M2E+Sonnia+Criid


 * Sonnia Criid, Guild Master**

=__Overview__= Sonnia Criid is the Lady of Flame, head of the Witch Hunters, and one of the best casting damage dealers in the game. She specializes in ranged attacks that put down lots of Blasts, and hitting anything that is **Burning**. Her upgrades let her move from mostly blaster to board control or summoner, but even with them, most Action Points will be spent on making things die from far away.

In theme, Sonnia is the Guild's specialist in hunting down Arcanists, and she does indeed have many ways to hurt spellcasters. In this theme, she also has a special bonus against any high-Wp targets.

Her default playstyle is to send out Witchlings to set things on fire, and then sit back and burn her enemies to ashes.

Sonnia is available in both metal and plastic box sets. Both box sets include Sonnia, Samael Hopkins, and three Witchling Stalkers. The plastic set also includes the Purifying Flame Totem.

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=__Mobility__=

Sonnia does not have a lot of mobility out of the box. She has one of the slower Walk values in the game, and her initial crew doesn't come with any movement tricks to help. Luckily, she doesn't need a lot of movement as her spell has a 14" range. You will still spend far more of your early turns trying to get into a useful position than you would like if you're not careful at deployment.

Francisco Ortega, already a very strong option for Sonnia due to his **El Mayor** ability (when he activates, he boosts the Df and Wp of a model within 2" by +2), can be even better for her with his **Hermanos des Armas** upgrade. This lets him take a (0) action that pulls target model within 5" into base to base with him, meaning she's in position to benefit from El Mayor again next turn.

The Judge can help Sonnia with her mobility issues with **Stand for Judgement**; however this requires The Judge to be ahead of where you want Sonnia to be.

Death Marshals can put Sonnia in their **Pine Boxes** to help her move into position a little faster, navigate difficult terrain (Death Marshals have **Unimpeded**) and keep her safe while they are at it. On a terrain heavy board, this can be an attractive option, but on these boards it's normally better to keep her out of sight and use her crew to hand out Burning so she can cast without worrying excessively about the counterattack.

Guild Austringers can give a model a 2" push and interact with **Deliver Orders**, but there are often more important things for Austringers to be doing than scooting a Master around to make up for her low movement stats. = =

=__Offense__=

Sonnia has a lot of abilities and attacks that synergize well together. Utilizing your attacks to make the most of this, alongside crafty crew selection will allow Sonnia to shine.

__Abilities__

 * Pyrokinesis** allows Sonnia to move the initial Blast Marker of any Blast up to 2" away from the target of the ability that produced the Blast instead of in base contact with it. This includes vertical movement, but all models in the Blast Markers must be within Line of Sight of the model that was initially hit (not Sonnia) in order to take damage. This ability can really increase the range on Sonnia's **Flameburst** attack and allow you to pick out models that are trying to stay hidden.


 * Ancient Runes** gives Sonnia a Positive Flip for her Casting Actions against models with high Willpower. This usually means that higher cost models and Masters are easier to hit with **Flameburst** and cannot hide in Cover even if the aren't **Burning**. In unison with her other abilities it also means you don't have to cheat quite as often to hit valuable models.


 * Visions of Flame** is where Sonnia really starts to come together with **Pyrokinesis** and other models in her crew - if the target has **Burning** on it, any Attack Action ignore Line of Sight and Cover. This ability relies on **Flameburst** having triggered //Consuming Flame,// or on other models handing out **Burning** to allow Sonnia to throw down the hurt without exposing herself to retaliation. Witchling Stalkers, Witchling Handlers and the Freikorps Specialist are all 'must haves' in some degree to make the most out of Sonnia's **Visions**. The Purifying Flame (Sonnia's Totem) is also capable of adding **Burning** to models with its attack actions, although don't expect it to last long in melee! Further to this, the Flame's Ranged Casting Action requires a Ram and Tome to trigger //Cataclysm// (although the Ram is built in), which begs the question, do you want to cheat in your tomes for your Totem or your Master?

