Rolling with Rollins (need a little help).

[Regelridderen]

So I finally got Rollins - and some samurai. Mainly a painting project - see my paint thread in my signature - but naturally I start to wonder, how to play him. 

So I thought about a list based around these new models :

Based around the Ramones and the Samurai for mobility and shooting power. Profiting off Ride with me to concentrate fire and scheming.

leaving 18 stones to play with.

Maybe tech’ing in Cherri Bomb against armor and the Swordsman for coolness. Or maybe adding Silent Protector to the samurai for survivability.

Any experience playing like this, and any synergies you like with models with my other Thunders (Misaki, Yan Lo and the Dragons).

[PiersonsMuppeteer]

52 minutes ago, Regelridderen said:

So I finally got Rollins - and some samurai. Mainly a painting project - see my paint thread in my signature - but naturally I start to wonder, how to play him. 

So I thought about a list based around these new models :

Based around the Ramones and the Samurai for mobility and shooting power. Profiting off Ride with me to concentrate fire and scheming.

leaving 18 stones to play with.

Maybe tech’ing in Cherri Bomb against armor and the Swordsman for coolness. Or maybe adding Silent Protector to the samurai for survivability.

Any experience playing like this, and any synergies you like with models with my other Thunders (Misaki, Yan Lo and the Dragons).

Silent Protector on Samurai is gold with Ride with Me, since the model they are protecting can move the Samurai along with them and the crew as listed has a good amount of healing to exploit HtK. Just dropping the Lone for 2x SP would probably make for a fun list.

Dawn serpent could be good instead of Cherri if you need something a bit more independent for additional scheming and Armor isn’t going to be plentiful. Samurai ignore armor in melee still, so Cherri really only seems needed if the entire crew has armor.

Obsidian Statue could be an interesting way to get more scrap markers for the crew, you’ve really only got Iggy for 1 per turn meaning only one relic passed out per turn. Ramones can charge, hit for 1 dmg and a scrap, and then place on the other side for up to 9” movement in 1AP. Can then possibly heal the Statue with Field Kit. 

[j3diii]

Rollins is my favorite master. I'm pretty new to the game, started playing in April of this year post errata, so I don't have that many games with him in yet. Take everything I say with a shaker of salt, because I'm still probably missing out on some nuances of the game that more experienced players would know. In my defense, I'm getting there and play with a pretty competitive group of players. 

One thing I can say is that Adventure Awaits is the lubricant that makes a Paid with Trinkets chain work super well. A 4 to toss isn't bad, but it's not as reliable as doing it on a 2. I feel like a big part of Rollins' early game is getting a lot of Fast activations and leaving the Artifacts on the units who can use it best the next activation or round. 

I have found that Ride with Me, especially with Samurai in tow, often precludes Patti and Elli from participating in the PwT chain unless they are the end of it. This means you're limited to Rollins and Cherri reliably passing the Artifact to the Samurai. Rollins doesn't usually want to use his AP on creating an artifact though, so you're probably going to have something like Iggy Pup to dig it up, pass to Cherri, Cherri activates and then passes to a Samurai, activate Samurai and at the end toss to the second Samurai, and at the end he will possibly want to toss it to Rollins depending on which one you dug up.  Iggy Pup is probably essential with Carry the Goods to deliver the artifact the distance as you are likely to have the units spread out on the map. This is a road map for a likely first turn, but the PwT chain is harder to maintain as the game progresses.

So in your list you do not have a source of scrap generation other than Iggy Pup, who will probably be using the scrap he gens immediately to make an Artifact. For this reason alone I would suggest adding a Huckster. This all changes when we get the Corpse Curator, as I think he's going to damn near be an auto-include in Rollins crews. There are a lot of other reasons to take Hucksters based on S&S too, they are a crew defining unit IMO. The LSM doesn't have much synergy with Rollins (not a Minion or Wastrel so can't get an artifact) so I'd probably be looking to switch him out. The additional scrap allows for much needed card draw from Looted Supplies, which if you end up having to cheat 4+ on "Take This!", you will desperately want. Looted Supplies is not a crew core mechanic Rollins can afford to ignore IMO. Also having scrap down gives Iggy Pup and Rollins more freedom in later turns to get more relics into play if you need them.

