Seamus

include page="inc_1.5rules" **Seamus the Mad Hatter, Resurrectionist Master** //A psychopathic serial killer who murdered an entire brothel. This is only the start of how to describe our deranged cross between Jack the Ripper and the Mad Hatter. Seamus is one of those personalities that the general populace fear most, he and his entourage of undead prostitutes terrorize the people of Malifaux while he delves deeper into the unique Necromantic arts and the mysterious being known as the Gorgon.// toc

=Overview = Seamus is a good master to learn the game with as he is forgiving (being one of the hardest masters to kill and having plenty of action points to spend each turn) but has enough complexity to add another layer of more advanced play and a fair few tricks that can make him downright scary if it all comes together. He tends to need only a limited variety of minions running with him and this can get more pronounced as he is the least effective summoner of all the Resurrectionist masters, requiring high cards to only summon one type of minion - the Rotten Belle (As of the third book he can also summon the Dead Doxy).

Seamus plays like a spider. His women form a web to lure his "//clientele//" to the parlor where their defenses are stripped and the victims ensnared. Seamus then skips to each customer to "deal" with them as he sees fit. On the table Seamus is one of the most well rounded masters that have been released, he can shoot (with his massively over-sized and lethal hand cannon) and he can do melee (able to kill instantly if things go his way) even though his stats are very middle of the road. In addition he also attacks enemy crew's willpower and can even scare his opponents off the table with a very effective 'terror engine'.

=Mobility= Seamus has (+1) //Fast// which aids in his mobility allowing him to usually get where he wants to pretty quickly, and it gives all sorts of other flexibility too (at worst it can give you three walk actions). A lot of Seamus' abilities and spells have a fairly short range so he does usually want to be in thick of it, if you want to get the most out of Seamus and everything he can potentially do you will soon find out he likes being up close but not tied up in combat.

Seamus' crew, although they are usually a mob of zombie hookers, is also surprisingly quick with Seamus' ability //Belles of the Ball// which gives an additional +2 Wk to friendly Belles who start their activation in close proximity to Seamus, plus the Belles already ignore movement penalties when moving through difficult terrain.

He also has a (0) action called //No Escape// which allows him to charge a target model within 6" whenever they are moved using a movement effect; this includes pushes (such as from //Lure//). Although this action has a whole lot more uses (covered later) it can also be used to get an extra few inches of movement out of Seamus. Note that the ability does not say enemy model so you can target one of your own models with the action and then either lure or move them away to trigger the effect. This can be handy if you have over-committed and need to get out of a sticky situation.

=Offense= What Seamus is most renowned for is his //.50 Flintlock// which has a very impressive damage profile with a minimum Dg of 4 ramping all the way up to 7 for severe (this may be the highest unmodified damage profile for a ranged weapon so far but the Guild can get higher with triggers such as critical strike). Although this may be Seamus' signature weapon he has a lot more offense than just this, but the threat of a hand cannon shot to the head is enough to make people keep their models out of range. It only has a mediocre range of 8" so Seamus a maximum threat range of 16" (2x walk plus the shot) which is the equivalent range of Nino, Hans and the Friekorps Trapper (the three dedicated snipers in the game so far). Besides the range there are a couple more limitations to the effectiveness of this weapon, namely Seamus' Cb of 5, and it loses a lot of its punch vs. models with armor and bulletproof etc. The real stinger: it can only be used once per turn, so when you decide you want to shoot with it you HAVE to hit. Ideally, you want to generate a high enough total in the combat duel to give you the straight flip and with his average Cb this usually means cheating in a high face card and using a Soulstone to further add to the total. This makes taking on high Df masters such as Lilith or Perdita a real pain.

