Som'er+Teeth+Jones

include page="inc_1.5rules" **Som'er Teeth Jones, Outcast Master** toc

=Overview= Som'er Teeth Jones (nicknamed Som'er) is a tricky, but rewarding Master to use. He can be a bit daunting for beginners, but if you stick with him you can have your opponents cursing you and your gremlins! There are many Masters in Malifaux who run into the fray with swords drawn contagiously yelling battle cries; Som'er is not one of them. He is more comfortable in your deployment zone using his actions to spawn more Gremlins, Pigs, and Giant Mosquitoes to catapult (sometimes literally) at your opponent. He also has a decent range of spells to maneuver your crew around the board, and heal them.

Playing Som'er can sometimes feel like a war of attrition as you grind your opponent down with sheer numbers, and even potentially discard their control hand!

In other words, the boss gives the orders, the gremlins do the dirty work. But, hey, that's how things are done down here in the Bayou. The guy in the top hat does not need to toss the slop!

=Mobility= Som'er is not the most mobile Master in the game, but he does not need to be. As stated, he is more comfortable directing his crew from behind some terrain. But if he needs to get out of a tight spot or grab an objective, his Walk stat of 5 is not too shabby coupled with his ability to use Reckless to gain Fast. In total he can use 3 actions to move 15" across the board, which isn't bad in Malifaux. His mobility may be furthered enhanced through the use of the Piglet's truffle spell.

=Offense= All in all, you will probably find that your other models do most of the damage. But that doesn't mean Som'er doesn't have any tricks up his sleeve.

Som'er's ranged attack is fairly decent at Cb 5, with a damage rating of 2/2/5 which generates blasts on moderate and severe. This can be particularly devastating when coupled with his Dumb Luck trigger, which doubles the damage. With a high Ram in your hand (rams are required to trigger dumb luck), a Soulstone, and perhaps a high card to cheat the damage it is very possible for Som'er to do severe damage with his ranged attack and double it to 10 with Dumb Luck. However, this tactic is almost always a last resort as it takes a fair amount of resources, means enemies are close to Som'er, and the Dumb Luck trigger deals half the number of Wounds dealt to Som'er himself! But, if you absolutely need to, 10 Wounds can even one shot some enemy Masters.
 * Ranged**

Som'er's melee attack is not very damaging at 1/2/3. If he's in melee, you might be in trouble!
 * Melee**

Som'er's only damage dealing spell is Pull My Finger, but it is a very decent spell. It has no resist and it effects everything in 3". So every non-gremlin model within 3" of Som'er automatically suffers 2 damage. When casting this, Som'er only needs a 7, so it can be used repeatedly. In fact, if he finds himself in melee range, Som'er is also in range to use Pull My Finger and will probably be better off casting it repeatedly than actually attacking! It's also a good way to finish off an already wounded enemy model if Som'er is close enough to run up to it and use Pull My Finger once or twice.
 * Spells**

=Resilience= Som'er has average Defense and Wounds for a master, but he does have a few tricks.

Take a Swig is the only action Som'er has which can keep him around any longer. This ability lets a model within 2" make a Healing Flip, and it is good to keep in mind Som'er may use it on himself! It is especially good to remember, because so many of Som'er's abilities wound him as well.
 * Actions**

//As a slightly more advanced note:// if you only intend to use 2 actions in an activation and he is wounded, it may sometimes be useful to go ahead and use Reckless and have Som'er take one Wound to gain Fast and use the additional action to use Take a Swig and make a Healing Flip on him. Worst case scenario, you flip low and you heal the Wound you took to make the action. Best case scenario he may heal some extra Wounds. (That is excluding the treacherous Black Joker, of course) And this is assuming you did not need that third action for something else, which is rare.

If you have a Mask in your hand (or are lucky enough to flip one), you may use the "Squeel!" trigger after Som'er is wounded by a melee strike to push him away from the attacker. This is useful because it forces your opponent to waste an action moving back into melee range again. Or, better yet, it leaves Som'er out of the attacker's melee range so he is free to move away or shoot on his next turn.
 * Triggers**

=Soulstones=

Like every Master, Som'er may use Soulstones and like any model who can use Soulstones, he may of course use them to add to his defense or prevent damage. Unlike any other master, you may find yourself occasionally preventing wounds from your own actions! This is particularly useful if you find yourself using Dumb Luck or A Gremlin's Luck with Som'er.

