Perdita's Totem, Enslaved Nephilim; Any Good?

[Major_Gilbear]

The Enslaved Nephilim is released this month:

So, as I pretty much want to stick to an all-Ortega / fluffy crew, I was wondering if the 'Slave Neph' is any good and whether I should add one to my collection?

I can't say I'm hugely impressed with it on paper, and would almost prefer to spring the extra Stones for the Student of Conflict so that I can give another Ortega besides Perdita "Fast".

On the other hand, I'm thinking that two Obeys each turn would be good, and that Black Blood would work well alongside Papa's Take Ya With Me / BOOM.

Besides that, the model's pretty much what I was expecting, although I am saddened that my suspicions about a manacled Young Nephilim having a worse statline than a Terror Tot are pretty much evidenced by the model...

[Zethal]

Neither Take Ya With Me! nor BOOM! are melee attacks so Black Blood would not have any effect there.

I wouldn't field it. Wouldn't field Purifying Flame either.

Governor's Proxy is to useful and neither of them impress me at all.

[WEiRD sKeTCH]

Well he is dragging that heavy ball and chain around...

[Zethal]

The model is one of my favorites within Wyrd.

[Major_Gilbear]

Neither Take Ya With Me! nor BOOM! are melee attacks so Black Blood would not have any effect there.

Well, I was thinking that Papa could do a large amount of damage to a group of models, and whatever he fails to kill could be engaged by the Totem; that way if they don't kill it, they'll die, and if they do, they'll still die.

I wouldn't field it. Wouldn't field Purifying Flame either.

Governor's Proxy is to useful and neither of them impress me at all.

I didn't really see the GP as being all that handy with the Ortegas anyway... Most of them are decent in WP duels thanks to various skills.

Well he is dragging that heavy ball and chain around...

Can't he strangle his enemies with the chain then?

Really, I want to like him, but I dunno if he adds anything to Perdita's crew that wouldn't be better served by her just having his SS cost to burn in game.

[Pipeline]

i was surprised that it wasnt a terror tot myself. ht 1 and all. awesome model tho...certainly my next purchase

[Rathnard]

In my mind, the enslaved nephilim's main advantage seems to be the :masks: in it's Ca, which makes it much easier to get obey off.

Black blood gives it some value as a finisher for models that get too close, but it seems more like a last resort than anything else. Personally I think he's worth the two soulstones. A Governers Proxy doesn't really add anything of value to the already Wp-high Ortegas and while you could take another two soulstones, I'd prefer a second obey.

[Zethal]

I didn't really see the GP as being all that handy with the Ortegas anyway... Most of them are decent in WP duels thanks to various skills.

I suppose. +4 Wp (so a stat of 10) in defense just seems to good to pass up, considering the amount of power house models that rely frequently on opponents failing their Wp duels. And there aren't any Masters that can soulstone up a really high morale duel for you to fail and kill your self from.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Zethal

[Rathnard]

I suppose. +4 Wp (so a stat of 10) in defense just seems to good to pass up, considering the amount of power house models that rely frequently on opponents failing their Wp duels.

But that still begs the question - when your Wp is about 8 on the defense, do you really need another 2 Wp on your crew?

The game's biggest threat from Wp duels is Pandora, yet the standard Ortega crew doesn't really have a hard time facing her. So if the Ortega's already have an easy time against the biggest Wp-centric threat in the game, are those 2 soulstones spent on the Governer's proxy really going to be worth while?

[Ropetus]

I think in most situations the Enslaved Nephilim would be much more useful than the Governor's Proxy. For the same price you get a model which can actually keep pace with the speedy Ortegas (high speed, Scout) and that can reliably get off Perdita's best spell (and the only one applicaple for Magical Extension) compared to the Proxy who has a hard time doing it. The Nephilim is also a melee threat: it has a massive damage potential for a 2 pt model with hte Flay Trigger and has Black Blood for good measure, possibly making your opponent go after the insignificant totem instead of one of your real models (compared to the Proxy who mostly gets ignored).

However, a "know your enemy" approach is a safe measure. If you know you will face a Wp centric opponent (Seamus, Pandora, Zoraida) the Proxy is still worth it to take along. Pandora will cry when faced by Wp 10 Ortega Family.

