Ayezik Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Hey All! So I am still really new to Malifaux and I picked up the Nicodem start and a pack of mindless Zombies. I have a few questions: First is Nico a good choice for a new player? I know he is a lot more for a support master who thrives with lots of zombies so I feel i should buy more MZs. Second what should I be building up for a crew? Where I play Malifaux is still VERY small and I want to get it to grow so I will probably play more fluff then tourney. I would like tips on both tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazrat Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 In my experience, Nic is a good master to learn with if you're familiar with miniature games. Picking up more Mindless Zombies is a good idea, along with a pack of Punk Zombies and Canine Remains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratty Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 I think he already has the box set. He won't need 6 punk zombies probably, I personally have seen him use Belles to great effect, as said dogs are good with him, you also probably want something big that he can summon like a Rogue Necromancy. Ml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazrat Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 I have found 5-6 Punk Zombies to be an effective force, but everyone's play style is different. And Rogue Necromancy is a good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancor709 Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 get yourself a flesh construct, and then some belles. I'm a big fan of Necrotic machien with nico. as 4:crows casting is mana for a totem. Also that it drops a corpse counter when done is magic. I'm also suggest some necropunks as they are great objective grabbers for nico and offer corpse coutners when they are killed. Dead rider is awesome both as a mini and as a inclusion in a nico crew. \ Nico is an excellent both to learn malifaux with and as you get more comfortable with malifaux. He is a very versitale and strong master overall and he is fast becoming my favorite for his ability to work in a majority of situations because he can summon virtually all the undead. You have a great start for nico I'd just suggest getting a Flesh construct to start as it will let you learn his summoning mechanic more easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huang Da Wei Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 I just got Mortimer to go with my Nico, is he a must have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancor709 Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 depends on play style honestly haung. I use him quite a bit but he's starting to show he's age in that for a 7pt model he doesn't have enough offensive drive for his pts. that said I'll be using him till Rafkin is released. he's morty on steriods for the same stone cost. But I like the fact that morty generates corpse counters the problem past turn 2 morty becomes more of a liability because he's 7stones of low damage output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayezik Posted January 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 I know i need to get some canine remains and more MZs. I haven't seen what rafkin looks like but I was gonna keep Morty (for the time being) just for the ability to generate corpse tokens. I was thinking of getting a flesh contruct or two and maybe a rogue necromancy. The punk zombies are interesting to me cuz they seem a little fast (for zombies) and the self mutilate and flurry abilities could dish out a bit of Dmg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huang Da Wei Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 I love em because often if they are killed in combat they can dish out some hurt on the way out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayezik Posted January 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Another question with Nico. When sacrificing corpse counters Nico doesn't have to be holding them correct? This may seem obvious but I was reading about Vultures and Canine remains and they both can carry counter to masters. I guess holding corpse counters would prevent anything from happening to them instead of letting them sit on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malandres Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 i believe you are correct that he does not need to be holding them....dont quote me on it as im a guild and arcanist player...but i think you are right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancor709 Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 He doesn't ahve to be holding them they need to be within 6" of him in order for him to use them for reanimator or with 10" if you are going to make them mindless zombies. A held counter can't be picked up by another grave robber or sent away by those nasty get rid of counters spells. But no you don't have to hold the counter in order to raise the dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truthsayer Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) One of the uses to carrying the corpse counters is that they can't be destroyed/eaten by certain other models (gaki for example). But you are correct in that you don't need to carry them, which is why it's always good to keep nico fairly central. He can then use a corpse counter 6" to his left and one 6" to his right to summon a flesh construct!! Excellent to then throw that beast forward to take the brunt of attacks from your enemies. And don't forget you only need to move over a counter to carry it, which makes the vultures amazing speed excellent for nico. Last game I had the vulture sitting high out of reach, channelling decays into enemies, then swooping in to grab the counters, and sending em back to nicodem. Dunno why people complain about the vulture Edited January 21, 2012 by Truthsayer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirarii Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Just give me your wallet right now. I'll keep it safe from the pangs of your soon to be addiction. Bete Noire is a decent addition. Canine remains are also good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vargas79 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 The beauty of Nico is the verstility the pool of models he can choose from brings him. He can adapt to pretty much any master, strategy or scheme. Constructs are a problem as they don't drop corpse counters. Canine Remains are a useful solution here as they are so cheap you can send them in on a suicide run and then summoning in big hitters from their dropped corspe counters. Just ensure Nico is in range to do the summoning. Flesh Constructs are my favourite summon as they take a lot and deal out a lot of damage. Be careful to read the ceaseless advance rule as, whilst it is generally a benefit, it can be a problem if not managed. Mortimer is a love hate model for me. To be useful he requires certain cards and if yuor deck isn't kind to you he becomes a waste of 7SS. Plus like someone mentioned earlier, beyond turn 2 he becomes quite redundant. I can't imagine he'll see much use once Rafkin is released. Nice model though. I love Bete. Combined with Nicodem's bolster undead she is an absolute beast...df9! She's so dangerous that your opponent will spend a fortune on soulstones trying to combat her. 9ss seems a lot but when you consider those ss2 canine remains can be turned into 4 punk zombies or a couple of flesh constructs then it seems reasonable. Seeing an opponents