Neverborn on a budget

[nix]

I really liked the Guild thread that is similar to this (http://www.wyrd-games.net/showthread...ld-on-a-budget) and contributed some thoughts there. Based on some feedback I figured I would jump in over here as well.

Neverborn is much tougher to find an "on a budget" easy path into in my opinion, unlike guild where many of the models work well across different masters. Neverborn has a couple models that work incredibly in most situations, then become very compartmentalized as you dig deeper.

I also collect and play Neverborn in a different fasion that how I approach Guild. With that in mind, I figured I would look at what I typically have out on the table:

Lilith:
I am not a big Lilith player, although I played her a fair amount to start. I do not have a typical Lilith crew, but if I were to dig for a common one I would start with:

Lilith
Puking Snake or Arcane Effigy
Twins
Tuco
Tots
1 desperate mercenary

Dreamer:
I love Dreamer and I think his stuff is fairly well contained. Crews would include a mix of:

Dreamer/LCB
2 - 3 Day Dreams
Coppelius
Twins
1 - 2 Stitched
3 - 4 Night Terrors

Zoraida:
My preference with Zoraida is a grow list. Its also really straight forward, but fairly model intensive. There are lots of ways to play Zoraida, the grow list is just my favorite.

Zoraida
Voodoo Doll
1-3 Wicked Dolls
3 Tots
2 Young
2 Mature
Nekima
2 Desperate Merc's

Pandora:
There are so many ways to build a Pandora crew its silly. Pandora works so well as a "Super Solo" that as long as she has a solid crew behind her the game becomes a double threat. For a "Basic" Pandora crew I would look at:

Pandora
Puking Snake or Arcane Effigy
Twins
Tuco
Doppelganger

Collodi:
I really like Collodi as well. I think he works great under both Lilith and Zoraida. His box-set is incredibly well contained and then the effigies are great. My order of preference for Collodi is:

Collodi
4 Marrionettes
2 Stitched
3 Wicked Dolls
Brutal Effigy
Mysterious Effigy
Arcane Effigy
Hodgepodge Effigy
Carrion Effigy

So what would my buy list look like if I was getting into Neverborn as a new player. This is a tough thing to answer for me because I think it has a lot to do with Asthetic. In addition, everything will potentially get turned upside-down once the new book is released. With that said, I would approach it this way:

First, Pick 2 masters I like from the following sections:

• Either Dreamer or Pandora
• Either Zoraida or Lilith

If Dreamer, I would make the following a single purchase:

• Dreamer Box Set
• Day Dream blister
• 2 blisters Night Terrors

If Pandora, buy the Alternate Pandora model.

For Zoraida and Lilith, I would grab them both at the same time with the following purchase:

• Alternate Zoraida
• Voodoo Doll Blister
• Lilith Starter box
• Young Nephilim Blister
• Mature Nephilim blister
• 2 Desperate Mercenary Blisters

After this, my order of purchase would probably be as follows:

• Collodi Box Set
• Puking Snake
• Twins (Lelu and Lilitu at the same time, 2 blisters)
• Tuco
• Brutal Effigy
• Arcane Effigy
• Doppelganger
• Nekima
• Mysterious Effigy
• Avatar Zoraida
• Hodgepodge Effigy
• Carrion Effigy

Now, I know there are specific models missing from this list that I expect people will comment on.

• Slurids - I do not use Slurids but I hear they are good
• Hooded Rider - I have not used the Hooded Rider much. He is good but not in my immediate list as I feel the above choices are better than he is
• Kade - I love Baby Kade, and would pick him up somewhere along the way. He would not be an immediate focus however.
• Black Blood Shaman - I know lots of people that use the BBS with their grow lists. I use Nekima because in my experience she works better than the shaman.

At this time, there are models that I do not see on the table.... ever really. They may pop up in a non-serious game but certainly its incredibly rare:

• Alps - the errata really made these guys questionably-useful at best
• Sorrows - they can be interesting with Pandora, but not great.
• Cherub & Poltergeist - There are uses for these totems, but they are very specific and not useful enough for putting in a general buy list.

So, those are just my opinions, take them how you will.

[Korrosion]

• Alps - the errata really made these guys questionably-useful at best

How often if ever do you bring out an alp from copelious?

[nix]

I have brought out a total of 1 alps 1 time from Coppelius since the Errata. It was a bad move, as the eyeball would have been better served to provide Coppelius healing at a later turn.

I really liked the Alps, but making them insignificant really hurt their usefulness.

[Boshea]

Solid stuff nix. Confirms a lot of conclusions I had with Neverborn. Mainly with Lilith, Dreamer, and Collodi needing specific purchases and Zoraida/Pandora working well with almost anything.

[Malersatz]

As an alternate consideration Zorida can hire models from across the range so in my opinion could be given higher newbie consideration depending on what drew the player to the game initially, especially if they are more of a collector type. The whole "3 starters 3 blisters" idea really is too restricting as neverborn really are more of a progression faction when you get into them.

I like most of what Nix had to say except his points on Pandora/Sorrows, but that's a discussion for another thread.

I would say start with a Zorida or Colladi crew as they will teach you a broader spectrum of the game from movement shinnanigans to board/deck control. They also synergize well so that's a bonus.

If you wanted to go a different route Dreamer really is not as hard to learn as people make him out to be, especially due to resources like PullMyFinger and Karn's tactica. The models you take in his crews synergize well with most of the other masters also depending on your preferences on how to run masters but are a good addition to most crews outside of a grow list.

I could mention specific models but I feel that was covered fairly well above. I'm mostly just confirming what's already been said.