Bonus Blog: Somerfaux Pool Evolution and Testing.

One Hundred Soulstones in a Pool

Evolution

First off I need to start this thread by thanking the fantastic and amazing Mr James Doxey aka @MythicFOX83.

After writing my original blogpost he and I got into a little discussion via email about what he would recommend in a pool and was very good at answering my question as dumb or as specific as they were.

Using the advice James had given me, crossed with my own personal taste and with a sprinkle of not having to borrow too much I came up with the following 100ss pool

• Mei Feng
• Ramos
• Kang
• Myranda
• Joss
• Howard Langston
• Mechanical Rider
• Arcane Effigy
• 2 Metal Gamin
• Rail Worker
• Soulstone Miner
• Electric Creation
• Large Steam Arachnid
• Emberling
• Arcane Reservoir
• Imbued Energies
• Imbued Protection
• Warding Runes
• Vapourmancy
• Under Pressure
• Combat Mechanic
• Bleeding Edge Tech

As you can see from my last list I dropped a Rail Worker an Arachnid and the Brass Arachnid model wise. The Rail Worker and Large Arachnid which was in consideration over the Miner originally are so comparable that swapping one for the other seemed like good flexibility without anything lost.

A Steam Arachnid was pretty pointless to start with, I'm not sure I have started with one on the table in past 6-9 months so dropping it wasn't hard.

The Brass Arachnid I was unsure about, the "wind-up and go Langston" trick is something people are a lot more used to these days, James expressed he wasn't a fan and as he described the Brass bug getting left behind on the field typically he said exactly the things I had always considered but never looked into.

Dropping those models meant I could get Myranda in, at the end of the last Somerfaux blog I said I'd like her in the list for speed and flexibility (due to shapechange) and it didn't take me much convincing to add her.

The last little alteration is I dropped Powered by Flame so that I could fit Under Pressure in which is one of Ramos' best upgrades and honestly, I'm not sure how I forgot it.

Powered by Flame is great still in my opinion but to get the 2 stones it was that or Imbued Protection, not only is protection Rare 3 and therefore possibly a lot more flexible, I absolutely love having it on Mei Feng for Df7 Leap Aside as well as simply extra protection against Assassinate.

Lastly, Warding Runes were a nice addition from Wave 2 and something I want to play around with a lot more in the future.

Practice makes Perfect?

Prior to Somerfaux, Aaron and I had a chat about our pools and were both fairly happy with them.

We arranged for the Sunday before to meet with Jan, hope unfortunately couldn't make it, to get some practice games in restricting ourselves to our pools.

Banter, food and a slow pace meant we only got a couple of games in but they were two of my favourite games to date and I feel I learnt a bit so thought I would share here.

Note we didn't know the strategies or schemes we would be playing so used Gaining Grounds 2014 as reference.

Also not everything is in perfect order as it comes from memory with minimal notes wrote two days after, so apologies if there seems to be any continuity errors but I'm pretty sure I've avoided them.

Game 1: Reckoning/Corner Deployment

Schemes:

• Line in the Sand,
• Make them suffer,
• Murder Protégé,
• Breakthrough,
• Protect Territory.

Crew Selection

Me:

• Mei feng,
• - Arcane Reservoir,
• - Imbued Protection,
• - Seismic Claws.
• Kang,
• - Imbued Energies
• Howard Langston,
• - Imbued Energies
• Myranda,
• - Imbued Energies
• Rail Worker,
• Large Steam Arachnid

Aaron:

• Viktoria of Ashes
• - Survivalist,
• - Oathkeeper,
• - Scramble
• Viktoria of Blood
• - Oathkeeper,
• - Mark of "Shizzle"
• Vanessa
• Taelor
• - Oathkeeper,
• - Scramble
• Freikorp Trapper
• Strongarm Suit

This game was actually an instant re rack, first off both Aaron and I had built such elite crews the first time that neither of us had started with a minion or peon.
I admittedly did have the chance to change Myranda into one, but we were essentially taking crews that gave 3 VP away.
This is a simple mistake that we both knew about but Murder Protégé in Reckoning is always interesting because of this dilemma.
Also of note, I gave Joss Bleeding Edge Tech which did nothing as there were no Construct minions in my crew.

