The+Viktorias

include page="inc_1.5rules" The Viktorias, Outcasts Masters toc

=Overview = Two-for-One! The Viktorias (Viks) are the proverbial "Glass Cannon". But with great offensive ability comes great vulnerability - it's not just coincidence that they are the Red and Black Jokers in the Puppet Deck. (photo by andywatkins1963 on Flickr)

=Mobility= The Viks have a better than average walk, and one of the longest charge ranges in the game. With a 2" melee range, they have a normal threat range of 12" (//Walk, Walk, Melee Expert//) or 10" (with 2 strikes) on the charge.

//Sisters in Spirit// allows a Vik to spend 1 action to either swap places with the other Vik, or 'push' the other Vik to any position within 3" of herself. This increases their threat range up to 21" (Walk 5", call the other Vik to 3" ahead, base width 1", walk 5", walk 5", melee reach 2") and still make a melee attack using her //Melee Expert// action. Furthermore since it is an Ability (rather than a Spell) it won't fail at a critical juncture. The Student of Conflict increases this threat range to 26" through bestowing //Fast// onto either of the Viks. Depending on how the opponent plays, you will usually pull this off around turn 2-3. Counter-intuitively, it usually pays to lead with "Gun-Vik", as you will want to sling-shot "Sword-Vik" into melee.

While basically their only trick, this can surprise opponents. Be careful not to pull this off too early in the game as it can leave one Vik unsupported by other models and a little overexposed. If you have a nice Cache of Soulstones you can usually weather the storm and then pull back in your next turn if you have to. This is especially good if you get first turn and manage to reactivate the Swordmistress for another round of melee before using //Sisters in Spirit// to pull her out. Just remember that you can only //Companion// the Viks if they start their turn within 6" of each other, so even if you win the flip for initiative the Swordmistress Vik might have to wait for at least one set of opponent's activations.

Ranged Threat Range: 17" Melee Threat Range: 12" Sisters in Spirit Threat Range (melee): 21"

=Offense=

Sisters in Spirit
Bounty Hunter Vik is usually the delivery mechanism for the Swordmistress - it's usually better to get three paired weapon melee attacks than gain the charge bonus on the first of two. Sisters in Spirit requires some amount of planning as Viktoria can't use it to push to another Viktoria, only switch places. Alternatively, it can be used to push the non-activated Viktoria to the activated Vik, allowing the girls good mobility as they leapfrog across the table. If a single Vik is in a sticky situation, using the spell twice (first swap places, then call back the other sister who has replaced the activating model) can be an effective way to remove them.

This spell and successive combo requires a bit more work than //Sisters In Spirt// and it's Whirlwind Bomb, but the results can be devastating. As a (2)Spell with a CA 14 Ram+Mask this has a range of 18 pulse and can only be cast on Falling Back or Rallying model. The best way to pull this off is lead with a model that has Terrifying or causes a moral duel. In the Outcasts faction Killjoy, Jack Daw and the Friekorps Specialists can do this. The Friekorps Specialists has the best odds with his Flammenwerfer and the "You're Flammable" Tome trigger. A moderate/severe damage will let you lay down 2 blast templates increasing the models forced to take a moral duel. If any model fails it's morale duel then you'll have a target for the spell. If successfully cast then both Viks will be pushed within 2" of target model and may make a Masmune Nihonto Strike. If cast by Gun Vik you'll still have one free Melee Expert Strike, and Sword Vik will have up to 3 melee strikes, plus any Whirlwind Triggers. This spell can be cast on friendly models, and has no Resist. Leading with a Desperate Mercenary closer to the opposed table edge and flipping down Defense, Damage and Morale against the Flammenwerfer will produce a Manic Desperate Mercenary Falling back. This combo can sling shot your Viks 18"- 20" out of cover or a safer position into the fight with possibly 5 or more melee strikes not including Whirlwind Triggers.
 * Sisters In Victory**

Whirlwind
Whirlwind requires a Mask Trigger and allows a Vik to take an extra free strike against another model within melee range. With good cards and a few Masks in hand, the Swordmistress can bounce attacks back and forth between two or more models until there is only one left standing. With the Swordmistress' paired weapons, you would expect a Mask to come up on half your attacks. If you successfully strike an opponent in melee and they choose not to cheat, it can sometimes be worth cheating in a lower card which will give the Mask necessary to trigger Whirlwind.

