have much healing in the Keyword. The Duet with a Mobile Toolkit (if this one survives the whole game) can score it but it will be difficult. The Mechanical Rider can do it by using Fate Tokens defensively to reduce damage. Perhaps, looking out of Keyword is a better option there.

If your opponent takes it, again you have many ways to deny the second point (Lure, Presto-Chango, False Reality, Sword Trick), just wait for the target to be activated so that he can't come back.

 

Vendetta

A tricky one for sure. I never take it. As the Performer Keyword is often not killy, that can be difficult to kill the chosen ennemy and even more difficult to keep alive your chosen model.

Your most resilient models have a high cost (the Duet and the Mechanical Rider) and sometimes won't have a legal target in the ennemy Crew. Here again, perhaps going out of Keyword is a solution.

Colette with Presto-Chango can put the chosen ennemy near your deployment zone (far away from its allies) and your models can attack him without much retaliation early in the game. The difficult part will be to make your chosen model live until the end of game (Colette can help there with movemement shenanigans).

One trick you can do is hiring two single Coryphees and choose one to be the model you need to keep alive. During the game, form the Duet. As per the Replace rules, the new Duet is still a valid choice for Vendetta (despite being now of a higher cost than the chosen ennemy model).

Denying this Scheme can be tough as you have some fragile models that can be targeted by tougher opponents with a lower cost (for example, a Death Marshal versus a Showgirl). You will certainly let your opponent score the first point but do your best to deny the second point.

Remember that with Gaining Grounds 0, the two models can have the same cost.

 

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Conclusion

First, if you are still reading, congratulations!

More seriously, as we have seen, the Performer is not a straightforward Keyword. You need to know what you can do and what you can score to achieve victory. So select your Schemes wisely and try to deny your opponent's Schemes. You won't be the winner of a gigantic brawl in the middle of the table. Instead, spread your Crew has much as possible. By doing it, you will divide your opponent's forces and have better odds to survive until the end of the game. Your Crew is fragile, don't forget it! Also choose your fights wisely. You can kill one or two big threats but you won't be able to table your opponent.

You will enivitably lose models during the game and will often be in inferiority as the game progresses. Lose them as late as possible. Score your points as soon as possible. In the last two turns, try to deny opponent's points (you have the tools for that). Only Victory Points win the game.

Just one last point, I haven't talked too much about Distracted. It can be a matter of personal playstyle but in most games, you will only put Distracted +1 or +2 on one or two ennemy models. That should waste them some actions but that won't save your models from dying. This is just a mean to postpone their death. Some Crews will suffer from Distracted, others won't barely notice it (Ten Thunders, I am looking at you). Distracted is only a nice malus but it is not something you can rely on. If you can, use your Hand to defend, not to attack. Sometimes, you will put Distracted +4 or +5 on a model. In this case, your opponent will cease to attack and should use it for scheming. If it is a big beater, you have neutralized a death threat but your opponent as more actions available to scheme. A new problem for you to handle.

There also will be games where you won't kill at all, it is not a problem as long as you score your Victory Points. As an example, in a recent Turf War game versus Sonnia Criid, I won 7-5 and I had on the table at the end of the game only Colette and a Soulstone Miner. In the same time I only killed a Queller.

 

I hope that all these advices have given ideas to those who struggle at making the Performers work. It is a great Keyword but a tricky one.

 

And don't forget: these girls are artists, so be creative!

 

 

How to play versus Colette

And now some words for the opponents of Colette and her girls. This Keyword is a tricky one to play but also a tricky one to understand. Here are some advices to better apprehend the Performers.

 

First, the Crew is fast so hire fast models or models with movement tricks. Colette can reposition her Crew and ennemy models but needs allies or friendly Scheme Markers. So kill fast the fragile ones: Angelica, Showgirls and especially the Mechanical Doves (they are such good Unburying models for Colette).

If you want to kill Colette (that won't necessarily win you the game but can be a tactic) use the following:

Attacks that stop Rst Triggers. Here is the complete list of such models: Howard Langston, Soulsotne Miner, Union Miner, Executioner, Jonathan Reichart, Leveticus, Prospector, Crooked Man, Huckster, Ohaguro Bettari, Ruffian and the Ten Thunder Faction Upgrade Masked Agent (that can be attached to two different models).

Attacks that deal irreducible damage.

Attacks targeting Mv or Sz.

Use of Shockwaves, Blasts, Pulses.

Attacks that can target Buried models.

Attacks with built-in positive flips (Gatling Gun for example).

To deal with the Duet, attacks that ignore Armor or deal irreducible damage.

Use models with Analyze Weakness. The complete list: December Acolyte, Sparks LeBlanc, Agent 46, Charles Hoffman, Perdita Ortega, Obedient Wretch, Student of Steel, Sidir Alchibal.

The Duet has a Wp of 5, use attacks targeting it.

As for Colette, attacks targeting Mv or Sz, Shockwaves, Blasts, Pulses.

Hire models immune to Conditions (Archie or Lady Justice for example).

Avoid to choose Marker-based Schemes, the Performers can easily discard your Markers with Don't Mind Me. Or if you choose one (I won't choose two such Schemes if I were you), drop more Markers than necessary (four of five Markers for Search the Ruins for example).

