Repair, Reuse, Recycle - Rusty Rider Deep Dive

Greetings! Trev (Tcowp) here, resident ‘Sydney Shark’ and multiple keyword enjoyer. After a good 15 or so games and a surprisingly successful Cancon run, Beard asked me if I wanted to share some thoughts and insights on my experiences with Amalgam, to which I was very happy to oblige! 

WHY AMALGAM?

Do you like recycling, scientific discoveries, and body horror? If so, then it’s just your luck because Captivating Salvage and Logistics is always in the market for able-bodied parts recruits…

With Rusty now at the helm of the business, the keyword’s identity has changed a fair bit, but the overall theme is still intact: They’re a merry band of the worst people you know conducting spooky and questionable experiments. It’s no longer the ‘Levi’s Big Murder Show’, but instead the plan is focused on being fast, flexible, denial-oriented, and capable of going much wider than most keywords. Every model in the keyword has its place, so list building is very open rather than constrained by a lack of choices. Plus, who can say no to the Bleed Neon and Desolate Drift nightmares boxes? I know I couldn’t…

I will preface this deep-dive by adding that my analysis is more specific to Rider Rusty, rather than Trigger Happy. I think Rusty1 is fine, but I personally can’t see too many situations where Rusty1 is the pick over Rusty2. Perhaps in pools where the extra bodies are important, or if the pool is particularly scheme marker focused, but even then, Rusty2 still does well in those pools.

THE PLAN?

Very broadly, you want to be leveraging your model and action advantage (more on this later) to maximise your own plan whilst denying and bogging down your opponent. Sounds like Malifaux in a nutshell, but few other keywords have the combination of excellent cheap minions, an abundance of ways to summon models, and a strong denial game. The keyword can also just choose violence and really put the boot in with the ability to blank most defensive text in the game, which is to say nothing of in-keyword ruthless models and irreducible damage.

As far as strategies, Plant Explosives and Boundary Dispute are where Rusty excels. Whilst not being ‘elite’ at either, the added denial and model advantage you bring does compound the inherent demands on movement and interact actions for your opponent. It’s often too much for them to score themselves, stop you scoring, and keep up with you on model count.

Informants is also decent for rusty, since you can easily go with a taller crew. Violence comes naturally, and you get good mileage out of summons. Furthermore, with stronger models likely to be present, you get more mileage out of your crew card action.

I’d caution against taking Rusty in Recover, though it’s not unplayable. You’re not going to be utilising your summons much, but you still have some scary models. Plus, Taelor near Rusty is something to behold. 

Unfortunately, Riders of Fate (or ‘Pony Club’ as I like to call them) doesn’t really execute the core plan of the crew at all, so I don’t rate them beyond a fun meme list. They might do ok on Recover Evidence, but you’re still hamstringing yourself massively compared to Rust-Eaten Fate, let alone other options in Outcasts.

As far as deployment, you’re pretty happy with anything. Of particular note is Flank and Wedge on plant explosives, solely because you can drop bombs with necropunks turn 1.

I’d say Rusty does well at most schemes (Public Demo, Ensnare, Search, and Highground are my favs), but she’s extremely good at denying the opponent’s schemes with randomly summoned models, marker removal, and even killing your own models with Deso Engine. Few, if any other crews, have such a suite of options to mess with people’s plans. 

The injured sub-theme is much more of a Rusty1 thing, but it can still be relevant for Rusty2. It’s more incidental than the core plan, but I won’t go so far as to say it’s irrelevant.

THE CREW?

A Familiar Ending (EDIT)

Right, so the current consensus on how this works has changed. To summarise, it now resolves as follows:

    - Declare an action against something

    - Choose whether you want to use A Familar Ending or not

    - Start to resolve the action by flipping cards, etc.

Once you decide to use the ability, that's the OPA used up regardless of the outcome of the duel, so you'll need to keep track of that. Honestly, I'm not happy with the ruling because it cuts in half the effectiveness and it feels clunky. You might need to be a little more selective when you trigger it now in the case of Hard to Kill. But it's still pretty neat, so I'll get over it.

Which defensive ability you pick very much depends on the opponent, but I find I frequently pick Fortitude Abilities (armour) to get around Hard to Kill and Resilient. You also have a number of ruthless models, so you already have good coverage into Unusual Defense.

Written In Lead is much harder to assess because anything is possible. It’s a hard one to master, and it demands having a decent understanding of your opponent’s crew, but rest assured, shenanigans are afoot. The better your opponent’s crew, the better yours will be. The SS trigger is also immensely good. It’s pretty much a freeroll, because you’re likely already trying to perform an action that you want to do anyway. The fact that you can summon from any unique can really throw a spanner in the works. It also opens up a very good Public Demonstration line from Rusty. All that said, it’s rare that I just fire off the action without a specific plan in mind. 

