Rat-Catcher

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 * Rat-Catcher, Outcast Minion**

=__Overview__= His job is to kill rats. Of course, if he were to kill every rat he saw he would eventually go out of business, so he makes sure some more rats constantly appear in his neighbourhood. Hey, a guy's got to make a living somehow, right? He can only be fielded in Hamelin the Plagued's crew, and his true purpose is to ensure that the Plague-carrying Malifaux Rats operate at peak efficiency.


 * NOTE: 12/21/12 this model has been changed by [|Errata]. They are no longer Insignificant but can still be hired by Hamelin, they lose Slaughter Rats, but can (0) Herd Rats to make rats within 6" lose Slow. **

=__Mobility__= His Walk is on the low end of average. He can, however, boost one of the main part of his crew's movement with an 18-inch pulse, cast on a 7+, which allows friendly Malifaux Rats to move their walk directly towards him. In addition he can also //(0) Slaughter Rats// in a 6'' pulse, allowing a while new activation. His **Ferret** ability allows him to Interact for no more than 1 AP, which allows him, for instance, to move into position before deactivating a dynamite marker.

=__Offense__= His basic melee has an average Cb, causes no damage on weak nor severe but **Paralyzes** on severe. A trigger allows him to temporarily change his damage flip to 2/3/5 if necessary. Any model hit by this weapon receives a Blight Counter, which adds 1 Wd to all Dg received. He can also damage at a distance through a spell cast on a 5+ which further damages models with Blight Counters. Again, //Slaughter Rats// creates new units from the reamins of old ones and can therefore be used offensively by spawning rats in melee range of ennemy units Finally on a 5+ he can buff the damage of all nearby friendly Vermin (Rats and Rat-Catchers included) by 1 at the cost of the sacrifice of another unit.

=__Resilience__= Despite a relatively low defense and an average Wd stat, the Rat-Catcher can be surprisingly resilient. This is due to a variety of abilities, most important of which being **Covered in Rats**. There is little point in having no rats at all next to your rat catcher, so he will generally have an automatic **Armor +2**. In addition to this, with a good sized swarm of rats around him, it is easy enough to base block ennemy models to prevent them from hitting the Rat-Catcher at all. Hamelin's crew likes to make the opposition **Insignificant**, and the Rat-Catcher profits from this, as insignificant models must win a Wp-13 Duel when targeting him. This also applies to Height 1, **Harmless** and **Pitiful** models.

=__Tips and Tricks__= Unless you specifically want Nix, the Bull Terrier to push towards a rat that took a Wd this turn or your opponent could place (not summon) a dangerous model as a result of the death of a specific rat, there is no reason not to //Slaughter// all rats in your range every turn. It allows them to psuedo-re-activate, move more and/or do more damage, more rabies, more rats. Some models can heal up when nearby models die - throw the rats at them anyways: sheer numbers coupled with blight counters - and potentially a judiciously placed //Emptiness// from Nix- should allow you to kill them in a turn. Make sure you keep the Rat-Catcher within 6'' of an enemy model you're targetting for death to ensure **Voracious Rats** will get you a new Rat.

=__Playing Against the Rat-Catcher__= Hitting the Rat-Catcher in melee can be quite difficult if the Rats block your model's base. Damaging him is also tough if he is **Covered in Rats**. The best option is to remove him from his rat swarm: //Lure// and //Transposition// are good options, but remember that every time you cheat a card in Hamelin can pick one form either his the top of his discard or his deck. As in everything, try to make sure that the top card of his discard is not a good one before you cheat - this decreases the possibility of his succesfully cheating the resist. Once the Rat Catcher is down, go for the swarm before another model with **Voracious Rats** appears.

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