McCabe as Ten Thunders

[Alviaran]

So, for our latest league, I've been playing my Ten Thunders solely. McCabe arrived and I put him on the table with his box (in league right now, we are using the boxes to start, though I was allowed to drop Luna so I got some stones back. Next week I only have to use a portion of the box).

I have access to all Ten Thunders currently out. The only Guild models I have currently that McCabe can hire are the Riflemen.

First off, are there any other Guild models McCabe benefits greatly from as a Ten Thunders master?

Second, is Luna good for anything? I look at her on paper and I see a model who can be useful in Guild for the Hounds. In Ten Thunders, I see a rare Magical Extension and more likely a dog bite now and then. The problem for me is, 3 stones seems a bit much for what she brings to me.

Lastly, what relics? It's VERY tempting to go heavy on them. In the one game I played, I took Hunter's Cloak, Invigorating Bridle and Strangemetal Shirt. The Bridle and Shirt were amazing. I tanked like a boss. The Hunter let me get off some early shots (including hitting a Stolen behind a wall and dropping the slow marker over Hamelin, another Stolen and a Rat that were hiding behind a wall. However, since he got stuck into combat for so long, I was really wishing I had taken the Glowing Saber. It's six stones for all these goodies, but I am very tempted to do so.

[FearLord]

You know Luna is significant right? The cheapest significant model in Ten Thunders... I would also happily use Magical Extension with her as often as I could - McCabe isn't much better at casting them and it means he can achieve more during his activation...

As for Guild models, the Pathfinder will be a great choice once he's released, and Austringers have lots of Potential, but I'm not convinced much is strictly needed. If Guild Kennels worked for him as Ten Thunders, I'd take a few Hounds, but as is I'd probably take 1 max, to speed Luna up...

The temptation certainly is to take lots of Relics, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's a question of getting comfortable with how many stones he needs and what you want him to achieve in a game...

[nix]

I would echo Fearlord in pointing out that Luna is significant. While she does not seem like all that to me either, I certainly see some uses for her.

I actually like her with hounds, as they are damn cheap objective grabbers and very fast. In a game where the strategy is objective based and speed will help (Plant Evidence, Destroy Evidence, etc) I think 3 hounds, Luna, and a wastrel would be a great choice. I also like the idea of 1 hound to pair with Luna when facing Resser's or Ramos. They can bury the corpse counters and scrap counters, which can be very nice for McCabe.

Past hounds, I think austringers would replace riflemen in certain scenarios. It would be based purely on terrain set-up for which is the better choice to take. Also consider Wardens, which are fantastic at 5 points each.

[FearLord]

I thought about the warden as well, but wasn't convinced I'd use it that much for McCabe because of the overlap with his abilities (paralyse), but they are good for the soul stone cost, there's no denying it...

If people aren't thrilled with Luna, there's always the option of the Drill Sarge instead - he can get rid of paralysed which combos nicely with the Wastrel's 'Reload, Twice' trigger...

Other than that though, I'd probably be more tempted to bring Ten Thunder models - Torakage are always useful, and a Ten Thunders Brother may be worth it depending on how Black Sheep heavy your list is. Archers are at least as good as the ranged options available from the Guild models McCabe can take and one paired with an Austringer would be a nasty shooting force...

Yamaziko and Kang are both always decent additions in my experience (especially when Wastrel's low Wp is factored in!). Ototo can add to the models that cause slow and can provide that tough melee centre that McCabe's core crew lacks. Yin has some nasty synergy with Baying of the Hounds...

[decker_cky]

I thought about the warden as well, but wasn't convinced I'd use it that much for McCabe because of the overlap with his abilities (paralyse), but they are good for the soul stone cost, there's no denying it...

I was just thinking of McCabe + Wardens recently. I don't think there's an issue with them overlapping on paralyze. I'd say that having lots of models that can paralyze is a great thing to have around.

I think the overlap is more with the role of wardens and with wastrels, who are speedy generalists who get to objectives and don't eat your hand for their speed. Wastrels also can get pulled along by McCabe. I was thinking that a pair of Wardens with an attached drill sergeant would be a very decent threat that can operate independently.