ABC's another blitzkrieg colette crew tactica.

[Odin1981]

Ok I'm bored and have time and I remember saying awhile ago about putting this strat up to the masses to digest/read/import so I'll make a go at it.

First off I would suggest before I go in depth into this article that this list not be used in casual settings. This is more a tactica for tournament minded players to use. The main reason why I picked this crew up back when book 2 was released was mainly due to everyone looking at the crew and saying they seem good but can't fight. After I looked at the cards of these models I thought it was absolutley incorrect assumption made by people.

The main problem people of that particular argument have is they try to fight like they would as a pure damage dealing crew (ie lilith, lady j, tina, ortega's and so forth) without a regard to how you can make this crew a damage dealer. I would coment however that in terms of pure killing their are better crews out there for a player to use in that generally unless you are playing a newb it will generally be a stretch to kill more than 3 figures a turn.

I see a colette crew basically as the "arcanist dreamer" in that you do surgical strikes while you are doing strats/schemes to soften the opponent up and then on turn 3-4 once you have put down high priority models you go "all in" on massacring the opponent (sans insignificant models cause they can't do anything). When that is accomplished you then have turns 5-6 to finish 8 pointing the game with little/nothing to get in your way.

Now the last thing I will bring up in this introductory post is the defination of the term that this entire article is based on Blitzkrieg you have to have an understanding of this term to truly get this tactica also I'm a USMC combat vet and ironically this term/tactic is also the whole way we are trained to fight it has been remade into the term combined arms doctrine but blitzkrieg is shorter and im lazy when it comes to typing so ha.

Blitzkrieg: A swift, sudden military offensive usually by combined air and land forces.

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Sorry about the grey didn't know it would be like that and my google fu is weak so bear with me on that hopefully a mod or something can make it black text cause im clueless when it comes to computer stuff.

Applying the term to tactics:

Up first in this tactica will be explaining the roles of the models in this way of playing and how the fit into the strategy. So without further ado here goes unto the "role players" if you will.

Colette: In this way of fighting with the crew colette is the quintessential support piece. Figure in military terms she is the supply and logistics major with a minor in artillery (for the college minded folk). The first 2-3 turns of the game she is usually just making ss reactivating to make more or on react ports into a weakened enemy and magicians duels them off to grab another stone. If their is a high priority model that isn't worth the resources required to bring them down this is where she factors into the artillery side via mannequin replacement (generally stuf with h2w 2 or better or 10+ wounds. See target port in via illusionist then manne them off the board and get a brand new free companion chain ;-). Later turns she can be used (turn 4 on) to help expedite strats/schemes or if in slaughter (version 2.0 is claim jump, version 3.0 is turf war) she can then be more front line fighter (cause normally one of the duet/cassie will bite the dust by then). If in im gonna turtle and win (destroy the evidence) she makes a great front line I sit on objective that you can't claim it piece due to illusionist and slow 2 die. And recon one is basically slaughter 4.0 but the thing is I generally play mid board control killing things I can reach and then late game turn 4+ on spread out into quadrents for points.

Mannequin: Another support piece but a very good one. I generally ignore the advice about them with the waste a entire colette activation swapping a model out to range with them but the abilities worth mentioning in this tactica are mirrors and making cassandra drop celebrity turn 1 so she can do stuff with link. This is also normally the second most likely model in the crew of never getting targeted by the enemy due to armor and object. Mirrors is one of two abilities I try to save a card for (other being a 8+ book for manne replacing) for mirrors you need a 9+ mask but dont waste it first time you due the swoop tactic (explained later in cassandra) if there will be nothing of worth threatening her after she swoops. The other tactic I use with them is the turn one turn cassandra on. This requires turn one cassie dueing a bash on her for tops 1 wound then dropping celebrity. On the manne's activation I then link to cassie to get ready to follow around.

Performer (lol): You take this model for two reasons other than you have too to start with a manne to do companion chains off of. First is to do your strats/schemes this is important cause its how you win games and this model is perfect for it due to noone ever being worried about this model it usually can skirt around and do stuff unimpeded because opponents are worried about your hitters (the big three) doing stuff. Second is when she has done 1-2 things for points and it is time to kill the master your playing against she is normally a great come hither so something good can kill you model. Get her in range to cast expensive gift and use a mid range card 7+ or better hopefully the rng gods have you flip this so you don't waste your hand on it on a enemy master so they just might have to waste a ss to resist this spell. The spell is generally a annoyance but can make the opponent pounce on the model due to colette crews generally having the advantage in just about every matchup (barring hamelin) with ss attrition battle. Also when you use this as a come kill me enemy master move it helps for effectiveness to have a hitter (cassie duet) within 4" so when she dies they get a free reactivate.

Now to the meat and potatos of the abc crew (as if you couldn't guess who they are:Confused_Puppet1:):

The duet: Air Strike piece. I classify the duet as the air piece due to her ridiculous movement. This is the piece that sets up the artillery (cassie) to go boom boom boom. There are many strats on using her already existing in the forum but here is my take on her in regards to the strategy I am presenting.