Sonnia has 2 (0) Tactical Actions in her arsenal which affect both her offense and defense:

The first is **Confiscated Lore**. By discarding one Soulstone or two cards, Sonnia can gain the condition **Quick Study** to boost her Ca, Df or Wp by 2. Offensively, this can be used to boost her Ca statistic to make her spells a lot easier to cast, and consequently, harder to resist! Using this, she has one of the highest Ca values in the game and can even hit the likes of Lilith or Perdita with ease.

Her second Tactical Action, **Inferno**, is a Casting Action that applies the **Flaming Demise** condition to her. This is similar to the Witchling Stalker's ability **Explosive Demise** in that if Sonnia is killed, she does 6 damage to all models within 3" of her. As with **Explosive Demise**, **Flaming Demise** affects __ALL__ models, friend or foe. In addition, **Flaming Demise** does 3 damage to all models within 3" when the Condition ends (at the end of the Turn, or when some other model ends it). Although seemingly attractive if Sonnia is surrounded in melee, this Action really is a double-edged sword, putting your own crew in danger if they come in to help their Master - a clever opponent can Push or **Lure** your own models into the danger zone. Also, because her (0) Actions are mutually exclusive, you sacrifice your defense buffs if you go for **Inferno**, likely making it Sonnia's last action in the game. You could use a Stalker's **Dispel Magic** to set up a bombing run with Sonnia, though.



__Attacks__
Sonnia has two base attack actions; a strong, long-ranged spell and an equally respectable melee attack:

__Ranged__
If you need those Blasts, **Focussing** this spell is a good idea, although her high Ca is usually enough to get Moderate Dg often.
 * Flameburst** is a Ranged Projectile Attack with a 14" range and does multiple Blasts on everything but Weak damage. The Ca value is very high and can get to ridiculous with **Confiscated Lore**. With that Positive flip against high Wp targets, no model can evade this spell for long. It targets Defense, and requires a Tome (the Ram is built in) to trigger //Consuming Flame// which adds the **Burning** condition to anyone who was damaged. And so the **Burning** synergy starts to add up! Note that you can try to shoot around corners because models hit by Blasts only need line of sight to the target, not to Sonnia.

__Melee__
The **Runed Blade** is Sonnia’s only Melee Attack, with a range of 2"; it has an average Ml, high average Damage, and automatically triggers the //Absorb Magic// trigger due to the built-in Ram. //Absorb Magic// allows Sonnia to heal 1 damage and draw 1 card for each Ram in the final duel total - note that you do need to damage for this trigger to activate.

=__Resilience__=

Sonnia has a healthy number of Wounds and the defensive trigger //Reflect Magic// on both Df and Wp; it only works against Ca Attacks that fail and needs a Ram and Mask (Ram built in). She also has a small self-heal built into her Melee Attack, which is useful, but not anything to rely on to save her skin. Needless to say, unless you plan on keeping Sonnia hidden behind terrain or other models, she may need a little help in the Defense department!

First of all, as discussed above, **Confiscated Lore** can be used to boost Sonnia's Df and Wp, very useful in a pinch, but shouldn't be considered to be a base defensive ability due to the fact that you need to discard resources to use it, and may well want to use it for its Ca boost. If using this to boost Wp or Df, be wary of any models that can remove this condition from her before she gets to make the most of her new boosted stat! Also note that you may want to activate her early to keep her safe this way, which disrupts her **Burning** trickery to some degree.

It's also worth a mention that **Flame Wall** from Cherufe's Imprint can be used defensively to protect Sonnia by blocking Line of Sight to her. Counting as Height 5 as well as Impassable and Blocking, the **Flame Wall** is a dangerous and tactical piece to bring to bear on your opponent - blocking Line of Sight to your more vulnerable models, particularly if you need to buy time to drop Scheme Markers.

