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When is a warden what you want?


Strangely Brown

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Hello all,

After a long slump in my Malifaux performances, I've decided to return to Hoffman, as a master I had some joy with a while ago.  Re-reading the cards has been a lot of fun; refamilliarising myself with all the models in his keyword and all the little tricks I used to know about - good times.

One thing I am reminded of is that I could never see what the Warden did for Hoffman.  I tried him a few times, but just could not work out what he was meant to be doing - this is not unusual for me in Malifaux in general, but with Hoffman at least I had an idea of what was supposed to be happening, even if my opponent was better at stopping it than I was at executing it.

Can anyone share what they use the Warden for with Hoffman?  Is there a role that he fills, or maybe just does something that other models do but cheaper if you're stuck for stones?  Or is he a better pick in Dashel, and doesn't really have a place in Hoffman?

 

Thanks in advance for any comments :)

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I've had the same issue with Hoffman and the Warden.  The only thing I find useful in any game is being able to give out Slow at range (albeit only 8").

 

However there is also some use as a tech pick when going against crews with Terrifying because of the Ruthless (which is weirdly lacking in a crew of robots - what do they have to be scared of?)

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To me, the main draws of the Warden are as follows. 

1) It is reasonably cheap and reasonably durable.  At 5 soul stones, it is the second cheapest augmented model, and if you are playing a strategy where you need significant bodies, such as controlling markers in Guard the Stash... Wardens are a good hire to boost your numbers without giving up durability. 

2) As already mentioned, they have ruthless, so are a good counter pick if you know you will be going up against a lot of terrifying or manipulative.

3) They are reasonably efficient, pursue kicks 'em up to stat 6, auto slow on their rocket fist launcher is a good debuff, solid triggers on Hurricane Punch (such as using knock aside to shove an enemy into a non-scoring position, such as in Covert Operation).  Its just a good cost effective all around model, which is nice to have in a crew that can get as elite as Hoff.

On the whole, I feel like the Warden is going to be a safe pick, a good generalist to help you keep your numbers up, but may not be as effective depending on niche circumstances.  

Watcher is a cheaper and a lot faster, may be preferable if you need a quick scheme runner for the flanks, but may not be preferable if you need a significant model to stick in a contested area (like Guard the Stash or Covert Operation above).

Riot Breaker is going to be better if you expect your opponent to rely heavily on destructible terrain (Justice2) or out of activation actions... but if you don't expect those things, its probably not worth it over a Warden.

Hunters are expensive at 8 ss.  Sometimes you may want more numbers than they can offer you.  

You get the idea.  

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/28/2022 at 7:12 PM, admiralvorkraft said:

I'll say, wardens are a lot of fun with original Flavor Lucius. Your opponent is unlikely to bring a lot of armor tech and you can really get the most out of their ranged slow.

Or Nellie 2 for double slow, though people sometimes panic into Nellie and assume they'll see a Peacekeeper, so you might run into anti-armor.

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On 9/7/2022 at 5:35 AM, Yore Huckleberry said:

Or Nellie 2 for double slow, though people sometimes panic into Nellie and assume they'll see a Peacekeeper, so you might run into anti-armor.

From an outside's perspective, anti-armour is always very high on the priority list for me when I play against Red, irrespective of who the leader is.

Even if there was no Peacekeeper, if I see Nellie I know she'll have The Printing Press at Armour +2, she might hire Phiona, and it's a safe bet I'll see 1-2 Lead Line Coats in any Red player's crew. I can't remember the last time I played against Red where they didn't pack two coats. 

Of course, it might be different in your meta but that's certainly my view of playing against Red on Vassal and in New Zealand.

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