It may also occasionally be useful to use a Soulstone to increase a Mosquitoes Casting Total while it is using Pull My Finger. Mosquitoes need a 10 for this ability, which you may not always have in your hand, and if you find your Mosquito in a position to hit a bunch of enemy models with this ability (or just one key model) the stone may be worth it. But it depends on your situation.

Finally, there is Ophelia. Ophelia, like any combat-oriented model with the ability to use them, loves Soulstones. Whether you use them to keep her alive (and she may be a prime target for your opponents) or use them to increase her combat totals, they are very useful for her.

Unfortunately, Som'er has a cache of 0, making Soulstones a rare commodity for him. But, if you can afford it, a Cache of 2 or 3 can do him some real good.

=Tricks and Tips= Here are some general shenanigans that Som'er and his crew can take advantage of.

Creating More Models
One of the best uses of Som'er's actions on his turn is to create more models for your crew. He has two main ways to do this:

This is a trigger on Som'er's Combat stat which happens so long as he got the Crows suit in his attack duel. If you kill the defender with the attack, then you may discard two cards and summon a Piglet.
 * "Come and Get it!"**

Now, you may remember that if Som'er is using his melee weapon on an enemy then you're probably in trouble, and that's still true! But, in Malifaux, there is nothing against attacking your own models...

One fun trick is to wait until you have a card of the Crow suit in your hand to cheat with and attack one of your own Bayou Gremlins. If you kill it (which you probably will, since it's your own model and you can cheat its Defense duel down) then you may discard two cards and summon a Piglet. You may be wondering why this is worthwhile but there are a few reasons: Bayou Gremlins cost 2 soul stones, piglets cost 3. Your Bayou Gremlin will probably have been wounded by your own actions (usually Git Yer Bro, discussed right below this). And, when a gremlin is killed or sacrificed, you draw cards! (which is discussed a little later) So although you discard cards to get the piglet, you get them right back.

"Git Yer Bro!" is a spell which summons another Bayou Gremlin onto the board. To do so, you must target a Bayou Gremlin currently in play and within 4" of Som'er and deal 2 wounds to it. It is legal to kill the gremlin in this way. Then you summon a new Bayou Gremlin onto the board, which may be placed within 6" of the gremlin you targeted. The new gremlin also suffers 2 Wounds. Since the initial target of the spell can be up to 4" away, and you may place the new gremlin within 6" of it, the new gremlin may be placed up to 10" from Som'er himself. This helps you get your gremlins right into the fray, or near an objective, if you need to.
 * "Git Yer Bro!"**

Now, Bayou Gremlins only have 4 Wounds to start, so each time you target one to cast "Git Yer Bro!" you are cutting its Wounds in half. This could severely limit the number of gremlins you bring onto the board during a game, but remember Som'er has healing too! Use Som'er's Take a Swig action to make Bayou Gremlins within 2" of him take a Healing Flip so that they stay above 2 Wounds, and they will not die when you cast "Git Yer Bro!". Also keep in mind that because of the short ranges on these actions (Take a Swig and "Git Yer Bro!") you are always going to need to keep 1-2 Bayou Gremlins near the back with Som'er to keep the gremlin summoning engine going.

There is one more option for healing the Bayou Gremlins wounded by "Git Yer Bro!" and keeping the summoning engine going: The Slop Hauler. The Slop Hauler is a gremlin minion which Som'er may take in his crew, and it has an action which uses all of its AP (action points) to heal up to four friendly Gremlins (or Pigs) within 3". You can easily use this action to heal all of your Bayou Gremlins near Som'er and keep the summoning going. However, the Slop Hauler has other uses (described later, and on his own page) which may take him farther down field. Where to put him can be a tough decision.

