Deathstroke and 3rd Edition

Greetings! My first ever BMG article on my good gaming buds blog! I'm a wargamer of many, many years ( Warhammer 1st edition back in the early 80's!!!) Couple of years ago I decided to give BMG a go having been a lifelong devotee of the Batman universe! I grew up watching Adam West camping it up as the bat (I still think Burgess Meredith is the quintessential Penguin!) as an 19 year old I remember going with mates to the old cinema complex on George St to see Tim Burton's take.
Here I am at my 3rd birthday with some of my cousins and one of them, Adam has my Boy Wonder doll! Im the one with Jason on his Tshirt! :)

 Now why the Stroke? Deathstroke is in my top 5 Batman characters. I played him extensively in 2nd edition, usually in my Mr. Freeze crew and always found him a great piece. Towards the end of 2nd edition the consensus was that he had become too expensive when compared with some of the newer models. I''m looking at you Merciless! Most of us that played 2nd edition remember the killing power of the Stroke.
Now in 3rd edition i think the reset has been great for him. yes, he is still pricey but my goodness he gets some work done. I have used him in my Freeze crew in 3rd ed and everything that makes the opponent wary of him is still there!


Lets look at his card and what it all means now in 3rd edition (Disclaimer: Its all very new and if i make a mistake let me know and ill revise!)

Now 145 is still a whopper cost but lets move on. Funding zero is good especial when we talk about the crews he can go in and lead, more of that later.
Will power 7 is solid and 8 endurance great. Attack and Defence 5 is awesome in this edition. In conjunction with his Bo and playing of cards you can get 6 attacks plus the strength die re rolling misses. then every two hits adds an extra one! I have had him hit someone for 10 stun, then the blocks are quite hard with attack 5. The issue with stun is of course they can recover. The sword is scary with double blood but not as reliable as the Bo.
Acrobat is still one the strongest abilities in the game and the dodge combined with his stealth makes him hard to hit. Undercover and moving 11 " means he can get to where you want him fast turn 1 even.
Counter attack is totally cooked now! He takes one stun to activate it through an effort then every block he makes for the rest of the turn he can counterattack which means an AUTO hit back with your choice of weapon. Think about this you come in and he rolls 5 block dice, lets say conservatively he blocks two, that's 4 blood! Now if the opponent chooses to come in an attack with someone else they too will cop counterattack because you always roll block dice now. Again blocking the counter attack will be hard with attack stat of 5 if you can block it but at the moment I don't think its clear.
Hidden sniper is great as well but i forget to use it most times. Its a special action so he can do it and still use his normal attacks after moving if he has audacity (and i cant see why you wouldn't give him an audacity counter every turn.) With the strength die its a possible 4 blood followed by his attacks . Situational but could really ruin someones day!
Martial artist is still good to make sure when he is the thick of it he isn't getting penalised.
Soul Armour is much better now, just use his special which unless you sniper you can every turn and heal two damage of any type.Useful if you just used effort, especially if blocking and then counterattacking.
So that is his card, worth every point i think but now lets look at his place in crews.
In any bad guy he is a great add especially given he costs no funding. He is more than capable of controlling a wing of the board and doing whatever you need him to to fulfil objectives.
Now the exciting part for a big fan of the Stroke. You could take him as a leader in Militia last edtion but now with the rolling of Bane and Militia together in Soldier of Fortune you can give him a zero cost upgrade to make him a sidekick in SoF and thus he can be the boss! With his pick of Bane's boys and  militia you can get some pretty fun crews to play! Deathstroke with sniper cover from Barsad with night vision and Sharpshooter, plus any other tricks like smoke etc he becomes a powerful alternative to leading your crew with Bane. I hope they release some Mirakuru soldiers at a later date!
Now I'm off to jankify some lists and plan for my next Deathstroke onslaught!

Jason

Last Blossom- Malifaux 3E Misaki Tactica

Another Malifaux tactica today, this time Misaki. Thematically one of my top 3 favourite masters (alongside Parker and Tara) she's got a really fun playstyle and her crew look great doing it. More of a ninja-type style with a lot of movement shenanigans and good damage dealing, she is well suited to scenarios that are a mix of scheming and damage.

Keyword abilities-
Charge Through- On a crew that is fairly heavily tilted towards melee combat this is really good to have. The shooters don’t have it obviously, but it just gives positives to damage on melee actions generated from a Charge action. It’s simple but it works, and it can counter things like Hard to Wound pretty well.

Assassin- Quite a simple ability that is on a lot of the models in the crew, if they kill models that haven’t activated they gain Fast. It’s swingy but also very good, especially when you consider this crew as one that fights to achieve schemes in advantageous positions (yes that’s most things, but it’s a huge part of Last Blossom)

Shadow Markers- Not an action or ability per se, but a lot of things in the crew play off of Shadow Markers. They themselves do absolutely nothing but a lot of models in the crew have tricks with them (mostly placement, but Minako can summon off them and Yamaziko uses them for card draw) so it’s important to make sure you have ways to generate at least a couple outside of Misaki because they really are great value.

Keyword models-

Misaki- The star of the crew, Misaki is a real lynchpin for Last Blossom as a whole because of all the work she does. She has Charge Through and Extended Reach as you could probably expect, Mobile Warrior to charge while engaged, Df6 and Wp7 with 12 wounds and a slightly low for the keyword Mv5. She can however choose to play a shell game with Shadow Markers, as she can choose to bury in the start phase and place 2 Shadow Markers anywhere within 8” (which happens every time she is buried- even by enemy effects) and then in her activation can choose to unbury at any Shadow Marker with the penalty of -1Mv for every 2 friendly models that have already activated that turn. In all this is a really great way to keep your enemy on tilt and to make sure your own plans can go off safely, while also just being a free way of moving Misaki around every turn (as long as you keep some from earlier turns, she can teleport around like crazy). As for her actions they are very good, with 4 actions that all make her work differently. Her bonus action is a tactical and needs a 4 to go off, and lets her shuffle cards from the discard back into the deck for every other friendly that hasn’t activated. It means if you have a really hot hand she can activate early, do a ton of work and then put your high cards back into the deck to use later in the turn. The crow trigger lets her hand out Stunned to enemies within 8” unless they discard cards for each crow you shuffle back in (this works really well with Execute- cheat high cards for Execute and then put those cards back in to try and force Stunned). Her other tactical action needs an 8 and targets any other friendly model within 8”, letting them take the charge action (or if they are Last Blossom, they can charge while engaged). This is a great way to extend the rest of your crew and reposition but also to hurt enemies more in advantageous positions and use your good beaters for more damage (mainly Crime Bosses and Ototo). As for her attacks she has an 8” range Shockwave that needs a 6 to go off, and is Shockwave 1, Mv13 and damage 2 which plays into her hand destruction mechanics. As for triggers she has a ram trigger for a second Shockwave marker, or a tome trigger to make a Shadow Marker in base contact with the Shockwave just before the Shockwave is removed (so the action still fully resolves as normal). Her Bisento is her main attack though, being a stat 7 attack vs Df which is always excellent despite the somewhat average 2/4/5 damage (which can be boosted by Crit Strike) and the action has a 2” range so she can hit models while usually being somewhat safer. Reposition on a mask gives her some movement potential to get around while attacking, while Execute threatens killing the opponent or hurts their soulstones and hand which is a great way of controlling the enemy crew.