Her front of card has great stats, a little light on health, but the real sauce is in Nemesis. Just blanking everything nearby is wildly good. Cumbersome is a small downside, but you can still climb up terrain the old-fashioned way. Chasing Fate is nice, but not something you want to be doing much before turn 3. Not getting killed early is her goal.

Ride Them Down is great and can easily one-shot cheap stuff, especially with a ram. I think I’ve used her gun only once, since she usually has better things to do. Rust and Ruin is pretty nuts. Abominations are often fine, but summoning scavengers on a TN 9 is downright rude. Usually, you want to be doing this every turn, but ít obviously depends on the game state. “Think I Can Jump That?” is one of the better movement abilities in the game and is fundamental to her gameplay and survival. She really zips about the board and can get to just about anywhere to do anything. You should be trying to end every turn in proximity to suitable terrain, similar to how you would use secret passage on other models. Of all abilities in the entire crew, this is the most important, so you always want to save a card for it.

Rusty’s main strength is the fact that she is good at everything, except maybe brawling before turn 3. Need to kill something? She can step up. Need some markers somewhere? She can get there. She usually wants to be getting about and summoning stuff, but she’s objectively an excellent schemer too. Public demo is all but a lock for her, so try path into it wherever possible. You generally want to be activating her as late as possible to avoid her getting killed, and also not immediately giving up activation control with your summons.

Soul Battery rates very high for me on the scale of all Totems. By Your Side is excellent, and HtK makes it a bit sticky. The healing from Energy Drain and Excess Power can be useful. Tap the Leyline is frequently used by me, given there’s so little card draw in the keyword. With By Your Side, it means you often have the spare action to use Tap the Leyline, since you either get to where you need to be on that turn, or don’t have to walk anywhere because you can ByS somewhere later. Dark Bargain is always great. The SS trigger is also something people need to consider and is one of the many ways Amalgam breaks the action economy. ByS, followed by triple interact, is a really strong play. The Battery can also go under the bus when needed, because you can summon it back.

Probably one of the main reasons to play the keyword, the Deso Engine presents a whole host of conundrums for your opponent. Juggernaut is great, but the low defensive stats mean that you will frequently go down. That said, you will definitely cause problems for your opponent on the way out. Ruthless speaks for itself, but Blind Rage will give fits to your opponent. I’ve found people are very willing to cheat down on a duel just to prevent a raise. You will also be prepared to cheat down to enable one. It’s a fun mini game… It’s important to note that it doesn’t specify enemy attacks, so you can trigger it off of friendly attacks (Prospector and Johan). It’s not something to go for all the time, but it is a play you can make. Overall, Blind Rage is just another way to break the action economy and mess with your opponent. Irreducible damage is very strong, and converting things into Aboms is always a hoot. Draw Essence is a bit more cornercase, but is handy. Healing for a bunch from a Blind Rage trigger is a spicy play. Removing your own models to stop Ensnare or Detonate Charges is also strong. Do note that gaining the tokens is not optional. However, summoned tokens can’t be removed, so you’re safe from that. Spittle-Flecker Roar is how you get 3 attacks and is overall a good signature, so save your rams. You’ll never leave home without this mad-lad.

Probably what I’d call the most niche model in the keyword. Good stats, a good Demise, and Flight mean A&D has its uses, but Whirlwind of Scrap is pretty awkward and hard to rely on. Suffocating Dust is fine, but the irreducible melee attack is obviously great. Stat 7 mitigates some of being only Dmg 2. I’d bring it if the terrain demands a model with Flight, or if I expect to be able to murder weak models for aboms. It’s also quite tanky, which always has uses. Ashen Core and Dust Storm are fine and are incidental to what you would have planned for A&D, but not worth considering beyond that.

Another model I don’t leave home without. Everything on Vee is perfectly fine, but Secret Inspection means we’re really cooking. I frequently go triple SI, especially for the unpack. TN 8 is high, but getting a scheme marker and a move makes it a two-for-one, so it’s worth it. I usually break down the targets into ‘who wants SI’ and ‘who needs SI’. Spending 3 8s to succeed on all three actions is not really possible, so I frequently let one or even two fail, prioritising whoever needs it to succeed. Card discipline is key, so sometimes you highroll, and sometimes you don’t. Interact, SI, interact is a common and important line of play on Boundary. Honestly, Vee feels like a steal at 7SS.

Vee’s partner in crime is a standout schemer.  Herb is very fast. You’re usually charging the aether purely for the extra distance, but going to Dmg 3 when you need to is nice. Armour is nice, but won’t keep you alive against something that wants you dead. The 88 MPH trigger on Onward is situationally excellent because it allows you to leave engagement with an enemy model before you resolve the walk action. Burst of Speed is another sneaky way to leave engagement. Herbert gets a run most of the time, but sometimes stays at home if I need to keep my crew a chonkier.

