Post by osiris on Jan 13, 2020 21:25:23 GMT -5
Updated for 1.091
Next up: Abraham Lincoln's Secret Service Posse.
This is one of the most resilient posses currently available in the game. The posse bonuses in this posse are incredibly powerful so lets take a look at who can be chosen to fill the slots.
Slots 1 through 5 are all the same: Any Union Agent (slot 5 allows one or two of them for a total of 5 or 6 Union Agents available to the posse).
The currently available Union Agent models are: Garratt Morden, Pat Garrett, Sierra Icarus (foot or mounted), Robert Pinkerton, Lucinda Loveless, Henry Courtwright, Camilla Blanche, Milo Jefferson, Carl Fredrickson, Leah Kingston, and Bud "Scorcher" Hutch, and now Theodore Roosevelt!
So, you get to pick 5 or 6 of these 12 units to bring with good old Abe.
Garratt Morden: This guy is an absolute bargain for his points. the amount of compel and dark council ability he brings is good by itself, but combine it with his very good shooting attack AND the fact that he has Rapport, and fortune to burn, PLUS a free hexalith. This guy is a no brainer, he's in.
Pat Garrett: His inspirational ability is nice, and he does come with a fortune and an accurate ranged attack, however, his form-up-on-me ability will be wasted as you can't have any hands in this posse, and tinman will be questionable as well unless you bring a marshal or sheriff in your 6th slot (and he wont return the favor since he isn't one also) even his Sic'Em ability is dubiously useful as other agents already have it. I'd say leave this guy at home.
Sierra Icarus: she's not bad at combat, with good weapons. Rejuvenate is slightly less useful in this posse due to the nature of how it uses fortune (but this is always a good ability) Invigorate which is also usually VITAL to making hands or supports get extra limit, remember, you will have neither in this list. So honestly, unless you take her mounted, to bring the bike's gatling guns, she's not very useful. There is one small exception, if you decide to bring camilla blanche, Sierra is the only other Union Agent with soiled dove for camilla to power-up with.
Robert Pinkerton: A fantastic choice for this posse. He's almost a sniper, and is quite good at filling the role. get him up on something high, and because of his prodigious, he is effectively Aim9. Kill shot on his very powerful -4 piercing rifle is not to be underestimated. He's a tank-killer. Dont forget, he also has Rapport, so his rifle will auto-crit if he is sitting back somewhere near a unit of civilians (as he should be) although the lethal is a waste againt human targets since he has kill shot already, it works vs nonhumans, Still, a guaranteed hit at -4 (ignoring durable/etc) forcing successful grit to be rerolled from 18" away... oh and dont forget he also has teamwork. This guy is in.
Lucinda Loveless: Another one of the Agents that has "Undercover" basically they must be held in reserve and can arrive anywhere on the battlefield at least 12" away from an enemy. Humans also need to take a mind check to shoot at them from more than 8"away. She's also a teamwork face, with Shoulder to Shoulder, and a decent short ranged shooting attack. This is a solid choice for a tactically flexible unit.
Henry Courtwright: Well, he's cheap enough to consider, even if his skills are of somewhat questionable value. Trapper CAN be nice if you play against someone who uses alot of booby traps (or if you want to bring a couple yourself). and he DOES have teamwork and Shoulder to Shoulder. But his primary skills seem to be around overriding enemy automata (essentially a short range compel for automata units), and Jury-Rig to resurrect slain friendly automata units. Considering most of your points will be on human agents, this is not as useful.
Camilla Blanche: Another Undercover unit with teamwork. at first she looks lackluster, BUT she's really cheap at only 85 points. However, when you consider her skills in combination, she becomes an ELITE (literally) bodyguard unit. Here's an example. Put her in front of say Lincoln. Now, the enemy must shoot through her to hit lincoln, she is shoulder to shoulder with him for +1 grit, he's a male human so her "for the boys" gives her +1 grit (and fight and mind), and if she can see Sierra Icarus (or another soiled dove), she can spend a single action point to get another +1 grit and be limit 4. So now, she's Grit 8 (rerollable due to posse bonus) with mettle, and can't be targeted by humans of 8" away without a mind check. and yes, Lincoln can have her "take one for the team" if he wants to, and she will provide obscurement to him for being the same size base. See- Bodyguard. her weapons are just average, but so what?
Milo Jefferson: As stated above, A Trick Shot Masterwork Rocket Launcher is very hard to pass up. When you also consider he is Shoulder to Shoulder and teamwork, he fits quite nicely into most secret service lists, despite not being undercover (I suppose it's hard to sneak around looking like a friend with a giant rocket-launcher on your shoulder). He also has sic'em if you want to spend a few leftover points on K9's.