Looking at Sonnia's Upgrades, she does have a lot of Defensive options, although most are specifically directed at Casting Actions (see below).

Obviously, don't forget about using Soulstones to boost your Df and add a Negative Flip to your opponents Damage Flip, as well as using them for Damage Prevention. Remember: you can also discard a card to declare a **Defensive Stance** Action if you are anticipating your opponent to give Sonnia a lot of attention.

=__Upgrades__=

Sonnia has a lot of choice with her upgrades; in general you will feel spoiled for choice but lack the Soulstones and Upgrade slots to take everything you want. Some of her Upgrades have more than one ability which only adds to her flexibility, and most are cheap so nothing prevents you from taking a lot of them.

__Personal Upgrades__
The Cherufe's Imprint upgrade gives Sonnia a potentially devastating ability in the form of the **Flame Wall** Tactical Action. This is a Casting Action with a 12" range and produces two 50mm Flame Wall Markers which must be placed within Line of Sight and touching each other and at least 1" away from any models and Markers. (note that this means you can place them exactly 1" from models.) These markers block Line of Sight and are Impassable. They are great to block charges or shooting (remember that Sonnia has ways to look through these) or hinder the opponents movement. In addition to its tactical implications, **Flame Wall** will also do damage to anyone within 1" on Sonnia's next activation of if Sonnia is removed from play. **Flame Wall** only lasts until Sonnia's next activation and can only be cast once per Activation - however, if taking the Malifaux Child as Sonnia's Totem, the Child can cast **Flame Wall** as part of its **Just Like You!** Action - 2 **Flame Walls** in play at once!
 * __Cherufe’s Imprint__**

Also, Cherufe's Imprint offers up some situational defense against enemy Masters and Henchmen in the guise of **Dampening**. This ability gives Sonnia a 3" Aura that prevents enemy models from using Soulstones. If both engagement ranges are 2" or less it's also great to blast people without them Preventing the damage. A very powerful ability, but with limited range.

Counterspell Aura gives Sonnia access to an additional Ability and Attack Action, both of which should be considered Defensive. First of all, **Counterspell Aura** removes any suits associated with enemy Casting Actions aimed at models within 3". As a passive ability it's quite nice, but does rely on your models being clumped. Especially against Ca blasters (looking at you, Rasputina) sacrificing his triggers for blasting into your crew might not be a hard choice for the enemy at all! Remember checking TNs: **Pine Box** get's difficult against your models, and **Lures** are impossible if not used by a Soulstone user. Also, remember that enemies casting on their own models near you lose their suits, too.
 * __Counterspell Aura__**

The second Action is **Grounded Magic**, an aggressive action with a 10" range opposed by Wp which gives the target the **Grounded** condition and a little damage. **Grounded** forces the model to discard two cards after declaring a Ca Action; if they cannot do this, the Action fails. This can seriously hamper Ca heavy models like many Resurrectionist or Arcanist Masters. It doesn't end at the end of turn, too!

This upgrade adds the **Cherufe's Shackle** Attack Action which is directed on an enemy model, resisted by Wp. The effected model gains the following condition __until the end of the game__: **Everburning** - this model does not remove the **Burning** Condition at the end of the Turn, although it suffers damage as normal. This is a fantastic upgrade that ties in perfectly with her built-in abilities, leaving **Everburning** models nowhere to hide from Sonnias **Visions**. It's a good ability against tanky models who you just cannot kill in one activation (or for your last AP to mark a target for the next turn). However, often you will get similar results by just throwing one more Fireball in their faces.
 * __The Mask__**

This Upgrade shines if you want to run Sonnia as a summoning Master (and why wouldn't you?) as it allows you to turn models killed while **Burning** into new Witchling Stalkers via the **Violation of Magic** ability.This only works within a range or 10" and costs a Soulstone or two cards, but is well worth a look if you like the idea of turning your enemies against themselves! Note that the Stalkers come in at full health (although **Slow**). That Sonnia doesn't need any Markers or other resources and can even summon out of her Activation, and that she does it by killing people (which you will be doing anyway), makes her one of the best summoners in the game.
 * __Reincarnation__**

A quirky interaction happens if Leveticus or Bete Noir are reduced to 0 Wds while **Burning** and near Sonnia: As **Violation of Magic** doesn't need models to be KILLED, you can summon a Stalker before they get buried and heal.

