My First Round
of Museon Con, I was paired with a Lady Justice crew and, outside of stuffing
lady Justice to the gills with Brilliance for now purpose, got my ass handed to
me. Lady Justice being a beast was not a huge surprise, but there were other
members of the crew that took me buy surprise. So, I reached out to the crew’s
player (Paul Harden) to put together a brief look at his crew, how it works,
and what players can expect when they bring it to the tabletop (or sit across
from it.)
How Does the Crew Work?
The Marshals play as a semi tanky
crew with average speed and decent damage. All
models (besides the totem) have become harder to kill; Hard
to Wound and Unnatural Vigor
(After killing an enemy model, this model heals 2). They can
best be utilized for kill centered
Strats and Scheme, though have some models that can move if
needed for schemey games.
How Has the Crew/Keyword Changed Since M2E?
There are some minor changes to the
models with the edition change, but for the most
part fit a similar role from 2e to 3e. They like to kill
models and try to stop summoners and
corpse/scrap marker abilities.
Who are the Key Pieces in the Keyword, and What Are Their Roles?
I believe the Key Pieces are the
non-minion/non-totem models.
Lady Justice: She is still the same beater she was in 2e
with the place upgrade. My best
description of her is a target for your opponent. She can
heal with the keyword ability and
Juggernaut. Additionally, this edition she gained hard to
wound, which is fantastic as everyone
focuses. She did get a reduction in her attack stat, though
she can potentially make 7 attacks in
one turn.
The Lone Marshal: I feel this model is very similar to 2e.
He has Run and Gun, a 14”
projectile attack, With Mv 7. Realistically there is very
little reason why this model should not
have at least one attack a turn, every turn including turn
1. Best use is to inflict a little damage
while setting up and running schemes (e.g. charge and shoot
for first action, then scheme,
move, shoot for second action). Also, he is Ruthless, giving
a distinct advantage over Terrifying
and Manipulative models. [Editor’s note: this model really
took me by surprise, and from the scuttlebutt I could hear other people as
well. That range paired with Run and Gun is killer.]
The Jury: Great anti summon/buried model. Her ability
Exorcism ritual hurts all models
with a summoned upgrade and all buried models (two separate
damage instances if you can get
it off). Her range attack does 2/4/5 damage, but the real
ability comes with the triggers, such
as Into Dust, that is an assassinate trigger if the model
being attacked is undead. Fortunately,
several models in the Keyword can give the enemy models the
Undead Characteristic
including the Jury. Last, she has a 6 stat obey with the
mask built in, making her obey nearly as
good as Zoraida.
The Judge: This lady does not have the same feel as the 2e
Judge. She can no longer
pull models towards herself or tell friendly non-master
models to make an attack. She can however Gain soulstones if she kills a model
with her melee attack (trigger built in) and draw up
to five cards (at a risk to herself). So essentially a
beater with card draw
Rate the Keyword on the Following Criteria from 0-14 (feel free to comment if necessary)
-Killing Power
12-14 (Severe). All depends on how you build the crew, but for the
most part this is where this
Keyword excels.
-Survivability
10ish area (Moderate). Again, the two abilities shared between this
crew are amazing at keeping
them around. And if you bring a Domador into the crew they
could heal between 1 and 4
damage per model hit with decay (Blast and RJ).
-Scheming/Maneuverability
5-7. Again, depends on how you use Lady J and the Lone
Marshall, both can move
around the board fairly easily, though if you engage the
Lone Marshall he will more than likely
not be doing interact actions that turn.
-Card Manipulation
4-6. Several models have the Triger Drain Magic to card cycle,
or Maim to make the
opponent pitch cards, and two models can card draw (The
Judge and The Scales of Justice).
Which Keyword Models (Outside of the Master) Are The MVP and the LVP?
MVP: The Lone Marshall, nearly every game I have played with
him, he has angered my
opponents at what he can do (21-28 in threat range tends to
do that).
LVP: The Scales is kinda blah, but it is free if Lady J is
the master, so next I would say are
Death Marshals. They are now undead so are unaffected by
Recruiters Grim Recruitment
ability, have a low Df of 4, but at least have Hard to Kill
along with Hard to Wound.
Are There Versatile Models and/or Upgrades You Take Routinely?
To increase the killiness of the
minions both Expert Marksman and No prisoners can aid most Marshal minions
(though Exorcists already ignore Friendly fire so more than likely enjoy no
prisoners more).
As far as versatile models to bring in, To make a crew even
faster/more killy the Pale
Rider is amazing. To begin with he can essentially move size
2 and below models 6 inches or
More (Editor’s Note: Via Ride With Me, which is one of the
greatest abilities in M3E), has a decent attack, and the trigger to make
everyone in range take the charge action can be devastating.
The effigy’s aura can help keep
close models alive longer with successful attacks, and
gives another bury into the crew. And as at a same degree
the Emissary follows with a very nice
attack.
As a last note, even though they
are not versatile, I do see that several people may take
Austringers with the Expert Marksman upgrade with the tax,
as that could potentially be a
model with three attacks a turn.
