Samael


 * Samael Hopkins, Guild Minion** toc

=__Overview__= Samael Hopkins (Sam to his friends, Hopkins to his subordinates) is the cool thinking right hand of Sonnia Criid. He follows Criid unquestioningly, and has had his share of trouble due to his blind faith that what she's doing is right. Sam is an unusual addition to the Witch Hunters. His specialty is being a tracker, and his ability to fight Arcanists is hindered by his inability to defend against them. He never lets this stop him though.

=__Mobility__= Samael cannot afford to move quickly while he's tracking his prey. He moves at a steady 4", and has a charge of 6". Luckily, his movement is not hindered by Severe Terrain, due to the //Scout// ability.

=__Offense__= Samael Hopkins is the hard hitting powerhouse of the Witch Hunters. His skills are used to hunt down and destroy the Arcanist threat in Malifaux. Sam is a natural tracker, especially when it comes to finding those who use the magical powers in Malifaux for their own purpose.

Arcane Hunter
Sam is amazing when fighting Arcanists and other Masters. This is due to the +2 Cb and +1 Dg he gains when attacking a model with Ca 6 or higher.

Hunter
Being an excellent tracker, Hopkins can see through obscuring terrain better than some. This allows him to watch his prey, even when they think they're safe.

Melee
Armed with the tools of his trade, Sam's favorite Melee weapon is his Huntin' Tools. He is highly skilled at swinging them around and wholloping his enemies into submission with the steel trap. He tends to aim low, tying models up, and slowing them down for his Crew mates. Though to be honest he must prefers to attack his prey at range while they think themselves safe.

**Weapon, Huntin' Tools**
Sam's tools are so effective that when he wounds a model with his Huntin' Tools, they receive -2 Wk until the Start Closing phase.

Ranged
The Colt .45 is a weapon that made it's way through the Breach and helped build Malifaux into what it is today. While Sam's Melee weapon is the one with all the perks, his gun is far more deadly, inflicting as much damage in a shot as a boosted hit with his Huntin' Tools.

**(2) Rapid Fire [Colt .45]**
Samael is deadly and effective with is Colt. So deadly, in fact, that at the drop of a card, he can make three shots at a single target, wounding or killing most models. However due to his slow speed you will need to keep him alive long enough to unleash that deadly torrent of fire.

Cb(R) Critical Strike
Being good has its perks. Sam doles out +1Dg per Ram in the duel total when hitting a model with his Huntin' Tools. He is already suited for 1 ram.

Cb(C) Drain Magic
When Sam flips a Crow in his Combat Duel with his Huntin' Tools, the defending model has to discard 1 Control Card.

Cb(R M) Ricochet
Hopkins is deadly accurate with his Colt .45 if you cheat or a Mask. After he damages a defender with a Colt .45 Strike, another model within 3" of the defender suffers damage of a lesser amount.

(0) Flaming Bullets
This spell, Sam's only (0) Action, adds +2 Dg to Hopkins' ranged weapon until the end of his next activation. This spell is great because it gives you two turns to take care of business. But can be said about this little gem. With this spell and his Arcane hunter ability he is doing an impressive 6/7/8 against casters and masters alike. This is great for forcing an opponent to start cheating and burning soul stones early. If Sam is able to stand his ground with his CB 8 and unload on a target it is dead.

(1) Arrest
Sam likes to trip his enemies up. This spell allows him to do that from a distance. He forces a model to discard a Control Card whenever they declare a Walk or Charge for the rest of the game. This spell can be negated (by discarding 2 Control Cards instead of 1).

=__Resilience__= Samael is what people call a glass canon. His defense is a less-than-average 4. He has a large amount of wounds (9) but he has absolutely no defense abilities. Your best bet is to seek cover or use models that can enhance his defenses.

=__Tips and Tricks__= As noted above, Samael's //Flaming Bullets// spell lasts until the end of his next activation. This is helpful since //Flaming Bullets// requires a high card to cast, so even in turns when you won't use your gun it's worth trying to cast.

The //Ricochet// Trigger is a great way to hit models that don't allow you to target them easily. Consider using it to hit Pandora or the Dreamer, both of whom are notoriously hard to hit.

=__Master-Specific Tips__= Samael is part of the Witch Hunters so thematically he works with Sonnia. In practice, his abilities are not really enhanced by anything in her crew though. He is just as useful in any Guild crew. Although, not being a Construct or Family doesn't make him the first choice for most Ortega or Hoffman crews.

=__Minion-Specific Tips__= One Minion that is worth looking at to help out Sameal major weakness is the Guardian. The Guardian's ability to grant //Armor// to a friendly model and take wounds on its behalf, help to increase Sameal's survivability greatly. Unfortunately, this is an expensive stone combo so it's not generally seen in most crew builds.

=__Playing Against Samael__= Samael's ranged combat is scary. His Cb is above average and his damage is output is amazing. Taking cover is not an option because of his //Hunter// ability. The good news is that his 10" range on his pistol is also the most common range for other ranged attacks and also the charge range for a lot of faster minions. This means that after he is done shooting he should be in range for retaliation. Samael's biggest weakness is being attacked. If he can't kill everything before it gets to him he generally goes down very quickly.

** __Ownership__ **
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