Transmortis University Introduction Lecture

[Graf]

DISCLAIMER: Transmortis received a hefty nerf in M3E GG2 und many more specific gameplays do not work anymore, so this guide got trimmed down/changed accordingly.

 

Welcome everybody to your first Introduction Lecture here at Transmortis University!

 

Sadly, Prof. von Schtook won't be able to hold this lecture, but do not fret! This course was expertly designed to follow his teaching. Those that excel here, might even get the chance for some individual tutoring with him personally! Work hard and you can become a distinguished Student of Transmortis University as well!

For now, lets start with a general overview of the crews models and some common versatile and only he most important OOK picks, so you have a general idea what you've got to work with. I expect you have done your mandatory reading, studied the crew's cards and gained a basic understanding of their rules.

 

 

Transmortis General

 

Transmortis Crew

Generally speaking, Transmortis is a mid-range crew of diverse abilities, falling in the "jack of all trades" category. They are tough for a Resser crew, but much softer than specialists like Hoffman. They have reasonable mobility, but can't jump around the board without serious investment. They have a good damage track, but rely on high flips and min. 3 attacks aren't common.

Piloting the crew means picking when and where you apply their (de)buffs to make the most impact. They largely rely on triggers for that, so you should watch out for any "Stunned" conditions from your opponent. They also have access to a lot of specific counter-picks. This makes list-building even more important than usual: If you know what your opponent is weak to, you can tool your list to exploit this.

 

Studied Opponent

The common ability all Transmortis models have and their main source for card draw. It can be a bit swingy, as it's somewhat luck based, don't expect to get a bunch of cards out of it. In my experience, you get about 1-2 card on the low end, and 3-4 cards on the high end per turn. Never forget you can draw one card per *activation*, this mean friendly as well as enemy activations, so duels instigated by your opponent count as well! Remember your opponent to anounce all their suits each and every time! You can slightly modify your "luck". Look out for build-in suits. Also, you cheat in low cards, if a duel is lost anyway, to at least cycle one card.

 

 

Model Overview

 

Prof. von Schtook

roles: support, blast damage

What is his most important aspect? Not any singular action he can take, all of them have their place. Imho it is: you have base 3 action per turn. This is the limit within you have to make him work. More often than not, you have to decide which kind of support Schtook should provide his crew, though the lines might blur sometimes.

Offensive mode: Select a single priority target to get rid of. This means, even if you do not get moderate/severe and therefore no blast effects, Schtook will apply Injured to his target. If you want to spread Injured (e.g. for AOE from Assisstent or Anna), you likely will need to cheat some cards in. Look at the boardstate and what hand cards you can spare. Usually it's better to save up and kill one target, than failing to remove two targets. If your target makes use of high counts of shielded, focused, etc.: Use Administrative Review first, with the True Disappointment trigger, strip their buffs away and soften them up at the same time.

Try to push, not move, him into position beforehand. You cannot reliably count on coming through with 2-3 blast attacks, so you need every action you can get. Focus on the same models to actually get rid of something. Low flips on your side or high flips from your opponent can really mess with you here, so there should be a model in position to clean up afterwards.

Support mode: So Schtook shall support? First action usually goes to Academic Broadcast, pick either AOE Focus or free pushes as necessary. For buff support and dealing with conditions on your crew, Administrative Review comes next with Positive Results trigger, e.g. for a Viscera. Do not forget to drop schemes beforehand, usually with Necropunks and/or Undergrads.

Academic Superiority/ Disarming: Do not rely on those for your safety. Superiority can soften some blows, but since Schtook prefers not to be closer than mid-range, it's usually a bad sign if his aura comes into play. Disarming protects reasonably well against basic minions (often ranged ones), but when opponents really go for his throat, it's usually with masters/henchman/enforcers who have enough different triggers or can stone for them.

Peer Review: It requires either a lucky draw or a 9+ and a stone. Consider if you can actually spend these resources and if you do, how to make use of something, that might give you a summon or it might not. It requires a lot of hoops to jump through, so the only safe result you'll get is the pressure on your opponent that you *could* get a summon. That's what you're planning for, not an actually successful summon. If you're summoning, it's very likely Schtook won't be within 6”, so expect to take the 2 damage on your new model. You can remove slow and maybe replace it with fast thanks to Administrative Review. But, to kill the juiciest targets, you often need to activate Schtook first, to apply buffs on your beater and/or Injured. That's very dependent on the situation, so look out for what's the best move at the moment. My recommendation would be: a slow summon is still better than a failed kill/summon attempt.

Upgrades

The Whisper: It's my most played Upgrade for him and usually saves me 2+ stones during the game and card draw is always good. While I have played without this upgrade, I regard it as a high priority pick. Checking and sorting cards back, also gives you a small trick: If you don't need to apply a Lecture Upgrade or use Grade Assignment, you can use your bonus action to get rid of a low card.

Killer Instinct: Similar reason to GST not to take this Upgrade. Schtook wants to stay further away than 2", so Loot their corpses doesn't do anything most of the time. But Ruthless could be helpful against crews who rely on Terrifying for their defense, only then it can be a serious consideration for him.

Grave Spirit's Touch: Meh. Blasphemous Ritual is unnecessary on him. Regen +2 is a nice ability, but Schtook prefers to hang a bit back and stay out of the worst trouble, so you won't have much need for it. Better save those stones for during the game.

 

Prof. von Schtook, Stargazer

roles: support, disruption

(under construction)

 

Research Assisstent

roles: blast damage, support

That's a strong totem, a true glass cannon. His Mv buff is passive and therefore doesn't need actions, this ability alone can be worth double moving him into position, if necessary. He is the reason why Transmortis tends to bubble up during deployment, even if they fan out turn #1. It gets scary, especially for a 2 cost model, when you manage to move him into position without activating him. Double Alchemical Vial for up to 5 damage (including poison) on a shockwave is really good. His balancing factor is his low health stat. So what I try to do is pushing him into close proximity, but with blocking terrain between him and potential threats. Schtook goes before him and spends 1 activation to broadcast, so the Assisstent moves 2" to draw LOS and needs to weather only a single activation (make sure he can't be easily enganged), before he activates himself. You can use his bonus action before shocking away, but never rely on it. It doesn't help the Assistent's own AOE, has a low stat and the difference between 6" and 8" distance to the enemy is significant.