Seamus' melee attacks with his //Bag o' Tools// don't inflict the same massive hit as his Flintlock, but they have some really neat tricks and triggers built in that actually make Seamus quite frightening in combat (but once again his mediocre stats in this department prevent him from dominating). With a weak damage of 1 and severe of 5, it initially seems like there is nothing to write home about here, but the treat is in the triggers that Seamus can get, with one of them automatically built in:
 * Trigger //(Excessive Bleeding):// This is already built in and makes anyone you hit Insignificant until the end of the game (note: this trigger is not related to damage so itworks even if you flip the Black Joker for damage). This can make it a lot harder for the other crew to complete their objectives, and at the end of the game if the models are still around, they have to take a Wp 12 duel or are counted as having been killed. This helps if you have Slaughter as your strategy or other strategies/schemes that you need to kill models for.
 * Trigger (//Slit Jugular//): If you can get this trigger off (you need a Crow), do so, as it instantly kills the model hit while dealing no damage (and thus bypasses Hard to Kill, Hard to Wound, Armor, Slow to Die, etc.). The defender has to discard either 2 control cards or 2 Soulstones to ignore this effect. Why do no damage in favor of this trigger? Two reasons: first, your damage profile isn't that impressive; and second, you're either forcing a discard (which is huge as it affects their ability to cheat in further duels that turn) or taking a big chunk of their resources in Soulstones. The effect of draining these things cannot be underestimated, for example: if you are in combat and can get this trigger off three times (remember Seamus is **Fast**), and they discard cards all three times you have just drained their entire hand in one activation, leaving them severely hampered while you can have free reign. Bete Noir also has this trigger but she also has a better Cb and paired weapons and can Flurry, so between Seamus and her you can force a lot of card control. There is one final bonus with this trigger, that if you kill the model you get to draw a control card.

Seamus only has one offensive spell called //Live for Pain,// which is a ranged spell that often gets overlooked in favor of his Flintlock. However, sometimes it may be better to cast //Live for Pain// instead. It doesn't have the range of the Flintlock (6" as opposed to 8") and it only has a severe damage of 5, but being a spell, you get to use your impressive Ca of 7 (and it still targets Df). Beyond generally being able to hit more reliably with this spell than the Flintlock, you can cast this multiple times a turn and because it's a spell, you don't inflict half damage to spirits. The final neat ability it has built in is that Seamus heals equal to the amount of damage inflicted, which is another layer to the resilient brick that is Seamus.

=Resilience= As stated earlier, Seamus is one of the most difficult Masters to kill in the game thanks to some impressive stats in this department. His Df is a low 4, but that is only important if someone has a quite high Cb, and then you will generally want to add in a Soulstone to your defense total to take advantage of your other abilities.

First, Seamus is //Hard to Kill//. This means that as long as he is on more than one wound no attack will kill him, so you can usually weather one or two models attacks before starting to worry about surviving. Watch out for attacks that inflict wounds and not damage, and instant kill effects such as the //Slit Jugular// and //Headshot// triggers, as all these get around this ability. Finally, be wary of models that can Companion such as the Ortegas, as they can drop you you quickly in one fell swoop.

//Hard to Wound 2// is very impressive and makes it almost impossible for an opponent to get a straight damage flip off against Seamus, which stops them from cheating which is a very big deal. It is a good idea to pay particular attention to what a model's weak damage is when you are playing Seamus, as very rarely will they be getting much more than that. The Guild are especially nasty as they have a lot of instances of Critical Strike and often already have one Ram built into their Cb, upping their damage arc significantly.

Seamus has an impressive Wd total of 12 which is tied for the most of any model at the moment. It is this stat that helps the others function well and keeps him going even after he has taken a round of punishment.

//Live for Pain// was mentioned above as an offensive spell, but it does add to Seamus' durability with the added healing effect. The range is a little short but it combos with Seamus' final layer of resilience, //Necrotic Ministrations//. //Necrotic Ministrations// is an ability that is always on and encourages you to play Seamus right in the thick of it. Whenever a living or undead model dies within 6" of Seamus he draws a control card and heals 2 wounds. This is a huge deal, and although things may be dying around him, Seamus can just cackle madly and keep getting stronger and stronger. Increasing your control hand is awesome as it does give you greater control plus resistance to discard card effects.

A neat trick healing Seamus is targeting an already wounded Rotten Belle (you should always bring at least one of these along) or a Canine Remains with //Live for Pain// one or two times (as needed/desired) to kill them. You heal up the wounds that you caused (with the additional 2 wounds plus control card you get from //Necrotic Ministrations//), plus if it was a Belle they can Lure or do something else with their //Slow to Die// action (causing more mayhem) and then either target the lured model with your //.50 Flintlock// (kills most models on a successful shot) and heal more as a result of their death (//Necrotic Ministrations// again). If you really want to (and have the cards) with your (0) action, //Arise My Sweet//, you can raise a brand new Rotten Belle. In total you would have healed up between 5 (if you killed a Canine Remains and left the chain at that) and 11 wounds (depends on health of original Belle and if you got the enemy kill shot off) in one activation while increasing your control hand and taking you from the brink of death to full health, and if you have the hand to summon the belle at the end you have another model who is at full health again.

