Ressers in April Vassal Series.

[Assdex]

3 minutes ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

Oh no! Hopefully I can be trickier!

Soon we will see. And about ur list , i still think u need more heal in there

[Maniacal_cackle]

Just now, Assdex said:

Soon we will see. And about ur list , i still think u need more heal in there

Yeah, i've noticed the Russian meta leans a lot more into healing than I do! Will see how it goes.

[Assdex]

1 minute ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

Yeah, i've noticed the Russian meta leans a lot more into healing than I do! Will see how it goes.

Yea. And i expect rider for stone carrier. 

I always pick him cause first and turn he need to be save.

[Maniacal_cackle]

2 minutes ago, Assdex said:

Yea. And i expect rider for stone carrier. 

I always pick him cause first and turn he need to be save.

My first ~5 lists or so had Dead Rider, but I figured it was at high risk of death. Also I figured I can't Reap Fuhatsu, so it feels a bit weaker.

I almost always take Dead Rider, so will be curious to see how this works not having it.

[Assdex]

40 minutes ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

My first ~5 lists or so had Dead Rider, but I figured it was at high risk of death. Also I figured I can't Reap Fuhatsu, so it feels a bit weaker.

I almost always take Dead Rider, so will be curious to see how this works not having it.

Like always , Fuhatsu get bj on dmg on most important duel )))

[Faceface]

Playing Schtook into Viks again this round. I got absolutely murdered last time! Any advice? The notes I took for myself after my last thrashing were: 

1. Actually use the models you took to score the strats/scheme for that purpose! Took Viscera to score Symbols, but then held him back to try and help Schtook & Valley Girl who got jumped. 
2. Related to the first, don't get stuck in combat with the Viks - if it's inevitable, but not going to score AP, work around it rather than to win it. 
3. I spent my cards too readily on non-AP scoring or non-essential actions.

I'm currently looking at a few lists, varying from mobile to hyper-mobile - essentially based on whether or not I take Anna. If I don't take her, I can pack my list with Viscera, Bone Pile, Necropunks and be super agile; but I lose Anna's counter-place and bury tech. 

Any thoughts appreciated!

[Maniacal_cackle]

1 minute ago, Faceface said:

Playing Schtook into Viks again this round. I got absolutely murdered last time! Any advice? The notes I took for myself after my last thrashing were: 

1. Actually use the models you took to score the strats/scheme for that purpose! Took Viscera to score Symbols, but then held him back to try and help Schtook & Valley Girl who got jumped. 
2. Related to the first, don't get stuck in combat with the Viks - if it's inevitable, but not going to score AP, work around it rather than to win it. 
3. I spent my cards too readily on non-AP scoring or non-essential actions.

I'm currently looking at a few lists, varying from mobile to hyper-mobile - essentially based on whether or not I take Anna. If I don't take her, I can pack my list with Viscera, Bone Pile, Necropunks and be super agile; but I lose Anna's counter-place and bury tech. 

Any thoughts appreciated!

I have no idea what I'm talking about. Hopefully someone like Pergli or Graf who are both quite knowledgeable can jump in. But my thoughts...

• Shove aside on Valedictorian is one of your best possible triggers, particularly since it can shove people off of leylines
• Killing Viks is spectacular and gives you any summon, but is hard to pull off. Their healing is insane.
  • If you're good at setting it up, you can use Carrion Emissary's aura to help kill them - they melt like butter in that aura if you can keep them in it.
    • Assuming they don't just turn around and kill the Emissary...
• So it may be good to force them to come to you.
  • The golden rule of super scary models like that is the more actions they spend walking, the less actions they spend killing.
• Healing is his main way of 'playing the long-game' (while you have a few routes including summoning).
  • This means that when you attack something, you want to finish it off so he can't heal it back to full.
  • You can also afford to play a bit of a long-game with hit and run tactics.
  • Your armor should help lots, as well!
    • Watch out for Ronin - with a rams trigger + focus, they can smack you for 5 damage when you're not expecting it.

I don't really know what I'm talking about, as I said, since I don't play Von Schtook. But that's some basic thoughts! Hopefully one of the others comes along.