(0) usuage pretty straight forward there are 2 variations but generally the first is what you will be using most.

1: use ss, sword dance, and sublime performance this set up gives the most to the strategy and is the "enabler" of damage potential to a colette crew. Gives her the defense mechanism (use ss), mobility to go potentially 36" in one activation (sublime and sword dance combo) and allows her to spread around the hypnotic movements trigger to the models you have marked as will destroy this turn.

2. This one generally gets used in later turns when the primary target priorities have died and it is then less threatening for the duet to become a stuck in model (turn 4 on). 1 use ss, heal flip, sword dance.

The duets main role is the dispersal of the hypnotic movements trigger onto enemies you will blast away with with cassie via breath fire. Generally a typical activation goes like this 1st ap move swing trigger 4" push to get to target you want dead. 2nd move swing sword put up hypnotic on enemy then either 3 move swing move away from retaliation or blinding spell push 3 from spell then 4" from trigger commencing the "cory kite".

The key point in mentioning is that a model under the effect of hypno movements is at a - in resist duels this is key to ensuring you don't have to spend stones on cassie's breath fire to get straight flips to damage. Also the duet is key in eliminating any slow 2 die model due to the interaction of paralyzed on slow to die. Or getting models like austringers or nino that have a great range effect that makes other models hard to get too without getting pelted by bullets.

One point worth mentioning is that after you do the hypno trigger to make sure you place the duet close enough when cassie warps in to boom boom she doesn't have to waste her 2nd or fast ap to get their (fast only applies if running kaeris + student).

Cassie : The big gun. People complain about damage range with colette. I don't see why. She via breath fire drops 1 3/3 templates or 2 5/3/3 templates. This is the "burst potential" of colette. This spell gives you a damage range of sonnia/raspy on a model who actually has defense to stay alive via southern charm (0). On her activation spend (1) ap moving into contact with duet via dance partner and then spend 1-2 ap blasting away plus a nimble to back off targets you just fried.

Lesser Models (aka the models I take to outactivate you to see where to splat first)

Doves: I take two and use them to protect duet against dreamer alpha or I didn't win init via ss usuage when I lose init on turn 2-3 when I kill all models I have deemed must go.

student of conflict: in a pure elite list (kaeris, cassie, duet, student, a dove or two and colette) This model gives fast to kaeris or cassie to go boom boom and move away from retailiation.

Kaeris : good model for more single target damage via immolate or the I'm a mini avatar sonnia shoot 2-4 things then accelerant schtick.

Arcanist doll: not out yet but in theory you could use this model if forgoing kaeris student to give out casting expert to cassie so she always gets boom boom move away via nimble.

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One model that I haven't tried yet worth mentioning is the showgirl austringer (angelica) she is mainly a support piece in adding defense to fallbacks plus (1) encouragment resist + flips but her main use in this startegy would be in line with the performer doing strats/schemes with the advantage of giving a long range companion chain via (0) bring out the next act. She seems to fit in a strictly elite list (kaeris, cassie, duet, student list at the 40ss mark (given that only the masters has been run at 40ss it might not happen often) but the one worthwhile disadvantage of note is that if you take her you are not starting with a manne so you cannot do the companion chain as described below untill you make one.

Combos:

The companion chain is the main strength of this list and the key proponent of the blitzkrieg ideal. Turn 1 is usual spent positioning for the strike sans the performer/angelica going to do stuff (get vp's). Generally I have found the duet can grab sabotage/stake a claim if the opponent doesn't aggresively try to defend those points as a feint to make them mass up forces for your turn two companion chain breath fire combo.

The key imho is usually dropping off celebrity so manne can link/mirrors if need be on cassie to set up the strike. Then after the positioning of turn one making sure cassie is in range of duet and manne (sometimes colette for the threesome chain for full effect) to when you gain activation turn two (I often will burn a ss on two if i lose initiative flip) mass companion manne, cassie, duet and start off the strike. Generally speaking if you set up right and the opponent doesn't stay spread out alone (generally not a good idea against the colette crew) there will normally be 1 heavy hitter (target priority) with a cheap fodder model (4-5 point hey kill me so my good model can kill u in retailiation) group and possibly a mannequin model ( the model with 10+ wounds or h2w 2, jack daw etc costed style model for colette to take part in the companion chain and manne off the board.

When u chain duet goes first spreads hypno/paralyze around weakening the models that cassie will breath on then backs off a bit to deter counter attacks on her but within range of cassie to targets for breath fire and finish off. Then the manne goes and either puts up mirrors for counter defense or beautiful clothes a model (if it is still alive one 1-2 wounds remaining) to finish off the remainder of the two models you hit. Colette would go last in the chain and then either illusionist port manne the other heavy hitter if in range or duel down a unfinished model and gain a stone to increase your resource advantage (ss or cards situation depending I normally never get cards unless my hand is straight butt and either cassie or duet is vulnerable to retailitory stirikes.

The mini sonnia strategy: If taking student, kaeris companions with it student gives fast then fast ap move in range of stuff for shoot stuff/accel combo 2 ap shoot spread counters around to 2-4 targets then cast expert ap's accel for 1/2/4 goodness weaking alot of models in her 16" aura of accelerant range to weaken up for a later activation companion chain by the big three or the 2 bad girls (cassie/duet).

