M2E+Perdita+Ortega


 * Perdita Ortega, Guild Master**

=__Overview__= Cue Ennio Morricone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" theme.

Perdita is a prime example of a "Master of all trades, Jack of none" - her great advantage is that she doesn't have many weaknesses. Some play her as a beatstick: She is very deadly in ranged combat, even more deadly in melee, and has exceptionally good targeting capability. Some play her as more of a leader: Her utility talents include the versatile **Obey**, the potentially game-changing **Hero's Gamble**, and the powerful but somewhat restrictive **Relocate** which can give her surprising speed even for a Master. With her large toolbox and high-impact abilities, Perdita will never feel useless or incapable. In fact, you may constantly wish she had less things to do at any given moment.

Many consider her an easy Master for beginners, and no one would claim that Perdita is one of the hardest Masters to play, but she certainly still has plenty to learn and develop and it is quite tricky for the first few games. Firstly, you'll need to pay close attention to positioning to make sure Perdita reaches her highest potential. Secondly, you need to manage the two resources of cards and stones carefully. Perdita is very capable of burning through resources quickly for great gain, and you need to determine when it's safe to do so. And finally, you have to decide where to apply her considerable talents. Even Perdita can only be at one place at a time.

If you want to start with Perdita, consider that many beginners have some trouble playing against her. She doesn't have an easily exploitable weakness, can tackle most situations and can punish the opponent's mistakes quite hard. She is by far not unbeatable, but she can be quite daunting for new players.

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=__Mobility__= Perdita is a very fast Master if she wants to be, and can even grant a lot of speed to her crew. This isn't obvious at first glance: With the very modest Wk 5 and Ch 6, Perdita looks not exactly a highly mobile Master. You will often spend 1 AP per turn just walking to find a target to attack, but that's probably all you need. In fact, you can think of her as a formidable sniper that once you find a good spot shouldn't need to move much anymore. Still, Perdita is fast enough to perform as a fallback objective runner, especially in later turns.

She only has one ability to help out with movement, **Relocate**, and while it has a very strong benefit, it's quite restrictive in that you can only move towards other Family models at the start of the activation and at the cost of a card. This is Push, so it isn't hindered by severe terrain and doesn't provoke Disengaging Strikes. **Relocate** doesn't need an AP, either, and an 8" push in addition to her 3 AP can get her across the board really fast. Decide before a game whether you want to focus on this ability or simply take it when you can get it. If you choose to focus on it, building your crew around it will make things easier. You will almost always want to make sure you have at least two pylons she can **Relocate** towards so she can get out of danger if needed. Thus, it's much easier if you play her with a lot of Family models.

Furthermore, Perdita's totem, the Enslaved Nephilim, can also help out with its **Shackled** action. The totem is slow and will usually not be able to keep up with Perdita, but the range of the action makes it still usable for a couple of turns before he needs to move. To take the best out of this ability make sure you deploy or move it into a good position on the first turn to take full potential of it for the next couple of turns. The Nephilim is a large part of Perdita's mobility: the fact that only she can bring him is the reason her crews are known for their speed.

Always remember that pushes aren't affected by Severe Terrain. If Perdita needs to get through woods or water, try to **Relocate** or **Shackle** her through, so she doesn't waste her precious AP by stomping through the muck.

Perdita could also increase the mobility of other models via **Obey** or the **Hermanos de Armas** upgrade. It's a decent trick but usually she will have better things to do.

=__Offense__= Perdita has two Attack Actions: her **Peacebringer** and **Obey**. The latter is more of a utility trick and will thus be discussed in that chapter.

__Ranged__
Perdita's **Peacebringer** has a very high **Sh**, long range, the ability to be used in close combat and a good damage spread for a ranged weapon. As far as beatstick Master go, she might not look it with the comparably mediocre damage line (compared to Lilith, Seamus or Lady Justice), but Perdita is actually quite formidable at offense due to her triggers and high accuracy. Her power comes from the upgrade Trick Shooting (see 'Upgrades' below) which allows her to ignore most common forms of protection; together with her long range and good accuracy, Perdita's attacks are quite fearsome.

The **Peacebringer** has two triggers - //Witched Bullet// and //Critical Strike//.

//Witched Bullet// is quite interesting: Not only is it fantastic to randomly flip a Mask for attack and get a cheatable damage flip. You can also use a Soulstone for the needed suit to force a cheatable damage flip, making Perdita deal 5 damage per attack as long as you have severe cards to spend. This is however extremely resource intensive as it will probably require two high cards from your hand plus a possible Soulstone for the Mask. Giving the high number of abilities on a Family crew that require you to discard cards this may not be the best use of resources.

The second way to ramp up the damage is to use //Critical Strike:// It's standard fare for Guild models and is really nice when it happens randomly, but if you have a high Ram in hand, it may be preferable to use this one instead of //Witched Bullet// as with the Ram from the card and a Soulstone you will be doing +2 Dg.

