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Donner's Tactics Strategy Guides #16: Wraith

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Donner
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Donner's Tactics Strategy Guides #16: Wraith

And the final character is here!  I hope you've enjoyed these guides.  Feel free to add any suggestions, comments, or criticisms!  I'll try and update these guides as I receive new information (and when the next two sets come out!).

Wraith

                The Wraith is a precision damage character.   Use her for key strikes on enemies.

                Builds: Controller, DPS, Tank

                Best Power Cards:  Slip Into Shadows, Targeting Computer, Throwing Knives

                Worst Power Card:  Adhesive Foam Pellets or Infrared Eyepiece

 

                Strengths:  Free Aim, the ability to negate attacks, long range, attacks with no auto-misses.

                Weaknesses:  No strong attacks.

                Works well against:  Most Everyone

                Weak against:  Bunker, Tachyon, Legacy, Citizen Dawn

                Controller Build:

                             Stun Bolt

                             Targeting Computer or Adhesive Foam Pellets

                DPS Build:

                                Throwing Knives

                                Targeting Computer

              Tank Build:

                             Slip Into Shadows

                             Combat Stance or anything else

                Commentary:

                                Wraith’s attacks don’t have a lot of dice.  But with 3 actions and the ability to get a free Aim token, her attacks will hit and hit hard.  Use her to get to hard-to-reach enemies or to focus down tanks.  How long can Legacy defend against two aimed attacks a round, even with Danger Sense up?

                Tips:

               Slip Into Shadows and Combat Stance work great as a combo as long as the location you move to from Slip Into Shadows still has sight on the target you are retaliating against.  However, having both of those cards equipped means the enemy will probably not want to attack you.  And that makes at least one of them redundant.  It is a great start of game build, but probably shouldn’t be used any time after you start your first turn.

               If you have Stun Bolt equipped, use it just before an Aimed attack to lower your target’s defenses.  Don’t Aim the Stun Bolt.  It auto-misses on 5 and 6.  It just needs to make range to apply the Defense and Attack -1 tokens.  It can also be used to reduce enemy token build-up.

              If you have Throwing Knives and Targeting Computer equipped, you can use an Aim on both of the attacks the Throwing Knives make.  Since they have no auto-misses, that’s 3 damage the target will have to defend against.

             Use Combat Stance to dissuade enemies like Tachyon from attacking the Wraith.  Each health Tachyon loses is one less health she can use for Pushing the Limits or Lightspeed Barrage.

             Remember that using Slip Into Shadows will mean the enemy will target your allies.  This can work well with Adhesive Foam Pellets to keep them away from vulnerable friends while staying safe yourself.

             Slip Into Shadows can be used with hazard spaces for an extra sprint.  Remember that it can only be used against the first attack on the Wraith each round, so don’t expect to avoid all the hazard spaces with it.

             Targeting Computer gives the Wraith a free Aim every round.  That frees up an action for anything else she wants.  Remember that Dodging for her gives her Defense + 1 tokens, too!  Targeting Computer also gives the Wraith reach +6, allowing her to snipe people from atop buildings or from across the map.

             If you are dealing with a foe that has a Dodge token, it may be a good idea to equip Infrared Eyepiece.  It only takes one 6 to dodge a 3-die attack most of the time.  It only takes one re-roll to negate that 6.

            Countering Tips:

            If the Wraith has Slip Into Shadows equipped, either target her allies instead, or make sure you have multiple attacks you can use against her.  Hit her once to trigger Slip Into Shadows, then hit her the next few times while she’s vulnerable.

           If the Wraith has Combat Stance equipped and you’re playing Tachyon, use an Aimed Lightspeed Barrage to take her down quick.  If she gets incapped, she can’t retaliate.  Or, take an action to Dodge first and use that Dodge to avoid her retaliation.   She can only retaliate against the first attack each turn.

           If the Wraith has neither defensive power equipped, focus her down.

           The Wraith can’t attack targets in cover without getting close to them.  So use cover, and, if you can, make the hexes around you hazardous terrain.

           The Wraith can’t build up Attack +1 tokens and her attacks are 3 or 4 dice at max.  Use Attack -1 tokens to soften her assaults.


"Deja-fu? You've heard of that?"
- Lu Tze, Sweeper, Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

Powerhound_2000
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I would not recommend using Combat Stance and Slip Into Shadows together.   Slip Into Shadows already makes you an unlikely target and if you decide to use Combat Stance it means you've set yourself in a location to still get hit.  It also ensures you can't be quite as offensive your next turn to retaliate your turn since you can only switch out one of them.   


Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31

 
Chargolith
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Quick question about slip into shadows.

A friend that introduced the game to us used the Wraith with Slip into Shadows. If we were playing it correctly, when all three of us targeted the Wraith on our turns, the Wraith just moved two hexes behind a building and evaded our attacks.

We decided to kill her teammates first, then target the Wraith. Problem was it was like the 3 stooges. All she had to do was stand near a building, and when we fired our first shot, she would move to the other side losing line of sight for our second attack.

We spent an hour chasing her around the map and didn't do a single point of damage. I'm not sure how we could've countered that. We tried traps, but with mobility, it was easy for her to avoid them. We only won because our friend just surrendered. I'm certain he could've kept it up all night though, lol.

Were we playing it correctly? What could we have done to finish her off?

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If Wraith was moving out of line of sight on the first attack at the Wraith each turn then it was played correctly.  What I would suggest to counter that if you really need to take down the Wraith is to use attacks that don't require line of sight if she can so easily get duck out of sight with it.  If you have a character with three actions you could also attack, move so Wraith is is in line of sight, and then attack again.     If you are playing until one team gets a particular incap number you might focus fire in the other opponents in play if Wraith can quickly get out of line of sight.  


Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and laminate their women! - Guise, Prime Wardens #31

 
Donner
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Remember that incapped characters get back up again at the start of their turn, so you could keep targeting her allies instead.  What characters were on your team?  We can use them to help consider your options.


"Deja-fu? You've heard of that?"
- Lu Tze, Sweeper, Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

Chargolith
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So my friend was playing her correctly? Even when all of us target her on the same round, she can slip in shadows for each person on their first attack?

We were playing Proletariat (sp), Abosolute Zero, and Bunker.

Donner
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Slip Into Shadows was used properly.

Bunker could do it.  Use Flak Cannon for the first attack and Grenade Launcher for the second.  Grenade Launcher does not require line of sight.

Proletariat would have to nearly surround her to guarantee the second hit.

AZ could use Thermal Shockwave, then chase and use Coolant Blast or his base power for it.


"Deja-fu? You've heard of that?"
- Lu Tze, Sweeper, Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

Chargolith
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Ok, thanks for the info.

lutherbellhendricksv
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Yeah, I think the main confusion here is that you were playing a scenario that requires you to incapacitate each enemy. By design, there's no player elimination in the game as written, so if someone wants to play super defensive, you let them do their thing and beat up their teammates instead.