Shang- As far as totems go Shang is pretty good cause it plays nicely with what the crew does but is still somewhat unique in how it works. Arcane Reservoir is nice for the crew in general (but especially Minako) and for 4 stones Df5 Wp6 and 4 wounds is definitely acceptable. Insignificant is fine and Assassin is sort of there, and Shang also ignores all damage from Burning but the big ones are its support roles to Misaki. It has the same Channeled Healing action as Karina being able to target buried models (only Misaki in this crew unless you play against models that bury you) and Flickering Flames allows Misaki to treat Shang as a Shadow Marker to unbury from at the penalty of dealing 2 irreducible to Shang (half its wounds which is big). Attack-wise there’s nothing special, It’s Claws are decent for a totem with Flay(cheat damage through negatives on a mask) and Blaze(Burning 1 for each Tome) as great triggers while it also has the Heavenly Blaze Shockwave attack needing a 6 and at range 8”. It’s Shockwave 1, Mv12 and damage 2 which is decent as a way to get through an opponent’s hand, and as far as Shockwaves go it’s pretty damn good

Ototo- Almost about as unsubtle as Last Blossom get, Ototo is a big beatstick. With Ruthless, Charge Through and Assassin he is already geared towards combat somewhat but having a 2” range 3/4/5 weapon at stat 6 vs defence, plus possible Crit Strike he hits super hard when he needs to. He has another trigger which is pulse 2, all enemies must pass a TN13 Mv duel or gain Slow which ties into my next point with him- he’s tanky. Despite his Df/Wp4 which is pretty low for 10 stones, he has Armour 1 and Hard to Kill with his 10 wounds meaning he takes a beating before he goes down, plus his only bonus action is Juggernaut for healing which he will usually do. Slowing enemies with his pulse trigger makes him harder to take out, and when he does get below half his wounds he gets positive flips to attack and damage (meaning a whopping double positive to damage if he charges and on top of that possible severe of 7). Mv5 is somewhat slower in the crew, but he has 2” range, Misaki to make him charge outside of activation (and even while engaged) and his other tactical action The Storm is Coming which is a 6” range Shadow Marker drop on a 5 that has some additional effects. If he is within LoS of a friendly Leader the Shadow marker has the same effect as his Thunderous Blow trigger but on Wp instead of Mv (pulse 2, TN13 or gain Slow) which is great to control AP in enemy crews, plus the mask trigger on this action lets Ototo place in base contact with the Shadow Marker. Because of how the place works, his 40mm base and his 2” melee it can be a huge threat extender while still getting out Shadow Markers for the rest of the crew.

Minako Rei-Easily one of the best henchmen in the entire game (and bound to be changed in the coming errata), Minako is an excellent piece with special synergy in a Misaki crew. With Charge Through and Assassin as expected, Minako also has her own special piece of kit based around her Karmic Fate upgrades on the front of her card. As a Df/Wp trigger on a Mask she can discard any in play Karmic Fate upgrades and choose to attach it to the attacker after resolving the attack, and afterwards whenever Minako suffers damage a model with the Karmic Fate upgrade suffers an equal amount making it a big risk to hit Minako at all. Her stats are pretty great at Df and Mv6, Wp5 and 8 wounds for 8 stones, plus she also has Laugh Off to shut down enemy movement effects on her. On the back of her card she has some nice actions, with her attack being a 1” range stat 6 vs Df attack that does a respectable 2/3/5 damage, but the built in trigger makes it Irreducible if the target has a Karmic Fate upgrade which is a great way to penalise people trying to attack her. The ram trigger is also very useful in that it gives Adversary (Last Blossom) which will obviously not matter much when she is being taken as a Versatile hire but is very relevant in-keyword. She has a 3” ranged summon which I will discuss a bit further down in more detail (but it’s great and fairly reliable in-keyword plus in a couple other keywords) and her bonus is to simply draw a card if the opponent has more cards in hand which is very nice if it happens.

Yamaziko- This is the henchman I would most skip for a variety of reasons. Although she has some good stats, abilities and actions she doesn't entirely work with what the crew does best and dictates a specific kind of list built around her to get her most value. Charge Through and Extended Reach are fairly standard and Honorable is nice, but Nimble will only be used the first couple of turns unless you’re in a position where neither of her other bonus actions will be relevant or because you want to set up either scheming or an attack run, which are jobs that should be done by other models in the crew. Finesse is good if you’re at risk of attack but not amazing, while Great Teacher takes a card to use but it synergises really well with a lot of the keyword and some Versatiles. A gunline with her using Samurai, Snipers and Archers is pretty effective and can put out a ton of damage but it’s leaning hard into her and she isn’t a tough kill by any means. Her Yari has a good range to engage things and it’s an ok attack overall with decent triggers, but it’s not something to rely upon and a melee henchman with only stat 5 isn’t great at any cost. Master Tactician could be useful to eat the opponent’s hand (and then set up Execute runs with Misaki) but it’s very specific in who it can target and reliably go off on (that being a Leader with low Wp). All in all she’s a model who looks good on paper but every time I try and put her on the table I struggle with how I could’ve gotten more value out of something else as Yamaziko whiffs yet again.

Katanaka Crime Boss- One of the equal most expensive minions in keyword (which isn’t really saying much, they’re all between 6-8 stones), the Crime Bosses are pretty great models for area control if only a little slow in reaching those areas. They have Extended Reach and Charge Through, plus Protection Money to draw cards after enemies drop schemes near them (including if Wokou force them to) and they can choose not to move from enemy effects or in enemy activations which flat out removes a lot of control options unless you want them to happen. They have a chunky 8 wounds with Df5 and Wp6 so aren’t too fragile, but Mv4 hurts them a bit. They do have a 2” melee range to compensate though which is excellent, and their stat 6 vs Df 3/4/5 damage is very nice. It has Unworthy of Her Attention for card draw and a Pass, but also Heave on a ram to place the target anywhere within 3” of the Crime Boss to play into its area control role. The other attack it has it Pressure which is range 8” stat 5 vs Wp and must target non-Leader enemies within 3” of a scheme or friendly Shadow marker but has an excellent effect in that the target must either discard a random card and take 2 damage or function as an Obey. The mask trigger then pushes the target 2” away from the Crime Boss to play with placement more which is great fun as the Crime Boss can lock down zones so the rest of your crew can do their thing. Its bonus action tactical needs a 4 to go off on a friendly scheme or Shadow marker within 6”, and then places the Crime Boss into base with it (even the slowest model in keyword has speed tricks) before pushing all enemies within pulse 2 away 2”. By removing an enemy scheme marker within 2” you can take an attack against a model pushed on a ram trigger, while on a crow you can remove a corpse marker to instead give every enemy pushed Distracted +1. The ram trigger is better given the choice, but if you have the crow trigger and nothing else you take it.