Stargazer

Under Stargazer, the Assisstent is mostly his usual self, but not quite. You lose access to AOE 2" push to apply a double Alchemical Vial. Stargazers single target is much better with 3"/single move and additional Shielded 2, but most of the time it's too valuable and the Assisstent not a priority. Unless you get a real juicy pack of targets for the vial, the Assistent tends to hang back a little bit more. But keep an eye out for any 6+ tomes in your hand! Placing a scheme marker 8" away, without spending a master action for Light of Illios, to set up Shade of Delios, can be worth cheating in a card!

 

Valedictorian

roles: threat, (semi) beater

It's important to realize Valedictorian is your usual high damage beater. Decent for her cost, the moderate dmg is fine, the severe even good, but the 2 dmg on weak can make you a bit sad. Her beater role she fulfills not with a great damage track but by generating attacks, e.g. Flurry. A drawback of this: it eats a lot into your resources, both stones and handcards. Also, as soon as she comes up against e.g. armour this approach falls flat quickly. This is why you need to know the opponent's crew before the game, so you pick the correct counters, like the Student of Steel against armour. Within the crew she belongs to the tougher models but for a high priority target she's firmly in the "killable" range.

What makes her strong are her mobility tricks. She is a scalpel and works very well when you pick targets she can deal with quickly (roaming schemers, many flankers) or which you softened up beforehand with blasts and made the better parts of her damage tracks more likely. She is a hefty investment though, if she dies turn #1 or #2 and hasn't done something game changing, you've wasted her potential. If she made it to turn #3-4, in my experience, you're usually on the right track. So, how do you do that? That's why I picked "threat" as her primary role. Even if you don't mindlessly slingshot her behind enemy lines, she still *can* rocket across the board. She still *can* kill important models (given you have a hand and enough stones left). She still *can* transmortify models to your side. So your opponents have to keep playing around that fact. If they don't, go ahead and pick off those cocky schemers who moved to far away from the rest of their crew. If not, your opponent moves with constraints and probably can't move into perfect position and often they will turtle up, to deter you from going in. That's the moment when you wip out your previously mentioned blasting abilities to punish them for it. If you're sure before the game this will happen, you can include a Student of Sinew and allow your Valedictorian to go into bubbles even with all their retaliation potential. Read more about that in the tactics section.

Valedictory is an odd one. Up-cycling of cards is good, but for me it often conflicts with turning corpses into scheme marker. But if you don't need that where the battle is located, go for it, it's a bonus action. If nothing else, it's more corpse/scrap hate, if your opponent utilizes those markers. It can be cornercase useful though, if you need to recycle low TN suits, e.g. for an additional Necropunk Leap or an Assistent's Not a Bomb? trigger.

Upgrades

After the errata I tend to skip upgrades. If you want to use her as an alpha-striker, you already need to invest into Sloth. Both together is too much investment for my taste. If I plan to use her more conservatively, I add an upgrade only if I need to counter-tech.

Killer Instinct: Tech piece to gain access to Ruthless. Wouldn't take it in any other case, as she will often move out of Loot their Corpses distance.

Whisper: Valid choice and the more offensive alternative to GST. Might be an option if you include multiple versatiles to generate a bit more card draw, but otherwise not necessary.

GST: This formerly was her basic loud-out, but isn't necessary anymore. It was taken for the regen, but since you combine her with Sloth now, when you plan to dive her into enemy lines, he already provides healing.

 

Stargazer 

Under Stargazer she gets some of her previous capability back to strike hard, but either be able to do it at huge threat ranges or move back to safety and all of that can be done even easier than with a Student of Sinew. Thanks to the 3" place you can get her out of engagement range and then let her move to a safe spot.

 

Anna Lovelace

roles: support, special

Oh Anna, you big toolbox! I sometimes was reluctant to include her in my lists during GG0-1, since I preferred Valedictorian for my "expensive Henchman" slot and still wanted to use a good portion for minions. While she also was hit by the nerf and cannot gain fast from Schtook anymore (and Sloth can't give it as well!), she still appears more often on the table now. One thing has not changed: Include her instantly, as soon as you see summoning or prevalent flight/teleports on the other side of the table. Gravity Well is so unique, she gets included even in other crews. Hostile Work Environment can work against nearly every crew, it's rare in Malifaux not have some kind of targeted buff. The more they come to you, the better of course. As a 10 health Henchman with Armor +1 and solid Df/Wp she may not be a tank, but she still can take a hit here or there. This is necessary, because the 6” range on her auras, which goes a long way to make her cost worth it, requires her to move far enough forward but likely will put her in harms way. Accept that you'll lose her sooner or later. Her own target priority conflicts with the Valedictorian. Since the zombie bird play less aggressive now, they can be used in tandem to increase their footprint and to perform a one-two punch against very tough targets.

Her offensive capabilities can be tricky. The melee is fine, as long as she's able to trigger, she's a rare Transmortis model with effectivly min. 3 melee damage. Glimpse the Void can be game winning in the right circumstances and it always helps against pesky tanks, who just won't die. Send them away from the board for a bit and mess up their positioning. Also nice against models, who got slingshoted into your lines, with this you can make all the activations go to waste. Definitly worth stoning/cheating for.

Her gun poses a few questions for you though. While it's great to kill anything with less than 5 cost, as those do not matter for your summoning, you might fail your summoning run with Vale, do you now finish the target off and only get a Zombie instead of a full fledged Transmortis model? While this situation is to be avoided, it will happen. I cannot give a general answer to this, it's to dependent on the specific game. Instead, look at the board: Can you kill-summon next turn without losing models? Can the target get away somehow? Can the target accomplish VP (or other goals) while still alive? Consider these aspects and decide for yourself, just don't get greedy. If you don't know *exactly* how to gain a better summon, a dead enemy model plus Zombie is still better than nothing.

In theory Spirit Barage is intended to fuel Remote Detonator, but in practice it's unreliable. For that Anna needs a constant source of expendable models, with the Emissary as the prime choice. Asura also works, but I think the Emissary is usually the better pick. Toshiro would be possible as well, but Ashigaru are to good and expensive to detonate them regularly. Those models need to bring a bit more to the table, as all of them have high costs. If you can't find another reason to play them, other than cannon fodder creation, maybe skip on regular Remote Detonator AOEs.