__Melee__
Moreover, as great as Perdita is at range, she's actually even more potent in melee, thanks to the **Point Blank** ability. This ability allows her to gain an extra Ram while engaged, making now a minimum of 5 Dg per attack via the //Critical Strike// trigger. You will however need to think how exposed you will be if you charge. See Tactics and Tips below for more details on this.

Also note that her close combat attacks are still Sh attacks so, for example, **Bullet Proof** will still protect against them but Rasputina's //Sub Zero// trigger does not.

=__Resilience__= Perdita firmly believes that the best defense is a good offense - even her defensive talents are offensive. She has excellent Df and Wp and is able to use Soulstones for damage mitigation. However, keep in mind she has quite a low number of wounds for a Master so she relies on not being hit in the first place. Keeping a distance from your target does not hurt either. Her relevant defensive abilities (besides her marvellous stats) are:

//Quick Draw// triggers when a Sh attack misses Perdita's Df and you have a Mask on your total, and deals a little bit of damage. It's a nice ability, but unlikely to make a significant difference. Remember that Papa's **Hold this!** makes this a straight damage flip and with her high Df it's an option to consider if someone foolishly shoots her. If Perdita stands in front of a lot of mediocre shooters (say Gremlins) and has **Defensive** this can be a surprisingly strong deterrent.


 * Finger on the Trigger** is a (1) Action that allows Perdita to make an attack as response to a declared charge or projectile action (and before the opponent attacks). This is one of her more overlooked abilities and it can be hilarious against Gremlin gun lines or Von Schill's **Stand and shoot**. Although it is true your opponent may simply choose not to take a triggering action losing the AP it means you can condition your opponent actions. Notice however that **Finger on the Trigger** has shorter range than normal attacks and is less accurate but it's range is sufficient to cover the majority of all charge ranges. Still, taking this action is always a hard choice against simply shooting someone.

=__Utility__= Indulging in Perdita's utility is rarely the primary plan since she usually needs all her actions for the elimination of priority targets. However, her utility actions can have enormous impact and easily turn the tide on a turn or the entire game. While her shooting is great, don't get blinded to the acquisition of VP!

With the powerful spell **Obey**, Perdita can make a friend or foe take a (1) action controlled by you. The model cannot be targeted if you forced it to attack on the same turn. Also, Leaders are exempt. In a vacuum this isn't a very good trade, since Perdita's actions are probably more valuable to you than the action of any other model. However, it can be used to relocate other models in your crew to make the most of their activation or catch your opponent out of hand by making a model which has already activated on the current turn do an extra action. Some Schemes like Distract or Deliver a Message are much easier with **Obey**. Moreover, having a melee model walk around a corner to let it charge on its activation can result in two attacks where otherwise there would be none.

An especially nasty trick is to make Francisco take his **Enfréntate a Mi!** action if he has the Diestro Upgrade. Thus, you can take full advantage of the reduced Df and unload into his opponent with Perdita's other actions. If you have perfect placement you could activate Francisco via **Companion** and then **Flurry** the opponent. Not many models can survive this.
 * Obey** also gives Perdita another attack vector since this spell is resisted with Wp. The main problem about this ability is the Mask requirement to make the spell stick. That's less than 15% of the cards in the deck, so you will need to decide whether spending a Soulstone or a high Mask card is more beneficial than simply having Perdita take another action. Remember however: you can use **Obey** on enemy models to make them walk out of protective bubbles, outside the range of an objective or out of range to take an Interact action, making it potentially game changing. Or make him walk off a building or into lava. Always fun.


 * Hero's Gamble** is a very powerful effect that you need to consider every time you start a new turn. It lets you discard your whole hand and draw the same number of cards as you discarded. The effect is potentially fantastic, but has two big costs. First, it means Perdita can't take other (0) actions, potentially crippling her offense this turn. Second, the more cards you want to exchange the earlier you have to activate Perdita, which might not be what you want. It may be a good idea to look at you hand and spend the high cards before activating Perdita, then decide whether recycling cards is worth the AP cost. If you have a really bad hand, the bad cards you discard will be 6 cards you won't see on your deck for the remainder of the turn.

=__Soulstones__= You usually want to go into the game with 7 Soulstones, meaning you have to reserve 5 Stones from your crew budget. It's possible to start with less, say 5 or 6, but don't go lower than that, especially if you have a Henchman as well. Stones are the best way to keep Perdita alive.


 * Stone for cards**: Often a good choice unless you're going to use **Hero's Gamble**. Remember though that you need bad cards to pitch to Perdita's **Relocate** and Francisco's **Flurry,** his **Finesse**, or Santiago's **Rapid Fire**, and that moderate cards are put to very good use by Guild Austringers. A hand with two severe, two moderate, and two weak is perfectly playable as-is.


 * Stone for initiative**: Winning initiative can sometimes mean taking out a not-yet-activated enemy model and saving one of your own. Make sure you work out how much you have to gain from winning initiative and compare it to your probability of winning after stoning. If the opponent is showing a 10, you have roughly 30% chance of beating that with a stone, minus 2% for each card in your hand over 10. For values higher/lower than 10, reduce/increase the probability by 8.5% multiplied by the difference.


