Rafkin, or "Now My Nicodem Crew has Two Sidekicks"

[Jonas Albrecht]

Mortimer is still too useful to give the boot, but my initial read of Rafkin is that he is awesome. Healing Flips for Nicodem, a body counter every time you summon something or use Zombie Fodder, or if some ass tries their hand at Counter Destruction. He looks like a great asset.

Plus whatever else is going to reveal itself over time.

[nilus]

Mortimer is still too useful to give the boot, but my initial read of Rafkin is that he is awesome. Healing Flips for Nicodem, a body counter every time you summon something or use Zombie Fodder, or if some ass tries their hand at Counter Destruction. He looks like a great asset.

Yeah I am thinking between him, Moritmer and a few dead dogs you can really get the zombie machine going. He is definetly gonna be in my Nico crew.

Nico's new toys are distracting me from my Guild domination mission

[Jonas Albrecht]

Yeah I am thinking between him, Moritmer and a few dead dogs you can really get the zombie machine going. He is definetly gonna be in my Nico crew.

Nico's new toys are distracting me from my Guild domination mission

That's the good thing about Nicodem (and McMounring).

You're still playing Guild!

[Cornelious1424]

Rafkin seems like he will be in my Nico lists too. Having 5-6 MZ's turn 1 and or 2 is going to be amazing!!

[kanhead]

He seems i lot of fun although i'm not sure how he plays in the late game. I had originally thought he'd go well with McM spamming heals and supporting in combat as a replacement to Seb.

[dakrulz55]

dont forget hes not too bad in combat either. his laston knife has a 2" reach and a cg trigger for more dmg wich requires a suite most ressers dont use. that paired with auto getting a BP and pasion for work he can put out the good hurt.

side note does anyone know if poison goes for blasts markers too? i know it was brought up with the BB shamen and was wondering what the ruling was.

[Hatchethead]

That's the good thing about Nicodem (and McMounring).

You're still playing Guild!

I take offense to that, sir!

Book 3 is "speeding" toward me, somewhere between Georgia and western Canada. Rafkin sounds great, exactly what I'm looking for right this minute. Must proxy. It's killin' me.

Edited August 25, 2011 by Hatchethead

[Calmdown]

I have a question for you guys mentioning the 'zombie machine' or other general strategies focused around a lot of reanimation.

Do you genuinely think that a strategy that revolves around summoning low-level minions is viable against good opponents? If so, why do you think it is a viable tactic and/or how do you win games with it?

(Genuine question, not much experience with Nicodem other than feeling that he's generally pretty mediocre)

[cerealkiller195]

I do not see why it would not have poison, which makes it devastating despite its low "damage" profile.

agree with all the above comments, rafkin is such a great utility model that can hold his own in melee. In a pinch he could always bring about a mass of fresh MZs that Nicodem can make use of.

*edit @Calmdown there are two reason why you want to bring models out with Nicodem. He can make enemies waste attacks/good carts hitting you only to sacrafice a MZ. Second a MZ costs nothing, but can made into something infinitely better... ANYTHING you need it to be.

[Calmdown]

*edit @Calmdown there are two reason why you want to bring models out with Nicodem. He can make enemies waste attacks/good carts hitting you only to sacrafice a MZ. Second a MZ costs nothing, but can made into something infinitely better... ANYTHING you need it to be.

You dont hit him if he has MZs out around him, or you hit the MZs directly before hitting him. Or you hit him when he doesn't have MZs. Nicodem does not have an endless supply of MZs, especially in the current game where you are generally playing against crews that drop little-no corpse counters.

Rafkin doesn't really give you free stuff, rather he multiplies what you do get by 1.5x as long as he's close enough, and as long as he spends a 1 action to do so, and then spends an all action to create more Zombies. All of this means he can do little more than keep up with Nicodem and summon if he is fulfilling this role - and 7 points is a lot to spend for a model in this role, dont you think?

MZs do cost something; they cost all models within 10" of Nicodem 2 Cb and Df, since if you're casting Arise you can't Bolster. That's a big cost!

[nilus]

Do you genuinely think that a strategy that revolves around summoning low-level minions is viable against good opponents? If so, why do you think it is a viable tactic and/or how do you win games with it?

Don't think of them as low level minions. Think of them as walking powerful minions waiting to happen who also work as human shields.

Rafkin is nice because you know have another way to make mindless zombies that doesn't use you (0) action.

I will admit that I play Nico more casually then competitive but I do win with him. My strategy generally relies on keeping Nico surround by most of his models. You Raise when you have to but mostly using bolster. Use Fog to keep everyone from getting shot to heck while you move across the board. Use the Vulture to channel Decays where you need them.

Once your block meets the enemy forces, Let the melee models engage, stay back with your mindless zombies and shoot decays into the melee. Targeting your own guys so you can cheat down and ensure blast markers helps. I use Rigor mortis if I see something big and bad that I want to stop but its pretty situational. I generally don't raise models until I start losing them or I have an excess of AP and corpse counters.

