I love Reva's theme. How should I get started with her?

[EccentricOwl]

I already own quite a few Ten Thunders so I don't want to invest too much into Reva. I'm curious what boxes I would need to make her viable past her M3E core box. 

[Maniacal_cackle]

She's super fun! You'll get a lot of playstyles with Reva, so my advice will be completely different to some others. I go all in on the corpse theme, as that's what attracted me to Reva in the first place. Here's my standard-ish list:

• Reva + Corpse candles
• Dead Rider
• Grave Golem
• Bete Noir
• Shieldbearer
• Bone Pile
• Restless spirit

So for most people on a budget, I'd recommend starting with Reva's core box + Dessicated box (Grave golem + Bone Piles). The restless spirit can be tricky, as the Returned box is not really worth it. But sometimes you can find a restless spirit (I think previously called a graveyard spirit) single box.

Wanyudo is normally an annoying model to buy, but if you're already in Ten Thunders that's also high on my recommended list.

Dead Rider is pretty great, so if you're looking for a third box that's a good option. Bete Noir is absolutely amazing for Reva, but comes in an annoying Seamus box. You may be able to find a second edition copy of her, in which case you can get her as a single. Bone piles work as a decent budget version of Bete, but really can't pull off the wide range of things that she does.

That's my two cents, anyway!

[EccentricOwl]

Do you think Reva is compatible at all with asura Roten? 

[EccentricOwl]

3 minutes ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

She's super fun! You'll get a lot of playstyles with Reva, so my advice will be completely different to some others. I go all in on the corpse theme, as that's what attracted me to Reva in the first place. Here's my standard-ish list:

• Reva + Corpse candles
• Dead Rider
• Grave Golem
• Bete Noir
• Shieldbearer
• Bone Pile
• Restless spirit

So for most people on a budget, I'd recommend starting with Reva's core box + Dessicated box (Grave golem + Bone Piles). The restless spirit can be tricky, as the Returned box is not really worth it. But sometimes you can find a restless spirit (I think previously called a graveyard spirit) single box.

Wanyudo is normally an annoying model to buy, but if you're already in Ten Thunders that's also high on my recommended list.

Dead Rider is pretty great, so if you're looking for a third box that's a good option. Bete Noir is absolutely amazing for Reva, but comes in an annoying Seamus box. You may be able to find a second edition copy of her, in which case you can get her as a single. Bone piles work as a decent budget version of Bete, but really can't pull off the wide range of things that she does.

That's my two cents, anyway!

This is a great help! 

What do you mean when you say that she has a lot of playstyles? 

[Maniacal_cackle]

Just now, EccentricOwl said:

Do you think Reva is compatible at all with asura Roten? 

Probably! I haven't really figured out Asura Roten yet (and don't own her), but can potentially be a great buy because the Mindless Zombies are required for lots of other models in ressers.

But she gives you lots more corpses on the field, so potentially could be very useful. And if you take her, you potentially could drop the restless spirit, grave golem, and/or dead rider... So that opens up a lot of flexibility! I use those three models to get my corpses into position, so if you have Asura handling corpses you may find you don't need this package.

[EccentricOwl]

Thank you, that's very helpful

I might have access to a Bete Noir somewhere, or a similar looking model to stand in until I can get one.

Is she that good? I notice she's out of keyword. 

[Maniacal_cackle]

Just now, EccentricOwl said:

This is a great help! 

What do you mean when you say that she has a lot of playstyles? 

Some people like to take emissary with her, some people like Vincent + Lampads + Draugr and going hard on pyre markers, and people like me go with a bury/unbury on corpses theme (with Bete and bone piles).

I can't speak too much to those other options as I don't play them, but I know some people would recommend getting her core box + The Returned (Lampads/spirit) + Draugr box. Recently I did take a list that was: Grave golem/dead rider/Vincent/Shieldbearer/Archie, which worked pretty well as well. That was for Recover Evidence.

You could also just buy her core box and get a few practice games in and see what element of the crew you like the most.

Most people lean towards going with versatiles and out of keyword models with her, but since you're not collecting lots of ressers, you could just grab her keyword boxes and play with her like that.

[Maniacal_cackle]

1 minute ago, EccentricOwl said:

Thank you, that's very helpful

I might have access to a Bete Noir somewhere, or a similar looking model to stand in until I can get one.