__Witch Hunter Upgrades__
This confers the **Disrupt Magic** Ability to all friendly Witch Hunter models which penalizes enemy Ca Actions with a Negative Flip if they are within 4". If your Witch Hunters will get into the enemies face (or vice versa) this is a great ability to have, and it gets better the more Witch Hunters you have. It's even better against models who attack in close combat using their Ca stat (like Hanged or Pandora). One of your Witch Hunters should always consider this upgrade, and it's not bad on Sonnia herself since she is more resilient than most of the other Witch Hunters; remember that all of them will lose this ability if the model with the upgrade dies.
 * __Disrupt Magic__**

__General Guild Upgrades__
Badge of Office, while expensive, can offer Sonnia a chance at survival by reducing all damage to 1 at the cost of discarding this Upgrade. The temptation to hang onto this Upgrade and save it for a big hit to help offset its cost can be strong, but as it is a one-shot item use it wisely! You can only play this if you don't want to use Reincarnation, and she usually needs her upgrade slots for other things. Decide how important Sonnia is for your game plan before taking this.
 * __Badge of Office__**

__**Vengeance Bullet**__ No Sh attacks on Sonnia (although all her models carry a pistol). Nothing to see here.

__**Dampening Field**__ A very thematic choice. Sadly, it's a (0) action, and Sonnia likes her own (0) actions. Worth a consideration, though, if you face models like Sebastian.

__**Expert Sleuth**__ The initiative bonus can be very good in a tight spot, and the (0) can free Sonnia from melee. It only works well if something like Breakthrough is in the pool, as Sonnia usually doesn't reach the opponent's half.

Not a bad upgrade per se, but Sonnia's upgrade slots tend to be too valuable.
 * __Plant Evidence__**

While of debatable value this upgrade can still offer Sonnia a way to further buff her Df and Wp at the cost of discarding Soulstones, or an outright 2 point heal at the cost of the Upgrade itself. The cost is very high, though. Not recommended.
 * __Thalarian Stone__**

=__Tactics and Tips__= Sonnia's default tactic is to send out Witchling Stalkers and use them to put **Burning** on models. Samael Hopkins, the Purifying Flame and the Freikorps Specialist also have the ability to put **Burning** on models, and then she and/or Samael use **Visions of Flame** to target them for attack.

Sonnia is a terribly good summoner (and the only one in the Guild). To summon she only has to drop cards or Soulstones when a **Burning** model dies near her. She doesn't need her AP for it, no high cards or specific Suits and no Corpse or Scrap Markers. If an enemy dies, you get a fully healed Witchling Stalker. It's comparatively easy to outnumber the opponent by Turn 3 if you can deal out enough **Burning**. Note that the **Burning** from her trigger is applied after the enemy is removed per the FAQ, so you cannot set up **Violation of Magic** with her own fireballs (at least not in one attack).

Remember that Sonnia doesn't NEED **Burning** on a model before she attacks it. Ancient Runes lets her ignore Cover reasonably well without it. If you have a Tome (or use a Soulstone), she can set up her own attacks easily: Target a model she can see, trigger //Consuming Flame// and blast around corners at the intended target.

Sonnia is a bit tricky in her activation order. If she is under some pressure (say, from the onset of Turn 2), she likes to get her Df or Wp buff before the enemy starts taking shots at her. On the other hand, she likes to activate when her crew has spread a little **Burning** around so she can see enough targets or strategically place her **Flame Wall**. This means she usually goes second or third although the situation at hand may call for other possibilities, of course. If she's tied up in melee, this decision becomes easy: Activate early!

