Why I love Brick

It has been a fair while since my last article, dear readers, and for that I can but apologise.  So, for the literally tens of people who are going to read this, today I am going to be talking about why I love Brick.

Like my previous (surprisingly well received) article on Avarisse & Greede, the first  part is the seemingly obligatory mumbling about stats and the like that all blogs do, and the second part is me ranting about counter charge until I loose feeling in my fingers.

So, let’s get on with the formula then…

Stats

Behold! He has stats!

Brick is slow. Brick has a underwhelming TAC stat. Brick has a terrible KICK stat. Poor Brick.

He has a not amazing set of defensive stats with a DEF of 2+ and ARM of 2, he is vulnerable to a charge but can face tank with someone engaged with him for a shockingly long time. Still, like all big guys, he is extremely vulnerable to character plays and being rinsed for momentum, and hates anatomical precision or being knocked down.

He almost always give more INF than he needs. He gives 2, and normally is given 0. I don’t think I have ever given him more than a couple, certainly never the 3 he can have. As such, he is a handy battery of influence, giving it to more hungry players in the Masons. Which, to be honest, is most of them.

Playbook

Oh, blimey! He has a playbook as well!

Is isn’t great, to be fair to the poor centre back.. I doubt he will ever tackle the ball, but he can at a pinch. He can do a little damage, but as he will be given little influence it is unlikely he will do much. He has a knock down on three hits, which is by far his most important ability. It is also momentous, which is important in a bit.

He can do a knockdown and two damage, but I tend to choose the momentous knock down instead. Like all Masons, he can at the higher end do quite a lot of damage, which can be useful, but with his TAC score it is very unlikely he will hit those results without a Singled Out, or a knockdown, or a charge. Or all three.

Character Plays

Just the one…

Rarely used, as it requires 5 hits, but it is potentially very powerful. If Brick gets the (counter) charge off, and he is facing a model that is Sturdy, or can easily spend a point of momentum to get up again, why not try a concussion? Knocking off a single point of influence might sound like a small amount, but it can hugely mess up someone’s plans, and potentially mess up their whole turn.

Character Traits

Now we are getting somewhere…

Pretty simple. He is hard to hurt. Combined with his 19 HP he can take quite the beating from most pieces and healing  him can make that last much longer.Just remember, it doesn’t work against bleeding, poison or fire, which can make him fall over pretty quickly.

 

These I have put together. First of all, he can push back a model 1″ for every hit, and choose to follow up if he wants to. He often doesn’t want to. That makes his playbook seem much better, doesn’t it? Let’s change it….

Knockdown and a 1″ push on a 2″ reach model? Delightful. Note, he has to move directly towards them if he wants to follow up, and the push is directly away, so is a bit worse than a normal push. Still, pretty good for what you want him for, which is to protect your models and be a general nuisance.

Right, counter charge….

In a game of open information and pre-measuring, you might find Brick rarely gets one off. This in no way makes Brick bad, as your opponent still has to work out how to deal with him.

When Brick get’s his counter charge off, he will commonly knock them down, and potentially knock them back an inch, meaning the model may well end out of melee from their target, even if they can spend a momentum to get up again. Also, as this is not a counter attack, this still generates momentum.

Counter charge can be surprisingly counter intuitive, and it can be easily foiled, so here are some tips…

The 10 commandments of Brick

1. Brick shalt always be aware of where fast mascots are. Fast mascots may be able to engage Brick, and negate his counter charge. As Brick rarely has influence, this can make Brick sad.
2. Brick shalt not be afraid to disengage a model and take a parting blow if it means he can still threaten counter charge.
3. Brick shalt fear models with reach, as they may be able to engage both him and their target. Actually, this needs a diagram..                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          In step 1), Brick is attempting to guard Honour, but he is too close. As such, Tapper is able to engage both Honour and Brick at once, negating the counter charge. In 3), Brick has been more careful, with his 6″ aura covering the area up to 2″ in front of Honour. This means that he can charge Tapper much more easily.
4. Brick shalt remember that he does not need to charge directly towards the target. With 2″ reach Brick can get some surprising angles off.
5. Brick shalt remember not to have his charge lanes blocked by his own models.
6. Brick shalt remember to be wary of rough ground.
7. Brick shalt be careful not to be knocked down. Other models shalt remember that they can use momentum to get Brick back to his feet.
8. Brick shalt remember that he does not always have to counter charge the first model that comes into range, for it may be bait for the less wise Brick.
9. Brick shalt not be within 3″ of another member of his team if the enemy has Flurry, or Noxious Blast, or Fire Blast, or Blasted Earth. Or others. You get the idea.
10. Brick shalt remember that other, heretical, non-Masons players have probably read this guide as well.

Here endeth the lesson.