Liek Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Being that the entire first page here is all Ramos, (didn't look at page 2, but I bet its the same) I think it's pretty safe to say he's the favorite Arcanist here. But what about Marcus? I was playing with him the other day and I thought he did pretty good. How would you recommend playing him, or if you find Marcus not to be as useful as you'd like, what would you like to see happen later down the line to make him better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ropetus Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 He seems not to be as popular as the other two Arcanist Masters. Apparently steampunk spiders and ice constructs appeal to people more than a bunch of savage beasts. I have used Marcus a few times and he is quite fun to play, he is very different from other Masters. He is not very straightforward in his abilities and does not really have an obvious strategy to apply for every situation (like Raspy's December's Curse spam or Pandora's "force a dozen Wp Duels on your enemies"). Instead, he is a bit of a toolbox and has quite a few options in his disposal to use in different situations. He can become a beatstick in melee with the use of Wild Heart. Cb 6 with on to hit and Dg 3/4/6 he is among the hardest hitting Masters. Cheating the cast with a low :tomes is a no brainer to get another effect and Trigger Surge. However, the spell often leaves him lacking either in defense (his Df 5 is lowish if you take the extra offensive Actions) or lack of actions (he really needs the Df boost from Fox and then he only gets 1 or 2 strikes). Using Hare is a great way to move quickly across the battlefield early on and makes him very hard to catch. With Pack Leader he can make a chain activation when charging into melee (take the cerberus or a pack of Silurids with you). Stare Down is a nice "screw you" button and keeps him alive nicely when facing a single foe. Getting it to affect more than one enemy model at a time is not easy but would be a great way to bog down a pair of enemy models: Wild Heart (Bear, Eagle, Fox) - Strike - Strike - Stare Down should be extremely effective. He has a few buffs to hand out to his crew. Primal Flame I most often find no time to use. Marcus just has much more important things to do. Leave that for Myranda and his Totem. When facing a crew with lots of Wp effects (Seamus, Pandora, Zoraida) Marcus should become a support model and Howl every turn to make your opponent cry. Just beware that he does not get the benefit leaving Marcus himself very vulnerable with his Wp of 6. Howl also works as a debuff and cannot be resisted which is huge. A devastating ability when combined with Roar from the Cerberus or Myranda. Feral is a bit lacking ability and most useful in a bigger game when you have Myranda and another Master: use Marcus to turn the other Master into a Beast and then Myranda can cast their spells as well. At times it could be useful to set up Alpha. Alpha is supposed to be his "ultimate" ability but I find myself not using it a lot. Being a (2) Action you lose your biggest asset: mobility and it requires you to succeed in a lot of things: either Wild Heart + Blinding Strike/Feline Speed or Feral to make the target a Beast and then Alpha which eats all your Actions for the round. The target has to be a very powerful model to sacrifice your Master's activation for the control thing. However, it is devastating when it works (imagine a Steamborg charging back at Ramos or a Mature Nephilim wrecking havoc on his siblings). His Crew should mainly compose of Beasts to keep your options open. Silurids are perhaps the best models to take with him: they're blinding fast and combine greatly with Marcus' hit'n'run playstyle. Pack is wonderful for Pack Leader. Cerberus and Rattler are good for this purpose as well, the Cerberus being especially effective with it's Leap, Stalker and many many attacks. Bringing his Totem should be a no brainer. It's only 1 SS and keeps coming back after killed. Molemen look like an obvious include for the combo with Defend Me! but I find that they're much too slow for this purpose. However, they're cheap so bringing 1 or 2 should be fine. They're good for holding objectives as well. Hoarcats I think suffer from the speed issue as well and you really need 3 of them to be effective. Myranda I've found a bit lacking. MAybe she would e more useful in a bigger game when you have a bigger Control hand to support her. Waldgeists should be a nice addition when released. Their Armor 2 adds some staying power and moving forests around is priceless for Crew so vulnerable to shooting. In conclusion: The idea with Marcus is to find the best combo of Actions for any given situation. You have a lot of options and can always do something and maybe even surprise your opponent: of all the Masters except for Pandora and Lilith Marcus has the largest threat range of 26" with his combo of Wild Heart (Bear, Hare, Serpent) - Walk - Walk - Blinding Strike. -Ropetus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikimonkey Posted April 30, 2010 Report Share Posted April 30, 2010 Very nice post Ropetus. I'm just starting to get a feel for all the different things Marcus crew can do. He takes a while to learn, but has a lot of potential once you figure out all his nuances. Your post definitely added a few ideas I will try the next time I get to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyzaronius Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Great tips Ropetus, I been really keen to give Marcus another try. Have some interesting ideas, also thinking the Razor Ratlers terrifying could combine well with Marcus' - WP effect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karn987 Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Just remember, Marcus has access to all the beasts in the game pretty much. Just wait for a new book eventually and Im sure he will get some new friends in there. But while your at it, look through the book at all the beasts that are in it... there are a decent amount of them. Heck he gets the Monster from the Black Lagoon (Slurids) who are just plain NASTY in a pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck Dog Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 I had a game against Marcus at the weekend and was amazed by his ability to tank when using fox. It took a full round of melee from a Ronin, a full round of rapid fire from the Gunslinger and then another bout of melee from Vik to take him down. Granted he burnt through his deck and used a number of stones to do so, but it was still impressive stuff... Add that to his speed, fighting prowess and howl.... what's not to love ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblyn13 Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 I had a game against Marcus at the weekend and was amazed by his ability to tank when using fox. It took a full round of melee from a Ronin, a full round of rapid fire from the Gunslinger and then another bout of melee from Vik to take him down. Granted he burnt through his deck and used a number of stones to do so, but it was still impressive stuff... Add that to his speed, fighting prowess and howl.... what's not to love ? the problem with marcus is he is a little limted, he can be fast, he can be tough, or he can be a beatstick, but he can only be one at a time. When playing two master games he's awesome as the master you send out to lead the charge, while keeping Rasputina in the back (she can't move that fast) while helping him to armor up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreadpiratelynx Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Unfortunately I tend to overestimate his prowess a little bit and get him in deeper than he can handle. I still love him though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucidicide Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 I haven't played that many games to date, and so I've only seen Marcus once. However, I have looked around at different posts about him and considered him myself. Right now, I agree with goblyn13 that he is a little limited. He does have the toolbox to change his ways, but it just doesn't seem to make him quite effective enough. It's certainly possible to win with him, and I would imagine there are a number of set-ups both terrain and strategies that he can really warm up to. He's the sort of master I'm considering after I see what beasts (if any) are in book 2. I think all the masters that can hire out of faction will only get better as the game expands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lictor Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 He's the sort of master I'm considering after I see what beasts (if any) are in book 2. I think all the masters that can hire out of faction will only get better as the game expands. So about now I expect you have already ordered and painted Marcus and are champing at the bit for the other beasts to be released? I loved the guy before Book 2 came out, I have already put aside quite a lot of money to basically buy out everything that can be included in an Arcanist list but am mostly keen to see what else Marcus can acheive with his new friends. (probably after I work out Colette though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raintar Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Marcus using Molemen and Shikome is a very good list. Makes Marcus such a beatstick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lictor Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 I'm keen to see the effectiveness of the Raptors as well. It's a long shot but all you need is one to work on a decent member of the opposition and it is sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.