Strategies
Symbols of Authority- The return of one of GG18s fan favourites, Symbols is a capture the flag type game of attack and defence which puts a great twist on the usual kind of play. Each player gets 4 markers in their table half but they have to be 8" apart, so you can't simply bubble and defend like some crews would want and it rewards you for having the mobility and reach to score. The classic bury crews, high movement and placement will be really good in this strategy (Seamus, Misaki, Colette, Tara and Viks come to mind) but also things that can control aspects of the board are going to be great in the defence game so I think Rasputina will come out as a real star here as will Zipp. One other thing to keep in mind is if you remove more than one of your opponent's Symbols a turn you lock yourself out of points, so don't do that in any circumstance (even if it's just a "because I'm here and I can" you're better off concentrating)
Recover Evidence- A twist on the old Headhunter strategy from 2E, combined melee/scheming crews will get a real kick out of this. Players choose 5 enemy non-master models to get Intel tokens after deployment (or they drop on the centreline if you run out/have a 5 master list), and the goal is to kill those enemy models to make them drop markers and then pick them up to score. Any crew that is both fast and has good damage can be really nice at this because they can get into the thick of it early to score VP from turn 2 (Mei Feng, Viks, Lady J, Nekima). It does have one major downside in that the rules of the scheme shut down aggressive self-buries by letting the opponent choose if a model with Intel can be buried or not when they would normally be buried by friendlies (this doesn't stop you using things like Glimpse the Void or Pine Box on your opponents to put them in worse positions) which is the biggest reason Tara isn't golden in this strat. The opponent choosing which models get Intel markers means you won't be burying the models you want to unless you have a lot of them or they're Masters.
Corrupted Ley Lines- Acting as an almost football-esque game, Corrupted Ley Lines requires you to move around the table with a Lodestone and claim markers. The markers behave like they do in Turf War in terms of where they are and their terrain stats, but in order to be claimed they must have a Lodestone-bearing model in base contact at the end of the turn. Models can throw around the Lodestone by interacting (any model within 1” of the bearer can throw it 6” with an interact) and when the bearers are removed from the table (be that by burying or by death) they immediately pass it on to the nearest friendly model. It’s an interesting style of play requiring heavy use of positioning and movement but at the same time seems quite interesting if a little less interactive with the opponent than others.
Public Enemies- A slightly less obvious version of Reckoning, this requires a bit more planning instead of just outright killing off models. It works off cost now instead of station but is fairly similar overall. It also prevents you killing your own models to deny VP (or death via condition) as it gives the opponent Bounty tokens anyway if you do this. Crews that were good at Reckoning will still be great here, you’ll just be playing it slightly differently.
Schemes
Breakthrough, Take Prisoner, Assassinate, Claim Jump- All the same as before with very little affecting them, so you play them the same way as you did before. All the crews you would've done it with before will still do it just as easily (exception being in Arcanists- Soulstone Miners don't do them as easily)
Vendetta- It's the same as before, you'll play it the same as before but with some of the errata points changes affecting how it comes out.
Sabotage- A harder form of Search the Ruins, the terrain now has to be within 3” of the enemy deployment zone and in order to score you now have to have the markers out of LoS of the opponent for the first point, and have no enemy schemes nearby for the 2nd. If you were playing Detonate before this is something you’ll still see, you just need to work for it
Let Them Bleed- Basically you have to get the 2 highest cost non-leader models in the enemy crew to half wounds to score the first point, and to get the second point you need to have no more than 1 enemy model on their maximum wounds at the end of the game. Models with summon upgrades are completely ignored for this, and Insignificant is a big downside here as well (looking at the Bayou lists with as many Insignificant models as possible)
Research Mission- Any crew that can put out multiple kinds of non-scheme markers is king here because it needs a model within 4” and LoS of 3 different kinds of markers to score the first point and 3 models within 2” of 3 different markers for the third point (and for both points these markers must be in the opposing table half). Neverborn can do it incredibly easily (Nightmare alone with Bandersnatch and Widow Weaver) as can things like Tricksy, Infamous and Foundry plus the obvious other “marker masters”. There are also other tricks to do it with things like Blown Apart and just using Strategy Markers so overall this is a pretty good scheme to take.