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Goal of using this list(s):

The whole idea behind this style of colette list is akin to dreamer/dora/hame/z with collodi is that you must be aggresive with this crew. Passive colette players (the non-interactive I get my 8 points then stiff you on a scheme/1/2 strategy types might not be able to apply this correctly at first when using the lists this way.

You must be aggro to make them play the game your way with this list. Most lists typically have between 6-9 significant models. If on turns 2 and 3 if you decide to play this way you on average will take out between 4-5 models doing this you will put the opponent on their back foot in terms of completing strats/schemes I generally position my models to do this in regard to what the opponents strats/schemes are. Most crews have to go after objectives first and foremost the colette crew is one of the few that don't. If you do this you can cripple the models in those lists that they use to do stuff (kill/grab vps/effect init flips) you make them have to fight to stay alive and turn the battle/matchup into strictly a contest you want. On a very attritioned (opponents why our you having your models take the fall ;-) ) board turn 3/4 on your speed plus your damage capabilities can and will shoehorn your opponent into a defensive survival minded mode. In which you often don't have to wipe them off the board you just have to place your hammer models on/near their objectives and dissuade the remaining crew from trying to complete their stuff or killing any who come that way then using your mobility to back off and wait for next turns activation.

Concluding:

Ok so I have finished this off more or less there are a few matchups that I change/alter the strategy I am using that I will provide tips and stuff for later. This might not be very new player friendly so if there are any new players not understanding stuff/haven't read cards/books that have questions post them and I will happily reply/answer to. But I would like to note if your local meta is fairly undeveloped this way of playing colette is not very newby friendly so I would advise that unless you our prepping for a tournamen/con or our in a fairly competitive meta to not use this way of playing the crew 24/7.

Cheers ladies and gentlemen and havce a nice day :-).

Edited March 9, 2012 by Odin1981

[sinistercats]

Can't believe no one has chimed in on this yet. Thanks very very very much for this writeup. Really enjoyed and much appreciated! It's weird how there seems to be a lack of write-ups on Colette lately.

Definitely some tricks in here I'm looking forward to trying out.

[Ozz]

Nice write up there, a good reminder of a couple of ability i forget to use at times, so thank you

Coryphee paralyse or dmg pulse being the big ones

But the question i have for you is why must you make Cassy bash the performer for it to link to her? She loses her mele defence from it, and gains nothing as far as i can see as the Mannequin can still link to her as it is not a mele strike which is all that ability stops from targeting her with?

[vitriol]

But the question i have for you is why must you make Cassy bash the performer for it to link to her? She loses her mele defence from it, and gains nothing as far as i can see as the Mannequin can still link to her as it is not a mele strike which is all that ability stops from targeting her with?

Celebrity: For the first two turns of the Encounter, this model may only be targeted by ranged Strikes and Spell attacks. This Ability ends if this model makes an attack

Might be a problem with card version. This is how Celebrity reads in my Rising Powers and on my card.

[CRC]

Maybe it's the "only" part of the ability that's confusing. I know I read it several times before it sunk in that she's only safe from melee strikes and abilities that don't ( damage her / require a duel ).

Honestly, it's a pretty terrible ability.

Edit: I was trying to think of uses for it, and I only came up with one: she can combo with a Coryphee to launch into melee with an opponent turn 1. Then she sits there and doesn't attack. Maybe she can use one of the few Understudy spells that aren't attacks, maybe she just passes. Either way, the enemy can't attack her, can range-attack anyone else, and probably can't move away. This could tie them up for two turns...

This, of course, requires that disengaging-strike isn't an attack. I'll check the wording on that when I get home.

Edited March 12, 2012 by CRC

[Shadai]

The key imho is usually dropping off celebrity so manne can link/mirrors if need be on cassie to set up the strike. Then after the positioning of turn one making sure cassie is in range of duet and manne (sometimes colette for the threesome chain for full effect) to when you gain activation turn two (I often will burn a ss on two if i lose initiative flip) mass companion manne, cassie, duet and start off the strike.

Not trying to pick or anything, but you are confusing me big time here. Perhaps I'm still newer then I thought.

But first of all, Why do you need to bash to drop celeb? It drops as soon as you attack. But that was mentioned earlier, so it brings me to my second point of confusion...

How are you "mass companioning" Cassie, Duet and Mannequin?

I was with you for this entire wall o' text until I got to that point. Do they have some companion trait on them that isn't listed on the card I somehow don't know about????

I've been playing Colette for a while now, and I don't know anything about those two points. Granted, I'm no expert, but please, help me out here.

[CRC]

It looks like a Disengaging Strike is a Strike with a melee weapon, which is an Attack, thus voids celebrity.

Unfortunate.

[Odin1981]

The mass companion is done due to the mannequin having companion showgirl. So to set this up into a companion chain you need the manne within 6" of all the showgirls you want to activate.

