Gallery - Hoffman and Mechanical Attendant

So I was suppose to finish Wave 5 Guild and I hope I`ll do it tomorrow but I got a writers block and decided to paint. So here is my first painted master and his totem!

Wave 5 - Sonnia, Lucius

Today I plan on finishing the Wave 5 upgrades for Masters but I`ll split them into 2 posts. First one (this one) will cover Sonnia Criid and Lucius. Lets analyze what they got in Wave 5!



Lets start with:

No More Masks

What the card does:

• Allows using Confiscated Lore on Ml attacks. This also adds a blast to moderate and severe damage
• After damaging with a CC attack you can push 2" and the target gains Burning +1
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: So one of Sonnia`s biggest drawbacks was that when tied in melee she had no reliable way of going out with Df4, Ml5 and a min damage 2. Since her ranged attacks are very powerful (especially combined with Papa Loco) then it was a valid strategy to just constantly tie her up with chaff and make the Sonnia player waste AP on getting her out. With Ml7 she has a super high chance of hitting almost everything in the game and she only needs 1 hit to get out of most engagement. If she`s in the thick of it the random blasts (remember they still can use Pyrokinesis) can put some unexpected damage.

Cons: If you go Ml7 you`ll be stuck with Df4 and Ca7 so its a big decision of what we want to do. The low Defense can be mitigated by El Mayor but sometimes it hard to keep Frank next to Sonnia the whole game.

Summary:

I like this upgrade. I don`t have 3 upgrades slots filled with Sonnia. Cherufe`s Imprint is the most popular. Counterspell Aura is nice but I stopped using it as an autotake, as for me its mostly there to counter Lures (so most likely Neverborn and Ressers). The auto-burning on melee fits nicely with reincarnation as you can quite easily hit a model with the first attack, push away and then use Flameburst twice and get a high chance of getting a Stalker. You can also hit friendlies to push out of engagement (but its 2 dmg + Burning). If you have Cherufe`s Imprint and Papa Buff you can dish out a great deal of pain in melee that not everybody will expect and blocking stones means they can`t use them to stone for negatives on dmg or prevents. This upgrade in my opinion get a lot better, the better opponent you play as new players tend to be blasted off the board before they realize the threat range

Verdict: 
8/10

Cherufes Parting Gift

What the card does:

• Allows Witch Hunters to Chain Activate if they are within 12" and LoS
• Makes Purifying Flame a Witch Hunter
• Allows summoning Purifying Flame from dead enemies with Burning but only if you didn`t summon a Stalker at the same time.
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: Chaining Witch Hunters gives you some cool shenanigans to try. It also gives Sonnia a Witch Hunter synergy that she didn`t have as well as giving her totem a slight chance to actually show on the battlefield. Double walking the flame into Dampening Range and then triple shooting with Sonnia into a Henchman/Master seems like something useful.

Cons: I believe its not a top upgrade and it takes a slot. It also makes you adjust your crew to it at least a bit. 

Summary:

So the few things I`ve come up with except the Flame into Sonnia is Sonnia/Handler chaining into Samuel after putting Burning on the enemy to Rapid Fire someone with min 5 with Debt. Nurse Heartsbane can also allow you to push 6" with Convulsions trigger and then Chain into Sonnia with a nice 20" range.

Verdict: 
6/10


Deep Pockets

What the card does:

• Gives Arcane Reservoir
• At the beginning of the activation you can discard to draw. If you draw lower than discarded you can discard it to draw another one.
• Costs 2 Soulstone and is Limited

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: Arcane Reservoir is pretty big. The additional card cycle makes it even better. Lucius never struggled with upgrade slots in Guild so this makes it even better

Cons: 2SS cost is the only drawback I can see

Summary:

This upgrade is pretty straightforward so I don`t think it requires a long summary. Lucius needs moderate-severe cards to do anything and this guarantees he`ll have a high chance of getting them.


Verdict: 
9/10


Condescending

What the card does:

• If you`re up on VP you can discard a scheme marker within 6" with Lucius when he activates
• Killing a living model with Devil`s Deal gives an additional SS
• Gives a Ca6 action with 6" range that prevents the enemy from Cheating Fate until the end of the turn.
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: Denying the Scheme marker when ahead can put you way more ahead. The killing with Devil`s Deal might be useful in Hunting Party or some other form of denying VP to the enemy. The no cheat condition is solid

Cons: Until you are ahead this upgrade requires you to either kill your own models or activate early since the condition is until the end of the turn. It helps you deny some VP to the enemy but at a cost of your own models.