Katanaka Sniper and Thunder Archer- The shooters in Last Blossom, both are cost 7 although the Sniper is probably slightly worse. Both models are Df5 and 7 wounds, but Thunder Archers have higher Wp, Mv and the bonus of Chi tokens to add to their duels so are more survivable, plus Archers have a very relevant Df trigger to get out of combat. They both ignore Friendly Fire and Concealment and both have Assassin, but the advantage of the Sniper is that it can engage in combat far quicker with From the Shadows and Sniper to all but guarantee turn 1 shooting with at least one shot or just to start in a position to scheme right from turn 2. The Sniper also ignores Cover which is great and has one higher severe damage, plus Crit strike, Reposition and Unworthy of Her Attention to gain Pass Tokens. It is, however, less accurate even before factoring in Chi tokens and the triggers on the Archer. The Archer ignores Incorporeal on its attack which is great in that situation, and with its triggers can get Irreducible damage for a ram and a Chi, on a tome can draw a card if they cheat damage and on a crow can give +1 damage and Staggered if the opponent is within 3” of a friendly Shadow Marker which are all very useful. The Sniper actually has a melee attack which stops it getting locked in combat, plus its bonus to freely move out of combat, which is a good bonus over what the Archer can do outside of damage. The Archer has Target Practice to remove markers up to 18” away (with the difficulty increasing with the range) and as a bonus can add blast damage to their shots needing an 8 (with a tome trigger to Concentrate and thus gain Focus or Chi). In general, I would take an Archer in most cases except for when there are either incredibly fast enemies on the table (primarily Neverborn) or if there is an abundance of hard cover on the table in which case the Snipers are better.

Torakage- In my opinion these are one of the most efficient scheme runners in the game, a far cry from their 2E mediocrity. Mv7 Agile alone means they will get where they want when they want, but their bonus action Ninja Vanish is another possible 6” place on a 7 and their Shurikens have built in 3” movement as well with Onslaught so they can be throwing out damage while they move. Stealth is a great way to keep them alive too as even though Df and Wp 5 isn’t bad with 6 wounds it isn’t fantastic either. Offensively their ranged attack is low damage but high utility, and their melee attack is respectable with a movement trigger (have I said Torakage can move?)  and a trigger that is on both their attacks. No Witnesses is conditional and requires no other enemy to be within 12” and LoS of the Torakage (so use terrain where possible) and if so you get +1 damage and ignore armour which is very useful in Thunders in general.

Wokou Raider-A shared keyword model with Parker, Wokou Raiders are a bit odd in how they work but they’re very good nonetheless. They’re a melee model with a little bit of shooting, working as a tarpit and damage dealer that still has the classic Bandit scheme marker removal you’d expect. They borrow Charge Through from Last Blossom, getting positive flips to melee damage flips on Charges which goes well with their damage track (2/4/5) and positives to attack built in with some great triggers. Drop It! is typical as a Bandit, Critical Strike is good for the extra damage should you get rams and Coordinated Attack is better in Last Blossom than Bandit given the melee preference over Bandit’s gun focus, but always good when it’s relevant. Defence 5 is pretty average for something of their cost, willpower 6 being good, but Combat Finesse and the fact opponents can never cheat melee attacks against them is a very big boost to their effectiveness. Bullet Proof is something they share with Gunslingers and Kunoichi giving them a little edge against guns as well, while they have Life of Crime to gain Fast when they activate and not Assassin. This is somewhat easier to trigger if the opponent is using scheme markers (or in Parker), and synergises well with their Ever-Changing Wind which lets them move (not push) 3” when an enemy scheme marker is placed within aura 6, meaning you’ll easily be able to get in 4” to remove that marker when they activate. A New Horizon lets them place scheme markers around as a bonus action for a 4 of tomes, moving the marker 6” of its current location when the action is declared which can counter an opponent very well.

OOK/Versatile models-
Samurai- One of the higher cost Versatiles, the Samurai often get compared with Fuhatsu because they are both high cost Versatile tanks with gatling guns. However for me the Samurai edges out over Fuhatsu for a few reasons specifically related to the two masters I play in Thunders (Misaki and McCabe) and basically boils down to it being a minion over a henchman. In Misaki's keyword, the Samurai can benefit from Yamaziko's buffs but also gets the big benefit of being able to take From the Shadows and be made to charge turn 1 from Misaki with very little setup (which then gets the benefit of both Rush and Blade Rush so he's better at it). The Samurai is also great at both shooting and melee (with its Daito ignoring armour, something Last Blossom tend to struggle with) while being deceptively tanky for Df4 between Armour 2 and Juggernaut, and having the option to Concentrate as a bonus action and thus gain easy Focus if he doesn't need the healing. On top of all that once he does die he gets to make an attack action targeting the attacking model (notice attack action, he can shoot or melee as long as the Demise is triggered) for one last little bit of extra damage before he goes away (and see just below how you can repeat it!)

Terracotta Warrior- As a cheap model it has its own value as an activation, and for 4 stones it's pretty good. Ruthless and Armour 1 for it's cost are both great, and Df5 is solid despite its 4 wounds. Its melee attack is definitely not fantastic, but its tactical actions are because of the sheer versatility they give to the crew. Just Like You! lets you copy any non-bonus tactical action from a higher cost model in the crew at -2 stat (things like Ototo's Shadow Marker drop or Misaki's charge order are great options if you have the cards) and Mold of the Other lets you replace the Warrior with a minion or enforcer that died earlier in the game (another big reason I like Samurai over Fuhatsu is this interaction). This replace also heals it 3 so it isn't then super easy to kill, but is a good way to turn a cheaper model into something that can possibly have far more impact on a game.