I might have messed the order of this up in the guide what you would do to companion the duet and cassie is announce companion with the manne then pick the duet first then the mannie then cassie. Colette to my knowledge of companion would probably have to be activated after the companion of the 2 bad girls in that case.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Odin1981

[Shadai]

The mass companion is done due to the mannequin having companion showgirl. So to set this up into a companion chain you need the manne within 6" of all the showgirls you want to activate.

I might have messed the order of this up in the guide what you would do to companion the duet and cassie is announce companion with the manne then pick the duet first then the mannie then cassie. Colette to my knowledge of companion would probably have to be activated after the companion of the 2 bad girls in that case.

Yep, I am indeed an idiot. I forgot the mannequin has companion, and even more distressing, didn't realize companion could encompass multiple models. I always thought it was just the one model. Wow, learn something new everyday.

However on your Cassie thing about losing celeb, I'm assuming you mean to do that so you can link the mannequin, which I think technically you can't target Cassie with link when celeb is up. That just seems a real convoluted way to accomplish the goal of "get mannequin into the hot zone" when you can just link the mannequin to the Coryphee before they form Voltron. As a side bonus, linking the mannequin to the Coryphee saves you AP that you can use for something else (like leaping into combat with the newly formed manne-link-Duet).

[Odin1981]

Can't believe no one has chimed in on this yet. Thanks very very very much for this writeup. Really enjoyed and much appreciated! It's weird how there seems to be a lack of write-ups on Colette lately.

Definitely some tricks in here I'm looking forward to trying out.

I believe there aren't many write ups on colette due to her specifically more dynamic in comparison to other crews in what you have to do with her. In that if you misplace a activation, move, you are penalized by losing one of 3 expensive models in your list. I don't find her and the girls the most complex crew (imho Kirai would hold that honor). Also as evidenced in my layout of how to do this strat I have left it pretty open ended due to any # of situations coming up that change how you do this style by quite a bit. Also I admit that her big models aren't weak but there is always a big risk of losing them due to if you lose either cassie or the duet it pretty much hampers this process described.

I just felt like publishing a layout of a very different concept that she can do that according to forum opinion isn't what she excels at. I don't play this as much as I use to due to whichever of the widely known styles she does it does get a tad bit repititous and boring after awhile however for competitive mind set folks this could very well be a nice breath of fresh air on a crew supposedly that has problems with aggresive action. But don't get me wrong this "guide" if you will isn't the be all end all strat for her. After playing around 80 games or so with her I'd say she works best with a combination of "blitzkrieg tactics" and objective grabbing.

Also to point out I will be adding a few matchup things that are specific to "well known tournament" masters in that they don't always go with this strat (hamelin, dreamer possibly others when time goes on and the "metagame" changes) but I'll wait a bit and let people critique, playtest, and question who, what, where, why, and how with this style first before I delve into this.

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Nice write up there, a good reminder of a couple of ability i forget to use at times, so thank you

Coryphee paralyse or dmg pulse being the big ones

But the question i have for you is why must you make Cassy bash the performer for it to link to her? She loses her mele defence from it, and gains nothing as far as i can see as the Mannequin can still link to her as it is not a mele strike which is all that ability stops from targeting her with?

I never worry much about losing celebrity on cassie due to use ss, def 6, and (0) southern charm. The only models I worry about generally have threat ranges I can't circumvent and have paired stats to go after her with. However once activated the paired stats are only straight flips as opposed to + and she then has a inbuilt - to damage from charm so with that and mirrors she normally can shake off a dmg master with very little if any damage due to mirrors preventing all weak damage. Also not much can kill a manne in any less than 2 ap and even those that can generally at the most have 1 ap left to go after cassie with.

[Odin1981]

Yep, I am indeed an idiot. I forgot the mannequin has companion, and even more distressing, didn't realize companion could encompass multiple models. I always thought it was just the one model. Wow, learn something new everyday.

However on your Cassie thing about losing celeb, I'm assuming you mean to do that so you can link the mannequin, which I think technically you can't target Cassie with link when celeb is up. That just seems a real convoluted way to accomplish the goal of "get mannequin into the hot zone" when you can just link the mannequin to the Coryphee before they form Voltron. As a side bonus, linking the mannequin to the Coryphee saves you AP that you can use for something else (like leaping into combat with the newly formed manne-link-Duet).

You could link the manne to duet but I don't really care if people go after the duet after they have activated. I actually want the opponent to mass attack the duet due to orchestral cresendal (spelling mistake almost guarenteed there) because if they group up on the duet the following turn you burn a ss if need be to win activation and mass companion off again but instead of hypno trigger spreading you just use 2-3 cresendo's to whittle 4-6 wounds off everything around her then melee breath fire with cassie (more than likely having to burn a stone to ensure a straight damage or + damage flip) to spread the templates around her on the enemies that grouped up.

[Guardian]

I would like to know more about kaeris, so if anyone can share their expirience with her, Id be gratefull!

[Foxshade]

I would like to know more about kaeris, so if anyone can share their expirience with her, Id be gratefull!

http://www.wyrd-games.net/showthread.php?26189-Kaeris-tactics

here ya go.