Summary:

I don`t know about NB Lucius but I`m not a big fan. I`d probably go for Surprisingly Loyal, Secret Assets and Deep Pockets most of the time in Guild. I might however swap Suprisingly Loyal to this with a Terracotta so there`s that. I think everything on this upgrade has a bit too much restrictions but I don`t really have a lot of experience with Lucius so I might be wrong


Verdict: 
5/10 

All images are property of Wyrd Miniature (www.wyrd-games.net)

Wave 5 - McMourning

Its time for another solo entry about the good old crazy doc McMourning. Lets look at his two new upgrades as well as his new hiring pool. But first:


Guild Coroner

What the card does:

• Allows placing a scheme marker near an enemy model after you kill a different enemy model with a CC attack. Then you can take one of the two 0s on this upgrade
• Gives a (0) that lets you discard a corpse marker in 2" to draw 2 cards and discard 1
• Gives you a (0) that requires a 6 and discards all corpse markers in 3" and for each 2 you get a Soulstone
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: Gives Doc a way to replenish Soulstones and cycle cards. The scheme thing is pretty dependant but can be funny in Set Up or to prepare for a Dig Their Graves. Both the (0)s are good but I really wouldn`t use them on my own considering Expunge and Induction exist

Cons: Its not super effective. Bad matchups can screw you (Constructs will choose to drop scrap even if in Plastic Surgery aura) and has a pretty serious competition for upgrade slots. I don`t know how often I would use the (0) from the upgrade normally but I don`t think it would be very often.

Summary:

I personally think its more of a fun upgrade. In Guild you have Plastic Surgery, On The Clock and Badge of Office (Or Tests Subjects) that work better but time will tell as I might be wrong (Wave 5 models might also change something here)

Verdict: 
5/10 (McMourning looks like he could be Chatty)

Test Subjects

What the card does:

• Allows you to hire 4 Beasts (non Gamin so say farewell to Poison Gamin) or Academics
• Gives an 8 inch aura that heals Beasts and Academics when they activate
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: It gives an insane hiring pool, like, Marcus sized. The amount of combinations that you can do are pretty cool. It allows both thematic/fun and competetive options in my opinion.

Cons: Don`t know if dropping Badge of Office is worth it and how will it affect power level.

Summary:

Holy shit. The list of things you can hire is super big. So first of all, I`m not really sold on the Academic part. Kudra with Debt seems like a fine hire (she has 4 attacks on the charge with low damage and poison). Other thing I consider is Amina Naidu but I need to read her more to make sure she`s worth the stones. I don`t think the Mages are worth it without the Runes/Shielding. The Students and Valedictorian don`t seem that good but I might change my stance on Valedictorian after I have a chance to play her.
Going into Beasts, the first things that come into mind are: Scorpius because he has poison synergies and is awesome. Raptors because they can make stuff Beasts which affects the regen. They also are pretty good induction targets. Rogue Necromancies as we have Domadors (I`ll have a blog post about them soon) to Obey them and shoot more. Silurids because 7" Leap is perfect for Stake a Claim (I already bought 3), Gupps because they are cheaper Silurids and they are pretty ok in Leave Your Mark- like schemes. Canine Remains can debuff Df which also can be nice as we have a lot more min 3-4 attacks than Resurrectionists. Blessed of December also looks like a good mix of mobility with Damage dealing. The Sow with Domadors healing her can also be pretty funny. Another idea is Myranda with Debt that charges something using Debt (so you draw a card) and then Shapeshifts to give you a SS to the pool. Resser side can also look into the Rattler as he gives out poison +2 with his attack. Debt Cerberus can also be pretty crazy with min 4 (and possible Armor ignoring from the Queller). As you can see McMourning became a bit of a solo faction. I can`t wait to see him in action!

Verdict: 
9/10 (What? No reckless Beasts?!)

If you have some nice combos and ideas for Beast/Academic stuff, let me know!

All images are property of Wyrd Miniature (www.wyrd-games.net)

Wave 5 - Hoffman

So since I`m on the roll I decided to do another entry today and its going to be a solo entry (second one will be McMourning). This time we`ll look at Charles Xavi..... Hoffman. As all other masters, he got 2 upgrades. So lets get right to it!


Improved Harness

What the card does:

• Gives Armor +1
• Gives a (0) that is an automatic 6" place called Mechanical Leap
• Gives an aura ability that allows friendly construct to make their Armor always usable (it includes both "Ignore armor" and "cannot be reduced" clauses).
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: The Armor is great as with the trigger you can quite easily have unreducable Armor +3 vs Df attacks that don`t ignore triggers. The Leap is a very good evacuation plan as it allows you to get out of sticky situations without having to fight with disengaging strikes (with Df3-5 its pretty hard). Now when we go to the aura... Wow, just wow. This makes his crew super hard to take down and fixes one of his major flaws as well as allows him to be played in single master events and not be easily counterable.