There is one more cost to using "Git Yer Bro!": it requires a card of value 11 or higher to successfully cast. This is high enough this it is not advisable to attempt to cast this spell without the appropriate card to cheat from your hand and guarantee its success. So, unless you're in a tight spot, you should try to hold some cards of 11 or higher to try to cast "Git Yer Bro!". Luckily, this is not as difficult as it sounds, because Som'er has a solid way to draw cards. Usually you should not waste a Soulstone to cast this spell; if you do that, you're paying half of the Bayou Gremlin's cost in addition to using up Som'er's actions.

Out Activating Your Opponent
With Som'er, you will usually find that you have more models than your opponent. This can be a huge advantage, not just because of the number of attacks, but also because of the order of activation. In Malifaux, if your opponent has already activated all of his or her models and you still have models to activate, then you activate all of your remaining models at once. Plan for this, and use it to your advantage.

Wait and see what your opponent does. Place your models into position near opponent's models without fear of counter-attack (this turn). Use two models together without your opponent interrupting. Swarm models onto objectives at the very end of the last turn.

For example: let's say you have a Mosquito and a Pig. You intend to use "Sooey!" from the Mosquito to move the Pig up the board and attack an opposing model. If you try this while the opponent may still activate a model then, after you "Sooey!" the Pig up field, your opponent may shoot your Pig, thwarting your plan. But, if your opponent has already activated all of his or her models, then you may "Sooey!" the Pig up with the Mosquito and then attack with it, without your opponent responding.

Survival of the Fittest
Survival of the Fittest is an ability which allows you to draw 2 control cards when a gremlin is killed or sacrificed within 6" of Som'er. Fortunately, your gremlins die all the time, so this is no problem! Aside from your opponent dealing with the gremlin problem, you will have access to lots of ways to murder, maim, and catapult your gremlins into the waiting arms of the grave spirit.

The most common way to sacrifice your own gremlins and draw cards is the Mosquito's Larvae ability, but we will get into that later.

Remember that Come and Get it trigger which you could use to turn your 2 Soulstone Bayou Gremlin into a 3 Soulstone Piglet? If you kill a gremlin with that trigger, you still get to draw the cards thanks to Survival of the Fittest. This makes the discarding portion of Come and Get it not nearly so costly!

//Slightly more advanced note:// The cards drawn from Survival of the Fittest and the cards discarded to Come and Get it both trigger off of the same timing point in the game (the death of the gremlin). As such, the acting player (you) gets to decide which resolves first. It will be in your best interest to resolve Survival of the Fittest first to draw two cards //then// resolve Come and Get it, and discard two cards. This gives you a larger number of cards to choose while discarding, and widens your options.

The Hog Whisperer also has the ability Survival of the Fittest. So he can be farther up the board, drawing cards for all those gremlins your opponent is killing. //Note:// If both the whisperer and Som'er are in range with Survival of the fittest to the same gremlin that just died, only one of them allows you to draw cards. So, no, you can not draw 4 cards when a gremlin dies.

Damage With No Resist
In the game of Malifaux, almost every ability which can deal damage to a Defending Model allows that model to flip a Resist to be able to save itself. Som'er probably has the widest range of models (including himself!) with abilities which deal damage that do //not// allow the defender to flip to Resist. So long as your models are positioned properly and you succeed with the action, your opponent will feel the hurt!

Here is a list of models available to Som'er with such abilities. Tactics for each model are discussed individually on each of their pages:


 * ~ Model ||~ Damage Ability With No Resist ||
 * Som'er Teeth Jones || "Pull My Finger" ||
 * Giant Mosquito || "Pull My Finger" ||
 * Bayou Gremlin || Ya'll Watch This! ||
 * Stuffed Piglet || Bacon Bomb! ||
 * Pere Ravage || Ka-Blooey! ||

Also keep in mind that if a model is caught underneath a Blast then it will end up taking damage with no Resist flip as well. Many Gremlin weapons have a blast attached to their damage rating, so take advantage of this too. Here is a list of Gremlins with a Blast attached to their damage rating:

Som'er Teeth Jones Bayou Gremlin Pere Ravage Pigapult Slop Hauler
 * Gremlins**

//Advanced Note:// You may target your own models with attacks. So if you want to hit an enemy with a Blast which will not allow a Resist flip, you may target one of your own models that is close enough and cheat down its Defense resist. This will probably get you a higher damage rating and make it so you may more easily trigger a Blast. Then simply put the blast so it is touching the enemy as well and you have done some damage without ever giving your opponent the chance to avoid it! Don't worry, your Bayou Gremlins are expendable, try to hit opposing models that aren't.