The Minako Summons- 
Katashiro- Cheap glass cannon summons, Minako only needs a 10 of tomes to summon one off of a scrap or Shadow marker which "only" gives it a Flicker token and Slow (which you don't majorly care about). Shadow markers are more reliable, but once the Katashiro dies it becomes its own resource to continually summon off if that's what you want to do. It has very low defensive stats and is easy to kill at Df/Wp4 and 5 wounds, but they can put out some decent damage for their relatively low cost to the crew. They have Made to Kill to attack once they're placed (including when summoned), Blade Rush for if they charge through models (not too common but useful, also synergises with Misaki) and the standard 2 Oni abilities in Flicker. This means they can gain a Flicker token every time they perform a duel to gain positive flips to the duel and any damage flips working like a far easier Focus, but if they have 3 at the end of any activation they die meaning you have to manage it (or just not care because they're summons). They can discard one if they kill a model but with the way you'll usually be using them they'll be at a point it will kill them regardless of if they discard a single one or not. Their back of card has a few actions, with 2 bonus actions- one to discard a card to end a condition, and the other to place within 5". You might think at first glance the trick is to remove Slow when they activate, but in reality the far better option is to use the place and get a free attack off it anyway that can then generate another attack with its trigger so you still cap out at 4 attacks a turn (it's 6 without Fast or Slow but that assumes you're using the place and not removing conditions). It has a 6" range action that removes a condition on the target and puts it onto the Katashiro at up to +2 of its value at stat 5 vs Wp and needing a TN of 12 to succeed. It's not a bad way of getting around things like the Fire Golem, Experimental models or just anything with Focus because it forces a hard decision on them that can very easily risk death should they fail. Their Claws action is the way they become bombing blenders though as even though it is only stat 5 and 1/2/4 damage Flicker fixes that with its easy positives, and the excellent mask trigger to gain a Flicker and attack again so you can just keep going. You'll likely end their activation with far more Flicker than 3 which will kill them, but it drains cards and deals damage so is probably worth it.

Wanyudo- As a summon, it’s not super reliable. It requires a model to first damage Minako Rei, her to put the upgrade on with her trigger and then the model with the upgrade to die which is possible but very specific and they can just pitch cards to get rid of the upgrade before that (which is still bad, but it stops a swing if they die). If Minako doesn’t kill the model it also takes 3 damage and gains Slow which shuts down its ability a lot more as well. As for the Wanyudo itself it’s a very good model for Misaki’s crew but doesn’t do all that much that’s unique. It’s Mv7 Unimpeded with Trample so can get wherever it wants to go, as well as forcing TN12 Mv duels when it moves through models with Burning 1 and 1 damage as a downside if they fail. It itself doesn’t take damage from Burning and can charge while engaged (nice with Misaki making it charge to force even more duels). Its actions are decent with a great melee attack resisted by Mv that puts out Burning and moves it around more, Breath of Fire for ranged blast damage (strictly inferior to just charging with it’s range) and a bonus action to force enemies to take a Burning damage immediately in pulse 3. All in all it’s a great mobile model that is probably best used to hunt down scheme runners and run schemes itself, but I wouldn’t really hire it in a Misaki crew.

Upgrades-

Trained Ninja- The regular effects of Unimpeded and Stealth are quite good and synergise with Last Blossom pretty well (so they should- thematically Misaki has a bunch of ninja-esque models). The minion buff however turns it up even further, giving From the Shadows which is great value for 2 stones. On Samurai it’s expensive but excellent, Torakage can get into position to scheme very quickly and Archers can use it to shoot from turn 1 to name a few good interactions with it.

Masked Agent- This upgrade is the best option in Thunders and really helps out your combat models. It adds With Me so the model can carry a nearby friend when it takes the Charge action (even out of activation- thanks Misaki!) and Unnerving Presence to shut down Resistance Triggers in a huge bubble, while adding Coordinated Attack as a trigger to all minion attacks. Wokou already have this so it isn’t hugely beneficial (but they gain the same benefit as any non-minion), but the best in terms of most benefits gained is the Crime Boss as despite its slow speed it gets the bonus from every part of the card. Ototo or Misaki herself are other good options but lose Coordinated Attack, which isn’t really that huge anyway when you’re as reliable as they are (and have better triggers in Misaki’s case)

Silent Protector- This gives Hard To Kill and Challenge normally which alone are good in the right situation (that being something already tanky) and minions add on Take the Hit. Misaki as a crew don’t have a huge need of this upgrade given their trend towards more mixed scheming than heavy combat, but it could be decent to protect the weaker pieces in the crew. It has jank with Yamaziko giving them positives (so pass off Yamaziko onto this model who then has a positive to defence) but that is more of a gimmick than actually always good. 

Deployments- Really, all deployments are good for Misaki because the crew has enough tricks to get up the table blindingly fast and do what they want to. It only really affects scheme selection and how they play that way because some things are affected a lot. 

Strategies-
Reckoning- While you can manage a pretty top-heavy crew of beater henchmen here it also gives up a lot of points when doing so. My advice would be to stick with the minions that can dish out damage (Archers, Wokou and Crime Bosses primarily) with a henchman or two to support (usually I would say Minako and Ototo for summons/beating and straight up damage respectively)

Plant Explosives- Easy, you can move around far better than most crews to actually get where you need to so once you've done that you're set.

Corrupted Idols- With the ability to just pop up almost anywhere on the table pretty easily they can get around to toss Idols, but at the same time the super mobile models don’t have a huge amount of wounds so they risk getting badly hurt in the process. Shang can help mitigate this though and going OOK there are great ways to get healing in crew (Sun Quiang and Low River Monks especially) so it’s not a bad option

Turf War- Like Parker and the Viktorias before, Turf War is a decent strategy for Misaki. She has mobility and damage in spades so she can do what she needs to in order to score points.

Schemes-

Detonate Charges- Not a bad scheme to take because of the mobility and ease in disengaging of Torakage as well as the marker movement of Wokou Raiders, but the crew lacks major ways of putting out markers without the Interact action so it’s not a super easy thing for them to do.

Breakthrough- Misaki herself makes this somewhat easy, but an opponent can still play around it by destroying Shadow Markers, and it’s still dedicating your (somewhat combat focused) Master on dropping schemes in the backfield

Harness the Ley Line- Torakage are who you take here, because they will get where they need to be quickly and put down the markers. It’s not unreasonable to expect a turn 2 scoring of Ley Line with this crew because of their mobility

Search the Ruins- Another one that’s fairly good to take because of their speed, just use the movement to jam into the opponent’s half and start dropping markers down.

Dig Their Graves- Not bad but not great either. Some jank can be done with suicide Katashiro to get scrap out and the mobility of things lets you drop markers where you need but Dig is just far better done by Mei Feng in faction

Hold Up Their Forces- Not a great choice given the focus on expensive models. Might be worth it if the opponent has even more expensive models (some Resurrectionist builds in particular) but you’ll be giving up points here more often than scoring.

Take Prisoner- Easy to deny with the crew and not bad to score yourself. It plays into exactly what they want to be doing on the more expensive models (being in combat) and is especially good with Wokou Raiders

Power Ritual- In Flank and Corner deployment this is easy VP. Use your movement on the fast stuff (Torakage and Misaki in particular) to run up and get markers down early and be safe in stopping your opponent countering (you will get there quicker in almost every case) but don’t take it in Standard or Wedge because it’s too difficult to get into the opponent’s 2 corners to get the VP

Outflank- With the amount of tanky models in the crew (particularly henchmen) Outflank is an easily telegraphed but not so easily countered scheme. They don’t do it especially well compared to other options but they do a good enough job at it any Last Blossom player should consider choosing it as a scheme.

