Filling out a McMourning crew

[Mattyjudo]

Hi guys

Want to pick up a second crew (damn this game is addictive lol) and have decided to give McMourning a go as he seems fun to play. Have read his PMF entry and a few threads on here which has been a great help, but still having a bit of trouble rounding out a decent 35ss (standard size at my club) list. So far I'm thinking:

- McMourning

- Zombie Chihuahua

- Sebastian

- Nurse

- Necropunks x3

- Canine Remains x2

This would still leave me 10 stones available. How would you suggest spending them? To me it seems like I need something with a bit of bite so I'm considering Bette Noir, Dead Rider, 2 Punk Zombies or (little bit more left field) a Rotten Belle and a Crooked Man. Very willing to consider other options though. Will be mainly playing against Guild if that matters at all.

Thanks in advance

Matty

PS I know this isn't really how list building works in Malifaux but I just want a nice 'general purpose' crew to get a feel for the Doc before I invest in more options for him

Edited April 5, 2013 by Mattyjudo

[Agreen53]

Izamu is a great model. He is difficult to kill especially when you have 2 models capable of healing him.

McTavish is a very good model with the nurse as you can massive dose him to give reactivate an fire 6 shots in a turn and dispel the sacrifice effect.

Convict gunslinger is a great model to add for some ranged attack as that is what most mcmourning crews are missing.

---------- Post added at 08:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:19 AM ----------

I would avoid the punk zombies as they are usually killed before they ever get into melee. All the other models you mentioned are very good options.

[Jewomie]

Well, i suppose i'll throw in my 2 cents here. =]

I am a big fan of the Doctor. I ran him quite a bit until i got my hands on Yan Lo, and i am already missing "scalpel slingin".

I don't really have typical lists with most of my masters, but there is a large group of models i always keep close by because they make a heavy rotation in my crew.

Punk Zombies are great for me. I've never had a complaint with them to be honest. Even playing against really shooty crews like Friekorps and guild i find they survive just fine as long as you are careful about positioning. Don't just charge them headlong into bullet traffic. Nothing will last long in that environment.

A single Rotten Belle comes along a lot too. Usually i keep her close to the punk and lure stuff into his range. this is nice because they work together as a unit and i can usually just have them pick off the weaker troops off to one side while my heavy hitters distract the rest of the bunch.

When i play McMourning i do very little summoning, so i am not a fan of the "swarm of doggies to kill on turn one" type of lists. However, i do try to keep one or two around for that extra body part when i really need it. The totem is almost better for this as he is only 1ss.

Ashigaru are great 4ss models, i don't see why they wouldn't work with McMourning, but i haven't tried this yet. I love them with Yan Lo though. The only setback i see would be the +1cb they get for being near an ancestor. You might not get that unless you took one of the ancestors as well.

Necropunks are good, though i have become a bigger fan of the night terrors. they certainly aren't so "fluffy" with McMourning, but they are faster and have spirit so they survive a bit longer, making them better objective grabbers (in my opinion) though there is nothing wrong with the necropunks. =]

Bette Noir and the Dead Rider are both great. I adore them. i would take the dead rider if you want to save the higher crow cards for summoning with McMourning, as Bette needs a decent card (10 or better i think) to bury herself when she dies so you don't lose her. I am a bigger fan of the dead rider, but that is more of an asthetics thing. he's just awesome to me.

I will second the use of the convict gunslinger. He is great in any list he works his way into. And Izamu has impressed me to the point where i am going out of my way to not hire him every time due to a slight feeling of guilt when he destroys stuff so easily.

There are several combos with the nurse that people seem to enjoy. I have never really gotten mine to impress, but i recommend trying it anyway. see for yourself and you might make her work.

Good Luck!!

[Stepfan]

I've found Molly amazing with McMourning if only for Terrible Secret so he almost always hits and is harder to hit back if it lives. A movement buff isn't bad either.

Starting with a Flesh Construct on the field can also be a great idea, and you'll need at least one to summon anyways. You'll also want a Rouge Necromancy to summon at some point.

[Mattyjudo]

Big thanks peeps, this is all very helpful. Have to admit I'd never even considered Molly . . . definitely some food for thought there. McTavish is an interesting idea too, especially as I already own the model.

[Jewomie]

ah,i am a big supporter of Molly as well. I can't believe i left her off my post.

For shame!

[Agreen53]

I may catch some heat for the recommedation but you may consider having guild autopsies handy also. The reason I suggest this is that the doctor can summon them and they can be good surprises late game for the win. I have won more than one game simply due to them being able to interact with objectives and the fact that they are significant models. They can lay down the hurt too, as I was able to blow up an ashigaru with one, because they get an auto plus flip when doing damage with their gun.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Agreen53

[Jewomie]

i love them. i keep two in my case at all times just for the late game summon reason. They will save your butt on turn 5 and 6 with shared claim jump!

However, i never ever ever hire them. lol.

[Blog]

First off, ditch the nurses and dogs. Both are useless.

When building a McM crew, you want to exploit his mobility, ss cache and damage output. The best minions to take with him are the 3ss-5ss models. That way you get lots of models to out activate your opponent and McM gets to do his thing with 8ss.

[Gruesome]

I think the dogs are great. (And make out-activating your opponent very very easy)

With his avatar, I also happen to think there is a use for a nurse. But agree that for general use, the other models are far more useful.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Gruesome

[Jewomie]

While picking up a hoard of cheap minions for out activating and putting all the weight on Mcmourning's shoulders is not a bad way to go about it, it does leave you in a bit of a tight spot if McMourning gets overwhelmed and leaves you with nothing that can pick up the slack.

It would work but you would have to make sure you had either a back up plan, or were really careful about making sure McMourning always had an escape route.