Truffle Shuffle/Pig Ladder
Using this tactic, the Som'er player is able to move a gremlin up to 23 inches before it activates. In accomplish this, the crew needs to contain these models: 1 Giant Mosquito Bayou Gremlin Hog Whisperer 3 Piglets

This can allow the Bayou Gremlin to complete objectives such as a Message, Plant Evidence, Destroy Evidence, or even potentially A Line in the Sand without much risk of reprisal late in the turn or game. It is also great for a last turn run to Stake a Claim.  The tactic (at maximum effect) contributes 6 activations for the crew (increasing the odds of out activating your opponent) and is very difficult to counter if launched late in a turn (say after Som'er and the other 12-17 Soul Stones worth of crew have activated).

The following images are from Vassal and described by Omenbringer. 

The Pig Boomerang

 * Tactic Over View **: Use a Skeeter Air Trafic Controllers to launch the Pig squadrons from cover at a vulnerable target via **Sooey! **, spam **Swine Dashes ** to eliminate threats and then return the squadron to "base" for healing and re-launching utilizing **Sooey! ** from another Skeeter and/ or Som'er.

The following images are from vassal and are used the visually explain the basics. Increasing the amount of Piglets greatly enhances the tactics potential however for ease of demonstration only one pig will be utilized.

The strength of the tactic is that it allows the squadrons to emerge from cover to spam **Swine Dashes ** on a target and then return to cover for healing and re-buffing. The Skeeters are vital to this tactic as they provide the control over the normally uncontrolled **<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Swine Dashes **<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> and also protect the Hog Whisperer and Som'er from retaliation.

<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Generally speaking it is best to activate the rest of the crew (any model not directly participating in the Pig Boomerang tactic) prior to launching the Pig Squadrons at a target. This way the squadron is protected from <span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12.222222328186035px;">unnecessary <span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> damage and can also "freeze" the target in place for the run (as long as the target has activated prior to the launch). <span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Also remember that the Pig Boomerang isn't about quality of hit but quantity of hits. A large squadron (4-5 pigs) can generate a staggering number of Strikes (with <span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> flips on the damage) potentially allowing the cycling of the deck.

<span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Some advanced options with the "Pig Boomerang" include:
 * <span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Using a War Pig to act as a "Heavy Bomber" and LOS blocker to less desirable targets (due to its larger base and **Ht** stat).
 * <span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Including Avatar Som'er in the group (after Manifest since he has the Pig characteristic) to perform duties similar to the War Pig as well as delivering the Coup de Grace to a weakened opponent.**Swamp Gas** also provides some options such as summoning fresh piglets (if you hit the trigger) near the front as well as pushing less desirable targets further away from un-activated piglets.



The Pigs have an ability called Stampede which make their attacks require fewer Action Points, allowing it to make more of them. (the attack in question is Swine Dash, discussed in more detail on the Pig's pages) However, it must attack the closest model in LOS. So, once your Pigs are in position, you simply unleash them and watch the mayhem as they stampede through your opponent's lines! Now, of course, you do not want them stampeding all over you, but luckily they only start stampeding if they begin their activation more than 8" from a gremlin. But once they start stampeding, simply having a gremlin close enough is no longer good enough. You need a specific ability like Pork Whisper'n on Som'er and the Hog Whisperer to calm them down. Be careful, closest non-pig model in LOS means closest non-pig model in LOS and they can stampede on you. The Warpig may be used to screen models from stampeding piglets because of their Ht and Base size allowing a bit more control when utilizing this tactic. Also remember that during Swine Dash's the pigs __ **must** __ push their full Cg directly toward the nearest non-pig model within LOS however __ **may** __ go beyond the target after the gore/nibble strike (meaning that once you have reached the closest non-pig model within LOS and performed the Gore/ Nibble strike you can vary the distance of the push past him to allow a new target and effectively change the direction of the next "Swine Dash"). This is another subtle form of controlling stampeding pigs after the first attack and can result in multiple attacks on the same target or bouncing from target to target to strike at deeper targets.

