Some call me.... Wong

 INTRODUCTION 

Wong can't help but be a meme at this point. His original appearance is a tie in to Egg Wong Fu from Big Trouble in Little China and this new Wong, the Enchanter is a call back to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Which is amazing. So let's talk about why new Wong is so enchanting

Having a Blast

Let's just get the elephant in the room out in the open. Wong went from shockwaves to blasts and I love it. In my last Wong article I talked about my dislike for shockwaves and that has softened some over time but not enough that I'm not excited to see Wong's new attack steer away  from them. Coupled with Pyrotechnics and a trigger for irreducible (to the target only), this Wong has a lot more control over his damage output but puts less pressure on his opponents hand. 5 irreducible is huge btw and when you attach double blasts to that you can easily reach models your opponent thought were very safe. From the back side of an enemy's base you can reach up to 8 inches away to tag models and it can go around corners. 

He also summons stuffed piglets on his bonus and i love this change. You can either use them as Pigapult fodder or you can run them into your opponent and have Wong hit them with blasts to put glowy tokens on them, making it much harder to resist their bacon bomb.  I think pretty often on his turn you are gonna see Wong focus, blast, Enchanting Magics.  With Switcheroo coming in when necessary.

Which Wong is Perfect For You?

There's going go be a lot of conversation about how this Wong is strictly better than the original.  It definitely has some merit to it. Old Wong is heavily reliant on your opponent flipping badly. However enchanter loses out on Launch Into Space. It needs to be said that LIS is the only ability that let's you score from your own deployment zone. This new version is also heavily focus and hand dependent where the old Wong didn't need to flip above a 7 meaning your hand could be saved for models like Alphonse or Swine Cursed to make big plays with. Though more often they are used for saving their bacon. 

Enchanter is going to try for assassinate, vendetta and other kill based schemes.  He's going to use pyrotechnics to sneak around corners and kill hidden models. Shockwave Wong is going to launch into space and score from a distance. He can also use his trigger on Enchanting Magics to place models where you need them to be and its very easy to get. Probably don't need to tell everyone how good places are in this game. 

Here's the weird things for me. I don't think you bring Wong based on the strategy. His crew is super fast and can get where ever it needs to and the Bayou player is almost always gonna use the Lucky Em for a leylines football carrier. Whizz bang is about the schemes for me and the crew is pretty flexible there too. The biggest issue was how survivable they were due to the Hard Knock Life mechanic and how much you had to hold back in your deployment zone to build up ammunition for turn 2 and 3. My advice, don't do it. If you aren't moving at least 5 or 6 inches up on turn 1 you aren't gonna get where you need to be to score on turn 2.  However you also don't need to fly up the board turn 1. Its possibly more advantageous to apply fast after a model has gone on turn 1 so that it is ready for the next turn and you don't have to deal damage on turn 2 to get the engine going. 

Tips and Tricks

Alphonse and Swine cursed are even more tanky with this Wong since he can use Wise Words of Wisdom and Enchanting Magics to heal and move them. He lost his bonus card draw so Sammy becomes even more important along with his new enforcer to help sculpt your hand. 

This Wong really wants focus so 12 cups on him isn't a bad idea for Mark Territory, though if you think he's in danger Ghillie suit is good and if you sniff out some terrifying Complex brings swagger and Ruthless.  

This version of Wong doesn't spread glowy around quite as easily so you are going to want to bring models like Fluffernutter who can pulse 1 damage to everything around him. Fluffernutter also has a large base, stampede and trample, meaning he can charge friendly models and stampede into a couple of them to hand out more glowy.. I've used this trick in other crews with piglets or test subjects to good effect.

Word to the Wise though, be careful of how much damage you do to your own guys turn 1. This could be a place where Wise Words of Wisdom comes in hand to heal up your friends. Also as always, a bokor is almost necessary and Wong himself can do some healing now.

And you guys know I'm a Mad Scientist (I'd start going to events in a lab coat but everyone would assume I'm cosplaying McMourning when I'm more of a Brin) so here's my crazy fun idea for a list. Bring Pere Ravage, Pigapult, Burt and Merris to just go ham with blasts and shockwaves on anything within 12 inches of Enchanter Wong. Is it good? Probably not. Will it make your opponent sweat? definitely. 

That's all my initial thoughts on the new Wong. I'll try to update with a picture as soon as there's a good one up that isn't snapped from the book itself. Until then, let me know if I'm Wong or Right (sorry had to get one in) about this new Title and keep the ideas coming for new blogs. Also just wanted to say I appreciate the support. I know the blog has been pretty sporadic, thanks for the patience.