Nicodem-Strategy and Tactics

[shekbo]

This thread was inspired by a similar helpful thread posted by... Um... The pink one. That was for Zoraida, and it was very interesting and informative. So I thought: why should the neverborn players get all the help? Us zombie guys need a leg up sometimes too!

So without any further ado,

Nicodem.

I chose Nicodem mostly because he's the master I play most often, and also because he's flexible and thus tricky to master.there are many different situations where Nicodem should act a certain way, and many others where a player needs to react quickly and definitively if they want to stay alive.

Basic tactics for Nicodem

*Nicodem is agruably the best summoning master in the game. The Reanimator spell is your greatest tool with Nicodem, and whenever you have nothing much going on, you should use it.

*

(Pro tip! Corpses not lying around? The reason Mortimer is a handy minion for Nicodem to have is the Exhume spell, which is a great way to get a corpse early game and summon it immediately. Remember that Mortimer can even companion Nicodem for a quick one activation summon!)*

Nicodem in combat

*As a whole, Nicodem is not a powerful combat master. His most useful combat ability is probably rigor Mortis, which you can use to freeze an opponents nasty minion or even their master. the decay spell in combat isn't overwhelmingly powerful, and should really be used to just finish off vulnerable enemy models, because it doesn't do tons of damage. If Nicodem is in melée, don't attack, instead focus on getting out or having a handy zombie kill the enemy model. Nicodem's low defense makes him a tasty target, so try to keep him out of direct combat.

What do I hire?

*The biggest question for a prospective Nicodem player is what to hire as a starting crew. The box set for Nicodem is actually a terrible crew for Nicodem, as the punks are primarily a summoned figure. One of the best figures for a starting crew is actually the canine remains, because for only two points, you get a figure that's only too happy to charge right into melée and provide you with a corpse, as well as maybe doing some damage along the way. Remember: with Nicodem, a figure dying is at most only a minor setback. Also, Mortimer is an excellent figure for a Nicodem player, because he's a good source of corpses when you're not sure if you'll be able to get them easily. He's a must if you may be facing a construct army or Lady Justice, the corpse denying arch-foe of any Nicodem player. You may also want to include a heavy figure that Nicodem can't summon, such as Killjoy, Betty or the Hanged. They make good heavy hitters and can hold down the fort while Nic reanimates some zombies. For a totem, the vulture seems like the obvious choice, but really i've found that depending on the point value, you may want to take the grave spirit. For 25 points or less, grave spirits your best bet. Above that up to 30 one vulture is good, past 30 two vultures are a must to ensure that Nic can take advantage of any corpse that drops.

Nicodem on Crows

*save all crow cards you get. Any high crows need to be used to Reanimate, and low ones are good for cheating the second flip on Mortimer's exhume. Don't throw them away on attacks.

So Many Options! What do I summon?

Nicodem has more summoning options than any master in the game. This can get a little overwhelming, as Nicodem can summon:

Canine Remains*

Crooked Men

Punk Zombies

Steampunk Abominations*

Necropunks

Flesh Constructs

Rotten Belles

you'll notice I've marked a few with asterisks. These are models I would never really see myself summoning in any situation. The others, however, are all excellent choices depending on what's going on at the moment.*

Crooked Men are the only unit Nico can summon who can deal damage at range. They're also really good against clumps of enemies. They're a good early game summon, or anytime you can't summon the model close to melée combat.

Punk Zombies are great melée bruisers. If you can summon a model. (remember you can place it anywhere within 6") into melée, or especially into a clump of enemies, make it a punk. Even with one action it'll deal good damage, and accurately too.*

Necropunks aren't necessarily that tough or powerful, but they've got one thing going for them. They can move faster than nearly all the reader figures, and that means they're great objective achievers. They can snag chests, rush into corners of the board to reconnoiter, or sprint into an opponent's control area to screw up their objective.*

Rotten Belles are not as heavy hitting as the punks, and not as quick as the Necropunks, but they're good support units for a crew of zombies. A single belle can play merry hell with enemy armies when supported by crooked men or punk zombies. The Lure spell is brutal when combined with the crooked man's Shafted, or the punk zombie's pure melée power. When they have no one to lure, their attack skills are passable enough, and the undress spell can be good for softening up a tough defender.