Upgrades

Generally speaking, Anna doesn't need upgrades but can get them, if the situation calls for it. GST makes her a bit more resistant, if you need her to stay around as long as possible - e.g. vs summoners or Obey masters. As usual, Killer Instinkt can be useful against Terrifying crews, to bring her effectively min. 3 melee attack to bear.

Stargazer

The main reasons to take her (Gravity Well, Hostile Work Environment, min 3 attack) stay the same as with Schtook Original. Stargazer has the benefit that he can give her an additional (General) action per turn. If you get some Zombies out of Protect Me depends very much on your opponent, but all in all it's still more likely to use her Remote Detonator with Stargazer than with Schtook Original.

 

Backup Assistent

roles: support

tldr: Not worth its SS cost.

(under construction)

Upgrades

None.

Stargazer

No need to pick him here either.

 

Undergraduates

roles: support, allround

Undergrads are your average, resonably priced minions. Their most game-defining ability is to push your other models up the board with Lead the way. When we come to the tactics section, you will see how to apply it. Other than this movement support, they have decent stats with a solid damage track for their cost. Study won't happen every round/game, but it can be very valuable for your schemes and anything with the potential to score would be missed. If nothing else, it's always valuable corpse/scrap hate in Ressers mirror or specific Arcanists. Patronize is easy to forget and can slow down games, so I usually just ask what suit an enemy models doesn't have and pick it. If they can make use of all or I'm playing with clocks, I usually just skip it. Of course, if you're familiar with the enemy crew, you can make more informed picks.

Lead the way is worth including at least one Undergraduate in each list, at least Schtook and the Assistent will benefit. Wedge is the one deployment where this isn't necessarily true, since you're already very close to your opponent, though you still can use Undergrads for lateral movement and to avoid/set up charges, if that fits your gameplan. 

A second Undergrad is a reasonable investment, if you want to conquer boardspace asap, but most of the time not necessary. The third one only comes into the game, if it's the best summoning option.

Previously, Made to Kill was one of their most important abilities. That's not the case anymore, because they hardly ever get placed. Their native placement effect requires both enemies and friendlies close-by, but most importantly it costs a mask. Not many models need them, but those who do, require them desperatly - low masks for Necropunks, high masks for Valedictorian. Unless you include Dead Rider (Ride with me) you won't be able to use Made to Kill in a reliable fashion. 

Upgrades

Not necessary to put any on them. While they are the model most likely to have actions to spare for GST's focus pulse, I think the benefits of all upgrades are better suited elsewhere.

Stargazer 

With Stargazer, their Made to Kill becomes relevant again! They might not be the prime choice to be targeted by Study of Anatomy, but I often find Undergrads to survive into the late-game, when other, stronger targets already have gone the way of the Dodo and they become legit targets for Study. You also don't always need to deal damage, pushing opponents 4" away often is a great way to deny late-game VPs.

 

Necropunks

roles: scheming

They are a cheap and resilient with an expensive leap, the TN is low but it needs a mask. Solid scheme runners, they're good targets for fast/ focus/ etc., if it helps earning VP. The amount of effective leaps is limited, as you either don't have a mask available or you need to overpay significantly. A single Necropunk, generally speaking, is still a solid inclusion into your list. Using the GST on them became even more important now, as you need to make their survival more likely with only one in your list. Your opponents still have to play around their movement potential, as long as you have hand cards left. If they have nothing better to do, they are a cheap option to get schemes on the board, even if you only use them to give out fast with Schtook. They are the lowest cost Transmortis minion model, so they often are the only choice for summoning available.

Upgrades

GST for Terrifying or none.

Stargazer 

If you need scoring, Necropunks get a good portion of their old glory back with Stargazer. When you can spend the mask, they even get a bit crazy and can zoom up to 21" across the board or double, possibly even triple, scheme.

 

Student of Steel

roles: support, anti-armor tech

Pretty straight forward: If you expect armor, take a Student of Steel. Personally, I think one usually should be enough to include directly into your list, since Transmortis is good with picking their fights. But if you get the chance to summon, a second one wouldn't hurt. Be aware, they only have Mv4 and therefore need help to get up the board with the rest of the crew. They have one of the few light heals in the crew but only for constructs, therefore limited to your undead models (and Anna). On the one hand, the Steel moves with the bulk of your crew, on the other it's far less mobile and the range limited. I wouldn't count on it to much, but apply whenever possible, as a bonus action it doesn't take away from what you're doing otherwise.

Upgrades

None.

Stargazer 

With Stargazer, all his mobility drawbacks can be solved, even without utilizing an Undergrad. Their roles as armour-hate doesn't change, though. Take one, if you're up against armour, otherwise you can still skip them. It's neat though to get access to a bonus action heal for anybody, as long as you have a scheme marker nearby.

 

Student of Sinew

roles: support

Sinew can extend your threat range with their Command Corpse action, but in my opinion it is better utilized as a life insurance for your expensive models. Read more in the tactics section. Later it can be used for whatever purpose, may it be generating additional attacks (which can have further benefits other than damage) or scheming. Therefore the Sinew functions like an additional action for any undead model.

Their Dissector attack is insofar of note, as the Sinew is the only crew model able to make reliable use of Transmortis typical 2/4/5 damage track, if cheated. Keeping the Peace might feel a bit lackluster, but it's also relevant to remember: If it works, you won't see much of it, unless your opponent explicitly complains about getting fever attacks on your model. With the changes to the crew, they tend to stay closer together, so it's more likely now you gain something from it.

As far as I read about Sinews they're not very well liked. They are a bit expensive, but that's not uncommon with allrounder models. Their biggest issue is their reliance on high cards you propably need elsewhere. Check your crew for TN requirements, if you think about playing Yo-Yo with them.

Upgrades

None.

Stargazer 

With Stargazer I feel like the Sinew doesn't offer enough, which the crew still needs. A 3" place and General Action should be more than enough to get any model out of harms way or set up any alpha strike. You could combine Command Corpse and Study of Anatomy, but imho that's overkill and not worth the Sinew's points. 

