M2E+The+Firestarter


 * The Firestarter, Arcanist Henchman**

=__Overview__= The Firestarter is Kaeris' thematic henchman, and as such has a lot of interaction with **Burning**. He is incredibly mobile, has average defense and has reasonable offense. He has **Reckless**,which allows him on each activation to suffer 1 damage to generate 1 additional General AP. This ability gives him incredible flexibility as well. He is an M&SU member, and gains all sorts of benefits from having this characteristic.toc

=__Mobility__= The Firestarter has **Flight** and **Wk** 5, so for his 2 AP he can go almost anywhere he likes. With Reckless, allows him to move 15" in a single turn, while ignoring most terrain that would prevent mobility.

=__Offense__= He is reasonably offensive, but is not a powerhouse.


 * Ignition** has a cast of 6 with a built-in Tome. It's cast at a projectile range of 12", or a melee range of 2", and is resisted by **Df**. The target gains **Burning +1**, plus an additional **Burning +1** for each Tome in the final duel total. He gets +1 because of his built-in Tome, and you can flip or cheat a Tome, or soulstone for a Tome to get it even higher. Unless you really need that extra **Burning**, soulstoning is not a great use of the soulstone. This spell will likely do more damage than his other spell if you can get that third Tome in the cast.


 * BUUUURRRN!** has a cast of 6 with a built-in Tome. It's cast at a project range of 10", with the target suffering 1/3/4 and gaining **Burning +1**. It also has a Mask trigger to randomize a model within 4" to take 2 damage and gain **Burning +1**. This is his only ability that does immediate damage, so if you need something killed right away, this is what you'll use. The trigger is great, but does work best if you don't have any of your own models within 4".

His only Tactical action **Twirling With the Gas Can** looks incredible, but can be difficult to use given his lack of strong defense. It is a cast of 6 with a built-in Tome, needing a 14 and a Tome to cast. All models in 6" must pass a TN 13 **Wk** duel or gain a Condition that causes the model to suffer to additional damage when suffering damage from the **Burning** condition. If you get a second Tome, you can increase the range to an 8" pulse. The 13 **Wk** duel means that most models will need an 8 or a 9 to pass, which is a good card to count on your opponent not flipping, or not wanting to cheat in. However, the ability requires that The Firestarter be in fairly close to **Burning** targets, and also that you are not going to take any damage from **Burning** on your own models.

=__Resilience__= The Firestarter has only average defensive abilities. **Df** of 6, **Wp** of 5 and 7 **Wd**s. Using **Reckless** regularly will bring his **Wd** count down quickly. He has a **Df/Wp** trigger which gives the attacking model **Burning +1** after The Firestarter succeeds at defending. Because he is a Henchman, he can use soulstones to damage prevent or cause negative flips for your opponent - this is likely his best defense if he gets into a rough position.

Be very careful about putting him in harms way! As he is the perfect example of what a glass-cannon looks like on the Malifaux battle field.

=__Upgrades__= He doesn't have any thematic upgrades, relying on the generic Arcanist upgrades instead.


 * Imbued Energies** is brilliant on him - on a good turn, he can move 20". Or move 10" and Deliver a Message. If he dies with it, you get 4 cards. But the one turn of **Fast** is the way to go.


 * Imbued Protection** can be used to give him an additional +1 **Df** and can be discarded to save him from 2 damage. Despite his average defense, he is usually better used cautiously and positioned so as to minimize incoming attacks. Because of this, this upgrade could go to waste because he isn't being attacked.


 * Bleeding Edge Tech** can be taken because of his M&SU membership, but there may be better targets for it. His high mobility and average defense tends towards him not being in the center of a pack of models to provide **Regen** to. However, if you are planning to make good use of **Twirling**, and have him behind a screen of Constructs, this could be an excellent upgrade to give him.


 * Powered by Flame** is another upgrade that could be worthwhile if you are planning to keep him front and center. More **Burning** is moar better! However, if Scheme running is your plan with him, skip this upgrade for sure. 2ss is a very high cost for something that may not be used.

=__Tactics and Tips__= With his speed, in a non-**Burning** based crew, he tends to be best at scheme running. More on that in the Schemes section.

Put **Imbued Energies** on him for a super fast turn with **Reckless**. There isn't a lot you can't do with 4AP.

His **"I Did It!"** ability can be difficult to make use of, but when used will almost certainly make the different between winning and losing. Usually models killed by **Burning** don't count as killed by any particular crew, but this ability allows that enemy models within pulse 6 which are killed by **Burning** count as being killed by the Firestarter for Encounter purposes. So if you load up on **Burning** from other sources, you could sit him nearby enemy models and claim Vendetta, Reckoning, etc.


 * Reckless **seems to be a good partner ability to Toni Ironsides's Hand-Picked Men as it triggers the positive flips almost always due to the self-harming nature.

Don't afraid of burning your own crew, for the fact that your beloved master Kaeris could either draw cards because of it or heal instead of harm her fellow companions.

=__Leading a Crew__= He isn't strong or tough enough to lead any old Arcanist crew. For 25ss games, he may be the best Scheme runner you can get, and comes with a 6ss cache to maximize in-game soulstone use. He may be more offensive in a **Burning** based crew.

Strategies and Schemes
If using a lot of **Burning**, any of the killing-based Schemes and Strategies become possible with the Firestarter. Reckoning and Vendetta for example. Make Them Suffer comes particularly to mind, as Fire Gamin and Emberling **Burning** would count for as his kills with **"I Did It!"**

Otherwise, running is his best use.

For Reconnoiter, he is excellent as a mobile controlling model. He can sit on either side of table quarters and bounce back and forth to control what you need. For Stake a Claim and Squatter's Rights, his mobility allows him to get up the board quicker than others, but be careful not to **Reckless** yourself into an early grave. If you can use him to take an early lead in a position where your opponent isn't sending strong models, that is a good use for him.
 * Strategies**

Cursed Object, Distract and Deliver a Message are all made easier because of his flexible 3 to 4 AP. Particularly Deliver, where you can discard **Imbued Energies** to move 10" in a turn and still have enough AP to **(2)** Interact on the enemy leader. A Line in the Sand is good - similar to Squatter's Rights, be careful if you are sending him forward to avoid enemy resistance.
 * Schemes**

Breakthrough, Power Ritual, Entourage and Outflank are all Schemes that require being on the other side of the table, and he's particularly good at that. Send him up an undefended flank and run him up the table, shooting fireballs at people from 12" away as he goes.

He could be an excellent Frame for Murder target, because he is fairly scary to opponents with his **Twirling**, and he is not all that defended. Your mileage may vary.

Do not put Bodyguard on him, unless you're prepared to hide him the entire game!

Building a Crew
If you want to make good use of his **Burning** mechanics, anything that Kaeris might bring is good for him. If you are using him to Scheme run, it is less important what other models he plays with. Metal Gamin are a good choice, because they can get in the way of enemy models who might want to kill him. (But Metal Gamin are //always// a good choice!)

=__Playing Against The Firestarter__= Watch for the flank Scheme running. Otherwise, if he's in the middle of the table, you should be able to remove him with a couple good attacks - at 7 **Wd** it won't take much. **Df**6 may make it a little harder, so don't just assume he'll fall over. He has a 2" engagement range, so if you're worried about his mobility you can use that range to stop from him going anywhere.

Remember that you can use a **(1)** Interact action to remove a point of **Burning** from a model, if you're worried about **Twirling** - it could save you 3 damage.

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