Totems, Totems, Totems... which ones to buy?

[dunce002917]

Hey fellow Guild Masters,

I'm dropping in to my LGS tomorrow and I might squeeze in $20-$25 from my budget to get a Totem or two (maybe 3 if I'm lucky).

So my question is, which 2 Totems would you buy as a beginner Malifaux player?

Which 2 Totems are the most useful and worth their soul stones?

just some info:

I have all the Guild Master crew boxes and even have the Lucius Henchman box (unbuilt, primed and ready to paint). My minions aside from the crew boxes are the Executioner, 2 Austringers, 2 Desperate Mercs and 4 Guild Hounds.

I have yet to play Perdita... I enjoyed C. Hoffman and would need a few more games with Lady J and Sonnia.

So far, my top 2 Totems are:

1. Drill Sergeant - I like the "On Yer Feet!" and "Attennn-Hut" spells to deal with Slow and Paralyzed.

2. Student of Conflict - I like the "Assist" action to gain Fast and "Combined Efforts" to lose insignificant

a close #3 is either Mobile Toolkit or the Mechanical Attendant - Which one is better for Hoffman?

I'm currently not even considering the Governor's Proxy but if you can change my mind, I might get him too.

So what do you guys think? Please give reasons why I should get your suggested totem.

I'll keep checking the feedback and hopefully you guys can help me pick a good starter Totem (or 2 or 3).

[cerealkiller195]

Unless you are going to avatar Perdita, enslaved nephilim all the way. I dont see a scenario where an obey is NOT going to help you out.

Student of conflict can be used by all masters and who doesn't like fast?

I personally like Governor's proxy pairing him up with Lucius from an extra "issue command" as well as boosting WP when needed. Sometimes i use the proxy purely to annoy opponents by running him into combat and watching them kill him then its WP vs WP or the model dies!

[Guild Monkee]

Enslaved neph for the extra obey is great. Student is great but costly out of faction.

[Headcase2]

It really depends on the master you find yourself playing with most:

>Justice: I nearly always play her with Scales (card advantage ftw)

>Perdita: nearly always with a Neph (reduced :masks dependency)

>Sonnia: can't recall when I last took a totem with her - I love the PF model though

>Hoffman: no totems - waste of points

>Lucius: I rarely play him (boring as hell), but when I do I usually take a Drill Sergeant along

>And the Student of Conflict: just too expensive, in my opinion only good in defensive strategies because he needs an (All) action to make something fast. Unless you play Slingshot of course, but that forces you to play Lucius as well and will usually eat up about half of your SS allowance (not counting the stuff you're launching forward).

tldr; My votes go to Scales and the Nephilim.

[dunce002917]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the votes and replies.. unfortunately, my LGS does not have the Enslaved Nephilim and Student of Conflict models. They did have the Drill Sergeant but my Perdita encounter earlier made me rethink the Enslaved Nephilim. Even though I did not cast OBEY, I think I would have used that spell to pull my shenanigans against a Zoraida-Collodi combo...

I'll probably do my orders online then.. so keep giving me tips and votes... So far, the top two are close to my next purchase.

[WindlordRyu]

Drill Sergeant and Enslaved Nephilim. I would pick a Brutal Effigy over the other ones.

[TimeLapse]

lol how do the scales win out over the govs proxy for lady j? gov has 5 rams CA and better ablities yeah he might not be the best vs lists that have alot of terror models but he is a fantastic model that works for all the guild.

In lady j list he is perfect to cast her spells and do his other things... so worth his 2 points

[dunce002917]

Drill Sergeant and Enslaved Nephilim. I would pick a Brutal Effigy over the other ones.

Yeah, with my game earlier, i was wishing i already had the Brutal Effigy.. I sure could have used his healing spell and then let the poisoned minions shrug off effects... I keep forgeting that..

---------- Post added at 07:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 PM ----------

lol how do the scales win out over the govs proxy for lady j? gov has 5 rams CA and better ablities yeah he might not be the best vs lists that have alot of terror models but he is a fantastic model that works for all the guild.

