Red_Zeke

And finally putting the dagger in the 'what is a warband' debate.

Sound like good moves to me. I don't actually do a ton of charges early in the round with Farstriders, so I think that reduces the value of Second Wind. Quick Thinker, on the other hand, is suuuuuper money, especially since a fighter can step away from danger but counterstrike later with shooting. Sprint is an interesting one!

This deck and strategy is buck. wild. I am loving the creativity!

I've found Escalation a little tough on occasion, particularly if I've successfully starved the opponent of glory. If they're not playing upgrades, not only do you need to spend three glory in a round, but you need to see three upgrades in your power hand. Of course, in that scenario, you're probably fine. I see it as a great card if you're neck and neck, or if one person's a little ahead. And those are the times where you probably really want a boost anyhow.

At *least* two different directions. I've got that mid-range standoff and fight build. I have run into the same issue as @stickybluetoffee- it can be a bit of a downer for the opponent in some matchups. My last Reaver match went 19-0, 20-6 in my favor, and my last Fiends went 5-0, 14-0. So... know your audience on that front, I guess.

Sanson Farstrider, the first transgender Stormcast: thus spake autocorrect. Also- wow. I've never seen anyone run Second in Command!

You may well be right. What I’ve enjoyed is that you’re almost never stranded with any fighter. I really want to try playing into aggro Skaven. Anyone got experience there?

I've gotten some great mileage out of Furious Blow as well, though I'm not quite aggressive enough to be running Army of One. Here's the latest version for me: https://www.underworldsdb.com/shared.php?deck=0,226,227,228,231,373,376,384,389,424,433,215,219,329,330,331,334,347,348,361,369,234,235,243,244,252,257,272,284,289,291,298,306 Thinking about it, I don't think in 20 games I've ever even had to roll for tethered spirit, so maybe something a touch more aggro is called for there?

@SkellisquadI did just rotate in Spectral Wings and Swift Stride with zero regrets for both. I carry a fair number if defensive upgrades, so do like getting a bit of inspiration in to compound the defensive buffs. They also serve to protect a fighter if I can't get them all out of danger. Also, can you post up your deck?

There are absolutely some matchups where the only fighter I inspire is the one that I play Inspiration Strikes on. Sometimes I'll sneak a second inspiration via Hidden Paths. I generally go for Farstriders and then whichever of the other two will be more useful (damage vs cleave). I've found the Magore's and Ironjaws matches to be very favorable because you can give ground, score passively while picking off isolated fighters, all while starving the enemy of aggro glory. Reavers have been coming up with big wins too, though they feel a little more challenging because their speed makes it tough to cut into just a few of the fighters while isolating the rest.

Here's my Farstriders with a funky green screen background that a fella at one of our local stores was playing with. I went Knights Excelsior with them.

Got another three games today. Magore's, Gurzag, and Magore's for a 5-0, 13-0, 15-0. The first game I placed boards longways to starve the Fiends of Glory, but starved us both instead. It was so bad, it took me till the third round to even score Master of War despite holding it at the start. Dropped invisible Walls for Quick Thinker which was super clutch. I didn't like Punishing Volleys at all, as it potentially dictated a lot of your round. Went with Defensive Strike instead, which seems fine. Record with this deck through all it's evolutions so far is 11-0, but many/most of those games are against newer players or decks also getting fine tuned. Haven't gotten in a Skaven, Slayer, or mirror match game yet. Also, no Katophrane testing, so... you know...

I continue to be happy With Victory After Victory and Chosen Champion. Alone in the Darkness has warmed on me. I recognize that playing into Sepulchral Guard was a dire test for that card, with so many bodies walking around. Now thinking of pulling Complete Victory for Superior Tactician and possibly Brave but Cautious for... something? Punishing Volleys? Defensive Strike? Ploymaster? Total Annihilation (jkjk)?

That kind of explains an awful lot. Presuming you have a 20 card power deck, the odds of that particular draw are... .0005% ? If it's any consolation, I've found that very small adjustments to a deck or playstyle can result in some big shifts. If you can stop that snowball from forming early, the game stays close a lot longer.

@Changer Thanks for the summary! No one has tried trotting out the Katophrane Relics here. Do you typically stack them on Skritch, or a guy you can reschedule back? I guess Skritch's special res ability gives you more actions you can take when you're at the draw cards (4+ ?) phase of the relics.

