As I found tactics and some analyses here and there I thought it might be need to have it all in one place and in a forum so we can discuss and exchange views, tactics and tricks. To kick it of I wrote a little summary on Hexxer. Please add your thoughts, tricks, combos and also c&c! I bet I missed so much, so please help out :) Maybe other categories or adding one? Just let me know! And of we go... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hexxer, Nomad Witch and board-controller extraordinaiere. The lady that moves friends and foes alike across the Hexadome. Introduced to Aristeia with the core box and by far not outdated or fallen prey to any power spiral (of which there luckily is non so far) or counter mechanics. https://aristeiathegame.com/characters/hexx3r (click for profile and cards) Categories Role Supporter / Back of Tricks Her role is clearly to be the supporting piece, moving everyone along and around. And that is clearly very handy in a game which is so much about moving and positioning ones Aristos to score points. Profile Movement Standard 4 movement, nothing to shabby but also makes her not the scorer of the team. Initiative Ini 5 is quite good, but also not outstanding. With the majority of the Aristos (all SoF, Taowu, Lunah, Dart, Bixie, Eclypse) now boosting 5 it most of the times comes down to the underdog token to increase the chance of using her before she might get send to the infirmary. Brawl B/Y is not really great, but enough to keep weaker Aristos close and might produce enough symbols for her switch to get some distance if necessary. Agility Y/Y is not really something to count on if you want that deciding "4th Aristo - quickly get into the scoring zone" manoeuvre. Maybe triggers her switch, but why not using her fantastic workhorse Vade Retro in the first place to just push the opponent away? Hitpoints 3 lives, which gives a certain level of protection to being the unpleasant end of a one-shot attack. Our favourite witch is definitely not the most durable, but does not go as fast to the bench as the featherweights like Taowu, Gata or Laxmee. Skills/Switch/Attacks Switch More displacements! In a game where moving is key and as a fragile Aristo this is really helpful. Got attacked by someone ready to hot you again? Displace yourself away and all is fine. Attacks None. Except for the contender. Sidenote: Use it only in emergency situations. Such a waste of action points. Actions Vade Retro: Here it comes, the action which makes her one of the most versatile team members you can put in your gang. For just one action point you can displace friend or foe. And with a bit of luck and your switch Hexxer itself. I cannot describe all the situations in which this comes in super handy and I think I never had a turn in all games, where this was not used and useful. Bring your heavy hitters to the frontline, move that slow tank (I am looking at you Maximus!) or just push your opponent out of the scoring zone Gotcha: I first underestimated this action and with only two Y dice this is definitely harder to pull off. But the effect is so sweet. Use it on a scorer and watch your enemy getting frustrated because you crossed his "last round scoring" plan so easily. Just wonderful. First I was always using 3-5 Vade Retros a turn, but do not glance over Gotcha and ignore it. Sometimes imposing -2 movement can be way more helpful, especially as this is affecting both the other Aristo's movement! Permanent effects/skills None Tactics Categories in brackets: Damage, non-/movement, additional dice, moving/pulling cards, Imposing states Unlimited power (Non-/movement): Displace all enemies. All of them, anywhere. Coming back from the bench and having that annoying -2 power state on Hexxer anyway while not being able to push your opponent around with Vade Retro? Why not pushing all of your opponent's Aristos at once? Clear a path or a scoring zone and delay all that sweet points! Really useful card, would always take that one. Ragdoll (Imposing states): Dazzling of all your Vade Retro targets is nice but comes with the drawback that to have maximum effect you have to activate her first and cannot move your own team around as much. Okay, but not my favourite. Might be helpful against really gun-heavy teams. Or in combination with token controllers like Eclypse or to inflict damage via Dart (kill of that Taowu without dropping your hand in the process!) Untouchable (Additional dice): Boosting the defence to G/B/Y/B for one round is also okayish but not the greatest card in her arsenal. In case you have a plan to use Hexxer as a scoring peace it might be worth it, otherwise I am not so fond of this tactic. Access denied (Imposing states): Minus two to movement for all enemies in 1-3. If enemies are close, surely worth it. But as with all the "affect all enemies in x range" cards you need a lot of them close to get a really good effect out of it. Minimum of two or you could use Gotcha in the first place and take another tactic straight away. Can ruin your opponent's day, but situational as Hexxer has to be very close (which she does not really like) Synergies with other characters Favourable teammates Everyone No, I am serious, everyone loves her, because you can place everyone. Getting a friend out of an unfavourable close combat (Lunah and Wild Bill will love you for that!)? No problem. Push the slow tank forward? No problem. Make the fast scorer even faster? No problem. All hail Vade Retro! In general I tend to move tanks and damage dealer around or move foes. The scorer are normally fast enough on their own, but if necessary can of course be pushed as well. Combos Very self-reliant and supporting her team fully anyway, I did not come up with a great combo for her. Your thoughts and additions? Looking forward to a lively discussion!
Great essay! Please keep this series going. This kind of discussion helps players understand that this game is different. I feel that A! is special because of those surprises. I certainly was surprised when my opponent brought Hexxer back from the bench and "Unlimited Powered" all my Aristos from the scoring zone.
I think you missed Defense Attribute. About Vade Retro: Don't forget you can Displace Allies, Enemies and... Obstacles. To interrupt an Enemy path or even close them, to help Gata with her Freerun, to make Major Lunah (or any Shooter) gain Cover with no Movement expense. And... to... << connection lost. Firewall encryption broken. Reconnecting... >> ... About Access Denied: It's very situational when hEXx3r is on the HexaDome, but it could be very handy when hEXx3r returns from the Bench with only 3AP to spend. Then, you play this Tactic and with 3AP you have enough to Displace yourself and Move once. As teammate, Maximus is a good one: He can absorb any Damage she gets and hEXx3r bursts his Movement. The Focus from Laxmee makes Gotcha! so easy to get, but you have to be able to manage two fragile supports in your team (maybe playing Laxmee as a scorer). Can you imagine a Hidden hEXx3r by Eclypse? (again at cost of two supports). I agree that everyone needs hEXx3r. She's wonderful, isn't she?
Interesting, nice article to read, for new players very fine and for players who played already this is good as well, b/c it is a good summary of her I guess I played the last dozen of games without her... that makes me .... what?
Does this work? Access Denied says it triggers at the beginning of Hexx3r's activation, where she would still be on the bench.
A Character’s Activation has three steps: Preparation Step, Actions Step and States Step. This order is maintained throughout the game. Characters in the Bench go back into the HexaDome at the end of the Preparation Step of their Activation. To do this, Place your benched model on a Free space in any of the Deployment Zones other than the Scoring Zone, and continue its Activation normally. "At the beginning of hexxer's Activation" means at the beggining of the Actions Step. This is why the wording was changed for the expansions and most of the tactics says "At the beginning/during the Action Steps of one of your characters Activation"
I think you are understimating Untouchable. Activating HE3x3r for last and moving opponent model can work one round, but after that she is probably in attack range of a lot of enemy model and she is a priority target. With Untouchable yor chance of survival raises a lot and you have more % to activate your switche to Displace yourself away from harm source. Add to that that is not for a Roll, but for an entire round I think it's a really good card. Untouchable and Unlimited power are my main choice, Ragdoll depending on enemy team comp.
I think this needs a post in the errata section then. The Preparation Step is clearly part of the Activation, so the way it's worded now, the beginning of the activation should be before the Preparation Step.
