M2E+Charm+Warder


 * Charm Warder, Ten Thunders Minion**

=__Overview__= The Charm Warder is a versatile and immensely useful Minion at its 5ss price point. It is particularly useful against summoners, and has strong defensive abilities that can help almost any crew. In certain Strategy and Scheme pools, it may replace the venerable (but still very useful!) Ten Thunders Brother.

Two of the model's Abilities do a lot to define its role in a Crew. The first, **Barrier to the Other World**, gives any model that is unburied or summoned within a 6" aura the **Entropy +2** condition. Entropy does damage equal to its value at the start of the target model's activation, and lasts until the end of the game unless the target removes it by discarding cards (one per level reduced) at the end of its activation. Note that the Condition specifically ignores Black Blood, so it's safe to cast against Nephilim and Molly-led crews. Particularly against summoned models that come in on low wounds, this can really cramp a summoner's style. Be careful, though - this applies to __any__ model that's unburied or summoned near the Charm Warder, even your own.

The other Ability is called **Ward Off Evil**, and it means that enemy models may not place Scheme Markers within a 3" aura of the Charm Warder. It doesn't matter if the Scheme Marker is friendly or enemy, if it's placed via an Interact Action or some other effect, or if it's an existing marker being placed or a new one being created...enemies just can't put a Scheme Marker within 3" of the Warder, period. This will obviously make things complicated for your opponent in some Scheme pools, and it will particularly handicap some specific enemy Crews (I'm looking at you, Parker Barrows and Titania.)

=__Mobility__= The Charm Warder as a Walk of 5 and a Charge of 6, with no particular mobility tricks. That said, you will want it to be near where the action is, so don't be afraid to use other models to push it around.

=__Offense__= The Charm Warder's **Chi Blade** attack is fine, with a 2/3/4 damage track and a 2" range. The one advantage it offers is the choice of attacking stat (**Ca** or **Ml**, both at a value of 5) and defending stat (**Df** or **Wp**), allowing you to tailor it to your opponent's weak spots. This attack isn't what you're taking the Charm Warder for, but it's a solid backup plan.

At range, the Warder can cast **Charm of Entropy** at a target up to 8" away, targeting **Wp**. While it does no damage itself, this attack gives the target the **Entropy +1** Condition (or +2 with a Crow trigger). By itself, one point of **Entropy** is helpful but not spectacular...but when it starts to stack up, it can get really ugly.

=__Resilience__= The Warder's own defenses are rather average; **Df** and **Wp** 5, with 6 Wounds. However, it has a few interesting defensive tricks that can help protect itself as well as other models.

First up is **Essence Lantern**, which gives all friendly models within a 3" aura - including the Charm Warder itself - a positive twist on all **Df** and **Wp** duels once they have activated for the turn. This isn't a huge area around a 30mm base, but it's an excellent buff, so keeping your key models near a Warder will significantly boost their survivability. Note that this triggers once the __friendly model__ has activated, regardless of whether the Charm Warder has activated or not, although the Warder won't protect itself until it activates.

The Charm Warder's two (0) actions are also great defensive tools. **Charm of Hiding** needs a 7 of any suit to cast, and gives a target model within 6" the **Disguised** Condition, meaning they cannot be targeted by a Charge. **Charm of Vanishing** has the same range and requires the same card to succeed, but gives the target **Vanished (13)**. **Vanished** is exactly the reverse of **Manipulative**; once a model with the Condition has activated, enemy models that target it must pass a **Wp** duel or the action immediately fails. Both of these can be used on the Charm Warder itself.

=__Tactics and Tips__= The Charm Warder is a great utility model. Its defensive buffs are good in almost any situation, and its anti-summoning aura can really cramp the style of some enemy Masters (particularly those whose Summons tend to come in on few Wounds, like Molly, Ramos, Dreamer, and Kirai). Remember that this also affects models that unbury near the Charm Warder, so you can hit enemies like Bete Noire or Killjoy if they appear close by. However, this also affects any of __your__ models that get unburied near the Warder, so be careful with models like Huggy or anything your opponent has managed to bury with a Death Marshal or any of Tara's Void crew.

The Warder's ability to keep an area clear of Scheme Markers is also a great tool for denying your opponent certain Schemes. Where the Ten Thunders Brother is great for protecting your own Scheme Markers, the Charm Warder instead keeps your opponent from placing theirs. They both serve their purposes in different crews.

As a result of all their handy abilities, the Charm Warder may well become a priority target for your opponent...and unfortunately, it doesn't have the resilience to stand up against a major assault. Try to keep it close to the action while still remaining somewhat protected, but don't expect it to last the whole game, especially once your opponent learns how many problems it can cause. The Warder has a relatively short range, so it works best in crews and Scheme pools where your models tend to be clumped up together (e.g., Extraction, Guard the Stash, and so forth). If it's off on its own, the Charm Warder probably isn't contributing much to your cause.

Oh, and remember that Charm Warders are Rare 2. A pair of them can cover rather a large area with their auras...or you can put them together, because their auras stack.

=__Playing Against the Charm Warder__= Kill it - the sooner the better. Having a Charm Warder in an area makes all of your opponent's other models harder to affect, so the Warder makes a good first target. Particularly if you attack it before it has a chance to activate in a turn, it's rather easy to kill - and usually worth the effort if it's cramping your playstyle.

Another option is to drag it away from the rest of your opponent's crew. Most of the Warder's benefits emanate around it in a fairly small radius, and if it's not protecting anyone but itself, it becomes much less significant.

Finally, while it's not the most efficient way to deal with the problem, burying your opponent's models and then causing them to be unburied near the Charm Warder is a fun way to turn their own weapons against them. Entropy plays no favorites...

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