After a few laughs at our own stupidity it was time for Take 2.

The only thing of note from deployment was that Aaron has position the filth known as a Freikorp Trapper across the board in the opposite corner with a bead on Howard, Mei and a Rail Worker.

I announce Murder Protégé on the Strongarm suit with Make them Suffer unrevealed.
Aaron also with Make them Suffer unrevealed and also Murder Protégé naming Howard Langston.
A bloody, tactical game was ahead of us.

Turn 1

Early on the Trapper takes a nice clean shot at Mei Feng, whilst it does hit the damage it causes is minimal and Mei leaves with a 1 wound scratch.

Aaron's main force of combat ladies; Taelor and both Viks advance together around his right of the large blacksmiths in his deployment as Vanessa and the "Protégé" creep around it's left against nearer the edge of the field.

The Large arachnid who was deployed very hidden scurries behind the trees continuing to hide from any potential shooting by the Trapper.

The Rail Worker advances from the trees holding his ground and prepares a path for his Master, Mei Feng.

The Worker is joined in by Howard Langston advances carefully to be Mei's next stop, ready as always with his steamborg enhanced body to fight, Langston heads in the general direction of Aaron's crew's centre, ready to obliterate any key enemies.

Myranda jogs along in a similar direction close behind, while Kang gripping his hammer in both hand advances on the Strongarm Suit and the sister Vanessa.

Mei Feng with her group of constructs in places, rail walks to the worker then Howard successfully and with zero time for patience charges straight into the trio of Killer ladies: Viktoria of Ash and Blood and Taelor.
The blur of kicks and claw strikes however miss Taelor and any that hit, the damage was simply absorbed by the power of a soul stone.

Aaron's Freikorps Trapper

Turn 2


Mei Feng then starts to receive her beating from Taelor and the Viktorias attempt some team shenanigans that Mei Feng with her Imbued Protection leaps aside from to strand the group, keeping them staring and wondering how Mei was even able to escape.
Still Taelor's hammer is no joke and had Miss Feng well within swinging range.

Howard unleashes his Imbued Energies using the ruckus that Mei has caused as a major distraction speedily crawling past the huge big cat fight and straight into a fight with the Strongarm.
Howard with his executioner's claws made fast work of the Protege, the now dubbed "weak leg suit".
The job was done so fast in fact that Howard even got his claws on Vanessa and causing her some injuries too.

Vanessa then strikes back at Big H and controls his half robot mind to get him to simply, just bugger off and into the clutches of her more combat versed sisters.

Kang still gripping his hammer continues his journey towards the fighting and specifically with Vanessa in his sights all the while the Rail Worker decides it would be best to heads after the Freikorp Trapper to get him pinned by his bionic arm.

The Trapper scanning the field now get's Mei Feng back into his sights, she is amongst the Trapper's allies but he decides to take a calculated risk.
He fires.
The already brutally injured Mei Feng get's shot down, her chances of Rail Walking to escape or Making the Trapper suffer taken down in the blink of an eye.

This meant it was Myranda’s turn to dive into the fray to hold back the Relic Hammer from smashing Langston. Using a burst of Imbued energy she, as fast as a cat, bounded right into Taelor.
If she could survive just long enough should could change shape into an actual Big Cat and possibly do the job Mei was aiming for.


Turn 3.

Myranda get’s a bit beat on but manages to take a few swipes at and poison Taelor.
Still alive Myranda uses the opportunity to Shapechange into a Sabertooth Cerberus.

Morphing into the cat along with some repositioning due to Viktorias shenanigans meant that Taelor was able to squeeze out of the fight, the Cerberus left to fight both Viktoria and her doppelganger alone.

