M2E+The+Brewmaster


 * The Brewmaster,** ** Gremlin/Ten Thunders Dual-Faction Master **

=__Overview__= toc The Brewmaster is an interesting choice in a damage-based faction. The only master in Malifaux that doesn't have a directly damaging attack without upgrades, The Brewmaster relies on control based around the **Poison** condition. He debuffs opponents' Wp with **Poison** and then attacks against Wp with a variety of debuffing attacks.

=__Mobility__= The Brewmaster has good mobility at Walk (Wk) 5 and Charge (Cg) 6.

When he's not using **Drinking Contest**, the Brewmaster can also get a big mobility boost with **(0) One For The Road**, which pushes the Brewmaster and gives a target **Poison.**

The Brewmaster can also enhance Crew mobility, either with **Obey** (to give extra AP), or in unusual circumstances with the //You're Drunk, Go Home// trigger, which can be used (with soulstones and appropriate cards) to move your other friendly models into your own deployment zone.

=__Offense__=
 * Swig o' Shine**//:// This attack does no damage, but it does give out **Poison +2**, even when used as a disengaging strike. On a Crow, you will give out the **Swill +1** condition (yes they stack); giving the unlucky recipient of the attack negative flips to all duels and flips.


 * Hangover**//:// Gives out the **Swill** condition (negative to all duels and flips) at a 12" range with no gun icon, so no randomization as well as being able to use it in melee!


 * Obey**//:// Is a Ca 7, TN 14 Mask attack that lets you target a non-leader model and force it to do a (1) action of your choosing. If you use **Obey** to force a model to attack, that model cannot be **Obeyed** again on the same turn. **Note:** The Brewmaster does not have the Mask built into his cast, so you need a Mask in hand or a Soulstone to make this action happen.

Some nasty uses for **Obey:**
 * Bringing a model into Brewmaster's bubble range.
 * Having a model (friendly or enemy) attack Brewmaster to trigger // You're drunk, go home // and get sent back to its deployment zone.
 * Having an enemy model attack The Sow, fail the duel, and get Paralyzed.
 * Having enemy models attack each other.
 * Attempt to walk away and gain ** Poison ** from the Brewmaster's disengaging strike.


 * One For The Road**//:// A (0) action that gives out **Poison +2** and gives The Brewmaster a 6” push towards the target model. This replaces **Drinking Contest** so it's risk, but it can provide tremendous mobility to get into range in the first place. Often this ability is best to use when activating The Brewmaster late in the round on early turns, to set him up for a Drinking Contest the next turn.

=__Resilience__= The Brewmaster is an incredibly resilient tarpit model designed to get close with enemies. He has a high **Wd 12,** and a respectable **Df 5 Wp 6.**

The Brewmaster's resilience is helped greatly in melee by his **Drinking Contest** Tactical Action. Until the end of the turn, enemy models within 3" must succeed a Wp 12 duel or take the **On The House** action instead. The Brewmaster also carries **Intoxication**//,// ‍an ability‍ to decrease an enemy model's Wp by their current **Poison** condition (up to a -3, or -4 with Apprentice Wesley around). While this helps him survive in melee, he may struggle against ranged crews. However, there are ways to mitigate this weakness (see Tactics & Tips).

Some enemies can bypass the **Drinking Contest**, either with Ranged Attacks or with **Ruthless**. In these cases, you may want to save yourself with //You're Drunk, go home//. The Brewmaster's **Df** trigger requires both a Mask and a Tome, so you can't get it without spending a soulstone, and it only works when you win the duel, but sometimes it's the best way to keep The Brewmaster safe. The trigger lets you place an attacker anywhere in its deployment zone. This can effectively remove a powerful enemy model from the field of play.

=__Upgrades__= Unlike many Masters, The Brewmaster doesn't necessarily need any Upgrades, and can run with none to good effect. **Binge** provides huge card control, but most of the others you can often do without if you don't have a specific plan how to use them.

__Binge__
This upgrade gives The Brewmaster another attack action with no randomization and is able to use it in engagement range. The great thing about this action is that it causes your opponent to discard a card. The effect of the spell is determined by the suit of the card that was discarded.
 * On a Mask, you get a (1) AP action that you control. Basically, another **Obey** except this one is not restricted by the attack clause.
 * On a Tome, the target gains the **Inebriated** condition and loses all suits printed on its Ml, Df, Wp, Ca and Sh for the rest of the game!
 * On a Crow, the target gains the **Paralyzed** condition.
 * On a Ram, the target suffers 4 damage.

Since this can target any model, it can be an effective way to rid your opponent of cards. The only card that have no effect are Jokers, since the Binge card specifically calls out non-Joker cards. This can provide very nasty drain of resources while also giving further negative affects. You can use this ability multiple times against the same Crew to drain their hand badly. Use it three times and your opponent has a nearly empty hand. Also, remember that this is a (1) action, so Wesley can use his **Magical Extension** and you can drop 4 cards from your opponent's hand per turn.

