Nino+Ortega


 * Niño Ortega, Guild Minion** toc

=__Overview__= Cousin of Perdita, Niño is the smallest of the clan but by no means the weakest. He keeps his distance from the fray and utilizes his rapid fire Repeating Rifle with incredible precision to end lives with a single round, or flood his victims with enough lead their corpse can be used as a 2B pencil (without an eraser, but hey - can't ask for everything!).

=__Mobility__= Niño is not fast. With a Wk of 4" he can at least strut his stuff, but without a Charge ("-") he is more inclined to amble then rush anywhere. And that suits him fine. Niño is far more interested in finding a nice location with a great view where he can put his rifle skills to use.

Since he takes his time in traveling, Niño ignores all severe ground movement penalties (due to his //"Scout"// ability). He will stroll around and won't slow down.

=__Offense__= Niño is all about Ranged Offense. While he can smack people with the butt of his rifle, it doesn't happen often. If it does it means Niño has been prevented from using his rifle or is somehow stuck in Melee (which is rather uncommon).

As a //"Hunter,"// Niño ignores cover when targeting models, and even his LoS into forests is improved by 6" (meaning the trees won't offer much cover to foes trying to hide from his bullet barrage). Given his rifle has a range of 16" (half the length of ANY battlefield!) if Niño can walk to the middle of the board, he will be in range to shoot anyone in his firing lines.

Once Niño is in a good spot, comfy and cozy, he can start considering targets. His spell //In My Sights// is a (0) action and gives Niño **+2 Cb** to his rifle shots on a chosen target. This, with the fact that he ignores any cover the enemy is sheltering behind, gives Niño's rifle **9 Cb** (!). Given that the highest Df in the game is 8 (possessed by Niño's cousin Perdita), once Niño has chosen his target, it's very doubtful he will miss.

With his target set, the bullets start to fly, and in this, Niño has two options to remove his foes - take a //Headshot// or go //Trigger Happy//. This decision is made depending on how many Cards the opponent has in hand.

If the opponent only has 0-1 cards in hand, Niño will almost always go for a //Headshot//. This triggers if Niño hits his target (not necessarily damages them) with a rifle round and plays a Crow to do so. The result is the victim takes no damage and instead drops dead. That's it. Auto-kill, unless the controller of the victim discards 2 cards from their Control Hand (hence why Niño will always use this if the opponent has less than 2 cards in hand). Even if they have the cards to avoid the //Headshot//, the cost is still quite high - lose a model or lose 2 cards? Just reminding your opponent of this can make them hesitate at cheating fate and can make them horde cards in defense.

Alternatively, Niño can get reckless and go //Trigger Happy// which triggers when he damages (not just hits) his target and played a Mask in doing so. This allows Niño to fire a second round at the same target. If it is played with a Mask and damages the victim as well, //Trigger Happy// triggers again giving Niño a third shot! This can be as deadly as //Headshot// though costly to yourself as it requires a constant use of Mask flipped from your deck or played from your hand.

=__Resilience__= Niño isn't exactly hardy. His 4 Df is average, and 8 Wds isn't bad. His real "defense" is his range and offensive potential which will force opponents to get themselves into Melee ASAP to avoid Niño blasting them apart (or, if he does, there is decent chance he'll hit his coworkers), and/or hold onto their Control Cards to avoid taking "headshots" as they race up the field.

Naturally, some think the best way to deal with Niño is get him into Melee so he can't use his rifle. On one part this is true, as Niño will would normally be forced to back off (which risks him taking a free strike from his opponent) as his bullets are far more deadly and accurate than him swinging his rifle around by the barrel. But Niño is cunning, slippery, and small. Should he find himself in Melee, he'll almost always use his (0) action as "Where'd He Go?" before retreating - preventing any disengaging strike to be made as he moves back 4" (so the target is once more in rifle range) and using his last AP to open fire.

Alternatively, some people may try to outshoot Niño. Given his 16" rifle range, it's more common that Niño will be able to take his shot before his opponents get to make theirs. Even so, Niño can fall to a hail of bullets. Watch out and don't get cocky.

=__Tips and Tricks__= Niño's strength is in his ability to open fire, and the effectiveness of that depends on both where Niño and his targets are on the field. Consider the layout of the map before setup. Find a good sniper spot and get Niño to it ASAP. High ground can assist in this to look over other models and get decent LoS.

//In My Sights// require an 8+ card (suit irrelevant) to cast so it's not cheap, and ends if Niño moves or casts it again (it can only affect one target at a time) but it gives Niño **+2 Cb** to ALL his ranged rifle attacks on the target. It's more useful with //Trigger Happy// than //Headshot// as the former involves multiple attacks, but both benefit from it.

Use your family. If your target has moved out of sight, have Perdita or Abuela make the target //Obey// the women and move back where Niño can see (and shoot) it.

Keep at least one Severe (11-13) Crow card in hand for //Headshot// should the opportunity arise to use it. Otherwise, stock up on average to high Masks, as these fuel Niño's //Trigger Happy,// as well as many other abilities used by most of the Ortega clan.

Consider your shots. If your opponent has less than 2 cards in hand, //Headshot// will kill almost anything EVERY TIME, provided you hit the target and have a Crow in hand (if you don't flip one, cheat fate and assure the kill).

If your opponent has cards in hand, consider //Trigger Happy// as 3 shots dealing weak damage is still 6 damage (a three severe shots is 15 damage!) Don't be too reckless throwing away Masks as many of the Ortegas use them to power abilities and spells, but then again if you are sure of getting a kill, I'm sure the clan will appreciate their reasources going to good use (embedded in the skull of a Neverborn beastie).

Be mindful of Triggers the target has that are in range of Niño. If Niño were to shoot Perdita within 10", chances are she will Shoot First with //"Faster'n You"//. Same applies with Pandora. Be careful of your targets. Some may bite back.

If you are in Melee, cast //Where'd he go?// as your (0) action, back off 4" with a move action, then open fire with your last action. In this circumstance it may be best to use //Trigger Happy// for your attack, as if you do not end your attacker in that round, chances are they'll put you in the grave on their next activation.

=__Master-Specific Tips__=
 * Perdita** **Ortega**: While every Guild master gets some mileage out of this sniper, Perdita obviously works well with her younger cousin. She can cast //Obey// to fire off more shots or move him into position - remember to activate Niño first, cast //In My Sights//, and then have Perdita activate afterwards. If the target isn't dead yet, Niño still retains the +2 Cb bonus against that model and can fire off another salvo of shots to bring it down.

=__Minion-Specific Tips__= The Enslaved Nephilim, Perdita's totem, can cast //Obey// as well. Pairing him up with Niño to get five shots off a turn isn't a bad idea but can be very hard on your control hand, as the Enslaved Nephilim requires a 10 or higher of any suit to cast //Obey//.

=__Playing Against [Minion]__= While Niño is a //Hunter//, he still can't see into a piece of terrain and then through to models on the other side. Keep hard cover when he's a threat and advance cautiously unless you're fond of being pumped full of lead. Stitched Together are exceptional models for Neverborn crews to take against him, as their Creepy Fog is not considered terrain making //Hunter// meaningless. Once you're up close with him, kill him before he can activate and cast //"Where'd He Go?//, or he'll escape and cost you even more precious AP to take down.

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