Protect your Scheme Markers by placing big base models on them (no base contact, no Interact even with Don't Mind Me).

A general advice for Malifaux, focus on your objectives, don't let Colette distracts you from your Schemes and the Strategy.

 

That's all, folks! I will try to update this tactica with the feedback of other players as well as with advices on new Gaining Grounds when they will be released.

 

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Fyi, the Revelation trigger no longer has a range, so its even better than you think. It had to target models "within range" during Beta, but this is no longer the case. The Rider can even reactivate itself. The Rider can even reactivate itself multiple times in the same turn, provided you have enough Fate Tokens, because there is no "once per turn" restriction. 

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Great write up! Ty for the guide :)

 

Some notes, most of these are untested; so take this as suggestions to try and add later to your guide if it works well:

Mechanical Doves + SSC:

Even if they are useful alive, there are some min/maxing around killing them for SS. It's worth it mentioning with the actual wording, Recharge SS aura could stack, check it here. So a Dove killed in range of both auras will give 2 SS (not sure if this is intended or not tho).

I want to mention also the "Expensive Gift" in Showgirls, if a showgirl seduces Colette (Well, what happens in backstage, stays in backstage), get that trigger and Colette kills a dove (paying the cost of discarding a SS) the crew will gain 2 SS (one per the aura and other for the ability); it could be even 3 in range of 2 auras. If the stacking is legal, sacrificing a few Doves for 6 or 9 SS may be worth it in some pools if the crew also includes something to make good use of those SS.

SSC in Colette or in range of her is also a way to help her to use Presto Chango with a less resource cost. She may kill a dove to buy the trigger for no SS cost (change a dove for 1 SS in the cache plus a card) or she may cheat the Mask or the Tome and stonne the other (this will give her flexibility) in this case she will also generate 1 SS with that action (the Dove will be summoned again, so no loss there and the aura will give her 1 SS).

Carlos:

I'd give this guy a bit more of credit, he got the defense, the mobility and handle Distrated like Candy on top of ping damage and some very useful tricks like the "Up in flames" trigger to ruin other model's scheming (trigger he can stonne if necessary). He may also unlocks synergies with Kaeris.

Rider:

As above, Revelation is nuts as it doesn't require the target to be near; you can send the Rider to scheme away from danger and go wild with your 8-10-12 AP Duet.

The Innovation trigger could have other interesting uses in the crew tho. Tomes will activate a lot of triggers that give Distracted and also the "Preparation" trigger in Coryphees and Mannequins; situational but can set up a turn of intense turn of buffing/distracted (and again with SS cache is doable in turn 1). Rams may ramp up the damage; Carlos, the Duet and Showgirls will become min 3 beaters (Showgirl versus Distracted+2 models), again situational but to keep in mind.

Coryphees/Duet:

It loses a bit of eficiency but I've heard about players using Coryphees AND duet in the same list; add an Arachnid Swarm and a few Diesel engines here and there and you've got a fast and sturdy crew.

It'd be interesting to note also the self-buff trick the duet to give himslef Focused+2 or even +3 (see the other thread). And it's also worth to note that Fast give the duet +2 actions if it do the dance appart/together.

The duet is also useful to be sure you can get the last activation for some of Colette shenanigans explained above. Splitting the duet give Performers an extra activation but it doesn't give any pass tokens; so it's like getting a free pass token.

Stacking Markers:

Some schemes are easier to achieve if you can bypass the 4'' limitation of interact; Performers have some abilities to drop markers without having to interact that may be used to stack markers (this also make them more vulnerable versus some area denial, so careful)

A few notes about Distracted:

Slow if the perfect condition to pair with distracted; that will make harder for them to get rid of it and also will make impossible to concentrate + attack in the same activation (except Masters); things like the Emissary or a Silent One are to consider to add that extra layer of control.

Focused counters distracted, here the showgirls with Seduction have a role if the other player starts to stack focused wildly and the effigy may also help with dispel magic.

Kandara is the only other model in the faction with serene countenance, that works wonders with mass distracted (and she may hug Carlos, the poor guy needs it badly as the showgirls wouldn't touch him with a barge-pole). In this sense Cassandra Finesse works wonder versus any distracted model. Concealment auras of the faction (diesel, Vent Steam...) also pair nicely with Distracted versus ranged attackers (not Gatling users tho)

Killy crews:

As said in the other thread, it's something to explore with her. She may have low damage, but she offers a ton of control and her mobility tricks are nuts; that may enable slow and sturdy beaters or give them targets on a silver plate. She has also nice supports in her keyword, a Mannequin is ablative wounds, focused and heals in a budget for a beater and Showgirls have also a good utility kit with Lure and Seduction.

