Avatar+Pandora

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 * Pandora, Neverborn Avatar of Insanity**

=Overview= In Avatar form, Pandora sprouts tentacles and becomes stationary. She keeps her frightening network of psychological effects, and can also project her powers through the new improved version of Candy, the Petulant Youth.

Avatar Pandora is great when you have strategies and schemes that require you to hold a position somewhere, and your opponent has strategies and schemes that require them to come for you, or to keep you out of a place. If the strategies and schemes require you to move around, stick with the more mobile version of Pandora.

=Manifesting=

To Manifest, Pandora must cause 10 Wd with **Emotional Trauma** and **Self-Loathing**, which she should probably be trying to do anyway because that's how you win with Pandora. She also needs to have an enemy model fail the Wp duel for **Dementia** twice -- for this requirement, it's best to pick a low-Wp enemy unit who would otherwise be hard to handle, then try to hit the same unit with **Dementia** again if needed. Remember that models must make the Wp duel for Dementia even if they declare a Pass action. Nothing special happens if a Pass action fails: mostly they take damage from **Emotional Trauma** and help Pandora Manifest. Pandora should be able to Manifest around turn 4 or so.

It's important to choose the location where you Manifest, and to pick very carefully. Pandora can dominate the area where she manifests, and can't be moved away, so putting her near an objective or two may be a good idea. She also extends a lot of dangerous effects out for 8 to 12 inches, so you may be able to use her more thoroughly if she's near the center of the board. However, she's still got a low Df and doesn't want to get ganged up on, so putting her near some cover or terrain may be helpful too. And if you can put her on an objective near cover and near the center of the board, that's even better.

When Pandora manifests, a new Avatar Candy comes into play, too. If you've already got Candy in play, the new Avatar Candy comes into play with all damage and effects on her. If you don't bring Candy into play, the new Avatar Candy comes into play with 2 Wd fewer. If you're planning to Manifest, you may want to avoid hiring Candy into your initial crew -- you could hire someone else instead, and another 8 soulstone minion is probably more valuable than 2 more Wounds on Candy, especial since Candy divides up damage with Pandora, but can give both of them a healing flip as a zero action.

=Mobility= No, no, no. Pandora's movement rate is -/-, and she has the **Immobile** ability that means she cannot be moved, placed, or buried. Pandora is less mobile than some forms of terrain.

She doesn't really need to move, though. Set her up in an important place, and let Candy do the running around for her. Just be sure that if you have strategies that require a lot of moving around (like Line in the Sand or Reclaim Malifaux) that you complete them before Manifesting Pandora, and get her in a good place too, because wherever she Manifests is where she'll stay.

=Offense=

Ambient Suffering
As with her pre-Avatar form, remember that Pandora causes a lot of stress just by being around. Her **Emotional Trauma** ability causes 1 Wd whenever a subject within 12" loses a Wp Duel. This can happen from most of her abilities, spells, and attacks, from Terrifying, and so on. It can also be triggered by other models causing Wp, including your own units and enemy units. Keep in mind that the area near Pandora is just generally painful and upsetting, to the tune of 1 Wd per failure.

**Melee**
Avatar Pandora's Tentacles of Madness attack has a long range (3") but a low Cb value and damage, only slightly better than her non-Avatar form, which is in turn only slightly better than a Bash. It's got a much better reach though.


 * Tentacles of Madness** does have an interesting trigger (**Ensnared in Lunacy**) for an extra Mask that will freeze the defender in place, which can be useful for objectives or to stop an enemy model that hasn't activated yet. Theoretically, you could also use it to lock your own models in place to protect them from abilities like **Lure** and **Transposition**, if you have a mask in hand and you don't mind hurting them for 2 or 3 damage.

What's really important about Avatar Pandora's melee attack, though, is that it's also the range for her Terrifying ability. With **Terrifying -> 13** and **Anathema**, Pandora can cause any opponent who activates or takes an action within 3" of her 40mm base to fall back. That's a circle of danger about seven inches in diameter.

Ranged
Pandora's **Wretched Gaze** attack has a low Cb and doesn't do much immediate damage, but it's scary if you put a lot of effort into it. With a Range of 10, she gains some ranged damage which Pandora crews often lack. You may need to cheat up or spend a Soulstone to hit. The damage is low, but the attack can also has a trigger (with an extra Mask) that casts Self-Destruction on the target, which in turn has a trigger that can Paralyze the target. If you have the Soulstones or Control Cards for it, Pandora can launch a really frightening attack against a single minion, especially a minion with a powerful melee attack.