During the stampedes, use the "Sooey!" ability on Som'er and the mosquitoes to re-position the Pigs so that they are closest to the targets which you actually want to attack and the Warpigs to screen closer targets you dont want to target. This takes a fair bit of finesse to master and can results in pigs bouncing all around the board uncontrollably. The final piece of the tactic is using either another mosquito, a Hog Whisperer or Som'er himself to cast "Sooey!" and push the pigs back into cover, hence the name the Pig Boomerang (you send them out, then call them back)!

//Advanced Note:// Stampede says that you must target the closest non-pig model within LOS with Swine Dash, but you may ignore any models in base contact. So, if a Mosquito uses "Sooey!" on a Pig to move it up field and the Pig ends up in base to base with the Mosquito then it may choose to ignore the Mosquito when determining the closest model. This allows you to more easily position your Pigs with "Sooey!" and still attack opponents while your Pigs are stampeding.

**Playstyles**

Som'er is rather different in that he has a few distinct playstyles that may all prove useful to him. That in itself is not entirely unique, but what really sets him apart is that each playstyle will require an entirely different list of models and a fairly different mindset. So each one has its own subheading here depending on what you want to do! And, of course, sometimes it proves useful to mix and match.

Swarming Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are Som'er's totem and they are, point for point, one of the best models in the game. While playing Som'er, you are probably going to want some so this playstyle will tend to overlap with some of the other choices. Som'er may connect up to 4 Mosquitoes, but you probably don't want to start that many.

Mosquitoes have an ability called Larva which allows you to sacrifice a model within 2" to summon another Mosquito. Mosquitoes and Bayou Gremlins both cost the same amount (2 Soulstones) and you draw two cards thanks to Som'er's Survival of the Fittest when a Gremlin near him is sacrificed. So, instead of starting 4 Mosquitoes (which is the most you can have) start one and use its Larva ability on a Bayou Gremlin to summon another Mosquito. It's the same Soulstone cost either way, but this way nets you two cards. Now use the new Mosquito to Larva another gremlin, and so on until you have 4 Giant Mosquitoes...and a bunch of cards! Try to Larva Bayou Gremlins that have already been wounded by Som'er's "Git Yer Bro!" ability to make the entire process all that more efficient. Although, on occasion, you may want to use Larva before activating Som'er to try to draw some cards to get those higher cards needed for "Git Yer Bro!", so it depends on your situation.

Mosquitoes do not start the game with their full Wounds. They have a stat of 6, but they suffer 3 Wounds when they come into play. This allows you to heal them up. You can use Som'er's Take a Swig ability, or you can hire a 1 or 2 Malifaux Rats in your crew (they are Vermin so Som'er can take them!) to sacrifice. When the Malifaux Rats die all Vermin (Mosquitoes are Vermin) within 3" heal 2 Wounds. So if you take one Malifaux Rat, get all 4 Mosquitoes near it, and kill off the rat, all of your Mosquitoes are starting off with 5 wounds instead of 3. The rat is only 2 Soulstones, and this can be very worthwhile.

But why is healing Mosquitoes so important? For one, they are an amazing 7 and Wp 6, making them very hard to hit. Giving them more Wounds makes them that much more of a pain for your opponent. Additionally they are Som'er's totem so they may use his spells. One of his spells, A Gremlin's Luck, requires taking Wounds as a cost, so more Wounds means more use of that ability.

A Gremlin's luck allows you to inflict a number of Wounds on the caster (usually a Mosquito, although Som'er can do it too) and force your opponent to discard that many Control Cards from his or her hand. This is a key ability and coupled with Survival of the Fittest, can give you a big card advantage. Try to use it at least once per turn after the first turn as early in the turn as you can...unless you have something more important planned for your Mosquitoes. (and you may!)

