Avatar+Rasputina

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 * Rasputina, Arcanist Avatar of Famine**

=__Overview__= Rasputina goes from a ranged damage dealer to an aggressive, brutal, close combat threat. She gains a little speed, slows down opponents, and will regard enemy models as less of a threat and more as a food source. Getting into close combat with this Avatar is a good way to be killed and an even better way to heal it, since it can consume slain enemies to restore Wds.

=__Manifesting__= The Manifesting requirements for Rasputina are pretty straightforward since they're things you should be doing anyway. The first is to reduce an enemy model to 1 Wd with //Biting Chill//. That shouldn't be too difficult, especially when using it to target models that have low Wds already. It may help having a Gamin nearby with //Bite of Winter// active which will increase the //Biting Chill// Dg to 3. If the target model has more than 3 Wds, then chain casting //Biting Chill// with the automatic //Overpower// Trigger will be necessary for a quicker manifest.

The second can be a little tricky, since it may require you to try and force your opponent to clump models together that are weak enough to be destroyed in a single casting of //December's Curse//. You only need to kill two, but they do both have to die at once. This is where Rasputina's terrain creating ability (//Ice Pillars//) may come in handy to funnel opponent models together. Snow Storm's ability to push models around might also be useful here.

=__Mobility__= Rasputina is slightly quicker in Avatar form, but still isn't going to impress anybody with her speed. She can charge 6" which isn't too bad because this Avatar is a close combat monster and that's where she needs to be. This ability to charge is enhanced by //Ravenous Vengeance//, which makes the Charge action cost 1 AP if the target model has inflicted at least 1 Wd on Avatar Rasputina in that turn. If you do declare that Charge, just be sure you can get the within Melee range of the target or the activation will end.

Since it's always nice to have some backup, the //Icy Brethren// ability grants +1 Wk to friendly Ice Golems. This should help them keep pace when this Avatar goes barreling in.

=__Offense__=

Ice Blade
This is Avatar Rasputina's primary melee weapon. With range 2 and damage 3/3/5 it isn't quite as good as the Ice Golem, but any model hit by this weapon lose //Armor// until the Start Closing Phase which puts it ahead. Also, because of the //Shattering Storm// Trigger, being killed by the Ice Blade increases the target's **Shatter** damage to 4 (see **Ice Sculptures**). Be careful with this. Avatar Rasputina will be immune to that damage because of //Encased in Ice//, but friendly models nearby probably aren't. Make sure you don't hurt your own crew more than the enemy's.

Ice Shards
Ranged weapon, 1/2(blast)/3(blast)(blast) with a decent range of 8.

Both weapons have //Chills//, a Trigger which causes the target model to receive //Slow// if damaged.

Instill Cravings
This can be a pretty nasty debuff. Whenever the target model activates, it suffers 1 Wd if it didn't inflict at least 1 Wd with a melee attack during its activation. Particularly cruel when used against targets that rely on ranged attacks, it can wear them down over time. The worst part? //This effect lasts until the end of the Encounter.//

December's Maw
This spell is one of those that puts the horror into a model like this one. Sacrifice a target model (Ht 1 or 2) that's suffered at least 1 Wd to make a healing flip. Essentially, Avatar Rasputina is //eating the target model.// This is so horrific that any enemy models within 6" who can see it happen must perform a Morale Duel Wp -> 13! That's just frightening...

Hungry Winds
This is a good one to use if you have some extra Crows in your hand. It's a pulse effect of 8 that forces all enemy models in range to suffer 1 Dg per Crow used in the casting total if they lose the Reist Duel. They can each discard a Control Card to prevent the damage, so the more models you can catch with this spell the harder the decisions your opponent has to make will be. This is almost more of an attack against the opponent directly than the models on the table!

Winter Walks With Her
This is a nice ability that assures any enemy models within 3" of this one have to deal with difficult terrain unless they have //Frozen Heart// as well (all friendly models will automatically have it, thanks to //Mark of Famine//). It also makes hitting this model risky, since an attacker must win a Df 12 duel just for attacking her whether it causes damage or not. Losing the duel means getting //Slow//.