 

Student of Viscera

roles: threat, scheming

Visceras combine the reasonable tough body and Transmortis damage track with speed and all-terrain mobility, making them the crew's premium flankers. In my opinion the best minion model and the only non-support one that's a regular pick. They work a bit like a poor man's Valedictorian, making them a legit choice in most situations. Similar to the zombie bird, their price tag is an issue though and you need to make sure they survive for a couple of rounds to make it worthwhile. Depending on the table, they might need some help to get around terrain they can not move over, but in this crew that's no big issue. Deadly Pursuit from the Killer Instinct upgrade looks nice to have there as well, but it increases the target on their head even more. Unless it helps scoring, I prefer to invest those SS into more bodies.

Upgrades

None necessary, but they can be utilized. GST for Terrifying and making them a pain to deal with for your opponent, Killer Instinct for Ruthless and even more mobility.

Stargazer 

Visceras were good before Stargazer, with him they are even better. I feel like the mobility benefits are a bit overkill for them, tempting the player to overcommit them, Shielded is very handy for them though. I find Stargazer's Studies to be of more value elsewhere most of the time, but if you know what you're doing, they can pull some crazy stunts.

 

Bone Pile

roles: support 

Another versatile model that finds a place in many crews, if the circumstances are good. They offer a light heal for any friendly model, have a Ruthless gun and offer condition removal, while being immune themselves. Especially Stunned is bothersome for Transmortis, since they heavily rely on their triggers and Staggered, since they utilize their mobility to pick their fights. While Schtook already has strong condition-hate, using a Minion's actions has a much lower opportunity cost. Overall they are as flexible as the Transmortis crew and a good pick for them. When playing Corrupted Ley Lines, they even become a near mandatory pick for me. If you have the points, you can add a GST to the pile and don't worry anymore about their self-inflicted damage.

 

Carrion Emissary

roles: support

The Emissary is often mentioned when people talk about maximizing threat ranges. Its Mv buff is passive and combines well with the Assisstent and Undergraduates, but investing into mobility alone isn't enough, you also need to capitalize on your positioning. Luckily there is more! While the Emissary doesn't need much input from your crew, it is in line with Transmortis' concept of mutual cooperation. Obvious is the synergy with Anna. Transmortis itself cannot afford to sacrifice its normal picks for Remote Detonator, but Zombies are ideal for that. They also work as corpse markers to create an emergency scheme marker. As always, you even don't have to summon the Zombie and instead use the two coffins as roadblocks, to deny LOS to your smaller models and make charges difficult. The Injured condition on its gun meshes well with Transmortis and brings a min. 3 attack into the crew, which doesn't rely on its triggers.

All in all one of Ressers favourite versatile picks for a reason. A very solid, especially when combined with Anna, even though it gets a bit expensive.

 

Carrion Effigy

roles: support

It happens only rarely, but if you have few points left to spend, but already covered your scheming, the Effigy is a cheap significant model with a small heal. Only for undead though. I include it when I don't know what else to do with my points, but with one exception: against masters, who want to get into your face quickly (Lady J e.g.), the Effigy's aura is a cheaper deterrent than the Emissary's equivalent.

 

Dead Rider

role: beater

All around great beater model and your best pick if you need a min. 3 beater in your crew. It gives you another option to move your crew without spending actions and Revel in Death combines really well with Schtook's/Assisstent's blasting, though it tends to be more flashy than effective. The real money lies with his Scythe attack. Ride with me is an evergreen ability as in any crew and can substitute for an Undergraduate. The Rider's mobility also means you have another model that can keep up without Undergrad support. When using the Dead Rider, Sloth is (similar to Transmortis own expensive models) a pick to consider, as only he can give the Rider fast.

All in all, the Dead Rider not only is his usual good self-sufficient model, but also synergizes well with what the crew wants to do anyway – if you can afford his cost.

Stargazer

The Rider doesn't get Schtook's Injured support under Stargazer, but Study of Anatomy is easily worth it. He's even stronger and more flexible with the title master!

 

Gravedigger

role: support

Not much to say here, they do what they always do. Transmortis needs corpses only when they want to create more scheme markers and Study/ Grade Assignment makes Field of Corpses a bit redundant, same with Academic Broadcast and Blasphemous Ritual. This model isn't bad, but simply not as needed as in other crews. It can be an option if you pick marker-heavy schemes and a more interesting pick if you include corpse-dependent OOK models, like e.g. Toshiro. Check for the mobility and scheming potential Killer Instinct can give the Digger in your scheme pool.

Stargazer

(under construction)

 

Sloth

While he has been good before, with GG2's changes, Sloth became the most important versatile pick for Transmortis. He is the only option to give fast to your non-minions. Sadly, this doesn't include Anna, but Valedictorian, Dead Rider, etc. all are happy to have him at their side. Sadly, his heal is best only on minions, because Administrative Review as condition removal doesn't help non-minions much, but survival of your expensive models can still be worth it.

Stargazer

Sadly, Sloth doesn't benefit from Shade of Delios, but that doesn't mean he's bad! Fixing the slow conditions from Sloth's heal is better with Stargazer. Different to Administrative Review, you can reap all possible effect from Study of Anatomy on any of your models and not be limited to Minions for anything but the condition removal.

 

Manos

Your Demise hate on a stick. Superior to Datsu Bae, Manos is much more crew independant and can bequeath the main reason to take him should he die. He's mobile, with a solid gun and melee attack and also can avoid burdening your SS pool. Not much discussion here, he is a very good model, take him when you need his tech. 

 

Nurse

Nurses are good tech pieces for the whole faction. I assume this as being obvious, even when they don't get included in every list. Most of the time I prefer Bones Piles for their flexibility. If I need condition removal and nothing else, then Nurses are my go-to though. Bedside Manner is also as strong as always.

Stargazer

Since Stargazer likes to play a bit more forward than Schtook Original, the Nurse is a higher contender when compared to Bone Piles. While you skip some scheming potential, the title should be able to handle most schemes anyway and Bedside Manner is way too good as a defensive emergency measure to skip it, if you already consider an additional source of healing/condition removal.