Overall I think your list is probably bringing more firepower than Rollins needs, his crew feels much stronger in pools that allow him to disrupt and scheme. That said I absolutely love the theme for your crew, it feels very much like something off the set of the movie Sucker Punch, which is why I got into Rollins and 10T in general and how I intend to paint them. When I run him, I tend to take a Samurai too.

Another unit I like with him is an OOK Katanaka Crime Boss. Laugh Off is huge in some pools, they are a Minion, have synergy with Hucksters, and bring unresisted model movement with Thunder's Territory. I also feel that they really hit the Mad Max aesthetic of a Rollins Crew.

 It's worth mentioning again that the Corpse Curator is probably going to be in nearly every Rollins crew going forward after this week. 

It's also worth mentioning again that I'm not a veteran of Malifaux (yet), just a veteran Wargamer who's played a couple of games with Rollins Black and has put a lot of thought into how I'm going to play him the next time. I started this game with 7 masters across two factions and I have been splitting my reps between them. Rollins is hands down my favorite though.  

For those of you who ride horses, yes this is McCabe. Plebs.
 

[PiersonsMuppeteer]

1 hour ago, j3diii said:

Rollins is my favorite master. I'm pretty new to the game, started playing in April of this year post errata, so I don't have that many games with him in yet. Take everything I say with a shaker of salt, because I'm still probably missing out on some nuances of the game that more experienced players would know. In my defense, I'm getting there and play with a pretty competitive group of players. 

One thing I can say is that Adventure Awaits is the lubricant that makes a Paid with Trinkets chain work super well. A 4 to toss isn't bad, but it's not as reliable as doing it on a 2. I feel like a big part of Rollins' early game is getting a lot of Fast activations and leaving the Artifacts on the units who can use it best the next activation or round. 

I have found that Ride with Me, especially with Samurai in tow, often precludes Patti and Elli from participating in the PwT chain. This means you're limited to Rollins and Cherri passing the Artifact to the Samurai. Rollins doesn't usually want to use his AP on creating an artifact though, so you're probably going to have something like Iggy Pup to dig it up, pass to Cherri, Cherri activates and then passes to a Samurai, activate Samurai and at the end toss to the second Samurai, and at the end he will possibly want to toss it to Rollins depending on which one you dug up.  Iggy Pup is probably essential with Carry the Goods to deliver the artifact the distance as you are likely to have the units spread out on the map. This is a road map for a likely first turn, but the PwT chain is harder to maintain as the game progresses.

So in your list you do not have a source of scrap generation other than Iggy Pup, who will probably be using the scrap he gens immediately to make an Artifact. For this reason alone I would suggest adding a Huckster. This all changes when we get the Corpse Curator, as I think he's going to damn near be an auto-include in Rollins crews. There are a lot of other reasons to take Hucksters based on S&S too, they are a crew defining unit IMO. The LSM doesn't have much synergy with Rollins (not a Minion or Wastrel so can't get an artifact) so I'd probably be looking to switch him out. The additional scrap allows for much needed card draw from Looted Supplies, which if you end up having to cheat 4+ on "Take This!", you will desperately want. Looted Supplies is not a crew core mechanic Rollins can afford to ignore IMO. Also having scrap down gives Iggy Pup and Rollins more freedom in later turns to get more relics into play if you need them.

Overall I think your list is probably bringing more firepower than Rollins needs, his crew feels much stronger in pools that allow him to disrupt and scheme. That said I absolutely love the theme for your crew, it feels very much like something off the set of the movie Sucker Punch, which is why I got into Rollins and 10T in general and how I intend to paint them. When I run him, I tend to take a Samurai too.

Another unit I like with him is an OOK Katanaka Crime Boss. Laugh Off is huge in some pools, they are a Minion, have synergy with Hucksters, and bring unresisted model movement with Thunder's Territory. I also feel that they really hit the Mad Max aesthetic of a Rollins Crew.

