Tactica Myranda: how to make her useful!

[Rathnard]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have for ye a challenge!

Nobody seems to like Myranda. She lacks the obvious strengths of other beasts and to date I've yet to find a way of utilising her that actually justifies her cost. But I want to change that. I want to find a way to make Myranda worth taking or at the very least, not a waste of 7SS.

The new V2 cards and rulebook have helped clear up some things for Myranda, so it's worth starting with that;

Shapeshift will turn her into a non-unique beast of 8SS or less, but she keeps her own spells rather than getting those of the beast (as per the transform rules). That means no leaping if she's a silurid, but she can still use Primal Flame, etc. This has some interesting implications with Myranda having a different Ca stat to cast her spells with.

The Malifaux Raptor's Enrage trigger can effectively turn one of your own models into a beast for the game. Amongst other things, that means Myranda can use Primal Flamer to heal it or perhaps more critically, Animal Instinct to cast that model's spells. So the question is, what minions have spells that might be worth taking Myranda and a Raptor to cast?

So will you accept my challenge? Is Myranda a lost cause or can we get something worth while out of this poor model? I'll post my own theories up when I have some more time later, but I'm interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

[Wodschow]

Hmm.. Interesting..

First thought would be.. Rasputina - Two~three more casts for Curses/Touches and Pillars each turn? Munchies..

Other than that.. Eh..

Ca6 Suppresive Fire?

Bishops Knock Out? xD

Or transform into the Lawyer and make it Ca7 even..

Edited March 21, 2011 by Wodschow

[Tograth]

One thing you could do is take myranda and raptor with Tina. Nothing like adding a few extra Decembers Curses to the lot - its like a mini Tina!

Casting Acidic Breath from your friendly neighbourhood Rogue Necromancy is also very nice.

Finally, I would say your best target for shapechange since the advent of book 2 is most likely the Shikome. They hit almost as hard as the big kitty, are more likely in general to be effective (theres a whole lotta models which have low Wp out there...) and are a lot more durable than either Myranda or the big kitty.

with regards spells, has anyone tried Magicians Duel?? Myranda has almost the same Ca as Colette, and if you used Furious casting, thats a whole lotta damage output right there.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Hmm.. Interesting..

First thought would be.. Rasputina - Two~three more casts for Curses/Touches and Pillars each turn? Munchies..

Other than that.. Eh..

Ca6 Suppresive Fire?

Bishops Knock Out? xD

Or transform into the Lawyer and make it Ca7 even..

Place two 50mm bases in base

contact with one another and at least 1” from any model.

These bases are Ice Pillar terrain with the following traits:

Ht

5, blocking, breakable (hardness 3), and impassible. This

spell may be cast once per Crew, per turn.

I would love to get a second set of pillars, but can only cast pillar once per crew. Only Sonia can cast multiple pillars.

Other points are feasible and would work well.

[Rathnard]

IIRC the Malifaux Raptor can only be used in a crew with Marcus, so unless you're playing in a brawl you won't be able to turn any of the other Arcanist Masters into beasts. Pity.

Also, Animal Instinct requires a :tomes in the casting cost, which can complicate things. So for instance if you want to cast obey from Hamelin, you're effectively going to need to get 14:tomes :masks to do so.

Acidic breath looks like a decent option, and it has the bonus of not having any suit requirements.

Just randomly, another easy spell is Menace from Taelor. Myranda has a far better chance of getting that spell off although it's usefulness might be situational.

Using an Obey from Hamelin might work too. Myranda would need an 8:masks to cast it though, and I suspect any high masks are better spent on Marcus casting Alpha. Alternatively you could shapeshift into a Waldgeist (who's got Ca 5:masks) and try to obey with a 9:tomes instead.

Suppressing Fire though...that's a good one considering Myranda's Ca. It's probably the best option so far considering the SS investment (can't go wrong with a 'slinger), ease of casting (no suits needed) and utility (it's rarely a bad spell to cast).

The Shikome and Cerebrus certainly look like the most viable shapeshift options. Assuming you get the 9:tomes easilly enough you're effectively trading the Beasts spells for a 1SS discount. The only negative is that Myrandabrus won't be able to leap/roar, while Myrandakome won't start with a prey. I doubt the latter is an issue if you either have time to (all) for a new prey or you pair it with a real Shikome.

EDIT: So a possible list could look like;

Marcus

Jackalope 1

Myranda 7

Malifaux Raptor 2

3x Silurid 15

Convict Gunslinger 6

(31SS)

The Raptor Enrages the 'slinger and Myranda copies suppressive fire and/or heals him. If needed Myranda can also shapeshift into a Shikome/Cerebrus for more melee. The Silurids are there because that's the first thing I'd take in a Marcus crew, but it can be replaced with other beasts according to taste.