 * Stone for defense**: Spending a stone on defensive duels is an excellent way of protecting Perdita and Henchmen. Especially useful when the enemy model has [+] to damage which means the damage flip will probably be cheatable. However I find it is normally better to stone for damage prevention unless the attacking model as a ridiculous high damage or the difference between weak and severe is very high (say Nekima or Mei Feng).


 * Stone for offense**: Stoning for [+] on attack flip is rarely worth it, but should be kept in mind for special situations. It's most useful for overcoming Cover if you cannot take **(0) Bullet Bending** because you're shooting at targets with high **Armor**, for example.


 * Stone for Suits:** Stoning for Suit is expensive but powerful, as adding a Mask to Perdita's attacks often ensures a cheatable damage flip. Sometimes an additional damage from //Critical Strike// can make the difference between "badly hurt" and "dead", as well. This is where a large proportion of you stones may end up going. Using stones to increase damage with //Critical Strike// or gain a positive flip on damage with //Witched Bullet// is a great way to make sure you kill an important enemy model. Using stones for **Obey** to deny VP can also change the outcome of the game. But try to resist the temptation of using a Stone everytime you can as you will most likely need them to keep Perdita alive.

=__Upgrades__= Perdita has only three personal upgrades, which is less than most Masters. She has access to a lot of Family upgrades, though. Those are all Rare 1 so you have to consider carefully which Family member should get which upgrade. Accordingly, Perdita has many upgrades to choose from, but only a few are worth serious consideration.

__Personal Upgrades__

 * Aura Ancestral:** Can occasionally offer decent benefits. If you know you're going to face a crew where it's relevant (e.g. Pandora and more generally Neverborn, but Resurrectionist have their fair share of Wp attacks and Horror duels, as well), you may want to pick this one up since it's cheap. It also gets better the more Family models you play and can make the Family a tough nut to crack for all crews that attack Wp.

Note that it's still not exactly clear if Perdita is Immune to any duels in the rules wording sense. This would mean that effects which strip Immunity to Horror (e.g., the Hanged) can also make Perdita take the duel. Until there is an official word on this, it's probably best to assume this is an Immunity in the rules sense and can thus be stripped.


 * Os Veo:** Offers very good protection against certain crews (the same ones you would take Aura Ancestral against, or very shooty ones). Buy it only if you know you're going to face such a crew, as it's expensive. Situationally good.


 * Trick Shooting:** This upgrade makes Perdita the ranged damage dealer your opponents will learn to fear. The only scenario where you don't want this is if you're playing without any terrain at all. If you take this upgrade (and you should in most cases), your most difficult decision will be which (0) action to use. Highly recommended.

__Family Upgrades__

 * Diestro**: This upgrade was a little too good on Perdita, and it was limited to non-Master in [|official errata]. Shame.


 * Hermanos De Armas**: Perdita needs her (0) actions for more important things. This is a good upgrade for Henchmen and Enforcers though. Not recommended.


 * Tormenta De Plomo**: If you're this close to enemies you're often better off charging, which gives the benefits of movement and **Point Blank**. Trying to position Perdita to hit as many targets as possible will probably just put her in danger, since most targets will survive 4 damage. Not recommended.

__General Guild Upgrades__

 * Badge of Office**: The opponent knows you have it, and will adjust tactics accordingly. However, if Assassinate is on the table, you can almost guarantee your opponent will have to choose something else. Plus, although in a lot a games the two stones are probably better spent on damage prevention flips, it can make a huge difference if your opponent has a Red Joker in hand. Perdita has no other Limited upgrades which makes the choice a little easier, but still rather situational.


 * Lead Lined Coat:** Well, Perdita cannot take it, but she would look awesome in a long, protective, muddy duster. Just saying.


 * Plant Evidence**: Although Perdita can fit the objective runner role you should be doing your utmost to make sure she stays alive. In Scheme marker heavy games it's not the worst choice if you have the Soulstone and upgrade slot to spare, as it will normally generate a Scheme marker even if Perdita survives. Situational.


 * The Thalarian Stone**: The first ability can only increase Df or Wp by 1, which most likely is not a Soulstone well spent. The second ability competes with Perdita's other, much more potent, (0) actions. Few Master gain less from taking this upgrade. Not recommended.


 * Vengeance Bullet**: Similar to spending a Soulstone on the attack flip, except it can only be done against certain models. It adds 2 Dg, though. Note that you don't get the second ability if you use the first one. This upgrade is normally taken to deliver a devastating first turn blow (s. First Turn Plays below). Accordingly, it can also be used to SCARE your opponent of such a tactic and thus playing his Master and Henchmen further back. Be careful with using this upgrade if the Black Joker is still in the deck! If you want to kill the enemy Master by turn 2 this a real option but it's not cheap. Another trick to try involves having the the Red Joker in hand. Should you be fortunate enough to have this happen through luck or //Hero's Gamble//, ensuring that you can cheat the damage flip against your target for a minimum 9 Dg by Focusing and/or using a Soulstone for a Mask (for the //Witched Bullet// trigger) can make most Masters cry.