Carl Fredrickson: This is your one and only portal guy. SO, if you want to open portals to use with the hexalith that Morden brought (you DID take morden already, right?!) this is your guy to do it. He again has Rapport, so his powerful weapons become terrifying near civilians. it just depends on if you want to portal around or not. if you do, he's your only choice (but a good one for the cost. He also has Tinman but isn't a Sheriff or Marshal like Pat Garrett above, so unless you bring one in your 6th slot, that ability is wasted. Still for his points, he's a good portal master with a nasty punch.
Leah Kingston: Another Undercover face with teamwork and Shoulder to Shoulder, and she does bring a fortune chip. She has quickdraw, but her weapon is mediocre, so it is unlikely to matter much, same for her favor the bold. If you want alot of undercover, she could be a low cost choice, but honestly there's much better agents to pick from.
Bud Scorcher Hutch: As mentioned above, this guy is a character killer. (Him and pinkerton should be competing for one-activation kills...) However, he does not have teamwork, or shoulder to shoulder, or undercover, so he does not really fit the "theme" of the list. Also his hardy ability will be wasted as the posse bonus give that to everyone, and his cost reaches up into moderately expensive range. His mobility and firepower may still be worth it to you though.
NEW: Theodore Roosevelt: A fast melee tackler, with very good stats, and a variety of slightly above average attacks. He's a tad on the pricy side, but most agents are. He at least comes with a point of fortune. and a huge variety of useful common/special rules. Great for zipping across the board turn 1 (with counter intelligence, trailfinder, sure foot, rapid, and bullrush) and grabbing objectives, or tackling key enemy shooter units. dont forget he's legendary (with all those protections) as well as mounted but NOT machine (like most other mounted union units).
OK, Now that youve picked out 5 or 6 of those guys, we get to slot 6... the wildcard slot.
This posse, as the amazing ability to take a character from ANY faction, as long as it is a face and has the "Agent" trait. There are TONS to choose from. I'm not going to break down each and every one, as this analysis will end up even longer than the one above, but we'll list them all, and give short reasons to bring them, several work really well with certain combinations of the above agents, but not others, so your choice will vary depending on who you have already selected.
Misty Mimms: good weapons, is a soiled dove for camilla, has undercover
Erin Meltzer: TREASURE HUNTER, portal master, soul hunter (spirit killer)
Ernesto Volk: Soul Hunter, good at melee
Hans Spelmann: Soul Hunter, powerful ranged attack (with spirit aim and attuned)
Jocasta Tobin: Soul Hunter, can include spirits (not sure this is actually a benefit or not...)
Katherine Holst: Soul Hunter, Gambler, repair, decent grit with xenoshield and for the ladies
Furio Montoya: a sheriff tinman, for the boys, excellent melee (stun+disrupt innate is character killing)
Jedrick Powell: sheriff tinman, strategist, very good pistols.
Doc Holliday: gambler, very good short/medium range shooting.
Nakano Gozen: TREASURE HUNTER, strategist, very good melee.
Thomas Tate Tobin: Shoulder to Shoulder, decent shooting, trapper
Jedrick Powell mounted on Blackhoof 2020: strategist, Extremely hard to kill, good shooting, sheriff tinman
Longtree: enervate, savant, character killing pistol. (waste of sawbones in this pose though)
Ignatius Nero: teamwork, good blast weapons, trapper, decent toughness (near female)
Venatici Helios: Rapport, decent attacks.
Sadie Walker: gambler, soiled dove, rapport, undercover, above average shooting and melee (especially with civilians)
Broad Arrow Jack: treasure hunter, gambler, rapport, above average shooting, for the ladies
As you can see, quite a few choices, with varied abilities and point costs. it just depends on how you plan to use the additional unit, and who you can then leave out of the original union agent list (and of course, how many points you have) there are almost no bad choices, only bad combinations
How to play this posse... well, specific tactics will vary WILDLY depending on which combination of characters you choose to bring. remember, you need to fill all 6 slots to make lincoln virtually unkillable (at least G7, easy to get higher), Mettle, Tough, and Rapport...also Keep a face near lincoln to use take one for the team
)
You dont need to spend fortune to make grit rerolls on ANYONE in the posse, so even though it looks like you dont have that much, it will go a long way. Be afraid of drug guns and furio's blades, but otherwise lincoln's good for drawing fire away from your real killers. Oh and make sure you have at least one pack of civilians in your posse, as most of your units have rapport and it makes them incredibly more powerful.