 It's worth mentioning again that the Corpse Curator is probably going to be in nearly every Rollins crew going forward after this week. 

It's also worth mentioning again that I'm not a veteran of Malifaux (yet), just a veteran Wargamer who's played a couple of games with Rollins Black and has put a lot of thought into how I'm going to play him the next time. I started this game with 7 masters across two factions and I have been splitting my reps between them. Rollins is hands down my favorite though.  

For those of you who ride horses, yes this is McCabe. Plebs.



 

Ride with me is more efficient than passing Fast around for movement. Samurai get 9-10” from Ride, that’s equal to a walk + charge.

The abundance of positive ranged attacks is amazing with Faded Mirror, with two of the Samurai/Riders being able to draw up to 3 (4 if PwT resolves) cards in an activation. That’s a lot of chances to make the opponent blow a moderate/severe to avoid damage just to watch you cheat a weak to draw a card.

Corpse Curator does look great, and one Samurai w/ SP could be replaced with CC and a Huckster and probably leave the list better off in pools that don’t combine Turf War w/ Vendetta and/or Assassinate.

[j3diii]

22 minutes ago, PiersonsMuppeteer said:

Ride with me is more efficient than passing Fast around for movement. Samurai get 9-10” from Ride, that’s equal to a walk + charge.

I agree 100%. I tend to use the RwM on the Ramones as their bonus action pretty much every time. Especially if I have a Samurai in.  
 

22 minutes ago, PiersonsMuppeteer said:

The abundance of positive ranged attacks is amazing with Faded Mirror, with two of the Samurai/Riders being able to draw up to 3 (4 if PwT resolves) cards in an activation. That’s a lot of chances to make the opponent blow a moderate/severe to avoid damage just to watch you cheat a weak to draw a card.

Oh man! I haven't gotten enough games in to realize this interplay with the Mirror. That's fantastic, thank you!

22 minutes ago, PiersonsMuppeteer said:

Corpse Curator does look great, and one Samurai w/ SP could be replaced with CC and a Huckster and probably leave the list better off in pools that don’t combine Turf War w/ Vendetta and/or Assassinate.

I'm still on the the learning curve when it comes to Schemes, Strats, and unit picks. Thanks.
 

[Regelridderen]

Thanks for the insights so far - just keep ‘em coming 😊

- 

I have yet to have a post-COVID game, but with autumn rains it’s about time to get back to the table top 🤓

[PiersonsMuppeteer]

On 9/14/2021 at 12:58 PM, j3diii said:

Oh man! I haven't gotten enough games in to realize this interplay with the Mirror. That's fantastic, thank you!
 

I use the interaction a lot with Gokudo, as they have Know the Warrior and can have a built-in positive with a reliquary. Their attack has a worse damage track, so under cheating an opponent doesn’t happen as often. Samurai’s damage track is sure to open a lot more opportunities to waste an opponent severe so you can draw. I usually just like to use the positive to force my opponent to cheat first, Gokudo eating my opponent’s hand is more worthwhile than their damage (I usually just cheat for the adversary more than damage).

[Regelridderen]

So I just got challenged to a game next saturday - first game since GG0. And was considering to try out my  Thunders.

This is the pool :

Corrupted ley lines // Flank

Outflank

Let them bleed

Detonate Charges

Assassinate

Death Beds

-

Your options are :

Rollins’ Band (only base + versatile/OOK)

Misaki’s Pajama Party (Played once, so my most experienced crew)

Yan Lo and the old folks (Damn fine looking crew). 

+ Dragons and Samurai versatiles

What would you choose?

[PiersonsMuppeteer]

9 hours ago, Regelridderen said:

So I just got challenged to a game next saturday - first game since GG0. And was considering to try out my  Thunders.

This is the pool :

Corrupted ley lines // Flank

Outflank

Let them bleed

Detonate Charges

Assassinate

Death Beds

-

Your options are :

Rollins’ Band (only base + versatile/OOK)

Misaki’s Pajama Party (Played once, so my most experienced crew)

Yan Lo and the old folks (Damn fine looking crew). 

