This Miner's got Soul(stones)

Today we have a guest post by the lovely @zacgoldenhall of @malibites
Not a "2 for 1" article but a more in depth look at particular wave 2 model.

Not a lot of wave 2 Arcanists inspired me enough to add them into my crew just yet. For the most part I'm loving the plastics enough to wait until they come out later on in glorious grey. However, there was one little bundle of joy that I really had to add to my Ramos crew, partly because I wanted to try it out, and partly because I knew I'd be happy enough to throw a second one down once the plastic is released. It's the one, the only...

Soulstone miner!

Since making and painting my little miner, I've taken every opportunity to throw it down on the table, so here's some thoughts that have come from those test runs:

Check yourself:

The miner comes down at the end of a turn. Now in a 5 turn game, you may feel like you want to throw that miner down at the end of turn one, to get the most out of those six soulstones you spent. Be careful though. Most people won't have got too far from their deployment zone, so you have much fewer options in where to place it. Waiting that extra turn or two may well give you better placement for the little fella, and help you get more out of him in the end. 

Control your opponent:

Think about what your opponent is like. Are you better off constantly reminding them that your miner is ready to come on anywhere, making them too cautious, or would it be better to keep quiet and let them over extend themselves so your little tentacle of scheme nabbing goodness can pop up unmolested. This decision will also depend on your schemes. If you've taken something that requires your miner to be free to interact then it may be better to keep shtum. If you're bluffing interact schemes when actually you're going for something else, then maybe let slip about the miner a couple of times, or wonder aloud as to where you might put him. Using the threat of an appearing soulstone miner can be a great way of seeing those points returning before he's even placed on the board.

Deployment concerns:

Bear in mind deployment types when choosing your crew. If you have close deployment this fella’s deployment options are reduced considerably, to the point where I would consider not taking him. Corner deployment, however, gives him a massive range of deployment options, and he'd almost be a must take for this and flank games, depending on the schemes of course.

Scheme and Strat:

There are some schemes and strategies in which this guy is pretty much guaranteed VPs. He's a shoe in for Stake a Claim, and brilliant at things like protect territory or power ritual. Essentially, anything that gives you VP for placing a marker somewhere specific, this guy can go net those VP's easily. Also, if the scheme pool is that bad that you're seriously considering take prisoner or outflank, he's probably the only guy that can net these reliably. You just have to decide whether holding a 6SS model for a turn 5 deployment is worth 3VP. Hint: in most cases, the answer is yes.

Well I'll stop there. I've only really experienced this guy with Ramos, and still want to get in some more games with him, so if you want to chat about how I'm wrong, or extra thoughts you've had, then hit me up on Twitter.

See you there!
Zac Evans (@zacgoldenhall)