=__Tactics and Tips__=

__Hero's Gamble__
When you draw cards at the start of each turn, you need to choose one of three options: If your hand is good enough, do nothing. If your hand is partially good, Soulstone for cards. If the hand is still poor, use **Hero's Gamble**. The option to Soulstone for cards is mostly covered in the Soulstones section above.

What factors influence the choice to use **Hero's Gamble**? To begin with, the cards, naturally. If your hand is complete garbage, the possibility of throwing it down and drawing a new one is most appealing.

Second, using **Hero's Gamble** means you can't ignore Cover, **Armor**, or **Incorporeal** this turn. Sometimes this can be solved by picking a different target or charging instead of shooting, but sometimes it cannot.

The third concern is activation order. If you have a really bad hand, you won't be able to defend your models until you can get a new hand. This can be devastating if many of your models are engaged with enemies that will certainly kill them unless you get excellent flips. Thus, choosing **Hero's Gamble** you're probably locking yourself in to activating Perdita early to get the most out of it. You may want to try to play your high cards before you gamble on a good second draw.

The best course of action is to always keep this situation in mind, and playing each turn prepared for having to activate Perdita as your first or second model the next turn.

__Point Blank Shooting__
Perdita's ranged attack has a range of 14". Her Wk plus Cg plus close range add up to 13", almost as far. Whenever you would attack a model within 13", consider charging instead of shooting since a charge gives you movement as well as attacks. A Walk followed by Charge results only in two attacks, where you could've gotten three attack by shooting, but charging has additional benefits that are not immediately obvious. First, two melee attacks have a minimum damage of 6 (via //Critical Strike//), the same as three shooting attacks, so if you only need 6 damage you're better off charging and having to cheat a maximum of two attack flips, instead of three. Second, you don't need to ignore Cover for close attacks, which leaves Perdita's (0) action open. If you need to ignore **Armor** or **Incorporeal**, that's a given, but otherwise you gain access to the versatile **Hero's Gamble**, either before or after your attacks. Third, if you don't kill the target, being engaged is a half-decent protection against enemy projectile attacks, and if the enemy model is primarily ranged you're probably crippling it by locking it down in engagement.

__Pushing for Damage__
Using the //Witched Bullet// trigger, Perdita can force a cheatable damage flip. This means that as long as you're willing to Soulstone for suit and cheat a severe card, Perdita can push 5 damage per attack. Assuming you're using one AP to walk, that's still 10 damage in one activation, which will destroy most models in the game, excluding Masters and Henchmen who will certainly Soulstone on defense. This tactic is very powerful but incredibly resource intensive, and you should only use it if you're sure to get a kill on a priority target.

__Staying Alive__
Because she is a very versatile and flexible model that can fill a lot of roles from turn to turn, it's a good goal to keep Perdita alive, almost at all costs or at least over most other models that aren't needed for your Strategy and Schemes. She has strong defenses and can use Soulstones on defensive flips, so she can definitely hold her own, but she's not invulnerable.

Identify the enemy models that can actually threaten Perdita (anyone can get lucky, but models with an attack stat of 7 are the most dangerous) and either take them out fast or make sure they can't get a good shot. Keep an extra eye on things that give [+] to damage flip or [-] to your defense flip. Blasts bypass Perdita's formidable defenses, but they can usually be avoided by simply not being close to other models while an enemy with blasts is nearby.

By keeping Francisco close to Perdita you can increase both her Df and Wp to 9, making her very hard to hit. This is usually not necessary and often restricts your options, but it can be useful. Remember that the bonus lasts until Francisco's next activation, so almost two full turns if you activate Francisco first one turn, then last the next turn.

__Target Selection__
Pick your targets well. Perdita's ability to ignore Cover, **Armor** and **Incorporeal** means there aren't many bad targets for her. Realize that this makes target selection harder, not easier. Most of the time, you're best off using Perdita to take out the opponent's strongest models, especially ones that rely on **Armor** or **Incorporeal** for protection, and leaving easy kills to your other models. However, getting a kill on an enemy model this activation is in many cases better than only wounding a more serious threat. Target selection is highly situational, but what you should focus on is how much of the opponent's plan you're ruining with your activation. If your options are unappealing, try activating some of your less important models first to potentially give Perdita more targets.

=__Leading a Crew__=

While you can certainly build a Perdita crew by simply adding whatever models you like, building your tactics around model synergies will not only increase your crew's potential, it will also give you a primary plan, which should speed up the game. It is possible to build a crew only using her Family but some branching out is a good idea and many tactics discussed below depend on other Guild models. Accordingly some of these tactics could potentially be used by any Guild crew, not restricted to Perdita.

__Austringer Agenda__
Two Guild Austringers combined are very powerful, and if you want to capitalize on their potential, using the excellent support in Perdita's crew is a good start. This strategy revolves around 3 long ranged threats that ignore Cover and can reach opponents wherever they may go. Perdita normally picks off the hard to kill threats while the Austringers handle the riff-raff.