Sisters in Battle
Although //Sisters in Battle// offers some great buffs (+2 Dg, +3 Combat Result, or attack flips receive +flip) to the Vik's offensive ability, it is at the expense of one less action, which is usually another attack (more if you have multiple targets and get the trigger for //Whirlwind//). If one of the Viks is not in combat, and for some reason you chose not to bring her in to join her sister with Sisters in Spirit, then she can still offer her support with this spell and, depending on the model you are targeting, you might decide to sacrifice one of the attacks for greater damage or a better chance to hit. The damage boost is quite commonly used, as it turns the minimum 9 Wounds (3 lots of weak damage) into 10 (2 lots of weak damage) even when cast by the Viktoria in combat.

Magical Weapon
Viks' swords are magical weapons and therefore deal full damage against Spirits.

Body Count
Allows you to draw an additional Control Card when a Viktoria kill another model.

One of the main tricks that you are going to want to pull is the Vik //Whirlwind// bomb. It is best delivered when the majority of the opponents models have activated, right into the middle of a group of opponent's models. With a handful of Masks and a pocketful of Soulstones you stand a good chance of killing any model in the game that either can't use Soulstones or has exhausted their Cache. As you bring down enemy models you draw extra cards from //Body Count//, which does two important things for you: it searches out extra Masks for you to use and it digs for Jokers. The longer the Whirlwind Bomb lasts the more unstoppable it becomes. If you are pitching your Soulstones against an opposing Master, then the odds are lengthened, but barring some of the nasty defensive spells that some Masters have access to, the safe bet would still be on the Viks taking them down.

=Resilience= With an average (for a Master) Df 6 the Viks are not very resilient and, aside from their mobility, don't have any notable defense buffs. Though their total wounds (14) are more than any other single model in the game, 7 Wounds each puts them very much on the low end for a Master. They are most effective when right in the face of the opponent, which can leave them vulnerable, but there are a few things you can do to maximize their staying power.

Melee range
The Vik's melee range is 2", which is longer than most models. If attacking a model with a melee of 1" always position yourself more than 1" away. The opposing model cannot shoot you as they are within melee and must waste one action moving towards you before they can try and hit you.

Soulstone Use
A reason for taking a large cache is to allow for healing flips when necessary. The best way to avoid taking damage is to kill everything in range.

Another One
The ultimate last resort, //Another One// uses a Ronin to replace a dead Viktoria. It costs 2 Soulstones, and requires a 13 of Masks or Rams. If you haven't got the card in your hand then you'll need a high card and a 3rd Soulstone, to pull it off reliably. This would be great if the Ronin was on its final wound (maybe through //Hard to Kill//). Whether it is preferable to use 2 (or 3) Soulstones for Another One as opposed to 2 (or 3) healing flips will be dependent on the situation. This is especially true since a well timed sacrifice of said Ronin can net you 2 Soulstones.

=Soulstones= Although there are clearly other ways to play the Viks, if they are going to do the heavy lifting in their crew then they will make good use of a healthy Soulstone Cache. Swordmistress Vik with her paired weapons stands a good chance of getting a straight flip on the damage, especially if boosted with a Soulstone, and that will cause 6 Wounds - enough to kill many models in one hit, and there are few that can stand up to a sustained onslaught.

Another One
To pull this off with any reliability it is worth keeping back 3 Soulstones and a high Mask or Ram. Even with the third Soulstone, the spell can't be guaranteed (Black Joker anyone?), so if you do have the 13 of Masks or Rams and the game is going against you then you might want to keep it back.

=Tricks and Tips= One of the beauties of the Viks crew is that they don't really have a lot of tricks. What they do, they do really well and there isn't a great deal of need to change it.

=Strategies and Schemes for the Viktorias=

Strategies
None of the Strategies on the Core Encounter Chart are particularly difficult for a Viks crew, with the Viks and ubiquitous Ronin providing good mobility.

Slaughter very much complements their play style, and might be your first choice should you flip a Joker. Dominating the center of the table to claim Reconnoiter or another region of the table for Claim Jump can work well, as your opponent will probably have to close into melee range to shift your models from the goal. Destroy the Evidence and Treasure Hunt can distract from what the Viks are really good at (killing stuff!) but the Ronin, with their nice movement buffs and Hard to Kill, can make good models to send after objectives, especially as they are Harmless if they don't attack another model. With Sisters in Spirit, Deliver a Message is a very nice Strategy as it allows you to commit to battle, and start tearing up your opponent's crew and claim a bunch of VPs while you're about it.

