Ice+Gamin

== toc Construct
 * Ice Gamin, Arcanist Minion**

=__Overview__= Ice Gamin are small constructs formed from snow and ice. They come as part of Rasputina's Cult of December box set and complement her well. With a good number of wounds for their cost and armour as well, they are tough little monsters and with their great defensive trigger they are difficult to take out in melee.

=__Mobility__= Gamin are the fastest models in the Cult of December with an average walk of 4 and charge 7. They won't get across the board quickly, but they are not designed for that. They are primarily roadblocks in the enemies' advance towards Rasputina. Snow Storm from Rising Powers (Book 2) allows Gamin and their big cousin the Ice Golem to fly across the board (up to 18" if you set it up right) and this gives them a whole new playability.

=__Offense__= Ice Gamin have both a ranged and melee strike with an ok Cb and good damage (which can be augmented by Bite of Winter from a friendly Gamin or Golem nearby) If they get good flips they can really hurt a minion with either strike, with Masters it is less likely that the Gamin will land a hit. The Gamin also have an ace up their frosty sleeves, when they die they shatter and cause damage to those around them. This can be very useful against The Dreamer's Alp Bomb tactic, or as a parting gift for an enemy in melee.

In addition to their own damage output, having Frozen Heart means Rasputina or a Silent One can cast their spells through the Gamin. Spells such as Biting Chill or Ice Wind which can be cast while the Gamin is in melee can really surprise your opponent who will be taking damage while your caster is not exposed. This is a great way to start hurting or finish off an enemy that the Gamin just couldn't quite manage on their own. The armour and Df trigger are no good against direct Wd effects eg. Alps, Black Blood but generally in these circumstances you want the little guys to die anyway.

=__Resilience__= For their cost, Gamin are very well defended. Their Df 4 is ok, but Wd 5 and armour really slows down an enemy who will have to hit and do 6 Dg in order to one-time these hardy little golems.

Any Gamin can also become a statue, making them easier to hit, much harder to hurt (the enemy takes double negative on the damage flip; mitigating some of the damage). This is less useful if the enemy has a good low/moderate damage, but against low power models they will have to use multiple hits to bring the Gamin down.

It is the defensive trigger that truly makes the Gamin shine. When the Gamin has been damaged by a melee attack, the attacker's activation ends. This can leave a large squishy beatstick (eg. Mature Nephilim or Lord Chompy Bits) high and dry and right in Rasputina's sights.

=__Tips and Tricks__= Gamin are cheap, expendable little monsters who are happiest in melee combat holding up your enemy's big hitters whilst being shot at by your own people. They are not insignificant and so can hold table quarters and perform strategy/scheme winning interacts.

=__Master-Specific Tips__= While called a cheesy tactic, Rasputina can (and should in some circumstances) shoot her own Gamin (or Golem) in combat. This means the target selection flips don't matter too much. If you hit your own guy or the enemy it's still a win-win situation. If you do hit your own guy cheat their defense down allowing severe damage blasts to be placed on those in combat with the Gamin and, should the Gamin die from this abuse, that's shatter damage on top. Shooting your own Gamin with December's Curse is your go-to tactic if you are having trouble hitting high Defense models like Lilith or Perdita. If you randomly hit your own model, do blast damage and Shatter, both Masters can be killed without their Df being used.

A very useful tactic is to use December's Touch on a Gamin to boost its Armour to 3 then pop December's curse at it, this will allow you to get two good severe damage hit on it before it dies allowing you to spread Dg 4 blasts on everyone near to the Gamin, and with shatter damage to boot that can be 10Dg on a single target that you didn't target in the first place. Whilst the Ice Gamin are most commonly seen with Rasputina, they are constructs, and there is therefore a good synergy with Ramos. Note that Detonate Construct sacrifices the Gamin so Shatter does not trigger. When the Gamin are killed they leave scrap counters he can use to create spiders, and they are boosted by his Arcing screen.

Bite of Winter gives +1 damage to models with Frozen Heart. This includes Rasputina's spells Biting Chill and the direct damage caused by December's Curse (not the blast). Note Bite of Winter is an aura, and auras don't effect the model creating them. This can lead to an interesting choice...set up Bite of Winter with your first activation for the round or activate Rasputina first without the +1 damage?

=__Minion-Specific Tips__= (As with Master-Specific Tips, going into any specific Synergies with other Minions.)

=__Playing Against Ice Gamin__= Gamin are slow so faster crews can run rings around them and ignore them, however it is worth trying to take them out primarily because without Frozen Hearts to mirror through Rasputina will have to come out of cover and do the job herself which will obviously make her vulnerable. The best way to deal with Gamin is hard hitting (>6 Dg) ranged attacks to avoid the Dg trigger and the shatter damage on death. If you must attack in melee either send one big guy who can put down 6 Dg in one strike or send in a crowd of low Dg guys to destroy the Gamin. Otherwise you'll be tied up in melee for a couple of turns, or as long as the Gamin's controller is willing to cheat low tomes in for the Df trigger.

Be careful of their defensive trigger. If you hit an Ice Gamin with a melee attack, it may end your activation on the spot, which could expose a powerful mobile unit to unexpected counterassault.

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