In lady j list he is perfect to cast her spells and do his other things... so worth his 2 points

Ok, i get that the Gov Proxy would win out because the other master can use him.. But I'm still wary of losing minions if they fail the WP duel.. Does Immune to Influence cancel this out?

I got a hard lesson learned earlier when Zoraida cast her Bewitched spell on Perdita.. So for an activation I was bot using control cards until another Perdita player reminded me of Immune to Influence..

[TimeLapse]

Yeah, with my game earlier, i was wishing i already had the Brutal Effigy.. I sure could have used his healing spell and then let the poisoned minions shrug off effects... I keep forgeting that..

---------- Post added at 07:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 PM ----------

Ok, i get that the Gov Proxy would win out because the other master can use him.. But I'm still wary of losing minions if they fail the WP duel.. Does Immune to Influence cancel this out?

I got a hard lesson learned earlier when Zoraida cast her Bewitched spell on Perdita.. So for an activation I was bot using control cards until another Perdita player reminded me of Immune to Influence..

Keep in mind that not all will power duels are not always a moral duels, only moral deuls is a moral duel. So the govs proxy will only kill on a moral duel not on a WP duel, i do not know if that is what you ment but it makes the Governor's proxy that much better since moral duels are alot more rare then wp duels.

Also with family models the proxy gives them WP around 10 for the most of them and since most terror causing moral duels are at 11-13 so a 3+ needed to pass seems like a low risk. If you are worried that they may fail then move the proxy out of line of sight. Also scales have a CA of 3Rams and the Gov has CA of 5 rams so he can cast Lady Js spells just as well as she can. I love using the proxy to cast Combat Prowess.

For lady J the gov's proxy is the best choice, for perdita if you have alot of non-moral WP tests then the gov's proxy will make most of your models pass without issue. Take that sticthed togethers! gamble this WP 10 models life!

Sonnia its the SoC all the way.

Hoffman, the proxy is an intresting choice but he relly does not need a totem so the choice is more about side effects. Though it is funny when the attendent or the gov's proxy casts Open Circuit and do 2-5 AoE dg. But in a hoffman army the gov is not that important.

but the scales in my mind always lose when chooseing between it and the gov. I really dont see any way where i wouold take the scales ever, when the govs proxy is an choice.

[Headcase2]

I think we disagree on the importance of the (0) Balance action. Cycling a card is a great ability, and well worth 2 points in my opinion. The Scales do have a slightly harder time casting Combat Prowess or Blind Justice, but unless I'm absolutely certain I won't be playing Pandora or aSeamus I won't take a Proxy. I've seen Pandora wipe out entire crews because of this... hey, you get +2 Wp, but she starts at Ca 7 with Use Soulstone... And there are many more models that cause your living crews headaches (Howl-Roar anyone?).

@ Hoffman + Proxy: Most of your crew will be Immune to Influence, so why waste the points on a Proxy that most likely won't be casting any of your sells anyway?

As for Family models: Stubborn doesn't work vs. terrifying (no defender in a terrifying duel).

As for Sonia and the Student of Conflict: that's a 4-point model you're blowing up when you manifest... so unless you're not playing the avatar it's a bit of a waste if you ask me.

[Requirement]

Governor's Proxy and Drill Sergeant are both good options as they can be taken by any master. I prefer the Drill Sergeant as he gives very nice combat boosts to either a non-master he is linked to or Guardsman in an all action aura range. He can make the Austringers a pretty decent threat.

I am in agreement with just about everyone else, Sonnia and Hoffman don't really need totems, Hoffman especially. Sonnia can benefit from a totem, but I have found it is almost entirely for crew buffs.

I would say Drill Sergeant and Student of Conflict.

[Iron Skies]

I'm going to throw the opposite view with Hoffman here. Having his Totem has been a game saver a few times. Allowing him to ignore feedback when a construct is killed to avoid the wound he would take. Also an extra heal if needed or another bout of open circuit.

[dunce002917]

Hmm... so far, it seems like Hoffman does need a totem.. except for the situation Iron Skies mentioned.

It looks like I'll be bringing a Totem for Perdita and taking the Drill Sergeant.

Student is still a distant 3rd and I'm reconsidering the Governor's Proxy... great job guys..