=__Resilience__= Avatar Rasputina has a respectable 10 Wd, but comes with a few nice little extras to help her keep as many of them as possible.

**Encased in Ice**
An upgrade to //Bearskin Armor//, this ability grants the same immunity to pulse, area or blast damage. Additionally, it confers Armor +2. This makes her //Hard to Kill// ability more like //Really// Hard to Kill!

Frozen Heart
One of the abilities carried over from her original form, it grants immunity to Morale Duels.

Mark of Famine
An upgrade from the // Ice Queen // ability, this grants the same // Frozen Heart // benefit to ALL friendly models, not just those within an area of effect.

Eat Your Fill
This model lives in close combat, and its reward for doing so is a nice snack that restores //all// wounds whenever it kills a model with a melee attack.

=__Soulstones__= With a few options for healing damage, Soulstones can be dedicated to winning duels and cramming as much damage as possible down your opponent's throat.

=__Tricks and Tips__=

(+1) Casting Expert
Carried over from Rasputina, it allows this melee monster to remain a real magical threat.

Adaptive Mind [Ca]
The spells for this model are an even mix of Crows and Tomes, and //Adaptive Mind// gives the player the flexibility to keep up by adding either a Tome or a Crow to the casting total. Since a couple of the spells (//December's Maw, Hungry Winds//) require one of each suit, this makes it easier on you if you're working with a bad hand that has too much of one and not enough of the other.

December's Pawn
Carried over from Rasputina's non-Avatar self, it's a good little consolation prize for when you flip the Black Joker, or can be used strategically if you have it in your hand and need a couple new cards. This Avatar makes use of a lot of Crows, so this might be a good way to try to get an extra couple after manifesting. At worst, it gives you some more fodder for making use of the //Surge// Trigger.

Ice Sculptures
Models within 3" of Avatar Rasputina gain "**Shatter 2:** (pulse)2, **Dg** 2 when this model is killed". So any model, friend or foe, killed while within 3" of Avatar Rasputina will Shatter, damaging nearby models. The shatter damage can be further increased with the Shattering Storm trigger on the Ice Blade. Keep this in mind and don't have too many friendly models hang around nearby Avatar Rasputina as this could be used against your crew.

Freeze Over
Nearby terrain pieces become flypaper to models that don't have //**Frozen Heart**//. This can really help to compensate for the slow movement of this model and her crew. A model touching the affected terrain piece cannot move or be pushed until the End Closing Phase. It's a good way to deny an enemy model access to an objective, or hold them in place while the big hitters close in.

Surge
Slightly less useful without the //Overpower// Trigger, it can still be useful for padding the hand with crows or tomes, both of which are needed with this Avatar.

Frigid Offspring
Need more Ice Gamin? If there's a nearby corpse counter, discard it to summon one!

=__Avatar and their Crew__= Choosing a Crew that will work well with Avatar Rasputina is eased a little by the //Mark of Famine//, which ensures that any model on your side will have the //Frozen Heart// ability and thus will be immune to some of the tricks this Avatar uses to slow down enemy movement. Ice Golems are directly benefited by the //Icy Brethren// ability and since this Avatar is all about close combat, having one at your side can be really useful. Hiring Ice Gamin may be a slight waste, since they can be summoned once the Avatar has manifested unless you have a specific idea how you would use them to help manifest.

Rasputina loses //Ice Mirror// when she manifests, so Silent Ones' //Perfect Mirror// ability will lose its usefulness. If you intend to manifest Rasputina as early as you can, your mileage may vary.

=__Playing Against Rasputina, Avatar of Famine__= If at all possible, kill her from a distance. Dying near this Avatar can easily mean shattering which isn't good if your models tend to get clumped together. She isn't very fast so using terrain to your advantage can really help buy you the time needed to end the threat.

** __Ownership__ **
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