Lady Justice tricks?

[Malcontent]

I've played a few 25ss games with the Lady J crew, mostly against the Vikkis, and was wondering if I'm missing anything from a tactics perspective.

I added the Scales of Justice to the original box minis as, in effect, he came free (I had to burn 2ss as I had 10 left over). I can't seem to get The Judge to contribute much so intend to replace him with the Executioner. The Death Marshals are pretty good minions and partners for the characters, and Lady J herself is of course great in melee, pretty good with her guns too, if rather fragile. I also have a couple of Ortegas and an Austringer waiting on the subs bench to join in at a later date (based upon advice gleened so far from the forums).

My problem is that while the crew works quite well they don't seem to be a cohesive group – more like a gang of individuals.

It may be my newbie status contributing to this, but I was wondering if I'm missing a trick or whether Lady J truly is a bit of a 1-dimensional, solo character?

Apologies if people feel I'm repeating previous posts – I just feel something's missing. Thanks.

[Calmdown]

My favourite 'trick', if I can take that to mean something that isn't normally done, is running Peacekeeper with Lady J. He seems to be discounted from most guild lists due to his drawbacks, but they're actually pretty easy to play around, can sometimes be ignored, and often don't even happen. A melee expert with a discard-card-to-walk and move of 5/8 is ridiculous enough that the drawback seems worth playing with.

I'm not sure what you mean by saying she's a solo character, though. She has 1 buff spell which is more than most masters in the game get. If you mean she feels solo because the rest of your crew doesn't support her, then you can alter your crew - my current 35ss is

LadyJ

Student of Conflict

Peacekeeper

Executioner

Francisco

2x Death Marshal

It pretty much revolves around marching LJ/Peacekeeper/Executioner/Francisco as fast as possible at your opponents, all 4 of which are models that no opponent wants running around their lines and all of which make great shooting targets (LJ has 6 SS to get her there in one piece, Peacekeeper has armour and immune to inf, Executioner has little def but as long as he gets to combat on 1 wound is fine, and Francisco will die but at least he only costs 5...). I haven't run Judge yet in this list or others but he's probably going to get a look in; he looks solid to me and doesn't suffer from crap move like the Executioner.

This is from limited LJ experience though, I must add. Like 5 games.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Calmdown

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Lady J actually has 2 buff spells, don't forget blind justice that is huge.

If you look at her as a giant beat stick you will lose with her most time. She is a bit slower, then the other three beat stick masters, Viks and Lilth. she does great as which she is past arrive.

Also look at how fast your opponent is, it is very unlikely that your opponent will allow you the first strike. Setup sacrificial traps. 2 death marshals in the middle, but within lady j's charge range will likely draw your opponent in or slow them down. Their slow to die is huge, especially if your opponent puts them in range of an attack. The Judge i use to complete objectives with Lady J. Keep in mind vp wins over kills for most strategies.

Lady j takes a lot of finesse especially since she has a mid range defense, but her riposte trigger is probably one of the scariest.

Your 25ss is solid, keep in mind executioner will just slow you done more, and ultimately your crew lacks speed. A watcher to replace your totem or a peacekeeper to replace the judge are good ways to get more speed.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Mr. Bigglesworth

[Vlad the Mad]

LadyJ doesn't really have any explicit synergies with the Marshals, nor any other specific models actually. This is both a bad thing, as you don't get the flashy combos, but also a good thing as she's not really dependent on hiring any specific models, nor is she a master that needs all that many soulstones or even control cards. In this sense she is somewhat one-dimensional.