This strategy is not great for everyone situation but it works well enough and is fun to play.

[cerealkiller195]

If you aren't attacking him because he has MZ's around you are wasting a turn and the Nico player has an initiative advantage. If you attack the MZ's first that's LESS attacks towards Nico.

Who cares what the enemy brings? YOU bring your own supply of bodies to make things out of. As long as you aren't playing slaughter (which you can re flip for 1 stone) you are gold. Creating a 2ss model into a 5ss model means you doing good.

As far as using "arise" all the time. why would you do that? i did say bring your own supply of bodies right? Take desperate mercs/dogs/etc get your models to bring them down to 1 life, decay's trigger makes auto MZ and it also auto triggers for his cane strike. Keep a MZ around for protection and and use reanimator on the second model to turn it into something better.

[nilus]

If you aren't attacking him because he has MZ's around you are wasting a turn and the Nico player has an initiative advantage. If you attack the MZ's first that's LESS attacks towards Nico.

Yep also its worth noting that attacking a Mindless Zombie just kills it and makes it a corpse waiting to be turned back into a mindless zombie. Attacking Nico at least Sacrifices it.

[Hatchethead]

I'm fairly new to Nico, but this is my take:

Summoning with any master is a tricky proposition, of course. AP is so precious. If Nico is casting Reanimator, he's not casting Decay or Rigor. If he's using Arise, he's not using Bolster that turn. I would say the decision between summoning and defense/damage output is probably the single most important choice a Nico player makes, turn to turn.

Arise versus Bolster is usually a no-brainer. If my crew is stuck in and they're in range, it's Bolster all the way. In the clutch, if there are a ton of counters laying around OR I'm versus a movement based leader that can get to Nico and he's flappin' in the breeze without an entourage ... Arise becomes a consideration. But I really, really hate sacrificing Bolster for even a single turn. It's just too good.

If I think I can get by without casting Reanimator in a given turn, usually I won't. I would rather be paralyzing or damaging the enemy and/or healing my existing minions. If I feel I really need the reinforcements, the option is there. He's a Casting Expert, at least, so he can pull off a Reanimator and still enjoy two other spells. Things would have to be pretty bad for me to consider spending 2 or more AP in a single turn on summoning. I would rather cast once, spend multiple counters and bring in a big hitter.

It's also important to note that Reanimator replenishes the hand. If I cast it once and spend two counters for a Flesh Construct, I also draw two cards. If I'm swimming in counters and summon a Rogue Necromancy, four new cards. It's a great way to keep the control hand topped up, but I only consider it a real benefit when I'm discarding multiple counters and netting myself a gain, rather then trading a high crow and a random card 1:1 (not usually a good trade).

A lot of people (myself included, at first) fall into the trap of thinking Nico is nothing but a summoning engine. Some believe he should be doing it all the time, whenever possible, no questions asked. If there's a high crow in hand, it's an auto-summon. Maybe I tuck it away for later, but I won't horde half a hand of high crow "for later" and ignore the crushing potential of Rigor Mortis here and now.

I also don't ignore the fact that he can swell the ranks when the need arises (and versus certain leaders and a skilled opponent, the need will arise sooner than later), but I'd rather be Bolstering my minions, healing and damaging with Decay and locking down targets with Rigor.

If Nico feels safe to Bolster + Rigor or Decay + Decay + Decay every turn, the enemy is doing something wrong.

:tj:

Sorry about that. Rafkin ftw!

Edited August 25, 2011 by Hatchethead

[Calmdown]

Use the Vulture to channel Decays where you need them.

Only 3 cards in the deck can cast Decay with a Vulture unless you stone it and the cast total is going to be very low so you're limited to targeting your own models in reality. I never understand why people spend points on Vultures. Do you find you get their points worth from them?

My personal take in Nico is that, like most Rezzer masters, he is not a summoning master if you want him to work well. He works very well with lots of middling minions (PZs, Belles, etc) that he can Bolster, and should only ever be casting arise when he *needs* to, preferably casting RM/Decay directlyas much as possible and summoning stuff when he is going to really benefit from it (summoning an RN and getting a pile of cards is pretty evil).

I ask these questions because I see the reanimator strategy mentioned a lot and people seem to pigeonhole him into that, rather than playing him as a combative master which is actually very effective.

To bring this back to Rafkin, this is why I don't agree Rafkin is a particularly great Nico-friend: he is good as more summoning support but Nico doesnt really *need* more summoning, he wants more guys, and he can't bolster Rafkin (without a Necrotic Machine tagging along, anyway).

Edited August 25, 2011 by Calmdown

[nilus]

Only 3 cards in the deck can cast Decay with a Vulture unless you stone it and the cast total is going to be very low so you're limited to targeting your own models in reality. I never understand why people spend points on Vultures. Do you find you get their points worth from them?