Assassinate- This one is really worthwhile depending on who the enemy Leader is. If they’re someone you can get into and cut down quickly then go for it, but the more defensive Leaders (especially ones with Protected) are going to be a slog where you can’t just scalpel them out. Misaki is safe enough against it with her tools, but it is something you have to use subtlety and careful placement to get right.

Deliver a Message- Again, Torakage. You have the potential to easily get to the enemy Master and interact so the first point is doable, the second one is somewhat harder. Like most crews it’s done with careful planning but you have to have a plan to get the 2VP

Claim Jump- This one can work very easily, but the opponent can counter it easily themselves. Ototo is a good pick for it as are Wokou because they can stand long enough to get out of engagements and score the point (or just beat down whatever is engaging them) and Ototo in particular has heals to keep him above half wounds.

Vendetta- Not great. Sure you have some excellent mid-cost models (looking at Wokou and Crime Bosses in particular) but they also have a ton of 8-9 cost models which will absolutely be targets for Vendetta. Like in Reckoning I would restrict the amount of henchmen I take here because it gives the opponent a lot of choice.

GG1

Strategies

Symbols of Authority- Dropping Shadow Markers all around the place you can really pressure the defence while you push up from multiple angles, and Misaki has her own really amazing defensive models too in Crime Bosses or even Yamaziko. Extended Reach is the best bet because it makes them waste their time.

Recover Evidence- Misaki can’t be stopped burying which means she alone can scalpel out models with Intel where needed, but also your own crew are fast and good damage so you can fight on your terms to get Intel out.

Corrupted Ley Lines- There are models in the keyword with great movement tricks to work as Lodestone carriers, but the no-place clause hurts a lot more. There are great things to be done here I think, but you're not getting the most insane value out of them that you would in other strategies. 

Public Enemies- Same deal as Reckoning with the crew, except there’s no more hiding behind expensive minions to deny the opponent. Just go for the expensive beaters and tank/hit away

Schemes

Breakthrough, Take Prisoner, Vendetta, Assassinate, Claim Jump- Nothing changed here, so my points from above are still my opinion on them.

Hidden Martyrs- There are plenty of really juicy targets in Misaki's keyword, and the best part is you can bring back a copy through Terracotta Warriors if you want as well. Torakage are especially excellent choices because at cost 6 they fit nicely as half of your choice (or you just pick 2) 

Sabotage- Pop Misaki and Torakage up the back and get this pretty easily. Not sure what else to say

Catch and Release- Torakage can actually do this pretty damn well. It's not a terrible option should you want to do it cause they have plenty of ways to disengage, just keep in mind that you paint a huge target on them once the first point is out

Let Them Bleed- Playing a top-heavy crew isn’t a fantastic idea because of the possibility they can score against you, but the expensive models in-keyword are also great beaters and pretty tanky so they can score it themselves.

Leave Your Mark- I don't like this scheme and I've already written about that elsewhere, and that doesn't change at all here. 

Research Mission- Hey look, you have fast schemers and Shadow Markers so you just need one more to generate it in-keyword. Suiciding Katashiro is an option, but you can just hire certain tech pieces out of keyword if you absolutely have to generate markers and don’t want to rely on corpses/scrap being generated mid game (or just strat markers)

Spread Them Out- Easy as. Relocate around the table, drop schemes. Convert Shadows into schemes with Torakage and use Misaki to get into positions to put schemes down, you can get the 2VP without much hassle.

Runic Binding- This is actually not bad because of the Torakage action to swap Shadows into scheme markers so you can drop Shadows where you need and then convert them when you want to score. The speed of the crew and also access to Wokou means you can score it easy enough

GG2

Strategies

Symbols of Authority, Corrupted Ley Lines- Same as in GG1, my thoughts are the same.

Turf War- Same as it used to be, same opinion as before

Break the Line- I think this is a really great strat for Last Blossom because they have insane mobility and placement options so they can get to shoving markers around really early, while also having the defensive ability and damage to protect the markers from being pushed by enemies.

Schemes

Breakthrough, Vendetta, Assassinate, Hidden Martyrs, Research Mission, Let Them Bleed, Catch and Release, Spread Them Out- These are all very much the same as before and I wouldn't change how I play them now.

Detonate Charges, Claim Jump- They’re the same as GG0, same as my thoughts there.

Death Beds- Chuck shadows next to things that need to die, then kill them. It’s not necessarily as easy as it sounds, but it also isn’t that hard

Null and Void- Malifaux M3E Tara Tactica

I'm back with another M3E keyword tactica, this time on Tara and the Obliteration keyword! This keyword is super fun to play, really tactically deep (there's a lot of minutia I know I won't be going into, this is deliberate) and all around something I just love playing. As one of my favourite keywords in the entire game on all levels, I'm super excited to get into the discussion!

Keyword abilities/actions-

From Nothing- The crew's main ability, this lets them unbury at the start of their activation by removing Fast from any model (although you'll want it to be on enemies to maximise AP control and because it's simply easier). The only one that lacks this is Talos (and I'll get into why this is very bad later) but overall it's a great way to boost up your placement and get into positions where your opponent have a selection of bad decisions to make. 

Glimpse the Void- A pretty common Tome trigger on the crew, this forces enemies to take TN14 Wp duels or be buried. This is great because then you can rough them up with (almost) the entire crew and they can't easily escape it, especially if they've already activated. More a little bit of control for your opponent that helps you out rather than something to plan your game around, but if you’ve got it you may as well declare it.

Stutter Time- Pretty simple bonus action on the crew, it's 6" range TN10 and resisted by Wp giving enemies Fast and burying friendlies with From Nothing. By itself it may seem pretty bad, but it's the enabler for all the other janky placement tricks they have by turning on From Nothing. Use it on Masters and models that have already activated and watch as they have no way to stop you unburying near their models.

Beyond Time- This lets the models that have it target buried models with actions ignoring range and LoS, which considering the amount of bury tricks the crew has is quite helpful. The main use for it is to kill models with annoying defensive abilities that work of auras or give them movement, because neither will trigger if they are buried.

Time is Meaningless- All the Void creatures have this, which gives them + flips in opposed duels with enemy models. It's good because they can apply fast themselves, but it won't always happen because models can activate and use their fast or you will want to end it to unbury near them.

Age to Destruction- Quite simple, it just deals damage to any model that starts its activation with Fast within aura 4 of models with this ability. It means you're punishing people for trying to deny your anti-Fast tricks and it can be a good way to get through awkward numbers of wounds (or the much-hated Hard to Kill/Regen combo)

Bury/Unbury
The main gimmick of the crew, this deserves its own section because of how tricky it is. With how many vectors the crew has for unburying after they bury themselves, you can pull around and jump across the table very quickly and trick your opponent into dedicating resources to parts of the table you will abandon soon after, primarily where you can't score/they can't deny. This plays into Glimpse the Void as well as you can put their models into these positions and keep them there with little investment yourself, which can be a real pain for an opponent and make it hard for them to score. 