OOK/Versatile:

I think there are a lot of potential for models outside of Performers keyword. I talked about some assassinate presto change combos with enraged bears and buffet duets in the other thread, but there is life beyond that. Some theryfaux that could be interesting to check:

  • A Metal gaming for just 6SS can score the second half of Dig their graves by itself; that's something to note with every master in ARC.
  • Funnily enough, Raspy has some interesting synergy with performers (Slow+Distracted). Cassandra may copy Ice Pilars (with the built in trigger) and place a few pilars around; Raspy may then proceed to Slow everyone to give some breating air to Colette's crew, and if an enemy model try to pressure Raspy, Colette may reposition her with Presto Chango.
    • The cheaper versión would be a mini Raspy (Silent One) for only 7SS that one can also slow, and can also heal with a huge range (up to 17.2'' if she use a ice pilar at max distance), even constructs.
  • A Fire Golem could be an interesting dive buddy for Carlos; hemay create a Pire Marker that the Fire Golem may drag around to get extra Burning (that's damage reduction for him) and Carlos may also get some Burning to give extra Burning and a way to reposition with "Draw Off Flame".
    • In the same sense, the Firestarter could be another nice dive buddy for Carlos.
  • December Acolytes are always models to keep on the radar; Analyze Weakness is game chaning versus some crews. Tools for the Job is the icing in the cake.
  • The Scorpius: Another interesting model to keep an eye on it even if performers have 0 Poison theme, Neurotoxins is huge versus some models (like Riders for example)
  • Amina Naidu: Expensive but very efficient package of defense and control, the only non-master in the faction that give fast and activate Grits. Other model to keep on the radar.

About the hitters of the faction:

  • The captain and the Emissary are decent beaters, but they are more focused in other tricks than in damage. For ramping up the damage I'd check others like:
  • Steam Arachnid Swarms: Onslaught, stat of 7 in base to base, free flip to damage at high health and also very fast so useful to scheme. These dudes don't feel like 8SS models and are versatile so no OOK tax; the most cost efficient model for this role by far.
  • Neil Henry: Flurry + Reckless, even with min damage 2 it's something to consider.
  • Joss+DE: It looks like it deals less damage, but it is irreducible damage, so defenses or SS won't get in the way; plus stunned to deal with enemy riders and things like that.
  • Myranda+SCC: Some chimera beasts with mutations/auras are just nuts (SRM with Amina and Horns or Sabertooth with Wings or Camo)
  • Gunsmith: Require Amina or Toni, but it's a good hitter; they also have Target Practice for some denial (usable with Cassandra) and Creep Along to not waste AP walking. Plus Mannequins make great bodyguards for these that may also give them focused and heals.
  • Howard Langston: Another one that with Grit active is very dangerous.

About double Masters... Presto chango plus her control is a reason to include her in any crew needing that. She will probably works wonder in bubble crews to throw that model into a M&SU bubble, introduce him to a Peacekeeper or put that model in the right spot for a huge Poison bomb (and also score and stuff, not only kill things ;)).

About masters that may work well with her (Colette as a main master):

  • Rasputina could be interesting to check as said above; Raspy may use the reposition tricks of the crew and Colette may benefice from all her control and ways to punish models that clump. Adding a Silent One and the Essence of Power will make that little Core much more dangerous, but also harder to reposition.
  • Kaeris has also a nimble and hit and run style that could mix well with Colette, and they both share a henchman. This one seems legit.
  • Sandeep is always better as main master (Banasuva + 5 summons); but Sandeep + Fire gaming (to summon a golem in turn 1) + Kandara (Serene Countereance + Distracted, Flameborne + Fire Golem, a good model to use Guru; plus card draw) with Carlos could be worth a try after commiting to Colette I guess.
  • Toni is very hard to put down, so she may be a nice disruptive piece while the rest of the crew do their thing; the icing in the cake is Toni activate grits and that unlocks very good models in the faction.
  • Hoffman is good supporting constructs, Colette has good constructs and there are also good versatiles that works well with both; in addition Hoffman is another slow master that can benefit from her mobility and bring good tools like Analyze Weaknesses, heals and a huge fist with a 2/4/6 track and stat 6. Seems legit (especially for a crew around enabling a duet alpha strike with Fast and Irreducible Armor or to also bring Joss/Swarms)
  • Mei Feng doesn't seem that good as Colette has no way to generate scrap markers for her; She is a good model but I don't see good synergies here.
  • Marcus, same than Mei Feng; 0 Synergy between both crews. Colette could work in a Marcus crew, but not sure about vice versa.

In these Cassandra will be interesting with her mimic-like ability; she may command the element, create Ice pilars, fan the flames, overcharge or Vent Steam.

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@extremor: Good point concerning the Ice Dancer. Will add it in her decription.

 

@Ogid: a lot to say (don't take it too personally, we have different views on the game and they are both perfectly legit). My apologies in advance if it sounds too harsh.

Concerning Doves: will wait until it is FAQued. If confirmed, certainly a valid trick but it is not playing a game, it is resolving a math problem for me (not fun at all). But I have already used one or two times a Dove for a Mask (just an emergency mode if I run  short of Soulstones and don't have a high Mask in Hand).

Carlos: didn't say he was bad. Just that his Fire theme doesn't fit well with Performers and more with Kaeris. Don't know what I would swap for him in my lists (perhaps the Rider).

Mechanical Rider: I always thought that Revelation was too good if the reactivating model doesn't need to be in 6'' or the Rider itself. Seems perfectly legal but, for me, needs a nerf.

Concerning Innovation, a good point for you especially for the Duet (Ram is good but Crows also for Execute if your opponent has few Hand and/or Soulstones left). For Colette, a bit too situational (Colette doesn't stay near the Rider in my games).

