Avatar+Hoffman

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 * C. Hoffman, Guild Avatar of Amalgamation**

=__Overview__= Avatar Hoffman loses some of his aura resistance, but gains ranged combat abilities and a better Melee attack. His abilities shift: he can't control Constructs directly anymore, but instead he absorbs Construct abilities upon killing them. Most of his powers work best against enemy Constructs, but Hoffman can turn enemies into Constructs as well and absorb their abilities. Hoffman sacrifices a lot of his special abilities and synergies, but gains better attacks instead, which may be useful if you're up against the wall and on the defensive at the end of the game.

=__Manifesting__= Hoffman needs to kill two enemy models with //Machine Puppet//, and use //Override Edict// to take over an enemy non-Master Construct (or two friendly non-Master constructs if there are no enemy non-Master Constructs) to Manifest.

It's definitely far easier to Manifest Hoffman if the enemy is playing with Constructs, and several of his abilities work best against enemy Constructs. It's better to plan to Manifest if you're facing a Construct-heavy Master, like Ramos, Rasputina, Kaeris, Collodi, or Leveticus.

Hoffman loses his control spells but gains better attacks. It's most useful to Manifest Hoffman if you don't have any friendly Constructs left, but there are still a lot of enemy Constructs around.

=__Mobility__= Avatar Hoffman is decently fast. His speed goes up to 6, and on a given round he can choose to gain //Flight// (instead of //Ranged Expert//, or //Armor// and //Regeneration//).

=__Offense__= All of Hoffman's attacks gain a positive flip. His Massive Blade melee attack does more damage than the Roomsweeper, and has a Trigger than can //Paralyze// opponents. On the other hand, when things get rough Hoffman has a spell (requiring 11 or better if Hoffman has no friendly Constructs around, usable only at 3 Wd or less, requires all action points and does 1 Wd) that lets him shoot everyone in range, even while engaged in melee.

Hoffman has //Flurry//, but he can also gain //Ranged Expert// (instead of //Flight//, or //Armor// and //Regeneration//).

Hoffman does best when attacking Constructs, as when he kills one, he can make a healing flip, and can gain one of their abilities until the end of the Encounter. If you're about to kill a non-Construct, you may want to use the //Resistance is Future// spell to turn them into a Construct first so you can take one of their abilities, though you can't use this and get the healing flip at the same time since both require a (0) Action.

Hoffman's Ca is only 5, but he can grow it as high as 10 by having friendly Constructs nearby (+1 per Construct).

=__Resilience__= Hoffman takes extra damage from auras, pulses, and blasts. Hopefully your opponent isn't using any since pre-Avatar Hoffman is largely immune to those effects, you may want to eliminate units that can create those effects before you Manifest.

Hoffman can grant himself //Armor +2// and //Regeneration// (instead of //Flight// or //Ranged Expert//) at the start of each round.

Hoffman has a low Df and will often not be very resilient.

=__Soulstones__= You may find yourself needing to use Soulstones to prevent damage, since Hoffman's defenses are so weak.

=__Tricks and Tips__=
 * Hoffman no longer uses Scrap counters for anything, but he's still considered a Scavenger. Go figure.
 * It may be worthwhile to kill a friendly wounded Construct to absorb a powerful ability, before enemies can kill it.
 * //Suppress Edict// can nullify one Action or Trigger on a hostile Construct. It's a (0) action and Hoffman loses //Instinctual// when he Manifests so he can't use more than one, but this could make a big difference if you're facing a powerful enemy Construct like Ramos or a Coryphee Duet.
 * You can use //Insinuate Will// to stop an opposing non-Master Construct from Cheating Cards effectively, but this ability is only likely to be useful if your opponent doesn't have many minions left.
 * Remember that Avatar Hoffman loses most of his other ability when he Manifests, including //Dampening, Drawn to Metal, Maintain Machines, Perfect Machine, Protected by Machines, Tap Power, Machine Pupper,// and //Combat Mechanic//. His synergy with friendly Constructs gets a lot weaker, so you may not want to Manifest unless your friendly Constructs are gone.

=__Avatar and their Crew__= (What sort of minions work well or don't work well with the Avatar, overall advice.) (I figured we'd leave more specific Avatar/Minion interactions to the Minion Page itself.) (Also address issues where the Crew needed to support the Master Manifesting may not be the best for the Avatar once it Manifests)

=__Playing Against [Avatar]__= (How best to deal with the Master and it's crew, things to watch out for, etc.)

** __Ownership__ **
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