[Gruesome]

While picking up a hoard of cheap minions for out activating and putting all the weight on Mcmourning's shoulders is not a bad way to go about it, it does leave you in a bit of a tight spot if McMourning gets overwhelmed and leaves you with nothing that can pick up the slack.

That's one of the great things about dogs. You can take FIVE and still have PLENTY of points for beef!

I like Dead Rider for dragging a wayward enemy close to McMourning to chop it up. By having the dogs activate first, you pretty much get your pick of models for the Rider to bring back to you.

[Jewomie]

That's one of the great things about dogs. You can take FIVE and still have PLENTY of points for beef!

I like Dead Rider for dragging a wayward enemy close to McMourning to chop it up. By having the dogs activate first, you pretty much get your pick of models for the Rider to bring back to you.

very true. and i love the dead rider!

[Agreen53]

I like dogs with most resser masters (not Kirai) for objective grabbing, speed, and debuffs. They can reduce wp on a trigger and two dogs reduce df when in melee with one target.

[Mattyjudo]

I liked the idea of the nurse dosing up the dogs. Is this tactic not as valid as it seems?

[SoulG]

My Standard All-Comers McM crew is McMourning, Chihuahua, Von Schill, Grave Spirit, Dead Rider, Canine Remains, The Drowned x3. I don't have Izamu, but that might make a great replacement for Dead Rider. Have 2 Flesh Constructs and a Rogue Necromancy on backup for summoning.

Notably, All-Comers Crews are a starting point from which you adapt based on Strategy.

[Gruesome]

I liked the idea of the nurse dosing up the dogs. Is this tactic not as valid as it seems?

Well.... I have never tried it, but I would say that I like having corpses around when the dogs die rather than them getting sac'ed.

I think that many people will immediately say that nurses are horrible and you should never take them.

I would word it more like this... I have never really gotten nurses to do things that make me feel they were worth the points, so I very seldom take them unless they have a very specific purpose. (I like one with McMourning Avatar sometimes)

I would also say that there is always the possibility that most people have simply not figured out a great way of using them and if you already own them do not let a forum talk you out of seeing for yourself.

Everything here is an OPINION. My post as well as others. Everyone plays different and in different environments.

Imagine if you could be the person that taught others a great use for the nurse.

(Then you should tell ONLY me what the use was... )

[OldManMyke]

Personally Im not a big fan of taking Von Schill as he will just chew through the same soulstones that McM needs when the big nasties come calling on him

Nurses are interesting with Izamu, especially in things like Lne in the Sand where you can put him in the middle of two markers to protect both - the +2 DF is especially nice.

Suprisingly perhaps, Molly can be very very effective in Beatdown

[Joel]

nurse and bert jebsen. With McM avatar. Makes the most of the nurse tricks if you want to make the most of her.

[The Godlyness]

nurse and bert jebsen. With McM avatar. Makes the most of the nurse tricks if you want to make the most of her.

its my new favorite thing to do.

[HtUnliving]

Atleast two people in the topic mentioned McTavish... Are you sure you didn't mix McTavish the crocodile man and Sue the guitarist cowboy? The latter is better imo and works just as well with Nurses.

But on topic: if you don't want the dogs as objective takers, Necropunks are awesome. Haven't played McM yet but maybe planning to, so I would also want advice here, thanks. How about taking Molly/von Schill and attach a Necrotic Machine on it, making McM Undead for Teki o Juden from Toshiro? He could be good too.

Edited April 19, 2013 by HtUnliving

[Yancke]

Wouldnt a nurse be good vs Lady J ? Since she will gib canines, and prevent them from creating corpse counters, just dose them up and attack her. She doesnt deal that well with damage. So it seems like a good trade. I only ask, since im new and have an upcoming Mcmourning vs Lady J that i have to play.

[Huang Da Wei]

Lady J is very tough to play against, she kills most things. Come to think of it I dont think I have ever beaten her, so dont listen too much to me

Necropunks are very nice, tough and cheap and very mobile. Maybe a few dogs for bits.

Crooked men, hell yeah. blast markers and the possibility of paralising.

And punk zombies, even if they die they get that final slap in.

Just remember where your VPs are, you may be able to win the game without even engaging the enemy.

[SilverBullet]

Atleast two people in the topic mentioned McTavish... Are you sure you didn't mix McTavish the crocodile man and Sue the guitarist cowboy? The latter is better imo and works just as well with Nurses.

But on topic: if you don't want the dogs as objective takers, Necropunks are awesome. Haven't played McM yet but maybe planning to, so I would also want advice here, thanks. How about taking Molly/von Schill and attach a Necrotic Machine on it, making McM Undead for Teki o Juden from Toshiro? He could be good too.

Wouldn't work unfortunately. Assuming I remember correctly the Necrotic Machines ability to turn a model undead is for non master models only. Otherwise my grave spirit model would be superglued to McM.

On topic, with McM I always tend to have the 8ss cache, of which I generally turn 2 into body parts; this is not to help in summoning, but for turn 1 and 2 fast to really get going.

Drowned, Dogs, Belles, Ashigaru (a new favourite of mine) and night terrors all make good buys which, together with the summoned flesh constructs and rogue necros can hold their own. Chuck in a dead rider and you are generally golden. I find McM to be similar to Zoraida for crew selection - he generally complements any crew you throw at him.

A lists which I have been toying with recently (not necessarily advice for you but just for fun) is McM, Molly, Izamu, Dead Rider, Dog, Grave Spirit, Grave Spirit - a bit of a force to be reckoned with, armour +2 on both Izamu and Dead Rider, +3 movement Izamu would be horrifying and I love the idea of a movement 8 fast scalpal slinging McMourning.....

[HtUnliving]

SilverBullet, that's a good looking list.