M2E+Kaeris


 * Kaeris, Arcanist Master**

=__Overview__= Anasalea Kaeris is a mobile, durable master with a diverse skillset... but most of that skillset is setting things on fire. Many of Kaeris' tactics revolve around managing or exploiting the **Burning** condition on models near her. She is equally capable of piling enough heat on enemies to reduce them to ashes and slag, or keeping her crew alive long enough to see the mission through. She can stand toe-to-toe with some of Malifaux's hardest hitters or jet across the battlefield to claim one last objective. toc

=__Mobility__= Kaeris is among the most mobile of masters with an impressive **Wk** 6 and **Flight,** but **Cg 6** because apparently her wings only have one speed. Above-average walk plus Flight means Kaeris can generally get where she wants to go. However, she has no special movement tricks without considering upgrades.

With the **Grab and Drop** Upgrade, she gets a really big additional movement trick. As a (0) action she can target an enemy model within 1", place it 5" away, then place herself 2" away. She needs to be within 5" of the model, and it requires an attack duel (with a **Ht** resist!) to get through, but it does falling damage to the target and can move Kaeris up to 7" as a (0) action, move an enemy model, and do damage. As mobility tricks go, it's a very versatile action that can require some setup but deliver great results.

The **Grab and Drop** Upgrade also has **Wings of Fire**, which gives **Flight** to friendly models which have **Burning** and activate within 6" of Kaeris. This also drops a Scheme Marker at the end of the activation. This can provide some excellent crew movement and objective-running support.

=__Offense__= Kaeris has two Attack Actions available in any game: **Flaming Halo** and **Immolate**. Both of these are **Ca** actions and have projectile and close ranges.


 * Flaming Halo** is her primary method of starting fires. Succeeding deals no damage but puts the **Burning** condition on the target. Triggers on the attack allow her to make another **Flaming Halo** attack (**//Turn It Up//**), apply extra **Burning** equal the number of tomes in the total (//**Stoke the** **Flames**//), or cause the target to suffer damage equal to its **Burning** condition (//**Engulf**//). Both //**Stoke the Flames**// and //**Engulf**// are built-in.


 * Immolate** is Kaeris's attack for dealing direct damage to her enemies. While it only does average damage, it receives positive twists to both the Attack and Damage Flips if the target has the **Burning** condition. It is also resisted by the target's **Wp**, so **Df** triggers don't apply. It has no triggers on the base card.

Kaeris also has two Tactical Actions that are offensive in nature: **Accelerant** and **Flare**.


 * Accelerant** is a spell that generates a large pulse that affects all models with the **Burning** condition. The affected models will suffer damage or can opt to reduce the damage to zero and gain the **Paralyzed** condition. There is no duel to resist this effect, but it can only be used once per turn.


 * Flare** is a short pulse that causes a difficult **Df** duel for all models in range. Models failing the duel will gain the **Burning** condition. This is one of Kaeris's (0) actions, so it can set up a few targets without using any of her AP but only when at very short range.

Combining these two actions can place a lot of damage on an opponent's crew if they run in to fight Kaeris. Keep in mind that if Kaeris is surrounded and you want to light up the enemy group with **Flare** that she won't be able to use **Grab and Drop** as a means of escape on account of both being (0) actions. Unless you've got the Arcane Emissary nearby with her unique upgrade!

=__Resilience__= Kaeris has good **Df 6** and **Wp 6**, which provides a good basis for defense. She has 12 **Wd** and **Armor**, so what damage she does suffer is mitigated before considering soulstone use.

She also has a **Df/Wp** trigger **Smoldering Heart**, which gives the model targeting her the **Burning** condition if she succeeds. This is generally not worth spending stones to guarantee, but it's a nice little perk when you happen to flip a Tome and win a duel.

With the **Purifying Fire** Upgrade, Kaeris gains additional resilience by setting up two 50mm Pyre Markers. These act as a wall, which can block enemy LoS. It can also block your own models' LoS, so be careful where you put your Pyre Markers.

The **Purifying Fire** Upgrade also gives crew resilience support, as friendly models heal instead of taking damage from **Burning** while within 6" of Kaeris.

=__Upgrades__= Kaeris has two Limited upgrades to choose from: **Grab and Drop** and **Purifying Fire**. She has two other specific upgrades, **Born of Fire** and **Blinding** Flame.


