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Which masters fill which roles in explorers?


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IMHO Seeker is a great choice for Turf War. Tough models that can claim the centre and a few fast models to get straggling markers/models) 

I play 3 keywords (Seeker, Syndicate, and Apex) and normally breakdown the pool using two categories: 

1) Can I bubble in this pool or do I need to spread out? 

2) do I need a large number of scheme markers/interact actions?

Seeker can do any bubble pool, regardless as to level of interacting. 

Syndicate is good at spreading out and prefers scheme heavy pools. 

Apex can do bubble or spreading out, but isn't great at interact heavy pools. 

I've not played DUA or Wastrel, but DUA seems similar to Apex and Wastrel more like Syndicate using the 2 breakdowns?

I'm not a great player by any stretch so take this with a pinch of salt. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

We're probably going to see some changes when the new GG3 season goes live, but at the time of writing, this is my general approach: 

For Turf War, I rate Maxine2. She just has a lot of sustainability and good damage output to happily trade blows with enemy crews and will usually come out on top. I think Jedza is very viable in Turf War too, but I don't own or play Seeker.

For Symbols, I rate McCabe or Cooper. Both have very fast models and models with By Your Side / Secret Passage etc. I might also consider Anya2 if the board enables her to seal off Symbols with Drudges and Geodes, as long as the rest of the scheme pool is good for her.

For Leylines, I rate McCabe2 with multiple Botanists. They're one of the safest Leyline runners in the game, and they can push enemies on 2 different triggers to deny enemy Leylines. McCabe2 can push enemies off Leylines and support his Botanists while he's doing it.

For Break the Line, it's almost always Nexus2 as they're just extremely powerful at it, especially if the opponent has no access to Don't Mind Me.

 

Scheme-wise:

For a very killy pool, I'd lean classic Maxine2 or go for a very tanky McCabe2 build with Emissary, Sidir etc. I imagine Seeker can thrive in such a pool as well.

I don't usually like picking Cooper into every killy pool since his best keyword models often give up very easy Vendetta/Let Them Bleed points - but he is great with Hidden Martyrs, Assassinate and Death Beds (strat depending).

For schemey pools, sure, McCabe is a good pick, and I'd usually start hiring with Desper, a Huckster and 2+ Botanists. In such pools, I also like Anya2 as well since she has plenty of ways to Drop your own Scheme Markers, remove/deny enemy Scheme markers, and her Drudges can completely change a game. That said, she can find it difficult to compete for some of the Strats, so I'm very picky when it comes to selecting her.

There's also a few schemes that automatically make me think of taking specific models to achieve them since they're just so good at them, sometimes so much I'll pick the keyword that allows me to best support those models if it suits the strat, such as:

Detonate Charges: Huckster, Winston Finnegan, Austera & Twigge, Anya2. 
Research Mission & Death Beds: Huckster, Corpse Curator.
Breakthrough: Anya2. Depending on the deployment, she can completely invalidate this scheme for your opponent.
Hidden Martyrs: Artemis + Ullr, Calypso + Orville. Botanist + x. Treasure Map can be really good here too.
Vendetta: Dr Beebe, Crypsis Corps, Austera & Twigge, Machinist (surprisingly good since the rest of the keyword can't be ignored, and he has 12" gun with easy focus).
Catch & Release: Botanist with Treasure Map, especially in a McCabe2 list.
Bait & Switch: Sand Worm - I don't play Basse, but I frequently bring the Worm out of keyword to help deny Bait & Switch. 
Assassinate: Intrepid Emissary, McCabe2; Extended Reach, lots of Shielded, and making enemy -1 stat to their attacks makes him tough as nails. Cooper1; Laugh Off, Armour and his rifle are all premium for scoring and denying it.

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On 6/27/2022 at 12:47 PM, Cranky Old Man said:

Thanks for the replies @hydranixx you don't rate Ivan into any of the strats?

Not really, at least not on a strat level alone.

He used to be strong enough and tough enough you just pick him and faceroll most opponents, but since his nerf, his kit is much more reasonable now lol. At the moment, in my opinion, he's a great pick if the board is flooded with Forests/Fog etc so you can really push that Ungentlemanly Affairs advantage, or when you see Schemes that really work for his kit, but outside of that he's just ok.