Next up: Abraham Lincoln's Secret Service Posse.
This is one of the most resilient posses currently available in the game. The posse bonuses in this posse are incredibly powerful so lets take a look at who can be chosen to fill the slots.
Slots 1 through 5 are all the same: Any Union Agent (slot 5 allows one or two of them for a total of 5 or 6 Union Agents available to the posse).
The currently available Union Agent models are: Garratt Morden, Pat Garrett, Sierra Icarus (foot or mounted), Robert Pinkerton, Lucinda Loveless, Henry Courtwright, Camilla Blanche, Milo Jefferson, Carl Fredrickson, Leah Kingston, and Bud "Scorcher" Hutch, and now Theodore Roosevelt!
So, you get to pick 5 or 6 of these 12 units to bring with good old Abe.
Garratt Morden: This guy is an absolute bargain for his points. the amount of compel and dark council ability he brings is good by itself, but combine it with his very good shooting attack AND the fact that he has Rapport, and fortune to burn, PLUS a free hexalith. This guy is a no brainer, he's in.
Pat Garrett: His inspirational ability is nice, and he does come with a fortune and an accurate ranged attack, however, his form-up-on-me ability will be wasted as you can't have any hands in this posse, and tinman will be questionable as well unless you bring a marshal or sheriff in your 6th slot (and he wont return the favor since he isn't one also) even his Sic'Em ability is dubiously useful as other agents already have it. I'd say leave this guy at home.
Sierra Icarus: she's not bad at combat, with good weapons. Rejuvenate is slightly less useful in this posse due to the nature of how it uses fortune (but this is always a good ability) Invigorate which is also usually VITAL to making hands or supports get extra limit, remember, you will have neither in this list. So honestly, unless you take her mounted, to bring the bike's gatling guns, she's not very useful. There is one small exception, if you decide to bring camilla blanche, Sierra is the only other Union Agent with soiled dove for camilla to power-up with.
Robert Pinkerton: A fantastic choice for this posse. He's almost a sniper, and is quite good at filling the role. get him up on something high, and because of his prodigious, he is effectively Aim9. Kill shot on his very powerful -4 piercing rifle is not to be underestimated. He's a tank-killer. Dont forget, he also has Rapport, so his rifle will auto-crit if he is sitting back somewhere near a unit of civilians (as he should be) although the lethal is a waste againt human targets since he has kill shot already, it works vs nonhumans, Still, a guaranteed hit at -4 (ignoring durable/etc) forcing successful grit to be rerolled from 18" away... oh and dont forget he also has teamwork. This guy is in.
Lucinda Loveless: Another one of the Agents that has "Undercover" basically they must be held in reserve and can arrive anywhere on the battlefield at least 12" away from an enemy. Humans also need to take a mind check to shoot at them from more than 8"away. She's also a teamwork face, with Shoulder to Shoulder, and a decent short ranged shooting attack. This is a solid choice for a tactically flexible unit.
Henry Courtwright: Well, he's cheap enough to consider, even if his skills are of somewhat questionable value. Trapper CAN be nice if you play against someone who uses alot of booby traps (or if you want to bring a couple yourself). and he DOES have teamwork and Shoulder to Shoulder. But his primary skills seem to be around overriding enemy automata (essentially a short range compel for automata units), and Jury-Rig to resurrect slain friendly automata units. Considering most of your points will be on human agents, this is not as useful.
Camilla Blanche: Another Undercover unit with teamwork. at first she looks lackluster, BUT she's really cheap at only 85 points. However, when you consider her skills in combination, she becomes an ELITE (literally) bodyguard unit. Here's an example. Put her in front of say Lincoln. Now, the enemy must shoot through her to hit lincoln, she is shoulder to shoulder with him for +1 grit, he's a male human so her "for the boys" gives her +1 grit (and fight and mind), and if she can see Sierra Icarus (or another soiled dove), she can spend a single action point to get another +1 grit and be limit 4. So now, she's Grit 8 (rerollable due to posse bonus) with mettle, and can't be targeted by humans of 8" away without a mind check. and yes, Lincoln can have her "take one for the team" if he wants to, and she will provide obscurement to him for being the same size base. See- Bodyguard. her weapons are just average, but so what?
Milo Jefferson: As stated above, A Trick Shot Masterwork Rocket Launcher is very hard to pass up. When you also consider he is Shoulder to Shoulder and teamwork, he fits quite nicely into most secret service lists, despite not being undercover (I suppose it's hard to sneak around looking like a friend with a giant rocket-launcher on your shoulder). He also has sic'em if you want to spend a few leftover points on K9's.