-Ropetus

Edited April 8, 2010 by Ropetus

[Major_Gilbear]

But that still begs the question - when your Wp is about 8 on the defense, do you really need another 2 Wp on your crew?

The game's biggest threat from Wp duels is Pandora, yet the standard Ortega crew doesn't really have a hard time facing her. So if the Ortega's already have an easy time against the biggest Wp-centric threat in the game, are those 2 soulstones spent on the Governer's proxy really going to be worth while?

Yeah, this is pretty much how I feel.

And if I'm going up against a crew like Pandora that not only forces you to take lots of WP checks, but can also SS up the score to guarantee a win, I would think that having the GP around is more of a liability than a benefit (woe betide you if you are forced to lose a WP10 duel... Better for Pandora than making you Self-Harm yourself!)

For the Enslaved Nephilim I think that the built-in :masks for getting a cheap Obey off on a friendly model (as you can cheat down the score to bypass the Totems low CA) is probably the best thing going for it. I would have liked a better damage output really, even if the CB score stayed low; it would have made a more interesting model and brought something cool to the crew.

Generally though, I think that all the Totems are rather hit-and-miss. Some are awesome (Voodoo Doll, Brass Arachnid) and the rest are pretty 'meh'. Mostly because they tend to be fixed to a particular Master, and not all Masters really get much out of a Totem. Some do, but Masters like Perdita don't which is why I feel it is a shame that their personal Totems don't do other interesting things instead/as well.

I know it is what it is, and I don't want to just come over and whine on the boards or anything, but that's why I wondered if anyone had had good experiences or come up with a good wheeze for one with Perdita.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Major_Gilbear

[Rathnard]

I would think that having the GP around is more of a liability than a benefit (woe betide you if you are forced to lose a WP10 duel... Better for Pandora than making you Self-Harm yourself!)

The Governer Proxy will kill your models if they lose a morale duel. Morale duels are Wp duels, but Wp Duels (which is what Pandy usually throws at you) are only morale duels if you're taking a terrifying check or the rules specificaly say so.

[Major_Gilbear]

The Governer Proxy will kill your models if they lose a morale duel. Morale duels are Wp duels, but Wp Duels (which is what Pandy usually throws at you) are only morale duels if you're taking a terrifying check or the rules specificaly say so.

Ah, you're quite right! My bad

[nilus]

Personally I am getting him for Obey. He has other advantages and is pretty good in melee, but the extra obey is the shit.

As far as I see it Obey is really just like giving someone else fast. Its a little better since it can give you a free charge, but that is balanced by the fact that you need to cast it(which most likely means blowing a card).

[goblyn13]

Don't forget the other advantage to Obey, its an out-of-order action so that you can also use it to say, move nino in place, cast in my sights take on shot then after ward, have the neph cast obey, then use nino again, and don't forget to get all Trigger Happy.

[Omadon]

This model single-handedly makes Fransisco amazing. Companioning with Perdita/This, he can charge, and then activate and flurry, without needing specific suits/any of Perdita's otherwise valuable AP. This alone makes it thoroughly busted.

[Major_Gilbear]

So basically, it's a 2SS Obey without needing a suit card... Anything else really?

Still, keep going though, you guys are gradually talking me into getting it for the Ortegas afterall! :bandit:

[n0signal]

Well, going by the Leap issues I have, the :masks for Obey is definitely worth 2SS!! What I mean is, the Silurids in my Zoraida crew have a lower Ca stat than my Necropunks in Levi's gang, but because of the :masks in their stat they're always leaping easily all over the place, as I can usually find the value I need either from the deck or my control hand. The Necropunks, despite needing a lower value card, are really unreliable because of the suit requirement. I would kill for them to have a :masks!!

As people have mentioned, I think the only real thing you can do with a totem for Perdita is cast Obey at something; which the Enslaved Nephilim is good at. If you don't think you need another Obey then it's maybe not worth it, otherwise it's a cheap investment and IMO the model is pretty cool.

Edited April 9, 2010 by n0signal

[nilus]

Its also a more reliable Obey, Sure you need a 10 to cast it but having a high card is easier then needing a suit.

Most totems are one trick ponies, Guild ones especially so. But like the rest the Enslaved Neph does have other abilities. He is one of the best combat totems(IE he actually can do something in combat). He isn't tough enough to be a front line hitter but he is good for sweeping up wounded models, leaving more important AP on other models to go after unwounded targets.