Usefulness of Avatars

[edboogie]

As an arcanist player, I have uses for them. I love Rasputina's avatar. She spends the early turns distributing damage and protecting herself and her team, and then transforms into a hard to damgae beatstick that punishes you for engaging with her later in the game. Colette makes her game of cat and mouse even more difficult to deal with, so you spend the early turns stealing all the VP on the table and the late turns with the avatar dancing, dodging, and dominating the board... both are very worth the 2SS cost in my opinion.

[Undisclosed]

If i don't need the mobility of Zoraida, and would rather have the raw casting power with Pins and Needles then i take the Avatar. It's a nice choice to have, and makes my master useful in a lot more situations.

[Forar]

I have yet to pick up or face an Avatar (most of my crew has been playing for 1 year to 6 months or so), but I now there an aRasputina in our midst (no table time yet) that one of the other guys picked up a while back.

From what I've read (in the book, the forums and the wiki/tactica), I can't see myself using Hoffman's, I agree that Perdita's is questionable (I admit, paired on attacks and gaining flight isn't without appeal, but yes, those aren't gained without cost), and I have yet to even field LJ (she's more the focus of one of our other players, and I don't want to overlap too heavily into her territory). aSonnia, however, seems to have mostly good things said about her, so I imagine I'll end up with that one eventually.

I agree that it's good they're not auto-includes. Ideally there'd be a faction matchup, crew build, strategy or something where they were more likely to do good than not (to justify that cost and the efforts one might have to go to in order to manifest at a good time), but some of them just seem so situational I'm not willing to put down cash for something to build, paint, and lug around but rarely find a use for.

[JisaacT]

I have Seamus's avatar and I find it very useful. I love bring it to the table. And he is pretty big and awesome. I do not consider it an auto include with him. It depends on which faction I am pitched up against. It also depends on the strats and scemes. I've noticed his avatar is especially useful for holding a position on the board and terrify everything.

Like I said depends on strats and scemes but I enjoy taking it against the guild the arcanists and sometimes the outcasts (every once in awhile)

[NeuroFire]

I agree that Perdita's is questionable (I admit, paired on attacks and gaining flight isn't without appeal)

That was a lot of the appeal to me, as well. That and her card manipulation. But the severe drop in her defense makes the paired pistol almost a liability, because I often don't want to be in anyone's attack radius, but to shoot I pretty much have to be. (Yeah, her range is big, I know, but it's not big enough to keep her safe.) And her damage takes a hit because she loses Critical Strike. Bite and Bullets looks great on paper, but I have yet to make it happen, since I have to make a Diving Attack for it to work. Maybe on a board with a lot of elevated terrain for her to attack from it would happen more. But then when she does attack, she's in melee, and she just won't last overly long there. (It's a real shame she doesn't gain Black Blood along with the Neverborn characteristic, I think it would make her more viable in combat.)
Going from being one of the highest defense masters in the game with one of the most useful spells in the game (Obey) and one of the best long-range damage profiles... it's just weak tea to be able to fly. It barely makes her more mobile, as her movement doesn't change, and most of her new tricks are quite difficult to pull off. The only thing she does reliably is build a great hand, which is nice but not something I usually want to trade standard Perdita for; she's already got Hero's Gamble if I really hate my hand. It's a shame, because when I read her avatar I kept thinking how awesome it could be, and she was the first one I got. In practice, though, manifesting is super situational. Strategy, terrain, and opposing faction all play a big role in whether aPerdita is a good move or a guaranteed dead master. Like I said, I just haven't felt like what she gains makes up for what she loses.
Now aSonnia, I feel is balanced. She actually gets a little bump in Df, as well as her potentially massive healing ability, making up for the loss of the sword that can heal her one wound per hit. Also lost with the sword is her Disassemble trigger, but her new fiery Salamander ignores Armor. She loses Confiscate Lore, but gains Ca 8 withAdaptive Mind so she doesn't really need it. Pyre is a so much better spell than Flame Wall it's kind of mind-boggling. She loses all the Blasts, but gains a damage Pulse. Her counterspell actually gets even better, because now it's inflicting damage. And she keeps Violation. So I guess what I'm saying is, yeah, you should get her. Plus the model is just... so pretty.

[Blog]

aSeamus and aMcmourning go into EVERY list I make for them. Both are extremely useful and fun to play. Especially Sim 29. He wrecks everything.

[rancor709]

I love the resser avatars, Anico and aseamus are creeping more and more into my lists. I wouldn't call them auto-includes but with Seamus its hard not to want to take the hulk! And Crazy Zombie King is just brutal, as my opponents have been calling his avatar the one man zombie Apocalypse its hard not to take him. From a purely competitive angle Nicodems avatar offers him some extreme mobility and adds to his survivabilty in melee. Seamus is all about being a scary son of a gun, making things run and then smashing them wiht your wicked fists is fun, and even if they don't run there burning high cards to do actions. and then your smashing them in your activation. Plus its the hulk, and that is just fun. Amcmourning I have the least experience with but, I can't think of why you wouldn't spend 2 stones for the potential killing power that sim 29 gives you.

[Fetid Strumpet]

I find regular McMorning is far more deadly than the pair of them, and he heals easier as well. That said it's hard to overlook the - twist aura that he puts up, and I don't mind losing summoning as I rarely use that anyway. I do find that aMcMorning is very much a deadly weight in the game. He can be moderately difficult to shift, and you have to kill him and Sim29 if they are camped out on top of something you want, or you want to keep from your opponent. McMorning trades in his speed however, as he NEVER wants to get very far from Sim29 when it he manifests. On the plus side he is a master that almost always triggers both his conditions to manifest, so it costs you less actions than aSeamus and aNico usually.

[biffa]

Im still in two minds on purchasing the collette avatar, whats the pros and cons to help make up my mind?

[Rameses]

Im still in two minds on purchasing the collette avatar, whats the pros and cons to help make up my mind?

She loses the ability to summon Doves. That's all I can tell you off the top of my head without running upstairs and getting her card or the Twisting Fates book.