Stacking Markers: perhaps I haven't insisted on that but made an example for Breakthrough in Corner Deployment with the Rider. Stacking Scheme Markers can be a problem if an ennemy model goes into base contact with the stack as it discards all of them in one action.

I have tested the Emissary without great success, so I am waiting for feedback.

Concerning Distracted, as I said in my conclusion, it is difficult to  spred mass Distracted and even more if you go heavy OOK.

Concerning killy Crews, Mannequins and Showgirls don't last long versus beaters ready for a brawl (even with Distracted). Perofrmers won't win this game. A heavy OOK Crew should has more odds for that by killing first.

OOK/Versatile: A lot of theoryfaux here. Some tricks that I will test, others I won't. If some other players test them, please give your feedback.

The Metal Gamin trick for Dig their Graves is not specific to a Performer Crew, that's why I didn't included it in a Colette Tactica. It is indeed a very good trick.

Same thing for the Acolytes and Analyze Weakness, very good but not Performer-related.

Combo Colette + Raspy: needs test but I don't know what to hink about it.

Fire Golem + Carlos, not convinced at all. Perhaps more potential with Firestarter + Carlos.

Scorpius: not convinced at all as you have no other way than him to poison ennemies. Paying OOK tax for this is too expensive especally if you go OOK for more models dealing poison. Also, if I face a model that can prevent Trigger be sure that it will be the first ennemy model to die in Turn 1 or at beginning of Turn 2.

Amina: Agree with you, good potential. I just don't think that enabling Grit is a good thing in a Performer Crew as only the Captain is Versatile and has also Grit. So more OOK hiring (and tax) if you want to maximize it. Also these models need to stay within 6'' of Amina and I don't think that Performers are a bubble Crew (quite the opposite in fact).But Obey, Impasionated Defence and Walk the Line have potential. I think I will test her one day.

Agree  with you on Arachnid Swarm and said it was a good choice.

Neil Henry: didn't think about him but I can see some potential.

Myranda, Gunsmith + Toni, Howard are too expensive OOK. The Performer Crew loses too much of its playstyle in my opinion. If someone wants to test them and prove me I am wrong, no problem.

For double Masters:

Agree with you that Colette can be a very good secondary Master (even if not hiring the Doves hurts her). Using Presto-Chango to teleport an ennemy model in your bubble is good but be aware that you will also teleport one of your models near the ennemy Crew (Colette as Leader sends a Dove in that situation but they are too expensive to hire when Colette is not the Leader).

Hiring Raspy, not convinced as I generally spread my Crew to force the ennemy to break himself his bubble, so ennemies don't clump (perhaps a matter of personal playstyle here).

Kaeris, needs testing but for the moment, don't see it as a good choice.

Sandeep + Fire Gamin + Kandara= 29 Sousltones. Don't know if it is efficient or not but it is no more a Performer Crew. The idea of M3E is to have Keyword-themes Crews with one or two Versatile/OOK to compensate inherent weaknesses or counterpick versus some specialized Crews. So even if it is a perfectly legal Crew, it is not a fun one (and that partly why I don't like multiple Masters Crews). Even my Crew with Mechanical Rider + Soulstone Miner with Magical Training (19 Soulstones) seems a bit too OOK for my taste.

Toni, seems good with Colette but as I don't like her playstyle, won't test it. But I will be pleased to have feedback on this combination.  The Injured Workers Act will be less efficient as Grit isn't an Ability of the Performers.

Hoffman, is also a good choice in my opinion. I have tested once the opposite, Hoffman Leader, Colette hired. But I didn't sent an ennemy into Hoffman's bubble. Colette made the 4 Scheme points by herself and I lost the game. But I have surely played it wrong.

 

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@Vangerdahast no offense taken. And no ofense intended in the following:

Don't get me wrong, the guide cover well a part, but there is more to cover; I'm just suggesting a way to start testing (and you also asked for feedback above). This is beyond what I prefer to play; If you want this guide to cover well what the keyword can really do, then you should cover more than your favourite style. But that's ok, Rome was not built in a day.

Playing without OOK models is a personal choice, but that's not how this game is balanced. Players pick a faction and then a master, after that they can pick whatever they want inside of their faction; going OOK can let the keyword access to tools they don't have but that are necessary (or will make their life easier) for that match or that cover the weaknessess or synergize with the keyword creating new playstyles that may be as good or better than the main keyword playstyle. There are examples of winning/top tournament lists going wildly OOK and Versatiles. This is not always necessary; in fact Performers have also mostly in keyword list doing very well in tournaments, but it's not something to rule out.

As for balance concerns like the Rider or killing doves into 2 SSC; a tactica isn't the place for not pointing things or pointing them in the way a player think they should work for being "OP"; in fact it's the place to make those very clear so the performers players may use the best tricks avaliable to them and other players reading this tactica are aware of these, being ready for them when they face the keyword. If they are too much they will be patched/clarified over time.

I have a friend who plays arcanist (not Colette yet), so I'm familiar with most of the faction even if I personally don't play it; this let me make educated guesses about what could work well with her. As said above these are just suggestions to help you make your guide better over time. I'm not claiming these will be tournament winning list material or the right way to play the keyword, but neither are these  just random ideas.

