Thanks for the comment! Yes; I feel like my every edit leaves something else to be edited. Models discarding cards when they don't have a hand of cards is from Malifaux, and I totally agree with you and can't believe I let that bleed into these rules.
So my synergies (effects that are more than the sum of their parts) are actually a little buried in the mechanics. For example, engaging an enemy with two of my models. It means I have an option to play from two suits in a combat, which means the two combatants will be able to withstand more attacks and present a greater threat. The movement creates an effect that is greater than the sum of its parts. The cards are the same, they haven't gotten more powerful. The movement didn't make the cards more powerful. But my hand is stronger nonetheless because I have two of the right models in the combat. So, yes, I do have a set of core rules, and some synergies in the crew building (my favorite I have found is taking Leadership on a Risen crew, I think). But my main synergies are in the mechanics.
Poor Monster Hunters. I didn't have time to clean them up, unfortunately. My idea is that they only have 4 models, and each gets either additional Armor or Speed, and they each get the Vigilant ability. Vigilant makes them less susceptible to spells. Otherwise they will follow the rules for a crew of 5 with deck creation and for models, they'd just not assign the lowest values. Essentially I think of them like witch hunters, or uh...Dracula's nemesis who's name is escaping me right now. Or the ladies from Claymore.
When I've got some extra time I'm going to clean up the language, make it more consistent and hopefully less confusing. But Territory Markers go on the board and they stay put. Conquest Tokens get put onto Territory markers. You should think of Conquest Tokens like a pile of VP you have to spend, and once you've spent it you've won. Winning combats will let you spend it and losing combats will make you take it back. But the main way is to advance past a Territory Marker and place it. I guess it is kind of a King of the Hill mechanic, but there's tons of hills. The main thing is that you can permanently remove some of that VP if you pull it all off the board. So you start with needing to get rid of 9 VP, right? And you end up placing 6 right away. During consolidation, you pick up all the VP you've put on the board, and then remove 3 VP from the game. So now you'll win if you score 6 VP instead of 9. Does that make sense? You'll consolidate if you think you can earn those VP back again quickly, or if you notice your opponent scoring quickly (because you remove a marker when you do it), or you know you can't score those 3 VP easily. This is another instance of synergy, too. The synergy between your hand, your models, and the state of the table.
Thanks for your feedback!