JoeCL

Bringing that kind of mobility in a scheme pool that rewards it (symbols of authority, breakthrough, etc) means your enemy needs to devote resources for a hard counter or you will rake in the points. Because this model can be well into the backfield turn 1 with push and fast. Probably takes an average of 10ss worth of strength your enemy needs to peel away from his front line to take care of these pesky buggers. If the scheme pool doesn't reward the mobility then they have no real use.

There's a lot on the rougarou that looks great with Marcus. I tried to make them work but I always felt they never quite lived up to their value. I've never came across the ideal situation that you have multiple enemies fail wp checks with a zero action and get a number of free hits on them. I was playing against a savvy opponent though who probably actively avoided setting me up for free smell fear hits.

Yan Lo is dual faction, so before starting investing in new models you should think about whether you are more interested in ressurectionists or ten thunders as a faction. Use this site to start out. This is the ten thunders article but he's written one for each faction. He also has a podcast, same title as the website. Big help. https://schemesandstones.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/building-on-a-budget-ten-thunders/

There would be tremendous usefulness but it could only come about with a more complex simulation. I agree investing all resources into 1 model doesn't simulate real games. For example if you could simulate 3+ different interactions all demanding resources from the same hand and run that simulation 1000 + times, you can start to give some real insight into which crews are better, what are the best combos, etc. Who is worth investing resources into, which models are compatible , what are the most efficient combos. But - again - the time a person would need to program that could be extensive.

My mind goes crazy with this stuff and I wish I had the time to pick up what you did and run with it. Stuff I would want to do but doubt anyone has the time to do: programming a 6 card hand in for either player and assigning success priorities to attacker/defender Where the priorities are high: Game is on the line, will cheat highest card as long as is logical to do so Medium: Attacker will cheat moderate card if losing, defender will cheat moderate card if losing or to put attacker on neg flips Low: No cheating Allow the user to mix and match priorities to see success rate. Of course, it would have to be programmed so that cards in hand don't appear in the respective deck. It would also need to be programmed that the player would always cheat the lowest card that gets the best result. Then make the hand size variable Also making it variable when the deck shuffles an when the players get new hands . If they had bad cards in hand they don't get shuffled in. Then I want to run simulations with more than two models and use the same hand to govern success. Like 2 on 1, or two separate one on one battles

If you are taking Luna, then take the hounds. Not worth taking Luna without hounds. But cheaper guild guard does put that slot in contention.

nothing too surprising in those results, though it does show that sometimes a good damage track is better than high minimum damage. I think a 7 wound model would be interesting because then the min 3 can’t get there in 2 without a moderate. also the effect of hard to kill.

My opponent caught me on it early on into playing Sandeep. But yes I initially missed it too

Saving a master AP is no small feat. The child gives you an extra activation and an extra master AP. And the master is Ml 7, so she might actually hit. The student is Ml 4 ( if I remember). Low quality AP, not likely to hit. She will always under perform. I will take the 1 master AP for 2 lackluster peon AP any day.

I've been waiting for someone else to put themselves in the line of fire and make their own list! Glad I'm not the only one who likes throwing my arbitrary opinion out there just to generate internet debate

My list is based on gut feel, personal bias, and a little bit of educated opinion . I think 10T might be peerless in terms of holding points and Shenlong and Asami are also top-tier masters with misaki, yan lo, and Jacob lynch all bringing strong plays to certain gg2018 strats and schemes. The paired always scheme and strategy are meant to try and pull crews in different directions. Nobody does that worse than outcasts I think.

Power playing at the expense of fun can be bad. Losing all the time is not fun. For instance, I won a few games with the Viks but had so little fun that I traded them off after a few months. I've also won with Sandeep and marcus, but had a great time doing so. But I'm not jumping to pick up a master like von Schill while my meta is only getting more and more competitive. Knowing the versatility out there I wouldn't have fun if I felt like I was handicapped by the models.

Lucky for you I love this type of discussion. Here was my post on AWP discussing exactly this. Take it for what it's worth (I'm only vaguely familiar with some of the factions) 2018 Faction Tier List 1) Ten thunders Great maneuverability, great at holding points, great models in wave 5, efficient AP, great flexibility to manage strats and schemes. Main weakness is activation control. 2) neverborn Another flexible faction that can handle just about anything 3) Ressers Can bring whatever they need in the middle of the game. Wave 5 brought some movement tricks they needed. Main weakness is the time delay in getting the engine going and susceptibility to alpha strikes - which are very powerful 4) arcanists Sandeep and the mages survived January un-nerfed. Other masters can be useful in niche situations 5) Gremlins Got hit with a double whammy, nerfs in errata and strat and scheme pools that involve holding points and spreading out. They converged on a spot like none other, but their squishy nature may put them at a disadvantage in 2018 6) Guild Gg2018 and some good models in wave 5 might make them relevant again 7) Outcasts Ask them to done 1 thing well and they can do it extremely well. Ask them to do 2 things and it all falls apart.