Also, remember that her Ranged attack targets Wp, so targets will take an extra Wd from Emotional Trauma as well, and some high-Df targets may be vulnerable.

Pandora can't back away from enemies, and doesn't have Gunsliger, so if someone moves up into melee with her, she can't use her ranged attack.

Spells
Pandora's spell array is quite frightening, and with Casting Expert, it's pretty clear she's intended to be casting a lot of spells. Her Ca goes up from 6 to 7 when she Manifests, so her spells will also be harder to resist. Both of her resisted spells are resisted with Wp, so she'll do an extra damage with them.

The spell you will be using most often is **Self-Destruction**. It's like her Self-Loathing spell in that it does damage based on the target's own melee weapon, but the casting cost is 2 higher and the damage flip is an even flip (but it still can't be cheated.) You need a 7 or better to cast it. Note that if you can flip or Cheat a Crows card, the target is also Paralyzed, which makes the spell quite brutal.


 * Mass Hysteria** is a very expensive spell, requiring a 10 Mask or better to cast. It pushes all enemy models that fail to resist up to 2". This could be useful sometimes, since it could move units out of strategically important areas, make them drop Treasure Chests, and get them in the wrong place. It can also be used to push enemy models into **Hollows of Despair,** which is probably how you will most often use it. As a (2) Action and with such a high cost, you won't be casting this often, but in some cases the effects will be devastating. Remember, of course, that everyone you push also takes 1 Wd from **Emotional Trauma**. This spell is best used when there are a lot of targets within range, so that at least some will fail the resistance and take the damage.


 * Hollows of Despair** is mostly a defensive ability, but can be used for offense as well. You can place one or two 50mm Markers within 12 inches range. Anyone who moves into contact must make a Wp -> 13 Duel or get buried until the Resolve Effects stage. You can use this to block off access points to make it harder to reach Avatar Pandora, or drop them near enemies and push them in with **Mass Hysteria**. Note once again that as long as enemy units are within 12" when they touch the Marker (which may not be the case if you put the Markers at the very edge), they'll take an extra Wd if they fail the Wp check. The markers last until you cast the spell again, so this can be a good way to turn Pandora's camping spot into a little improvised fortress. Note also that the markers don't have to be in base contact with each other, so you can use this to target multiple groups or seal off multiple access points.

Remember, also, that because of Avatar Candy's **Her Eyes** ability, you can cast any of your spells drawing LoE from Candy instead, similar to Rasputina's **Ice Mirror**. This lowers your Ca by 2 effectively, but it may mean that you can affect more units with **Mass Hysteria** or target an otherwise unseen foe with **Self-Destruction**, or protect Candy with some defensively-placed **Hollows of Despair**.

Control
A lot of Pandora's abilities allow her to control an area and especially enemy positioning. These include Ensnared in Lunacy, Mental Torture, Hollows of Despair, Mass Hysteria, and a few miscellaneous abilities.

Her Pacify ability is still around, and is the same as the non-Avatar Pandora, except that she can't use it to move around because she's immobile now. Use this freely, since you have no other (0) abilities. This can often give some tactical control and give you a chance to react to attackers with other units. Avatar Pandora doesn't have Incite anymore, so you have to leave that side of thigns to Candy.

Avatar Pandora also has a new ability, "Suffer!" Everyone within 12" that fails a Wp save gains Slow and of course takes a Wd because of Pandora's Emotional Trauma. This probably won't stop a single attacker, but if Pandora is getting surrounded or a lot of enemies are advancing on her, this could throw a wrench in the plans.

=Resilience=

Pandora is just sitting there with a Df of 4 and Immobile, waiting to be attacked, almost completely defenseless.

Actually, I'm lying there. She has a ton of defenses, despite being Df 4 and Immobile.

First of all, it's hard to target Pandora: you need to beat her in a Wp duel, and her Wp is 7 so that's not easy to do, and if the attacker fails they take a Wd as usual.

Second, it's scary to be close to her. Even Constructs and Nightmares and other non-living things need to worry about her Terrifying -> 13, thanks to **Anathema**. The only things that aren't scared of her are the Avatar versions of Lord Chompy Bits and Seamus, as well as Yin the Penangalan and anything she grants **Anathema to.**

Third, if Pandora is played properly, she'll be in a secure area behind a lot of terrain, and will seal things off further with **Hollows of Despair**. Once you're set up in your little Pandora fortress, wall it off with two Hollows of Despair for maximum proteciton.