 * Grab and Drop** gives Kaeris a **(0)** action by the same name. This Attack Action can only target enemy models and is the shortest range of all of her abilities. If she succeeds on a **Ml** vs. **H****t** duel, the target is placed within 5" of her, and then she is placed 2" from the target. The target suffers damage according to the duel difference. She also gains **Wings of Fire**, which grants **Burning** friendly models that activate nearby **Flight**. As if that weren't enough, models that take to the sky with Wings of Fire automatically drop a scheme marker at the end of their activation! This is the option to take if you want to add extra mobility and objective-grabbing tricks for your crew.


 * Purifying Fire** is a support upgrade. It grants Kaeris an aura that converts damage from **Burning** into healing for friendly models. It also allows the use of another **(0)** action to make flame pillars that block line of sight and damage any model moving through them. Note that you can't use the //**Engulf**// trigger on **Flaming Halo** to trigger the healing because of the way the attack is worded. This is the option to take if you want to add more resilience and terrain-holding tricks for your Crew.


 * Born of Fire** adds two triggers to **Immolate**; both take effect only when Kaeris kills her target. One is built-in (**//Pyre//**) and creates a single flame pillar when Kaeris kills a model. The other (**//Born of// //Fire//**) summons a fire gamin, but the target must have the **Burning** condition and it requires a suit.


 * Blinding Flame** adds two more triggers to **Flaming Halo** (for a total of //five//). **//Blinding// //Flame//** itself is built-in; it pushes models away and prevents them from charging. **//Flee from the// //Light//** shoves away enemy models within a small pulse around Kaeris.

=__Tactics and Tips__= The other (0) action on Kaeris's base card is **Truth in Flame**, which removes burning from nearby models and lets Kaeris draw cards. If you're not in a hurry to get anywhere on the first turn of the game, and you've deployed models close enough together, you can set some allies on fire and draw cards to (hopefully) build a control hand for subsequent turns.


 * Flaming Halo** ignores cover. If Kaeris needs to attack a model with cover, it's often a good idea to open with **Flaming Halo** to give the enemy model the **Burning** condition; the positive twists to attack and damage will cancel out the cover penalties for subsequent **Immolates**. If she's close enough, charging can also negate cover for **Immolate**, letting Kaeris claim the positive twists. If the enemy is a harder target or a melee powerhouse, a good combo can be to apply **Burning** with **Flaming Halo**, then charge and lead with **Immolate**, then go for the //**Blinding Flame**// trigger to push the target away and deny a return charge.

Both of Kaeris's attacks operate just fine at melee range. She's a shooter with extra AP, so it's completely reasonable to stay behind cover, pop out to shoot, and then retreat back to safety, but you can also hurl her into a crowd, **Flare**, **Accelerant**, and attempt to waste any models that are still standing with melee-range **Immolates**. If you're using **Purifying Flame**, you probably want her near or just behind the front lines so that your other models are getting the benefits of the aura; **Imbued Protection** is a great upgrade if you're planning on keeping her close to the action. Alternatively, you can play her as a skirmisher by combining **Grab and Drop** and **Blinding Flame**; push anyone who gets too close away, or use **Grab and Drop** to drag an enemy away from its allies and into range of your other attackers.

=__Leading a Crew__=

Strategies and Schemes

 * Grab and Drop** is an extremely good upgrade for any scheme that requires markers, especially if you can efficiently set models on fire. Thanks to **Flight**, terrain is irrelevant; just fling a handful of burning models up to the centerline for A Line in the Sand. They can even be **Insignificant**! Kaeris herself can easily perform Entourage or Take Prisoner, and many of her thematic models can generate extra AP for Deliver a Message.


 * Turf War:** Blinding Flame and Grab and Drop are both excellent ways to get enemy models out of the scoring zone. Alternately, you could use Blinding Flame with Purifying Flame to give your own crew more resilience while shoving enemies out.


 * Reckoning:** Not Kaeris's strongest strategy. While she can bring a strong list of powerful Arcanist models, Kaeris herself has trouble focusing down more than one model a round, and even that is a little dicey. **Purifying Fire** is a good pick, as she can function as strong support for a strong crew.


 * Squatter's Rights:** The added mobility from **Wings of Fire** can be a big boost here, and Kaeris has access to plenty of durable models that are only a little on the slow side. Drawing straight lines toward Squat markers improves mobility immensely, or Kaeris can claim one herself first turn. She's also mobile enough to move up and down the line, applying support and pressure where needed. **Blinding Flame** can also be of use here to move enemy models away from vulnerable markers, and **On** **the Pyre** from **Purifying Flame** can block access to them.