Flesh Constructs cost two corpses, rather than one, like everyone else. While it's true that this is the most expensive model Nic can summon, I've not had a huge amount of sucess with it. It tends to be a card drain to keep more than one on the field, and it's low defense makes it a target. Which is, in fact, precisely what it excels at doing. It is an excellent meat shield. It can take a large amount of punishment and the relentless advance ability makes your opponent think twice about letting it live to the closing phase. It does give a nasty amount of punishment in melée, and like the punk zombie, it really only works if you can summon it into melée range of an opponent's model.*

So that's a few ideas on the situations you would summon any of Nicodem's options. The other question you'll likely face when playing Nicodem is

Which (0) action do I use?

Nicodem has two powerful (0) actions. Both affect models in a wide swath of the board, and both can be exceedingly annoying to your opponent.

Bolster undead can make your army of shambling beauties into a bunch of powerhouses. If you want to use this, you want to make sure that Nicodem activates before the bulk of your horde, so that they can benefit from the combat buff. Also, you want to ensure that you can effect the most models possible: don't use the buff if you'll only get one zombie. Also keep in mind that due to embrace death, Nicodem benefits as well. This is good if he's coming under attack, because 4 defense is much better than 2.*

The other (0) action you could use is arise, perhaps the finest attrition tool in Malifaux. It causes every corpse to get up and annoy the heck out of your opponent, and the worst part of it is that any action taken to kill mindless zombies is an action totally wasted, because they can just get right back up! These little guys have numerous uses, the best being to tie up enemy ranged units, move into range of Nicodem's Reanimator spell or to stand near Nicodem to enable him to use the zombie fodder ability and avoid damage easily. If they manage to get an attack off at your opponent, good for them. It probably won't connect, but it might cause your opponent to waste a card cheating it off. Use this spell when your zombie ranks are getting a bit thin, and corpses are common. It can help buy you time and protect your valuble models, even if your zombies will be less effective this turn.*

If you can pull it off, these (0) actions are best used in conjunction. Summon a bunch of mindless one turn, and if there's still a bunch around next turn then a Bolster action will make them really irritating for your opponent to get rid of.

So I hope this helped a few people get a bit more accustomed to Nicodem and the adaptive strategy required to play him well. If anyone has any feedback on how this thread can be improved, or additional strategy tips, i'd be glad to add them in. Thanks, all!

************NEW SECTION!!!************************

Rising Powers: How does it affect Nicodem?

With the addition of Rising powers, many people will have looked at the new resser section and thought "Gosh, now I'll have tons of new non-unique undead for Nicodem to play with!"

Well, sorry.

Unfortunately for old Nicodem, the second book doesn't add any new models that should immediately enter the summoning repetoire of our good friend, and since most of the spirits are expensive, and none leave corpses, they aren't great for starting crews.

The one model that nearly, nearly works for Nicodem players is the guild autopsy. It's a cheap undead with a ranged attack and terrifying effects, and despite its fragility, it seems like a perfect support model for a Nicodem crew. Except for one hitch: It does not leave corpses due to an unlucky ability.

But, just as it seems that all might be lost, we have a single, gigantic, monstrous ray of hope. The Rogue Necromancy, the summonable heavy hitter Nicodem players have been dreaming of. He's big. He's bad. He has ranged attacks, terrifying effects, and you can summon him for four corpses. That is not to say, however, that you should try to save up to four corpses just to summon him. Four individually summoned belles/punks/crooked men will still outperform the Rogue Nec nearly every time, but the real advantage he has is that it just takes one spell to bring him out. Nicodem players, when you are pressed for time and have plenty of corpses, do not hesitate to throw him down. In fact, you should all probably proxy him right now because he is a great thing to have around if you wind up fighting another zombie master, hordes of gremlins, or another army that will leave you with a lot of corpses.