Fourth, she can defray some attacks. If she's attacked, she can pass the damage onto a friendly Woe in base contact. If it's a Sorrow, which is usually is, hey also have an extra **Hard to Wound 1,** which will slow down attackers a little further.

Last, she defrays part of every attack. Half the damage (rounded down) gets absorbed by Candy instead. On her turn, Candy can heal them both with a single (0) action, which effectively doubles the power of Candy's healing.

All that said, though, she's still Df 4 and Immobile, and she can't do pre-Avatar Pandora's trick of slipping away from attacks with **Fading Memory**. If your opponent has units with blast or area damage, damage that doesn't need to be targetted, or high Wp, you can't rely on all of Avatar Pandora's defenses to keep her safe. The only thing you can do is slow down and paralyze attackers and get them first.

=Soulstones=

Avatar Pandora can sometimes really use her Soulstones. She has some spells and attacks that require high numbers or special suits, and her Cb score isn't very high, so it may be worth spending a soulstone or two on an important attack. Most of her Soulstones, though, should probably be spent on **Expose Fears** checks to keep lucky opponents from landing a shot on her.

=Tricks and Tips=

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 * Most important, pick the right spot for Pandora before you Manifest, since that's where she'll be spending the rest of the game! A spot that's behind a lot of cover and strategically valuable is ideal.
 * As soon as you're set up, surround yourself with Hollows of Despair to block off attackers.


 * Don't ever forget Emotional Trauma! Pandora and her crew have a lot of ways to cause Wp checks, and every failed check does 1 Wd. These can really add up, but you have to keep track.


 * Keep the area around Avatar Pandora safe. Slow, Paralyze, and kill enemy models who get close.


 * Avatar Pandora has a lot of abilities that work well against masses of low-Wp units. If you're facing a large number of enemies, start her using broad-range abilities.

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 * Pandora can cast spells at a distance through Avatar Candy, and the two can activate at the same time at any distance. If nobody's threatening Pandora, it's probably worth it to have Candy move around and cast spells through her. Avatar Candy can accomplish a lot more when she has a mysterious helper casting Self-Destruction three times a turn for her.
 * Pandora and Candy have a lot of symbiosis. They divide damage between them, but Avatar Candy can then multiply her healing by affecting them both.

=Avatar and their Crew=

Overall, the minions that work for Avatar Pandora are the same as for any other Pandora crew: Woes and minions that cause a lot of Wp duels.

Avatar Pandora interacts most heavily with Candy, the Petulant Youth. When hiring a crew for Pandora, you probably want to avoid hiring Candy, since you'll get her for free anyway and the -2 wounds plus having her from the start is probably not worth the 8SS you pay. The fact that Sorrows get a boost when Pandora manifests make these minions much more useful in an APandy crew. In addition to the added resiliance, they can now become late-game objective grabbers which is particularly important when your Master is immobile. As such, even if you're not normall a fan of Sorrows it's worth including a few to back APandy up.

Given that APandora is stationary, your opponent will probably do what they can to keep his/her crew outside her 24" diameter Circle of Death(TM). You should generally be using APandy in situations where that is a benefit, but in any case she will really value minions that can pull enemy models closer to her. Lilitu (for **Lure**) and Jack Daw (for **Hangman's Knot**) in particular should be excellent choices, so consider including one or both minions in her crew.

=Playing Against Pandora, Avatar of Insanity=

If you're playing against Avatar Pandora, remember that she's not indestructible. You can target either Candy, the Petulant Youth, or Pandora herself, and both will hurt Pandora. If you have any long-range attacks that can get a line of sight on her, those may help, but be ready for Pandora to block you with **Hollows of Despair**. Area attacks and blasts, damaging spells, and high Wp units also are better at bypassing her defenses. if you can swarm in on Pandora after she's activated, eventually some of your units will be able to overcome **Expose Fears** and attack her.

If Avatar Pandora isn't placed in an important location, you may be able to nullify the Avatar by killing Candy and then just staying away from her. Just remember that ACandy is not an easy model to kill. With a high Df, Regret, Irresistable, sharing wounds with Pandy and an effective double heal from Sweets, you need to make sure you can devote sinificant resources to killing her.

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