Suggestions on beefing up the Vicks

[Blu5blade]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to the hobby but have managed to get about 6 or 7 games in with my Vicks thus far. I use Ronin and of course the convict gunslinger but I'm having trouble rounding out the crew. We all know that the Vicks suffer from glass cannon syndrome. I'm trying to decide between adding Misaki and Bishop to the crew but am torn. Bishop is prohibitively expensive but can take some punishment. Misaki is cheaper but her abilities are prohibited by suite.

I guess I have a couple questions.

1. Does anyone use Misaki or Bishop and why/how do you make them affective given their drawbacks.

2. I want to know what other folks use in their Vick squads to take some punishment or alternate strategies that keep the glass cannon alive.

Thanks!

[Sliver Chocobo]

From what i know, Bishop is amazing, convict gunslinger can add some punch and student of conflict works as well other than that Ronin lot's of Ronin, there're amazing with the viktora twins

[Lionheart]

Taelor. She is just awesome. The 3" range on her strikes is huge.

[AntiZombie]

I love playing misaki, suit usually isn't a problem and her reach is great as is her power, she too is a glass hammer but is super fun. I have to second taelor though I HATE fighting her she is powerful and VERY durable. Johan is the same, not quite as powerful but he has some good range and will stick around for a while. Bishop is good but WAY too expensive and he isn't as durable as taelor or Johan ( he is fun though and. Quite the shock troop with his 1 ap charge).

[Pox]

this could get me in trouble - but i have tried...Hanz.

yup i said it, Hans coupled with the student of conflict worked OK (especially since Hans will not use fast to run off leaving the student doing nothing.) - was not amazing but 3 shots a turn with assured critical strike - meaning around 9pts of damage to someone minimum at 16" away is actually not too shabby (if you hit them of course - but go for the big nasties with low DF - like executioners, killjoy, bad juju etc.) Headshot is also not too shabby of course.

as i said he is OK, not amazing - not sure whether he is worth the points but does give your group some covering fire which the vics surely miss especially if he is on an elevated position.

the mercs find it hard to get more guns to the board - so hans is an interesting proposistion but much more trickier to use.

Taelor or johan or misaka would fit the standard play style much easier of run forward and hit stuff and all have their benefits.

apart from that - its what Ronin, ronin and more ronin?

[Sliver Chocobo]

Bishop is Amazing model to quote a friend

I personally think he's fantastic. He's one of the most versatile models in the game. However - his purpose, for the most part, is not plain damage throughput. Paired with Rhonin - if you adapt for masks, then he can follow them as they run through, if you give him tomes - he totally ignores defensive mechanics on models like seamus/killjoy. Nobody ever thinks of disarm.

Just consider him against Killjoy - spend a turn studying him, while in defensive stance, with 8Df. If he gets a charge on you - he's more than likley going to miss, idealy flipping you out of combat. Then adapt for tomes the following turn, and then on the first charge, you're at +2 flips, and the rest, you're automatically on +1. His ability to hunt through cards against damn near anybody is nuts. This logic applys against anything else big with low Df. He never misses them, he ignores their defensive abilitys, and on severe, he does real damage. Against people without such mechanics - adapting for rams is a solid choice. 3/4/6 is not to be sniffed at. Especially when it has 7-8 Cb. Nor is 2/3/5 to be sniffed at when that model has 10Cb.

Also - consider how fragile the Viktorias/Rhonin are. Take the biggest, scariest thing the opponent has and lock it in combat with a fully buffed Bishop. If it swings at him, best case scenario - it misses. Worst, they lose two cards/take some damage back. If they try to leave - he locks them tight to his chest with a 1" melee range, meaning that they are far less able to threaten your squishy things. Which are squishy.

So - in short. I think he rocks, but nobody's using him right >.>

EDIT:

Hangonaminute. What? How exactly do you propose somebody removes bishop from a table quarter he's got his mind set on not leaving? 8Df in stance is practically impossible to kill. Furthermore - he lets you redistribute models with reletive ease - due to his low weak damage, late game he can charge a bunch of your models and throw them to where they need to be. Or, if your opponent's playing reconnoiter, he can throw something - charge it again, throw it, charge it again and then smack it. Keeping it in combat with him and locking it there. Hell - if he can throw two models next to each other and hold them in combat, maybe slow one or two of them. Even better! The possibilitys are endless, as soon as people stop whinging about his low damage band

my thoughts are that the victoras need lots of ronin, bishop is amazing so is the gunslinger(trigger happy/ rappid fire:)) and the studend of comflict

[Amarel]

I have no love for Bishop, and nor do most people I've discussed him with (Omadon aside). I've tried him and have only rarely been even moderately happy with his performance on a turn.

Misaki is great, but is made even better by having someone around to help her get into better positions or to move her target to an easier to reach place. You can use Bishop for this, certainly, but I would far and away rather take Hamelin or Taelor (depending on whether you want more control in a squishier package, or less in a far tougher one).

I've recently been enjoying the following 35SS Vik list (in case it's helpful):

Viks + 4SS

2 x Ronin

Convict Gunslinger

Hamelin

Misaki

A decent amount of hitting power, good threat, lots of board control and plenty of ways to hit and run.

Once the Student of Conflict is out, I'm not sure how I'll fit him in, tbh .

[Drool_bucket]

now, mind you I have limited experience overall with Malifaux, but I have played Viks with a few different set ups against a limited pool of opponents. (Guild and Seamus)

I first started with Bishop and I see that he can be very useful in a Vik/Ronin world, he playes so differently that he really helps offset their "Glass Cannon" syndrome. He can march up to the toughest thing going and keep it off the Viks. He can even move it around if done right.

His downside is that he struggles to do any amount of damage, which can be frustrating. If your Bishop is up against an enemy Steamborg its no fun to realize that the Steamborg is just waiting to get lucky to smash Bishop while Bishop needs many, many turns to tear down the Steamborg. And in a world where you can Cheat Fate, things usually work out for the Steamborg.

But, he is so many points that I was just overwhelmed by the opponent in many cases. His stats are great but he is worth at least 2 less Soulstones. Then he would be a great purchase, which most models usually seem to be, great purchases.

I have switched over to Taelor. She offers a drastic reduction in "toughness," but is still considerably harder than the Ronin/Viks that we live by. I usually keep her near the CGS because people usually go straight for him, knowing they can't catch the Ronin/Viks and need to deal with a Trigger Happy monster.