=__Leading a Crew__=

Strategies and Schemes
Like all Masters, Sonnia can win with any Strategy or Schemes. She does not have tremendous speed for Scheme Marker running, but is good at hunting down enemy models and controlling territory.

Building a Crew[[image:Box_Sonnia.png align="right"]]
Sonnia is not the most self-reliant leader but her synergies are easy to set up. Her default play style is to sit back and hurl fire at enemies while her crew accomplishes Schemes and sets up her attacks. If you aim at this style you'll need a lot of cheap road blocks to keep the enemy from reaching Sonnia. Ranged attacks that light people up make it easier, too. The Witchling Handler is a great support piece for this style.

If you want her to play combat summoner, Sonnia will have to play a bit more forward. That is not a bad thing as it also makes target selection easier. Just consider that she goes down fast when a beater reaches her: You should probably invest in a bodyguard. The Guardian, Francisco Ortega and Sidir Alchibal are all good choices for this role.

Sonnia is very good at spreading damage around but she struggles against tanky models. To take care of these, a dedicated damage dealer is needed. The Guild generally has a lot of options in this department. Executioner and Peacekeeper are good choices, but all the Henchmen (except Dashel, perhaps) fit the bill, too. Samael Hopkins is the obvious choice, but Francisco Ortega can double tap as Sonnia's bodyguard, while The Judge helps Sonnia's mobility.

Sonnia's initial box set is wonderful with her.

Samael Hopkins has an upgrade to put burning on at range, and has the same targeting ability to hit things out of LOS with no cover if they are burning. He also has a lot of single target damage that will kill most Minions and many Enforcers in a single turn, from full damage. If they are **Burning**, it is even better.

Witchling Stalkers exist to put the **Burning** +1 down. They have terrible movement, but anything they do to you that damages a model puts **Burning** on it, including die. This means that Sonnia and Sam can hit it regardless of what cover it hides behind.

Outside of the Box Crew

Franciso Ortega brings a much needed melee model to your crew, with the ability to tie down other models. He also brings a nice Df boost if he starts within 2" of a model, and can get models out of melee. He does not add burning to your crew, but did you really need another model for that?

Guild Austringers add a nice ranged action to put down Scheme markers. Most of Sonnia's crew aren't great at that, so this is a big deal.

Death Marshals are going to be used first and foremost as objective grabbers in this crews, and possibly to transport Sonnia in their first few rounds using their pine box. They are especially good if the board has a lot of severe terrain because Sam is the only member of her core crew with the ability to move normally on severe terrain.

Witchling Handlers have a **(0) Burn Them, Burn Them All!** action that grants nearby units **Burning +1** if they are attacking models with 10" and LOS. This gives Sonnia a lot of versatility as she can get a lot of units that confer the **Burning** condition. They also speed up Witchling Stalkers which is a great thing all by itself.

The Freikorps Specialist is a good investment. He can put ranged **Burning** down with no cover, is fairly survivable, and has okay movement. He is hired as a mercenary at +1 Soulstone cost, but he is worth it.

=__Playing Against Sonnia__=

Shoot the Witchling Stalkers, or otherwise take them out at range. Don't let them close on your big models, and don't use your big models to kill them. Focus on Sam and Sonnia. Many of the models Sonnia will bring have difficulty getting a lot of movement. Any scheme or strategy that requires movement will put her at a disadvantage, and anything you can do to impede that movement makes it worse.

Don't bunch up if you're facing Sonnia. She has a lot of mass attacks. If you have high mobility, spread out and focus on Schemes, as Sonnia really likes to punish you with Blasts if you bunch up. The Witchling Stalker's death throes, and Sonnia's blasts are all best against models close together.

Don't throw stray **Ca** attacks against Sonnia. Her counterattack is very dangerous if you fail, so you should only attempt these attacks if you're sure you can win.

Bring something that can engage her. She is not bad in melee, but she is a terror at range.

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