 

So let me explain the thought behind some of my suggestions:

13 hours ago, Vangerdahast said:

Concerning Distracted, as I said in my conclusion, it is difficult to  spred mass Distracted and even more if you go heavy OOK.

My point with Slow + Distracted is you only need Distracted+1 and Slow to make a non-master without non-bonus action attacks unable to threat your models. And not even in most models, just in those you want out of the ecuation. There is no need to go OOK for this, Coryphees have a decent stat 5 slowing attack and Mannequins may try to do the same versus low Wp targets with their stat 4; but it's also a plus to consider in OOK/Versatile hires.

13 hours ago, Vangerdahast said:

Concerning killy Crews, Mannequins and Showgirls don't last long versus beaters ready for a brawl (even with Distracted). Perofrmers won't win this game. A heavy OOK Crew should has more odds for that by killing first.

In a killy crew you rather those models dying first; the Mannequin is there to make your expensive or squishy beaters harder to kill and more dangerous, I'd be very happy of that mannequin dying after eating a focused attack that got severe damage 6 leaving the enemy beater open to retaliation with my untouched beater. A Showgirl has a huge range in their support abilities (10'' and 12'') so she can be safe and do her job; but if the other player hunt her down that's a win for you; less pressure for your beaters and time to do damage with the models that can really kill the other models.

Performers won't win a full team clash versus a dedicated bubble crew, but they have the tools to engage in their terms, pick off key models and control other dangerous models while doing so; that's how performers could hope to win that kind of games. I know that's not how you like to play the keyword, but I don't think brushing that off is the right thing to do in a tactica. In fact if I remind correctly you said in the other thread you were able to kill expensive models like Teddy with an unbuffed Duet, imagine what you could do with a crew around that strategy. 

13 hours ago, Vangerdahast said:

Stacking Markers: perhaps I haven't insisted on that but made an example for Breakthrough in Corner Deployment with the Rider. Stacking Scheme Markers can be a problem if an ennemy model goes into base contact with the stack as it discards all of them in one action.

Bad wording on my part, stacking doesn't necesarily need to be one on top of another, but close enough to have to defend a smaller area without giving the other player that level of counterplay or not having to position that enemy perfectly to do detonate charges.

13 hours ago, Vangerdahast said:

Fire Golem + Carlos, not convinced at all. Perhaps more potential with Firestarter + Carlos.

Fire Golem has high damage reducion through Burning; Colette's lists usually go heavy in Armor; a Fire Golem may be a nasty surprise versus an enemy with easy access to Analyce Weakness or anti-armor but not that likely to field condition removal (or if you plan to kill the condition removal fast anyway)

A Fire golem give also the crew a way to use Carlos' Fiery Presence; you may put a Dove/Showgirl on fire, move it just 8'' away from the golem and give that golem a free 11.2'' movement (that will also strip that condition from that model). Or if Carlos is near of an Enemy and burning (very likely considering his bonus actions), the Golem may use that free movement to get the equivalent of a charge range of 16.2'' with its min3 plus Burning+2/+1 damage or to position near but not engaged with enemy models and use Flame Tornado twice hitting enemy models and himself, getting Burning+6 able to work as Armor+2 for 3 attacks on top of all the shockwave damage. Using this with Carlos will also remove Burning from him and let him use his bonus actions the whole game without getting damaged. Carlos may also create a Pyre Marker just near of the target the golem will charge, letting the Golem charge and use its mele attack and getting also Burning+3 (2 for charge, 1 for attack) or even +5 (3 from the pyre, 2 from the built in trigger) on top of the mele attacks. Those 2 together have a lot of potential.

All of the above is not better than a Duet, but versus an enemy able to counter it, it may be an alternative if you still want a highly mobile and sturdy beater in that crew.

13 hours ago, Vangerdahast said:

Scorpius: not convinced at all as you have no other way than him to poison ennemies. Paying OOK tax for this is too expensive especally if you go OOK for more models dealing poison. Also, if I face a model that can prevent Trigger be sure that it will be the first ennemy model to die in Turn 1 or at beginning of Turn 2.

Neurotoxins is only a 3'' aura, a whole poison theme isn't necessary to make good use of it; it helps but the scorpius have a nice stat 7 with built in Poison so he is able to poison the selected target (and you will include him with one or two enemies in mind anyway); paying 8 SS for him isn't that expensive and it has creep along so it's able to keep up with Performers without needing extra support. And if the other player is focused in killing it, that can be used against him / is damage no going toward other more squishy or important models.

13 hours ago, Vangerdahast said:

Hiring Raspy, not convinced as I generally spread my Crew to force the ennemy to break himself his bubble, so ennemies don't clump (perhaps a matter of personal playstyle here).

The idea is use Cassandra the first turn to create 2 Ice Pilars and then move her forward as usual. With those 2 Pilars Rasputina has a huge coverage of the board (21.3'' for :ranged and up to 17.6'' for the shockwave) that may be used to support the crew slowing key enemy targets, the damage is just the ice of the cake but not the main focus of her (of course if they clump near of a low defense enemy, then Concentrate and blast the hell out of them stonning/cheating for Slow). However it's also worth to note Colette may use Presto-Chango to put reposition enemy models near of each other to set up a nice blast; not the main focus of the list, but still a nice trick that this configuration may pull off. But she may do more than damage and conditions; something like creating a pilar blocking a charge lane (something she may also do throught another Pilar) or offer cover to a model may also help.