Also, once you know the lists, post them here and hopefully we can spot things to watch out for!

[Maniacal_cackle]

Oh, @Faceface, if you haven't seen it already, Graf wrote excellent general advice here:

 

[Faceface]

1 minute ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

Oh, @Faceface, if you haven't seen it already, Graf wrote excellent general advice here:

 

Thanks! I have seen that, super useful!

[Graf]

I never played against Vicks tbh, so I don't feel qualified to give advice. It also seemed like Face already had ideas how to improve their own gameplan. 

As far as I can tell, Viks is solid in the "beatable" range in terms of powerlevel. But I also occasionally hear from people struggeling against her, so I would assume it's a matter of experience? 

The crew looks quite squishy. Should give opportunities to summon more than usual. They're highly mobile, but Transmortis is pretty good at that as well. If 3rd floor's Viks guide is to be believed, they like to keep you busy hunting for them, while they score. Reads like that worked last time and Face knows better now. 

[Faceface]

1 hour ago, Graf said:

I never played against Vicks tbh, so I don't feel qualified to give advice. It also seemed like Face already had ideas how to improve their own gameplan. 

As far as I can tell, Viks is solid in the "beatable" range in terms of powerlevel. But I also occasionally hear from people struggeling against her, so I would assume it's a matter of experience? 

The crew looks quite squishy. Should give opportunities to summon more than usual. They're highly mobile, but Transmortis is pretty good at that as well. If 3rd floor's Viks guide is to be believed, they like to keep you busy hunting for them, while they score. Reads like that worked last time and Face knows better now. 

Love your guide @Graf! What are your thoughts about what you gain/lose from taking/dropping Anna - what do you weigh up?

[Pergli]

I haven't played into the Viks as a keyword in a long time so I'm not sure what you can do into them that is specific to them. The last time I saw viks they were brought as a 2nd masters and I had no real issue with them.

I would definitely not remove Anna from your list though. She prevents the vik's place shenanigans and keeps their sister from being able to heal them in her aura. Bring additional stones for forcing neg flips and stoning off damage.

Their crew is squishy as a whole and should be able to be brought down. Choose your Vale target carefully and do whatever you can to prevent the viks from double teaming her. If they do get in close, Stunning them is going to be extremely helpful.

Tips for this round:

In corner deploy - DO NOT DIVE T1, I do not care how tempting it is, don't do it. You'll get wrecked by any melee focused crew especially as you'll likely only have 2 swings (3rd AP and flurry) which won't kill a model. Instead, activate Vale before schtook, move her up a little bit and focus. Then give her the upgrade, fast and a second focus for T2. This will set her up for a big T2 swing and should allow you to kill a model and convert it for the stone swing you're going to need. Then give Anna the upgrade and fast on T2 or do what you can to injure as many models as you can (except Taelor). Do not Stun Taelor, its a waste of an action since she can shrug off stunned and not count it as an action. Save your diving for later in the turn, you want them to try to waste AP with Viks or Taelor to move into you rather than the other way around. If both Viks and Taelor get full swings on a model you're going to be stone dead and the model is going to be dead anyway (again, bring at least 7 stones here and use them as needed - if your hand is extremely bad (IE more than 2 weaks or no severes). It is very common for me to burn through all my stones by T2 even when bringing 6-9). 

Make sure you have a plan for all your models along with how to accomplish your goals. Vendetta will be difficult as your beaters are cost 10 (he will likely have vendetta on vale), Let them bleed will be possible but difficult, Claim jump is doable but you're going to have to win the middle fight against all his beaters, take prisoner is doable if you know what model is going to be his leyline model, Spread them out is also doable with how many scheme markers you drop (not sure if viks have a way to remove).

--------------------

Good luck and have fun  

[Faceface]

10 minutes ago, Pergli said:

I haven't played into the Viks as a keyword in a long time so I'm not sure what you can do into them that is specific to them. The last time I saw viks they were brought as a 2nd masters and I had no real issue with them.

I would definitely not remove Anna from your list though. She prevents the vik's place shenanigans and keeps their sister from being able to heal them in her aura. Bring additional stones for forcing neg flips and stoning off damage.