+ Dragons and Samurai versatiles

What would you choose?

I don’t think Yan has much play in the pool. He’s mediocre at Ley Lines, and he is sort of locked into Assassinate and Let Them Bleed unless you get creative with the crew list.

For Misaki it depends on what you have. I’ve only tried Wouku in Outcast OOK, but their mobility, defensive tech, and scheme marker tech coupled with Trained Ninja look good in this pool imo. Otherwise, I think she’s in a similar situation to Yan, but can accomplish Assassinate/Bleed easier.

Rollins has the best ability to accomplish Ley Lines and the non-combat schemes. The ability to have 2-3 models w/ 4AP that ignore severe terrain is pretty darn good. Rollins can pull a Samurai w/ Protector around with him to help deter Assassinate. 

I think all 3 crews should include Dawn Serpent, probably include at least 1 Samurai w/ SP if SS are available, and sideline the Emissary. If you have the effigy, it would be a good inclusion if the opponent declares a primarily ranged master/crew and/or you are trying to do outflank/detonate.

So I would choose: (1) Misaki w/ Wouko, (2) Rollins, (3) Misaki w/o Wouko, (4) Yan. Though maybe take my advice with some salt, I think Wouko are seen as lackluster by the community at large. Though, that could only be in Outcasts since they lack stealth there. Knowing what you have for Misaki and Yan would help for a better determination. Any idea as to what the opponent might bring?

 

[Regelridderen]

So it’s official, Rollins will be facing Kaeris. 

 Never faced the pyromaniac, so any pointers would be much appreciated.

-

And looking at Rollins,

I’m imagining a playbook opening with Iggy Pup digging up a scrap marker and leaving it for the rest of the crew to benefit from looted supplies to sculpt your hand, then having Rollins Drag it along by the end of T1, so to start handing put trinkets T2?

I don’t own cryptologists, but I’ve got plenty of proxy worthy models. The Antique Timepiece seems like a great way to turn Kaeris’ strengths against her - if you can get a 7+ of masks. Any other good way to deal with burning side from the Phantasmal Mask?

[PiersonsMuppeteer]

Chiaki and, to a lesser extent, Sun Quiang can deal with burning, and I’m guessing you probably have them since you also play Yan.

[j3diii]

On 9/20/2021 at 1:30 AM, Regelridderen said:

So I just got challenged to a game next saturday - first game since GG0. And was considering to try out my  Thunders.

This is the pool :

Corrupted ley lines // Flank

Outflank

Let them bleed

Detonate Charges

Assassinate

Death Beds

-

Your options are :

Rollins’ Band (only base + versatile/OOK)

Misaki’s Pajama Party (Played once, so my most experienced crew)

Yan Lo and the old folks (Damn fine looking crew). 

+ Dragons and Samurai versatiles

What would you choose?

So I just played this deployment and strat last night with Rollins vs Hoffman.  We had a similar pool, but I chose Death Beds and Spread them Out.

Here's what I ran, my opponent allowed me to proxy a Corpse Curator and then promptly regretted it. A lot of the new enforcers are really good, but man... the Corps Curator in Rollins/McCabe is super good.

Rollins
Iggy Pup
Elli
Patti
Samurai
Cherri
Huckster
Corpse Curator 

6 Stones

Game finished Rollins 6 to Hoffman 5.

The Huckster was ace for Death Beds. The Ramones were able to get me the first part of Spread Them Out and 3/4 Strats, I would have had the 4th, but my opponent got off a great slow on Patti and I Black Jokered a RWM to leave engagement with Elli.  Rollins did a bunch of murdering with Time Worn Blade which was really good versus Augmented. He killed Hoffman rather than grab the strat the Ramones couldn't get (probably a mistake in hindsight, but killing Hoffman saved me a bunch of trouble), the Mech assistant, and a Hunter. This is the first time he's done that much work with melee for me.