[TimeLapse]

I'm going to throw the opposite view with Hoffman here. Having his Totem has been a game saver a few times. Allowing him to ignore feedback when a construct is killed to avoid the wound he would take. Also an extra heal if needed or another bout of open circuit.

I totally agree with you, I thought I was the only one who used his totem over his tool kit. Its cheaper looks a lot cooler, has a good gun on it, can net you extra scrap counters, use Hoffman skill to heal, is significant and it can do the things you talked about.

Where as everyone else seems to think that a 4ss toolkit that can heal and sticks to Hoffman’s side for the fast drain is better than his own that can do so much more. I always end up using a watcher to drain for my fast since there damage output is small and it can get by with one AP.

Also did I say that the Attendant is one of the best looking totems in my mind? I just love it; after I painted it I never stopped using him.

Edited April 26, 2012 by TimeLapse
spelling

[dunce002917]

I totally agree with you, I thought I was the only one who used his totem over his tool kit. Its cheaper looks a lot cooler, has a good gun on it, can net you extra scrap counters, use Hoffman skill to heal, is significant and it can do the things you talked about.

Where as everyone else seems to think that a 4ss toolkit that can heal and sticks to Hoffman’s side for the fast drain is better than his own that can do so much more. I always end up using a watcher to drain for my fast since there damage output is small and it can get by with one AP.

Also did I say that the Attendant is one of the best looking totems in my mind? I just love it; after I painted it I never stopped using him.

Thanks TimeLapse. It does seem that the Toolkit is more popular compared to the Attendant. I'm leaning towards Hoffman's own totem since it's in faction and has the Mauser 9... Sever damage can do more damage... not bad.

Hopefully, I can get a game or two and perhaps I can play Lady J, Hoffman or Sonnia. We'll see... and hopefully the LGS would have the totems in stock.

[TimeLapse]

Thanks TimeLapse. It does seem that the Toolkit is more popular compared to the Attendant. I'm leaning towards Hoffman's own totem since it's in faction and has the Mauser 9... Sever damage can do more damage... not bad.

Hopefully, I can get a game or two and perhaps I can play Lady J, Hoffman or Sonnia. We'll see... and hopefully the LGS would have the totems in stock.

Yeah i like the Mauser too makes him a mini Ryle and it makes sever damage into mini red jokers i mean how can you not like it.

[GoodPhule]

I like the idea of both of Hoffman's totems but find the ability of the Mobile Toolkit to stick to the Hoff makes it preferable.

I love the idea of the Attendant but it seems too slow to keep up - how do other people manage to make it work?

With Lady J I am finding the Brutal Effigy preferable to running a totem and the model s awesome!

[dunce002917]

I like the idea of both of Hoffman's totems but find the ability of the Mobile Toolkit to stick to the Hoff makes it preferable.

I love the idea of the Attendant but it seems too slow to keep up - how do other people manage to make it work?

With Lady J I am finding the Brutal Effigy preferable to running a totem and the model s awesome!

I agree, I think the Brutal Effigy is worth the extra 2 ss with Lady Justice over the Scales...

as for the Toolkit vs. Attendant, I'm waiting for more players to chime in.

[Cadilon]

This has been discussed at more length in another post, but in short my vote is for the toolbox.

[dunce002917]

This has been discussed at more length in another post, but in short my vote is for the toolbox.

cool, thanks. I'll look into it..

[nilus]

As for Sonia and the Student of Conflict: that's a 4-point model you're blowing up when you manifest... so unless you're not playing the avatar it's a bit of a waste if you ask me.

Unless you turn it into a Stalker. Then you at least get another 4 point model

[dunce002917]

This has been discussed at more length in another post, but in short my vote is for the toolbox.

I tried looking for the other post but found multiple links that did not even have anything to do with Hoffman.

Is there a way for you to link to the post you mentioned about the Mobile Toolkit?

[Cadilon]

I was afraid you'd ask that. I'll have to try to search for it as well.

[dunce002917]

I was afraid you'd ask that. I'll have to try to search for it as well.

LOL

well, two heads are better than one.

[Cadilon]

Found it! Check out this LINK.

I also found a good discussion HERE. Totem discussion is more towards the end, but the entire thread is good.