Pick an enemy model with a low effective .**Wp** for this attack. Once you've Paralyzed a model, you may want to pick another model. Also, it's best to choose models with useful suits in their printed stats, since otherwise opponents can discard Tomes without much concern.

__ **Running Tab** __ This gives The Brewmaster the **Pay Up** (1) action that allows him to discard all scheme markers within 4" and heal an amount of damage equal to the scheme makers discarded. While this can be a good ability in an encounter with heavy scheme markers, the real reason to take this upgrade is for the **Kegger** ability that allows The Brewmaster to hire any Tri-Chi models regardless of their faction. This one upgrade allows The Brewmaster to hire his entire crew even when declared as Ten Thunders, since he is the only dual-faction model and everyone else is just Gremlin.

__The Good Stuff__
This upgrade gives The Brewmaster a close attack that does 1/2/4 damage, but gets a ‍positive‍ flip to the attack and damage if the target has **Poison**. ‍This gives The Brewmaster a reliable way to put out damage, but if the model is that close it is often better to hit them with his **Swig o' Shine** and place negative flips on the model.

__Hold Their Hair Back__
This gives The Brewmaster as attack action that swaps the **Poison +3** on a model for **Paralyze**. This action has a 10" range, but the resist is Df instead of Wp. This is important to remember since almost all of the The Brewmaster’s attacks target Wp. The key to this is to spread **Poison** about and then hit up to 3 enemy models with **Paralyze**, possibly 4 with Wesley. This is a lot easier to say than to done, since the opponent won’t just let you poison their models willy-nilly! For more assured success in paralysis, be sure not to forget to **Hangover** enemies before attempting this!

There's a balancing act here, since you often want your opponents to have **Poison.**

__Drinking "Problem"__
This upgrade allows double healing from The Brewmaster's **Another Round** ability for friendly Tri-Chi models. It also allows The Brewmaster to target an enemy model and push them towards The Brewmaster to possibly Poison them.

__Liquid Bravery__
This upgrade is really dependent on who you will be facing. It does give out negative flips to target the The Brewmaster's Wp, as well as buffing his minions though at the cost of **Drinking Contest** and other (0) actions.

__Hide in the Mud__
Gives a model soft cover. Since The Brewmaster is vulnerable to ranged attacks, this can shore up your defenses, especially if you know you are facing a gun-heavy Crew, such as Guild, Outcasts, or other Gremlins.

__Dirty Cheater__
Always a consideration; the passive healing can help The Brewmaster survive during his activation.

__Stilts__
Can be a solid investment for Brewmaster. Whilst his default height of 2" insures his drinking contest aura is projected over most gremlin units, the increase the height 3"prevents other height 2" units (friend or foe) from blocking the bar. Also with it being likely that he be in in melee range of several enemy units this can be handy to prevent a nasty sever damage or redjoker flip via discard..

=__Tactics and Tips__= Overall, The Brewmaster is all about controlling the opponent with **Poison** and negative flips through his (0) action **Drinking Contest**. What The Brewmaster brings to the table is the ability to not only support his crew, but also the ability to interrupt the enemy's plans with his **Obey** and **Binge**. Ideally, you should park The Brewmaster in one spot and just start flinging the 'shine around. Let the Shinobi do the heavy lifting of damage and objective taking, as they are great at both.

It is important to remember Wesley's ability to use Brewmaster's **Ca** actions. Ordinarily, casting something at -3 **Ca** of 7 **Ca** would be underwhelming, but with all the **Wp** debuffs, he's still quite effective. Wesley is useful for dealing with any opposing crew but it can also mean you have the opportunity to make your own crew more AP efficient. Cast **Obey** on your own models to have them perform actions outside their activations. With Binge on the Brewmaster, it is possible for Wesley to give your master a fourth AP each turn, assuming you have the right trigger card in hand. Cast Binge on Brewmaster and discard the card that allows Wesley to make Brewmaster take a (1) AP action.

Fingers is a model that really fits in well, being able to target models and give them **Poison +3** on one attack is a nice setup to **Paralyze** the model with The Brewmaster. Don’t forget about the Whiskey Golem! His presence in the crew as an escort for Wesley and The Brewmaster works well with their Wp dropping auras and will help to keep him on the field as well. Keeping him within 6" of The Brewmaster means that any model that attacks the Whiskey Golem, while having the **Poison** condition, is forced to pass a **Wp** 15 duel at negatives due to their **Wp** for the Poison, or gain more **Poison** and end their activation.

It should be noted that both Fingers and the Whiskey Golem do more of the same as the Brewmaster/Wesley/Moonshinobi. so are not always necessary. In a scheme pool that focuses heavily on placing scheme markers Fingers should always be considered (even for other Gremlin leaders, not just the Brewmaster).