Since Austringers normally use both their actions each turn for shooting or **Deliver Orders**, they are typically not very mobile. The Enslaved Nephilim can give them some decent movement by deploying close to them, using **Influence** to move one and then **Shackles** on the other. You'll probably need to cheat a 10, which is terrible, but it's worth it if it can get the Austringers in range to take out a target.

If you play this sniper tag-team waiting for opportune moments to strike can be the bread and butter of your game. Guild Hounds and other cheap models are excellent for out-activating the opponent. This means that you can delay the activations of the Austringers until the opponent has been forced to move most models, hopefully into the Austringers' considerable range.

Note that this strategy relies on killing models, either for VPs or to deny the opponent his models and activations. Thus it struggles in Schemes like Distract where the opponent has to survive.

__Block the Path__
When a highly threatening enemy model is closing in on your ranks, the primary plan is to have Perdita kill it. But that's not always possible. So what do you do instead? Throw dogs at it. Most Malifaux games only last 5 turns, so if you can bind up the opponent's high-impact models with chaff for a few turns, you're probably in good shape. Other times, the terrain has bottle necks where you can stop the opponent's advances. Some cheap tar pit models are a good investment for any ranged crew and Perdita is no exception.

__First Turn Plays__
By using her **Relocate** ability, Perdita can launch a formidable attack on Turn One. This is easiest with the close and flank deployments, but can be done with any deployment. The theoretical maximum range you can get on the attacks is 8 (Relocate) + 5 (Wk) + 14 (Rg) = 27". This is assuming you spend exactly one AP moving. 27" effective range gives great field coverage. Target selection is helped greatly by deploying last.

There are several variations of the first turn play, but the basic idea is always the same. You can also give give Perdita **Fast** if you use the Student of Conflict and use Papa Loco or Soultones for [+] to damage flips, then use **Relocate** and one Walk to find a suitable target. Lastly, activate the (0)-ability to ignore cover and shoot the target three times. This should kill the target or severely deplete your opponent's resources. If you want to gun for Masters or Henchmen, Vengeance Bullet is a possible upgrade to make her shots count.

Execute this attack as late as possible in Turn 1. This makes Perdita less exposed to attacks from models that have not yet activated, and gives you more target options. If you can cheat damage to make the second shot kill, do it. Flipping the Black Joker on the last attack will wreck you. Use the last AP to hide or shoot at something else.

__**Example First Turn Play:**__

Crew: Perdita, Papa Loco, Student of Conflict Deployment: All three close to each other Upgrades: Trick Shooting, possibly Vengeance Bullet

1. Stone for cards at the beginning of the turn unless you have a fantastic hand. 2. Activate Student of Conflict, use **Assist** on Perdita. 3. Activate Papa Loco, choose Perdita for **Hold This**. Walk as far as possible towards the intended target. 4. Activate Perdita, discard your worst card to **Relocate** to Papa Loco. 5. Walk as short as possible until you can fire at the target. 6. Use **(0) Bullet Bending** to ignore Cover (if the target is in the open, you could ignore **Armor**, or wait and **Hero's Gamble** after the attacks). 7. Shoot the target up to three times, cheating for damage as necessary. Discard Vengeance Bullet if necessary.

If you want to wait until the last moment to choose target, you can **Companion** Perdita after Papa Loco's activation, denying your opponent a chance to react. This further reduces Perdita's effective range since Papa Loco cannot end the movement more than 6" away. You can swap Papa Loco for another Family model with higher Wk if you need the extra effective range or if you don't want to put Papa Loco in a bad position.

This first turn assassination play can be used as a powerful psychological deterrent, as well. Opponents who have experienced it, tend to play valuable models further back which can help you in later turns.

__The Gang's All Here__
All members of the Ortega Family are powerful fighters themselves and can be played individually in all sorts of Guild crews. However, once combined they reach the peak of their individual abilities and evolve into a formidable hunting party. They also feel amazing on the gaming table, just like a big, slightly deranged family, all supporting each other, taking names and kicking ass.

__Perdita:__ The leader needs Family members for **Relocate**, and profits greatly from someone with the Diestro upgrade. With a negative modifier on Df nobody stands up to her fire. Her Aura Ancestral makes Family models near her unbreakable in Wp duels. Her moderate Dg is double her weak, so Papa's **Hold This** does wonders for her, and Francisco can make her nigh unhittable.

Francisco: Perdita's elder brother can push people out of melee and is a prime carrier for Diestro. His **El Mayor** ability can make any member of the Family a bulwark of resilience (yes, even Papa).

Santiago: Santiago is a great ranged model, but needs some help in his mobility and resilience. Francisco and the Enslaved Nephilim are the perfect remedy. He can fire into engagements and is thus a perfect supporter for Francisco and Perdita.

Nino: **Spotter** only works with Family and gets better the more of Nino's kin are present. Also, Diestro takes care of one of Nino's great weaknesses: limited accuracy. Furthermore, Perdita and her Totem can actually reposition Nino later in the game.

Papa Loco: Papa Loco can deal with clumps of riff-raff easily, a task his Family struggles with. His daughter and her pet Nephilim can also launch him deep into enemy lines fairly easy.