Is she that good? I notice she's out of keyword. 

There's a few of us on the forums that think Bete Noir should be Revenant rather than Redchapel xD Most Redchapel players hate her, but she is really strong when you've got the table covered in corpse markers.

With Reva you can (but do not have to) focus on corpse markers, which really unlocks Bete's potential. Then you've got a model that is potentially charging for three attacks at stat 6. Not to mention she has some good utility with removing scheme markers if you don't bury her. I really like her, but she's a controversial piece - not everyone does like her. I used Bete to score Vendetta the other day, and it was almost impossible to stop her scoring two points.

If you go for the corpse theme, Asura is likely to be a pretty strong choice, and will likely free up some space to drop other models.

[Paddywhack]

I enjoy the Pyre marker game with her, but it can be difficult to get going. Draugr are OK and can hit above their weight once they have Burning on them. Add in Focus and they can hit hard. However, they are not immune to Burning, so it's a tricky balance about how much you can keep on them. Getting them to have Shielded helps and there are tricks to get more than +1, but it takes more setup than is useful sometimes. I have had 10+ pyres on the table a couple of times though  

Reva really likes to have Burning nearby too to make her better. Sadly she can only pull from Friendlies and not enemies. She can steal enemies burning to help heal her models though. That is part of the balance act with a Burning focus - stacking and using Burning and using Reva and other healers to keep her crew from burning to death.

I like lampads as they can serve as batteries for Reva, but being one of the mobile models in the crew it can be hard to keep them close. They are also way over priced for their stats. Most people say forget them and I'd be hard pressed to take one in a competitive setting until they get buffed. In fun games, they are fine and the models are actually pretty nice. 

Asura can be good in just about any crew, or at least hold her own. I think she's slightly better with Molly as Rabble Riser's are Zombies and she can 'obey' them too. Heck, with Seamus she has a ton of possible obey targets. With Reva it's pretty much going to be just any Mindless Zombies she summons. For a low crow she can heal a friendly 2 within 8". Useful if need be. If you can hit an enemy and still have the trigger, you might be able to heal multiple friendlies. Not something to rely on though. I prefer making sure I have Masks so Reva can use Embrace the Flame twice (unless you don't have any burning built up...). 

She's been fun for me so far, but definitely a trickier one to master. Also not considered a really competitive master generally.   

[Harlekin]

3 hours ago, EccentricOwl said:

Do you think Reva is compatible at all with asura Roten? 

Yes, absolutely. 
I do play Reva and Asura every now and then and it works pretty well. But beware, you might invest heavily in stones to bring out as many Zombies as possible during Turn 1. The more corpses the better for a Reva crew. 

[Da Git]

On 9/12/2020 at 7:51 AM, Maniacal_cackle said:

She's super fun! You'll get a lot of playstyles with Reva, so my advice will be completely different to some others. I go all in on the corpse theme, as that's what attracted me to Reva in the first place. Here's my standard-ish list:

• Reva + Corpse candles
• Dead Rider
• Grave Golem
• Bete Noir
• Shieldbearer
• Bone Pile
• Restless spirit

This looks really familiar

I have a couple of differences. I like the Emissary over the Golem as he's another source of Corpses and speeds the crew up even more. I also like to bring a Lampad (generally instead of the Bone Pile, although I'd possibly take a Nurse instead of a Bone Pile).

Reva's really good. Ideally, every flip she makes should be on a positive! Bete doubles down on that with her stat 6 Positive too. The Rider is just one of the top models of the game.

Lampads are ok, want focus to get the blasts on Breathe of Fire, but their main purpose is to move pyres and be a burning caddy for Reva.

Have fun with her!

[Maniacal_cackle]

4 minutes ago, Da Git said:

This looks really familiar

I'm 90% certain that I copied and modified YOUR list, so it should look familiar 😜

[Da Git]

4 minutes ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

I'm 90% certain that I copied and modified YOUR list, so it should look familiar 😜

That was the joke I was trying to make... 😜 Apparently unsuccessfully!

How's it been going for you? Any hot tips?

Do you use Bete in Retrieve evidence? Shame she can't bury, but reducing 2dg each time is still ok...