=Control= Seamus actually has a lot of control abilities that often get overlooked, but are actually one of his greatest assets. //No Escape// is a way of getting extra mobility out of Seamus, but it functions even better as a control mechanism, often forcing someone to stay put rather than risk a Master swinging at them in combat, especially one with an instant kill trigger.

It gets better though with Seamus having a myriad of control based abilities and spells.

//Belles of the Ball// is another "always on" ability of Seamus' allowing friendly Belles +2" walk when activating within 8" of Seamus. This gives them an impressive amount of mobility and speed and can catch some people off guard who think that zombie hookers would normally be quite slow. Seamus can also setup a companion chain with a (0) action //Womanizer//. This won't be used often but sometime you may have overextended yourself and you need to get Seamus out of harm's way by Luring him away with a Belle and then her moving up to bear the brunt of the action.

Seamus is Terrifying, which is kind of suitable for a serial killer and while it's only Terrifying 12**,** it is another card for your opponent to flip and another way they could be using cards from their control hand when they really didn't want to. This Terrifying can be augmented with his spell //Face of Death// which actually puts out a 4" aura of //Terrifying 14// making that zone of influence that much bigger. Remember that this replaces Seamus' normal Terrifying 12 ability. Seamus also has another way to augment his Terrifying and all other Wp based effects and spells (of which is is second only to Pandora): his (0) action **Trail of Fear,** which is a 12" aura that drops living models' Wp by 2. This can get quite messy quite quickly against some crews.

The two triggers that Seamus has on his //Bag o' Tools// strikes scream control and can really mess with people.

Finally, in the control stakes Seamus has a nifty little spell called //Undead Psychosis// that targets one model within 12" and up to an additional 2 (depending on suits, but you will always get the second one due to Seamus' Ca) that cannot end a move within 3' of an undead model. If they are within 3" already they can only take movement actions until they are further away than 3" and if they can't do that then they must pass. This is great to use when you have control of an objective as you can play keep-off quite easily and can be absolutely devastating to Nicodem if you can get it off as there is not stipulation on friendly undead models, so it means he has to stay away from his own crew which can be quite hilarious. It is a situational spell but it is effective under the right circumstances.

=Totems= At the moment, Seamus has access to three totems: the Necrotic Machine, Grave Spirit and Copycat Killer, of which there are two that are suited to him most.

The Grave Spirit is a good totem for Seamus because it can make his already durable minions even more so by adding Armor +2. This works really well with Madame Sybelle or The Hanged.

The Copycat Killer is a fun little totem that carries around Seamus' //.50 Flintlock//, but he has a lower Cb and suffers damage when he takes a shot. He can provide a double threat, although he is unlikely to actually hit. He also has a neat mobility spell for Seamus which can prove handy. This totem is also required to complete Seamus' master specific scheme.

=Soulstones= Seamus starts with a paltry SS cache of 2 and really wants more, a lot more. Due to his middle of the road Cb and low Df, you will often find you are using stones to push your duel total higher. You really won't use your soulstones for healing due to how many abilities you already have that heal Seamus, but using them for damage prevention could be prudent especially when facing weapons with high weak damage and/or Companion chains. Recommended Soulstones for Seamus is 6-8, never going less than 5.

=Tricks and Tips= (with subheadings, usually referencing specific spells, abilities and important combos)


 * Flintlock Lure -** Pretty straightforward. Lure in enemy models with a Rotten Belle and blow them away with the flintlock. Simple, right? You might want to try and cast //Undress// with the Belle as it will make it much easier for Seamus to hit.


 * Focus/Channel -** Focusing helps to make up for Seamus' average Cb and the 2 AP cost is less of a drawback since he is //Fast//. Focus makes the //.50 Flintlock// more deadly by increasing your odds of both hitting and doing high damage. A focused flintlock followed by //Live for Pain// will often result in a dead model. Focusing also helps Seamus get off his //Slit Jugular// trigger. If you have a very wounded Seamus, channeling //Live for Pain// and cheating in severe for damage can heal him right up.

=Strategies and Schemes for Seamus=


 * A Line in the Sand [-]**


 * Claim Jump [-]**


 * Contain Power [-]**


 * Deliver a Message [Easy]**

Rotten Belles are great for luring in enemy masters. Field a couple of Belles and there should be no problem completing this strategy in the first four turns.


 * Destroy the Evidence [-]**


 * Distract [-]**


 * Escape and Survive [Easy to Moderate]**

Seamus' crew tends to be both resilient and adept at keeping out of an opponent's reach through mobility and using //Lure// on friendly models. Seamus' and Sybelle's Terrifying abilities also help keep enemies away. Beware ranged attacks though as your defenses are only low to average. Utilize cover to stay out of danger.


