With the release of O:N , I broke out Tannhauser again for the first time in a long time. Normally, I enjoy both Union and Reich, but the Matriarchy has me for a real loop. No real range weapons of any real consequence, no grenades, and only one hand to hand weapon has me scratching my head trying to figure out some tactics that result in even a single enemy kill.

I want to like this set, I REALLY do! I think the map is great and the bonus tokens are definately a boon, but the Russian faction is stumping me.

So, how do YOU play them?

Well, on the first play through with my friends I decided to take the Matriarch for a spin. True the absence of any real damaging ranged weapons is a bit uncool, however the Metrop Launcher is a pretty specialized weapon, personally I love it, stick 'em, run, and then before you know it Eva no longer can sprint across the map or McNeal is reaching for some victory points. Also, the telsa coil is necessary to forming a strong offense, near the end of our game I had a tesla coil version 2, and the BG armor snagged from Delta along with the Metrop and a combat knife, however I was hoping to escape with a win, and needless to say my favorite character killed me " Oh yeah what are you going to do?" "Wait I thought you used the TNT.....crap" Fun was had by all plus the Nagant Pistol wow that gun is awesome, now if only they would add some sort of sniper rifle then I would be completely happy, how can you have a russian unit and not have a sniper rifle, I mean come on...really? That's my two cents. Happy Gaming

They are not easy like the the reich or union (though union is the easiest between the 3 factions) they do take a lot more thinking to win.

They are 2-3 in our games. And by the looks of things their entire faction revolves around Zor'ka as appose to Reich and Union can play independtly, sure their is a buddy system and you may want to keep a body guard for marquis but the Mats revolve around one character.

I was also thinking the same thing. I wonder how a lot of the French players use the team.

I think you can form a really good strategy though seeing that your opponent will more than likely try to be taking out Zor'ka. They will have to weeve their way through your set up defense to get Zor'ka; which now becomes your offense. You can have your enemy move exactly where you want them to and spring traps. You can always add Wolf to the team or Gorgei when he comes out.

DePadova said:

WOLF is a TANK

feared by many people more so with his little pistol

If you can nab him, it will solve a lot of problems that the Mats have now.

But Wolf is able to be picked up by any faction so if the Mats need him to be competitive then it sounds like we're either missing some key strategies or the Matriarch are under powered. I really hope Wolf isn't needed to "balance" this faction.

I don't have the set yet so I've been tracking this thread with some interest and would like to see what the collective experience is. Also, have people tried three players, each player holding a faction? Does that work well? Anything interesting?

spacemonkeymafia said:

Not needed at all, but most people (so far) it seems they just want to play a faction that is lock and load trigger happy.

All wolf does is fix that element for the Mats, the mats are unique and can win, and have.

Simple advice don't play the mats as if they were the Union. Easier said than done, but that is what makes them a fun faction.

They're not underpowered, they are just not the attacking type. They're more defensive and retaliatory; killing you slowly while they soak up the damage. They can take a huge beating and keep on ticking. Almost every unit has the capabilities to heal. they have items that reduce damage taken, and their troops can be resurrected if the do die. If they could lay out the damage as well as some other teams then they would be overpowered. So ask yourself; you can do the damage but be fragile or take the damage?

People are just overlooking how they work right now because they're new. I remember when Reich players couldn't win against Union players, and now it's a different story.

Awesome, I was worried that it was suggested that the only way they would win is through the Wolf powerhouse.

slightly o/t- has anyone thought of taking some of the "on sale" AT-43 units FFG is trying to get rid of and customizing them? It seems that some of the Russian figures would blend in well with this game and could be an alternate Atheist side of the Russian front...one of the russian mech units reminds me of some of the mech cards in the Field Ops card game.

DePadova said:

WINGO!

could not have said it any better!

I just wanted to enumerate on depadova's ideas.

The best was I can further expand this is with football terminology, (mainly being a football guy and a assistant on my uncle's highschool football team)

This of the mats as a bend but don’t break defense. With their equipment you can afford to take damage and let them crawl in a bit, the Kaali has been serving as a psychological weapon lately, it may not give any damage immediately but with Zor'ka and/or little coils players start to rethink between the center of attention (Zor'ka) and the supporting cast.

Played 2 games today with the mats

1st game mats one barely

2nd game Mats one by a pretty big margin, mainly due to healing powers and lucky rolls (but luck plays in a lot of games)

They are just not your average faction quite different from any game I have ever played.

I haven't played yet but from what I gather Zor'ka can zap people through the machine guys, so they could rush the other player then Zor'ka can attack from across the board. The singer's can provide excellent support and some cover fire and the launcher can keep the machines running, and do hit and runs that could get you in Zor'ka's sights. Plus there's that coil that can be dropped so Zor'ka can attack through it, allowing you to block off key areas much like smoke grenades with McNeal hanging around.

So long as you protect the normal humans so they can provide support you should be able to drive the other factions back. And considering Zor'ka has high stats and is immune to flash guns, I'd say they have a clear advantage.

Zor'ka is borderline broke. How can you say it's not a powerful group? It's amazingly powerful, nothing else in the game can zap everything on it's path with a combat value of 9!