Bing, Boing, Boom!
Straight out of Astrazan is Commonwealth’s newest blunderbuss-wielding mounted character, Matilda. But Commonwealth already have a blunderbuss-wielding character and a couple of mounted characters, so what's new here?
Well, compared to Gertrude, she has 3 Arcane, so she's nowhere near as good at shooting low evade characters. And compared to Hogswash, she lacks Melee stats and passive abilities. So is she just the worst of both worlds? Not at all!
Bingy Boingy Movement
As already alluded to, Matilda’s passive abilities are bereft of damage bonuses and reductions, instead she has just one ability which lets her take a reaction step once a turn for free. Though subtle and not overwhelmingly powerful, this is a pretty good insight into where she differs from other Commonwealth characters mentioned; pinning her down is about as easy as nailing a jelly to a wall.
'Bingy' is even more useful when used alongside its sister ability 'Boingy'. This allows you to place her within 2" for 2 energy, giving her even more movement to get closer to the action faster. However, staying stable on a creature that bouncy is troublesome, so she can't harvest after moving so erratically! But the placement effects don't end there; her signature also allows her a 1" place as another option to get out of troublesome situations, in addition to a free reload.
Blunderbuss No Fuss
“Excellent, more guns are better than one!”
Speaking of which, she has access to the classic blunderbuss similar to that on Gertrude and Boom Boom McBoom. As usual, it is low but reliable damage, going off two cards instead of one, and having to reload after it fires. As well as all the ‘places’, how she uses the blunderbuss is what makes Matilda shine. Or rather, it isn't the blunderbuss itself; it’s the active ability that lets her use the blunderbuss and Matilda's main trick on the table.
'Astrazan Tactics' rounds off her hit-and-run play style. Using this ability allows her to waltz in with a Jog action, getting into melee or blunderbuss range, then make one of these attacks with a damage bonus, then bounce away. (Yep, that's yet another placement effect!) Matilda completely flips the utility of her blunderbuss compared to others. Unlike others with their higher arcane, she can't use it to accurately hit lower evade enemies, but must instead hit higher evade enemies. With a +2 damage bonus though, she's exceedingly good at punching through armour where the low damage of the blunderbuss usually suffers.
Using Matilda in a Troupe
“Can… Can I have a go afterwards?”
In terms of support, Matilda will feel right at home alongside the members of The Faculty. With her innate Animal keyword and potential to be a machine, she can benefit hugely from a large chunk of the gnomish scholars.
Otherwise, anything that helps and supports Animals and Humans can work great alongside her. Quack can bump up her Arcane so she can more reliably hit more low evade enemies, whilst Joanna and Boris love having additional animals around for a variety of damage buffs!