Keyword models

Tara- As the master of the crew Tara naturally exemplifies the scheming/control-based nature of the Obliteration keyword. Her front of card is somewhat expected with decent stats (Df5, Wp6 and Mv5) and most of the common abilities of the crew (everything listed above apart from Time is Meaningless) with 2 other additions. Her Df trigger on a Mask is really great because it always happens, and simply makes projectile actions fail if she gets a mask of any number which is a great way to keep her alive against shooting heavy lists that don’t care about her mobility as much. She also has Adrift in Time which allows her to activate twice if she is the crew’s Leader (which she will be, there isn’t much reason to ever hire her as a second master) but gaining Slow at the start of her second activation. A 5AP master is still excellent though and does work, especially looking at the back of her card. Apart from Stutter Time she has her Soulstone Sword as an attack action, and at stat 6 vs Df, 1” range and 2/3/5 damage it’s not terrible especially as a way to guarantee Glimpse the Void which is built in. She has Leeching Strength on her Stutter Time (which is very reliable at stat 7) but otherwise that’s as much as she does offensively as she is a rather passive master. Her 2 tactical actions are where she really shines though, as Timeslip is a very easy placement trick that lets her place anywhere within 6” of her current location for a 6 of any suit, and on a crow she can do a 3” pulse that strips Fast off of enemies, and then for each instance of Fast removed a friendly in the pulse gains Fast and the crew gets a pass token which is excellent. Using this to not only annoy the enemy crew but to set up your pass tokens and get Tara into great scheming positions is well worth the moderate card it costs and should almost always be used because of how reliable it is. Her other action makes her the Outcast summoner (no Hamelin isn’t, his summons are indirect and incidental and no longer his primary gimmick) allowing her to name any number of Obliteration minions (those being Void Wretches and Void Hunters, both good options in different circumstances) and summon them with the Voidling upgrade. This upgrade buries them which isn’t a huge hassle, and the TN is variable based on what models you choose (1 Wretch needs an 8 of tomes, a Hunter needs an 11 of tomes and 2 Wretches needs a 12 of tomes). Tara in general though is a versatile master who herself will perform any number of marker schemes and can do a ton in the turn which is a great thing to have leading your crew. She is somewhat fragile but once Karina factors into it she will survive far longer than she has a right to.

Karina- Tara's totem, Karina is actually pretty good. Although she's Insignificant and has very low defensive stats, she has a few great actions that help the crew out. First is Stutter Time with Glimpse the Void as a trigger (although she needs a 6 to get it off) and her Channeled Healing action is both a good heal and a way to unbury models that isn't From Nothing. Her 2nd bonus action isn't going to be as commonly used as Stutter Time, but Time Warp can be used to flip your discard pile and fate deck without shuffling either, so if you knowingly ran out of severes mid-way through the turn and Karina hasn't activated you can get them all back without flipping any extra cards. She also has Necromancy Savant on her front of card, meaning if Tara is killed by an enemy (not Poison or Burning) within 8" of Karina you can discard a card to heal Tara 4 and bury her, which is great and fairly low cost. For her cost of 0 in a Tara crew, she is definitely a worthwhile piece. 

Aionus- The most expensive model in the crew, Aionus is a fairly important 10 stone piece because he provides a ton of versatility to the rest of the crew. His stats are excellent (Df and Mv6, Wp7) and he has a couple of fairly standard Obliteration abilities (Beyond Time and From Nothing) on top of some great unique abilities. A Stitch In Time lets him pass off Fast or Slow on models he kills to models in LoS (great in Tara where you hand out Fast to your opponents) and he can also choose to give any enemy that buries within aura 8 of him Fast or Slow with Time is a Flat Circle which adds another little bit of control. His last ability is his best though, because Buffering lets you spend your pass tokens to make the opponent pass when they would activate a model with Fast. They need LoS to Aionus but that isn’t a huge issue, and it lets you dictate both activation order and where your own models can unbury (because you safely bank that Fast so something can pop out). His back of card is purely attacks like most Obliteration, and he has Stutter Time, but otherwise is pretty unique. His melee attack is stat 6 vs Wp and 1” range, doing 2/3/4 damage and giving either Fast or Slow and with a trigger to deal +1 damage by ending a condition on the target (so fairly reliably). Eventuality is 8” range stat 6 vs Wp, is enemy only and cannot target the same model more than once an activation but it simply deals damage equal to the turn number so late game it is great damage. It has Glimpse the Void and Leeching Strength (deal 1 damage to buried model, Aionus heals 1) as triggers which are both useful too. His last attack though is going to be used far more on friendly models than enemies (and thus relented) and just unburies the target within 3” in LoS and outside of terrain. The built in trigger though is simply an after resolving gain 2 pass tokens, so using it to both unbury your own models and gain a pass token advantage is huge for their style of play.

Scion of the Void- The Scion is deceptive, because you look at its cost and assume it isn't great but really it's fantastic and should always be taken. Cost 6 for 6 wounds is pretty par for the course and the stat line of 5s all round on the front of card is decent, and looking at the abilities of the Scion it only gets better. Fade Away built in on both Df and Wp for consistent 2 damage reduction and bury (unless they ignore your triggers or deal irreducible) is really quite fantastic on such a low wound model and only gets better when you consider healing in the crew, plus it stacks with stones so you can just stone to make it 0 damage. You can take actions while buried using the Scion and even measure range through Obliteration minions that are on the table (making your summons even more annoying) but with the downside of taking a damage each time you take an action buried (this is where Karina comes in handy). In terms of actions she has Stutter Time plus 2 other excellent attacks, with Hungry Emptiness being a 10" range condition removal that deals 2 damage for each condition (great against things like McMourning or Kaeris where they like having conditions). It's stat 5 resisted by Wp so nothing amazing, but it's a good action in its niche and has 2 good triggers- Surge for card draw and Siphon Strength to steal health from buried models and heal the Scion. The other attack is the same as a Void Wretch so pretty bad damage (1/2/3) but at stat 6 it is at least reliable and it has Glimpse the Void as one trigger, but Diffusion as the other which is excellent. It can only be declared if both models are buried, but it adds +2 damage to the action (making it 3/4/5) and the target must discard a card. If you set it up (which isn't too difficult) then you will easily be tearing through models that get buried between this and the rest of the crew being able to hit them. 