Mosquitoes are also essential for casting Som'er's Pull My Finger ability which deals an automatic 2 Wounds to everything within 3". Your Mosquito will need a 10 to cast it, so try to save a high card or two in your hand. Sometimes it is even worth using a Soulstone to help the Mosquito cast this spell, if damaging the enemy model is important enough.

Because the Mosquitoes are Som'er's totem, they are companioned to him, allowing you to activate all 4 Mosquitoes and Som'er all at once so long as they are in range. (6"). You can use this to your advantage to activate all of your Mosquitoes at once and create an irresistible cloud of deadly taint with the "Pull My Finger" ability before your opponent can do anything!

Finally, it is generally worthwhile to leave one Mosquito behind with Som'er and send the other three up the board to do damage or force opponent's to discard. This way, as your Mosquitoes die, you can make more with Larva from the Gremlins Som'er is summoning with "Git Yer Bro!". With Som'er, one Bayou Gremlins, and one Mosquito, you can have a Mosquito factory!

The Gremlin Gunline
Your basic Bayou Gremlin has a rather long range with its shooting attack. Also it's a fairly cheap model that can pump out an impressive three shots per turn. When you get a bunch of them together, you can put on some hurt!

This is very good against enemies which have low Defense in exchange for a higher number of wounds or Armor (damage reduction) because, so long as you can hit, you can poke anything to death. But against enemies with a higher Defense stat, your basic Bayou Gremlins are going to miss a lot. Worse still, they have an ability called Whoops which makes them damage your own models when they miss. Against high Defense, they will need some help. But don't worry, they have it! When using this strategy always take at least one Slop Hauler and Ophelia LaCroix.

When a model is damaged with the Slop Hauler's weapon (including the blast!) it lowers its Defense to 4 for the remainder of the turn. This puts it on par with your Bayou Gremlin's Combat! The Slop Hauler may also use its spray slop ability to lower Defense without any resist at all.

Keep Ophelia in the middle of the Bayou Gremlins so her "Dammit, Calm Down!" ability will prevent them from hitting your own models when they miss. Her "Shoot High Boys" ability effectively lets Gremlins near her shoot into combat, and she just has some other good, general utility which is discussed in more detail on her own page. Keep in mind that she has fantastic ranged combat herself, all together making her essential to this strategy.

If you are using this strategy in tandem with Mosquitoes and A Gremlin's Luck, it can be particularly effective. If your opponent has no Control Hand, their models have had their Defense lowered by your Slop Haulers, and they are facing a hail of Gremlins shooting, they're in a lot of trouble!

=Building a Crew= The models you choose and their interactions will vary depending on which direction you want to take. So, if you want more of a gunline, you will need a lot of Bayou Gremlins. If you're more interested in throwing pigs at people, you will need the Hog Whisperer, Piglets, and a Warpig or two. And, of course, you may mix these recommended strategies together or come up with your own!

There are even a number of models available to Som'er that are not even mentioned here: the other members of the LaCroix family, the Pigapult, and the Gremlin Taxidermist, just to name a few. But their discussions will be left to their own pages.

=Strategies and Schemes for Som'er= On average, Som'er and his crew will be better at Strategies and Schemes which require getting a certain number (or simply more) models to a particular location on the board, or interacting with terrain features, simply because your crew is so mobile (aside from Som'er himself) and you have so many of them. All of your Bayou Gremlins have a walk of 5 and can use Reckless to gain an extra action, and they are not insignificant. They are perfect for grabbing objectives!

Unfortunately, you will have a harder time with objectives which involve directly killing the opposing crew. Lots of Gremlins tend to die, so with a strategy like Slaughter where you have to kill more Soulstones worth of models than an opponent it can be an uphill battle. But, although it is not Som'er's area of expertise, it is hardly impossible either!