 

Toshiro

Excluding Valedictorian, Transmortis can depend largely on minions for their battle prowess. If you need killing power, Toshiro can dial up the effectiveness of Undergraduates and Students a lot. He generates Focused, additional attacks and has a light heal, with the potential for Shielded - buffs well aligned with Transmortis. He can be a bit card hungry though, so take care not to include too many other high TNs in your list.

 

 

Battle Strategy, Tactic & Combos

 

Common turn #1 actions

Transmortis tends to bubble up during deployment, so as many models as possible can benefit from Academic Broadcast.

Schtooks first activation is essential and follows this pattern:

1. Academic Broadcast

2. Peer Review, on Valedictorian, Anna or Viscera - if you have the card to spare

3. Administrative Review on a minion (beware you need a scheme marker)

4. free to use, either movement or another Review

Because Schtook needs as many models within 6” for the Broadcast, he activates early in this turn. It's of note that you don't necessary want to activate Schtook before Valedictorian, because quite often it's not a good idea to slingshot her into enemy lines turn #1 (assuming you also have Sloth). In this case, it's better to activate her first, so Fast will carry over into turn #2.

 

Push It

Early-game is all about getting into position and a good portion of Transmortis models either need a speed bump or prefer not to spend their actions on walking in general. This is where Undergraduates come into play.

During deployment you position two models close to each other, so an Undergraduate is less than 2” of both. When you activate the Undergraduate, use Lead The Way to push your first model forward and follow as far as you can, to still be within 2” of the second model. With another Lead The Way you let it follow by push. You can repeat the process with a second Undergrad, if you have a Dead Rider or something similar to get it into range, but usually the investment isn't really worth it. I prefer to push two other models forward with a second Undergrad and keep pushing turn #2 as well, if you need the extra movement.

 

Valedictorian Alpha Strike & retrieval

Using the Assistant and Emissary or the Push It combo, Valedictorian has a HUGE threat range. If maxed out, you could reach the opponents table edge, if you wanted. Not that this would be useful, I mention this to prove a point: you can get anywhere, if you invest the resources. Usually a threat of a bit over 20” is more than enough. Do not forget: Transmortis is not so resistent to be able to weather a whole crew pounding on them and you don't want to pay a bunch of SS and sacrifice multiple of your own models, just to get one of theirs. If there is no somewhat safe landing spot, better refrain from using this alpha strike or at least better make sure the target is worth the sacrifice, because most models aren't.

After you've buffed your beaters (mostly Sloth's task) and made sure you're within +Mv buff range, you double move + charge + charge attack + flurry attack your target. 

As long as your opponent doesn't make the mistake to give you a lone model somewhere, but instead covers his crew's models with each other, you have to think about how not to lose Valedictorian too fast. At least during turn #1 it's often easy enough not to rush forward into certain doom, but there are corner cases and you also can't avoid engagement the whole game. So, what do you do to still capitalize on her offensive potential but return her back into safer locations?

First, on your last attack, you spend a stone/card to ensure her Shove Aside trigger. The additional attack might seduce you to go in even deeper, but you have to resist! A surviving Valedictorian is worth so much more than a single attack. Just use your own push to move her back into the direction of your own crew. Your opponent will get another activation, before she can be safe, consider this before you go in with her in the first place. Use activated enemy models, terrain, etc. to hinder anything that can reach her. Also, the further you hunted on the fringes of the opponent's crew, the fewer models they might have for that. Your next activation will be the Student of Sinew, moving forward and then using Command Corpse, they get her another 5” out of threat range. Naturally you have to save a fitting card in your hand for this action. It's important to calculate the max. threat range beforehand, within which the Sinew will still be able to retrieve Vale.

In case Valedictorian charged more into the center of the enemy crew, there might be a model on a close flank, outside of the threat range of the remaining crew. Then, after using the 4” Shove aside trigger, Vale might to able to use Lecture Notes with its On Your Heels trigger, to jump another 6”. Even if the flanker hasn't activated yet, weathering the attacks from a single model often is much more survivable than staying within weapon range of the core of a crew.

 

 

List Building

 

This is the part, where you have to apply everything you've learned until now. For Transmortis, it's hard to give general list building advice, as it is a crew that needs tailoring in every match-up. The crew's core list is rather small for this reason:

Leader:
  Prof. Von Schtook
Totem(s):
  Research Assistant
Hires:
  Undergraduate
 

Schtook and Assistant are natural parts. Valedictorian is still the crew's main mobile beater, but to utilize her fully, you also need to include Sloth. Next, you want more models that can punch: Anna, Visceras, Dead Rider. After that you take your counter-picks, usually one or two models. At this point, make sure you take a good look at the opponent's crew and the scheme pool. Don't be afraid to ask questions, most information in Malifaux is open. Expect good armor? Take the Student of Steel. Need a lot of scheme markers, either for scoring or for giving fast to your minions, include a Necropunk. The strat is mobility based, like Corrupted Ley Lines? Include more Visceras and/or Bone Piles. You're up against a summoner? Pick Anna Lovelace. If you still have points left, include a second Undergraduate.

The recommended size of your Soulstone pool varies with the models you include. Valedictorian eats stone for breakfast, so 6 stones are a solid amount, if you want to utilize her for an alpha-strike. When she is not part of the crew you can easily afford to go down to 3-4 stones.

 

 

Strats & Schemes

 

GG3

(under construction)

 

GG2

GG2 is very scheme focused, which would be a huge plus for Transmortis, but their nerfs hold that back. Most often you want to good mixture of schemy and killy strats/schemes, not going to far in either direction, to capitalize on their flexibility. Never forget: Points mean prizes! Transmortis can accomplish a lot by killing stuff, but you still have to focus first and foremost on gaining VP!

 

Corrupted Ley Lines: This is a movement and position based strat. While Transmortis lost a lot of their mobility, they still are a mid-range crew and with the right choices can suffiecently move from point A to B, as required by this strat.

Symbols of Authority: Depending on the deployment and opponent's choices, this schemes likely requires a lot of mobility for you to score. Transmortis likely will struggle more here than with Ley Lines, depending where your opponent places their markers. Since the crew has a couple of anker models, you can reasonable defend your own markers though. You can guide the opponent by placing your own markers in specific fashions. Most often, I tend to clump 2-3 markers as close as possible to funnel a portion of my opponent between terrain pieces, where I can blast into them efficiently. 1-2 markers are spaced out very far, so a flanker might catch one or two schemers running around on their own.