 * Reconnoiter:** Kaeris usually prefers to be centrally located to maximize her support potential, so this strategy represents a bit of a problem for her. Again, her upgrades that move enemies (**Grab and Drop**, **Blinding Flame**) can be put to good use here but going with a tankier, more support-oriented build can let her crew contest or claim a quadrant that would ordinarily be a lock for her opponent.


 * Stake a Claim:** Kaeris has a great pool of models to pull from for this strategy and can handily start dropping Claim markers by turn two on her own, no matter the deployment type.

Building a Crew


Kaeris obviously synergizes well with other models that can hand out the **Burning** condition. Both of her limited upgrades rely on applying Burning to //your// models, however, so to get the most efficient use out of them you probably want some way to set them on fire without directly dealing damage. **The Firestarter** and **Union Miners** both have attacks that can do this, and the **Malifaux Child** can copy Kaeris's Flaming Halo once per turn to set two models on fire if you use the Turn it Up trigger. You can also use Flare, but its range is very short. Remember that models killed by Burning damage don't count as killed by you for the purposes of strategies and schemes, although The Firestarter has an aura that circumvents that problem.

Grab and Drop's ability to grant models Flight allows you to hide big beatsticks completely behind terrain and then suddenly have them fly out and cause havoc. Howard Langston is an excellent choice because he can use his Nimble AP to jump a wall and still have AP left to charge an enemy. The Rail Golem is also a good option, and it isn't even necessary to spend AP giving him Burning; just keep in mind that at the end of a G&D-assisted activation the RG is going to lose the entirety of its Burning condition. Even if you didn't take any schemes that require markers, the scheme markers can potentially be of value. Willie can take the scheme markers and turn them into bombs; Large Steam Arachnids can eat them for positive twists to attack. LSAs can also inflict Burning with their attacks, and granting them Flight helps their maneuverability considerably.

Fire Gamin can't be healed with Purifying Flame because they don't take damage from the Burning condition. They make okay objective runners and shooters, but Metal Gamin are much more durable for the same cost.

Metal Gamin are staple minions for many Arcanist masters, and Kaeris is no exception. Aside from their utility as objective runners and point-holders, they can inflict Burning +2 with their attacks if they are defending an engaged ally with Protection of Metal. If you are expecting construct-heavy opposition, Metal Gamin are clear winners over Fire Gamin thanks to their (0) action, Magnetism. Otherwise, the question of which to hire is dependent on whether you want more offensive capability and a ranged attack or a sticky point-holder that can buff a low Df unit to respectable levels.

Rail Workers have a (0) action that deals damage to a target equal to the value of its current Burning condition.

Gunsmiths can get a double positive twist on all duels against Burning models with their (0) action **The Hard Way**.

Union Miners spread Burning as well, and have some very flexible Scheme Marker manipulation.

Arcane Emissary - If there is a model that is going to make Kaeris instinctual - that is, cast both of her zero actions to first get some nearby friends on fire then put it out to draw some cards, how would you rate this model? If you reckon getting 3 cards in a turn is op as hell, it is time to look into our new shining star - the Arcane Emissary.

What makes this model fantastic in Kaeris crew is his upgrade - **Flaming Conflux** which grants it a zero action targeting Kaeris within 10", making her effectively **Instinctual**. If you could manage to keep Kaeris close to her fellow crew members, effectively she could draw 3 cards a turn. That is quite impressive, isn't it?


 * Retribution in Flame** is also provided with the same upgrade, which allows friendly minions within 6" to self-harm 1 damage in order to add **Burning +1** after damaging the target enemy. Stacking burning damage shall be less of a concern to you now, for instance, a **Fast** gunsmith could add a total of Burning 3 to one enemy, waiting for Kaeris to deal the final killing blow later with her immolation.

=__Playing Against Kaeris__=

If you are expecting to play against Kaeris, Condition removal will help you a lot. Depending on your Crew, this could mean Johan (who is a Mercenary and available to any Crew), Witchling Stalkers, or Monks of Low River.

Kaeris herself is tough but not unkillable, but has several escape and blocking tricks (especially on her upgrades).

Von Schill is very good against Kaeris as his personal totem the Steam Trunk provides all models within 4" to use its zero action to remove a Burning conditional off from a model within 3". This forces Kaeris's crew to "spend" the burning condition during a single model's activation which breaks the model synergies.

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