Abuela: Granny Ortega likes her Family around for her //Matriarch// trigger. She can keep the shooters safe from charges and grants even more out-of-activation actions. Also, except Perdita and Francisco, the Ortegas don't have many (0) actions so she has a lot of models for **Polite Push**. Remember that she can bring other models into the fold (by marrying them to Perdita, probably).

Pistoleros: The only Ortegas (except Perdita herself) who like to activate late. They greatly bolster defense and serve as objective runners without leaving out the Family synergy.

Remember that most Ortegas have the **Companion** ability, so you can let loose with Chain Activation alpha strikes. Also remember that it's easy to get out-activated if your expensive models chain their activations together. Don't overextend!

__Strategies and Schemes__

 * Turf War**: This is a difficult strategy. The safe option is to bring Austringers and deploy them with Perdita to target enemy models that approach the objective and get some easy kills, then trying to take the objective later. The risky option is to rush middle with Perdita and Francisco and then try to stay alive. Bring a Pistolero De Latigo for the defensive bonus, and walk forward with the ranged support to make sure they can shoot into melee, especially with Diestro.


 * Reckoning**: Very good strategy. Perdita can easily generate a kill every turn on her own, and ranged models should take care of the other one. Use your other models to finish Schemes and maneuver around enemies, denying them kills. If one of your models is locked in melee and about to die, you can use Enslaved Nephilim or an Austringer to push it out.


 * Reconnoiter**: For standard deployment, place long-ranged models like Austringers close to the middle so that they can reach anyone entering "your" quarters. For corner or flank deployment, claim one nearby quarter with many of your models, then make careful advances into another quarter. Take your time with this Strategy and go for Schemes and safe kills, you won't win by rushing.


 * Squatter's Rights**: Good strategy. Austringers are good in this Strategy as they have reach to all the three center objective markers, which is fantastic both for attacks and **Deliver Orders**. Send some objective runners to take one of the outlying markers and keep a strong middle presence. If your opponent tries to ambush your objective runners, send in one of your beatsticks and take out the ambushers.


 * Stake a Claim**: Go for early kills, make your opponent think twice about spending an entire activation on placing an objective marker. Try and take control of the board by advancing to the middle and keeping models in positions for attacking anyone who would enter your half of the field. Enslaved Nephilim can give a fast model an extra push in the first turn to bring it over the other side and able to place an objective marker on turn 2. Or you could just use Guild Pathfinder.


 * A Line in the Sand**: At best a mediocre scheme since you need to announce it to get 3 VPs. Perdita tends towards elite crews and thus struggle withe amount of AP you need for this. If you want to go for it, consider using Guild Hounds since you need to put down so many markers.


 * Distract**: There are two types of models in this world. Those that work well in melee, and those that don't. Your melee models are probably better off attacking the enemy, and you're going to try keeping your ranged models out of melee as much as possible. This is not a Scheme Perdita likes. Consider Nino if it's in the pool.


 * Breakthrough**: A good, easy scheme, but a bit tricky. Your ranged models may not be able to support your objective runners when they are that far away, so that means you have to clear a path for them. Alternatively you can send a strong model to pick off the opponent's objective runner and then spend the rest of the match placing markers.


 * Assassinate**: Killing off the opponent's leader is something you may want to do anyway, and something Perdita is particularly good at. Highly recommended.


 * Protect Territory**: Very easy Scheme, and a perfect fit for Perdita's crew. Should you fail to find a good target for an Austringer they can almost always use **Deliver Orders** to secure a VP, as well as the Nephilim with **Influence** or even Perdita with **Obey**. Use Guild Hounds or other expendable models to 'activate' the Scheme markers at the end of the game. Note that a single model can activate up to three Scheme markers by placing them in a regular triangle formation.


 * Bodyguard**: Your models are mostly focused on offense, and as such this Scheme is not the greatest choice. However, if you can deploy Nino somewhere really inaccessible this might be easy VPs.


 * Cursed Object**: Your models mostly don't want to be in melee, and if they are, you probably want the enemy model dead as soon as possible. Don't pick this scheme. Nino is a good defense against it, though.


 * Outflank**: Having your objective runners this far apart makes them very vulnerable. You could announce it and go for 2 VPs only, that makes the Scheme much easier. Leaving a Hound at the table edge is cheap and your opponent is unlikely to try and break through your front line and ranged cover just to kill it, in which case this is a pretty good Scheme. If your Strategy and other Scheme include a lot of bloodshed, it's a viable fallback: After most enemies are dead, Perdita can usually strut to the flank easily (and stylishly).


 * Plant Evidence**: Gives you a lot of choices in where and when to place the markers, which is great. This scheme doesn't require objective runners since all of your models will be around terrain most of the time anyway. Every activation of the Nephilim or an Austringer likely results in 1 VP if there's no good target to attack.


 * Entourage**: Choose Perdita. On close and flank deployment, this is quite easily done and by turn 5 you will probably only need to walk once or twice to get into the deployment zone. On standard and corners deployment, consider announcing it and only going for 2 VPs. Perdita is not an objective runner, don't waste her APs crossing the entire field.