Still, she's not a pure solo character as she can enhance her crew with Inspiring Swordplay, Combat Prowess and Blind Justice (can work wonders against Pandora), and she should never be walking alone, considering her average Df and lack of any defensive talents. When I was starting with Malifaux, LadyJ was my first master and I used to play the box in two "strike teams" - the three marshals and LadyJ&Judge, never too far from each other, but enough to cover objectives that are eventually spread out on the table. Both teams are a serious melee and ranged threat, and can hold out for a while on their own against everything but a full commitment by your opponent. This is the biggest problem with the Executioner - he is much slower, and has no ranged options. If you need to go to a place and hold it or slaughter something around there, he's a solid choice, but if you need to walk around the board he'll be slowing you down. As has been already said, the Peacekeeper is a better option for LadyJ if you wan't a hard hitter substitute for the Judge - he can keep up, and she doesn't need all that many cards so you can cover possible malfunctions.

From my experience, the real "trick" with LadyJ is how to use her as an effective psychological deterrent, because even though everybody knows she's a glass cannon, most people just don't really want to come anywhere near her if possible. Use this as much as possible to influence their decisions, inviting them to make risky choices, and use the opportunities that arise when their choices prove to be wrong.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

No defensive triggers? RIPOSTE, probably the best, oh you kissed I hit you than for 6 damage. Granted no range.

No synergy? FINISH THE JOB now riposte is hitting for up to 8 damage. One if the most dangerous bubbles your opponent would have to face if it is a melee centrist crew. Also Judge walk 5" has great synergy with Lady J now she has a bodyguard that can keep up and with inspiring swordsman he is a beast.

[bigasb]

Hi

For 25SS in run

Lady J

Judge

3x Death Marshal

Guild Austringer

which leave a 5ss cache

Now some of the best combos I have found with this is using the Austringer and Lady J as an alpha strike of the Austring attacks once or twice depending on position, then use the 0 spell deliver orders to get Lady J to go and finish things off. If you do this early in a turn without risking her it can be deadly because of inspiring swordplay then gives everyone in 10" and LOS +2 Cb (thats H2H and ranged), this then will get over the judges minuses for doing Bullets and Blades, or makes Blades and Bullets even better.

Also if your Austringer has not gone yet this will then make him Cb 9, now he may not do much damage on avarge, you are usally aiming for people in cover who generally will not have armour or too many wounds. You can use an Austringer(or two if you feel nasty) to get people out of cover and come to you, I did this to Pandora.

Now come the death marshals, I love the spell Finish the Job(1) as it means for each ram in the cast any Death Marshals(this is also Lady J and the Judge) get +1 damage in melee, this has allowed Lady J to punch well above her weight. It nice to see their face drop when they realise that Lady J is about to hit you with a greatsword damage of 7/8/10, on a charge thats a +2 flip on damage as well. Even the Death marshals themselves then with them not flipping a ram their melee strike go to 4/5/6, and if Lady has killed a model they are fliping on a 7Cb. Also their pistol shots are not to be sneezed at with the critical strike and them already having a ram on the Cb (7 if Lady J has already done the business).

The Judge has a nice spell against spirts if you come up against them, but mainly I have him as a buddy to Lady J as he has the same walk and 1 less charge. I have used him as a bullet shield or spell shield before to great effect.

For me the main reason the Judge is cool is Blades and Bullets/Bullets and Blades you need a 5 or 6 of masks to use this but for 2 attacks for 1 action can be devasting, also if within 4" of a Marshal using Finish the job it removes the - on the Cb for his H2H attack even if using at range, which if lucky with Finish the Job and Critical Strike means he will pumping out one strike at 6/8/9 and the other at 5/6/7 even with both being weak its 11 points of damage and you could do it again this turn.

Also he has Flurry so you can discard a control card and make 3 melee strikes against one target, now if Finish the Job is going, and Lady J has done the job away you go with Cb8 and a min using crit strike is 4/6/7 and a max of 6/8/9 on a strike.

Now Lady J

For me the thing you must use each turn you can is the 0 action sword style, now for me I always go for Fate, as I always belived it is better to hit the enemy with a weker attack than to miss with a strong one. But use it as you see fit on the situation.

Blind Justice(1) is the Pandora Killer when teamed with Austringers and Nino. Also it gets over Harmless and the other things like that which can really take the wind out of some ones sails.