Carl Fredrickson: This is your one and only portal guy. SO, if you want to open portals to use with the hexalith that Morden brought (you DID take morden already, right?!) this is your guy to do it. He again has Rapport, so his powerful weapons become terrifying near civilians. it just depends on if you want to portal around or not. if you do, he's your only choice (but a good one for the cost. He also has Tinman but isn't a Sheriff or Marshal like Pat Garrett above, so unless you bring one in your 6th slot, that ability is wasted. Still for his points, he's a good portal master with a nasty punch.
Leah Kingston: Another Undercover face with teamwork and Shoulder to Shoulder, and she does bring a fortune chip. She has quickdraw, but her weapon is mediocre, so it is unlikely to matter much, same for her favor the bold. If you want alot of undercover, she could be a low cost choice, but honestly there's much better agents to pick from.
Bud Scorcher Hutch: As mentioned above, this guy is a character killer. (Him and pinkerton should be competing for one-activation kills...) However, he does not have teamwork, or shoulder to shoulder, or undercover, so he does not really fit the "theme" of the list. Also his hardy ability will be wasted as the posse bonus give that to everyone, and his cost reaches up into moderately expensive range. His mobility and firepower may still be worth it to you though.
NEW: Theodore Roosevelt: A fast melee tackler, with very good stats, and a variety of slightly above average attacks. He's a tad on the pricy side, but most agents are. He at least comes with a point of fortune. and a huge variety of useful common/special rules. Great for zipping across the board turn 1 (with counter intelligence, trailfinder, sure foot, rapid, and bullrush) and grabbing objectives, or tackling key enemy shooter units. dont forget he's legendary (with all those protections) as well as mounted but NOT machine (like most other mounted union units).
OK, Now that youve picked out 5 or 6 of those guys, we get to slot 6... the wildcard slot.
This posse, as the amazing ability to take a character from ANY faction, as long as it is a face and has the "Agent" trait. There are TONS to choose from. I'm not going to break down each and every one, as this analysis will end up even longer than the one above, but we'll list them all, and give short reasons to bring them, several work really well with certain combinations of the above agents, but not others, so your choice will vary depending on who you have already selected.
Misty Mimms: good weapons, is a soiled dove for camilla, has undercover
Erin Meltzer: TREASURE HUNTER, portal master, soul hunter (spirit killer)
Ernesto Volk: Soul Hunter, good at melee
Hans Spelmann: Soul Hunter, powerful ranged attack (with spirit aim and attuned)
Jocasta Tobin: Soul Hunter, can include spirits (not sure this is actually a benefit or not...)
Katherine Holst: Soul Hunter, Gambler, repair, decent grit with xenoshield and for the ladies
Furio Montoya: a sheriff tinman, for the boys, excellent melee (stun+disrupt innate is character killing)
Jedrick Powell: sheriff tinman, strategist, very good pistols.
Doc Holliday: gambler, very good short/medium range shooting.
Nakano Gozen: TREASURE HUNTER, strategist, very good melee.
Thomas Tate Tobin: Shoulder to Shoulder, decent shooting, trapper
Jedrick Powell mounted on Blackhoof 2020: strategist, Extremely hard to kill, good shooting, sheriff tinman
Longtree: enervate, savant, character killing pistol. (waste of sawbones in this pose though)
Ignatius Nero: teamwork, good blast weapons, trapper, decent toughness (near female)
Venatici Helios: Rapport, decent attacks.
Sadie Walker: gambler, soiled dove, rapport, undercover, above average shooting and melee (especially with civilians)
Broad Arrow Jack: treasure hunter, gambler, rapport, above average shooting, for the ladies
As you can see, quite a few choices, with varied abilities and point costs. it just depends on how you plan to use the additional unit, and who you can then leave out of the original union agent list (and of course, how many points you have) there are almost no bad choices, only bad combinations
How to play this posse... well, specific tactics will vary WILDLY depending on which combination of characters you choose to bring. remember, you need to fill all 6 slots to make lincoln virtually unkillable (at least G7, easy to get higher), Mettle, Tough, and Rapport...also Keep a face near lincoln to use take one for the team
)
You dont need to spend fortune to make grit rerolls on ANYONE in the posse, so even though it looks like you dont have that much, it will go a long way. Be afraid of drug guns and furio's blades, but otherwise lincoln's good for drawing fire away from your real killers. Oh and make sure you have at least one pack of civilians in your posse, as most of your units have rapport and it makes them incredibly more powerful.