If the other player try to get near of Raspy, first they will have to deal with how far back she is positioned, with slow and staggered and then with an Ice Fortress she will make to block charges and reduce damage. And after all that work, Raspy will be presto changed by a dove or Colette will use Sword Trick to send the diver to square one; meanwhile performers are doing their thing.

Probably not meta, but again seems worth to try in the right scenario and it may catch off guard a player or try to counter some of their tricks. For example, it'd be interesting to check how those Df4 Samurais perform permaslowed and with Ice Pilars blocking their fire lanes or giving Cover to key models (which would make their gun the equivalent to stat 4+ and the target a H2W model, countering also their focused and high severe damage)

13 hours ago, Vangerdahast said:

Sandeep + Fire Gamin + Kandara= 29 Sousltones. Don't know if it is efficient or not but it is no more a Performer Crew. The idea of M3E is to have Keyword-themes Crews with one or two Versatile/OOK to compensate inherent weaknesses or counterpick versus some specialized Crews. So even if it is a perfectly legal Crew, it is not a fun one (and that partly why I don't like multiple Masters Crews). Even my Crew with Mechanical Rider + Soulstone Miner with Magical Training (19 Soulstones) seems a bit too OOK for my taste.

This one goes heavy OOK; but that's not a problem as long as the crew work. 3SS of OOK tax is a bit high, but it's compensated with Sandeep being a summoner and going to give Performers +12SS worth of models in turn 2; and both of them may go quite well with the crew. As said above the Fire Golem is quite nimble for being also an sturdy beater and he can also summon a Wind Gamin who is also another very fast model that you may even use as cannon fodder to keep your other models alive or to move idols for example. Or a Metal Gamin could be the other one selected to do dig their graves.

Sandeep isn't fast but he has Guru to have a Rasputina level of range, being able to command the Fire Golem up to 13.6'' away or use his ranged attack up to 17.6'' away thanks to Kandara (and Kandara itself may be also commanded); and there are other cool tricks like Kandara near of Sandeep Concentrating using the bonus action while cicling a low card.

This crew is built around the fire theme that Carlos bring to Performers; again this is not necessarily better than a standard performer crew (in fact for doing something like this picking Sandeep as a main master and Colette+Carlos as second master/OOK would be better), but there could be games where after commiting to Colette you may realice some of these tricks are just the toolbox you need. Again the idea is using the tools the faction gives to the Keyword.

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35 minutes ago, extremor said:

What do you think about hiring Ferdinand Vogel into Colette -as discussed by thirdfloorwars in Deep dive Colette...? I haven‘t tried, but I like the model and the idea of him shapeshifting on stage...

Ferdinand himself is interesting by giving Shielded +2 with Impasioned Defence. File Papers seems good in a Crew without natural card draw. But discarding a friendly Scheme Marker to do that can hurt sometimes Colette if she wants to unbury (no problem with ennemy Scheme Markers).

The Beast Within: A good beater but not better than Cassandra or the Duet in terms of damage. But Triggers are cool, self healing and ignore Armor can be good versus some Crews. Pouncing Strike also good to isolate a model even if the Performers already have numerous tricks for this. Primal Roar is less effective (but not useless) in a Crew without other Beast or Chimera.

A model that can be tested for sure (but perhaps not by me as I don't own it and don't like proxying).

I need to listen again to the Deep Dive Colette. Already listened to it but I may have missed some things.

 

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57 minutes ago, extremor said:

What do you think about hiring Ferdinand Vogel into Colette -as discussed by thirdfloorwars in Deep dive Colette...? I haven‘t tried, but I like the model and the idea of him shapeshifting on stage...

Oh, good suggestion! I missed that one, but it's true he seems to fit...

Ferdinand has Intimidating Authority, that's like a poor's man Serene Countenance that go very well with all the Distracted of the crew. Impassioned Defense is very useful and it has a chance to also heal; which goes well with the Duet... his attack actions aren't bad but neither are impressive; the spell has some uses tho and File Papers is some denial.

The beast is sturdy with Df6 and H2W, the best part of the beast is the control of his:melee2'' versus range 1 mele oponents; again the damage isn't impressive but it's useable. I guess Ferdinand is the better fit for the crew, but having also the beast is nice; specially because he can shapechange in mele. That will lead to a range 1 model that was engaging Ferdinand finding himself engaged by the beast while it also heals (and having also a trigger to heal with the attack). 

It's not as fast as the rest of the models and he is also a bit card hungry, but if that's not a problem for the list he seems to complement well the keyword.

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I've tried Ferdinand in the following list yesterday:

Colette, 3xDoves, Cassandra, Angelica, Ferdinand, Duet, Mannequin, SSM + MT  ...   pretty standard list except Ferdinand, 

I ran against a very nice molly crew: Molly, Necrotic Machine, Manos, Archie, Rourge Necromancy, Student of Steel, 2x Crooligans

 

Ferdinand didn't make sooo much of a thread, since my opponent pretty much ignored him/kept away from him. But for me he made an ok job for his ancient words was one of my few ranged damage. He did guard a turf-war-marker well and the file papers did have an impact on the opponents play/positioning. 

