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A friend of mine has gotten me into Malifaux and I currently run Ramos, Kaeris, 2 spiders, and a swarm. I have a couple of questions about the crew.

1- Is it optimal, average, sub-par or should I change it completely? If I should change it, what should I change it to?

2- Is Ramos' avatar worth getting?

3- How aggressive should I play the crew in general. I've been playing coy and slightly defensive but that has been hit and miss.

The choices of Optimal, average, and sub-par are very vague in terms of Malifaux. You've got the makings of a solid crew, especially if you bought both of their starter boxes.

2) Yes, most people tend to bring his avatar because of its ability to bring more spiders and electrical creations.

3) Being aggressive is an interesting concept because it all depends on the strategies and schemes you have. Ramos can buff his creations decently well, and use them as bombs if need be. I don't have much experience with the crew as a whole sadly, because I don't play Arcanists much... I'd check out pullmyfinger the Malifaux Tactica, it'll help answer some of your questions

Thank you for the help. I will check the tactica.

No problem,

I always go there first, it's got a great amount of resources on practically everyone. And every week they pick a new faction to go through and tighten everything up, so things are getting updated and fleshed out all the time

thedarkavenger wrote:
1- Is it optimal, average, sub-par or should I change it completely? If I should change it, what should I change it to?

Understand that Ramos is considered an average master at best. He just doesn't do what other masters can. I would describe him as support in nature, but he's just not that supportive as he is more of a "combination" which, in all table top games, is not a strong way to play. (meaning that relying on combinations is often too hit or miss compared to models that just do "what they do" really well.

Continuing on, there are such differences in crew building when it comes to opponents/strategies&schemes/terrain that having a "core" is nice, but just committing to one list is a mistake.

This all said, I do like your "core" very much. It makes a lot of sense. I have it coming in at 27 SS. Do you play 30SS games often? That would give you 5 SS which I would consider low in this list because of Kaeris, who loves her Soulstones...

If I had to switch anything I would remove the SPA Swarm and go with a Rail Golem. He just does so much and give you a beatstick model to draw a lot of attention from Kaeris/Ramos.

My only other switch would be to remove a LSA for a Student of Conflict. Kaeris with a SoC is just that good. Plus you would gain another SS into your pool.

thedarkavenger wrote:
2- Is Ramos' avatar worth getting?

Yes, without any doubt. He is one of the few Avatars that are no-brainers just about. He just makes Ramos that much better.

thedarkavenger wrote:
3- How aggressive should I play the crew in general. I've been playing coy and slightly defensive but that has been hit and miss.

Without the Rail Golem you lack a heavy hitter. Yes, the list can do some damage, but not all in one activation... so the opponent can often react and minimize damage. Plus it forces your to keep your Constructs closer together if trying to win a fist fight. With the Rail Golem you gain a model that the others can work around. He is not a be-all, end-all model, but he is that good, and with Ramos (and to an extent Kaeris) backing him up he can be that much better. With aRamos it will also support a steady advance approach.

I think the list would far well in Strategies like Claim Jump and Supply Wagon... where you strive to keep your Constructs up front and Ramos and Kaeris supporting them. Schemes like Bodyguard and Hold the Line will be easier, I would think. Where you'll suffer is Destroy the Evidence or Line in the Sand. You'll have fewer total activations and fewer models to get stuff done while managing to occupy the opponent. That's when I'd move away from your list entirely and look to some Gamins to help you out. Metal to keep Kaeris and Ramos alive and Fire to put the heat (no pun intended) on the opponent while having significant models to get stuff done.

I agree with everything that has been mentioned so far, but one thing regarding Ramos's Avatar is that it becomes tremendously easier to summon if you have the Mechanical Toolkit as his totem.

Personally, I tend to run the Mechanical Toolkit as his totem for reliable summoning of spiders and then the avatar becomes very easy to summon.

You may want to purchase the Electrical Creation considering it's one of Ramos's abilities.

Additionally, instead of outright running the Arachnid Swarms, consider taking a Large Steampunk Arachnid or two. It's solid, rather damaging, and has a respectable number of wounds and armor for its cost. Plus, when/if it dies, Ramos gets tons of scrap for making spiders.

My usual Ramos list consists of one Mechanical Toolkit, one Large Steampunk Arachnid, and the Avatar.
Everything else is dependent on the scenario. Gunsmiths are great at making things go away. Mechanical Rider is great at zipping to the objective. Haven't tried the Rail Golem, but I hear it's also great.

I'm not a fan of the Student of Conflict. The Fast ability is, off the top of my head, an "All" with a fairly short range, meaning it's only really useful if you can move them and their recipient into position and stay there (which may be the case with some "defend this point" schemes and strategies).

The mechanical toolkit, however, is fantastic. Being able to guarantee Ramos the second tome is excellent, and Kaeris herself can put them to use as well. With the added benefit of being dragged around by whichever Leader you linked it to, you could even conceivably give the extra tome to both of them in a single turn.

Mechnical toolkit is great, but I did find myself leaning on it a bit, so swapped out for a brass arachnid.

If you go avatar, be aggressive. If not, keep Ramos in support chucking spiders out and bombing anyone who gets close.