Franciso+Ortega

//The elder brother of Perdita. When his father, Papa Loco abdicated his position of head of the family in favor of his eldest son, Francisco moved aside to let his charismatic younger sister take the lead.//
 * Francisco Ortega, Guild Minion** toc

=__Overview__= Francisco may be the cheapest Ortega for hire, but he is still an Ortega and someone to be feared. He may not be the most durable (indeed, of all the Ortegas, he will fall the fastest when he is hit) but his damage dealing abilities make him a threat to any who face him. Proficient in the use of his Guild-issued Peacebringer, and legendary in reputation as a sword duelist, Francisco is a valuable asset to the Family of Neverborn Hunters.

=__Mobility__= Francisco is human, so his movement isn't anything to rave about (even if his Charge is slight above average). He may //Menace// an opponent, which lets him prevent a target within 6" from moving for a round while Francisco walks towards them - basically a walk that requires Francisco to flip/Cheat a 6+ card that prevents the target any attempt to disengage.

=__Offense__= Like his brother and sister, Francisco is deceptive in his damage dealing potential. Given his attacks both come with a Ram in their cost, his //Critical Strike// is always active - meaning a strike from either his bullets or his blade have a base damage of 3/4/6, and should the Strike flip a Ram card (x2 Rams) this damage dealing increases further to 4/5/7(!).

Francisco is legendary for his use with a blade, and if he can get into Melee he will take it. With a Cb of 7, he will usually hit most of his foes (it's at least +1 better than his Peacemaker). Should he begin his activation already in Melee, he will almost always employ //Flurry// to deliver 3 melee strikes instead of just 2. These three slices have the potential to end the life of any model, as they can potentially do up to 21 (!) damage in one round! Hence why most will avoid Francisco in combat - or if they do find themselves with crossed blades, they will seek to end Francisco before he can deliver the same to them!

Though Francisco is better with his blade, this does not make him unskilled with his Peacebringer. With a Cb of 6, most of his shots will count. Should his ranged attack flip a Mask, he also gets a free (0 AP) shot at a second target 3" from the initial target (due to //Fanning//). If your opponent is melee-focused, you may well be better off staying at range and attack using the Peacebringer, saving the Sword and //Flurry// to deal with any models that manage to engage you in melee, but can't kill you before you next activate.

=__Resilience__= He's fragile with only 6 Wds (the weakest of the Ortegas) Francisco compensates this with Df 5 (+1 above the rest of his family, with exception to Perdita's goddess-like Df 8!). Like his kindred, he is //Stubborn// and can //Shrug Off// undesired effects and counters, which is quirky and useful.

Francisco's main defense is his offense. Dead foes do not attack, so he (like his family) will aim to remove his opponents first and fast to avoid being hit back (they can dish it, but they can't necessarily take it).

=__Tips and Tricks__= Though Francisco is better in Melee than at Range, //Fanning// has its uses, especially against minions with 3-4 Wounds that are within 3" of each other. One action with a Mask flip and you are basically going to take down a pair of nasties that could be blocking your LoS or charge lanes.

Using 2 Masks with //Fanning// can be used to deliver 3 shots, with the first and last being on the same target (//i.e.// first shot hits the initial target, second shot hits a target 3" from the initial target, third shot hits the initial target as it is 3" from the second target). This has merit in some cases.

Alternatively, with 2 Masks, both of Francisco's actions can be used to fire on four minions. When faced with a swarm that could potentially overwhelm you in the next action, but are still outside of Melee range, this method can prove quite useful.

If you have a hand of low control cards and know you will be using his gun or blade, consider spending a 7+ card (any suit) to activate //Duelist// as Francisco's (0) AP spell for the round. Should you flip a low card for any of his attacks, you may discard a low card from your hand to ignore the card flipped and re-flip a new one. This can get rid of a few unwanted low cards in your hand to dismiss low cards flipped in the chance of maybe flipping a moderate or high card. It can burn cards, and won't be used often, but should you have a bad draw of low cards, this can often prove useful.

=__Master-Specific Tips__= Francisco is an Ortega and typically works alongside his family. Being able to act with them (as a whole or in smaller pairs or trios) can deliver powerful alpha strikes to take down big nasties in a single round, preventing any deadly response to their assault.

//Flurry// is powerful, but requires Francisco to spend both of his AP to use. Fix this with Perdita and/or Abuela making him //Obey// to move into Melee before he has even activated, so when he does activate, he is where he wants to be to slice his foes to shreds.

Francisco uses both Rams and Masks, though Rams more so than the other (and Masks should really be reserved for his sister Perdita and his cousin Nino who will use them far more effectively than to just //Menace// an opponent). Given the "shootness" of the Ortegas, it's more often useful to hang onto Masks than Rams as they will have a higher chance of being utilized. Should, however, you find the family swamped in Melee, get Francisco to where he can shine and maximize on what Rams you have available.

//Menace// won't have much use, but it can be useful to prevent slippery characters running away or moving to block charge lanes or LoS. It is basically a walk move that uses a card to prevent its victim from not moving until the start of the Closing Phase. It doesn't prevent the victim attacking in Melee or making Ranged attacks however, so its use is limited, but still has merit to lock something in place and allow other models to move around or away from it without the risk that they may be pursued.

=__Playing Against Francisco__= Francisco is not very durable, though his Df 5 will mean he'll dodge attacks a bit easier than the rest of his family. Since he is so impressive in Melee it is best to remove him at range, or if you are going to engage him in close quarters do so with intent to kill so he may not survive to activate on the following round with a vicious //Flurry//.

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