I.C.P.W.N.T.1.M Thread

[M_Ruckuss]

I realise there are several other threads relating to the Viks atm, but I don not like Hijacking the threads of others.

Am starting a Viktoria crew, which I have always liked the look of. Was loooking for feedback on following ideas, initially for 25ss leading to 30ss crews.

Viks- Obviously. Seems to me you either try and keep them alive, or summon another using a ronin. Cheapest/most effective option seems to be to take a librarian. Awesome combat beasties. Stupendous models

Ronin- I rate these guys. Seem hard hitting. Wouldn't neccesarily start with all the number I wanted to play with on the board. Def 8 when needed, awesome daisho, good models. Take at least 2.

Gunslinger- Have heard some positive murmurings, would like to hear more.....

Student of conflict- Make a Viktoria REALLY hard or waste of 3ss.

Misaki- Looks good on paper, how does she play?

Taelor- same as misaki.

Librarian- With +def and furious casting and arcane resevoir looks like an auto include for my playing style. Any tips on how to keep her alive and in the action

Hamelin- Looks great if a little double edged. Does he let me take pere or Remi, or is this (I suspect it is) trumped my Vik's 'Mercs only rule'

Are any of the other Freikorps or Bishop worth taking???

Thanks to all who reply in advance, your advice and feedback is appreciated.

Regards, McDoogle

[Wodschow]

Librarian- With +def and furious casting and arcane resevoir looks like an auto include for my playing style. Any tips on how to keep her alive and in the action

Hamelin- Looks great if a little double edged. Does he let me take pere or Remi, or is this (I suspect it is) trumped my Vik's 'Mercs only rule'

Are any of the other Freikorps or Bishop worth taking???

Easiest way to keep Librarian alive is to take Von Schill aswell as he'll give her Slow to Die which she can use to heal herself and thus prevent dying. Von Schill is pretty neat himself so it's all good

Hamelins ability is indeed trumphed by the Viktorias 'mercenaries only', it's a shame and means you can't bring any meaningful Ht1 models.

The rest of the Freikorps, Bishop, Misaki, Taelor, Johan, etc. all have their uses and different people seem to prefer different models - so I guess the answer is to proxy and see what you like the most yourself.

One note on Bishop though, he's damn hard to make work well - really cool model though but so expensive in SS.. Ah well..

[M_Ruckuss]

Thanks Wodschow, I will look at Von Schill. plese keep advice coming...

[Buck Dog]

Here goes…..

Viks - I would say try to keep them alive; while it is a great fallback being able to summon another one, it is expensive and due to all of the conditions you need to pull it off, rather tricky. To be honest though, I have played the Viks a lot and I have never wanted to or needed to summon another one.

If I am running a traditional Viks crew then I take a hatful of soulstones to keep them alive, although more recently I have been going very Freikorp heavy and the Librarian work very well….. just make sure you keep her safe as she draws a lot of fire. And also remember to keep a card in your hand for when she activates otherwise she is paralysed…… I nearly forgot in my last game.

Ronin - I think you have hit the nail on the head with these and there is not much left to add. They are very good.

Gunslinger - he is incredibly good. Obviously his shooting is top drawer, but he is also great at card control due to suppressive fire. He is also surprisingly good at melee due to gunfighter. He is a bit of a fire magnet, but due to Bullet Proof he should be able to stick around for a while (although I always forget that he has this……)

Student of Conflict – I like the student of conflict, but a lot depends on the strategy. If you have a strategy that involves you getting up the board ASAP, then he tends to get left behind as his ability to give fast is an all action meaning he can’t move…. Either that or he just moves up the board with the rest of your crew and only gets to use his ability once a game !

However if your scheme involves you holding up in your deployment zone or defending a position and not moving, then he is very useful.

Thinking about it, I guess he is slightly limited in a Viks crew as there is no point in him using magical extension…..

Misaki – surely she is worth including just for the model alone !?! Offensively Misaki is brilliant, but she is very fragile. I have had take out McMourning in a single round of combat, but have also seen her go down very quickly herself. Her versatility is fantastic, and she often takes un-prepared opponents by surprise... some people don't expect her blasts and I once had a Tina player think she was safe behind a wall of ice pillars only for Misaki to tip-toe through it and smack her about with the bisento

Taelor – she is an absolute beast in combat and as hard as nails too. The only problem I would say is that she is a little on the slow side, especially if you are playing a list which is heavy on Ronin.

Hamelin – it seems that he is either the star of the show or a complete waste of space, but I think I could be playing him a little too aggressively at times….. That and I have a horrible talent at overestimating how far his spells can reach. He does bring some much needed variety to a Viks crew, however it is a real shame that he can only cast Obey once per turn (or twice if you can get his trigger off) and the real issue is that he competes with the Viks for masks, which you want to save up for getting off their whirlwind trigger.

