Avatar+Marcus

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 * Marcus, Avatar of Instinct, Arcanist Avatar [[image:!B9j3gUgCWk~$(KGrHqZ,!iQEzNkeqbgZBM6NQwIstQ_35.JPG align="right"]]**

=Overview=

Avatar Marcus gains several mobility options, an expensive and disappointing melee attack, some valuable debuffs, and several new forms of synergy for giving and exploiting the Beast characteristic on friendly and enemy models.

=Manifesting= Marcus' Manifest requirements both require turning enemy models into Beasts. The first requires him to turn two enemy models into a Beast with the Feral spell. The second requires him to turn an enemy model into a Beast with the Primal Reaction trigger. In both cases, this means he needs to move up and make contact with the enemy, so you won't be able to use this ability until you're already up the field.

=Mobility= Avatar Marcus has a brisk **Wk/Cg 5/8**, with **Flight** and **(+1) Fast**. He loses his various speed-enhancing (0) Spells, but does gain **(2) Diving Attack**, which lets him Charge while ignoring LoS, Terrain, and intervening models.

He can also get a little extra movement with **(0) Smell Fear**, which lets him Charge an enemy unit that fails a Morale Duel within 6". Since he can cause Morale Duels with the Spell **(1) Roar**, and make enemy Beast models more likely to fail the duel with **(0) Dominance**, this may come up more often than expected against non-Undead enemies.

=Offense=

Marcus' **Shillelagh** is Magical, and has a high **Cb 6 rams**, but the damage spread is only **1/2/4**. With an extra Mask, he can get the trigger **Onslaught**, which allows another attack. If you have a lot of masks in your hand, Marcus can take down a very tough opponent very quickly. This has a range 2".

Marcus also has a flexible but extremely expensive melee attack, **Chimeric Assault**. This does a pitifiul **1/1/1** damage, but you can discard a Control Card before making an Attack flip to enhance the weapon. This raises the damage, and the other effects vary by the suit of the card you discard: Rams give high damage, Crows gives **Poison 2**, Books bypass Armor and Df tiggers, and Masks Push the defender 2" away. Note that you must discard your card before making an Attack flip, so there's a chance you'll waste a Control Card if the enemy defends, but this may be a decent way to use a really low Control Card that you don't have any other plans for. This attack also has a range 2".

Avatar Marcus also has a spell, **(0) Evolutionary Confluence**, which raises the damage on Chimeric Assault, gives **Poison 2**, and allows you to Push the enemy 2" away on a hit. However, it costs a Soulstone, and you need a 9 of tomes or better to cast it, so it's a very expensive spell that gives no benefit except to make your melee attacks tougher.

Avatar Marcus also has two very useful attack spells, **(1) Instinctive Behavior** and **(1) Roar**. Instinctive behavior is a combination of a Buff, Debuff, and Obey, and can be used on friendly or enemy Beast models. **(1) Roar** works on any living model and makes them Fall Back, which can be disastrous for an enemy model and may also trigger **(0) Smell Fear**.

=Resilience=

Avatar Marcus has **Regeneration 1**, which may help remove small amounts of damage, but won't save him if he gets surrounded.

He has a Df 6 and Wp 7, and Wd 11, which are quite good, but no Armor or other special defensive or resistance tricks.

=Soulstones= Because Avatar Marcus is likely to be up close with enemies, and because he doesn't have any major resistance tricks, it may be worthwhile to keep a few Soulstones in reserve for defense.

You can also spend your Soulstones on **(0) Evolutionary Confluence**, but this is a very high cost for increasing your melee attacks.

=Tricks and Tips=

Enemy Beasts
Marcus can turn a single enemy model into a Beast with the **(0) Feral** spell, which requires only a 4 or higher and is resisted with Wp. Or he can threaten to turn all Living and Undead models with 8" into Beasts with **(1) Give In To It**, which requires a **Wp->12** Duel to resist. Note that friendly models are also affected by **(1) Give In To It**, which can be very advantageous.

Once an enemy is a Beast, Marcus can do a few things to it. First, he can use (0) Dominance to give non-Master Beasts a negative twist to all opposed Duels while they're within LoS of Marcus, at any Range. This is a very heavy debuff, since it also means that enemy non-Master Beasts can't Cheat Fate.

Second, he can gain control of any Beast (friendly or enemy) with **(1) Instinctive Behavior**. This acts like an Obey spell, but it only affects Beasts, gives **-2 Df** and **+2 Cg,** and a positive twist to Attack and Damage Flips. This can be a massive benefit for a friendly Beast, or a useful debuff for an enemy Beast that has already acted. Just be careful not to give it to an enemy Beast that hasn't activated yet, unless you're doing something so important that it's worth buffing up an enemy model. This is often a setup for a Charge, and can be used against Ornery models if they're nearby.

Note that **(1) Instinctive Behavior** is in some ways less powerful than his pre-Avatar **(2) Alpha**. It cannot affect Masters, gives only a single (1) or Charge action, and can't force the target to make self-destructive actions.

Instinctual
It should be no surprise that Marcus, Avatar of Instinct, is **(+1) Instinctual**. He has four possible (0) Actions, but can only pick two of them.

Here's a handy guide, in descending order of usefulness:
 * Use **(0) Dominance** if you're turning your enemy Crew into Beasts, or another model already has done so, or you're facing a lot of Beasts. It's a super-long-range, very powerful debuff for enemy Beasts, and you should probably plan to use it most rounds. If your enemy has even one Beast in their Crew, or they're going to, **(0) Dominance** is probably worth it.
 * Use **(0) Smell Fear** in combination with **(1) Roar**. It's especially useful in combination with **(0) Dominance** if you are already facing Beasts (from Give In To It or another model like the Malifaux Raptor, since that will make it harder for the enemy to resist. If you're not facing Beasts yet, you can also use it in combination with **(0) Feral** if you think you can overcome an enemy's Wp Resist.
 * Use **(0) Feral** to set up a target for Instinctual Behavior and Dominance.
 * Use **(0) Evolutionary Confluence** if you have too many Soulstones, a high Tomes card in-hand, and plan to make multiple melee attacks that you expect to it. Usually, it's not worth using.

=Avatar and their Crew=

Because of **Rise of the Beast**, Avatar Marcus can activate simultaneously with up to two Beasts within 6" and can decide which at the end of his activation. This can give opportunities for Alpha Strikes, and can be used to finish off a near-dead opponent if Marcus can't quite do it himself.

Because of **Mark of Instinct,** Avatar Marcus gives friendly Beast models **+1 Cb** to melee weapons, **-1 Wp**, and takes away **Ornery** within 6". In combination with the bonuses from **(1) Instinctual Behavior**, this can lead to some very powerful glass cannons on your side.

=Playing Against Avatar Marcus= Avatar Marcus is fast, but not especially durable. Don't let him turn your models into Beasts if you can avoid it, since he has several major debuffs for beasts.

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