face once those two doggies they've just killed next to his master have all of a sudden turned into a flesh construct and bete noir is always satisfying. I've not used MZ's anywhere near as much as I'd anticipated I would when I first purchased them. Bolster Undead always seems the superior choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huang Da Wei Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 am I right in thinking if you start with 4 canines near Nico, then kill/sacrifice them, with reanimator you can summon 4 punk zombies in their place, seems fair exchange Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calmdown Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 am I right in thinking if you start with 4 canines near Nico, then kill/sacrifice them, with reanimator you can summon 4 punk zombies in their place, seems fair exchange Sacrificing doesnt drop corpse counters. Reanimator only summons 1 model per cast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osoi Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 And dont forget to draw a new card when you do successfully summon, its something I kept foreggting at the begining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huang Da Wei Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 so its just zombies you can get plenty of as its a radius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scortch Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I got good results with this 35 list... Nico Gravespirit Morty Canine Remains Canine Remains Canine Remains Canine Remains Canine Remains Crooked man Crooked man Crooked man A lot of wandering Corpse Counter On the last tournament i played against a very good Sonnia Crew, he blows up 3 Canine and 2 Crooked in one activation but his Face after i summon 1 Rogue Necromany and 2 Punkzombies out of the Canines and the Crooked... it was so priceless... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustcrusher Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) If you want to run Nico as a summon Master, the advice given will more or less work. Just keep a few things in mind: You need a 9 or better to cast Reanimate- that's a 1 in 9 chance of flipping the needed card (9-13 or Red Joker) or 11%. Don't bank on that. To mitigate this, take a full cache of 8 stones and be ready to burn most of them to get Reanimate to work. Take extra care to ensure Nico can't be targeted. If you don't have targets for Decay or Rigor Mortis (or if you activate Nico early in the turn), cast The Fog to protect yourself. Keep him out of melee at all costs. He is hard to wound 1 with 12 wounds but his Df is low. Give him at least one Punk Zombie guard if not something meaner. If you can't cheat the second flip for Mortimer's Exhume, consider not casting it. It's nice in a pinch, but Fresh Meat is more useful. There is another school of thought to playing Nicodem- ignore summoning unless you have a golden opportunity. Between reading what the hardcore players have said and my own experience, I'd recommend trying this after you test the summoning game: EDIT: In other words, running Nico as a support master who can summon on occasion will work better than building your list around summoning. Don't bother with Mortimer. You can get a Punk Zombie and a Desperate Merc for the same cost- you'll likely get more out of them. If you insist on taking Morty, Fresh Meat is going to be his best spell. Bolster Undead along with Rigor Mortis and/or Decay should be your bread and butter. A well-timed Paralyze can win you the game. Take at least one Punk Zombie, and at least one Belle too. Belles are durable for a 4 stone minion and Lure is a great way to muck with your opponent's plans or if you're careful, move your own models (just make sure they will end their move outside of 2" of the Belle). Depending on strategy, you might want to take Night Terrors for objective grabbing. I haven't used them but they seem to be quite popular. The main drawback is you get no counters when they die, but we're not obsessing over counters now. Take what you need at the start of the game. Don't rely on corpse counters- yours or your opponent's- to get your list where you want it to be. You might have the chance to bring back a model, but it may not be worth it. It's better to have what you need Turn 1. Use your stones to ensure Rigor Mortis or Decay goes through (the latter if you need to hurt your foe and heal your minion at the same time). Paralysis means fewer activations means less chances for that model earn its keep. Edited February 7, 2012 by Dustcrusher Edits in italics- revising for coherency Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calmdown Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 I recommend heavily against trying to play Nicodem as a summoner (or any Rezzer master, for that matter). Summoning is very difficult to use effectively as a primary tactic and requires a very carefully built list with consideration for your opponent and the strategy. A more all purpose list that relies less on summoning will work out generally better for you whilst you're learning, as it will be a lot more forgiving. Or, if you're very confident, go ahead and slaughter dogs to your hearts' content... just realise that in many Malifaux strategies (read: at least half of them) spending a turn slaughtering dogs can cost you the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustcrusher Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Summon lists can be fun in a friendly game. That said, I was attempting to suggest that a non-summon approach will work better. Let me illustrate with a personal example: I had a game against another new player, with a Graveyard special terrain (it is easy to get corpse counters from the Graveyard, for those who haven't seen it in action yet). I think I managed to summon 2 Belles, a Crooked Man, a Punk Zombie, and a Flesh Construct during the game. My opponent wasn't happy. I almost lost the game. Instead of focusing on the strategy (I think it was Stake a Claim), I was obsessed with building an army of the dead. I could've been denying activations via Rigor Mortis or at least healing my models/chipping away at my opponent's models with Decay. The point- it's hard enough for newer players to shift from "kill 'em all" to a mission-based outlook. A focus on summoning makes that harder, in my opinion. If I don't have a target for Rigor Mortis or Decay, have counter(s) nearby, and have the needed Crow to cast it, then I'll Reanimate. If not, I will not, unless summoning one more model could get me VPs or deny my opponent (Eye for an Eye on Turn 6 and down by 2 models, for example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayezik Posted February 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Though I am a big fan of summoning, the more I read and look at Nico, the more I see that summoning is not the way to play him effectively. Like it is said in past replies, spamming rigor mortis and decay whenever a target is in range is the bread and butter way to play. with decay, is it only the blast that heals undead or can you target a zombie and have that direct hit heal? or does the target always get damage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrouchingMoose Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Any undead hit by any part of decay gets healed...I actually find targeting your own stuff in melee to work best for that spell...just so you opponent doesnt get a resist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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