Bishop is great, but as Wodschow mentioned, he is very expensive. You can have Bishop for 10ss, or Von Schill for 9ss….. I would go for Von Schill any day of the week.

Sorry if that is a bit vague – if you want any more details let me know !

[GTFriday13]

Don't forget that Hamelin + Viks can lead to some fun shennanegans, since the girls have an ability that says any time a spell affects one of them, it can also affect the other. Meaning you can obey one Vik, and it counts for both of them!

As for other models, I really like Misaki, but I'm a rather aggressive player. My advice would be to get comfortable with all of them, so that you can play to the strategy, since different models do well in different situations.

[Buck Dog]

Don't forget that Hamelin + Viks can lead to some fun shennanegans, since the girls have an ability that says any time a spell affects one of them, it can also affect the other. Meaning you can obey one Vik, and it counts for both of them!

Unfortunately Obey only effects Non-Master models

[micahwc]

I have never played the Vics but I have played against GTFriday13's Vics a lot, usually with Lillith.

I have never been too impressed with the gunslinger, either using him or playing against him. I feel that he loses most of his bite if he has to move at all, unless he can be obeyed into position first.

I have never seen a Vic brought back from a Ronin.

The Librarian seems to work well with them, but she can be a little squishy if your opponent puts effort into taking her out. As for other Freikorp, I would suggest the trapper and perhaps the specialist, although I have less experience against the specialist. The trapper has good range and if I remember correctly also has scout and hunter.

Misaki can put a lot of hurt out on one turn, but a dedicated melee model can kill her pretty easily. I have seen her do very well, and I have seen her die very quickly, sometimes in the same game.

I have only played against Bishop once. His 1 ap charges are nice, but they brought him very close to Lillith and her brood which promptly ate him. I feel like he doesn't do enough for his cost.

I have only played against Taylor a couple of times. Personally I love the model, and would take her over Misaki if this were the only consideration. My opponents haven't used her a lot though, so I can't really make any suggestions about her. A 3" range magical weapon is nice to have against spirits though.

Ronin are nice, I don't really like playing against them.

Lots of soul stones seems to be the key to success with the Vics. Lillith can kill 1 Vic really easily, and once one is dead the other will usually fall shortly after. I have learned though not to engage with Lillith until after I have more soul stones than the Vics do. They are very powerful working together against one target, but alone they are not nearly as effective.

[M_Ruckuss]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.... I am thinking:

1) As big a cache as possible

2) 2 "Slots" Filled by a 2 Ronin or a Ronin and a Gunslinger.

3) Hamelin 'on the bench' for defensive strategies

4) Von Schill and a Librarian. Can take just the librarian, but he can keep her alive longer , which keeps the Viks alive longer too... Lib virtual auto-include.

5)Taelor and or Misaki will be my next purchases. I think Taelor, Misaki and Von schill would make a hilarious dirty (ok-less-than-half-but-hey!) dozen to take on a spirit horde......

6) My opinion, although I may be wrong, is that the Viks do not need a totem, they have each other!!! And 3 more soulstones=better than fast in this crew (im not even sure I would take it for 2ss???)

Trappers are cool, but again I would rather take a specialist for giggles...

I'm also not against the Vik's leading a combat heavy 'faceless' crew made up of Ronin etc- try hitting a supply wagon with a ++ Def 8 or 10 Ronin attached to it.......................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to all who replied: am now deciding on cog steampunk bases or forest/crag to match my Lilith (think book 1 fight in fluff...)

[ducat]

I find with the Viks, most of their crew can be more determined by the mission, rather than a purely generic list. Sometimes fast moving is better, sometime the slower heavy longer lasting dudes are better.

I do tend to stick to a basic crew, then add various dudes in and out, as the mission tends to dictate more.

My basic set up is 2 ronin and taylor. This trio of hard to kill, hard hitting models seem to cover a good solid base for anything I want to do at a resonable cost. After that I look to my other figures for things I think will help me shine with my objectives/the type of foe I suspect i am facing/enemy oblective denial etc etc.

A couple of figures I notice you didnt mention were hans and jackdaw.

Hans(much the same for Bishop) is like marmite, some love him, some hate him. I find he can be a very good figure, but as I am not blessed by freekorps, he is my only long ranged option, so perhaps I am biased.

Jackdaw is the figure I am looking to add next to my repetiore. I think he is one of the few models who will be of help to the viks with some interesting synergys to one of their spells that i think I have only ever used once(attacked my own falling back model to get a huge shift across the table and thus reach on a couple of enemy dudes).

The other figure that may have some interest to viks is that mercenary undead neverborn, Killjoy. Again not something I have used yet, but he does look like he could affer a few tricks in, particularly with some of the speed we have available to deliver him into the enemy areas.

Edited March 8, 2011 by ducat