Cons: I can`t think of anything else except "It takes an upgrade slot and costs 1 Soulstone".

Summary:

This upgrade allows Hoffman to not be pretty screwed when he is separated from his crew (for example he gets Tangled Shadowed by Lilith into a very bad position). When that happens you can survive the initial hits (due to Armor + Soulstones) and then just use Mechanical Leap and get back to safety. The aura will make him super tanky in extraction/Guard the Stash and the first thing that came to my mind is hiring a Sanctioned Spellcaster that you can either O.S.A (but how you ask? Answer below) or just activate and use the (0) to block those damn lures. I think this upgrade won`t be an autotake like Swordfighter but versus Arcanists (Oxfordian mages are pretty common with Sandeep and he`s super popular) and Outcasts you will start with it. From what I see in the wording, the aura doesn`t work on Poison (as its not an enemy model`s effect) so you still have to kill Sebastian but that`s a minor drawback (although I`d recommend remembering it)

Verdict: 
10/10 (Where`s your Thinkin` Luck aura, Genius?!
)

Pneumatic Upgrades

What the card does:

• Gives an ability to drop Power Loop from any amount of models to get +2" range to a name action per Power Loop dropped.
• Gives a tactical action that allows giving Guild non-Constructs the "Cyborg" upgrade that makes you a Construct, makes you end power loop after you use someones stat and gives a (0) requiring an 8 to attach a modification noone else has.
• Costs 2 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: First of all, it greatly expands Hoffmans hiring pool. While you still will have mostly constructs the 2-3 choices of non-constructs make a huge difference in what you can take. The second ability isn`t super important but sometimes can save you an AP which isn`t that bad and you can always take it off the Attendant to expand your bubble a bit.

Cons: Hoffman is pretty starved for upgrade slots so you have to really think what you want to take as Field Mechanic is still kind of crucial and Improved Harness is an autotake in some matchups so you`re left with one slot and you have to choose between O.S.A., Arcanist Assets and this.

Summary:

So I found out that there are some models that are pretty fun when combined with this one. First pick is Samael Hopkins. His main two weaknesses (he`s slow and squishy) are mitigated by giving him the Armor Modification (and various heals) and Machine Puppeting/Nimbling him around. His gun has a very good damage track that is not based on Crit Strike. He`s melee attack is trigger dependent but if you can put Burning on someone, they will be in a lot of pain even without that Crit strike. My second pick is Nino. He`s super squishy (but again, Armor and heals) and with Debt/Hair Trigger and the ram upgrade he can dish out 4 min 3 shots or 3 min 4 at 18" with a positive twist to attack. Add the Mobile Toolkit`s positive to damage and it starts to become savage. Santiago with positives from the Emissary can also be pretty good. Another cool option is Abuela as she`s a very good Power Loop target (she can currently only get Ml7 which is a waste to use and she gives out Df6 and Sh7 which is definitely worth it). It also allows you to use Death Marshal`s Pinebox with Ca6-8 and if you have O.S.A you can play Go-go-Gadget Hands, Copy O.S.A, drop 3 power Loops (himself, Attendant, start of activation) and do a 7" Pinebox :D. Robocutionier also might be good. Nimble gives him a very good threat range. He can get the rams for min 5 and with Fast deal 4 min 5 damage attacks (with possible positives to Ml/damage) and no Df triggers.

I know people would probably like the "Guild only" restriction taken and I don`t think the Mecha-Tavish would be a problem, but O.S.A Gracie`s Reactivate on Hoffman would probably be a bit over the top ;)

Verdict: 
8/10 (Where is my Mecha-Gracie and Mecha-Tavish?!)

If you have some nice combos and ideas for the Cyborg stuff, let me know!

All images are property of Wyrd Miniature (www.wyrd-games.net)

Wave 5: Ashwood Coffin and Perditas upgrades

So Wave 5 is finally out! The Upgrade packs sold out the first day. In this post I will sum up the second Lady Justice  upgrade as well as Perdita`s upgrades. I will continue with the rest of Guild Wave 5 this week.

Lets start with:

Ashwood Coffin

What the card does:

• Gives a (1) Ashwood Coffin that is basically a non-master Ca7 Pinebox
• Gives a (1) Punishment  that allows you to damage buried models.
• Costs 2 Soulstone and is Limited

What it allows to do in game:

Lets analyze Ashwood Coffin.