To go through the Core Encounter Chart individually:

Som'er is fantastic at this. A Warpig which was "Sooey!"ed by a Mosquito and given Reactivate by the Hog Whisperer can easily grab the Treasure Counter first turn and have it back in your deployment zone. Another option for this strategy is to use a piglet ladder to advance 2 bayou gremlins (or any gremlins) toward the treasure counter then have them Walk back toward your deployment zone (It is possible to use this to get the treasure back to your deployment zone on turn one as well). This can be a little more difficult, as your opponent will probably keep models near the Evidence markers your Gremlins want, and melee range is generally not where they want to be. But even so, your crew is so mobile that it can focus on the less guarded objectives, laying down fire before closing in. Or maybe running over defenders with Pigs. This is neither Som'er's worst nor best strategy. This is Som'er's best strategy. All you have to do is spread Gremlins all over. You can do that! Again, neither Som'er's best nor worst strategy. You do not want your Gremlins all clumped together where your opponent knows they will be. But since the win condition is simply having more models in range of the objective, you have an edge. Last turn simply out activate your opponent and pile Gremlins in there! This is probably the most difficult Core Encounter for Som'er, simply because of the number of Gremlins you lose. But, again, far from impossible. Your crew can definitely lay down some hurt! When drawing this strategy a viable approach is to quickly kill a high SS enemy model then ensure that you sacrifice any of your models in danger of being killed by the enemy to deny their points to your opponent (a lot of Some'rs crew have ways to sacrifice themselves for benefit, especially the mosquitoes, bayou gremlins, and piglets). Another strategy that favors the speed and mobility of the gremlins and pigs. Using pig ladders to advance gremlins up the field and skeeters to advance warpigs (or piglets that have gained reactivate via the Hog Whisperer's "Stik'm in tha Ass!" spell) 2 VPs can be achieved on the first turn of the game with a large portion of the force within easy striking range of the next 2 at the begining of turn 2. Again the speed, mobility and Bayou Gremlin's/ Warpig's ability to easily gain fast make this a fairly easy Strategy to accomplish with in the first 4 turns of the game (for full VP's). Keep in mind that accomplishing this strategy with piglets requires the Hog Whisperer to cast the "Stik'm in tha Ass!" spell in order to drop the insignificant trait for the turn. Much like with Strategies, Som'er is better at schemes that require numbers or mobility, because that's what his Gremlins have. He is less good at Schemes which require you to kill specific models. (Although Kill Protege can be good depending on what minions your opponent has)
 * Treasure Hunt**
 * Destroy the Evidence**
 * Reconnoiter**
 * Claim Jump**
 * Slaughter**
 * Plant Evidence**
 * Deliver a Message**
 * Schemes**

Here are some examples of Schemes which can be good for Som'er:
 * Bodyguard:** You generally want to keep Som'er out of harm anyway, so your playstyle goes unchanged!
 * Holdout:** Like Bodyguard, your playstyle is unchanged because you have a Gremlin/Mosquito machine in your Deployment Zone anyway. Although when your opponent is highly mobile or their objective is in your Deployment Zone, you may want to reconsider this.
 * Eye for an Eye:** Strangely, this is one of the harder Schemes, but Som'er is probably the best Master for it because his crew can gain numbers or lose numbers so easily on the last turn.
 * Stake a Claim:** This is similar enough to the Plant the Evidence & Treasure Hunt strategies to have a similar approach with the notable exception that it is a last turn run to the selected terrain piece vice an early game run.

Examples of Schemes which are generally bad for Som'er:
 * Grudge:** Due to the general weakness of the Gremlin crew in melee (both in terms of Damage and Survivability), achieving this scheme consistantly requires a more balanced crew list (vice a pure version of the lists above) that favors a playstyle utilizing a "Combined Arms Approach". Soften the target via concentrated fire from a Gunline or preferably a resistless Damage source, then utilize "flying" Pigs to deliver the Coup de Grace via pig charges. Though risky, coupling this with the **Kill Protege** scheme can provide 4 VP's if successful.
 * Assassinate:** Many masters have high Defense or can reduce your irresistible damage with Soulstones. They can be hard kills for Gremlins.
 * Steal Relic:** With the generally low Wp of the gremlin crews this is usually a very bad scheme to take and is best avoided (though if you can generate enough Wp duels via numerous reckless bayou gremlins and have drained your opponents hand size you might be able to actually pull this one off).

