KrazyIvan

The game is designed to push owning multiple masters in a faction. Always has been. Previous master nerfs confirm this. If you're only getting mad about this now you only have yourself to blame.

Negative.

The issue is more nuanced than that because you have to consider internal faction balance as well, especially when changing point costs. Take Gremlins for example: In the post-errata meta it can be argued that Stuffed Piglets are not worth the new cost of 3SS because Bayou Gremlins are also 3SS, are significant, and have better attacks and abilities. Bumping Stuffed Piglets has thrown the Gremlin faction out of whack, and opened up the question if Bayou Gremlins have the correct cost, or should they be bumped to 4SS? The point I'm trying to make is that increasing the cost of a model has a larger impact that simply making that model more expensive.

I have no personal issue with McCabe or the Terracotta Warrior, or Yasunori and any master for that matter. Hence my use of the qualifier "potentially" in front of "NPE inducing". You can't dispute that they have been a topic of discussion however (there are multiple long threads on Yasunori alone). In the case of Yasunori I was simply pointing out that comparing what a master does to what non masters do isn't a good comparison. Masters have a schtick that isn't really comparable to what specialized thing that Henchmen or Enforcers do, because a master's play style usually color an entire crew. Its better to compare non-master models to other non-master models. The only reason I mentioned McCabe was that @Hot4Perditamentioned that he was interested in McCabe. Since he has errata issues and the interactions between McCabe, Levi and Terracotta Warrior has been a topic of discussion as likely unintended on many a podcast, including shows like Max Value where a large chunk of the Midwest and East Coast tourney set discuss things. If you follow the errata cycle there seems to be a link to results from Adepticon and NOVA, where those guys play, and what gets errata. I suspect that's because of the data that can be collected at those large events. I could be off, of course, but I thought I'd asy least put that out there for a specific guy, taking about adding a specific master to his line up.

Well avoid the Ten Thunders McCabe + Terracotta Warrior infinite Sabres trick. My spider sense is telling me that's going to either get the erratta or FAQ bat next year.

The difference is that Viks of Ashes and Viks of Blood were specifically designed to do that. It's their master shtick. Yasunori on its own is fine, its only when it is combined with McCabe or, especially, Asame that interactions happen that are potentially NPE inducing. With so many possible interactions in Malifaux expecting a game designer to see them all, even with extensive playtesting, is unreasonable. Also, the meta changes all the time. What isn't NPE inducing today might become that way upon release of the next book, for the same reason cited above.

A'yep. Yasunori is more abusive, IMO, and hasn't been hit yet.

The Pigapult wasn't the issue. The issue was that Stuffed Piglets were never intended to be hired as spamable activations. Putting a rare limit on them was never going to be a good option due to Taxidermists summoning and how many Stuffed Piglets come in the Creative Taxidermy box.

Maybe Bayous should be 4SS, to maintain internal faction balance. Give them and Stuffed Piglets a little boost and differentiate their cost. Still doesn't solve the Pigapult issue though. I suppose that the Pigapult could hire Stuffed Piglets for a discount, or come with 1-2 for free. Ultimately the core issue is still that 1, non totem, activation is considered to be worth more than 2SS by the designers, no matter how good or bad the model is.

Why is it that folks seem to think that a bump in SS was the only thing discussed behind closed doors. Anyone who has been involved in Wyrd play testing knows that all kinds of ideas get discussed before a decision is made. I got to be honest that it rubs me the wrong way when the Malifaux game designers are accused of lazy development, given the complexities designed into the game already. In this case the ultimate issue with the Stuffed Piglets wasn't their wound count, or their selective self-detonation, or anything else about how the models performed. It was specifically that 2SS is too cheap for a non-totem activation (non-Totem because by and large totems are Rare 1, and the ones that aren't are integral to the associated master's intended play style), complicated with the fact that the designer didn't want to make major changes to the actions and abilities on the card. How do you specifically address the design direction of "1 activation > 2SS"? All I see is either giving them a Rare limit, which would have to be like Rare 3 to avoid the spamming 2SS activations issue, or bump their SS cost.

I suspect that if when/if M3E rolls around Gremlins will see a change to Reckless. In the interim having easy access to activation control, plus 3 AP on the majority of their models makes a great many of the condition and scheme marker GG17 strats and schemes trivially easy for them. That's probably where all the renewed 'Gremlins are OP' talk is coming from these days.