Schemes
Choosing the best schemes is much harder, and will be very much dependent on terrain, opposing faction and the Strategy you have already flipped.
 * **First Blood:** The Viks' own scheme. Just make sure the first two models killed are your opponent's. Although you can easily have an entire crew with Peacebringers and take out an early model with shooting, this isn't where the Viks shine, and you can lose a model early to mass return fire (especially with an obeyed Nino). With the Viks' mobility, it isn't too difficult to drop a Whirlwind bomb on a couple of exposed models, but watch out for where this leaves your potentially vulnerable Masters. This works well with Assassinate, Kill Protegee, Grudge or even Extermination (all of which require you to pick out specific models to kill).
 * **Bodyguard:** Particularly easy for the Viktorias. As long as at least one Viktoria (either original or one summoned via "Another One") is on the table then you will score the points. Announcing this scheme might encourage a rash opponent to send in his heavy hitters, which is usually just where the Viks want them to be!

If you place objective markers near specific terrain, then Stake a Claim or Breakthrough can complement an aggressive approach (whether this is a good idea if the opponent has chosen Hold Out will depend on how confident you are).

Hold Out is quite easy for the Viks. They can usually deal with anything trying to cross their lines. Against highly mobile crews, leave a Ronin back to deal with a threat.

With the option to sacrifice Ronin with //Sepuku// or bring back either a Ronin (through //Always for Hire//) or a Vik, you have some options to manipulate the number of models you have on the table, making Eye for an Eye a little bit easier, but this can still be difficult against a good player.

Ronin would also be a good target for Frame for Murder, as with their //Run Through// and //Next Target//, they can usually get through the enemy line to a Master lurking in the back, and can potentially do enough damage that the Master cannot afford to ignore them (especially if the Master is low on Soulstones). If you can't decide, and are worried that it might be a close game then you can simply choose to stop the opponent achieving their Schemes, with Thwart. This can give you a start of 1 VP if they don't announce any schemes, but the vast majority of players do seem to declare their Schemes for maximum points.

Gather Soulstones is not a great choice for the Viks as they usually have much better things to do with Soulstones than hoard them. In fact, it is worth remembering that you can choose to take an extra 2 Soulstones rather than a Scheme, as this might be worth considering if buying your crew has exhausted your Soulstones, leaving you with a low cache.

=Viktorias in Brawls= In a brawl, the Viks can team up with any other Master, but lose 5 Soulstones from the starting total. In terms of crew identity and crew building, they will always be Merceneries joining the crew of another faction. If you want to maintain a Viks-led crew, then other than Som'er Tooth, you will need to choose the Henchman Von Schill. This can be a great choice for the Viks. Taking a Henchman rather than a Master gives you an additional 10 Soulstones to play with (rather than losing 5). Von Schill and the Freikorps Trapper give ranged ability which can be lacking in a Viks crew, and the Freikorps Librarian with its healing ability potentially affects both Viktorias, each time it is cast.

=Building a Crew= Although the Viks will likely do a lot of the work, choosing the rest of the models in the crew and making the best use of each of these will be key to success.

Student of Conflict The totem is really only useful to give one of the Viks //Fast// with its //Assist// action. It can be great to give a quick start, but as //Assist// is an //(All)// action with a range of 6". The Student tends to get left behind, and so doesn't tend to cast Assist on one of the Viks more than once or twice a game. If you want to use a Student you need to have something on the backline that the Student is going to support; this will probably be either a Convict Gunslinger or Hans. The Student can also facilitate a very nice synergy with the Freikorps Librarian (see below). With //Nimble,// Von Schill can swing by to pick up Fast, but he doesn't want to stand there for very long. If the Student is left to his own devices at the end of the game he has combine efforts to assist with strategies.

Ronin One of the most popular choices in a competitive Viks crew. They have the speed (ignoring penalties for hindering terrain) and melee range to complement the Viks nicely in combat. With //Hard to Kill// they have some resilience, and can be sent out ahead as bait to set up a counter-charge for the Viks. Keeping one Ronin back for //Another One// is one way to support an aggressive playing style which will see your Master taking a lot of hits.

Freikorps Librarian A popular choice with the Viks, as Furious Casting along with Healing Energy allows both Viks to make 3 healing flips, as long as one is within the 8" range. Just watch out as the Librarian at a 7 Soulstones ccost ould easily be the most expensive model in your crew, and therefore more likely targeted by your opponent if they take Kill Protegee. This is especially true if your opponent knows how effective the Librarian can be at buffing the Viks. Block Connection may give some protection against magic heavy crews, but if the Librarian is being held back in a supporting role then the 8" range on her spells can be a limiting factor. One way to play the Librarian is to hold one Vik in the backfield within range of the Librarian. Use Sisters in Spirit to switch the Viks in and out of melee while healing them both and turbo-charging one of the girls each turn.