First turn I presto changoed the Necromancy next to my crew, it took me nearly the whole turn but the duet, cassandra, angelica, ferdinand and one dove finaly managed to kill it. Oh yes, I did suck at the terrifying 11 tests o_O ... but I got the feeling that the 3 (Duet, Ferdinand and Cassandra) make quite a nice beater-team some opponents don't expect in a Colette crew... and after all killing the Necromancy first turn made my life much more easy!!!

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Good to know it worked well, ty for sharing!

Ferdinand/The beast won't be very dangerous unless you feed them with Focused (or are in a Marcus crew and they get some damage mutations); with min damage 2 and no way to get positives to damage flips, he won't get the 4/5 part of the damage track consistently; sometimes he may get a good flip but that's all.

Which is awesome is how hard is to take down, Ferdinand on its own may get shielded+2 and heal 2 with the bonus action; plus the negative to duel. The beast may engage models at 2'' which unless he is facing other range 2'' models or jumpers like Archie or Manos, they won't be able to attack more than once per turn (and can also be used to deny interacts in idols/turf); in addtition the Df6 H2W, posibility to heal attacking and the 2 healing after shapechanging. All of that means that it's very hard for an unsupported model of its cost to kill any of them; because of this they can work well as lone wolfs to guard a point (as you used them) and that will give them the edge fighting models unable to bypass their defenses thanks to the superior sustain. But with all their utility, they are also good near of other performers.

3 hours ago, extremor said:

First turn I presto changoed the Necromancy next to my crew, it took me nearly the whole turn but the duet, cassandra, angelica, ferdinand and one dove finaly managed to kill it. Oh yes, I did suck at the terrifying 11 tests o_O ... but I got the feeling that the 3 (Duet, Ferdinand and Cassandra) make quite a nice beater-team some opponents don't expect in a Colette crew... and after all killing the Necromancy first turn made my life much more easy!!!

Wow, 11 attacks to put it down?

Versus H2W and Terrifying it's worth including something able to attack those defenses more efficiently if you want to go for that kind of first turn play; those 2 together are a huge resource drain for most models. It means either a high min damage ruthless model (and the only one in the faction is Elaijah which isn't a good pick for Colette, specially versus Molly who is able to remove Pyres) or a model with good moderate/severe and able to get double :+flipin the damage flip.

A Swarm with Diesel engine would had been quite cost efficient for that and could still go scheme heavy after the initial kill. The Wp4 hurts vs Terrifying, but the idea is aim for 5 damage in one hit and at least 3 in other, not spamming attacks. With DE (charge) + High health the first attack would be at double :+flipin damage (and also Df3 vs stat 6 if you reach b2b), triple if it gets rams, which is enough to counter the negatives for accuracy and H2W; those are very good odds of having a cheatable damage flip (if it get the onslaught attack, let it go unsupported; if it fails let it be). Then in the second attack the goal is getting the ram trigger for another double :+flipin damage (which is luck/hand dependent).

All of that is way easier with the toolkit (triple :+flipor even quadruple in the damage flip and positive flip in the duel) or more consistently with SS cache (stonning for rams which also gives positives to duel), but it's doable without these and DE is much better for scheming so it's the best pick for that crew imo. The icing on the cake is after the Swarm soften it, the rest of the model will face a Df3 model about to die and will have an easier time finishing it off (even doves!)

Probably the other good model for that in your list would had been the Rider with Diesel giving it some Focused (again 3SS more expensive, but useful later for scheming or even some killing using the double activation on itself and going for double charges). Another good options but compromising the speed of the list would have been Joss with Diesel giving it Focused+1 (again extra 3SS more expensive) or Supported Gunsmith (but this is for another kind of list as it would need Grit for puncture AND Focused)... maybe Mecharachnids if something give it Focused thanks to having Precise (but the Swarms are soo much better) or Snow Storm may also get high damage with Charge Through + stonning Puncture and bring some Chill triggers, but it's also unable to keep up with the crew.

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Thx for the advice. I played the Swarm once and it felt quite broken to me, so I decided to play SSM or the Swarm since I definitly don't want to completely piss off my opponent. And in general I'm not the Hard-Beater-Colette kind of guy and I really like to stay in keyword as far as posible. Next I want to try 2 Coryphee with DE on both... this also looks quite promising to me. Have you tried that one? 

And yes I have to completely agree - Ferdinand is quite tough to take down for an opponent. He can guard markers/areas really good, and that is more like my style of play... I definitely enjoyed playing hin and will continue doing so!

It only took me like around 11 AP to get the Necromancy down because my hand was 3 severe and 4 weaks. I only flipped 1-5 during the terrifying tests and didn't want to cheat those severe cards... that flipping was frustrating!!! The attacks that did manage to pass terrifying actually did make good damage thanks to fokus and cheating. Afterwards the Dove took it down through its own explotion trigger... that did work well!

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8 minutes ago, extremor said:

Afterwards the Dove took it down through its own explotion trigger... that did work well!

That's why the Doves are so good (among other things)!

 

Don't own Ferdinand but should proxying him.

 

I have started to test the Swarm and the Mobile Toolkit. Perhaps another game tomorrow. Will give feedback soon.