In hind sight taking both Spread Them Out and Death beds together was a bit difficult because it required so many schemes down. I probably needed another Huckster, but I wasn't going to miss the chance to run the Curator.  He was a rock star too, lots of passive card draw, but his fast activations let me get out a 50mm Poison Terrain token and punch a Peacemaker with it, stacking 3 poison in addition to the damage. The poison killed it. He was also able to keep a Hunter from engaging Cherri so she could shoot at Hoffman out of cover after an Analyze Weakness. If your opponent will let you, and you want to, the Corpse Curator could be good for moving Karen's (sorry that's our nickname for Kaeris, she has the haircut and everything) Pyre markers. 

You can get condition removal from the Mask, but using it for that means you cannot pass it along and get more Fast activations. Still, I think this may be the artifact you want to pull out on turn one and pass around for Fast activations  just to be able to give it to someone to stop burning on turn two. Additional condition removal would probably be a good idea. I'd recommend Jessi too just for her marker removal and she's good for Death beds, but it looks like you'd have to proxy. 

 

On 9/20/2021 at 1:01 PM, Regelridderen said:

I’m imagining a playbook opening with Iggy Pup digging up a scrap marker and leaving it for the rest of the crew to benefit from looted supplies to sculpt your hand, then having Rollins Drag it along by the end of T1, so to start handing put trinkets T2?

My typical 1st turn is Iggy digging scrap, using it to make an artifact, and then get a bunch of fast activations by passing it around. On Flank deployment, you are likely to have some ranged attacks with Samurai after they RWM. Having them fast is really helpful as you may get the opportunity to drop multiple blasts. If you want to drop scrap for card draw, I'd use the huckster's False claim early with the Inflated Worth trigger and then make sure he can't get wrecked because he won't be Manipulative. There are other options in keyword too like Jessie but the Huckster just brings a lot for it's cost. The Corpse Curator is pretty fantastic for Looted Supplies.

I do like the Crypto vs Karen.  

FWIW, I tried the Mirror for card draw, but then forgot to Focus, or didn't have the AP to Concentrate. I was only able to get like two cards from it all game. I'm going to have to practice with it more.  


 

[PiersonsMuppeteer]

2 hours ago, j3diii said:

So I just played this deployment and strat last night with Rollins vs Hoffman.  We had a similar pool, but I chose Death Beds and Spread them Out.

Here's what I ran, my opponent allowed me to proxy a Corpse Curator and then promptly regretted it. A lot of the new enforcers are really good, but man... the Corps Curator in Rollins/McCabe is super good.

Rollins
Iggy Pup
Elli
Patti
Samurai
Cherri
Huckster
Corpse Curator 

6 Stones

Game finished Rollins 6 to Hoffman 5.

The Huckster was ace for Death Beds. The Ramones were able to get me the first part of Spread Them Out and 3/4 Strats, I would have had the 4th, but my opponent got off a great slow on Patti and I Black Jokered a RWM to leave engagement with Elli.  Rollins did a bunch of murdering with Time Worn Blade which was really good versus Augmented. He killed Hoffman rather than grab the strat the Ramones couldn't get (probably a mistake in hindsight, but killing Hoffman saved me a bunch of trouble), the Mech assistant, and a Hunter. This is the first time he's done that much work with melee for me.

In hind sight taking both Spread Them Out and Death beds together was a bit difficult because it required so many schemes down. I probably needed another Huckster, but I wasn't going to miss the chance to run the Curator.  He was a rock star too, lots of passive card draw, but his fast activations let me get out a 50mm Poison Terrain token and punch a Peacemaker with it, stacking 3 poison in addition to the damage. The poison killed it. He was also able to keep a Hunter from engaging Cherri so she could shoot at Hoffman out of cover after an Analyze Weakness. If your opponent will let you, and you want to, the Corpse Curator could be good for moving Karen's (sorry that's our nickname for Kaeris, she has the haircut and everything) Pyre markers. 