 * Vendetta**: Very heavy requirements on this one, and very hard to get the full 3 VPs. Nino or Guild Pathfinder could work, but make sure they don't get killed immediately. Don't choose an Austringers for this scheme, their target selection is too important to interfere with.


 * Plant Explosives**: Looks like three easy VPs, but the opponent will likely suspect what's going on since they know the Scheme pool. Can be effective against a melee crew where they don't have any choice but to run up to your scheme markers. If you don't need the attacks, Perdita's crew usually has enough out-of-activation Scheme marker placement. You can probably use **Obey**, **Influence**, **"Listen Up, Young'un"**, or an Austringer or two to place the last Scheme markers before blowing them up.


 * Make Them Suffer**: This is exactly what you want to be doing with Perdita anyway. Great scheme, especially if you bring additional Henchmen.


 * Deliver a Message**: Perdita is actually not bad at this due to her out-of-activation AP tricks. However, the enemy leader is a dangerous target and your crew may not work like this. The enemy leader is a good target for Perdita's bullets, not a good target for hugs from your Minions who you might lose instantly thereafter. Strongly consider Nino if this is in the pool, as **Spotter** makes it a headache for the opponent (if he can reach Perdita in the first place).


 * Take Prisoner:** You could try and take an enemy objective runner or Totem or something, but this is not really how your crew operates. Your models are not defensive enough to make this safe, and they don't bring **Slow** or **Paralyze**, either.


 * Spring the Trap**: Not a strong Scheme. If you can get to the enemy leader, you want to get a kill as soon as possible, not play around. And you get an extra VP if the opponent has more models on the field, which is the opposite to what you want (although it's not too uncommon for Family crews).


 * Murder Protégé**: A Scheme that rewards you for taking out enemy models is always great. You can either poke it to death with Austringers, throw Perdita at it, or let it face Francisco, depending on what fits best. If your enemy holds that model back, it get's trickier, but you will probably dominate the rest of the game. Take it out later if need be.


 * Frame for Murder**: Extremely easy to throw a Hound at the opponent for two or three VPs. If you're willing to give up a 3-cost model for two VPs, it doesn't get much easier than this scheme. Note that the Hound is not a total loss, since the opponent probably needs to spend 2 APs killing it. Don't try to place Nino or a Pathfinder right in front of the enemy crew. Your opponent will know what's up!


 * Power Ritual**: Easy if announced on corner or flank deployment, where you send one objective runner to the corner and move other models in to cover it, possibly with Austringer support. Much worse on standard or close deployment where you need to move deeper into enemy territory.

__Building a Crew__
Guild models in M2E are well balanced, and while a few models stand out as clearly above the curve, none are truly terrible. Some models, however, are made primarily for different crews, and will not fit in well with Perdita. Perdita is well rounded leader (pun intended) and can lead most models into battle. However, there are two obvious ways to design her crew: Concentrate on Family models to get the most out of their build in synergies (and have the fluff experience) or take your pick from the models based on your observations of individual effectiveness and combined abilities. Either approach is viable.

Family Models
Papa Loco: Gives a very useful buff at the start of his activation, which can alone make this model qualify for inclusion. The Sh attack ignores cover, which is great, but has very short range, and the model is potentially a hazard to the rest of your crew. Good, if dangerous, addition.

Santiago Ortega: Has potential for enormous damage output with his fantastic mask trigger. Note that most triggers of this kind specify that the extra attack "may not declare triggers", but that's not the case here. Is very vulnerable if caught in melee and will need help to get out. Decent.

Abuela Ortega: Fantastic damage on the Sh attack, but unfortunately her range is very short. The **Obey**-like ability and **Shotgun Wedding** can potentially be used for specific tactics.

Nino Ortega: With a very mediocre Sh 5 you're unlikely to get a straight damage flip even on focus attacks against models in hard cover. Even with a straight flip you need to get severe to do significant damage. He will often be able to clip away at some models, but his damage is very unimpressive. **Spotter** is a nice effect, but objective runners are usually fast enough to be able to hide out of LoS. However, if Deliver a Message is in the Scheme pool, he suddenly becomes a good choice since you only need to keep Perdita in his sights. Similarly, Distract and Cursed Object get that much harder. Situational.

Enslaved Nephilim: Perdita's personal totem. And it's a good one. With one quasi-**Obey** and one friendly push, it creates superb mobility for your team. Note that it only has Wk 3, so you need to deploy it with care, or make sure you can always move it where you want by **Shackling** itself. If you want to make a strong first turn play with Perdita, see 'First Turn Plays' above, you might want to use Student of Conflict instead.

Francisco Ortega: A melee monster with a passable backup range attack and a really great defense buff. Has a fantastic personal upgrade. His **Flurry** will do 9 damage with all weak, and an impressive 12 damage if you cheat for severe once. He is also a good candidate for the Diestro upgrade but it makes him very, very expensive and since he is not very resilient, your opponent can get rid of him and make a massive dent on your crew.

Pistolero De Latigo: Nice, well-rounded model that has the advantage of carrying the 'Family' keyword. Can be used as objective runners or supporting fire. The low cost makes it easier to out-activate the opponent.