However, ... the above thread mostly covers people's experience where her either with Ramos, Raspy, or on her own. Almost nothing said how she interacts with a Colette crew. I too am curious with her in a Colette crew. I have yet to play Colette in any games greater that 30ss, but have been considering trying her with in first brawl game. In a scrap, ..... jeez... it's hard to find room for her points wise. let alone any room for any non-showgirls or for forgoing a Coryphee duet.

cheers~!

Fox

[Archnomad]

Would you not be far better in certain matchups (say, the dreamer), running Kaeris + more doves + Student of Conflict than a Coryphee Duet? Cause if the Dreamer wins that first init flip (and he'll prolly have an Insidious Madness) then you can probably say goodbye to at least one of your Coryphee. :x

[Odin1981]

Would you not be far better in certain matchups (say, the dreamer), running Kaeris + more doves + Student of Conflict than a Coryphee Duet? Cause if the Dreamer wins that first init flip (and he'll prolly have an Insidious Madness) then you can probably say goodbye to at least one of your Coryphee. :x

Dreamer specifically with Colette from my experiance comes down to who wins initiative on turn two if you play the duet. On turn 1 you want the coryphee on the back edge of your board by the two doves. So if they win init they only have two ap to swing at them and you have a dove for each ap (soulstone+ flip plus mercucial def+ flip). On the fateful turn two you either win iniative and wipe out most/all of their daydreams bringing him down to reasonable mobility range or you lose init and more than likely lose right there due to being down 14 pts.

It isn't a bad matchup per say but it is a matchup that is over real quick regardless which side you play on. I have yet to play a dreamer/colette matchup that actually went to turn 4 if the dreamer player knows what he is doing. Because with the mobility of each crew just makes the game super fast.

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I forgot to add that in my ultra long big post my most common 35ss list is colette 5ss, cassie, coryphee X2, doves X2, performer, manne.

The kaeris list would be colette, cassie, kaeris, student (attached to her Kaeris), 3 doves, performer/mannie with 5ss.

Sorry about not posting for a couple days computer has been down due too house painting (what fun).

[Odin1981]

Ok malifaux has been on my mind a bit with a upcoming 25ss tournament on saturday so I'm just bumping this thread up to first page to make it easier for me to update over the weekend after the tournament.

I lied lol just waiting to get a definative answer on the celebrity question I posed in the rules forum so I can figure out what we can do on her before I update thread. I will update the thread when I know.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Odin1981

[Odin1981]

Update Time:

First things I will add our abilities I didn't mention that I use when the need arises, also the single target duet burndown, and the "cory kite". In a few days or so I will update with specific matchups on what to watch out for.

2 stones from one stone : This is a tactic that hasn't too my knowledge been mentioned in any tactica I am aware off but situationally can become a 2nd ap soulstone manipulation every activation for you (if you don't have to illusionist 1st ap) if you have a card for it. Sometimes when you go after models with the duet and cassie you will leave them at 2 wds if you don't kill the outright. This is a order of plays that just like magicians duel death's will give you +1 ss then what you started with.

Assuming said target has been hit with hypnotic movements (duet trigger) will generally always work on any non ss using model unless you black joker cast or damage flip. If you have a 10+ mask (for sleight of hand trigger) in hand or higher you 1ap illusionist to within 6" of target you want dead (normally switching with duet or cassie) then with your 2ap you cast discharge soulstone.

Discharge like disappearing act has a tome mask trigger that if the defender fails to resist you gain one ss so you essentially cast this for free (in regards to its additional requirement). Also as a condition of discharge soulstone spell if you are within 6" of said target you will gain 1 ss upon killing the model. It also ignores armor as well as cover and has a damage range of 2/3/5. So you cast the spell getting the total to 16-17 the enemy resists the spell at a minus due to hypno so can't cheat and unless they flip two cards that our both higher than your total (not impossible but highly unlikely say around 95% in your favor they will take the damage flip. Without the BJ coming up on damage you are looking at a straight flip more than likely with a total of 16 or better (unless model has super high defense). Also if the enemy preferably on 2 wounds remaining you will never have to cheat in a card to kill, as well as always doing required # of wounds to kill even if you are at a - damage flip. If you don't mind risking a little bit you can do if model is at 3 wounds remaining a straight flip to cheat in moderate but I wouldn't recomend doing so for a - damage flip.

When to Manne Replacement vs sleight of hand :

This is generally the hardest thing imho to master when playing a colette crew. A newer player will generally always just go for the triple tome trigger. A more seasoned colette player will know when to go for it or just go for the sleight trigger for a free disappearing act. Colette to me is mainly about resources (your cards in hand + your ss cache) and outlasting your opponents (ss cache mainly) in a aggresive action playstyle (this tactica).

You want your opponent to only engage the duet or cassie after they have activated. Because then they have to spend resources (ss's) to be able to put a dent in them. With both models activated and a dove or two around most masters outside of a cheated 11+ plus ss'd 10+ up do not stand a very good chance at even getting threw their defenses.