 

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11 minutes ago, extremor said:

Thx for the advice. I played the Swarm once and it felt quite broken to me, so I decided to play SSM or the Swarm since I definitly don't want to completely piss off my opponent. And in general I'm not the Hard-Beater-Colette kind of guy and I really like to stay in keyword as far as posible. Next I want to try 2 Coryphee with DE on both... this also looks quite promising to me. Have you tried that one? 

I think Coryphee are actually the superior choice with Collette, they do essentially the same job as the Swarm and you're saving 2ss while retaining keyword synergy.

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22 hours ago, extremor said:

Thx for the advice. I played the Swarm once and it felt quite broken to me, so I decided to play SSM or the Swarm since I definitly don't want to completely piss off my opponent. And in general I'm not the Hard-Beater-Colette kind of guy and I really like to stay in keyword as far as posible. Next I want to try 2 Coryphee with DE on both... this also looks quite promising to me. Have you tried that one?

Not personally, but that set up was in one of the games of the winner of the Stottish GT; he used it in the game versus Zoraida (which makes sense because concealment makes harder for her to obey). It looks legit if concealment will have a big impact.

I leave a link bellow:

21 hours ago, CD1248 said:

I think Coryphee are actually the superior choice with Collette, they do essentially the same job as the Swarm and you're saving 2ss while retaining keyword synergy.

Agree, coryphees are very cost efficient; specially if all you want to do is run and scheme. But Swarms has some advantages to consider over the coryphee:

  • Wd = SS cost +1 instead of SS cost -1: That is huge versus ping damage, shockwaves and enemies that may ignore armor or high defenses easily.
  • Upgrades: Swarms doesn't have any replace mechanic so they don't lose anything for using them (coryphees commit to not form a duet)
  • Built in Onslaught trigger, :+flipto damage at high health and pseudo-Injured in b2b: That's a lot of hitting power for a 8 SS model; and have tools to deal with several kind of defenses.
  • Heal out of scrap: Generally not that useful with Colette but in a pinch the rider with the revel ability or a mannequin dying for them may heal them.

Coryphees are the default choice, but Swarms are a nice replacement if one of several of the above are needed in that game.

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  • 1 month later...

So I have made some testing in Reckoning games following advices given here.

@Ogid: You were absolutely right about the Mobile Toolkit. Now an auto-include for me in Reckoning. Duet is generally Focused +5 in turn 2. Last game it was Focused +7 at the beginning of Turn 4 and it was devastating. Killed Hinamatsu turn 4 and Aeslin Turn 5 with a little support from the Mechanical Rider. One other advantage of the Toolkit is that it is Insignificant.

Another thing I ahve found: Toolkit gives Focus Tunr 1 and 2 to the Duet then the Mechanical Rider uses Ride with Me to keep the Toolkit close and then you have a Rider with Focused +2 or +4 which helps survivability in Reckoning.

Tried Joss but without great success (but should be good). The Swarm is also a very good. Last game in one activation it took down the Hooded Rider to 3 Health left (despite the Rider using all its Fate Tokens to reduce damage). Then Colette used Sword Trick to kill it and bury herself.

I think my go-to list in Reckoning now is: Colette - 3 Doves - Duet - Mechanical Rider - Soulstone Miner + Magical Training - Arachnid Swarm - Mobile Toolkit - 7 Soulstones (can vary depending on Schemes).

This list also has advantages for Reckoning: no Henchman and 4 Insignificant models, making it harder for the opponent to score the Strategy. Opponent could also be reluctant to waste actions on Insignificant models but if he don't do it, Toolkit gives insane amount of Focused and the Doves are still there to unbury Colette where required. The Soulstone Miner gives Soultones and as Colette is the only one to use them in this Crew, you can draw two cards at the beginnig of each turn and also always have enough for Masks (Presto Chango and Twist Ending on Sword Trick) as well as for reducing damage if she is hit.

However, this is in no way an auto-win list. I have lost hard (7-2 if I remember correctly) versus Misaki + Fuhatsu + 2 Samurai with Trained Ninja Upgrade. The Samurai where on rooftops and can shoot in my deployment zone. Lost the Swarm Turn One (despite losing 1 Strategy point, my opponent decided to kill it as fast as possible), a bad Hand on my side didn't helped. Was tabled by the end of Turn 4. But still have more success than with my previous lists.

Will update my first post.

 

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Glad it worked well :). And thanks for the report @Vangerdahast! That reckoning list looks quite solid and still able to play the fast scheme heavy style of Colette.

57 minutes ago, Vangerdahast said:

Tried Joss but without great success (but should be good).

The big problem with Joss in a Colette list is he compromise the speed of the list, but he is one of the most reliable hitters of the faction. Using Diesel on him and including the toolkit to give him Focused+1 and a Power Token (or Focused+2 versus some targets) the first turn, he become able to hit almost everything for 8-10 irreducible damage (including Master/Henchmans) using his 2 APs (and maybe some stones); you can push this concept including Amina for Fast and Obey.

It's a big investment, so not something to use each game. But f you need to guarantee a kill in the first turn versus something big that is usually safe for some combination of Armor/damage reduction and the ability to use SS; he can probably do it if Colette sets up the kill.

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