My first run out with So’mer Teeth Jones’ crew was at 4 soulstones up against my regular opponent who was equally trying a new crew – Ten Thunders Misaki. I am tying to limit myself to only using models that are out now, or will be released shortly. I figure that will give me opportunity to try new things as Wyrd’s plastic range develops.
Ultimately Gremlins were able to reduce Misaki’s numbers and press home schemes to win.
I want to capture a few thoughts about what I learnt. Mostly for my own benefit so I don’t forget my lessons learnt.
It became really obvious that there’s a lot of reasons to group models together. Lenny’s aura effects, Slop Hauler’s healing range and even So’mer’s ability to pass round suits – these all encouraged me to bunch up. I need to be careful as blast markers are a worry and it’s very easy to bottleneck movement when bunched limiting my ability to spread across the board and place markers etc. getting the balance right is going to be key.
Raphael LaCroix stood out. His damage track, subject to triggering Dumb Luck, is a threat to most enemy models. And his effective damage reduction of 2 (Armour and Lenny aura) means he is less of a threat to himself than other Gremlins can be. He also has a neat (1) action to push out of combat to keep on shooting.
My favourite element of the crew were the Skeeters. So’mer can take two of these Wk10, Flying distractions. They appear perfectly tuned to locking down ranged support models in melee. They can break beyond the battle line early by moving 20″ in a turn without concern for the obstruction of scenery so generally they will be able to stand next to their enemy of choice. Generally, the sort of ranged support model they will target will have poor Ml attacks – so Df7 is a perfect characteristic. Handily they also have an ability to gain positive flip when they take disengaging strikes (at Ml6) which makes it unlikely that models can walk away.
Of course, Skeeters have obvious weaknesses. Wd3 means that opponent will generally kill them on first or second successful strike. A 0/1/2 damage track means that they are not likely to be killing any opponents (though access to So’mer’s Pull My Finger action helps). But, you can’t have it all for 2 soulstones.
What of the grunts? What of the Bayou Gremlin? At 3 soulstones I suspect I will take at least three in most scraps if only for access to the AP – and they can generate 3AP by getting Drunk and Reckless and taking 2 damage (mitigation of which is another driver to cluster by Lenny). And these chaps have a shooting attack. A rather haphazard shooting attack but the massed threat at range is nice.
So, that leaves So’mer Teeth himself. What did I learn about him? I don’t really know. I expected to be making a lot of use of Git Yer Bro to summon more Bayou Gremlins but found myself clinging to Lenny’s aura and taking Boomer shots augmented by Thinkin’ Luck. With his Bayou Two Card giving him opportunity to take a punt on cheating fate he healed a lot of damage through the Dirty Cheater upgrade. Late game he charged and tore some dudes apart with his Pig Prodder.
Getting the most from him will be critical. I’ve got my eye on the Quality Mash Liquor upgrade. This would give So’mer a role in healing and perhaps keep the Slop Hauler standing for longer. It would take AP away from his attack actions. Or maybe I like Encouragement. Positive flips for the duration of an action will increase the accuracy of key attacks. That upgrade will leave So’mer’s AP available to do more whacking. Sounds good.
If you read this please remember this is my thoughts after one game. I intend to keep this going so I can monitor the development of my understanding. I’d welcome comments if you care to tell me where I’m going wrong.
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