With a variety of ways you have of making ss's to increase your cache total you can generally just weather the storm of attacks the master/henchmen your opponents take and attrition them out of soulstones. Know please note I am in no way shape or form saying you should just push them into these models and let them swing away. What you want to do is make it so the master/henchmen has to spend 1-2 ap getting in range of said model then use their last +1 ap on them to sneak a hit in.

Know back on to topic. The biggest thing about the colette crew is certain spells (disappearing act mainly, sometimes magicians duels if you have to spend ss's on the casting totals) can stretch your resources thin/empty. This is mainly one of the ways I judge if I am watching a game with a colette player using their crew on as to how well versed they are with said crew. Unless it is a model you just want done with now it can be against your best intrests to go for multiple triple tome triggers. However if you win early activation (initative) If the important girls to this strategy aren't at risk of being attacked by ss users it can be best to just bury them for free. If said model hasn't activated yet you can just disp act them for sleight of hand with generally a severe mask in hand or flipped and unless they have high defense (most problem big wound profile minions don't most sit at 4 defense ) you can make the spell go off and the enemy won't be able to resist the spell. Then on your reactivate you illusionist to the lone showgirl all by her lonesome and discard 2 cards for ss all away from the action so that on the closing phase the opponent unburies said model and they are useless in that they are alone and out of the fight.

Single target duet burndown:

The biggest question for this is dependant on where the duet is compared to said model distance wise. I'm assuming you have done the use ss, sublime, and sword dance subconscious action combo. Sometimes an opponent won't group their models up. So if that is the case this is the single target take down I prefer.

If you can reach said model on your first ap (ie within 9") stop when moving for sword strike 2-4 damage trigger hypno move. 2nd ap blinding trigger swirl of motion 3" from casting spell succesfully 4" push from trigger to best angle to get away on final ap 2-3 wounds slow/paralyze on moderate/severe flip. Third ap move, stop to trigger sword dance 4" push finish move action 2-4 wounds caused. With this line of play you can do 11 wounds to a model with a min damage of 6 wds. You will generally kill any lesser minion most 3-5 point models have 6 wounds plus you can stand to kill any lesser elite 6-8 point range models that have 7-8 wounds with no armor in one activation with normally with little to no support from your hand (maybe 1 card for blinding severe damage for paralize).

IF you cannot get to target on first ap (greater than 10" factoring in 1" melee range) you will generally only be able to kill 6 wound or less models with no armor. First ap move strike push to within range of model you want dead (13" of first ap 9" if no push trigger from first swing). 2nd ap swing push to best preferred angle for escape 2-4 wounds (for me often works out to be moderate) third ap move, swing, push, then finish movement 13" away from target you wanted brought down additional 2-4 wounds caused. You can still hit a light heavy hitter model (say liluto) because your damage can still hit 6-8 wound range wreck just about any lesser model and end outside of base charge range of any model other than the razorspine rattler or lucas mccabe in the game (also to note duet can't be charged due to always in motion ability) key point however is to note that this is purely just base threat range some combo's of abilities and models can still reach you (ala dreamer drop, sword vik off the turnbuckle companion chain, kirai shikome swoop etc).

Cory kite: Generally speaking all but about 5-7 crews in the game cannot excede 18" of melee threat distance. So if you don't want to start spreading templates on turn two you can just single activate the coryphee and start whittling down models for a later turn burn down. With sublime sword dance, and use ss (0)'s up you can go 39" in a single activation with the coryphee. Each strike with push trigger gets you 13" of movement per ap. with 2 sword dances and a blinding you can go 33" in a turn. Or if any enemy models are all bunched up you can 13" of first ap then go another 8" (21'' all said in done in this way from orchestra cresendo'ing taking 4 wounds off non showgirl models with a 2" range adding to your base size of 50mm which is about 6" total if cory is in the middle of said group right away off 13" move/push from initial sword dance. Generally this (the cresendo kite) is what I do when I have eliminated threats to big three (paralyze users, high combat models, ss user's) to move into a attritioned crew to set up the coupe de gras. I will weaken enemies considerably (4wds non showgirls) and sit the duet to tank the hits and stop disengaging acts (paired combat 7 + use ss) from escaping. While I eventually bring the other two beauty's (cassie and colette) in to finish it off remaining models.

Well that's it for know but I will further update in a couple days for certain matchups and strategy interactions with this style colette crew. Take care folks and have a good day/night .

Edited October 29, 2012 by Odin1981

[sinistercats]

<thunderous applause>

Thanks Odin! Love to see more of your thoughts on the 'Girls!

[Odin1981]

Bows graciously. Thank you sir for the feedback motivates me to write up more odin wall of text .

[Odin1981]

Strats and schemes + certain master matchups update

Strats and schemes:

I'll go over this briefly because they really aren't that difficult or differant than a normal non aggresive colette crew. If you head over to pull my finger wiki. You will see the strats and stuff and a level of difficulty for each. This way of playing colette for the most part is the same as if you are not playing aggresive. However with this style there are a few differances.

