ToMB Perdita: First Games

Time for my first impressions of the Latigo Posse. Note that these were three games, all part of the same tournament that was fixed list.

I would like also thank my buddy Mike for lending me his Perdita crew and congratulate him on winning the tournament with his Ramos crew.

The Crew

Perdita

Francisco

Enslaved Nephlim

Santiago

Nino

Papa Loco

Cache: 5ss

Total Soulstones: 35

Initial Thoughts

Taking the base crew without upgrades gave me a great disadvantage. A lot of what makes Perdita good are her upgrades. I'll go into more detail on upgrades in a later post. That way I can focus on the synergies and tactics that the base box brings.

A lot of what makes the Ortegas great are their abilities. Know their abilities, more so than other crews the Ortegas hinge on abilities and activations. With Papa Loco a nearby ally is gaining positives to damage and with Francisco positives to defenses as long as the target is within 2 inches. 

Onward to the games!

Perdita VS Nicodem:

The streets were empty as Santiago and Francisco turned to look around the corner. A vulture overhead the only break in the silence. "Get down," yelled Francisco as a dead body fell from the carrion bird's claws. Where the body had fell now stood a crazed man, hollowed faced and carrying two blood stained swords. 

On instinct Francisco pulled out his sword, slicing the walking corpse's head clean off. "Easy," he said made to sheath his blade. "Watch out!" shouted Santiago, his peacebringers aimed at his brother. In a second the felled corpse was up again, Francisco matching it strike for strike, "Run, hermano!" 

Strategy:
Turf War

Scheme Pool:

Take Prisoner, Breakthrough, Outflank, Bodyguard

My Schemes:

Bodyguard(Santiago) (0 VP)

Outflank (0 VP)

Opponent Schemes:

Outflank (2 VP)

Line in the sand (2 VP)

Ending Score:
2/5
Perdita Loss

This match up was my first match up against Nicodem, the setup was perfect for Turf War. Close deployment and on my side of the table there was a three inch high wall that was within 6" of the center of the board. Perdita and Papa Loco sat behind it out of sight for 2 turns. It helped a lot because there was a Rotten Belle luring my other models out of cover.

The biggest obstacle came from Nicodem's summoning. I'm told its very hard to pull off, but my opponent had the resources he needed. A Punk Zombie was able to get within 3 inches of Santiago, Francisco, and Enslaved Nephlim allowing pulse Slice and Dice*. After I killed it, Nicodem resurrected it from its corpse counter and with upgrades allowed it to reactivate without the slow penalty from being summoned. The advice I've been getting is to take a Freikorps Specialist, since it can destroy corpse markers that are near it. Its a good hard counter, but an Outcast model.

The schemes were hard to achieve, especially when I forgot to deploy on both sides of the table to get Outflank, instead staying mostly center. Santiago was in a rough place when the Punk Zombie hit him with flurry, Hard to Kill kept him from dying. If it got to turn 4 I might have gotten a single VP for Bodyguard, but with time constraints we got to turn 3. Take Prisoner with the Punk Zombie could have guaranteed me more reliable VP in theory.

*Slice and Dice - Those within 3 inches must pass a Df test or take damage.

Perdita VS The Viks:

Francisco walked into the quiet graveyard, his brothers and sister waiting on the other side of the gate. A shadow flickered past the corner of his eye, but all that stood before him was a still statue. "I could have sworn-" Bang! The silhouette of a statue-esque woman appeared from behind one of the tombs, gun and sword drawn. Gripping his shoulder, Francisco retreated behind the gate, "Damn mercenary," his palm was red. He could just make out his sister in the distance another assailant already upon her.

The scantily clad woman ran head long at Perdita, her sword at the Ortega's throat. A small smile formed across Perdita's face and within a second the Ronin was grappled. Two shots rang out, and two bodies fell to the ground, Perdita holstering her gun. Francisco picked himself up, "You have to show me how you did that."

The Grave Yard

Strategy:
Reconnoiter

Scheme Pool:
Assassinate, Spring the Trap, Make Them Suffer, Distract

My Schemes:
Make Them Suffer(1 VP)
Assassinate(0 VP)

Opponent Schemes:
Line in the Sand, Revealed(3 VP)
Unknown(0 VP)

Ending Score:
2/4
Perdita Loss

This game was tough for me, I have only ever played Reconnoiter once before and didn't realize that models 6" from the center meant that the model didn't count as scoring. Neither of us realized this. I probably should have had Nino in one of the corner edges, instead I placed him in the middle of the map.

Also I forgot that enemy models couldn't take interact actions near Nino because of his Spotter ability.Might have stopped my opponent from getting line in the sand.

Nino on Top of a Tower. Not as useful as you'd think with Reconnoiter.

I wouldn't suggest taking Make Them Suffer against Ronin, they have Hard to Kill meaning you should kill them before they can activate again. Their Seppuku action allows them to sacrifice a ronin for soulstones, but denying precious VP.

Flank Deployment definitely favored shooting more than melee. The Viks didn't get into melee with any of my models except for two. Obey might have done better giving my own crew exttra actions instead of pulling his models closer to me. I don't find Enslaved Nephlim very useful, mainly because I just end up moving and using his influence to maybe do something if I'm lucky. I wish there was a good tactical action he could use.

Perdita vs Seamus:

Nino had gotten to close, his brothers and sister were still preparing when he slipped out. The Neverborn they had been tracking had made a detour through the red light district. Nino was just about to call out to his family when he saw her. Standing there playing with her parasol, was that giggling he heard? No, it was laughter... manic laughter. 

"It's the Hatter!" yelled Nino, repeater already winding up. There was a bang and flash as Nino fell to the ground. From the shadows stood Seamus, grin on his face and smoke trailing from his gun.

In one more activation Seamus would be dead. Impossible to Kill? Peacebringer ftw.

Strategy:
Stake a Claim

Scheme Pool:
Murder Protege, Assassinate, Plant Explosives, Bodyguard

My Schemes:
Line in the Sand Revealed (1 VP)
Plant Explosives(2 VP)

Opponent Schemes:
Murder Protege (0 VP)
Body Guard(2 VP)

Ending Score:
4/2
Perdita Win

Stake a Claim would have been probably better if it was close deployment, anything else is too far away. Mostly because it will take a Perdita crew a lot of movement to get to the other side of the table. The suggestions I get involve using Obey and Influence to push models up the board. However, with Nino in the crew I should use his From the Shadows to deploy on the opponent's side to drop a claim marker turn one.

I was surprised that I killed Seamus turn 2. Sadly I didn't take Assassination, if I did my final score would have probably been 5 VP.

Special Note: For Rezzer players who use Belles in Stake a Claim, make sure not to use Lure too many times as it helps the opponent get closer to your side of the board.

Final Thoughts

So far I'd say these three games were me getting the feel for the Ortegas. I didn't utilize abilities as well as I should. Over used Perdita's Obey, wasting soulstones and high cards. Didn't take utilize Nino's from the Shadows effectively. And lastly didn't take any upgrades.

Freikorps Specialist is not going to be on my buy list for March. I would have to buy the Outcast arsenal deck and Freikorps Specialist, too much investment just to counter summoning crews. I'm not liking Enslaved Neplim too much so you might not see him in too many future posts.

Next post will be focusing on Perdita VS Ramos game I had as well as my purchases for March. Please let me know down at the bottom what you think and leave any suggestions or questions.

@DontEatRawHagis on Twitter.