I don't use magical extension. I use Eyes and Ears. Which has a better chance of casting the spell.

I will generally take one. Two might not get you the best results though.

[Calmdown]

I don't use magical extension. I use Eyes and Ears. Which has a better chance of casting the spell.

I will generally take one. Two might not get you the best results though.

Ah, I've misread Vulture as "spells with a gun may not be cast through a model using Eyes and Ears" and missed the 'melee' clause. That does indeed make them better.

[tadaka]

I have not had a chance to test yet but looks like a great way to make tons of shisin for kirai every turn. Make some zombies kill zombies he grabs counters repeat every turn ad kirai summons out shikomi

[kanhead]

Having just played Kirai a night ago i can say she's a real nuisance for Nico. Spirits mean no corpses and she can pass the paralysis to a seisin wit Shikome ignore it...ouchies

Anyway Rafkin looks interesting as a support melee/range attacker plus the ability to bring in more MZs while Nice bolsters. Intersting utility.

[sephiroa]

i have to agree with calmdown, extra summoning? for nico? he is the fastest summoner in the game, and i never use al my AP to try and summon something.

i love my decay to heal my units and damage some creatures, even if it is a little bit, and since rafkin uses body parts, you can't use his parts to create/summon something with nico,

i think i will use mortimer more than rafkin, i think he wil be better in a mc mourning crew,

i like his ability to give hard to kill to nico, but thats about it, hasty disposal, useless, (all) action, you need a 7:crows to summon some mindless, so you need a lot of body parts if you want this to become usefull, and the combination rafkin mortimer nicodem, let morimer dig a corpse, let nico summon something and let rafkin create some mindless, is to expensive poitn wise, and you need 2 7+ :crows and 1 low :crows

if you are lucky you have this, but it's to much effort and based on luck and not skill

[Mach_5]

Hard to kill mindless zombies in an A.nico crew? Yes please!

[Mach_5]

Just going over this in my head, works just as well with even more dogs...

35ss

Nicodem w/ 8ss cache

Avatar +2

Rafkin +7

5 canine remains +10

11ss to taste

Turn 1

-Rafkin tags 4 dogs with a blast from Flask of Formaldehyde

-Rafkin uses Preserve Bodies

-Canines activate one at a time, each dying of poison.

-Final canine (not hit with the flask) retrieves the corpse counters and uses For You Master, discarding the 4 corpse counters. Rafkin gains 4 body part counters and Nicodem gains 4 corpse counters.

-Nicodem casts Arise, sacrificing 4 corpse counters to summon 4 zombies. Rafkin gains 4 body part counters.

Turn 2, 3, etc

-Nicodem avatars and begins churning out the punk zombies

-Rafkin supports with Hard to Kill for the MZs and healing flips, perhaps even summoning more mindless zombies himself (he can summon as many as he likes for 2 bodyparts each with one cast).

[Matamane]

At 35ss, this is just pure win...

Nicodem, the Undertaker (master, 7ss cache)*

Vulture (totem, 2ss)

Vulture (totem, 2ss)

Rafkin, the Embalmer (minion, 7ss)

Ashes and Dust (minion, 13ss)

Nurse (minion, 5ss)

Avatar option taken

[Matamane]

Just going over this in my head, works just as well with even more dogs...

35ss

Nicodem w/ 8ss cache

Avatar +2

Rafkin 7

5 canine remains +10

11ss to taste

Turn 1

-Rafkin tags 4 dogs with a blast from Flask of Formaldehyde

-Rafkin uses Preserve Bodies

-Canines activate one at a time, each dying of poison.

-Final canine (not hit with the flask) retrieves the corpse counters and uses For You Master, discarding the 4 corpse counters. Rafkin gains 4 body part counters and Nicodem gains 4 corpse counters.

-Nicodem casts Arise, sacrificing 4 corpse counters to summon 4 zombies. Rafkin gains 4 body part counters.

Turn 2, 3, etc

-Nicodem avatars and begins churning out the punk zombies

-Rafkin supports with Hard to Kill for the MZs and healing flips, perhaps even summoning more mindless zombies himself (he can summon as many as he likes for 2 bodyparts each with one cast).

Kind of inefficient, don't you think?

I unloaded 15 mindless zombie and 4 guild autopsy(didn't want to proxy another blister of mindless) turn two, had a Rogue Necromany summoned twice, and had an extra punk zombie and Flesh Construct for my troubles with my list.

Edited September 18, 2011 by Matamane
I thought they automerged doubles, dang

[Mach_5]

Kind of inefficient, don't you think?

I unloaded 15 mindless zombie and 4 guild autopsy(didn't want to proxy another blister of mindless) turn two, had a Rogue Necromany summoned twice, and had an extra punk zombie and Flesh Construct for my troubles with my list.

Out of curiosity, how'd you get 15 zombies and 4 autopsies along with that other stuff turn two with the list you posted?