Yes, sadly not even I lose with grace and humility all the time! It must be said, I'm finding Lucius to be a struggle and starting to question the wisdom of my choice. The new Gaining Grounds schemes and strategies present a real issue for Lucius-if Hunting Party is in the pool it appears a guaranteed haul of VPs for the opponents and the Assassinate-style ones are tricky to do without dumping the majority of the Minions for heavier hitting stuff that makes me think I'd be better not taking him. I have persevered with him nonetheless, so at the very least I will know what not to take him for in tournaments. This does mean that the full Ortega crew I've acquired off The Soulstone Miner (complete with all the limited edition models and Miss Terious) have not seen the light of day.
I've finished painting up Cpt Dashel and the Female Guild Guard, and now have started on Jeff Bridges/Male Guard and the bald Lawyer. I'm really pleased with them (OK, so the pink corset and tasseled trousers makes her look more like an exotic dancer than police woman) and the sewer bases are awesome. I've stuck with the same colours as I used on Lucius, so Skavenblight Dinge, Stormvermin Fur and Dawnstone on Dashel's gloves, waistcoat and boats, and Abaddon Black, Dark Reaper and Macragge Blue on her coat and hat. I used the same colour scheme of The Fang, Drakenhoff Nightshade, Altdorf Blue then Calgar Blue on both their trousers to make sure they matched. The male Guard will be done like the female (minus corset) and the Lawyer in the same colours as Lucius. The corset was done in the same way as Lucius's jacket but turned out inadvertently lighter for some annoying reason-I suspect that the light in my new flat has an impact on that.
So..... onto the games. Last week's game was against Colette and her troupe. It was Headhunter, and I'd taken Lucius with Secret Assets and Legalese (2 extra stones for a total of 6), Francisco with Wade In and Hermanos De Armas, Dr Grimwell with Expert Sleuth, Nurse Heartsbane, 2 Orderlies and 2 Guild Guard. I'd selected Convict Labour and Search The Ruins. It was an utter disaster. I threw away Grimwell (whom The Soulstone Miner had selected for A Quick Murder) by taking the bait of Angelica. The Orderlies hit combat and found Lucius an inch too far away for Elite Training's benefit. Heartsbane had rotten luck with her cards and Francisco attacked the Captain who was able to Push away from him thus wasting my AP. I lost 7-1 (conceding in turn 4 when I had 1 Guild Guard left), gaining a solitary point from Convict Labour. I was about ready to flog the lot on EBay and look at Soniia after the game! Upon reflection I did not and ordered a Brutal Effigy and Austringers from ABZ Games (Austringers in a sewer, madness I tell you), and have decided that the Starter Box stuff will not be part of my purchases as only the Orderlies are really adding anything to the crew. I've realised that the Lawyers need to be included as they are very effective hold-up pieces, thanks to Special Damages, Impassioned Defense and Highest Authority. I've also grudgingly realised that I need Mimics to get the most out of the crew so I may need to invest in some.
Game 2 was last night and I'd made investments of Mr Tannen, a Doppelganger and a box of Guild Hounds. There was the obligatory building frenzy; some serious cursing with the Hounds (narrowly avoided slicing off my thumb with my craft knife trying to sort a mould-line of the damn thing's crotch). The Soulstone Miner has made his own green stuff sewer bases that are almost identical to the Secret Weapon ones so I got one of those to put a Hound on. With everything build it was time to try and redeem some pride....
I took Lucius with Surprisingly Loyal, Cover My Back(?) and Legalese (and 1 extra stone), The Scribe, Cpt Dashel, Doppelganger, Mr Tannen, Orderly, Lawyer, Guild Rifle and 2 Guild Hounds. It was Protect the Stash and I'd chosen A Quick Murder and Convict Labour. I faced Kaeris with 3 Upgrades (2 Fire-based ones and Bleeding-Edge Tech), the Eternal Flame, Firestarter with Warding Runes, 2 Oxfordian Mages (Blood runes on one, Doom on the other), a Gunsmith, Willy and 2 Fire Gamin. It finished 7-4 to The Soulstone Miner (Guild is really losing out on these stones...). I targeted The Firestarter with the rifle from the start, and between her and Dashel they dropped him in time for A Quick Murder's maximum VPs. I got Convict Labour in Turn 2, and then it all went to pot. The hounds and the Orderly were burnt to crisps quickly, Lucius took 3 (yes 3) activations to drop a Gamin (regenerate thanks to Kaeris...) and the rifle just could not hit. The Doppelganger was a waste as I had nothing to copy of any note..... (doesn't get Critical Strike so not worth copying Dashel or the Rifle). Tannen provided some distress for Ben, and The Scribe nearly dropped the Armour +3 Eternal Flame in a round until he dropped his glove on the last attack!!! Worth noting I misread the Lawyer's card; Walk 5 not 6. Cover My Back was really handy, Dashel and the Rifle can tag team anyway, but allowing the Hound, or a Warden'Guard duo to do so would be really helpful. I need something that does heavy damage/has a good ability for the Doppelganger to copy early on, and also need to contemplate what upgrades her, Tannen and Dashel would benefit from (Expert Sleuth on Tannen?). I could just feel the Internet laughing at a competitive game between Lucius and Kaeris, and to an extent I can see why they aren't highly rated as Masters as I think the need very specific (and non-their box contents) crews in order to be effective.
Currently the Crew is: Lucius Box (£28), Peacekeeper (£20.80), Hounds (£13.60), Wardens (£13.60), Tannen (£6.38), Doppelganger (£6.38) (£89 approx) which leaves enough for the Austringers.
In other exciting news, Wyrd have accepted me to be a Henchman! Cue fanfare etc... I will hopefully be able to run a few events over the next few months: we have our Malifaux tournament at ABZ next Saturday (will I take Lucius...?) so we will see how things go with that.
Until next time, be good or the Guild will get you!
Congratulations on becoming a henchman - the world and Aberdeen will become a much better place.
ReplyDeleteIf Lucius continues to disappoint do you think you can reuse Lucius's supporting cast in another Guild or Neverborne gang?
Now I've seen Dashel painted the model has far more personality - he looks like an England Rugby Prop or drill sargent! nice work.
Congrats on being chosen as a henchman. Speaking of henchmen, as I see by the use of the orderly that you have the Starter Set, have you tried using Dr. Grimwell to tie up your opponent? A tactic I use every now and then is to run him straight into the midst of my opponents crew and let them waste time trying to kill him (That Lobotomy move of his really strikes fear into people's hearts). If you have enough soul stones, you can mitigate his wounds while handing out frightening amounts of damage. Also, if you have chosen "Frame for Murder" at 2VP.
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