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I must be missing something... Zoraida is rubbish!


Massaen

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Can someone fill me in on Zoraida???

I have seen a bunch of comments on how awesome she is but i fail to see it. To me she pails in comparison to both the other Neverborn masters for damage and trickery.

When my brother and I first tried her out - we used the voodoo doll to make melee attacks using conduit and thought - WOW this is unique - and it was fine. The limits of conduit and the small table meant this ability was not over powered. Then we spoted the ruling that you could not do this. To me, even the fluff with the voodoo doll implied you could and the change came as a shock. So we went looking for another use for her. We found nothing.

Direct damage? go for Lilith

Speed? Lilith again

Magic? Pandora

Given the minions are freely interchangeable and there is no synergy for Zoraida and any minions (unlike Pandora and the Woes for example) It can't be based on the crew you can build.

I must be missing something on Zoraida... help me out!

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Zoraida reminds me of Belial in Warlord when that game first came out. Ever play it?

Probably not, so I'll elaborate.

Warlord was a collectible card game, but it has a lot more in common with Malifaux than most miniatures games. It had an activation system similar to Malifau, and centered around dealing wounds to specific characters in a battle-like setting unlike other card games.

Anyway, all that said, Belial was a warlord that had a little bit of built in card manipulation and could recruit characters from other factions. When he first came out, he was one of the shittiest warlords in the game because his stats weren't all that fantastic, and the characters from other factions were limited because, at the time, the game was new and there weren't that many possibilities for recruitment from other factions. But, as the game grew, any combo that could be pulled off turned out to be better with Belial because his card manipulation made it easier to draw and, as the range of characters grew, his possibilities grew. Near the end of him being legal in competitive tournaments, he would almost always be played by everyone in the top three.

This is how I see Zoraida. Her card manipulation is like loading the dice; as more combos come into play that are only limited by the fact that you need a good draw, it will be evident they are best with Zoraida. And, as more wp 4 or less models are printed, her crew will blossom more than any other neverborn. Not to mention, that as more (1) actions are printed, her obey will become exponentially better.

At the moment, you are probably right. She is probably inferior to the other two masters; not entirely because she is crap, but in large part because they are so good. But, as this game grows, I think she is one of the ones you will really need to watch.

The fact that the voodoo doll mentions damage flips with conduit, yet there are none she is capable of doing in this manner yet, just tells me there are more things to come with her.

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Oh my, you dearly misunderstand the point of her. Zoradia makes Voodoo Dolls and make units across the board CHARGE other units they are near at YOUR discretion. Oh hi Lilith you brought Mature Nephiliums huh? Cool, its charging your Terror tots and destroying them hardcore. Or if god forbid there's dangerous terrain on the board use Wing Buffet to keep moving people into it and doing things of the like.

Add in Haemlin who can do the same thing or even better move them off the board and kill them instantly. God help your opponent if they are playing Papa Loco vs Zoradia. Attacking them via Voodoo Doll is highly inferior to casting Obey IMHO.

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I like stripping things away with Hex.

Your Sabertooth? Only has one head now (takes away three headed).

Myranda? Turn into a Moleman (Obey)... annnnnnd let's take that Shapeshift ability away from you while we're at it.

As cool as Zoraida is, I have to sort of agree with the thread starter in that she probably is a little weaker than the other two Neverborn. (Ok, I'm not entirely certain on Pandora, but it seems that way to me.)

So, let's say that both Zoraida and Lilith are 11" away from Myranda. Zoraida can doom Myranda to a fate of eternal moleman-hood. Cool, funny, even good.

But Lilith, at 11", can just charge Myranda and pummel her in the face until she's dead.

Zoraida leaves the Arcanists a perfectly good Moleman, albeit a sad one with memories of its former life and a strange gender issue. Lilith leaves them a bloody pulp. Now, granted, hex has a 12" range, and Lilith's reach with a charge is only 11"...but still.

Not that I think Zoraida is crap, by the way. At all. She's good, and a lot of fun. Better than many other masters. But, she is probably the weakest of the Neverborn at the moment.

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Big Z is more of a manipulation type master right now then the other 2 in the faction, Lilith eats your face from behind and Pandora spreads her web of woes and effects. Z lets you modify the field a bit (often where it counts) and can disable/turn the enemies best models back at them.

