Optimum Nicodem Summons?

[shekbo]

So as you all probably know by now, I'm a fairly avid Nicodem player, and I'm always looking for ways to maximize my success. I've been looking at all of his options for summoning, and I realize that at this point in the game he doesn't have a huge amount of options, when you consider that the most expensive figures (hanged, betty, etc.) are unavailable and the cheaper ones (doggies, necropunks) are not worth it. The way i figure, his viable summons are:

Punk Zombies
Belles
Crooked Men
Flesh Constructs (Require two corpses)
Steampunk Abominations (if you're running a desolation engine, to help him out)

So um... what's the best way to go? What situations have you used what figures in, and how's it gone? Thanks in advance for your help.

[chaosobscuros]

It depends a lot on the situation. I don't like to proxy, so I haven't tried out the Crooked Men or the SPAs yet.

With the difficulty in casting, I'm always looking for the biggest bang for the buck, so I usually go for a Flesh Construct as soon as possible. However, make sure that you don't get too many of them. I was up to 3 in one game, and simply activating them without Slow cost me half of my Fate hand each turn.

My favorite summons are the Punk Zombies. They are simply fantastic shock troops, and you can rarely go wrong bringing one up. Plus the +2 CB and Df that Bolster can give them make them insanely tough.

I rarely go for the Belles in a Nico list. I use them heavily in both Seamus and McMourning crews, but I really haven't found a click with them in my Nico crews.

Lastly, you mentioned that you wouldn't use a Necropunk, but I have summoned them to great effect in Treasure Hunt scenarios, and they also great in Rubble.

I am, however, completely with you on the
Canine Remains. I just can't bring myself to summon a 2SS model when I could have a Punk Zombie or a Flesh Construct for the same spell.

[ork56]

I guess it depends.....

if playing against Pandora, then the Crooked Men and blasts are the way to go, or for shafted denial if looking at scenarios

otherwise PZ are always a solid choice, FC if you are brimming with corpses, but I dont find this to be the case very often.

[DarkJeebs]

I rarely go for the Belles in a Nico list. I use them heavily in both Seamus and McMourning crews, but I really haven't found a click with them in my Nico crews.

Lure on Nico is fantastic to allow him to cast/move effectively!

[nilus]

Lure on Nico is fantastic to allow him to cast/move effectively!

Luring your enemies into Punk Zombies(so they can flurry) is also very effective.

Generally I only get a belle is I see a good place to use Lure. If I got one token I generally put out a Punk Zombie, if I get 2 then a Flesh Construct.

[Zee]

I'm a big fan of the Samurai Punks and the Flesh Constructs, though I believe the Belles are good as well.

I usually run 1 Belle with him, as an artillery puller for the crew. She can really pull targets into range so that you don't have to leave the Bolster Aura to get certain models.

[DangerousBeans]

I don't know, doggies can be justified. If you have one doggie left running about with treasure for instance then you can summon another so that they lose "insignificant". A necropunk would probably fare better right enough but it all depends on the situation.

It's usually punk zombies I summon, although belle's come in handy for getting Nic out of a tight spot.