The Viktorias make no hesitation and proceed to rip, tear and slice the Cerberus into pieces not giving it a chance to lift a claw.

Howard using his new position he found himself in after waking from the control of Vanessa used it to his advantage, making a  flurry of attacks against the master of the Viktorias, not only taking her out but weakening the attacking strength of the sister and Taelor.

With his imbued energies Kang charges headstrong into Vanessa with his Hammer held high, smashing into her on the charge but missing the critical strike of the backswing leaving her worse for wear but still breathing.

Vanessa shifts around Kang taking a poke at the highly damaged Howard to no avail.

The Rail Worker see’s that with his master down and Myranda out it is up to him still to kill the Trapper, times are desperate to force the enemy to suffer.
So far away he is unable to get his grip on the Freikorps but does manage to get up in his face.



Turn 4

The Rail Worker uses his implacable assault only managing to just wound the Trapper and fails to pin him into position.

The trapper retreats to cover leaving combat and firing at the worker, his metal body taking most of the bullets impact but this trickery allows the Freikorps to further reposition.

Again the Trapper fires, going for what he hopes is a kill shot but misses entirely and leaving himself in a still quite worrying position with an angry Rail worker.

Howard unleashes more of his rage with a flurry at Taelor before she can lift her construct destroying relic hammer, each slice of the executioners claws ripping into her and taking her out of action.

The second Viktoria then takes her attempt at finishing the killing machine that is Howard Langston.
She swings her blades, going for the killing blow but manages to miss and a dark feeling as black as the night sky overcomes her as she becomes terrified by the sheer sight of this monstrous steamborg.

The Large arachnid who had continued to scurry along takes it's chance charge buzzsaw first into Vanessa hoping to allow Kang to use his abilities elsewhere.
However the Large Arachnid steam bellowing from it's back should've acted more like the spider form it is in and hid because his strikes both failed to hit leaving Kang to do the dirty work but also now in the sights of the enemy that would hope to make it suffer.

Vanessa again commands Howard's weakened mind, this time forcing Big H to scurry into the way of Kang and shielding the Vik from his sight.
Dazed and confused Langston then got struck in the back of the head by Vanessa who actually caused the final blow to the Steamborg.

With Howard collapsing Kang has his eyes staring right into Vanessa’s soul and in with his hammer attempts to see if he can find it through her skull, smashing her into the ground.

Turn 5

Viktoria now free from the clutches of the deadly Langston sees one of Mei Feng's minions and takes to time consider anything but charging into it.
With some quick strikes the Henchwoman kills the large arachnid who with it's last dying churn has Kang wondering "why did it even bother?"

Kang charges headstrong into Viktoria, battering her but not taking the tough girl down...

Across the field, The Railworker manages to charge the trapper however, through lack of control, fate dictated that the Worker could not kill the Viktoria's only minion.


Game Ends

4 - 4 draw

Aaron with 3 for Murder Protégé and 1 for Make them Suffer.

Me with 3 for Murder Protégé  and 1 for Reckoning.

If the Rail Worker had managed at any point to eliminate the Freikorps Trapper the game would've been mine.
The Large Arachnid was, I thought a calculated risk but in hindsight he should've stayed home.
If I wanted another minion for the points the Soulstone miner would've been a lot better, especially as a counter to the Trapper potentially deploying within charge range after it had been deployed with From the Shadows.

Game 2: Stake a Claim/Standard Deployment

Schemes:

• A line in the sand,
• Assassinate,
• Bodyguard,
• Spring the trap,
• Cursed Object.