[Maniacal_cackle]

1 minute ago, Da Git said:

That was the joke I was trying to make... 😜 Apparently unsuccessfully!

How's it been going for you? Any hot tips?

Do you use Bete in Retrieve evidence? Shame she can't bury, but reducing 2dg each time is still ok...

The crew seems super solid! Grave golem throwing corpse candles (even if you lose the flip) has been crazy good for me.

I assume you know this trick, but for other people's sakes: Bete Noire's scarlet temptation coupled with Reva's pyre marker explosions can be VERY lethal.

The Restless spirit attacks movement, and thus bypasses defensive triggers, which has won me a game.

Umm.... I'm sure there's tons more xD I still am working on figuring out how to make best use of the shieldbearer's movement, and how much I need to move it up the field vs. hitting models up the field.

For Recover Evidence, last time I took: Dead Rider, Grave golem, Vincent, Archie, Shieldbearer. Was pretty happy with the crew's performance - although it did end up being a straight brawl which was extremely favourable for me. But I'll definitely be trying this list again (with Archie and Vincent being flex slots depending on the exact schemes for recover evidence). I don't like the inability to bury, I worry that I may get stuck in annoying locations - even if they don't kill Bete, they could shut her down. I don't like the idea of walking her across the table when the battle happens on the other side of the map.

 

[Maniacal_cackle]

Oh, another thing that applies to any crew but I have REALLY felt with Reva is: efficiency, efficiency, efficiency.

Reva is all about generating multiple types of resources and using them. In order to do this really well, you want to generate and use stuff efficiently:

• The shieldbearer can add movement to the grave golem, which can make it more efficient - but if you're not moving your shieldbearer up the field, you start to lose that efficiency again.
• Burning is an absolute MUST for Reva, but it also takes a fair bit of work to generate. So you need to make sure you're generating a few burning a turn AND it be within range of Reva. I position a few pyre markers around and generally have at least one model a turn standing on a pyre.
  • But I don't go overboard. In many turns I end the turn with 1 burning left.
  • I do worry this makes me vulnerable to disruption, and I may find myself suddenly short burning because they kill my engine, but I'm usually pretty safe with what I have on fire (and Reva is usually ready to ignite herself in a pinch).
• Cards -
  • probably my trademark move with Reva is I go absolutely overboard with card efficiency (and I ditch models like the Emissary because it requires a card to fuel it). Carefully consider target numbers
    • Some people quite like the Emissary, which is fine. Just as long as they think it is worth it.
    • Also I don't own the Emissary, so really I'm just salty about it.
  • Make use of low cards - either by having a discard outlet (rapid fire, lampads), or having useful triggers (masks for shieldbearers and bete). You won't make everything useful, but the more you can be like "oh, a 2, I can use that", the better.
• Damage - Reva crews really use health as a resource, so you have to be careful to not deplete it too much.
  • Though possibly the best way to do this is just not damage yourself more than you can regenerate.
• Shielding - generating it efficiently is critical, as spending extra effort (like plant the shield) can really slow you down.
• Contact points for Reva to attack through - if reva can charge 7 inches and stay safe while making three attacks at positive flips, the crew is doing very well.

A critical question to always ask with Reva is "can I achieve the same result with less resources". It is very different to say a Molly crew, where you can really afford to 'waste' a few resources doing some extra silliness (although of course even with Molly, to truly master the crew you have to make every single one of your 14 cards count >.>).

[Maniacal_cackle]

And yet another thing to consider - Zone control.

I consider Reva a Zone Control master (as opposed to say Molly, who can easily redeploy to any part of the board and go to where the action is).

If opponents are running around the board, you can't really chase them down safely. Really Reva (and Rider and Lampad) are the key pieces that can actually chase something across the board, but then you are going to lose a critical/expensive piece.

Instead I focus on capturing and holding territory (which makes me especially prone to picking things like Claim Jump or Leave your Mark with Reva). I can't necessarily chase down the enemy, but if I know that they have to come to the centre or some other area of the board to score points, I can just go claim that territory - with pyre markers, grave golem, and corpse markers so the moment something walks in there Reva can chop it to bits.

EDIT: This is another reason that Vincent is perhaps underrated. He can't chase things down, but you can park him somewhere and he acts as a machine gun for anything that comes near.