Marlena is quite an interesting and unique (hah!) model. Her stats are decent, particularly Sp 7. Rotten Core is very, very powerful and is the primary reason you bring her. “Teddy! Help!” also makes her very annoying and tricky to deal with, often leaving your opponent with nothing but suboptimal choices. Similar to Blind Rage, it doesn’t specify enemy attacks, so it can be triggered off friendly attacks (without the raise requirement). This interaction is something I do play for, and again, breaks the action economy. Her attacks and the incidental heals are fine, but Obscene Feast is her second most powerful ability. She really doesn’t like your opponent interacting or having fun. Marlena makes the cut for any pool with the word ‘interact’ in it, and frequently comes along purely to hose marker crews.

At 6SS, I think Scavengers are quite fine, but with a STN 9, they’re a wildly good summon. They’re quite tanky for a summon, and their attacks are decent but nothing to write home about. Scrounge is what you want to be doing as often as you can, and is their main strength. Summons messing with schemes is always going to give your opponent a headache. Focus, then Scrounge is typically what they’ll be doing the turn they come down, but they’re also great for engaging models, protecting your markers, and locking out your opponent’s markers. Weird Device is indeed weird, so it’s up to you to figure out how good it can be. Summon these guys as often as possible, without derailing your whole game plan.

Aboms are not a model to be hired, but make for a good value summon, especially considering they’re frequently free when Deso Engine does a murder. They’re pretty tanky considering how easily you make them. Their job is to get in the way and gunk up markers and enemy models, and they do it quite well. I encourage everyone to rebuild a dead Deso Engine with Concentrated Deformation and savour the look of dismay on your opponent’s face. Failing that, turning enemies to friends with speculative melee attacks is also a delight.

These guys are frequently the all-stars in my crews. In Plant, I bring two and a Bloodwretch, but that could easily be a third Necropunk. Ironically, I actually very rarely leap unless I have to. And even then, I’ve been known to let it fail because I didn’t want to or couldn’t afford to drop the 4. On standard and corner deployment, they walk and interact/prepare as required to set up for the next turn, but I want to make a specific mention for flank and wedge.

From your deployment zone on wedge and flank, you can leap and drop a bomb over the midline and in base contact on turn 1, depending upon the terrain. It’s not especially remarkable, but is extremely good value for a 3pt model. Even if your opponent kills them or picks up your bomb, they have likely used at least a 6-7SS model to do so, and still haven’t put their own bomb down. After this point, a necropunk’s job is to go die with honour and refund me a SS, and anything beyond that is going above and beyond. They have a similar role in Boundary Dispute, where they kick the can, go get into some strife, and make my opponent play around leap. I might take one to round off a ‘tall’ list, but somewhat reluctantly because they suffer from sudden death syndrome, despite being moderately tanky for 3SS. 

There are a bunch of good Versatile and OoK options available in Outcasts that I won’t really be covering here, but I wanted to specifically mention Johan, who has been pretty handy in my games. Dmg 3 is always nice, despite Skl 5. Rush means he gets around, and with DF 6 and HtK, he’s sticky enough to be annoying. Rebel Yell is where things get spicy. Token removal is always useful, but the fact that it’s an attack action means it opens up a lot of plays with Marlena and Deso Engine. On Your Heels is immensely strong and has swung losing games back around for me. It means he can go a very, very long way if things line up. Delay is also randomly useful. Sometimes he’s the model that goes under the bus, but somebody’s got to do it, and he takes it like a champ.

Other notable Versatiles/OoK options are Taelor for obvious reasons, Prospectors for help with the unpack and shenanigans with Deso Engine/Marlena, Bloodwretches for being another excellent 3pt minion, and the Emissary for when you want or need boots and a bonnet. There are certainly others, but I find that there’s a flexible slot in most of my lists for whatever the situation demands, so find what works best for you.

THE LIST?

To round things off, heres a couple of lists I’ve used recently:

Wide Ride

Size: 50 - Pool: 4

Leader:

  Rusty Alyce, Rider Remade

Totem(s):

  Soul Battery

Hires:

  Desolation Engine

  Marlena Webster

  Vee

  Hard Stop Herbert

  Necropunk

  Necropunk 2

  Bloodwretch

  Johan Creedy

References:

  Rust-Eaten Fate

I’ve used this list numerous times to good effect on Plant and Boundary. 10 models, 4 stones, lots of movement and tricks. All the greatest hits, with plenty of room for other options depending on matchups.

Big Hammers Bonk

Size: 50 - Pool: 4

Leader:

  Rusty Alyce, Rider Remade

Totem(s):

  Soul Battery

Hires:

  Ashes And Dust

  Desolation Engine

  Vee

  Taelor

  Johan Creedy

  Necropunk

References:

  Rust-Eaten Fate

I ran this on informants and was pretty happy. Taelor, Rusty, Deso, and Johan go smash stuff up. A&D is relatively hard to remove, so long as they don’t block a landing zone for the Ashen Core. Again, you could add whatever you might need for any given matchup.

THE END?

Happy gaming, and remember; winning games is important, but the real treasures are the horrifying flesh amalgamations we made along the way.