The resser henchman, molly, may be a good choice for Nicodem armies who like belles, though she's far from ideal. For one thing, she's expensive and only leaves one corpse if she does die, which she won't, but you'll be hard pressed to use her effectively to pay for the points. I would not recommend her for a nicodem crew.

Another model worthy of a further look for a Nicodem crew is the night terror. Though it is a spirit, and it doesn't leave a corpse, it is just the anti-ranged attack support Nicodem desperately needs. If you're fighting Perdita or another range-heavy crew and you want Nic to have time to build up some zombies, throw Mortimer in there with a few Night terrors. Mortimer can dig up corpses to make up for the ones lost on the night terrors, and the terrors can keep the ranged attackers of Nic while the summoning machine builds up.

Edited January 3, 2011 by shekbo

[Ropetus]

Nice writeup. Allow me to make one correction:

Also keep in mind that due to embrace death, Nicodem benefits as well. This is good if he's coming under attack, because 4 defense is much better than 2.*

Nicodem is not affected since Auras never affect the model using it, unless the ability states so and this one doesn't.

-Ropetus

[Zambayoshi]

I've ordered the Nicodem box set, a vulture and a pack of mindless zombies.

How many mindless should I have ready to go for a 25-30ss scrap?

Thanks for the guide, it's great!

[jmp_mydog]

Depending on your opponent (models that leave corpse or not) you'll want to have at least 6.

[dahli.llama]

Nice write-up.

I just played my first game with Nico last night, and I definitely agree that he's tricky. I didn't realize that the flip from Mort's Exhume could be cheated, so that would have helped a bit, but otherwise the lack of ranged power to slow my opponent (Viktorias) hurt. I will have to look into getting some Crooked men into the crew ASAP.

[Hatchethead]

Depending on your opponent (models that leave corpse or not) you'll want to have at least 6.

Yeah, I need to find some good proxies (since I can't stand dupes). Had a game last night with the original three, ran out. My opponent was kind enough to allow me to use Punks as stand-ins, but that won't fly against most people.

... but otherwise the lack of ranged power to slow my opponent (Viktorias) hurt. I will have to look into getting some Crooked men into the crew ASAP.

Indeed. I went up against Ortegas with two Crookedies and they really helped. Cave In + Bolster + Cooked versus shooting, they're auto-includes against Perdita and fam. Three Canines and Bete also ensured I got in close, fast. Healing with Decay during melee really put my opponent in a bad spot. My Vulture trundled around and picked up the corpse counters (of which there were many).

Edited July 7, 2010 by Hatchethead

[shekbo]

If you're looking for "ranged" support, here's what I always do.

Include a Hanged in your starting crew, along with the grave spirit. Link those two up. Bang, youve got an unkillable hanged. it has two EXTREMELY nasty ranged attacks, whisper from beyond which can just demolish high health figures, and hangman's knot which, while it doesn't do a lot of damage, can suck your opponents into your melee units really nicely. If you need more ranged damage, crooked men are ok, but that spell is hard to pull off. I'd recommend going about half melee, half belles and hanged, the latter can yank enemy units into the former, and the former can cut them up. Also, if you're looking for units that can get into close range quick, look no further than the bloodhound ability on the canines. All you need is one good cave in from a crooked man to deal one or two damage to a bunch of enemies, and all the dogs can charge in and attack them for only 1 action. combined with Nico's Bolster, they can be nasty little bruisers with 6 cb and 7 df.

@ropetus: Let me clarify your correction by saying I also forgot that Nic's defense is 3, not two. But I believe you're right anyway, and I apologize for that mistake. I've been playing that way since first getting him, but I guess I've been doing it wrong.

[Natty]

*save all crow cards you get. Any high crows need to be used to Reanimate, and low ones are good for cheating the second flip on Mortimer's exhume. Don't throw them away on attacks.