Pros: Allows burying (with a high chance of not getting out) a non-leader enemy. Its an option to play around Frame for Murder as well as getting rid of double threats in the perfect situation (kill one and bury another). It can also be funny just to block 1 Sandeep summon (preferably Banasuva or the + gamin). It also reduced AP cost of getting rid of Hard to Kill models (as you will need a minimum of 2 hits)

Cons: With Swordfighter Lady Justice has such hitting power that sometimes its pretty easy to kill something instead of risking the Coffin and dying (which puts you at a big disadvantage).

Now lets move to Punishment

Pros: It synergizes with Death Marshal`s Pinebox, the Emissary and model with Glimpse the Void (Recruiters and Aionus). The damage track is solid but worse than the sword. It also shuts down Malifaux Raptors and Killjoy/Tara Bomb strategies.

Cons: In most games it won`t see play that often. Death Marshals and Emissary aren`t really top competitive picks (although I think a lot of Guild players undervalue a Death Marshal). Glimpse the Void on Recruiters blocks the built in Crit Strike and Aionus is pretty expensive. But your opponent picks KJ it will probably autowin you the game. "But hey, you can attack something buried with the Coffin itself" you say. I doubt I`d use it on a model buried by myself unless I`m about to die and have no other targets.

Summary:

So the main issue with the upgrade is that it is Limited which makes you choose between this one, Badge of Office and Vendetta. Now before Swordfighter came out, I found Vendetta to be shit but now with all the + from the new (0) it actually becomes viable (and even more with Jury nearby to get some Onslaught attacks) so you have to make a choice and I found Justice with Badge of Office a real pain to take down. On the other hand if you bury the main damage threat it suddenly becomes pretty easy to avoid damage.

Verdict: 
7/10

Fastest Draw in Malifaux

What the card does:

• Gives a +2 initiative bonus. If you lose initiative, you can draw a card.
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: This upgrade is pretty straightforward. The initiative bonus is nice and you get something when you lose initiative. It works really well as a lot of Perdita models have Companion so that Initiative in some turns can be crucial

Cons: All I see is that it takes up an upgrade slot and a SS. There are no real drawbacks except you might want to lose initiative sometimes to get a card and end up winning it but that`s just me being super picky :D

Summary:

Its a pretty simple upgrade. Its bonuses are good enough to make it almost an autoinclude.

Verdict: 
9/10 (Why doesn`t it give reckless?!)



Shooting Cans

What the card does:

• Gives a (1) Shooting Cans that lets you discard Scheme Markers. Its a Sh7 Action and the TN is 5+ distance to the scheme marker rounded up. It has a trigger on tomes to do it again (but the second scheme marker must be further than the original one) that can be declared once per turn
• Costs 1 Soulstone

What it allows to do in game:

Pros: Shooting a scheme marker 10" away requires an 8. Thats big. Most of the time enemies will have to have 1-2 extra markers at least to score VP. The action doesn`t have the projectile icon so you can even do it while engaged which is also huge as your damage output is far greater in melee due to the extra ram. Whats important is the action doesn`t specify "enemy" so when someones moves your marker and makes you drop one that will block you from scoring you can remove it (as you normally can`t remove friendly scheme markers)

Cons: Its pretty dependent on the scheme pool and what schemes your opponent picks but since in GG17 more schemes require markers, you`ll get to use it pretty often. With Fastest Draw and Trick Shooting being pretty obvious choices with no drawbacks you will have to decide if you want this, Aura Ancestral, Badge or Vengence Bullet.

Summary:

I think Wyrd is hinting they`d like Perdita to be less of a push-push-shoot-shoot-shoot Master and they start upgrading her with non-damage stuff. First the Emissary gave her the masks for Obey. Now she gets a scheme marker denying action (and it looks like Jury also can give the mask for the Obey but I`ll talk about it soon). Initially I wasn`t a fan of this upgrade but the more I think about it the more I realize that the fact you have it changes how your opponent will pick schemes and play the game as they will most likely need to anticipate losing 1-2 markers.

Verdict: 
8/10 (It should also have Latigo Two Cards ;))

All images are property of Wyrd Miniature (www.wyrd-games.net)

Gallery: Samael Hopkins and Purifying Flame

After some time off, I`m back. I managed to paint both Samael and Sonnia`s totem. Comments and criticism are very welcome!

I`m not super happy with Samael`s pants but it will have to do

Gallery: Witchling Stalkers and Handlers

So recently I got to paint some Witchling Stuff and... here it is! I hope one day I`ll have a reason to field them :P

Comments and criticm welcome (Hair on Handlers has been fixed)