Nothing Beast- The biggest of the Void creatures, Nothing Beast is a big beatstick that plays well with the rest of the crew and really makes the most of their tricks. He has all the standards for a Void creature (From Nothing, Time is Meaningless, Beyond Time and Incorporeal) plus Stutter Time, with Terrifying 11 added to make him tankier (which at Df/Wp6 and Incorp it adds up). On the back of his card are some interesting Tactical actions that won't always see use but can come in handy, with one being a bonus action (thus competing with Stutter Time) to give a 3" aura of concealment for a 4 and the other being slightly more complicated. For a 6 he can hit enemies in a 6" pulse that makes them take a TN14 Wp duel or take 2 damage and Fast, but models with Fast it becomes a very rough TN16. This is nice cause your crew use the Fast on them and it's extra damage going out, but you have to be careful with it too. His last action of note is his Obliterate attack which is 2" range, stat 6 and resisted by Wp (these are all good already) and has 3/4/6 damage base. It has Glimpse the Void on it, and on a crow Leeching Strength which lets you deal 1 damage to any buried model to heal NB 1 wound(could be a summoned Void Wretch kept buried to feed him)

Talos- I'll be honest, he's not great. Even though he is an Armour 2 Terrifying beatstick with min 3, he doesn't do much that synergises with the crew at all and he lacks all of the unique abilities or actions that make the Obliteration crew tick. He brings his own little burning package for buried enemies but it's more cute than anything, and giving him From Nothing would go a long way to making him useful. 

Void Wretch- Pretty simple models, these little guys are cheap and not really fantastic by themselves but they synergise great with the crew and are pretty easy summons. 2 of these for a 10 of Tomes from Tara is a great spend, and they can do a ton to help the crew out (spread Fast, bury your own models, even just scheme run the turn after they're summoned). May not be super tanky or great damage but with Incorporeal they can keep alive for longer than they realistically should and they are really only scheme runners/roadblocks anyway. 

Void Hunter- Yet to be released, the Void Hunters are an additional minion for Tara (and thus summon) that occupy a sort of middle ground between the Nothing Beast and the Void Wretch in that they’re a hybrid beater/scheme runner. Stat-wise they exist straight in the middle, although they share the Nothing Beast's Mv of 6 which is excellent. Terrifying 10 is more of a card drain than actual defensive tech but Df/Wp5 with Incorporeal is still good (especially on something you can just summon back). Their front of card is otherwise the exact same as a Wretch and the Nothing Beast, but their actions are a bit more unique. Their main melee attack is stat 5 with built in Glimpse the Void, 1" range and resisted by Df, but it gets a + to the duel if you have no cards in hand (with another if the enemy is Fast) and is a respectable 2/3/5 damage. They have a ram trigger for +1 damage if they end a condition on the target which is great too, although their other attack is a bit more clutch in its utility. It's resisted by Wp like most of the other Void attacks, and is 2/3/4 damage plus Distracted 1. The trick to it is it an only target buried models, and unburies the target as a result of the action so can be used to drag things out of position and put them in bad spots if they were likely to unbury soon. The tome trigger on it is very useful too, as it buries the Hunter and then draws a card so is a nice resource gain.

OOK/Versatile models-

Hodgepodge Emissary- A great model in the crew despite not having much synergy, the Emissary does a lot to support the crew in relevant ways. It has a 6 inch range heal that only needs a 6 to go off and can attach the excellent Trinket upgrades at the same time, a bonus action to put up an aura of soulstone generation when models die, and the better bonus action to push a model 3” and then drop a scheme marker. Combine that with 3 inch auras for passive heals on models’ activations and increasing their Mv by 1 for that activation (not as relevant with Tara as most other crews but situationally good), plus it having Manipulative and Hard to Kill it is well worth the 10SS investment in a lot of pools.

Trinket upgrades-

• Memento- Gives Companion, it’s useful but not mandatory. Nice to have with the pass token generation as well to save your cards
• Pretty Floral Bonnet- Don’t Mind Me lets any model you choose be able to Interact far easier which helps, but you mainly use it to unbury and immediately drop schemes for things like Harness Ley Line but more importantly Detonate Charges or second point Deliver a Message
• Vitality Potion- Regen +1 should go on one of the more important models in the crew. Aionus, Nothing Beast or Tara primarily, but also decent on Karina and the Scion.

Prospector- always good. Feeds stones to the crew which is great given the amount of essential henchmen and triggers (plus suits for Tara's summoning) and it's all around a good scheme-based model which plays into Tara's favoured pools.

Upgrades-

Servant of Dark Powers- As far as upgrades go Servant is excellent, but it isn't that great in the context of Tara. She isn't likely to hire minions in most cases so the terrifying isn't a factor, while the extra movement and healing aren't really that useful to the crew either. 

Wanted Criminal- Not worth it enough here because the enemy can just choose to not drop markers near the models with it, or the model with it will be burying/unburying and thus not on the table to draw cards. Swagger is good but on the minions Tara will be hiring (if any) it is largely pointless because they won't be attack pieces, and Expert Thief is fairly average an action. 

Soldier for Hire- Hard to Kill on any of the Living pieces in the crew is great (Basically only Karina) but the rest of the card doesn't really justify spending 2SS on it. 

Deployments- Because of the mobility and relocation inherent in the crew Tara really doesn’t care much for deployment types. As always it will affect scheme decisions but Tara and crew can get where they need to be quite easily because of From Nothing.

Strategies-

Reckoning- Not a great pool for Tara. She can do some tricks in it with her crew, and she has a couple of good beaters but it doesn't make up for the fact that the crew has a heavy reliance on henchmen and doesn't have a good spread of damage dealing

Turf War- Not terrible because she can pop in and out messing with Turf markers, but she doesn't have the durability or killing power to play it right through. I'd skip her for Viktorias or Von Schill here. 

Plant Explosives- Pretty good pool for Tara because a lot of her stuff can bypass enemies to get where they need to be (through buries mainly but also Tara’s placement and double activation). Load up the models with places, especially Tara, and go nuts jumping around dropping bombs in awkward positions. Burying and then killing models with bombs is also a great way to just remove them from the game and not have to worry about it while being a real pain to your opponent.

Corrupted Idols- Easy strat and probably Tara’s best, Idols naturally benefits crews with heals or summons and Tara has both. Summon Wretches turn 1 to continually cycle through pushing Idols, use your pass token supremacy to dictate where they drop and your easy placement to navigate the table with ease.

Schemes-

Detonate Charges- Tara doesn’t have anything especially geared towards Detonate but the crew isn’t strictly terrible at it either. It’s something I would look at Tara as a counter to rather than her scoring it herself and spring for another easier scheme.

Breakthrough- You've got mobility and you've got scheme marker placement. This is one you can do, but as always I only recommend it in Flank because of greater spread and more potential to flank. 

Harness the Ley Line- This one is super easy because again, it’s moving and interacting. Being able to drop wherever you want (especially with Aionus or Pretty Floral Bonnet) and start interacting to score VP makes Harness easy VP for the crew- use disposable Wretches and Tara herself to almost solo it.

