Better Know Your Malifaux 006: Niño Ortega

As the youngest operative of the Ortega family, Niño Idolizes his older siblings, in particular his sister Perdita. Smaller than the rest, he uses his size and stealth to bring a unique tool to the Family's battle plan. Niño's contribution to his family's success on the battlefield is larger than his small size and young age would suggest.  Ranging ahead of the rest of the Crew, Niño sets up in an ideal position to bring his deadly Custom Repeating Rifle to bear.  From his forward position he can work to control the battlefield, often getting off the first shot of the encounter and causing the enemy to cling to cover.

For the most part it's best to think of the youngest Ortega as a turret.  Although Niño has an impressive Df, above average for a book one enforcer, his remaining stats are average to poor at best.  This is why it is so vital to make sure you maximize From the Shadows during deployment to make sure he doesn't need to move (his Wk being the same as the Enslaved Nephilim... A guy with a ball and chain strapped to his leg).  A strong opening position with good sight lines also let's you use Spotter to lock-down your opponent's ability to place Scheme markers near the rest of the Family.  Should someone actually get to grips with Niño he can use "Where'd He Go?" to escape being engaged or Shrug Off to remove a negative condition.

Niño's main ability, the reason that you take him with you in your Crew, is his aforementioned Rifle. His Sh is low for an Enforcer's primary attack but this is offset by his positive twist.  Most importantly, Niño extends his rifle range to a whopping 36" when he takes a Focus Action prior to shooting. Two of his Triggers, Critical Strike and Precision, are fueled by his built-in Ram.  His third Trigger, Headshot, requires a Crow and a target within 10” to get off but can result in instant death for a model who can't pay either two Soulstones or two cards to avoid it.

None of the current Upgrades are a very strong match for Niño as all three of those available to Family require him to be uncomfortably close to the enemy. Niño doesn't have enough wounds to really make Lead Lined Coat worth the points.  Theoretically there could be situations where Plant Evidence would be of benefit since it can be an automatic Marker for such Schemes as Breakthrough, Plant Evidence or A Line In The Sand.  Beyond these limited situations you can probably spend your Soulstones more wisely. 

Once a must-include powerhouse under the first edition rules, Niño is now a much more subtle tool in the Guild arsenal.  He no longer dominates the field as he once did and this has caused many of his detractors to disregard him entirely.  He is absolutely a trickier model to play now, but the ability to be up field before the game starts can not be dismissed in a five turn game.  Second edition also introduced the Vantage Point rules which Niño is uniquely suited for, being able to shoot over terrain is a great combination with a 36" range.  The test will come when the rules for the rest of the Ortega models are released and we can see him at his full potential.