I've struggled a bit with Flawless Strategy in a deck with lots of Score Immediately cards. They don't help with Flawless and can make it hard to plan a score of your other End Phase objectives until you're partially through the round. I suppose the better you know your deck, the more you can plan for what is *probably* coming up.

In your typical game, how many/which fighters are inspiring when?

Experimented with swapping Victory After Victory and Chosen Champion in place of Victorious Duel and Behead the Beast. I really like not having to get after that leader. It just feels too tough pull the assassination, even with the great range on the Farstriders because people can play so defensively with their leaders. Victory after Victory feels pretty doable. Chosen Champion is a dud draw in round one, but often easy in later rounds. Only thing I might swap for is Heroes All. With Inspiration Strikes as a ploy and the easy inspire condition, might be more reliable. Then again, as soon as you lose a dude, that one's dead too.

There's only a handful of push cards it works with, right? The damaging effect is limited to during the activation, not the power step. Still, Striders can often get an attack off without moving, so that's an interesting option.

Definitely had that sense in the last couple games vs Skels. Held Behead the Beast and Victorious Duel and they just sat there with no realistic shot at the Warden. Victory after victory could work quite nicely. Definitely overlooked that.

Tried this one out: https://www.underworldsdb.com/shared.php?deck=0,204,205,234,235,243,257,272,284,289,298,305,245,215,219,222,329,330,331,335,334,348,369,226,227,228,373,376,384,389,424,433,436 Faction: The Farstriders Objectives (12) 204 - Behead the Beast 205 - Brave but Cautious 234 - Advancing Strike 235 - Alone in the Darkness 243 - Change of Tactics 245 - Complete Victory 257 - Escalation 272 - Master of War 284 - Precise Use of Force 289 - Skirting Danger 298 - The Bigger They Are 305 - Victorious Duel Ploys (10) 215 - Lightning Blow 219 - Rapid Volley 222 - Warning Cry 329 - Great Concussion 330 - Healing Potion 331 - Hidden Paths 334 - Inspiration Strikes 335 - Invisible Walls 348 - Ready for Action 369 - Trap Upgrades (10) 226 - Furious Blow 227 - Lone Warrior 228 - Overcharged Boltstorm Pistol 373 - A Destiny to Meet 376 - Awakened Weapon 384 - Deathly Fortitude 389 - Great Fortitude 424 - Tethered Spirit 433 - Trusted Defender 436 - War Cry First three games with the Farstriders, just curious to see what their deal was. The idea here was to maximize points off of a handful of key kills, while keeping my dudes alive and well. I played three games against three different players, the first two were newer, and mostly had only played each other. I played against Steelheart's Champions (just the starter deck) 11-2 win Objective based Sepulchral Guard: 11-2 win Combat based Sepulchral Guard: 9-6 win Objectives: The objective deck feels kinda impoverished, but I'm not sure where to go with it. I had a commanding lead in the first game, which in the past, translated to bigger wins. I thought Alone in the Dark would be a little easier (though SG for 2/3 games made for a crowded board), but it was hard- people were shutting it down without even trying to do so. Without having movement ploys (other than Great Concussion) it is a bit of a tall order. Won't yank it yet, but it's on the bubble. On the other hand, the right set is kinda amazing. I had a dream combo of an on-guard Sanson charging to kill a petitioner in enemy territory, scoring 4 (Change of Tactics, Precise Use of Force, Advancing Strike). Ploys: Hidden Path was fun for bailing out of trouble or hunting down someone who thought they could sneak away with a few wounds remaining. Inspiration Strikes is a nice one for pushing up defense, or getting Eagle-Eye up to three damage unexpectedly. Upgrades: War Cry was obnoxious- you can blast Movement 3 fighters back out of counter-charge range with your own charge. Might be more cute than good, though- not sure. Deathly Fortitude was hawt. A fighter that got in too deep could be protected from reprisal nicely. Furious Blow is questionable, but stacked with other defensive bumps means Swiftblade can get be a bit of a daunting target. Very interested in other thoughts here.

Other than paint, what do you feel turned your thinking from being so down on them?

Maybe Plant a Standard to hold theme? Or something to score immediately. Precise Use of Force seems like a good one for Rangers.

HO 6?!

How's Ploymaster working for you? I'm thinking of cutting it from mine. Seems like decks in general, and Reaver combat decks especially are trending towards reactions which are powerful but may not get the opportunity to trigger. I've struggled to score it sometimes, even with 3+ ploys in hand at the start of the action phase.