Gremlin expansion advice

[Havoc7926]

Fellow Outcast players I'm after a bit of advice. I'm reasonably new to the game and I was lured into it by Ophelia and the gremlins. Now I'm having a blast playing them but after 9 games I'm starting to notice a slight issue.

I'm just getting used to the way you select your actual crew after strategies and I've noticed how other faction players have the luxury of picking the right tools for the job in hand. I'm pretty much stuck with my crew of gremlins who have to adapt to whatever gets thrown thier way.

I've now got both Zoraida and Pandora (I like the whole neverborn concept of being the true inhabitants of Malifaux better than the fluff behind the other factions) and whilst they may or may not be great I'm struggling to include my gremlins with them. The reason for Zoraida was that she can hire low WP models however that might not be a good idea. In the rules forum there is a debate over the legality of hiring gremlins and then summoning dolls and there is no definitive answer yet. I think the dolls probably help Zoraida more than the gremlins so if it turns out to be either/or then she can't really use them.

So, I'm after any advice on how to expand my gremlins past all the LaCroix and slop haulers that I have. Perhaps it's just not possible to integrate them well with other masters or factions or perhaps I'm missing the options that Sommer would bring if I got him.

What have you experienced players done? Are gremlins as 'stand alone' as they appear to be?

All/Any opinions welcomed.

don't get me wrong I still love the gremlins and if it turns out that they don't mix well then that's ok. I'll just keep using them on thier own.

Thanks

Havoc

[Swift]

Gremlins don't mix well by their very nature; the only human they can bear to be around is McTavish, and he's covered in so much goop that he counts as a pig for stampede purposes.

My boyfriend plays Ophelia and isn't interested in Somer Teeth at all, so he has just got himself the Slop Haulers and Young LaCroix. He recommends both extremely highly. However if you want other models, gremlins don't really offer much.

[magicpockets]

Kin are awesome with Zoraida, well worth it instead of Wicked Dolls if the decision falls that way imo

[Havoc7926]

Thanks for the quick replies.

@Swift. I've got the slop haulers and young LaCroix and will probably be getting some normal bayou gremlins just so that I don't always have to take the whole LaCroix family every time. I feel the same about Somer myself to be honest. For some reason jsut doesn't really appeal to me.

@Magicpockets. That's good to know that I can at least run them with another master if I feel like it.

[Spiku]

Edit: damn, was writing my response between work so it ended up posted after you responded. I'll second Zorida, even if you just want to take Remi and Ophelia with some Bayou's! Zorida is a very different angle given the WP game. Though I'll always run Ophelia (until I get my Green Justice!)

In my short experience of Malifaux I've found that many people fall into the like Ophelia, don't care for Som'er category, myself included.

Personally I suggest lots of Bayou Gremlins, because shooting is good, but I don't like feilding multiples, so definately get Young LaCroix, they count as totems anyway =D

Slop Hauler is a really, really good suggestion though.

If you like Pere, and feel silly, you can also get a pigapult; you can't fire pigs, but you can fire pere at people (then shoot him if he doesn't die) or you can throw gremlins at objectives, which is funny~

but yeah, Slop Haulers, Young LaCroix, and Bayou Gremlins are all good

Edited October 4, 2011 by Spiku

[Dumb Luck]

Your shopping list should be:

Two packs (at least) of Bayou Gremlins

Young LaCroix

Somer Teeth Jones (For Brawls and he's not as bad as people make him out to be)

4 Skeeters

Pigapults

Basically, its all good apart from the Pigs. *waits for Omenbringer to show up*

[Spiku]

Somer Teeth Jones (For Brawls and he's not as bad as people make him out to be)

I would just like to say I think he's pretty darn good, especially with mozzies, and with ophelia to pull him about.

I just don't like his model, him, or the idea that anyone but Ophelia should be at the front ;3

[Stonedog-7]

Well, the other option that i'm looking at, as i'm getting Ophelia mainly touse with Zoraida but i also just don't like the aesthetics of Somer & the pigs, is to get another Outcasts crew for the flexibility at crew creation

Declare Outcasts and then people don't know if they're up against Ophelia or any of the other possibilities that can play very differently... only downside is you're not likely to be getting models that can be swapped between the crews much

[Havoc7926]

Again, thanks all for the advice. Seems that you have understood my dilema perfectly. I think I have a few options really:

Announce Outcasts and just accept that everyone knows pretty much who I'm going to be selecting.

Announce Outcasts but have a second option to Ophelia. It does mean collecting a couple (or more) non related crews and pciking the best one for the job which I suppose is pretty correct for Outcasts as they are the merc and otherwise dissowned faction.

Annouce Outcasts and select from all the gremlins. This keeps me 'green' and gives me a bit of choice but with my dislike of Somer am I actually ever going to pick him over Ophelia? (to be clear this dislike is not based on on his model or any play testing I just don't really 'get' the whole Somer thing like I do with Ophelia. Background and picking stuff I like is important to me when deciding what I want to play)

Announce Neverborn and include some kin as an option if I pick Zoraida. This is the path I've already got models for and allows me much more choice (as I can go any Neverborn master and like other factions there is more scope for using thier stuff for different masters). Only real down side of this I guess is that it's not a gremlin crew and I'm limited to how many LaCroix Zoraida can take. Just feels wrong to be announcing Neverborn when I want to play Gremlins!

Perhaps this is only an imagined problem and as I get more experience with Ophelia I'll be more confident of completing the different strategies with her and not worry that my opponent knows that he will be facing small, green, slightly inaccurate, cowboy impersonators.