Their crew is squishy as a whole and should be able to be brought down. Choose your Vale target carefully and do whatever you can to prevent the viks from double teaming her. If they do get in close, Stunning them is going to be extremely helpful.

Tips for this round:

In corner deploy - DO NOT DIVE T1, I do not care how tempting it is, don't do it. You'll get wrecked by any melee focused crew especially as you'll likely only have 2 swings (3rd AP and flurry) which won't kill a model. Instead, activate Vale before schtook, move her up a little bit and focus. Then give her the upgrade, fast and a second focus for T2. This will set her up for a big T2 swing and should allow you to kill a model and convert it for the stone swing you're going to need. Then give Anna the upgrade and fast on T2 or do what you can to injure as many models as you can (except Taelor). Do not Stun Taelor, its a waste of an action since she can shrug off stunned and not count it as an action. Save your diving for later in the turn, you want them to try to waste AP with Viks or Taelor to move into you rather than the other way around. If both Viks and Taelor get full swings on a model you're going to be stone dead and the model is going to be dead anyway (again, bring at least 7 stones here and use them as needed - if your hand is extremely bad (IE more than 2 weaks or no severes). It is very common for me to burn through all my stones by T2 even when bringing 6-9). 

Make sure you have a plan for all your models along with how to accomplish your goals. Vendetta will be difficult as your beaters are cost 10 (he will likely have vendetta on vale), Let them bleed will be possible but difficult, Claim jump is doable but you're going to have to win the middle fight against all his beaters, take prisoner is doable if you know what model is going to be his leyline model, Spread them out is also doable with how many scheme markers you drop (not sure if viks have a way to remove).

--------------------

Good luck and have fun  

Amazing input - thank you!

[Graf]

1 hour ago, Faceface said:

Love your guide @Graf! What are your thoughts about what you gain/lose from taking/dropping Anna - what do you weigh up?

Thanks, I'm happy to help!

Gravity Well is the most important factor to take Anna or not. Against any summoning she is a must have. As well as crews with a lot of flight. It also served me well against mobile killers like Lady J with placement abilities. Viks are similar in that regard. I usually don't get overwhelming value out of Hostile Work Environment, but that might be because opponents avoid to rely on such abilities in listbuilding already. I don't know how much targeted healing Viks usually employs, but if they do... Anna is worth even more. Personally I also like her Glimpse the Void trigger, especially against crews who have few but powerful beater. I often stone/cheat for it when I get the chance. Even if nothing else, it's at least one less high card in your opponent's hand. If it goes through... even the most mobile beaters hate it. Every action spend getting back to the frontline is a win for you. 

To sum it up: I would take Anna against Viks for sure!

I also agree with Pergli's tactical advice. Summed up very nicely! That's my common approach against mobile melee crews as well. Generally I think a more... measured playstile helps Transmortis more than rushing turn #1.

 

What I gain from dropping Anna? Speaking generally: Either 1-2 tech models (Bone Pile, Manos, etc.), another beater in the form of Dead Rider or sometimes a bunch of redundancy/bodies in the minions section of my list.

[touchdown]

Schtook seems like a brutal match-up for the Viks. Armor just ruins their day usually, and you have the speed to catch them. I would think they'd be more afraid of getting stuck in combat than you would be. I guess stones can tank all those min 2s a lot better than 3 or 4 (for crit strike models).

[Pergli]

Armor and stones makes the viks sad with their 3/5/6. Just need to make sure they are on neg flips.

I like aggressive vale if I can get 3+ attacks not counting shove aside. If it's only 2? Eh, you can do better

[Faceface]

Some really useful pointers here - thanks all! 

In taking Anna, I'm worried at what I lose in movement - especially as its corner. If I have Valley off in one direction, and say a Viscera in another, I'm worried about the Viks jumping the very slow Schtook & Anna.

But I guess time they spend doing that is time they're not killing my point scorers! 

[Pergli]

3 minutes ago, Faceface said:

Some really useful pointers here - thanks all! 

In taking Anna, I'm worried at what I lose in movement - especially as its corner. If I have Valley off in one direction, and say a Viscera in another, I'm worried about the Viks jumping the very slow Schtook & Anna.