I'm thinking models like Johan, Sue, Librarian, Big Jake, etc. A&D under this idea would simply replace the 10SS plus upgrades on a Henchie, so still nets you some points back. This obviously doesn't include Viks, or specialty builds like Scion in a void list. Beyond AP, there is an argument that Outcast Henchies mostly kill stuff, rather than bringing utility, and our Enforcers do that pretty well already, for fewer points. TBH I never considered it untilI listened to that cast. I mean, Hannah is pretty ubiquitous in my lists. I'm just trying to theoryfaux here.

Recently on the Max Value podcast I heard something interesting: the claim that Outcast Henchmen don't do enough, in general, to be worth their points (that's not a quote, outs extrapolation from what was specifically said). The Outcast faction has access to, in my opinion, the most SS efficient, Enforcers in the game. Do those Enforcers make is more advantageous to skip taking a Henchie and loading up on extra Enforcer AP, especially consindering the additional importance (beyond its importance in standard tech) of activation control in GG17?

When playing Levi I do my best to kill summon Abominations via Desolate Soul as close to the enemy summoner as possible. Stripping suits is usually a huge deal for summoners (not to mention losing (0) actions). The passive damage pulse can also be effective at draining cards and stones. I often find that opponents will commit a crazy amount of resources to dislodge one or two Abominations camped by their summoning master. There is always Taelor as well. Welcome to Malifaux has a 9" threat range for anti-summoning ops.

Running only 3 anchors is risky, and can backfire if you are not careful. I usually start my Levi crews like so... Levi Waif x2 10ss Henchie (Usually Rusty or Hannah w/ I Pay Better) Johan (IMO the single most SS efficient model in Outcasts) Librarian Trapper This gives you 4 anchors to start, all with solid abilities that are good in a variety of situations...and that have good synergy with I Pay Better. It also covers basic bases like hitters, healing and scheme running. You're left with plenty of points for an expensive model, or a few cheap models and upgrades.

Maliphoenix, in conjunction with Games U, is kicking things off in June with an Open Play League. There will be a total of four meet-ups, with predetermined encounters using GG2017. We'll also be setting up tables ahead of time so all you need to do is build a crew for the week's encounter and get right into a game. Henchmen will be on site to run demos for new players. You can RSVP for each night, and meet other players in the local meta, through our Facebook group Maliphoenix. When 4:30pm - 9:00pm, Monday nights in June Where Games U 1550 N Stonehenge Dr #102 Gilbert, AZ 85233 Encounters June 5th Deployment - Standard Strategy - Collect the Bounty Schemes - Claim Jump, Frame for Murder, Accusation!, Hidden Trap and Lat Stand June 12th Deployment: Flank Strategy: Headhunter Schemes: Claim Jump, Dig Their Graves, Leave Your Mark, Undercover Entourage and Hunting Party June 19th Deployment: Standard Strategy: Guard the Stash Schemes: Claim Jump, Accusasion!, Leave Your Mark, Search the Ruins and Tail 'Em June 26th Deployment: Standard Strategy: Extraction Schemes: Claim Jump, Eliminate the Leadership, Frame For Murder, Show of Force and Tail 'Em

If you have the models for Karina's summoning I think she is fine (and its a good excuse to start Ressers anyway). Otherwise your most effective build depends, as always, on the strat and scheme pool. Beyond that its a matter of taste. Want to beast bomb? Get a Death Marshal and a second beater (Killjoy, Bishop, D-Engine...even the Scion). Want to go aggresivd bury? Get a Death Marshal, Hannah, Wretches, NB, Aionus and go to town. Want to run full support? Get a bunch of our 6-8 ss models like the Librarian, Johann, Convict Gunslinger, and Sue then go to town.

Looking to trade my metal dreamer crew, including Nightmare Lord Chompy Bits, for a well painted plastic version. I'm tired of the big bruiser beating up my plastics in my magnetic case. Crew will include: Metal Dreamer 3x Metal Day Dreams 3x Metal Alps 1 Metal Coppelius Will trade straight across for a well painted set of plastics of the same models. Each party pays shipping to the other (and you will be getting the bigger deal since Nightmare LCB weighs a ton). Willing to work a deal for a NOS crew box plus $100.00 cash or other NOS models. Each party pays shipping to the other. Other models to include one of the following: Zipp Crew Box Hamelin Crew Box Sonnia Crew Box So'mer Crew Box Collette Crew Box Willing to do cash only, but the price is $160.00. I will include all the cards usually in the box including 2017 errata for the Day Dreams. Buyer will pay shipping. I might also consider a straight across trade for a full set of Watchmen minis for the Batman Miniatures game. You will not doubt notice the inflation in cost for models+cash, or cash only. That's because I'm more interested in models than cash. A straight trade for a well painted plastic Dreamer crew takes first priority. Prefer US trades, but might go international for a painted crew. Pictures upon request.