Spread Them Out- Simple in theory, you just need to have 3 markers that are 10” apart to score the first point, and do the same but wholly in the opponent’s table half for the 2nd. Obviously not done by bubble crews but anything that is running flankers and semi-independent models anyway you don’t really care.
Runic Binding- This one is quite fun and although it needs a bit of investment isn't terribly difficult. The first point basically requires you to trap 3 enemy models in a triangle formed by 3 of your scheme markers, with no restriction on which enemy models they have to be but the corners of the triangle have to be less than 10" apart. That's really quite easily achievable for crews that can lock down opponents or mess with their placing while also getting markers out (the initial ones that stuck out to me were Lucius, Tara, Rasputina, Jack Daw and Zoraida with Misaki and Colette to a certain degree). The second point is much more difficult, as you need to put 3 scheme markers within 4" of a single enemy model (which again you don't need to choose until you can score) pretty much demanding you take ways to move or place extra scheme markers without interacting. All in all I think it's a very interesting scheme and I'm looking forward to trying it.
Vendetta- It's the same as before, you'll play it the same as before but with some of the errata points changes affecting how it comes out.
Hidden Martyrs- A bit like the old Frame for Murder, you
need to pick 2 models adding up to a total of 13 or less and have one get
killed and the other survive on over half wounds to score both points. It’s
difficult and you have to play mind games on the opponent to do it well, but it
can also be used as a way to get a benefit out of opponents killing your
important models (Obedient Wretch in Hamelin is perfect here)
Sabotage- A harder form of Search the Ruins, the terrain now has to be within 3” of the enemy deployment zone and in order to score you now have to have the markers out of LoS of the opponent for the first point, and have no enemy schemes nearby for the 2nd. If you were playing Detonate before this is something you’ll still see, you just need to work for it
Catch and Release- This is a bit of an odd one because you
need to have a selected minion engage an enemy master or henchman and nothing
else for the first point, then have it escape and stay unengaged at the end of
the game for a 2nd point. Once the first point is scored though the
opponent will do their best to counter you so the second point is a real effort
to do, but you can combine it with something else (Hidden Martyrs) for a damned
if you do/damned if you don’t situation
Let Them Bleed- Basically you have to get the 2 highest cost non-leader models in the enemy crew to half wounds to score the first point, and to get the second point you need to have no more than 1 enemy model on their maximum wounds at the end of the game. Models with summon upgrades are completely ignored for this, and Insignificant is a big downside here as well (looking at the Bayou lists with as many Insignificant models as possible)
Leave Your Mark- This is probably the one I would skip the
most just because of how boring it is on top of being difficult to score. You
need a scheme within 1” of the centrepoint but your opponent can’t have one to
score it, and the second point you need 3 schemes within 4” of the centrepoint.
It’s predictable, easy to counter and not all that interactive so really I just
dislike this scheme in general
Research Mission- Any crew that can put out multiple kinds of non-scheme markers is king here because it needs a model within 4” and LoS of 3 different kinds of markers to score the first point and 3 models within 2” of 3 different markers for the third point (and for both points these markers must be in the opposing table half). Neverborn can do it incredibly easily (Nightmare alone with Bandersnatch and Widow Weaver) as can things like Tricksy, Infamous and Foundry plus the obvious other “marker masters”. There are also other tricks to do it with things like Blown Apart and just using Strategy Markers so overall this is a pretty good scheme to take.
Spread Them Out- Simple in theory, you just need to have 3 markers that are 10” apart to score the first point, and do the same but wholly in the opponent’s table half for the 2nd. Obviously not done by bubble crews but anything that is running flankers and semi-independent models anyway you don’t really care.
Runic Binding- This one is quite fun and although it needs a bit of investment isn't terribly difficult. The first point basically requires you to trap 3 enemy models in a triangle formed by 3 of your scheme markers, with no restriction on which enemy models they have to be but the corners of the triangle have to be less than 10" apart. That's really quite easily achievable for crews that can lock down opponents or mess with their placing while also getting markers out (the initial ones that stuck out to me were Lucius, Tara, Rasputina, Jack Daw and Zoraida with Misaki and Colette to a certain degree). The second point is much more difficult, as you need to put 3 scheme markers within 4" of a single enemy model (which again you don't need to choose until you can score) pretty much demanding you take ways to move or place extra scheme markers without interacting. All in all I think it's a very interesting scheme and I'm looking forward to trying it.
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