Taelor Probably one of the most useful models in the Viks boxset, Taelor can add some resilience to the crew. With a 3" melee range your opponent is an absolute fool to let her make combat. She can engage half a crew at once, and if she does so it takes them more than a turn to deal with her, as they need to close before they can strike. With Cb 7 it's nigh impossible for opponents to escape her melee range. On any Strategy that requires you to develop board position, this should give you enough time to win the game. Also, against some of Hoffman's constructs the Relic Hammer is amazing for neutralizing their excessive armor.

Von Schill Expensive, but does some very good things for the crew. Contain Power becomes an impossible Strategy for your opponent. Von Schill has //Slow to Die// and //Use Soulstones//, making him difficult to kill, and with a Librarian in tow, he is never going to die. His Clockwork Seeker greatly improves your ability to complete First Blood, as it gives the crew some depth in its ability to control the game at range. This means that your opponent will try to close with you, which reduces the amount that you need to stretch in order to land the Viks in combat, leading to you landing more melee attacks. He provides much needed durability to the crew and a level of tactical flexibility that is often invaluable. He also has high mobility that complements the Viktorias quite nicely.

Hamelin Another expensive model (SS wise), but what he brings is support and manipulation. He is almost the foil to the Viktorias as he is subtle where they are as subtle as a house brick being thrown through a window. Remember you can Obey your own models, so you can speed up models like Taelor to get into combat quicker or make models like Hans or the Freikorps Trapper take another shot at long range, much like what Perdita does with Nino in the Guild.

Misaki An odd Minion that has some interesting perks. She gives you some control hand diversification, which you might otherwise lack, good spells on Tomes and Rams, and a good Ram trigger. Misaki brings threats to the table that are different to what you are going to get most of the time.

=Starting with the Viktorias= Although the Viktorias boxset has some nice models (Taelor, Bishop and Johan), which you might play alongside the Viks, many competitive Viks crews aren't based on the boxset. You can't go far wrong with just the Viks, 3x Ronin (another single blister pack) and then a Convict Gunslinger, which will bring your total to 20 points. With no Soulstone Cache included, you have pay for every one, but you can make full use of the maximum 8 Soulstones that you are allowed to take, bringing your crew up to 28 points. The Student of Conflict, a totem, at 3 points will let you play up to 30 points, but it is of questionable benefit. You might get better use out of a Desperate Mercenary (2 points).

Play style is pretty straightforward. Set up a charge and wade in to kill anything. Suffer if you don't. So they are an easy route into the game which remains pretty competitive even at higher points totals. They will struggle to win against some of the tricky Neverborn crews, but that doesn't mean they will be a pushover either.

=Playing Against the Viks=

Threat range
Don't get caught out in the open. Although there are several Masters with high mobility, most of them use their mobility to avoid combat rather than dive straight in. If you can, block charge lanes so that the Viks can only reach a single lesser model (which they will likely kill), setting them up for ranged attacks or a counter charge by your heavy hitters.

Grouping
The Viks like nothing better than charging into a position between two or more models up to 5" apart to set up a //Whirlwind//. Judicious placement of models can make this harder to pull off. Ronin can also take advantage of models positioning with their Next Target and Run Through abilities. As previously stated, the best tactic against this is probably to tempt the Vik player with an isolated target for a charge, which is far enough away from other models to restrict their ability to activate additional triggers. Unusually, the best protection for a Master or critical model threatened by the Viks is not to pair it up with another model, allowing them to trigger Whirlwind, but to make sure protective models are far enough away to stay out of the Viks' melee range (while being within range for their own counter charge).

Activation Order
Few Masters are thrust into the thick of the action like the Viks, so they are likely to try and activate late in the early turns to minimize the chance of a counter charge. Once in combat they will want to activate early to remove models before they can strike back. The Viks do not really have many models to choose for their crew that cost less than 5 Soulstones. With them paying for every Soulstone in their Cache, they usually have less to spend on their crew, and can easily be outnumbered, giving activation control to their opponent. Just because you can activate first (through //Companion,// etc.) it's not always to your advantage, and it might be better to try and hold back some of your more powerful models until after the Viks have activated. Viks like nothing better than activating last for a devastating charge, and a 50:50 chance of a second activation before the opponent gets the chance to respond.

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