 * Plant Evidence [-]**


 * Reconnoiter [-]**


 * Slaughter [-]**


 * Supply Wagon [-]**


 * Treasure Hunt [Easy to Moderate]**

Seamus can make his Belles pretty quick, and they will likely reach the treasure before your opponent, especially if Madame Sybelle casts //Call Belle// or if Molly is in the crew. The issue then is getting the treasure back to the deployment zone. Seamus' and Molly's movement buffs don't work because you can't increase the walk speed of a model carrying the treasure. Lure doesn't work either since the treasure is dropped if the carrier is pushed. Your best bet is probably to hand off the treasure between Belles and using //Distract// to slow enemies heading over to stop you.


 * Turf War [-]**


 * Bodyguard -** This is a great scheme for Seamus since he is so difficult to kill and your opponent will have to decide early on whether to try and take him out. He's not invincible though and a concentrated effort by your opponent on an exposed Seamus could rob you of otherwise easy VP. Keep a Belle with him to //Lure// him out of trouble.

=Seamus in Brawls= As an all rounder he works well with all the other Resurrectionist masters and can really augment any of them although each in different ways.


 * McMourning:**


 * Nicodem:**


 * Kirai:**

=Building a Crew= Start off with Seamus' start box (see below), as it is really quite good and you will use it as a basis to expand from.

Rotten Belles - Come in the starter, good control and resilience Madame Sybelle - Comes in starter, resilient and provides a few tricks The Hanged - Build on Wp effects and durable, good damage output Canine Remains - Cheap, fast and can lower Wp with trigger Bete Noire - More control, reliable damage, has Slit Jugular trigger Crooked Man - Control, pairs well with Rotten Belles Necropunks - Cheap, fast
 * First Book**

Molly - Henchman, very good crew buffer (see Molly entry for more information) Onryo - Help covers weakness against Armor and Immune to Influence Guild Autopsies - Cheap, ranged attack, Wp effects vs living models Jack Daw - Character The Hanged, lots of rules combo well with other The Hanged
 * Rising Powers**

Dead Doxies - Belles with a ranged attack and that can be summoned by Seamus Carrion Effigy - Gets around immunities to morale and Wp duels, also lets you to use corpse counters to heal
 * Twisting Fates**

=Starting Seamus= The Seamus starter box ("The Red Chapel Gang"), is a really solid starter box, which contain Seamus, 3 Rotten Belles and Madame Sybelle (a unique Belle) and comes to a total of 18ss (which in a 20ss game gives him a cache of 4ss that is adequate for beginners). What you will find playing straight out of the box is that your crew can take a lot of punishment, but you don't generally inflict much back, which is something to look at with your next couple of purchases.

It is recommended to pick up a clamshell of The Hanged and the Grave Spirit totem, and then find out what else you like about Seamus. The addition of these models add to your high durability and feed off your Wp-based effects. In addition, The Hanged can cause a fair bit of damage with their spells.

An alternative first pickup would be Seamus' personal totem, The Copycat Killer. He is good fun and brings along a second .50 Flintlock to the table but at a lower Cb. He can increase damage output and provides a level of board control, as no one wants to be in range of yet another handcannon.

A clamshell of the Crooked Man would also help increase the board control that Seamus already has.

=Playing Against Seamus= Although Seamus is a well rounded Master he does struggle against a couple of types of crews/models.

Models with Armor - As the crew typically doesn't have a high damage output, Seamus really can struggle here. Models that aren't Living or Undead - A lot of Seamus' abilities rely on living and/or undead models being on the table, with a smaller presence of these you will feel his power level drop off, and while he is still good, he won't be operating at his peak. Models with //Immune to Influence// / high Wp / //Breach Psychosis// - Basically see above. Seamus' crew targets Wp A LOT, so if you have models with these attributes then do so, as they can really be a thorn in a Seamus player's side.

In most match ups you need to determine very early in the game if you are going to try to kill Seamus. //Hard to Wound 2//, //Hard to Kill// and healing everywhere makes it fairly hard to do, and while you're trying it you virtually aren't allowed to attack anything else in his crew. A couple of models can jump him fairly effectively: Lord Chompy Bits and Killjoy both have //Onslaught,// and can do it with the right control hand fairly easily. //Black Blood//, or other abilities that cause Wds can get around //Hard to Kill//, which makes the job a lot easier. In most situations you are better off devastating his crew than going after him.

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