She relies on her army a lot more then the other 2 masters and this is where she really differes. You have to build a solid army and her Enthrall lets you chose from a wide range of dudes to bring to the party. Her 0 spells let you rework the way things are going to play out for the turn and basically ensure you have an advantage when you want it. Obey is a great and horribly over-powered spell at the same time as everyone knows. Its fantastic! Hex is evil like Sketch showed, (stealing puppies heads for example).

She takes some thinking and some serious list planning, just throwing anything together with her isn't going to turn out that great. She is subtle, and that can make her hard to wrap your head around. Keep playing her and trying her out, eventually it will click.

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I'm wondering actually, if trying to max out on 8 Soul Stones is the way to go with Zoraida? I often find that she's most effective when I can burn stones to ensure people can't resist her spells.

It's a shame that Bewitch and Crystal Ball are both (0) actions, as one spell lets you force the enemy to completely rely on Fate (but there could be some 13's or the Rd joker at the top of their deck) and the other lets you check and reorder their deck but doesn't stop them cheating their way out of trouble. I always find it difficult to choose one over the other. <_<

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She relies on her army a lot more then the other 2 masters and this is where she really differes. You have to build a solid army and her Enthrall lets you chose from a wide range of dudes to bring to the party. Her 0 spells let you rework the way things are going to play out for the turn and basically ensure you have an advantage when you want it. Obey is a great and horribly over-powered spell at the same time as everyone knows. Its fantastic! Hex is evil like Sketch showed, (stealing puppies heads for example).

I can't see much synergy with anything in terms of minions... Sure obey is good but its once a turn (which i took to mean per crew so no use for the doll) and the other spells are hard to use without SS. I guess i will keep plugging away... much like Levictus:wallbash:

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I can't see much synergy with anything in terms of minions... Sure obey is good but its once a turn (which i took to mean per crew so no use for the doll)

Nope, Obey is once per turn per caster. So Zoriada can obey and her doll can obey and if you have him Hamlin can obey too.

As far as Zoriada goes she is a great long range anti-support master. Her abilities let her stay way out of combat while still causing issues for her enemies. She doesn't directly do damage but causes her enemy to do damage to themselves or weaken them so that her minions can do the dirty work.

I've seen her used very effectively

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I'm wondering actually, if trying to max out on 8 Soul Stones is the way to go with Zoraida? I often find that she's most effective when I can burn stones to ensure people can't resist her spells.

It's a shame that Bewitch and Crystal Ball are both (0) actions, as one spell lets you force the enemy to completely rely on Fate (but there could be some 13's or the Rd joker at the top of their deck) and the other lets you check and reorder their deck but doesn't stop them cheating their way out of trouble. I always find it difficult to choose one over the other. <_<

Her and Sommer compliment each other very well.

Ditch your hand.

Now...let's have a look at your deck.

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I can't see much synergy with anything in terms of minions...

I'm liking the nurse + war pig. Give the pig speed and stimulant once its wounds start getting low anyway and let it stampede all over the enemy. Takes some set up, but I'll pull it off once I get myself a nurse.

Plus she gives the hardest caster to kill in the game armor 1.

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Here are the highlights for Zoraida:

(0) Raven. Cast then walk twice. She moves 20 in. in a single activation.

Bayou Two-Card. This can be awesome.

(0) Bewitch. Use this on support masters like Ramos or Nicodem and essentially neutralize their greatest strength.

(1) Obey. Nuff said.

(2) Hex. Nice way to nuter the tank in any crew.

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Im really starting to feel that playing anything but her starter box is the way to go. I actually plan on playing her with Liliths box.

Well, that depends on what your strategy and schemes are. Her Starter box is absolutely great for a Treasure Hunt + Breakthrough + Bodyguard combo. ;) If you're going for Assassinate + Kidnap then yeah, her box isn't ideal.

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Well, that depends on what your strategy and schemes are. Her Starter box is absolutely great for a Treasure Hunt + Breakthrough + Bodyguard combo. ;) If you're going for Assassinate + Kidnap then yeah, her box isn't ideal.

Great point n0signal. I guess that's a reason to have a second list ala steamroller. I'm starting to see Zoraidas flexability.

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Well, that depends on what your strategy and schemes are. Her Starter box is absolutely great for a Treasure Hunt + Breakthrough + Bodyguard combo. ;) If you're going for Assassinate + Kidnap then yeah, her box isn't ideal.

My first game with her wound up being a treasure unt scenario and between leap from the Silurids and her Crow ability it was no contest really as far as completing it

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