Mortimer's flip is not cheatable. There is nothing in the rulebook that allows you to cheat this flip. This is cleared up in the FAQ.

If you can pull it off, these (0) actions are best used in conjunction. Summon a bunch of mindless one turn, and if there's still a bunch around next turn then a Bolster action will make them really irritating for your opponent to get rid of.

If I remember correctly (I am at work and I don't have the book in front of me, someone wanna check for me?), the bolster spell only affects friendly models. Mindless zombies are not friendly models and are not hit by the spell. I am fairly certain that even when you activate them, mindless zombies are just controlled by you, they don't have any ability that says they count as friendly, much like an obeyed model is not friendly to you, it is just an independent entity with no army (again, no book, but that's what I remember reading, someone check my ramblings).

[LastDinosaur]

The extra errata changes Exhume to be cheatable.

Also.. Mindless Zombies are friendly while you control them, so they get bonus Cb, but not bonus Df (which is the important thing here).. This last bit is argueable, but this is my interpretation of it.

[Chucklemonkey]

A very interesting read as I see Nic as my next master.

I notice you mention taking Bete as your hard hitter, whilst I would never see her as a waste, as you can summon other undead for free is she worth spending the points on in a nic crew?

[Hatchethead]

The extra errata changes Exhume to be cheatable.

Yar, specifically WS's "living" errata.

Mortimer

Exhume

Description should read as: "Flip a Fate Card from the top of your Fate Deck. If the card is a , place 1 Corpse Counter within 6” of this model. The flip may be cheated. This spell may only be cast once per turn.

Awesome change, a win for the Team Rez!

I notice you mention taking Bete as your hard hitter, whilst I would never see her as a waste, as you can summon other undead for free is she worth spending the points on in a nic crew?

I can't speak from a TON of experience, but I used her last night to great effect versus the Ortega family. There's often a ton of fodder on the field in a Nic game, lots of death for Bete to be drawn to. You can deploy quite a few cheapo models, knowing their eventual corpse counters will be resurrected as more powerful minions. I found her indispensable. She killed Papa Loco (the perfect candidate to drop the crazy bugger), took a chunk out of Perdita and tied up friggin' Nino until games end (he would've died next turn, had the game continued).

Edited July 7, 2010 by Hatchethead
Bete FTW!

[Q'iq'el]

I notice you mention taking Bete as your hard hitter, whilst I would never see her as a waste, as you can summon other undead for free is she worth spending the points on in a nic crew?

I think she has the best synergy with Nik. Granted, she'll work good for anyone, but:

1. Nicodem can summon everything for free, so it's much easier for him to set aside spare points to take a very expensive model.

2. Nicodem can heal undead. While Bête has excellent defenses of her own, and can typically bury herself to heal and survive if killed, there are smart opponents with lucky hand that may spoil such plans. Being able to keep her topped is additional protection.

3. While Bête Noire is a scary fighter on her own, just like Punk Zombies, both of these become real monsters under influence of Bolster Undead. She can easily dispatch or at least completely disable a master with her paralyzing strikes, when her Cb reaches 9 with paired weapons and all she needs to paralyze is to hit the target.

4. It's best for her to arrive when opponent kills your own model (as she'll be able to activate directly after the attack and strike back). While all Resurrectionists can provide cheap sacrificial models to get her where they want her, Nobody can do it as easily as Nicodem.

To sum up, she's an expensive and relatively fragile model. Her defenses can be overloaded or bypassed. But she's both deadly and comes with great utility and all that gains greatly on reliability under Nikodem's command.

[Raintar]

His Bolster Undead is also insanely good. The heal is incredibly useful and also the paralyze and Raise Dead. I've seen him best used with Vulture dropping Beter Noir and Killjoy. But I saw a list based around Steampunk Abombinations keeping pace all together eventually leading up to a charge by 2 Bolstered Desolation Engines. Very nasty, and Nicodem can heal that thing as he does frequently, and best of all it blasts off them for damage.