I have tinkered with Ivan2 a bit as well, but a lot of the mechanics of his kit just don't work since they take place in the Start Phase (so you can't make an enemy model Charge, and can't get the free attack from Made to Kill with your Daeva, as those things can only happen in the Activation Phase) - plus most of Ivan2's actual actions are situational at best - so, unfortunately, I think he's pretty close to unplayable till they fix him, which is a real pity since I love what his kit is trying to do.

On 6/27/2022 at 9:57 PM, im_open_to_suggestions said:

I rate Ivan into most Strats. I hate symbols and dont really like him into Break the Line. He is killy enough for Turf and his noctures are speedy enough for Laylines

It's interesting you say you dislike the two Strats that place Concealing terrain - I really thought Ivan's keyword would appreciate the ability to just get free plus flips while running the strat, and Eva seems great for both on paper.

Since Malifaux Burns dropped, with the raw power level that it introduced across so much of the game I worry that the keyword is neither tough enough nor killy enough to endure 5 turns of Turf War.

For Leylines, while Nocturnes are plenty quick, they're made of paper so anything in the game will kill them, or just push them off the Leyline, so you're playing with fire if they're your Leyline runner. I think Ivan can support a Botanist well enough by feeding it Shadow Markers that it's always worth spending 1ss more to bring one of those instead. 

That said, these are just my opinions based on my experiences - if you're having success with Ivan, in any Strat, that's awesome, and more power to you!

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19 hours ago, hydranixx said:

 

It's interesting you say you dislike the two Strats that place Concealing terrain - I really thought Ivan's keyword would appreciate the ability to just get free plus flips while running the strat, and Eva seems great for both on paper.

I feel that eva becomes target number 1 when opponent sees her on the list and if you are hiding her shes not scoring and if shes scoring shes not surviving.

19 hours ago, hydranixx said:

 

For Leylines, while Nocturnes are plenty quick, they're made of paper so anything in the game will kill them, or just push them off the Leyline, so you're playing with fire if they're your Leyline runner. 

 

I never leave home without flushed with cash on the nocturnes which lets them survive a bit longer.  I tend to find def 6 and concealing keeps them alive longer than they should.

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On 6/29/2022 at 5:52 PM, im_open_to_suggestions said:

I never leave home without flushed with cash on the nocturnes which lets them survive a bit longer.  I tend to find def 6 and concealing keeps them alive longer than they should.

Do you find them being pushed off the Leyline to be much of a problem? Especially when you have to come closer to the opponent to claim your 3rd or 4th Leyline?

Since I've started playing Botanists, I've become allergic to hiring any other model as a Leylines runner - that Planted Roots with Df7 (or effective Df8 with McCabe2) is just so hard to ignore.

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23 minutes ago, hydranixx said:

Do you find them being pushed off the Leyline to be much of a problem? Especially when you have to come closer to the opponent to claim your 3rd or 4th Leyline?

Since I've started playing Botanists, I've become allergic to hiring any other model as a Leylines runner - that Planted Roots with Df7 (or effective Df8 with McCabe2) is just so hard to ignore.

My way of playing usually means i have the last activation so im able to sneak in without fear of retribution. 

I am fully on the Botanist hype train but i dont want to use them as a crutch in every master.  i do love them in McCabe 2 tho.

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On 6/30/2022 at 10:54 AM, im_open_to_suggestions said:

I am fully on the Botanist hype train but i dont want to use them as a crutch in every master. 

I find the Botanists only really work in 50% of crews (McCabe, Ivan, Nexus, and maybe Basse) the other crews simply don't generate enough non-scheme markers to fuel them. 

 

Botanists are much worse at mv4 def5

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On 7/2/2022 at 1:34 AM, RoivasO said:

I find the Botanists only really work in 50% of crews (McCabe, Ivan, Nexus, and maybe Basse) the other crews simply don't generate enough non-scheme markers to fuel them. 

 

Botanists are much worse at mv4 def5

It's true that they shine best with those masters, particularly McCabe and Nexus, and yeah, agree that they're terrible without 2 Growth Tokens. I would basically only hire them if I know I can get to at least 2 Growth Tokens turn 1, ideally as a by product of just unpacking the rest of the crew.

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