Search the Ruins- The crew can push deep with their tricks and get right where they need to for interacting, so even though it’s more difficult than some other options on here it’s definitely more than doable and in the upper half of scheme selection

Dig Their Graves- Nothing Beast, Void Hunters and Void Wretches all don’t drop markers here which makes the second point harder for both parties, but in general this isn’t something I’d be taking with Tara. The crew is far more geared towards interacting and marker placement, and this scheme rewards crews not only with interacts but also quick killing. It’s ok to take but it doesn’t necessarily gel with what Tara is doing

Hold Up Their Forces- Drop Wretches into things, score VP. It’s pretty easy to do but you have to be careful with the Fast game and activation order to achieve it at best effect.

Take Prisoner- Another one where you can unbury late turn and score easily, well worth considering (especially with Void Hunters being summoned in to be an annoyance)

Power Ritual- If this isn’t one of Tara’s best schemes I don’t know what is. Obviously dependent on the deployment (I would still never take it into Standard or Wedge) but it’s significantly easier with Tara’s crew than most

Outflank- Easy to score both from and not difficult to deny with Glimpse the Void. Well worth taking for 2VP because you should be able to score it without hassle (i.e. if the opponent kills what you have on one side you can reach it again easily)

Assassinate- Tara isn’t necessarily easy to kill, she’s slippery, but if something can catch her out she won’t be hugely safe. It’s not something I’d recommend taking her into (her crew also isn’t fantastic at scoring it) but it’s possible

Deliver a Message- Another one based around movement and interacting? Yes, this is a Tara scheme. The crew can easily get into position to score both VP, and her relocation also means that she can counter it by just popping off into the void last turn (doesn’t even matter that she counts as dead if Assassinate isn’t in the pool)

Claim Jump- If you play the bury/unbury game well, this can be quite easy. But with the way Tara’s crew unburies off enemies it has to be played to carefully so the model isn’t engaged at the end of the turn

Vendetta- There is one really standout option in this crew for Vendetta, and that is the Scion of the Void. Being a pretty survivable henchmen itself, but also able to dish out a ton of damage while buried the Scion can easily get the points for Vendetta and stay alive.


All in all, Tara and her Obliteration crew are one of my favourite things to play in Malifaux, because their nature as a slippery scheming crew that annoys the enemy is something I find incredibly fun and very thematic.

GG1

Strategies

Symbols of Authority- Hard to defend because of the nature of the crew, but you can leverage Glimpse the Void enough in addition to your own models appearing in engagement that you can threat very easily.

Recover Evidence- Because of how this strategy shuts down burying, you don’t take Tara into this. It’s just too much of a major downside to even consider her IMO.

Corrupted Ley Lines- With the crew's reliance on burying for movement changing they aren't fantastic, but you can still make the most of Lodestone carrying through careful planning of activations and placement. Tara is a good choice here but by no means a standout best. 

Public Enemies- Not really great for Tara for the same reasons as Reckoning. It’s doable if the scheme pool is ok but I would look elsewhere. She can bury things and then kill them to still gain Bounty tokens without it escaping but it’s not reliable enough to make a whole game plan around.

Schemes

Breakthrough, Take Prisoner, Vendetta, Assassinate, Claim Jump- Unchanged, see above for my thoughts on them

Hidden Martyrs- With how I hire crews for Tara this doesn't really work as I tend to mostly hire very expensive models to start and summon in minions. The Scion and Prospectors are 2 things I use often that can work but I wouldn't take the scheme on principle, preferring to take interact schemes. 

Sabotage- Same as Search the Ruins in terms of difficulty. You should be able to at least get the first point easily enough with Tara alone.

Catch and Release- This one is very doable for Tara, just means you need to hire a minion. Do it with Void Hunters, unbury them into scoring position late in the turn, then bury again later to get them out of danger and unbury in safer positions. 

Let Them Bleed- Not something I would take with Tara. It’s not how she plays and it shouldn’t really be something you would even consider choosing with her crew.

Leave Your Mark- Like every other crew, I still say don't take this scheme. 

Research Mission- Not really that great because you can’t leverage the amount of markers you get out with the crew in a way that makes it easily scored. You’re relying on incidental stuff and the opponent to get the most use out of it.

Spread Them Out- This is a Tara scheme. In any situation she’s not shut down by the strat she can easily get the markers out where she needs to score the points.

Runic Binding- Scheming keyword with tons of reach means point 1 is super easy especially once you look at being able to unbury models in the triangle and block them in. 2^nd point is a bit tough but that’s most crews

GG2

Strategies

Symbols of Authority, Corrupted Ley Lines- Same as in GG1, my thoughts are the same.

Turf War- Same as it used to be, same opinion as before

Break the Line- Even though you can’t just chuck summoned Void Wretches onto it with how GG2 works, you can move in such janky ways that this strat isn’t a bad place to drop Tara into. Tara herself can do a ton of work to shove markers deep into enemy zones and the rest of the crew just have to do a little bit of work to make sure there are more markers being pushed.

 

Schemes

Breakthrough, Vendetta, Assassinate, Hidden Martyrs, Research Mission, Let Them Bleed, Catch and Release, Spread Them Out- These are all very much the same as before and I wouldn't change how I play them now.

Detonate Charges, Claim Jump- They’re the same as GG0, same as my thoughts there.

Death Beds- Almost no marker generation even when they die, and you want to be killing models after they get buried. Never take this with Tara because you will never score it

On the Table- Bushido ninjas, BMG 3rd edition

Hi all, quick little post today to start off something a bit new talking about what I'm working on at the moment and what I've been playing.

To start off, I've been playing a lot of BMG in the last few weeks now that I finally have physical 3rd edition stuff. I'm super keen for the new edition and I really love how it plays, been sticking with Batman to start but I'll dive back into my League in the next month or so for sure!
Some of the things I have liked the most are:

• Objective cards- the randomness of how you're going to be scoring and building decks/plots is the biggest part of the new game, and it's definitely something to plan around. I love it though and it reminds me a lot of Malifaux but in a very good way
• How thematic it is- it's comic silliness but the characters feel like they should on all levels, and that's a huge success from a game design standpoint

Next up, I've moved into a new faction for Malifaux. Not much to say here other than Misaki was an easy in-road to Ten Thunders (I owned her when she was dual-faction Outcasts, and I'm not going to just not play her) and to look for a tactica on her in the near future, but I found McCabe and was instantly taken. I love his playstyle and the crew and can't wait to get more stuff for them in the future through the Explorers Society, who I will play for sure. 

I've also jumped into Bushido purely because I happened to have a bunch of the ninja models. The Shadow Wind Clan are pretty cool minis and I'm having a great time painting them. I'm very much excited to start playing Bushido proper, already looking at terrain to play around with!

That's all for now, I'll be back in the coming days with tactica for Tara and Misaki who are both nearly done so look out for those, plus I'm planning some battle reports on other things as well.