You can get condition removal from the Mask, but using it for that means you cannot pass it along and get more Fast activations. Still, I think this may be the artifact you want to pull out on turn one and pass around for Fast activations  just to be able to give it to someone to stop burning on turn two. Additional condition removal would probably be a good idea. I'd recommend Jessi too just for her marker removal and she's good for Death beds, but it looks like you'd have to proxy. 

 

My typical 1st turn is Iggy digging scrap, using it to make an artifact, and then get a bunch of fast activations by passing it around. On Flank deployment, you are likely to have some ranged attacks with Samurai after they RWM. Having them fast is really helpful as you may get the opportunity to drop multiple blasts. If you want to drop scrap for card draw, I'd use the huckster's False claim early with the Inflated Worth trigger and then make sure he can't get wrecked because he won't be Manipulative. There are other options in keyword too like Jessie but the Huckster just brings a lot for it's cost. The Corpse Curator is pretty fantastic for Looted Supplies.

I do like the Crypto vs Karen.  

FWIW, I tried the Mirror for card draw, but then forgot to Focus, or didn't have the AP to Concentrate. I was only able to get like two cards from it all game. I'm going to have to practice with it more.  


 

Samurai would want to be the last Mask pass target of the turn, that way you can use the bonus action concentrate instead of needing to pass the artifact. If the Samurai has a target in range, 2-3 cards drawn end of T1 can really help set up the T2 hand.

For OP: I wouldn’t hit Elli/Patti with an artifact until T2+ unless you have no cards for RWM in hand, each RWM is ~2 AP for the crew compared to Fast only giving 1 AP.

[j3diii]

1 hour ago, PiersonsMuppeteer said:

Samurai would want to be the last Mask pass target of the turn, that way you can use the bonus action concentrate instead of needing to pass the artifact. If the Samurai has a target in range, 2-3 cards drawn end of T1 can really help set up the T2 hand.

Yeah, this was the issue. I couldn't bonus action Concentrate because I activated the Samurai too early and he had to walk to get a blast on Hoff and the Peacemaker. Hit once for severe, but armor really toned that down. Unfortunately I kind of got locked into my activation order by my deployment and wanting to go late with Rollins. Once I figured out the PwT chain I needed to do, it wasn't really possible for me to get him last. I'll have to pay more attention to the Samurai's placement next time. I was too focused on making sure I got the draw from the Corpse Curator. My hand was so bad turn one I could have used all of the help.   

[PiersonsMuppeteer]

36 minutes ago, j3diii said:

Yeah, this was the issue. I couldn't bonus action Concentrate because I activated the Samurai too early and he had to walk to get a blast on Hoff and the Peacemaker. Hit once for severe, but armor really toned that down. Unfortunately I kind of got locked into my activation order by my deployment and wanting to go late with Rollins. Once I figured out the PwT chain I needed to do, it wasn't really possible for me to get him last. I'll have to pay more attention to the Samurai's placement next time. I was too focused on making sure I got the draw from the Corpse Curator. My hand was so bad turn one I could have used all of the help.   

An idea for future games with Corpse Curator would be to place two Artifacts on Luna, bonus action the 1st artifact onto a model that will need all 3AP from Fast and their own bonus action, and have another model take the 2nd artifact off Luna for 1 AP to use for the PWT chain. Sacrificing 1 AP and 2 HP on the Curator might free up your activation order enough that the 1 AP is well worth the cost.

[Regelridderen]

The game is over and it was a blast, followed by a blast, a pyre and then someone struck a match and lit my crew on fire

-

Result was 4-7. I scored 3 Ley Lines and 1 Assassinate. My opponent got 4 Ley Lines, 2 Assassinate, 1 Death beds. 

The two Samurai and Ramones did amazing. The Field Kit trigger is amazing. 

Rollins and Iggy Pup as well. 

But the 16 stones spent on Chiaki and Sun were at best adequate - although Chiaki did remove some large chunks of burning, I’d probably scored more points with hucksters. But all in all, this is a great crew - i just have to pour a little extra money into the keyword

-

I faced

Kaeris+ Totem

Firestarter

Carlos

Cassandra

Fire Golem

Firebranded