Finally, Som'er's specific Master scheme (Pig Food) is nearly impossible, as melee is not a place Som'er wants to be. But it is always fun to try!

=Som'er in Brawls= Due to the Good ol' Boys ability and the specific hiring restrictions of the other Outcast masters, Som'er may only join two Masters in a Brawl: Viktoria, and Zoraida. Neither of these are particularly ideal pairs for Som'er, either. Viktoria's "For Money" ability will reduce your Soulstone pool by 5, and since neither Som'er nor Viktoria has a Cache, you can not really afford it.

Because of the wording on Good ol' Boys, Som'er must "join" Zoraida in a brawl, meaning your chosen faction must be Neverborn. This means all of your Outcast models (Pigs, Gremlins, everything) cost one additional Soulstone. With a horde style crew, this gets expensive quick. But, if you pay the cost, there are some neat synergies:

Zoraida's Crystal Ball can rearrange the top three cards of a player's Fate Deck. Som'er's A Gremlin's Luck ability forces an opponent to discard his or her hand. So you can arrange an opponent's deck and take away their ability to cheat.

Also, Warpigs are a good target for Zoraida's Obey. (see her page for more)

All in all, Som'er is probably the only master for whom you should seriously consider not taking an extra Master and simply taking the 10 additional Soulstones.

=Starting Som'er= Som'er can be one of the more difficult Masters to start with. He is also rather expensive for Malifaux (which still proves cheaper than most miniatures games!) simply because of the number of Gremlins, and options. And if you are first starting Malifaux and are simply interested in Gremlins in general, Ophelia may prove a bit easier to get the hang of. However, you should play what you like and if Som'er is what appeals to you, you may as well get good with him while you learn the rules!

The boxed set comes with: Som'er Teeth Jones 4 Bayou Gremlin sculpts 1 Warpig

This is a nice start, and it is highly recommended for anyone just starting Som'er. However, once you have the box set, you will probably also need: 1 pack of Bayou Gremlins (Yes, they're in the boxed set, but with "Git Yer Bro!", you'll need more!) 4 Mosquitoes (they each come in packs of 1)

Now you're ready to start thinking about which direction you want to take your crew. Do you want another Warpig, some Piglets, and a Hog Whisperer so you can pull off the Pig Boomerang? Do you want some Slop Haulers and Ophelia to have some better shooting? At this point, it depends on what you want to do.

If you do want Ophelia (and you will, eventually!) you should go ahead and get the LaCroix boxed set that comes with Ophelia along with the entire LaCroix family. It's a shame to pick her up individually and eventually end up wanting the whole LaCroix family anyway and then being forced to pick up a duplicate Ophelia or go the more expensive route and get them individually.

=Playing Against Som'er= If you find yourself in the ill-advised and rather smelly position of having to face Som'er, here is some general advice:

-Avoid models which compensate low Defense for high numbers of Wounds, Armor, or Hard to Wound. Gremlins generally do 1 Wound with their attacks anyway, their problem is hitting!

-Take models with high Defense

-Make use of Defensive Stance. Gremlins hate missing, and you may not have cards in your hand to cheat.

-Get right up in their faces. Gremlins don't like being in melee, so you should try to get there.

-Kill Som'er! He is not the hardest Master to kill, and if you can get to him, he is easy to squash. The problem is getting through his horde of models to the back of the board where he is hiding. But if you are mobile enough, or have abilities which can force him to move (Lure, Transposition) then get up next to him and beat his face in. The gremlins will not only lose a Master, they will lose all of their Mosquitoes, because they are connected to him.

-Watch out if your models are in range of all four Mosquitoes and Som'er. There is nothing that will ruin your day like all of them activating at once and pulling off five or six Pull My Fingers! -A scheme worth considering against a Some'r crew is Extermination. Because of his hiring restrictions, Some'r will always have at least three models that are either Pigs or gremlins. With their low Wd's and penchant for damaging themselves accomplishing this scheme can be a relatively easy thing. Just be aware of the key models that allow gremlins and pigs to come back (Some'r and the Hog Whisperer for the former via "Get your Bro" and "Bacon!" and Some'rs "Come and Get It" trigger for the latter).

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