M2E+Essence+of+Power


 * Essence of Power, Arcanist Totem**

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=__Overview__= The Essence of Power is a 3 stone totem for the Arcanists, and it basically serves as a casting power amplifier. More suited to masters like Ramos and Rasputina than Mei and Ironsides, this can make attacks that are already hard to resist even more difficult, and allow soulstone use to be more effective and efficient. Though this is the //only// thing the Essence of Power seems to be able to do.

=__Mobility__= With a walk of 6 and **Incorporeal**, this totem has no real difficulty getting around. It can move as fast as nearly any other master (save for Mei), so staying in range for **Empower** is quite easy. Once you're in position, so long as your master doesn't need to be moving around, the main buff is provided by a 2 action, which means all they'll be doing that turn is channeling power into the caster of choice.

=__Offense__= They've got one offensive move of their own:
 * Shock** //(ml 3/rst df/rg1)// Target Suffers 1/1/3 damage

But at Ml 3 range 1, it's about as effective as a twirled up handkerchief. This unit is meant to amplify the power of their selected master, which is why their second action printed is called: This is pretty stellar. You're going to be grouping up, which means you're an easier target for blasts and pulses, but this field could pretty easily incorporate 2-4 models or more, (though it might be crowded and potentially over-specialized...)
 * (2) Amplify ** Until the end of turn, Friendly models within 3" receive +1 casting.

=__Resilience__= DF 2, WP 4, if you want to hit this guy, you probably will. Even if you black joker, if you've got a high attack your odds aren't impossible. With Ml/Sh/Ca 6, the EoP would need a 5up in order to dodge against a black joker.

It's only got 4 wounds which is pretty good for a 3 stone model, and with **Incorporeal**, it'll halve most damage coming at it (save for blasts and casts), which can allow it to stick around a little longer, though a concerted effort will kill this thing quick.

=__Tips and Tricks with Rasputina__=
 * Rasputina** has a //ton// of models that use casting, and can use amplify. She herself will get to Ca 8 casting on **Freeze Over**, **December's Curse**, and **Decembers Touch**, and 6 for **Biting Chill**, which makes the **One Thousand Cuts** ability much more regular. Plus, if she's within range to get Ca 8 from **Amplify**, then she's within range to get the soulstone boost from **Empower** - meaning if you burn the stone to get a mask on the duel for **Overpower**, you'll also get a positive flip to the attack. Good for getting around cover while ALSO getting to overpower. Giving the Silent Ones Ca 7 on their **Freeze** spell would be great, as would bumping the Snowstorm's **Ice Tornado** up to 6, making it a proper threat. The only problem is that the Wendigo is just so darn good, it's hard to decide which one to go for!

=__Tips and Tricks with Ramos__= Just like with Raspy, Ramos can gain a great deal from both the bonus to cast, and the Soulstone buff - he's got fewer casters coming along with him, but it will make his **Summon the Swarm**, **Uncontrolled Detonation**, and **Electric Summoning** easier to hit, target number wise. For instance, if you're going for a 3 spider summon, you typically need a 11+ of tomes, but with the EoP in tow, you can do it with a 10, and if you burn the stone for the extra tome (which you'll //have// to do anyways to get the proper number of tomes for the summon), you'll get the positive flip for the original cast. You also get Ca 8 for **Electrical Fire**. And that's always a good thing. It's also sort of a crap shoot whether the Brass Arachnid will bring his stones worth of use in a given game.

=__Tips and Tricks with Kaeris__= With Kaeris, I feel like this one is a little trickier to pull it off with, just because she so much more movement oriented. Where Rasputina makes a web and then stays put, Kaeris is a bit of a flier. So, keeping **Empower** up wouldn't be too bad, but **Amplify** might be a little tougher to pull off. You can keep it around Kaeris' other casters, like the Oxford Mages, or the Firestarter, but If you can turret up with Kaeris, Ca 8 **Halo**, **Immolate**, and **Accelerant** are all pretty boss.

=__Tips and Tricks with Colette__= Colette is a little less mobile than Kaeris, however, and while the doves are great, the Essence of Power might make a play for a replacement act. If you don't want to take the dove summoning upgrade, then the EoP can hang out near Colette and give her: Ca 8 on **Sabre Trick**, **Prompt** goes off for a 5 up instead of a 6 up, **Disappearing Act** goes off for a 4 up instead of a 5.

Where this combo starts to look very appetizing is- Cassandra's **Breathe Fire** becomes a Ca 6, and she can stone to get a double positive twist. The Performer's seduction becomes Ca6, and their **Seduction** can become Ca 7 (on-par with the Rotten Belle), and Coryphee can get both a Ca 6 for **Blinding**, and the duet gets Ca 7 for **Orchestral Crescendo**. The Performer is probably my favorite, as a Performer and a Essence can slip into a Mei or Ironsides crew pretty cheaply at 8 stones for the pair- you just need to play someone who doesn't particularly care about their totem.

=__Tips and Tricks with Models__= //The Captain// Ca 7 **Airburst** and **Windwall** make them much more sure to go off, and with the casting expert upgrade, that's highly attractive. **Airburst** is also a great way to get the Essence where you need it without spending its ap, allowing it to activate and **Amplify** ready to help your other casters.

//The Oxfordian Mages// They don't get to use soul stones, but they can generate them. They //do// love clustering up, so putting **Elemental Bolt** and **Strike** at Ca 7 can get pretty solid. Bring a Librarian to give **Ancient Words** and **Healing Energy** Ca 7 as well. (If only Vanessa was a Mercenary!)

//Firestarter// All of the abilities this guy has are Ca actions- to put them all at the well above average Ca 7 would make him a force to be reckoned with.

=__Playing Against the Essence Of Power__= The model is most powerful when it is allowed to stay still. So if you don't want to divert resources to kill the thing, then move some models into threatening range of the model it's supporting. Either you trap that model, or you cause them to move which breaks the amplify buff chain.

Amplify is also a "Until end of Turn", not a "Until this models next activation", which means you can be pretty sure of when the caster(s) who are going to be using it are ramping up. If it amplifies, and you can kill it right then, the aura won't be around for the ancillary models to gain a benefit from it.

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