Turf War: This is more of a kill strategy. With its mid-range capabilities, Transmortis is decently set up to deal with this scheme as necessary, but it will likely need to tailor its list. Compared to other Ressers, Transmortis is a bit tougher, which helps here. You also can play with a low model count, which denies your opponent chances to flip markers, as long as you have enough models to not just get bypassed.  

Break the Line: This can be tricky, depending on the marker positioning and type of enemy crew. Same as with Turf War, Transmortis likes to have a solid presence in the center of the board, but same as with Symbols, it can get difficult to defend your center and Interact on both flanks. On average, the crew still has the tools necessary though.

 

As a jack of all trades crew, Transmortis can play into all strategies in my opinion, though some are harder to accomplish now. Both Lines and Turf are solid, Symbols can be difficult, if deployment allows your opponent to spread markers out very far. 

 

Breakthrough: Not as good as in GG1, but if deployments aren't too far from each other, still a scheme for Necropunks. Viscera can also assist, though I wouldn't let them do it alone, due to their cost. But be aware it eats a lot of actions, both for getting there and dropping schemes. A better choice with Wedge, less so with Corners.

Vendetta: Good pick and many choices for your own model. Visceras are fast on their own and if the have room to move, can rush their target. Making sure they survive is the hard part here, don't pick this scheme if your opponent can hunt down your model easily.

Assassinate: If you know, you'll have to deal with the enemy master anyway, you can pick Assassinate. Otherwise, I prefer to kill softer targets.

Claim Jump: A strong Necropunk scheme. They have the ability to move into the scoring zone and quickly draw back into safety until the game is over and shouldn't need to leap more than once. While staying in safety they can busy themselves dropping markers for fast minions. A resilient mid-ranger like Anna also can work, if you play her carefully.

Hidden Martyrs: I like Bone Piles as one of the models, as they can bury into safety. The second model can be anything that fits within the 13 cost limit.

Catch and Release: Not a big fan. It needs more cooperation from your opponent than other schemes. The first VP is no issue, the second one is harder though.

Let Them Bleed: Transmortis blast abilities can work well here, but this scheme is a bit to chaotic for my taste. To many avenues your opponent can stop you from scoring. I also prefer getting rid of models completly instead leaving them damaged on the table, as this doesn't hinder them.

Research Mission: Weird one imho. Our Undead are also Constructs, therefore we can pick if we want to drop corpses or scraps, which can help out nicely here. But Transmortis likes to do stuff with markers, which runs contrary to this scheme. I would say Research Mission is... optional.

Spread Them Out: Became much more difficult, now that Transmortis needs to be close to Schtook to drop markers from killing enemies. But I think it's still in their ball-park and therefore a legit choice.

Detonate Charges: Transmortis accidental marker drops work well, though I don't like it need your opponent's cooperation. The more the table enforces specific lanes to move through, mitigating your opponent's ability to avoid this scheme, the better. It also works quite well with some strategies.

Death Beds: This is easy enough, thanks to Recruitment Drive. Just pick your non-scheme marker according to your opponent (scrap for constructs, corpse living/undead). Look out for a chance to kill two models close to each other or drop the right marker type when they catch one mod of yours and counter-kill. 

Outflank: Possible to do, if you tailor your list, but the mobility nerf makes it difficult now. Against slow and/or bubble crews it can be worth the risk, but I would look out for more beneficial factors (other schemes, strats, etc.) to pick this one.

Bait and Switch: Should work fine with Turf War or Break the line, but can end up both in a win-more or lose-more situation. Be careful not to telegraph the picked model, as Transmortis needs them to come to you to a degree, until you can push them to be where you need them to be. Dead Rider makes the first point easy, just pick something that can't be killed with one swing. OOK you can include Lures and similar abilities, to move them past the centerline.

[Maniacal_cackle]

The much anticipated guide! Thanks!

It's pretty thorough, will be reading through this for some time to come!

[Cranky Old Man]

Great so far. My biggest issue with this crew is fitting very thing in! Do you hire both Vale and Anna? Once this happens the test of the crew is hard to squeeze in. My typical crew has been Vs and the assistant with whisper on VS, Vale, Anna , 2 undergrads and one of the students. How about you guys? I’ll add necropunks when I can depending on schemes.

[Saduhem]

2 hours ago, Cranky Old Man said:

Great so far. My biggest issue with this crew is fitting very thing in! Do you hire both Vale and Anna? Once this happens the test of the crew is hard to squeeze in. My typical crew has been Vs and the assistant with whisper on VS, Vale, Anna , 2 undergrads and one of the students. How about you guys? I’ll add necropunks when I can depending on schemes.

That's a pretty solid VS list! You can switch out the student and/or an undergrad for anything depending on the pool.

[MajorUndead]

8 hours ago, Graf said:

One of the few (low) heals in the crew but only for constructs, therefore limited to your undead models.

Just a small remark on this : Anna is construct too and so can get healed by the student of steel.

 

A small question : I'm not sure what you mean by this when talking about the Whisper upgrade on Schtook :

8 hours ago, Graf said:

Also you can use Administrative Review, if Schtook has suffered any damage. Thanks to the build-in crows and Positive Results trigger, he can do it without losing an action.

What is using administrative review has to do with schtook having suffered damage?

[Graf]

@MajorUndead

@Anna: True, I've added that!

@Schtook: Positive Results Heals 1. If Schtook has any upgrade, he'll gain fast and therefore the action, he just spend, back. (Doesn't work and is corrected in the guide now)

[Graf]

8 hours ago, Cranky Old Man said:

Great so far. My biggest issue with this crew is fitting very thing in! Do you hire both Vale and Anna? Once this happens the test of the crew is hard to squeeze in. My typical crew has been Vs and the assistant with whisper on VS, Vale, Anna , 2 undergrads and one of the students. How about you guys? I’ll add necropunks when I can depending on schemes.

My essential core is Schtook, Vale +GST, 2 Undergrads. After that, it depends an the pool and opponent. One Necropunk is common, as at least one strat/scheme I take fits them.