General Guild Models
Brutal Effigy: His **Fear Not The Sword** ability is very good for Perdita: Healing her mediocre Wds back is great once she got hit, and drawing cards is perfect for the usually card starved Ortegas. Also, he is a good little objective runner because he doesn't go down fast for such a cheap model and even gets a Scheme marker when he dies.

Death Marshal: Decent mid-range model with good mobility. Its Ml and Sh attacks are unimpressive, but **Pine Box** gives the Death Marshal some truly wonderful utility. Consider him strongly if you want to field Papa.

Witchling Stalker: A fairly strong melee model that has a backup 12" range attack, for the affordable price of 5 Soulstones. But what makes them stand out is that they can remove Conditions on both allied and enemy models at a range of 12". They need a 3 of Tomes to cast it, but since most models in your crew will likely only use Rams and Masks, it shouldn't be a huge problem.

Guild Hound: Very fast and cheap, and with the surprisingly high Ml 5. Preferably used as early objective runners and then used to ambush enemy runners or block advances. Fantastic for out-activating the opponent. You will need two of them to drop Scheme markers, but most Strategies don't care if they are **Insignificant**.

Guild Pathfinder: Amazingly versatile model with a decent ranged attack for an affordable price. Try to summon a new trap each turn for maximum value.

Pale Rider: Fast and powerful beatstick. In turn 3+ the opponent can basically forget about damaging it, so don't engage before that. Preferably used around your Scheme areas, since **Revel in Death** will probably be used every turn and drops Scheme markers all over the place.

Guild Austringer: Often seen as the strongest Guild Minion. Using two of them is very viable. If you keep them in a strong position, they will offer great map control. They can threaten to instantly take out any model with 6 or less wounds that enters their range. They give you something to do with moderate cards. They can push friendly models into or out of melee. In short, you will be hard pressed to find a model with more tactical worth, control and versatility.

Guild Guard: Simply awful offense, but has nice defenses when two are paired together. Can be used as objective holders and the cheap cost makes them good for out-activating.

=__Starting Perdita__=

In the 'The Latigo Posse' box you get Perdita, Francisco, Santiago, Papa Loco, Nino and Enslaved Nephilim. The total comes to 32 Soulstones, 37 SS with full Cache, and nearly 50 SS with a lot of upgrades. If you want to play 50 Soulstone matches, which the game is designed for, you'll still want to add models.

You'll need at least one objective runner, so pick up a Pistolero De Latigo blister. If you want one more Soulstone you can get a Watcher or Brutal Effigy instead of a Pistolero. Nino is the most controversial model in the box. Two Guild Austringers fill roughly the same role as Nino, and thus are a fine substitute if you don't like him. They are a good investment if you later want to expand into the rest of the Guild, anyway.

Now that you have a few choices, you'll want to pick up some of the more specialized models to use for specific Strategies and Schemes, and against specific crews. Keep playing games and see which models you can do without, and you'll be well on your way to a great crew.

=__Playing Against Perdita__=

Perdita and her Crew are generally extremely strong in combat, with good defenses. Ortegas put out a lot of pressure, but they can't take it as well. Harry them with pot shots, kill the Nephilim. Once one of them goes down, they begin to fold quickly. They are also always starved for cards. If your opponent holds onto high cards to protect Perdita, go for the others. If he plays them to do damage, go for her. Her stats are good, but they can't protect her forever, especially if Francisco hit the dirt. Dogpile her.

Stay out of sight of Perdita if you can, but remember that she can ignore Cover, so don't rely on it to keep your models alive. Austringers ignore Cover, too. If your opponent brings a lot of Family models, though, they don't, so Cover is still better than nothing.

Perdita is ridiculously resilient, as long as Francisco is protecting her with his **El Mayor.** Francisco is by far not as resilient as she. Try to kill him first (perferably with something expendable, as the killer is likely to be taken down by Dita in response). Dita and Francisco don't like conditions, as they cannot **Shrug** them **off**. **Burning** is especially hated by them. Also, Perdita really doesn't like Blasts. Really not. Her stats are marvellous, but her Wds are not. Blast onto her and she will go down.

Don't bee-line for her in Turn 1. Perdita has a very strong assassination game in the first two turns, so try to keep your Master away. Warning signs that your opponent may attempt this are the Student of Conflict, Papa Loco and the Vengeance Bullet upgrade.

Don't underestimate Perdita's speed. She only has Walk 5, but don't let it fool you.Ortegas are blindingly fast, especially if the Enslaved Nephilim is in the crew. The Enslaved Nephilim can also free other Ortegas from melee. Something like that should die. I mean, look at him! It's probably a mercy.

Figure out a plan for how to deal with Nino if he's on the table. Nino can stop a lot of Schemes and Strategies, especially if you forget his ability to stop Interact actions.

If you have trouble with the ranged aspect of her crew, read the appropriate Guide.

Based on forum article by Wyrd forums users Panner_. Unless otherwise stated, all names and images on this site are property of Wyrd Miniatures, LLC. ([|Link])
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