Crew Selection:

Me:

• Mei Feng,
• -Imbued Protection,
• -Seismic Claws,
• -Arcane Reservoir.
• Emberling
• Mechanical Rider,
• -Imbued Energies
• Howard Langston,
• -Imbued Energies
• Myranda,
• -Imbued Energies
• Soulstone Miner

Aaron:

• Tara,
• - Teleport bullshit aka Eternal journey,
• - Survivalist.
• Taelor,
• - Oathkeeper
• Nothing Beast,
• - Oathkeeper
• Killjoy,
• - Oathkeeper
• 3 Void Wretches

I take Assassinate and Bodyguard on Mechanical Rider.
Aaron takes Cursed Object and Assassinate himself.

Turn 1

Well my first note is "I play like a total gimp". Interesting.

Tara advances and grabs an eternal moment.

The Emberling uses it's incorporeal abilities to moves through walls to quickly leave a building and cools down leaving some scrap just in it's Master's sights.

The Mechanical Rider gallops up my left flank, whilst Howard Langston scuttles with such speed up the centre of the field.

Myranda takes the right flank and moves as fast up it as she can.

It turns out Howard was too hasty for his own good, as Taelor hiding behind a fence ahead keeps her oath and charges into Langston.
With two precise strikes of her Relic Hammer and caught off guard Big H is instantly turned into scrap.

With the same incorporeal abilities as the Emberling the other side of the field sees the Nothing Beast move straight through a blacksmiths and takes a strike against Myranda which manages to dodge with her cat like agility.

Mei Feng does the classic Ben Sime turn 1 charge, first off the scrap purposely left for her by her totem then the dead body of Howard and aims to kill Tara early doors.

Mei claws and kicks Tara to a pulp but not quite enough to take her down.
Tara then with her moment takes a strike at Mei and causes a Temporal shift before taking an Eternal journey straight back into the furthest corner from the Arcanist infiltrating Ten Thunder Master.

Between this two Wretches surrounded the woods that Taelor and Tara were fighting in where as the third wretch headed into the blacksmith's towards Myranda.

At the end of all this commotion. The Soulstone miner digs it's way up on the very left of the board near the enemies starting position and using a boulder for cover.

Turn 2

Taelor feeling like Queen of Malifaux takes a swing at Mei Feng with her Relic Hammer.
However, Mei is far more evasive than Howard and leaps aside with ease causing Taelor to waste her momentum.
Mei's leap also allows her to hop in-between the two nearby fast wretches.

Using the power from the Temporal shift Mei strikes a Void Wretch twice to take it down and turns her attention to the next, flunking her final attack and leaving it barely alive.

The Nothing beast again tries to kill Myranda and fails so…

Myranda simply walks around the nothing beast, not striking it due to the Void it had created.
Myranda transforms and becomes a Sabertooth Cerberus leaping into the weakened Tara.
Tara is assassinated by the giant cat who simply mauls her to death.

The Mechanical Rider continues on it's journey, reveling in the creation of an ice gamin which the rider simply uses to fire at an explode causing the blast of ice to take out the second Void Wretch...

...this though causes Killjoy to arrive who attempts to keep his oath that he will murder the Ten Thunder Master, swinging his weapon violently he injures the master but does not best her.
Seeing he cannot take Mei down, Killjoy decides to hand her a cursed object.

The Soulstone miner still hiding, stays put and stakes it's claim.

The final wretch charges into the Cerberus causing it some pain but not stopping it's fighting ability.

Aaron's Killjoy

Turn 3

The Nothing Beast is now at it's most vulnerable.
The Cerberus leaps out of combat with the wretch and charges into the Beast.
Tearing and mauling the monster, the Cerberus takes down the Void monster before it could ever try to fulfill it's oath.

The Mechanical Rider priding survival over all else further revels in creation this time with a gamin of the metal variety and gallops away from the disgusting fat monster.

Taelor left humiliated murders Mei Feng's totem the Emberling in a fit of revenge, with a forest stopping her chance of having a round 2 with the master just yet.

Killjoy laughing to himself about the phallic object he had handed Mei previously, then decides enough is enough and again attempts to kill Mei. This time the master leaps out of his clutches.