Hmm. All in all it's not a bad crew. The only thing I wouldn't normally take is Myranda, but with the slinger to copy and the fallback plan of simply transforming into a Cerebrus/Shikome, she doesn't feel like an utter waste.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Rathnard

[Wodschow]

I would love to get a second set of pillars, but can only cast pillar once per crew. Only Sonia can cast multiple pillars.

My point wasn't that you could get another set of pillars, but rather that you wouldn't have to use Rasputinas AP on it.

Also @Rathnard.. Yeah, Rasputina wouldn't work at all, had forgotten the limitations on the Raptors..

[sephiroa]

My point wasn't that you could get another set of pillars, but rather that you wouldn't have to use Rasputinas AP on it.

what wrong with using tinas AP?

in the first turn you can't cast a curse on something, uness you've got a stupid opponent who is leaping and runing as fast as possible towards you, and when using tina you always have essence, so you can cast pilars in turn 2 with the essence,,

i believe using pillars w myranda is a waste of casting

[Wodschow]

what wrong with using tinas AP?

in the first turn you can't cast a curse on something, uness you've got a stupid opponent who is leaping and runing as fast as possible towards you, and when using tina you always have essence, so you can cast pilars in turn 2 with the essence,,

i believe using pillars w myranda is a waste of casting

...

....

.......

If you cannot see the advantage of having a selection between with which models you cast the spells then I suppose there isn't anything to discuss really.

There isn't really anything to discuss anyway as Rathnard already pointed out that having Myranda cast Rasputinas spells isn't possible.

[sephiroa]

...

If you cannot see the advantage of having a selection between with which models you cast the spells then I suppose there isn't anything to discuss really.

There isn't really anything to discuss anyway as Rathnard already pointed out that having Myranda cast Rasputinas spells isn't possible.

i know she can't cast them, the thread is how to make myranda usefull. so no discussions about this

but i can see the advantage but not with ice pillars.

but if you realy want it, you can cast a tina spell in a brawl, marcus and tina, marcus cast feral on tina, myranda can cast spells from tina,

i've played a couple of times with myranda, but she lacks the power to do something, she can transorm, but she doens't copy the abilities, and almost every beast uses triggers and abilities to its advantages,,

[Tograth]

Actually, she copies the entire stat card, with the exception of spells only. This means that she would copy all of, say, the shikome's abilities, with the exception of its 4 spells.

She would gain singleminded, hunting partner, prey, nimble, etc. all of it.

[sephiroa]

Actually, she copies the entire stat card, with the exception of spells only. This means that she would copy all of, say, the shikome's abilities, with the exception of its 4 spells.

She would gain singleminded, hunting partner, prey, nimble, etc. all of it.

now you mention it, i took the rulebook and your right, the only thing she does not get is spells, well, so she gets the +2 attacks from cerberus,

one question that kindo bothers me is, she gets the stats, but not al beast have the same wounds, does she keeps her own wounds? or does she gets the wounds from the other beast?

she has 8 wd, but lets say she suffered 6 wounds, so she's got 2 left. and she transforms in a silurid, do we take the 2 wounds? or do we take the 6 wounds she suffered? and does myranda has ony 6 wounds like a silurid does? if yes she would die if we took the wounds suffered.

its kinda hard to explain but i hope you understand what i mean.

[Wodschow]

one question that kindo bothers me is, she gets the stats, but not al beast have the same wounds, does she keeps her own wounds? or does she gets the wounds from the other beast?

You keep track of the amount of wounds suffered, not how many wounds remain on the model.

So if Myranda only have 2Wd left and Transforms into a Silurid she'd die instantly.

Also it just occured to me that you could just have Myranda change into a Malifaux Raptor, then have her make Rasputina a beast, revert and finally start casting Tinas spells xDD

So it IS possible, just.. Takes a little too much effort perhaps

[sephiroa]

You keep track of the amount of wounds suffered, not how many wounds remain on the model.

So if Myranda only have 2Wd left and Transforms into a Silurid she'd die instantly.

Also it just occured to me that you could just have Myranda change into a Malifaux Raptor, then have her make Rasputina a beast, revert and finally start casting Tinas spells xDD

So it IS possible, just.. Takes a little too much effort perhaps

jep that was my question

well, mostly when myranda has suffered this much wounds she would be dead the next turn, and i think you rather would try to heal yourself than to transform into a beast,

well eventually we can cast tina's spells like you said it would take too much effort in trying

but the raptor turning models into beasts, is until the end closing phase?