[shekbo]

I love bete as a heavy hitter. I usually go with her or Killjoy or a hanged/grave spirit combo for my nasty figure.

She's excellent for assassinate especially against summoning masters. I'd always always take her for an assassinate strategy. She's also a big psychological fear for your opponent in a model that just won't die, and as was said before, Bolster just makes her a little bit ridiculous. She'll basically always be going after the master or an expensive model, and she's great for making your opponent bleed lots of soulstones or even lose their master.

[Xango]

very interesting, so for 30ss, what should i get???

[ProdigalPunk]

very interesting, so for 30ss, what should i get???

Start with lots of cheap models and then when they die summon better ones. Do that plus have maybe one utility model and one heavy and you should be set. Also I always include a vulture, but do not over extend it, I tend to leave it out to dry foolishly and watch it get wacked. If I am going with Kill Joy as my heavy then I go necropunks, as their slow to die comes in hand for that last second sac. If I am going Bete I tend to go with dogs (although I always try to throw in some dogs as I need those hard to reach corpse counters with Nico most of all)

[Q'iq'el]

very interesting, so for 30ss, what should i get???

For very start, Nicodem starting box is absolutely excellent. Punk Zombies are very good for any master, but even better with Nicodem's buffs. Mortimer makes the crew a bit faster (speed is the weak point) and can help get Zombies quicker too.

Vultures are nice to have (you can have 2, as they are "numerous"), but even more needed are Mindless Zombies. Nicodem absolutely needs them both for his own protection (his defense is low and he has to keep some zombies around to protect himself) and to bog down the opponent.

Personally I got 3 Mindless Zombies with Nico, but I feel 6 is more practical (I have all 3 up and lots of spare time to get more most of the time). If only there was another blister with different Mindless Zombies available - the ones available are quite individual in their looks and I don't want to duplicate them.

On the other hand Zombies are probably the easies models to proxy (so many out there), so you can go for some other models altogether and get 6~9 without shipping costs or need to duplicate. I just couldn't resist Wyrd's own set.

Nicodem can raise practically anything (except for Spirit models, so look out for those) and everything brings something to his crew. After you get the book and learn how to play his crew, you can easily expand it to get some more "specialized" undead to round up the crew.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Q'iq'el

[shekbo]

Actually, with the box set I don't use the punks to start. Punks are an excellent summon, and it's much better to start with a 2 point dog, have it charge in and get itself killed, then summon a 5 point punk who may already in melee combat.

for 30ss, you've got a choice between Bete and Killjoy. With 25 bete's a better choice, and at 35 I'd go killjoy, but at 30 it's just your preference for heavy hitter.

My normal 30ss usually looks like this.

Nicodem

1 grave spirit

1 Mortimer

1 hanged

1 Bete Noir

2 dogs

I love the grave spirit and hanged combo, it's just ludicrous how much punishment those two can take, and betty's always a nightmare. I don't like the vulture because I don't really have that many models. Generally speaking, my strategy is to hangman's knot a hapless living model within range of my dogs' "bloodhound" actions, and I activate them both with Mortimer as his zombie companion action. Mortimer's job is further ranged support and digging corpses whenever I have a low crow I can use to cheat the flip for it. Betty happens whenever I kill something, and I always keep a card in reserve to save her.

[NameBreaker]

Hello every one! Frist time post from a long time lurker, i'll be running my frist game this weekend. While i'm not going to be playing i'll be dealing with all the rules stuff. One player is playing Nic and while looking for combos/tricks i found the Canine Remains has the Graverobber Trait. Unless i missed an erretta somewhere along the way this means that a turn one summon can keep Nic supplied with Corpse Counters.

The real question is: If we're using the starter box for Nic how hard is it for him to get Corpse Counters rolling?

And my frist post is a fail since it seems Graverobbers cannot Search for Corpse Counters, only pick them up

Edited August 19, 2010 by NameBreaker
Fail!

