The next title teaser that got my attention is the new version of Mei Feng and her accompanying Rock Hopper. I'm not a huge fan of the change in playstyle of this Mei Feng just because it isn't really my favoured style of play I feel over the old one, although I do definitely like it and I'll play it for sure. The Rock Hopper I feel is in a bit of a weird spot and I really love the art (props to Wyrd for designing something that easily fits into the Nightmare Mei crew as well aesthetically) but the card is somewhat more niche compared to some other things in the crew IMO
New Mei is a lot more support oriented than the fighter the old version was, but the support she adds is worthwhile. She still has Ride the Rails as could be expected, but otherwise has changed entirely on her front of card to revolve around scrap markers and above all protecting her own crew, meaning this Mei is who you swap in when you hear the opponent is playing keywords with a lot of Armour ignoring (but not Irreducible, that has the same effect here as it does with fighter Mei). Shielded +1 on all friendly Foundry models within Aura 8 every turn is very nice because it makes them tankier, but it also synergises especially well with Sparks to make your bombs go that little bit further, and the 12" aura of choosing to ignore Hazardous Terrain is also really great in a lot of matchups (especially Mah Tucket, where you can use her Pit Traps for Ride the Rails thanks to Sparks and now ignore all the downsides). Mei also has her own ability to remove scrap markers within Aura 2 to reduce any damage from attacks to 0 which is very helpful because this version doesn't have Armour and with only 10 wounds is a bit fragile, so any extra reduction abilities (especially reduce to 0) come in handy because they save you Soulstones. She also has a once per activation ability that deals 1 damage to enemy models when a scrap marker is placed within base contact of them and 8" of Mei, so you can get a bit more aggressive with placing your scrap and force out irresistible damage in some great ways (Metal Golem for example now has a really great way to get around Hard to Kill).
Lay Track as a bonus action is just amazingly worthwhile for the crew because it's a scrap marker drop on a 4 and 8" range is really great, but what it also does is give the potential to burn opponent hands and do chip damage. TN13 Df is high enough that it needs moderates to pass and 2 damage and Stunned isn't something the enemy will want to get, especially if you use the scrap placement to trigger Heated Iron as well and do another 1 damage that can't be resisted. Mass Hysteria on a trigger is great to have as well because affecting positioning is always great be it to move things out of position so they struggle to score or to break up Auras, but on this action its entirely just an incidental thing because of how actually landing damage isn't reliable.
Steelcraft as a once per turn summon is honestly something I think is amazing, because with no flips and costing you 2 scrap markers (which you'll have an abundance of anyway) an essentially free Metal Gamin is great to have. They're solid enough minions already, but the cost of 2 scrap is effectively paid for as soon as it gets summoned (unless its Demise gets ignored, it drops 2 scrap when it dies) and only increases in value the moment it activates. I think if you have the AP to spare and you are in a position where you can summon, I would always do it just because it will very rarely be a bad decision in terms of resource cost.
Her melee is low damage, but giving Burning is nice and it’s mostly going to be used for either healing friendly Constructs (most of the keyword) or for triggers. Scorched Remains for scrap is both a resource and extra possible damage from her so it’s great, while Shove Aside is a great combo of board control, free attacks and mobility for you which are all very useful. Impromptu Invention, like her other actions, is a mix of being able to be offensive or a buff to your own models, as it simply gives a condition at +1 value to any model you choose to target that hasn’t already been affected by this action that activation. Stat 7 vs Wp is excellent and you can do some really great things with it when you need to (Focused or Fast on your own models while Slow, Distracted, Staggered and Stunned are all useful on enemies). The triggers are both great too, with the Crow trigger adding an extra +1 (especially great for Focused or Distracted but you can use it for Burning or Poisoned too) and the Ram trigger giving you a pseudo-Obey that you can’t charge from. Any extra actions is very useful, and especially the combo of being able to give a Metal Golem Fast and then also take an extra action is insanely good value when it only costs you a 5 of Rams.
The Rock Hopper is an interesting take because it lacks a lot of the things you would expect from Foundry Constructs (Vent Steam and Walking Forge) which hurts it a bit but what it does do is very interesting and it has its place in the crew. Where it is massively useful is vs Hoffman especially, but anyone that has the ability to discard scrap markers and/or takes higher amounts of armour the Rock Hopper does a lot of work. Ride the Rails compensates for Mv4 a bit, but Abandoned Machinery really does it the best giving it a free 4" push when it activates if there are no other friendlies within Aura 4 of it and Scamper giving more moves if enemies cheat near it. Rusted Metal keeps your scrap safe to allow rail networks to somewhat stay secure, and combined with his bonus action you can make sure that your crew are also not taking damage from anything other than Hazardous or Attacks (which includes things like Vengeance and Black Blood). This action is also very easy to get off, because it only needs a 4, and you can get a Soulstone for a Mask or a Scheme for a Crow which are both excellent resource generation. Rust Rash is kind of like a Shockwave-esque action to hand out Stunned, but it won't always be immediately beneficial and the main thing you'll be using it for is to have the incidental scrap generation from the Tome trigger because it's the cheapest and most reliable scrap trigger in the keyword with its possible 4" range. The other thing to note is its melee attack, which is a good stat with great range and ignores Resistance Triggers and Armour, so even though min 2 isn't great everything else about this attack is amazing. Knock Aside is a good trigger for affecting placement as well, but the best thing here is the ability to crack armour and punch through Resistance Triggers. I wouldn't take the Rock Hopper always, but in the right matchups it will be very worthwhile
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