[Speedguyjp]

I know I’m in the minority but I do think Reva can be competitive in a number of schemes/strategies in keyword. I’m not saying she is top tier in keyword, just that against a similarly skilled opponent you should be fairly matched. 
 

shieldbearers are great and I almost always take two of them. My base crew is:

Reva, 2x CC, 2x shieldbearers. Most of the time I’ll put GST On the shieldbearers but not always. I actually like Draugr and take one Or more in most games. Yes they will die if you throw them in, but they can also dish it out. Prototype glass cannon. They are decent on the flank vs Most scheme Runners. If you think your opponent is bringing burning (Kaeris for example) you should include at least one. They are a good hidden martyrs choice paired with restless spirit or shieldbearers. 

 

versatile/OOK I like Toshiro (Whisper) and Grave Golem the best. They do synergize with the crew well. If I’m taking toshiro I have had good luck bringing in a flesh construct too

 

[Maniacal_cackle]

13 minutes ago, Speedguyjp said:

I know I’m in the minority but I do think Reva can be competitive in a number of schemes/strategies in keyword. I’m not saying she is top tier in keyword, just that against a similarly skilled opponent you should be fairly matched. 

Yeah, I think keyword Reva can be pretty effective, it is just not my style.  But I know keyword Reva wins tournaments sometimes! So can definitely be worthwhile.

Reva really has so many viable ways to build the crew.

[Wyamphri]

Reva is becoming my favorite go to, when before it was Yan Lo. She just feels so versatile and her crew options are really good I think. Plus with the speed she has, rider, wanyudo, etc you can do about everything with ease, scheme and strat wise.

[Cranky Old Man]

I have been playing a bit of Reva at the moment and I am finding the Wanyudo is better sub for the lampads. Can get burning on your models form him and he is quick. Shieldbearers are a absolutely necessary and the restless spirit is a handy little 4 stone hire. Use his corpse marker for the focus pulse from shield bearer. Then put shielded somewhere after his walk. Draugr I like but honestly, Reva is your main beater, other models can multitask and help her with the smack down. Like the dead rider who can transport models, kill stuff, summon and has the speed to scheme as well. I am taking necropunks OOK into all my resser crews if it is a scheme crew. They are independent and can go off and scheme while the rest of the crew is built around Reva and her abilities. Sometimes I’ll even hire a mindless zombie or two if I have extra stones just to have trash activations and moving corpse markers. 
I am convinced Reva has potential and I’m thinking I’ll play her into everything for the moment to really stress test her and experiment.

[Maniacal_cackle]

3 minutes ago, Cranky Old Man said:

I am convinced Reva has potential and I’m thinking I’ll play her into everything for the moment to really stress test her and experiment.

I won 2/3 rounds of my last tournament with her, although it is a small scene (for one of the rounds I took Molly because my traditional Reva list is bad at Recover Evidence. But turns out she is a rockstar at that strategy if you mix it up as well).

[Paddywhack]

12 hours ago, Cranky Old Man said:

I have been playing a bit of Reva at the moment and I am finding the Wanyudo is better sub for the lampads. Can get burning on your models form him and he is quick.

Wanyudo are quicker, but I don't like that you have to take dmg to get burning from them. Lampads can Hovering Flame and give out Burning without anyone taking damage. And don't you still have to take the duel from Wanyudo? So you might pass it and get nothing (or waste a card).

Lampads are definitely overpriced for their stats right now though. Drop 'em to 6SS and they'd be golden (might even take 2). 

[ShinChan]

I just stack fire on Shieldbearers, Reva herself, Ashigarus and Corpse Candles. I always end up having even more fire that what I need.

[Paddywhack]

4 minutes ago, ShinChan said:

I just stack fire on Shieldbearers, Reva herself, Ashigarus and Corpse Candles. I always end up having even more fire that what I need.

Oh I do that too, but I find I can burn (ha!) through it very fast. That and I don't like risking too much fire damage at the end of the turn. Reva can get off a lot of Actions with her triggers and needs to keep some for Df as well. 

[Da Git]

The issue I keep having with Wanyudo is that he dies very easily to comparably costed models... Maybe mine's just been cursed and I need to wave a chicken over him...