[hippieshopper]

Hello every one! Frist time post from a long time lurker, i'll be running my frist game this weekend. While i'm not going to be playing i'll be dealing with all the rules stuff. One player is playing Nic and while looking for combos/tricks i found the Canine Remains has the Graverobber Trait. Unless i missed an erretta somewhere along the way this means that a turn one summon can keep Nic supplied with Corpse Counters.

The real question is: If we're using the starter box for Nic how hard is it for him to get Corpse Counters rolling?

And my frist post is a fail since it seems Graverobbers cannot Search for Corpse Counters, only pick them up

Actually it just depends on who you're playing.

If you're against Ramos, Raspy, or someone like that...the Dreamer is another I think. It will be a lot harder because you're relying on your units dying in order to get counters.

[Mach_5]

Anyone tried taking lots of dogs to start? I'm thinking for example Nico, Mortimer, Grave Spirit, and 10-11 dogs in 30ss (depending how many starting soulstones you want).

Seems like it could be really nasty;

- use mortimer to companion them all,

- cast fresh meat! once or twice to get in close and/or fling dirt to damage a few enemies,

- if no enemies are damaged, charge/attack something with a dog until you do damage, then all the rest can (1) charge for a gang beat-down

You really don`t need vultures with so many dogs around with (0) For You, Master. And if things go poorly for them... well, there`s plenty of corpse counters/mindless zombies around.

[hippieshopper]

Anyone tried taking lots of dogs to start? I'm thinking for example Nico, Mortimer, Grave Spirit, and 10-11 dogs in 30ss (depending how many starting soulstones you want).

Seems like it could be really nasty;

- use mortimer to companion them all,

- cast fresh meat! once or twice to get in close and/or fling dirt to damage a few enemies,

- if no enemies are damaged, charge/attack something with a dog until you do damage, then all the rest can (1) charge for a gang beat-down

You really don`t need vultures with so many dogs around with (0) For You, Master. And if things go poorly for them... well, there`s plenty of corpse counters/mindless zombies around.

You could use Sebs too, he can just companion one and all of them together.

I heard some people like to use the Hanged, use Hangman's Knot on something, pull it toward you then have your pack tear it to shreds.

[TimeLapse]

I dont know if anyone brought up this idea yet but i been thinking about trying it and was wondering what ppl thought of it,

Okay the list is basic

Nico + Grave Spirit + Mort + Sebastian + lots of dogs

So the idea is to kill some of your own dogs with sebastian right away to get alot of tokens. If you have alot of low crows in your hand then i would try for a peice for me, if you dont then just go for Bloody harvest and kill the lot of dogs and then arise them.

I think if you can get body parts and make more dogs, then kill them get more body parts and C. Tokens then you can have a corpse token factory with sebastian and Morty in as the machines and the K9 ren being processed.

I think that Sebastian is a fine addtion to this list and am wondering if my idea is worth it in the long run or is killing some of your own dogs right away going to slow me down too much since i most likely wont have much to move the first turn.

Also thinking that i may try getting a peice for me off on a necro puck thinking that there hard to kill may get me two parts before they die and a corpse.

Thanks for any advice,

Andrew

Edited August 30, 2010 by TimeLapse

[shekbo]

It might work, the only concern is that dogs, for all their surprising nastiness, die really really fast. Blasts would beat that army quick. Though it would give lots of corpses for Nic to work with, I don't know how fast you'd be able to seize the advantage after the initial doggy die-out.

[TimeLapse]

It might work, the only concern is that dogs, for all their surprising nastiness, die really really fast. Blasts would beat that army quick. Though it would give lots of corpses for Nic to work with, I don't know how fast you'd be able to seize the advantage after the initial doggy die-out.

Yeah, I think it really depends on the hand, if i can't res two models with my starting hand i might onling kill 0ne or two dogs for some mindless zombies or just to carry till i can and send leave the other dogs around till needed.

Not sure how it will work eather but im hopping that i can find out how to use nico well.