I like Anna, but she gets cut the most. As soon as I need specific tech she doesn't offer, I often cannot afford her cost.

I maybe should add a "Transmortis general/ list building" section. 🤔

[ShinChan]

2 hours ago, Graf said:

@Schtook: Positive Results Heals 1. If Schtook has any upgrade, he'll gain fast and therefore the action, he just spend, back.

Hold on, what?

Are you saying using Admistrative Results in Schtook himself? If that's the case, you can't. First of all it's an attack, and models can't attack themselves. Second, a model can't take more than 3 actions during an activation due to Fast.

[Graf]

35 minutes ago, ShinChan said:

Hold on, what?

Are you saying using Admistrative Results in Schtook himself? If that's the case, you can't. First of all it's an attack, and models can't attack themselves. Second, a model can't take more than 3 actions during an activation due to Fast.

Oh well... I expected some stupid brainfart mistake to be there somewhere and lo and behold, there it is! Thank you guys for catching it! 😃👍 Edited. I did this only once, ages ago, and now I know again why never since then xD.

I didn't intended this guide to be the end of all wisdom, not even free from potential mistakes, so it's good you think it through. Motivating others to ponder and think for themselves is my real goal here and imho that's necessary to play a flexible crew like Transmortis well. Constructive criticism also helps me get better, so keep it coming!

[ShinChan]

1 minute ago, Graf said:

Oh well... I expected some stupid brainfart mistake to be there somewhere and lo and behold, there it is! Thank you guys for catching it! 😃👍 Edited. I did this only once, ages ago, and now I know again why never again since then xD.

I never intended this guide to be the end of all wisdom, not even free from potential mistakes, so it's good you think it through. Motivating others to ponder and think for themselves is my real goal here and imho that's necessary to play a flexible crew like Transmortis well.

No worries, everybody makes mistakes and you did a really good job writing the guide.

My standard list is as follows:

• Von Schtook + Research Assistant
• Undergraduate
• Anna
• The Valedictorian
• Carrion Emissary
• Sloth
• 7ss

I can change pieces depending on who I'm facing, of course. However, Sloth is usually too good not to bring him, healing 3 from 10" away without requiring a TN (Slow will be removed by Schtook) + giving Fast when needed and discouraging heals from the enemy, that's a nice pack.

Same for the Emissary, his coffins can really mess up with the enemy positioning and the zombie works like a charm for Anna's free action, which even makes you draw a card. Also, if at some point you don't need the Zombie, his aura is great to ensure a kill with Anna/Vale.

I tried The Whisper on Schtook, but I prefer to have the stones to dig for cards or help Valedictorian to survive. The crew usually generates enough card cycling to ensure I have the  for Schtook.

Also, Valedictorian's thread range is as follows (turn 1, always in a straight line):

• 4 Attacks at 14"
• 3 Attacks at 21"
• 2 Attacks at 28"

That's without taking into account the Shove Aside and On Your Heels triggers. The idea is Alpha strike as the last activation of turn 1 and kill someone to summon from it. If it happens, your opponent is in trouble, if it doesn't you'll have to see what happens at the beginning of the turn 2 and evaluate what you're going to do. It's a high risk - high reward play, that don't always work.

Rider and a Gravedigger are great for Transmortis. Gravedigger can heal most of your models, spreads focus, gives corpses to trade for cards and scheme markers and if you add the Rider, you'll end up with a devastating turn 3 full of Mindless Zombies, which are not going to kill anything, but annoy your opponent's plans just by being in the middle.

[Paddywhack]

Nice write up - thank you!

Someone else pointed out to me that the Student of Sinew's Keeping the Peace is often most useful for that extra attack. For a 4+ Rams, a suit not much needed in the crew, he gets a free attack. It can be hard to use that bonus action instead of Lecture Notes, but with their good damage tracks it can sometimes mean another dead model. And if you have a high Crow you have decide between Lecture Notes with 3dmg or a Command Corpse. Command Corpse gets all the attention, but it can be very card dependent. 

[Sagrit]

To be honest i'm not so good with Von Schtook's crew yet... But i must say that Sloth is too good to avoid. It's just fit's in every playstile. You want an Alpha strike with Vale and Undergraduates? Sloth will give those minions Fast, so it's 4 attacks after By Your Side. You want to be supportive and more secured? Sloth will give you 3Wd heal without card flips. You want to abuse your opponent with auras? Well, you already have Von Shctook's "deny-enemy-upgrades" aura, Anna's "no-place-here" and "stop-targeting-your-friends". Wanna more? OK - Sloth will give you "think-twice-before-heal"  

[Graf]

6 hours ago, ShinChan said:

[...] I tried The Whisper on Schtook, but I prefer to have the stones to dig for cards or help Valedictorian to survive. The crew usually generates enough card cycling to ensure I have the  for Schtook.

Also, Valedictorian's thread range is as follows (turn 1, always in a straight line):

• 4 Attacks at 14"
• 3 Attacks at 21"
• 2 Attacks at 28"

[...] It's a high risk - high reward play, that don't always work.

If I don't have points left, I won't take Whisper as well. Unless it cuts to deeply into my SS (6 is minimim for me), it's usually worth it though, imho. But both options are valid. 

Yeah, this high risk is what promted me to write this guide in the first place. In my opinion the reward potential often leads to bad decisions, especially for new players. That's why a good portion of the guide is dedicated to analyze and mitigate the risk of loosing the crew's (non-master) cornerstone already in turn 1-2.

[Graf]

@Sagrit Sloth definitly is on my "want to try" list, but buying a whole crew for only one model is a hard sell as long as my Ressers shopping list still has other option on it... Maybe I get lucky and enough of our new players choose different factions and are willing to split the box. I wish we also had a shop, which offers single models, in Europe... 

 

The aura is exactly what I wonder about the most... Does it actually do much? It needs Sin Tokens with only Sloth being able to give it to them on a rather limited range. Even more so when combined with the Carrion, who also can stop healing? 

[Newbzy]

Thank you so much for the time you put into this awesome guide! *two thumbs up*!!!!