Combat prowess(1) Can be good if you can get some other models into melee range or already in melee and you can't get her there or it would leave you at risk. It means the marshal who casts Finish the Job still gets to hit someone.

Never used Restore Natural Order(All)

Last Rights is great against Ressers and and Scrappers as it really limits their options.

Now a nasty trick if you really want one...

You do..

Well my Favorite thing ever is the Defence trigger Riposte (keep a couple high level Masks just for this), it means you can turn someone failing to hit you in to strike, now remember you then use the difference to of the miss as if you had hit to work out the damage flip now you also have +1 flip so stand a good chance of getting to a straight flip so can cheat(this is also where choosing the sword style where you get an extra +1 damage flip as it then will get to +1 flip). Now if Finsh the Job is going you will get the bonus to your damage for this free strike.

Now you can also use Defensive Stance which gets you +2 on your defence flips and -2/-2 on walk charge, it has to be your first action, but if in combat and you think you can't clear the decks or about to have some more melee attacks come in then use that for one and do other thing for remaing general action and perhaps a melee strike for your Melee Expert. Also it is not dependant on your melee range so Misaki attacking from 6" away can still be damaged as it is not a strike it just straight damage.

Hope that helps

Bryan

[Malcontent]

Now that's what I'm talking about – a bit of insight from experienced Lady J players (and opponents).

All very helpful and given me some ideas, thank you guys.

[Serigala]

Tactica here...

http://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/Lady+Justice

[Guild Monkee]

Samael Hopkins is a good option to add for some reasonable ranged damage, the combo of flaming bullets and rapid fire works well. The executioner is normally better with numerous weaker targets like the undead. For 25SS I normally run;

Lady J

Scales of justice

Executioner

Samael Hopkins

The Judge

Doesn't leave you a great SS cache and can leave you outnumbered but I've found it does the job, not lost with that combo so far.

[TheOneWhoFell]

I run the DM's seperate from Justice and the Judge, and I keep the Scales with the DMs. This way they still get the 1ap buff from Justice, but they can kind of go off and do their own thing. This crew is good for running interference - most people will go for Justice and the Judge, allowing the DMs to take your Strategies and Schemes. If they don't go for the J's then it's a mistake--they hit hard, move fast, and are the real threat of this crew.

[nimtron]

I just started playing Justice myself. She is my second master. The comments here are very insightful. I especially liked your's bigasb. Really made me think about how to combo all of the buffs to get a much higher dmg yield. Using combat prowess to give the DM that cast Finish the Job an attack seems like a great way for that crew to play more efficiently.

When you stack all the buffs that crew can generate it gets nasty. I wonder how well a Student of Combat would fit into this? Allowing for more buffs and attacks.

These are exactly the models I have painted, The Lady J Box + 2 Austringers. I look forward to trying to get off an Austringer + Greatsword alpha strike for an early or well timed Inspirational Sword Play.

[mylastnerv]

My new favorite trick has been running a Guardian with LadyJ. Cast Protect on her and now you have effectively a 21 Wound Lady J. The Guardian can Disrupt spells around her . . . give models around her Armor 2 . . . . or even repair himself. He isn't bad in combat either . . . . and can just stay close to LadyJ with his Overprotective ability. If anything it takes fire off of her while you move into the heart of your objectives.

Oh . . . and Von Schill is another fun add-on with LadyJ . . . I used all 3 in a tourney as of late and placed 2nd . . . not a sight most people want to be looking at on the other side of the table.

[bigasb]

Haven't tried the Lady J/Guardian combo yet, waiting to see my friend to get the box for my birthday. Very tempted to try it though.

One thing I will say is that I recently move up to playing more 35ss games and have been put Nino into the group alot more, and have found that I really having to watch the masks alot more now, and I tend to give them to Nino. So the guardian might work as a Judge replacement, also since I recently had the executioner bought for me I will try him and let you know.

The best way to learn is to play and play, oh and have fun.

[Kds54]

And kick my bum while having fun Though Pandora did kill lady j if i remember right

[nimtron]

I juste ordered a Guardian. Great suggestion. I think that will round out my options for her nicely.

