Zoraida with Collodi

[graeme27uk]

Any hints / tips for using these two together?

[Chookie]

I like to summon wicked dolls with Z and teleport them to Collodi. With his puppet show aura, they loose slow, so can make a couple actions once they get there.

[Hateful Darkblack]

I love this combo!

I usually play a list something like this:

25 soulstone version

Zoraida - 5ss

plus Avatar - 2

Collodi - 8

Marionette x 4 - 8

Arcane Effigy - 4

Wicked Doll - 3

If I'm playing more soulstones, I'll generally add one or two Stitched Together or a Jack Daw.

Collodi can zip all around the board, and the Marionettes and Wicked Dolls can catch up with him instantly. They accomplish all your speed objectives (this works nicely with Reclaim Malifaux.) Zoraida does her Zoraida trick (stand up somewhere and make a Voodoo Doll, then Obey and make trouble), or she can create more Wicked Dolls that jump up and support Collodi in a fight.

Once Zoraida manifests, she can get a crazy number of damaging spells off (With Arcane Effigy, she can do 5 in a round). She also gathers huge numbers of cards, which helps if Jack Daw is in the hizouse.

The only thing to remember is to keep Collodi within Zoraida's sight so she can make a Voodoo Doll of the enemy when they engage Collodi. Zoraida doesn't want to use Raven in this circumstance, because she wants to use her (0) actions to cast Crystal Ball so that she can Manifest more quickly.

Hope this helps!

[Lord Shaper]

Even though I've been playing Zoraida and Collodi a lot of late I still find that I end up doing everything with Collodi and Zoraida is for the occasional Obey and to make a Wicked Doll a turn.

My standard Crew looks something like this:

Neverborn Crew - 35 - Scrap

Zoraida, the Hag -- 8 Pool

Collodi [8ss]

Marionette [2ss]

Marionette [2ss]

Marionette [2ss]

Marionette [2ss]

Stitched Together [5ss]

Stitched Together [5ss]

Wicked Doll [3ss]

Wicked Doll [3ss]

I have been tempted to drop the 2 Wicked Dolls and take an effigy or 2 and you can also drop them for a 3rd stitched.

The last thing I've been doing with the crew in theory is taking a Doppleganger so you can get people out of situations for the forcing of the neg initiative flip and giving a second obey.

This is how it seems to be coming together in my mind atm...

Neverborn Crew - 35 - Scrap

Zoraida, the Hag -- 6 Pool

+ Zoraida, Avatar of Fate [2ss]

Collodi [8ss]

Brutal Effigy [4ss]

Carrion Effigy [4ss]

Doppelganger [8ss]

Marionette [2ss]

Marionette [2ss]

Marionette [2ss]

Marionette [2ss]

I can give or take the Avatar but I haven't played with her yet.

When you loose your marionettes is when you start to have issues due to the slowing down of Collodi. You can always do the Wicked Doll Teleport and get them attacking and being a buffer before people can get Collodi.

[EnternalVoid]

For your second list I would question the use of the two effigies. Sure they are not bad but in this sort of list I think their might be some better use of points. Between the two it is 8 points, for those 8 points you can get a Stitched Together to go with the Doppleganger. A Doppelganger and stitched Together under Zoraida can be nasty as it can mimic Zoraida's Wp and the Stitched Together's Gamble your Life. It can also take the Voodoo Doll's defense and Proper Manners or the Stitched Together's Does Not Die on approach to help it survive the approach.

This would leave you 3 points from dropping the two, thus 4 ss left for crew. At this point I myself would consider two options. The first is pick up an Insidious Madness, the other is pick up Insidious Madness and drop the avatar. Either way you get another fast model that can get to objectives if they try to bog down Collodi. With its attack it can also strip the protection from Obey and Hex from an enemy for a turn. With the Doppleganger, Stitched Together, and it you can really deny your opponent options on schemes as each can potentially deny *Doppleganger can copy does not Die and Madness can sack itself for initiative*. Also if the Doppleganger gets away from Zoriada and her Voodoo Doll she can copy some combination from the Madness and Stitched Together and still be decently safe.

As for the avatar, it is up to you. I have not messed with it either yet so I would likely take the 2 extra cash or if I take it if I really wanted to test it out.

[Eyclonus]

I have pretty much a similar question regarding Zoraida and Collodi, I would have started a new thread but its neater to post it here.

Responding to the OP:

My experience with Malifaux is non-existent, however after reading a lot of pullmyfinger, the stats from both books and having a lot of experience across tabletop games, Z+C (provided C's got the Marionettes) gives you a wide spread control approach. Collodi can move very fast and pull the dolls along allowing him to act as a roving presence, threatening across multiple objectives. Zoraida's abilities allow her to perch herself somewhere, say an isolated objective, but with a good view, and effectively create a no-go zone with her Obey spell forcing you're opponent to either commit Immune models, or a fast solo. Sending multiple low mobility models without immune is a weak choice because Obey will cause attrition damage and it means committing a lot to dealing with one model whilst Collodi and Co can roam and either intercept or wipe out loners, not to mention Raven allows Zoraida to reposition for kiting douchebaggery. I can see the quantity based crews being a little surer in countering this approach of forcing a board wide split, and crews with a lot of force mobility (Dreamer, Pandora or Collodi) or ranged firepower (I'm guessing Guild, especially Ortegas and anything else built for long range shooting) can handle it better, but considering this is Malifaux, any game where the devs consider game balance to be a good thing, there are no 100% perfect strategies.

My own question is:

Having got Collodi's Boxset and Zoraida, what is a good way to expand to 35ss?

My own thoughts were to get either a Nurse and 2 Desperate Mercs or just 1 Desperate merc and pay for Zoraida's Avatar. But that doesn't feel so safe due to the fact that other crews can now take heavy hitters plus a decent crew, while I have either 3 models that work as a weaker sub-unit or just a tag-team that can do 1 turn of high damage and the possibility of making Zoraida into a stronger form.

My guess is that 35ss I need something that can take and give a lot of damage or provide some kind of defensive buff for the whole crew (Stitched Together can do this, but not sure on overall cost-performance trade-off)?

[Ozz]

Stitched are considered one of the better models for their points in the game for what they do, though can take up cards if you are not wanting them to be taking damage from them self just yet. For Zoraida, to me her avatar is just Zoraida with card drawing and damage and so is basically auto include for me (not used her much but i see no reason why you dont want to take her) If i ever get the colodi box set id be tempted to try something like:

35 Stones

Zoraida - 6 stones

Avatar - 2

Collodi - 8

4x Marionettes - 8

Generic big hitter, for me a mature neph probably - 10

and a convict gunslinger - 6

Gives you objectives/death by a thousand cuts with Collodi, Z can make new dolls every turn for Zoraida, if she does not need her own making or her actions for something else like damage or manifesting ect. Some ranged support, which the voodoo doll can cast obey on from near Zoraida, and a big beat stick, and a distraction from having to deal with Collodi and his dolls. Does not have full stones but 6 isn't bad still imo? Or drop a marionette, make a doll, use it, kill it with mele expert off the mature, let Collodi make a 4th out of the dead doll, then run off afterwards, and make a new one the next turn and start it all up then.