M2E+Obedient+Wretch


 * Obedient Wretch, Outcast Minion**

=__Overview__= toc Hamelin's flute summons many to serve him, but few come to his side of their own volition. These believers have witnessed the power he wields and have surrendered themselves to him, gaining a modicum of his power in return.

The Obedient Wretch is a cheap summoner of Malifaux Rats and spreader of Blight, sort of like a more powerful version of The Stolen. Unlike The Stolen, however, the Obedient Wretch is not tied directly to Hamelin (though her abilities complement many of his own) and can be hired by other Outcast masters if her abilities are desired, but she definitely has the most synergy with Hamelin, and will rarely help other crews.

=__Mobility__=

The Obedient Wretch isn't very mobile. Her Walk of 4 is about as low as most models get and she possesses no other abilities to help her move across the board.

=__Offense__=

The Obedient Wretch isn't very offensive most of the time.

Her Tossed Rat attack has a short range and doesn't do very much damage, but that's not really the point of it. It's main use is to use the Stink of Death trigger to summon more Malifaux Rats, which can them be combined into a Rat King via their Tangled ability. While you can throw rats at enemy models, it's usually more efficient to just throw rats at your own models (such as other Malifaux Rats) to ensure that you'll always hit. This is an excellent use of low- to mid-range crow cards.

The Wretch's Bleeding Disease attack can do some heavy damage later in a game once a number of models have become Blighted to a significant degree, though this is obviously of more use in a crew led by Hamelin. Even without Hamelin, however, the Malifaux Rats (and eventually Rat Kings) that she can summon all hand out the Blighted Condition with their melee attacks, and models that activate near her will also gain the Blighted Condition from her Diseased ability. This allows her Bleeding Disease attack to be relevant even in crews that don't otherwise bother too much with Blight.

=__Resilience__=

The Obedient Wretch doesn't have very much in the way of resilience. Her Sickly ability allows her to count as Blighted when she's killed, ensuring that she'll summon a rat if she dies near Hamelin or a Rat Catcher, thanks to their Voracious Rats ability.

Horrible Realization can sometimes be a deterrent against attacking the Wretch if she's near some living models, but mostly it will just drain a card or two from your opponent's hand as they attempt to keep their nearby living models from being paralyzed when she dies. It's a rather low TN, though, so don't get your hopes up. Still, it's handy when it actually works. Note that it also triggers if the Wretch is sacrificed (such as with her Inevitable Fate ability).

Finally, if the Wretch is in danger of being killed, or you want two more rats to form a Rat King, or you just don't have any further use for her, don't be afraid to use her Inevitable Fate ability. This sacrifices the Wretch, but summons two Malifaux Rats into base contact with her before she's removed. This also triggers Horrible Realization, as noted above.

=__Tactics and Tips__=

The Obedient Wretch isn't a particularly complicated model to use. Toss rats at things using your crows to hit her Stink of Death trigger to summon more Malifaux Rats, then have those rats combine together to form a Rat King once you have four of them together. If you're out of crows and there's a Blighted model nearby, she can try to use Bleeding Disease to put some damage on it or just reposition herself for next turn.

Though relatively cheap, the Obedient Wretch is a significant minion, making her able to complete most objectives without much support, such as holding a table quarter for the Reconnoiter strategy.

If you don't have any use for the Obedient Wretch, don't be afraid to sacrifice her and turn her into two Malifaux Rats, which can scurry away to find more of their kind to eventually form a Rat King.

=__Playing Against the Obedient Wretch__=

Much of the Obedient Wretch's damage will likely be done in the earlier turns of the game, when your opponent can turn their unneeded crows into Malifaux Rats. This could be in an attempt to get some rats tangled together to summon a Rat King, or just to make a swarm of models to eat up activations and generally be annoying.

Be aware of Horrible Realization and Diseased when you get close to the Wretch and try to stay out of her 3" bubble of unpleasantness. Getting her into melee will prevent her from throwing rats around, but will also subject you to Blight via her Diseased ability if you're unable to finish her off quickly, which can make a threat out of her Bleeding Disease attack, particularly if her rats have bitten your models a few time and given them Blighted.

All in all, though, the Obedient Wretch isn't too much of a threat in non-Hamelin crews. If she's running in a Hamelin crew, however, she's a potential source of Bleeding Disease damage and rat summoning that should be considered a significant (but relatively easy to kill) threat.

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