First time playing Hoffman

[TreeNinja]

So I played Hoffman for the first time this last Monday and I liked how he handled for the most part. I played a 30 stone game and I went with his box set plus the MA for his totem and the peacekeeper.

I was pretty satisfied with the overall manuverabilty of the crew, the melee capability of the peacekeeper and hunter seemed to work well, I was really impressed with the guardians abilities.

I was not really impressed with the range capabilities, though that chain spear is nice. all in all I will start looking at how to bring in some more effective range combat starting with Ryle who may not have the greatest range but he seems like he can really do some serious damage at the range he has.

The other thing I will try to figure out is a more creative way to use Hoffman as for the most part all I was doing was to reactivate the peacekeeper and stick with him to get Hoffman around the board.

Also I don't know if this was discussed but the Warden model out of Twisting Fates seems like it could be a replacement to the Peacekeeper in the mount department, seeing as it has the same movement but at 5 stones instead of 9. but I'm not sure that its quite equal to the task as the Peacekeeper does have more to offer as far as combat value and board control tactics. Please let me know what you all think

[Turbodog]

Peacekeeper as a primary mount for Hoffman can't be replaced by the Warden in my opinion. The Peacekeeper brings so much more - and you pay for it as such.

Peacekeeper is much more survivable. Armor +2 (also means Hoffman essentially has armor +2), Many more wounds, Terrifying (if vs. living models).

Peacekeeper reliably does damage on its own with high Cb with ram and crit strike on the model already. This makes reactivate very nice. Warden has low Cb without crit strike built in. It will need to be machine puppeted to be a very reliable attacker. Using AP for machine puppets takes away from AP for reactivate.

Peacekeeper weapon is paired, while Warden is not, making both the model's strikes and machine puppet strikes much better.

What the warden offers is a good plan B. So that when the Peacekeeper goes down (which it will if your opponent focuses on it), the Warden can still pick up Hoffman and keep him mobile. It's great for hanging out near Hoffman for this eventuality becuase it can keep up with the Peacekeeper and still benefit from Hoffman using machine puppet on it when it is close by for those singluar attacks you might need (like a ranged paralyze). Likewise, a good plan B if the Peacekeeper gets paralyzed itself or is otherwise "out of the fight" for a turn.

[SportsComedian]

Is the Warden big enough for Hoffman to ride?(Don't have the new book, but models have to be Ht 3 I think for it to work)

I think the Peacekeeper is by far the best ride for Hoff. That bonus movement with the discarding of a control card is awesome, especially late game when it can get him into position for 2 melee attacks. Only problem is it can be too fast for the Mechanical Attendant to keep up with.

Making up for Hoff's bad ranged units are the chain spears on Hunter and Peacekeeper. Activating Hunter first will usually result in hits with his spear due to the positive flip on units that haven't activated. Before they know if they can be pulled into melee range or explosivo range for Hoffman's pulse attack.

[Chucklemonkey]

Warden is fine as Hoffmans ride. Height 2 or above.

[TreeNinja]

Thanks all I had a feeling that the Warden wouldn't be as usefull as the Peacekeeper. as the Peacekeeper is well worth his stones. I do want to get the warden however as it seems to me that it would be a great model to have on the board, for because the Peacekeeper is so amazing that also makes him a priority target. and by having those Wardens on the board you would have some options to get around the board.

[GoodPhule]

This is really interesting as I am trying out the Hoff and also feel like I'm not making the most of him, especially early in the game where I might want to hold on to my hand to use in later turns and machine puppet is out of range. I like the peacekeeper but last game he ran into ronins which didn't go well. I also enjoyed Ryle with Hoff, lots of damage and i love the story. Find Hoff a lot of fun but will take lot of work to know how to use him well.

[Slimnoid]

If you want to squeeze the most out of range for Hoffman, then you'll want to grab Ryle and Lucius.

Hoffman and Lucius can give Ryle several out-of-activation shots with his Gatling Gun; Hoffman can either Machine Puppet him up to 3 times, or give him Reactivate and one machine puppet attack, and Lucius can use Issue Command three times. Essentially, you could have up to 10 shots with Ryle in one turn (Ryle fires 3 times, Lucius uses Issue Command 3 times, then Hoffman gains Fast and uses Reactivate and Machine Puppet, giving Ryle another turn). It's quite nasty.

The Pale Rider might be worth a look into if you're looking for range; it counts as a construct and thus, has some good synergy with Hoffman.

[GoodPhule]

Oh... that is... oh!

I like it

You have however made it very difficult as I was torn between the Lucius box or a peacekeeper for my next purchase, thought I had decided on a peacekeeper but now...

[Morky]

I would still suggest that the Peacekeepr should be the first buy for Hoffman.

This is mostly based on the fact that to use any of the rest of the Lucius box with the Hoff, you have to put in a lot of stones investment to buy Lucius (9 or 10 stones? cant remember) to really get the most out of it.

... but then again, just to get Ryle with the Hoff is cool

[SportsComedian]

Yeah, I agree Peacekeeper should be required for Hoff. Buy him first. Or maybe her! Who knows what mechanical genetalia lurk under the hood.

Lucius can do some fun stuff, but he is 10 stones and Ryle is 9 I think. That's 19 points for two characters and some fun gun tricks. Constructs already have problems with being very expensive so you're low on model count. When I run those two, it just makes the problem bigger.

It's a fun combo to play with once you get more essential Hoffman stuff, but I wouldn't start with it.

[micahwc]

I think the Warden is primarily to bridge the gap between Lucius and Hoffman. Lucius, Ryle, and 3 Wardens comes to right at 35 points if my math is correct.

[Brettqpublic]

I think the Warden is primarily to bridge the gap between Lucius and Hoffman. Lucius, Ryle, and 3 Wardens comes to right at 35 points if my math is correct.

It comes out to 33 but I think it is a very solid premise for a scenario which doesn't require a lot of movement (i.e. Contain Power, Slaughter, Shared Claim Jump).

I'd like to try this out.

Guild Crew - 35 - Scrap

C. Hoffman -- 4 Pool

Mobile Toolkit [4ss]

Lucius [10ss]

Drill Sergeant [3ss]

Ryle, Guild Pawn [8ss]

Warden [5ss]

Warden [5ss]

[micahwc]

Between reinforcements, Hoffman's ability to ride constructs, the warden's ability to discard a card and take an extra walk, and Ryle's ability to get a free push off the linked drill sergeant, there is actually a fair bit of mobility in this list.

[KitKatKat]

I enjoy taking Mechanical Rider and Mobile Toolkit with Hoffman, along with a couple Watchers and a Hunter.

Turns 1-4 Mechanical Rider has the ability to have a walk of 18 inches with pass through (thanks to her Power Stages, I believe they are called). Hoffman can stick to her, and mobile toolkit can then follow, bumping Hoffman's CA by 2. My list is extremely mobile. Fairly squishy, yet it is the best I've been able to come up with for objective grabbing. In one turn, I can be onto my opponent's side of the board, destroy an objective marker, then be back in my deployment zone. Combat is not the list's strongest suit, yet, if playing correctly, it's very difficult to hit you in the first place.