Sebastian and instant kills on masters in general

[Psyce]

Alright so I am pretty sure we are playing this right but it is causing balance concerns in my play group. The various puppet's that have instant kills (Bette, Sebastian, etc.) these can be used on masters right?

I see no reason they cannot but the real issue here is with Sebastian. Sebastian can sit in back(Especially in multiplayer), get two decay counters, and then become a huge threat to masters. Especially with three rips, you can just try to activate him three times in a turn to just get to a master. The fact the ability only costs a crow feather to activate, once you have to two decay counters, is really strong. The main issue here is in 4 player FFAs where it is really easy to get these counters. He got two Master kills tonight alone and is gunning for a third in the same game.

Do we really all have to focus fire him at any cost? He is so easy to activate if you are playing Seamus.

Any other way to deal with this? Not being able to dodge a non-attack ability means my hand of two 13s and a Red Joker is nothing against his insta-kill...

[Ratty]

He is not greasy so all you really need to do is make sure there is no direct route through. It might also be wise to have a model that can do damage to him ready in the wings. The less Rips he has left the less danger he poses.

[ThePandaDirector]

I've not seen much success with Sebastian but then I've not really seen him used effectively. The Decay Counters that make him effective are also his weakness.

Apart from attacking him at range (his Shred ability is only Rg 1) with Nino (give Nino powerl + 1 with either Justice or Executioner to possibly kill him in one go) or other ranged attacks (Ice Golem's Ice Blaster), you can use the Zombie Chihuahua to eat Decay Counters or Judge's Torn Bandana to instant kill him at Rg 2.

A lot of these instant kill puppets cause people the most trouble, but they're no more difficult to kill themselves than any other.

Edited November 28, 2011 by ThePandaDirector

[Justin]

He is not greasy so all you really need to do is make sure there is no direct route through. It might also be wise to have a model that can do damage to him ready in the wings. The less Rips he has left the less danger he poses.

This is pretty much what I was going to say.

The blocking rule exists because of things like this.

Also, in a 4 player game, if Sebastian is sitting back and powering up, I would start gunning for him before he becomes too much of a threat with things like Nino, etc.

Yes, instant kills work on masters, but they should all be set up so you can see them coming. (sebastian needs to be getting decay counters, bette needs the model to be exhausted, Alyce and the hooded rider need to get there and hit with their Cb2, etc)

That said, setting up and executing master instant kills is a major part of the strategy of the game, so don't be surprised when they still happen. But hopefully there was some skill and positioning and resource management that went in to getting it off.