Mei Feng highly injured take the opportunity to stake her own claim and uses the newly born Gamin and fleeing mech rider as a fast point of exit, fleeing strangely to the same space Tara previously tried to hide.

The Soulstone miner then aims to help it's master and travels into melee with Killjoy also taking a, drilling, stab at him.


Turn 4

Killjoy in a fit of rage fails to best the miner but gets damages it enough that it is no longer able to simply mine.

Taelor realising that she alone cannot change the tide of battle by staking her own claim heads towards miner and hopes for a round 2 with Mei Feng.

The Mechanical Rider continues to revel in the creation of more gamin and with her imbued energy fires her chain spear three times at the monster Killjoy risking the life of the Soulstone miner, one fated strike helps the battle but the bulbous monster is too difficult to take down that fast.

The Void Wretch claims some vengeance for it's larger void friend doing another wave of damage to the Cerberus and taking it out.

Mei Feng sneaks off to claim more land and finally the Rider unveils it's plans for survival as not as Mei's Bodyguard but that it's body has been guarded this whole time.

Turn 5

The Soulstone Miner causes the Killing blow to Killjoy, siphoning his very essence to create a new soulstone.

The latest Metal Gamin drops stakes it's own claim to the land.
Mei Feng still at minor risk hides back with the Rider and Gamin, creating some steam to give them all some extra protection just in case.

Taelor charges and smashes the Miner so hard not even the essence of the fallen Killjoy could save it.

The Mechanical Rider calls on to it's first Metal minion to ride with it into tomorrow...

The Metal Gamin then charges into Taleor flailing and attempting headbutts, catching her slightly off guard but giving her a bruise at best.

Full of energy from the Rider's call the Gamin tries again, this time to even less results as Taelor simply dodges it's pathetic attempts.

However, now bogged down by this metal menace Taelor has no time to catch the Arcanist leader and the Void Wretch even slipping through walls cannot join the fight fast enough either.

Game Ends

10-1 to me

I get all 4 Stake a Claim points, kept the Rider untouched and on the opposite table edge and assassinated Tara with the Cerberus.

Aaron get's 1VP for the cursed object Killjoy gave Mei before she escaped and he died.

Some timely Leap Asides helped me, but this is why I take Imbued Protection on Mei Feng when Assassinate is about.
More cursed objects could have been given to me, but my fast crew was too good at staking claims for the Outcast team to do much else but attempt to kill my models first.

Considering I played like an idiot in the first round, getting 12 soulstones of model killed in the first turn after doing nothing, except being an expensive scrap marker.
Also getting Myranda into harms way unnecessarily, I feel I fought back quite well and after this I was a lot more happy about having to play Stake a Claim.

Or Steak a Clam as some people call it. 

So what did I learn?

Well the most important thing I felt coming out of this was I no longer feared having to play Stake a Claim, at least now I didn't hate it and found there were ways Arcanists had a chance.

Maybe I need more Soulstone Miners, maybe a December Acolyte or two would help, these thoughts were not really in time for Somerfaux but were ready for the future and I knew I did have "the speed" somewhere in my pool

Makes them Suffer in Assassinate is awesome, it changes the strategy up to not be completely all about just smashing face and though on some tables the answer to this is hide a cheap minion and not worry it actually tends to be a little more difficult to do than it seems on paper.

The Soulstone miner is great for it, cheap enough to hide, sneaky enough to catch the opposition trying the same.

Many minor things were taken away from this day, but all in all I was just glad to break my non-winning streak as I had only lost or drawn games (outside of MCC) since Canterfaux.

Going into Somerfaux I felt that I should do ok, with some practice and wins under my belt, a good chat with the Best Arcanist in the UK and a bit of theoryfaux I was aiming to do better than my last competitive tournament and maybe pick up a Best in Faction trophy.

We will see how that went in another blog...

...unless you already know, then you can hear some more details.

Thanks for reading

-Ben (@psientologist)