[Sagrit]

20 hours ago, Graf said:

The aura is exactly what I wonder about the most... Does it actually do much? It needs Sin Tokens with only Sloth being able to give it to them on a rather limited range. Even more so when combined with the Carrion, who also can stop healing? 

Well it not "stop" healing, it makes opponent think more careful about placing and healing. This days it's a common thing to see some beater tanking you because of self heal (Regen, Jaggernaut) and some extra heal from friendly models (Sun Quiang, Spit Hog e.t.c , you know what i mean). If Sloth is near you gave Sin tokens for passive heal and after that your opponent just cant heal beater with a big heal. That's it, and you done nothing for that.

So you don't hire Sloth for that Aura, you do it for his Bonus Action, his ability to give Fast to all students, punks, undergrad's and Vale and for his ability to give Slow to opponent. Aura is just a cherry on top of the pie :) 

[Graf]

2 hours ago, Sagrit said:

you don't hire Sloth for that Aura, you do it for his Bonus Action, his ability to give Fast to all students, punks, undergrad's and Vale and for his ability to give Slow to opponent. Aura is just a cherry on top of the pie

With this, I can fully go along 👍 

[Maniacal_cackle]

23 hours ago, Graf said:

@Sagrit Sloth definitly is on my "want to try" list, but buying a whole crew for only one model is a hard sell as long as my Ressers shopping list still has other option on it... Maybe I get lucky and enough of our new players choose different factions and are willing to split the box. I wish we also had a shop, which offers single models, in Europe... 

At some point I really need to sculpt a sloth (animal) by hand to use as my sloth.

[Cranky Old Man]

I’m painting my Sloth this week now....need to try him out

[Ogid]

Great guide, It'll be handy to know how to play versus him . 2 particular good points I liked are the threat one and the alpha strike one.

Having a loaded alpha striker creates a huge pressure in the other player and knowing how to exploit that makes a difference.

Also alpha striking (specially the first turn) is effective but also requires knowing exactly what you are doing because it'll put your model in a very big risk; so an alpha strike needs to be well prepared and deal damage or it will put the rusher behind. Plus not going all in and having an out strategy is very good; shove aside for running away is something I don't see often suggested and it works great in my experience, specially combined with a model able to further rescue the alpha striker like command corpse in your case or a lure. 

[Cranky Old Man]

So now how do we counter him if playing against him? I’m thinking pick off the chaff try to get Vale into something tempting and then counter punch her. What are some matchups that The Professor doesn’t like?

[Maniacal_cackle]

6 minutes ago, Cranky Old Man said:

So now how do we counter him if playing against him? I’m thinking pick off the chaff try to get Vale into something tempting and then counter punch her. What are some matchups that The Professor doesn’t like?

Molly has felt pretty good against him.

Activation control means automatic protection against alpha strikes, and her serene countenance and Lethes caress are real obstacles too. And of course 2-9 irreducible damage from her makes them play around hand size and positioning.

Throw in access to a variety of elite models that can do a pretty decent job against armor one (Archie can do 6 damage an activation for example) and great scheming and denial... It has felt solid so far!

[Cranky Old Man]

Sounds fair. Local player has jumped onto the resser train and he has started playing Schtook. As the resident resser I want to teach him the meaning of dead

[Maniacal_cackle]

3 minutes ago, Cranky Old Man said:

Sounds fair. Local player has jumped onto the resser train and he has started playing Schtook. As the resident resser I want to teach him the meaning of dead

Oh, McMourning as a second master is probably worth consideration too then!

[Graf]

1 hour ago, Cranky Old Man said:

So now how do we counter him if playing against him? I’m thinking pick off the chaff try to get Vale into something tempting and then counter punch her. What are some matchups that The Professor doesn’t like?

I'll give some general tipps, you can make their (un)life hard with several soft counters and a fitting playstile. You'll have to pick for yourself, what you can do with this.

Look closely at their list and what they are activating early on. Transmortis has a bunch of different options, as layed out before, but they can't do everything at the same time. For example, if they have 2-3 Undergrads, but don't activate them during the first half of the turn, they're probably looking for a teleporting alpha strike. Bait them with something unimportant. But if they use their Undergrads to push their slow/supportive elements forward, they'll have only Valedictorian available to go in. If they don't have retrieval tech, save a high card to cheat first activation next turn.

Provoke all those mistakes I've mentioned and take out their beaters (Vale + eventual versatiles). Bait them with 1-2 models a bit to far out, so Transmortis can reach them. Ideally something that's quick enough and positioned to crash into the slower parts, if they don't deal with them.

You can copy them with cheating in low cards, so you don't unnecessarily trigger their card draw. Transmortis doesn't have any hand destruction, so you don't have to worry about that. This assumes you don't need them yourself.

Spacing. There is a sweet spot between spreading out and bubbling up, which lets you cover your crew reasonable well, without being to much of a blast target. Let faster models cover slower models, don't bunch all your Mv4 models in one place. Crews with at least an average mobility and maybe a movement trick here or there can do that. Of course, it also depends on the board, how easy or difficult this will be.

Soulstones. Masters and Henchmen are hard to deal with because of damage reduction through stones. Tank weak damage, reduce moderate and severe. Soulstone Cache is for Arcanists therefore even more a mandatory upgrade. Anything that stops their series of (melee) attacks, like Butterfly Jump or Regret, lets you live much safer.

If the pool is heavy on scheme markers, you need good scheme marker-hate. You might sprinkle a bit of corpse hate in, if your crew gives those (you can't avoid Transmortis switching between corpses/scrap as it suits their needs), but going for schemes directly is more effectiv imho.

Armor, if present throughout your crew (!), is still quite bothersome for Transmortis, as it requires them to put an additional debuff layer on you before they can go in safely. Look out where Student of Steel can reach with their debuff, this will give you a good guidance where they will pick their targets.

Precise, or at least ignoring HtW, can serve you well in getting rid of their key models as soon as you catch them.

Apply Stunned on their beaters as soon as Schtook has activated. Transmortis usually actives him before them and Transmortis hates being denied their triggers.

Generally speaking, I tend to have more trouble with very kill oriented crews and pools. As an allround crew, they can do many different things and/or change gears quickly, but there usually is an upper limit in each direction, which is surpassed by specialized crews. I think this is more true against kill-crews than scheme-crews.