Slaughter: If you play this style it isn't hard its easy. I think the problem most people have is they take this strategy too literally. In that I believe most people try to wipe everything off the board to win. If you read the strategy (single not shared) itself to get 4 points you need to do the following: have more ss cost killed than opponent 2vp. Have 1.5x the total of opponent 4vp. If shared you need: 1vp for more killed than given, 1vp additionally if total is 1.5 times what you give,1vp if no leaders our in game from opponent,if opponent has less than half his crew (in regards to ss cost) in the game last vp.

Singular slaughter is really easy and I won't delve much into it. Shared is 1/2 there crew dead (ss cost), their leaders, and 1.5 times what you give. With the hit and run style it is very easy to kill 1/2 their total. Certain leaders can be hard but can be easy. Also with the crews mobility it shouldn't be difficult to get in kill a couple models and get out with little to no retailiation. Often times in shared it can be almost assured that you score 3 vp's with this crew. The 4th the leader one is just matchup dependant (say like hamelin, kirai, viks + schill) it will be alot harder to do. However if you get a master without a henchmen it can be done fairly easily.

Also the other strat I feel changes if you play this style for the worse would be Line in the sand:

With this style it can be hard. You have to control mid board in addition to arming/diffusing. That is where I believe it is difficult for a aggressive colette playstyle. You will mainly have cassie and duet killing stuff establishing mid board control. So you will only have performer+ colette on arming duties. However sometimes it is just plain wise to switch a playstyle if you don't think you can accomplish something the way you start off to play.

Oh on a sidenote because I mentioned about pull site. If anyone wants to put the ideas presented in this tactica on it I have no problem with that at all I'd actually encourage it. However I didn't save this to my comp and it is rather massive so don't think I will repeat this personally anywhere else. Also I'm gonna go smoke but next post will be about master matchups.

---------- Post added at 06:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:57 PM ----------

Strats and schemes + certain master matchups update

Strats and schemes:

I'll go over this briefly because they really aren't that difficult or differant than a normal non aggresive colette crew. If you head over to pull my finger wiki. You will see the strats and stuff and a level of difficulty for each. This way of playing colette for the most part is the same as if you are not playing aggresive. However with this style there are a few differances.

Slaughter: If you play this style it isn't hard its easy. I think the problem most people have is they take this strategy too literally. In that I believe most people try to wipe everything off the board to win. If you read the strategy (single not shared) itself to get 4 points you need to do the following: have more ss cost killed than opponent 2vp. Have 1.5x the total of opponent 4vp. If shared you need: 1vp for more killed than given, 1vp additionally if total is 1.5 times what you give,1vp if no leaders our in game from opponent,if opponent has less than half his crew (in regards to ss cost) in the game last vp.

Singular slaughter is really easy and I won't delve much into it. Shared is 1/2 there crew dead (ss cost), their leaders, and 1.5 times what you give. With the hit and run style it is very easy to kill 1/2 their total. Certain leaders can be hard but can be easy. Also with the crews mobility it shouldn't be difficult to get in kill a couple models and get out with little to no retailiation. Often times in shared it can be almost assured that you score 3 vp's with this crew. The 4th the leader one is just matchup dependant (say like hamelin, kirai, viks + schill) it will be alot harder to do. However if you get a master without a henchmen it can be done fairly easily.

Also the other strat I feel changes if you play this style for the worse would be Line in the sand:

With this style it can be hard. You have to control mid board in addition to arming/diffusing. That is where I believe it is difficult for a aggressive colette playstyle. You will mainly have cassie and duet killing stuff establishing mid board control. So you will only have performer+ colette on arming duties. However sometimes it is just plain wise to switch a playstyle if you don't think you can accomplish something the way you start off to play.

Oh on a sidenote because I mentioned about pull site. If anyone wants to put the ideas presented in this tactica on it I have no problem with that at all I'd actually encourage it. However I didn't save this to my comp and it is rather massive so don't think I will repeat this personally anywhere else. Also I'm gonna go smoke but next post will be about master matchups.

Defense 8 Masters (ie Lilith, Perdita):

With them in this playstyle it is easier than most crews have of taking them down. Certain minions in each crew (santiago, executioner, mature, liluto) are obvious mannequin targets. Nino I have never really found to be hard to get rid off due to the mobility of cassie + duet. Granted ortega's where the first crew I played so too me they are easy for me to get around (lot of experiance using them). Lelu I normally don't worry about due to my mobilty and liluto normally being the first target I go after. He is a rather slow model if you kill his twin so she can't set him up with lure's.

With both crews I find that the master's are not quick to try to kill. I would always rather kill pivotal models that gel their lists before I make a run at them. Also I will point out that of the two (dita and lilith) lilith is much easier to focus down. When it comes down to burning the master down the key point to remember is not to attack their defense stat. Because of magicians duel being a ca resist this is often how you end them. The only time I actually will attack their defense is with the duet to put hypno trigger on them. After that is accomplished I will switch to their wp or ca (not wp with dita).

Dita has a cast of 7. Lilith has a cast of 5. This means because they have use ss that they are resisting magicians duels at a 5 or 3 respectively. If you put hypno on them they will be unable to cheat their resist total. So getting hits on them will be much easier than most crews have the option to. Also the duet due to paired 7 has a good chance of hitting them do to sharing the same stat that sword vik has in potentially hitting them (not a guarentee but a whole hell of a lot better than most).