The best thing about Laz is that his rapid fire can hit 3 different targets. Consequently I like him against high activation count crews. Blasts generally ruin their day. In this case if the OP isn't planning on using Burn Out I'd consider dropping Laz completely and hiring either Hannah instead, or two other support models (Sue and a scheme runner probably). Either option is going to get you more utility than Laz alone IMO, especially if you include a Librarian. Also, I rarely run full stones with Levi...but that's becauseI nearly always bring a Librarian for the heals. I'm generally comfortable running him at 4-5 stones that are almost exclusively used for card draw and + for Desolate Warping.

Personally I am not a fan of From Ash and From Dust. I'd much rather spend resources on getting Abominations out through Desolate Soul. The problem with From Ash and From Dust is that both require cards, and the combo limits Levi's mobility since he needs to chillax around Rusty to get the most out of it. That keeps him from doing what he does best: teleporting all over the board and finishing off models. The other reason for my heavy preference of Desolate Soul is just how good of a tarpit a 4SS Abomination is. If you cross off an enemy model near other opposing models they're more likely to spend AP dealing with it than not, which is a secondary form of board control that I think folks overlook sometimes. Abominations restrict zero actions, strip suits, and cause passive damage...none of which your opponent wants anywhere near their stuff. I'm also not a huge fan of using Burn Out on Laz without two ways of healing him. He has a lot of wounds, and I like to be able to heal 4-5 on him reliably each turn after Burn Out. Luckily Friekorps Librarians are available to you. Having the Librarian also brings some healing that should make you more comfortable running 4-5 stones (incidentally, I tend use stones in my Levi crew to proc Desolate Soul or for card draw more than anything else). If it were me I'd modify your basic list like so: Levi - Desolate Soul, Tally Sheet Hollow Waif Hollow Waif Rusty Alyce - Desolate Soul, I Pay Better (you have a ton of mercs in this list) Lazarus Friekorps Librarian Johan Friekorps Trapper 6 SS pool That gives you a total of 5 anchors, 8 activations, and a solid group of models. The Trapper can function as you scheme runner. You have 4 models with a Flurry-type action covering SH, MI and CA actions. Finally everyone on the list except for Levi, the Waifs, and Rusty can benefit from I Pay Better. You could swap out Lazarus for Ashes & Dust. This will reduce your cache to 3 SS, which you could mitigate by dropping I Pay Better. That will give you a very tanky scheme runner and beat-ish model (I personally don't like A&D as a beater, mind you) who excels at counter-scheme running. Or you could accept Levi as you main beater, drop Laz, and add in something like Sue or Big Jake and either Hodgepodge Effigy or a Winged Plague. You have lots of options.

I've given Dreamer a go several times now, but I'm having trouble when I give him all his summoning tech. The main issue I am having is figuring out what to include as hires versus what I should wait to summon. My games with summoning Dreamer typically go like so: I hire in a couple Daydreams, Doppelganger, Widow Weaver and maybe Tannen, Coppy, and an Illuminated or Stitched...then turn one happens and everything goes to hell... Merris uses her Jug Rocket plus a pig riding Trixie to march Francois and Burt into range and get into position to shoot me to pieces...then proceed to do so. Perdita and fam...well...just murder me after a turn of advancing. Etc, etc, etc... I guess what I am saying is that while I can summon the hell out of stuff, it's all paper thin for a round or two and I am finding it difficult to insulate myself from ranged attacks. Everything I summon in is getting killed the turn after I summon it in. My Waking is perpetually sitting at 2+, so the healing being generated by Dreamer isn't enough to keep them upright. Should I be hiring my tanky stuff, and simply summoning my utility pieces?

What dimensions are you using for your doors an windows?

Yep. Levi PoB list alongside some Belles.

This exactly. The card draw alone is worth 3ss in my opinion.

You have to prep the boards with some kind of acrylic compound as I describe up thread. Apply to one side, then weight it down and let it dry completely. Then flip it over and repeat on the other side. It won't warp after that.