[Buhallin]

Enrage lasts until the end of the encounter or the controller discards two control cards. Unless you've got more discard abilities, they're probably going to have the two cards available.

As much as I think people underestimate Marcus, I still can't manage to find decent use for Myranda. Anything useful she can do is just too much effort/AP/cards for too little bonus. But...

Pairing her with a Lawyer could be really interesting. Most of his nasty comes from spells, except for Closing Argument she can cast them all, and needs minimal extra suits. Lobbing Defense around wouldn't be all that hard for her, and giving half your crew Hard to Wound 2 would toughen them up nicely. Plus, the Lawyer's biggest drawback in a crew with Marcus is his speed. Myranda wouldn't fix that completely, but she would certainly project farther forward than he typically can.

Hrm... Raptor Beasts a Coryphee, they merge to Duet, Duet has Beast, Myranda shapeshifts into Duet? Assuming they stayed close, she could cover most of the Coryphee spells via Animal Instincts. The triggers might suffer a bit by not having Sublime Performance available, but she'd still be a monster.

That could get very interesting. What happens if a Shapechange'd Myranda-Duet Dances Apart? :gurney:

[Wodschow]

Hrm... Raptor Beasts a Coryphee, they merge to Duet, Duet has Beast, Myranda shapeshifts into Duet? Assuming they stayed close, she could cover most of the Coryphee spells via Animal Instincts. The triggers might suffer a bit by not having Sublime Performance available, but she'd still be a monster.

She can only transform into models that are Beasts in the book so this wouldn't work.

Like others have said Shikome seems like a good Transformation target - Myranda effectively allows you to take it with every Arcanist Master, that could be useful - No prey without the (all) action, but that might actually be preferred at times.

[Tograth]

You cant do that afaik Im afraid Buhalin - she can only transform into models which have the Beast statistic listed on their cards, not into things which gain the beast characteristic during that game.

[Buhallin]

She can only transform into models that are Beasts in the book so this wouldn't work.

Ah. Subtle ruling, that one, and not at all obvious. Oh well, it was a good idea. Too bad so many good ideas simply won't work.

I don't like Shapechanging her into a Shikome, personally. She'd certainly have some utility, but lacking a Prey would hurt a lot, IMHO. For one one more stone, having an actual Shikome with Prey seems much more useful.

[96p]

What about this:

- get her into melee

- use (0) to bost fist dmg

- hit with meleeexpert

- furiuos casting:

- heal

- coopy acidic breath from your roque

- change into sabre

- hit 2 times via threeheaded

so this little 7ss lady just got 7 actions which included 4x dmg and 1x healing.

[micahwc]

So wait, she can transform into any beast? I thought the beast she transformed into had to be physically on the table already. Is this just a misinterpretation of the rule?

That makes her a lot more useful.

[Koali]

She can Transform into any beast with SS Cost of 8 or Lower...

That beast does not have to be on the Table...

[Nephalumps]

Myranda is one of those models that has a lot of "future potential". By releasing beasts with spells worth casting, her stock will go up. Right now, the only two spells I feel are worth casting are Acid Breath and Roar; everything else is too finicky/not that useful.

Lawyer spells are great, but if you're taking a Lawyer, do you really want/need Myranda there as well? I can see it being a good card drain at higher SS levels, but at 30-40 SS, I'm not comfortable having 14 SS dedicated to casting spells, though at least Myranda is flexible with Shapechange.

However, what Myranda could really use is something like the "Seductive" ability possessed by the Rotten Belles and Lilitu, but for Primal Flame. It doesn't even need to be as powerful as their ability; something like "+2 Ca and +:rams when casting Primal Flame" (or hell, just "+") would completely change her utility, and make her much more desirable in a Marcus crew.

I would have originally balked at healing models so easily en masse, and then I fought against Von Schill's crew. The Friekorps Librarian can kick out a lot of healing in one activation, and she can do it much, much more reliably than Myranda can, with better range. (Side note: kill Librarians ASAP. )

Considering how squishy most Beasts are, and how unreliable healing flips are (and how they burn through valuable cards to get the best results,) I don't think would be OTT.

But what do I know?

[AvatarForm]

I love how the Lawyer is a "beast"... so much potential!

[Buhallin]

Transformed models gain everything BUT the spells. So looking for other beasts with good spells doesn't help her much

[Dark Alleycat]

This last weekend I saw a wonderful use for Myranda that just blew me away. You use her with Ramos. She hits him turn 1 for 1 damage,but makes him a beast. Then she runs around casting all of Ramos's spells.

6 Electrical fires in a turn makes for lots of amusement.

[goblyn13]

You forgot the other part of using the Mobile toolkit to give Myranda the extra Tome.

Makes casting shapeshift much much easier.