Another point I will mention is when I make a run into either of them I often don't try to kill them first turn i go into them. I often put hypno on them and start casting magicians dueling them with cassie + colette. On the turn colette ports in she will be able to do 3 duels with reactivate. Cassie will be able to cast it once. So if you are lucky enough to have a decent hand 4+ 8 or higher cards after you hit them with duet you can get your spell totals to around the 14--16 range and they might be enticed to ss their resist flip depending on what they flipped on the minus resist. That is why I like to two turn approach them. Turn 1 coming in will be to waste the majority of their cache hoping to resist the flips so they are low on ss's and reserve them for defense rather than on offense. Turn two on the master burn down is when I go for the carotid artery against them. They will be low on ss's for defense/prevention and then I will spend a couple stones to cheat severe's in on the following turn.

Viks strats:

First as a sidenote this is now my favorite matchup now that dreamer has been errata'd. I'm a very adrenaline fueled type of personality and this matchup is a great roller coaster of emotion. Against a good vik player with them plus the hulkster plus a bookworm (freikorp liby) plus whatever else they added our just great games. No other matchup as the colette player will you ever have as much of a threat at losing one of the threesome. However because both crews can do mobility so well it really is a great cat and mouse dynamic that I just love.

The thing about this matchup that I really dig is between the two crews their are a bunch of high impact models on both sides. The key targets I go for first is the friekorps libby to get rid of their heal to full mechanic he provides. Then I go for the student+ vik he is closest to. Also because of the threat potentials around I will often try to start the piece trade off with leaving cassie in range of the viks to drop on her. With southern charm up she can survive a sword vik charge+ 2 swings. It is pretty much a 50/50 if she will. Its not great (only a coin flip) but she will require sword vik to spend atleast 2 if not 3 ss's on her to bring her down. When she goes down (usually within 1-2 activations of sword vik) I try to have the duet/colette near to retailiate against to kill the sword vik. One point to mention is if they bring a ronin to make sure you kill it/them before you go vik hunting so they don't get to bring her back via the another one spell.

I often ignore the hulkster in this matchup due too his armor making blasts, pulses, and aura's useless and super flight makes him unlikely to tie down for any length of time. He would be the last model I'd go at and it would be after hypno put on blinding for paralyze so he can't heal flip (or do anything really) on slow to die. The main positive of the matchup is on the first 1-2 positioning turns is we generally have the advantage of outactivating the viks crew. So you can wait their activations out before you make a move in on whatever piece you want.

Well that's it for now I'm tired of typing so I'll be back in a day or two to put down more master strats I use. Also feel free to chime in if any of you want a specific matchup done first.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Odin1981

[sinistercats]

Strats and schemes + certain master matchups update

Well that's it for now I'm tired of typing so I'll be back in a day or two to put down more master strats I use. Also feel free to chime in if any of you want a specific matchup done first.

Great stuff odin! Keep it up. How about Nico and Levi? Thoughts on them?

[Odin1981]

I'll add them next up with dreamer as well when I have the time to put up more wall of text. Been busy with real life stuff as of late but Ishould be able to jot some stuff down monday or tuesday.

[Omenbringer]

This is a very well done tactica Odin and reinforces a lot of things that I have thought about Colette and her crew for a very long time (Not sure how this managed to slip under my radar for so long).

[Odin1981]

On levi :

Leveticus to me is a easy matchup due to our mobility + the stuff he has to do to draw cards. Often you can just let him kill himself for you and launch duet+ cassie at waifs. It is fairly common for a dead rider to be played with levi and he is in my humble opinion the perfect text book manne replace target. Colludi I usually counter with duet kiting down his mobility with orchestra cresendo's to kill his dolls.

The only really tricky thing with him is to keep colette out of range of him due to being able to gib her with no slow to die reaction. I often will activate cassie first to tank him with southern charm up and let him try to make a run at her. I also generally just bank on our mobility to skirt around where needed and then focus down what the opponent gives me.

Nicodem:

Nico is a bit tricky. Nico I will generally just play a get vp's and stick them on a scheme or 1/2 strategy. With him if you go after him/his crew is very initiative dependant. He is kinda like peeling a onion in this respect. In that the outer layer of what would be his bolster aura I would take down and hit and run away. As the game progresses and hopefully his crew gets smaller I would then think to run in on him with a duet cassie companion. However due to his crew's slow methodical nature I often find it is better to grab up vp's and wait to see what to stick him on to win. One point with book 4 stuff out is there is now a tie (use to solely be stitched together) for cheapest models I am willing to manne currently due to chiaki the flute chick being out eventually. I really don't want to paraylize something or have 2-4 newly summoned punk zombies losing slow.

Sorry for the delay in this posting real life keep me busy with stuff. I'll do dreamer + whatever later depending on what people want to hear my strats for this playstyle on.

[Odin1981]

Damn I'm gonna have to rewrite this sometime in the coming months . Hope the girls playstyle doesn't change/warp too much.