Versatility
So along with the keyword mechanic Wyrd has given us versatile models to play with and help
augment our themed crews, giving us some places to shore up weaknesses and still be able to
field a crew that fits together like Gremlins and whiskey. Today I’m going to go through a few of
our best Versatile options and offer some suggestions on when to bring them in to the hootenanny.
Emissary/Effigy
You can’t start the Versatile conversation off without talking about this pair. I put them together
because of the ability to bring the effigy with an upgrade for a surprise Turn 3 growth into the Effigy.
So why take either of these models?
Well the effigy is cheap, coming in at 4 SS and with Armor 1 and Hard to Kill, surprisingly resilient
for the points. He hands out slow at 6 inches and has a bonus action that allows models nearby to
cheat from the top of the deck. He is also free to take if your Leader is a Henchman instead of a
Master. (We can cover that in a later article).
Emissary is beefier at 10ss but still carrying Armor 1 and Hard to Kill. He’s also Unimpeded and has
Trample. His melee goes up to min 3 with an Armor Piercing trigger and he still hands out slow and
has a bonus to cheat from the top of the deck. His other action gives him an astonishing 12” push that
triggers his Make Way ability AND removes all markers he pushes over. This makes Emissary one of the
fastest models, able to cover 24 inches of the board in a single activation or 36 if you have Sparks around.
The Effigy is a great take if you just need a 4 ss model to run and take a flank or waste enemy AP on
killing him so he doesn’t slow them down. The Emissary is a great beater model with some of the
best mobility you can ask for. Taking the Emissary to roll through Pyre markers or Underbrush vs
Titania seems pretty smart, also if you come up on an enemy Zipp or Mah crew, plus Bayou struggles
vs Armor so his trigger is a solid investment if you have that high tome. Is it worth it to take the upgrade
and grow the Effigy? That’s undecided but there could be situations where that extra 4SS could give you
an advantage. Feel free to let me know if you have found it useful!
Mecha Porkchop
Do you like Melee? Do you like all of your models getting positives on their flips in melee? Are you ok
with your models taking damage for this, especially if it triggers Glowy and gives them fast? Do you
like reckless on a 2/4/5 damage track enforcer? If none of these answers are yes, you are playing the
wrong faction. Porkchop is tanky and mobile if constructs abound, PS he drops his own markers
.Pairing him up with a couple Swine cursed can make a murder trio that will put the fear of metal bacon
into your opponent. Just be careful if your opponent is running Mei Feng as the Chop leaves her a scrap
bread trail to follow right into your backfield. Porkchop feels at home in a Tricksy crew with Survivors
and Sparks or in a Ulix crew where he is putting warpigs on positive damage flips to hit those scary high
end numbers.
Gluttony
Forget banjos, if you hear drums in the Bayou, run very far away. Though he’s more at home with the
other band members, Gluttony can really draw out some heavy beats thanks to his maddening drums
ability that pushes a model into a marker, removes all markers in contact with the model and deals up
to 4 damage. Keep in mind that in 3rd edition this isn’t just scheme markers, but corpse, scrap and
destructible terrain markers as well. Gluttony could be bad news for that Rasputina player. He is a fun
model to run in a Zipp or Mah crew where you are creating markers to send people smashing into. He
can take advantage of the corpse markers that spring up around a Som'er crew as well or using the
extra marker from Wong's Launch into space. If your opponent has a model they want in a particular
place, Gluttony's drums can send them running off.
Burt and Gracie
Another infamous pair in the Bayou, Burt and Gracie are a duo that can provide some extra mobility and
fire power to your crew. Burt has Showboating and Magical Influence keyword abilities and can walk out
of engagement at any point with Agile. He’s got a solid blasting gun that can send Gracie towards
whoever he shoots with a trigger and you can choose between tossing a grenade or taking another
action as his bonus. All these things together make Burt a solid anti scheme runner who can hunt down
your opponents weaker models without relying on the rest of your crew to support him.
Gracie is the tankiest pig in the Bayou with Armor, Hard to Kill and Eat Your Fill she isn’t going down
witout a fight. She has a reliable damage track and either Ride With me or Reckless every turn. Ride
with me is a very strong ability allowing you to give extra movement to your slower pieces and making
Gracie at sz3 a meatshield to keep your precious support models safe.
They aren’t exclusive to each other but they do work well in tandem and can provide some decent
damage and a bit of mobility to your crew.
Pigapult
Have you ever looked at the board and thought, man I wish this model was on the other side of the board?
Slaps Pigapult This baby has got what you need. It can take any sz1 model and fling it 18” with its Full
Load ability. Said model is then the center of a shockwave. Your ammo can be anything from stuffed pigs
, bayous or even a master. Most of the faction is sz 1 outside of a few outliers like Mancha and Alphonse.
Stuffed Piglets are the go to things to fling but while pigapult is Versatile they are not. When you add in
models like Sparks to load your ammo with bombs even Bayou Gremlins can be scary. Alternatively
tossing a Good Ol’ Boy up into the enemy means they can be tied up for quite a while dealing with him
and his hard 2 wound and +to df duels. Important note, the errata from January points out that models
flung by the pult do not get to take the shockwave duel. So no extra fast after you get slow.
Bayou Smuggler
These guys have gotten a recent boost and its a big one. They got the amazing Appraise ability, to make
the most out of extra markers. The smuggler can also drag markers up the field with it in order to put the
m in the proper spot. At only 6 SS this model is in a prime spot to take advantage of marker heavy pools
. If you want to make things interesting, bring one with Wong and use Launch into Space to make extra
markers for appraisal. Som'er crews tend to have tons of corpse markers from dead Bayous lying around a
nd Ulix can make some scheme markers off dead pigs as well.
These are my top Versatile picks for the Bayou, there are a few others and as the edition matures some
other models might show hidden strength. Let me know what versatile choices you are making in your
crews and next time I’ll talk about one of our best Out of Keyword choices.
*all pictures are copyright Wyrd Games
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