Rami LaCroix – Bayou Recon Scout Sniper

Rami LaCroix is on the agenda today; let’s take a closer look at the range and firepower he can bring to a crew.

Abilities

Rami LaCroix, the sniper of the LaCroix family. Rami has a below average defense of four and a horrid willpower of four as well. At six wounds and combined with his low defense means that Rami isn’t long for this world if someone can get close enough to do some serious damage to him. However, Rami is one of the more mobile gun platforms with a very Gremlin walk of five. His height one stat means that he will have trouble seeing through some terrain and over walls; it helps him hide behind walls for cover. Rami, like most Gremlins has Reckless, an absolute golden ability that lets Rami take a wound in exchange for one general AP.  Rami has Aim High meaning that he does not have to randomize into combat for Ht 1 models, unless the original target is Ht 1. Since most Gremlins are Ht 1 this let’s Rami fire into melee reliably targeting Ht 2 or greater models without any friendly fire casualties. He also carries the Squeel trigger on his defense, which can allow him to escape melee if he finds himself trapped there. The cost for the trigger is a Mask and he must suffer damage so if he is low on wounds it’s better to try and not get hit rather than rely on the trigger getting you safely away. 

Actions

Rami has one attack action and it’s a doozy. At eighteen-inch range, Rami can cover half of the board with good placement. If you Focus, the range of this attack becomes a mighty thirty-six inch range. With focus, Rami can shoot the entire board! Now the attack stat is a very pedestrian five so unless he can hit often it’s best to use the Focus as a threat. People don’t like being shot in their deployment zone on turn one. I generally find people don’t really enjoy being shot at all, but with the whole board covered Rami truly embraces the sniper creed “You can run, you’ll just die tired”. On a Ram, Rami triggers Dumb Luck that ups his damage profile to 2/6/8 from his normal profile of 1/3/4, now Rami will suffer half of the amount the target suffers. An example of this ability is Rami shoots the Rail Golem for eight damage, the Golem would then reduce the damage taken by his Armor +2. So now the Golem takes a total of six damage, Rami then suffers three damage. This may seem like a bad thing but we haven’t looked at his only other action. Trusty Flask is Rami’s only tactical action and on a Ca of 4 with a TN of 10, a six of anything lets Rami heal 1/2/3 damage. Rami is truly a self-sufficient piece on the board! Don't forget that Rami is an Enforcer so he will not benefit from the Liquid Bravery aura of +2 Wp, however he can make full use of Dirty Cheater to heal up damage in addition to using his Trusty Flask as well. 

Overall 

We’ve talked about Rami and his ability to cover the board. Often the best bet is to put Rami in a place where he can Focus and use the range to pick off models before they can advance. With Reckless he can Focus, Shoot with positives to attack and damage. Cheat up to severe damage and hit a model for 8 wounds, then use his last AP to heal himself. One thing to remember about his trigger is that is you believe it to be tactically sound he can Dumb Luck himself to death as well. This can be a boon if you can take out a high cost model that the opponent cannot bring back, of if you get that lucky hit and can finish off a high cost model. Unlike most regular Gremlins Rami does not have to declare triggers on his attack so that also makes for some tactical decision making as well. Now if you pair up Rami with a Student of Conflict you can make two maximum range shots a turn from the Students Fast ability. This can be a great boon to Rami because if Rami can hit a target with two Dumb Luck triggers, Rami will die but I am quite sure the target will explode as well. Another avenue with the Student is to take four range 18 shots. With reliable hits you can do anywhere from 4-17 damage with most of the results skewed toward 4-6 damage. Now in order to use the Student you cannot use your master’s specific totem, so you should be sure that is the route you want to go and build your list accordingly. Overall Rami is a great board control piece with solid damage potential that sometimes is overlooked with all the new shiny models coming out in the Wave 2 Beta.