Do many of you ever play her with Lucius. I really want to pick him up next and would love to hear any suggestions on how to run him with Lady J.

[mylastnerv]

I ran her Lucius with her one tourney. LadyJ is a great model to Reinforcements. I think my crew could have been built a little better, but I see some good points and tricks. Just expensive . . . and honestly . . . . Von Schill is the same points cost.

[Freakshow]

Just got the Peacekeeper. Quick question, can you use it to deliver a message?

[Bucket Monkey]

If my memory is correct and that any master and non-insignificant minion can so you can do it nicely with the peacekeeper, 2 actions and relentless move first turn to position then relentless and deliver turn 2 if all goes well.

I've thought on the student but he's expensive at 4ss but still ultimately I could see him useful in situations where a different 4ss minion e.g. A death marshall wouldn't serve you better.

I'm currently deciding where to go with my LJ, but may look into von shill, hadn't thought of him until I saw him with rasputina at a tournie last weekend. Though I do plan to buy the entirety of the guild in the endm

Edited July 2, 2011 by Bucket Monkey
error a 2 came up as a e thanks to my mobile browser

[The Hanged Man]

Brand new Malifaux player. The Death Marshalls are currently on the painting table and I can't wait to actually play a game. But I wanted to say thanks for all the great tips here. Definitely absorbing as much as I can.

[Storm's Eye]

My problem is that while the crew works quite well they don't seem to be a cohesive group – more like a gang of individuals.

I can't agree with this. Death marshals have a spell, "Finish the Job", which gives other death marshals extra damage in melee. Lady J and Judge both are tagged as Death Marshals. By buffing Lady J she kills even easier, and then grants extra CB via "inspiring sword play". And using her totem you can cast "Combat Prowes", giving a few models melee expert. By Buffing Judge in these ways you take him from being decent to an 8 CB, 4-9 damage (the amount of rams in attack total makes dmg vary so much), with 4 possible attacks (melee expert + flurry).... ouch. Justice herself gets a possible 10 maximum damage.

What it comes down to in my opinion is that Lady justice does not really need the death marshals or judge, but the death marshals can greatly benift both judge and lady justice to make them killing machines.

Some things to consider; All this does take a bit of set up. Some rams are needed to make it work best. Not really too hard to do thought

You should probably look into specifc rulings for Finsih the Job; First does it acctually effect Justice and Judge, second, the aura stats the effect lasts until the end of the close phase so does that mean models can move away and still have the benefits and what if the DM dies (possible great uses for finisht the job), and third does the +dmg come from rams in Finish the Jobs casting total or the effect models attack total?

By chance if finish the job works how I think, it will be all you need for deadly synergy with the death marshal crew, and you get Lady J's buffs as a nice bonus.

I did not realize how old this thread was, oppsie!

Edited July 21, 2011 by Storm's Eye
timing!

[mylastnerv]

I'm not entertaining a list idea of Justice, Lucius, Totem/s, and lots of Guild Hounds. The ability to pass out lots of Melee Expert with a fast moving (yeah, fast moving) Guild crew would just be funny to play.

[Hookers]

I'm not entertaining a list idea of Justice, Lucius, Totem/s, and lots of Guild Hounds. The ability to pass out lots of Melee Expert with a fast moving (yeah, fast moving) Guild crew would just be funny to play.

Then why wouldn't you entertain that idea, silly?

[mylastnerv]

Geeezus. Mistype! Mistype!

It seems pretty fun actually.

[Hookers]

You need to see if you can get Lady J a SuperPac

[Jens]

From my limited experience with Lady Justice it's very important to start with a larger number of models and not running a too elite lot - if your enemy is fast and has more models to activate you'll burn quite a few SS just to keep Lady J alive or he'll be able to pick out some of your expensive minions without risking much retaliation: desperate mercenaries, her totem and guild dogs seem all valid choices.

And as mentioned the guardian helps a lot.