But I guess time they spend doing that is time they're not killing my point scorers! 

Easy fix for that. Threaten Claim Jump with Anna, they have to respond! I do understand your pain though. In my Rd2 game, I brought an undergrad and used lead the way to get extra movement on her and schtook. Along with the research assistant to +1 move, they were flying up the board and in position T2

[Davos]

I need Kirai list for round 2 against Titania.

 

im so.bloody.over.playing.Titania.

Of my 9? Vassal Neverborn event games, this will be the 6th? 7th? Against her

[Maniacal_cackle]

32 minutes ago, Davos said:

I need Kirai list for round 2 against Titania.

 

im so.bloody.over.playing.Titania.

Of my 9? Vassal Neverborn event games, this will be the 6th? 7th? Against her

Oof, rough to have that much repetition.

Luckily the underbrush markers don't mean anything to you, so that's some of the spike damage gone. She'll probably go for big focused hits to get that sweet 2/4/5 damage track. If I were here i'd take BBS, so condition removal is worth considering? Not sure what options we have, since I just use Molly for that xD

I don't really know Kirai well enough to give many suggestions, though 😕 Her Knock Aside Trigger allows her to really mess up your lodestones, so worth considering shieldbearer/ashigaru/toshiro for some Take the Hits on your Lodestone carrier?

Not sure 😕

[Assdex]

7 hours ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

Oof, rough to have that much repetition.

Luckily the underbrush markers don't mean anything to you, so that's some of the spike damage gone. She'll probably go for big focused hits to get that sweet 2/4/5 damage track. If I were here i'd take BBS, so condition removal is worth considering? Not sure what options we have, since I just use Molly for that xD

I don't really know Kirai well enough to give many suggestions, though 😕 Her Knock Aside Trigger allows her to really mess up your lodestones, so worth considering shieldbearer/ashigaru/toshiro for some Take the Hits on your Lodestone carrier?

Not sure 😕

Errata not happen , so student save )

[Thatguy]

13 hours ago, touchdown said:

Schtook seems like a brutal match-up for the Viks. Armor just ruins their day usually, and you have the speed to catch them. I would think they'd be more afraid of getting stuck in combat than you would be. I guess stones can tank all those min 2s a lot better than 3 or 4 (for crit strike models).

I think I'd add to watch out for Ronin. They ignore Armor and with Flurry and  Puncture they can hit surprisingly hard if they have the hand support. 

[Maniacal_cackle]

I lost 6-5. Super tight and close game. If I had landed one more attack I could have gotten there (or if I had used my carrion emissary intelligently instead of running it away because I knew it was a vendetta target xD).

I also learned a lot (no point in doing 6 damage to something when Low River Monk can just heal it back up 😜 ).

The list was surprisingly good. Carrion Emissary and Bete Noire are both really good with molly. Oh, just realised another way I could have maybe won was to unbury bete and engage sensei yu and give him minus flips from scarlet temptation xD Definitely needed to be less afraid of his hyjinks.

It really hurt not having access to Philip and the Nanny, but she would have just melted against his crew.

[Assdex]

7 hours ago, Maniacal_cackle said:

I lost 6-5. Super tight and close game. If I had landed one more attack I could have gotten there (or if I had used my carrion emissary intelligently instead of running it away because I knew it was a vendetta target xD).

I also learned a lot (no point in doing 6 damage to something when Low River Monk can just heal it back up 😜 ).

The list was surprisingly good. Carrion Emissary and Bete Noire are both really good with molly. Oh, just realised another way I could have maybe won was to unbury bete and engage sensei yu and give him minus flips from scarlet temptation xD Definitely needed to be less afraid of his hyjinks.

It really hurt not having access to Philip and the Nanny, but she would have just melted against his crew.

Was really close game. I got a few mistake too but this move with bete was awesome.i need spent stones for upgrade to ignore her trigger

[Maniacal_cackle]

Round 3!

Lots of severe terrain, so Reva & Kirai & Jack Daw are pretty happy on this pool I think.

I'll be doing Molly vs. @wookiejunior's Kirai