As mentioned earlier any crew led by the Brewmaster is weaker against ranged crews, especially those that tend to have lots of blasts. To combat the crew's vulnerability to blasts Merris Lacroix can be a useful addition to the crew.

The Brewmaster and his crew can be a tough nut to crack, but they are also a tough crew to get the hang of. Most people are concerned with the damage dealing potential of a model and this crew does not do a ton of damage. The play style is so different from the Kin and even Zoraida. So if you want a refreshing change of pace and a ton of fun alcoholic references, pick up The Brewmaster. This crew is guaranteed to have fun no matter what!

=__Leading a Crew__= (With subheadings, usually referencing specific spells, abilities and important combos)

Strategies and Schemes
Any strategy/scheme that will force an enemy crew to congregate in a location(s) are good for Brewmaster. This means strategies such as Turf War, Extraction and Guard the Stash are Brewmaster Friendly, as well as schemes such as Deliver A Message, Take Prisoner, and Cursed Object.

A crew led by the Brewmaster has a distinct advantage in the above-mentioned schemes because once Brewmaster has closed in on the targets there is little they can do to remove the conditions from themselves.

Building a Crew
Tri-Chi models are based the **Poison** condition, so all work very well with The Brewmaster: Moon Shinobi, Fermented River Monks, Whiskey Golem, and Fingers. Basically you want anything that can spread **Poison** or get buffed from **Poison**.

Trixiebelle is a Gremlin henchman with a very powerful attack, **"Buy You a Drink?"**, that can lead models with incredibly high **Poison** totals. The main reason to take Trixiebelle is her ability to cheat the initiative flip. A Brewmaster crew works best when going first and Trixiebelle makes this easy to achieve.

Because they are mercenaries, Performers can be hired into The Brewmaster's crew. They have some amazing synergies: the trigger //A Sip of Wine// on the action **Siren Call** is basically a 12" expunge that targets Wp, and **Seduction** again targets Wp and adds to the Wp and Df debuffs.

Lenny is an excellent beat-stick for a Brewmaster crew. As long as he is near the Brewmaster it is important to remember that he can effectively heal himself for free as he won't be poisoned. His **I'll Love It And Pet It** upgrade allows your crew to summon in piglets, which can be unexpected for your opponent. Finally, his abilities to reduce damage to surrounding Gremlins and to add a Ram to your crew's duels are always useful.

The Sow with her **Smell Fear** ability can also be an extremely effective damage dealer in a Brewmaster crew. She can also be pretty hard to hit thanks to **Terrifying (All) 12**, and if you combine that with **Drinking Contest** from the Brewmaster, you've suddenly got a beasty that you need to burn a bunch of high cards to even target! Moon Shinobi can also use their Tiny Green Fists to target Wp instead of Df, and it counts as a method of getting extra hits from the old girl. Chances are, if you can get her downfield with the Brewmaster and charge something that's causing you problems, it'll be curtains for them. Keep in mind also that the Brewmaster and his crew have many ways of healing her if she starts losing her positive flip-giving heads! You can also have Brewmaster Obey an enemy model and then fail the Terror Check, Paralyzing the model (and likely giving The Sow a free attack!)

=__Playing Against The Brewmaster__=


 * Stay out of the bubble!** Within 3" of The Brewmaster, models need to make a very difficult **Wp** check (with increasing penalties) to take any action at all. When a model gets stuck in there, they may be lost for the rest of the game. It's tempting to send more models in to rescue them, but that can leave more models tied up in the bubble. Don't get stuck in The Brewmaster's tarpit.


 * High Wp models help a little but not much**. High **Wp** is nice against the Brewmaster, but **Wp** scores get reduced easily with Poison.


 * If you win initiative, take advantage quickly.** The Brewmaster's **Drinking Contest** aura is a (0) action that lasts until the end of the turn. If you get caught in the Brewmaster's bubble, the time to do something about it is on the start of the turn if you've won initiative. Getting away helps. Killing models when you can helps. Debuffing the Brewmaster helps.


 * Use models that bypass the Drinking Contest.** Models with **Ruthless** can ignore the **Wp** duel and attack the Brewmaster without difficulty. Models that disable (0) actions (like Abominations) can also shut down the Drinking Contest.


 * Kill him at Range.** You can ignore **Drinking Contest** if you can attack from outside the Drinking Contest.


 * Kill Wesley First.** If you're going to kill him, take the time to kill Apprentice Wesley first, or else you'll have a new Brewmaster far too quickly.


 * Clear Conditions**. The Brewmaster lays down a lot of nasty conditions, most notably poison. If you know you're facing Brewy, bring models that can remove Conditions, such as Johan, Chiaki, or the Scion of Black Blood.

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