I was thinking 10T brother because if you are summoning a peasant after initiative, using shen's 0 to change upgrades, then you need the peasants to build conditions. I think you use the push and slow if you have sensei yu to do it. I think shenlong doing it may mean he doesn't have a more defensive upgrade on him at the right time. But circumstances will vary.

I have a tournament coming up and not enough time to get in the games I need to get really prepared with my Shenlong crew. So, if you are willing to entertain me, I'd like to throw my theoryfaux at the collective, infallible wisdom of the internet. So if the opponent drops viks, misaki, alpha Marcus, etc. my plan is to first try to slow the strike down with a cheap model, but if they get pass that I want them to attack Shenlong. So i will play him a bit forward to make him a more enticing target than the rest of the crew. I will count on them striking late in the turn and have an extra 3 cards from low river monk/emmisary. Hopefully I will also have time to activate shenlong to attach high river style. I plan to use burning (given by peasants) to up my defensive to win any duals with my (hopefully) better hand. Heal once threat is neutralized. The main weaknesses are at least 5 models need to activate for the setup (cheap "slowdown" model, emmisary, low monk, peasant, shenlong) . And relying on a good hand ( I can't bring a huge cache with my list) Turn 2 could also be a disaster if I have junk hand and no initiative. Thoughts? Any better/alternate strategies?

Slingshot or not, any viks list that is not built for some form of alpha strike is gimped. The more opportunities you give your opponent to strike first the more you lose.

Locally we have mostly 35 ss tournaments. The best list I ever made was Sandeep, upgrades, 3 mages, full cash, 13 ss to mess around with (I liked Howard with IE). Summoned in the scheme runners and won tournament no prob. The mages are a great value. 35 SS Arcanists Crew Sandeep Desai + 7 Pool - To Command Another Plane (1) - Arcane Reservoir (2) - Unaligned Sage (1) Howard Langston (12) - Imbued Energies (1) Oxfordian Mage (5) - Doom Ward (0) - Temporary Shielding (0) Oxfordian Mage (5) - Blood Ward (0) - Temporary Shielding (0) Oxfordian Mage (5) - Nemesis Ward (0) - Temporary Shielding (0) (exported from CrewFaux)

Sandeep and mages. Spend your money on other crews if you like. You MAY pull them out in niche situations when the stars align. Only other competitively winning strategy is an alpha Marcus list I think. But ive been wrong before

Forgot about that. I'm convinced 2 low river monks has it's place. 3 I'm still not sure but I see their value.

Obviously picks are scheme dependent. Setting schemes aside, who are your picks to best achieve 2018 strats? Public execution Misaki because she kills things. I think asami may be a contender in some instances because she can overextend the yokai and sack them by spending their flicker. Won't score you VP but will annoy your opponents crew. Can use the yokai for schemes and sack them if they are threatened. Yan Lo is probably also a good pick to swipe a target away from defenses. Ply for information Asami has the same trick as before but I'm thinking more shenlong or McCabe for their AP efficiency and extra AP. Probably McCabe who brings more minions that can do the interacting . Yan Lo for same reason as above. Ours I know lynch brings huggy which is a nice bonus for scoring this strat but I don't play him. I'm thinking Asami. Bring a more elite crew and torpedo the yokai to soften up the other crew. Misaki is a maybe to go YOLO and crash in. Symbols of authority. McCabe and his pups. They can spread out and get there. Shenlong is a maybe as well but his crew doesn't seem to spread out as easily. I would try to fit a wandering river monk in the crew and make him fast to grab the symbol ASAP. Mei fang might have some play. Supply wagons Asami probably. Summon in obsidian and jorugumo to do most of the pushing. Brewmaster just put in a time capsule that says "do not open until 2019"

Why so many low river monks? Doesn't 1 cover why you bring them (card draw, condition removal, scheming)? Asking as a 10T noob

As new models and upgrades are released or buffed in various ways, it seems alpha striking has become more efficient, easier to pull off, and harder to parry for many crews. For example, you can now create a viks or misaki crew that is not only a huge damage dealer, but quite a bit more defensible than they were previously. Moderately skilled players (of which I am one) can have great success net-listing a crew and using the alpha strike strategy regardless of strat and schemes. I know because I have had this success. I ended up trading my viks crew after winning 2 games 10-0 at a tournament and leaving both players a bit salty. Just wasn't fun for my opponents, or myself for that matter because the tactics were so simplified. Yes, elite players will be able to counter the alpha strike. However I think developing metas can be dominated by a net listed alpha strike crew. The players then find it harder to enjoy a true malifaux game focus on tactical maneuvering to achieve or deny schemes and strats. Being on the receiving end of a successful alpha is rarely fun. It's not that I want alpha strikes not to exist, it's just that I sense they are becoming to powerful. I think this is a true threat to the health of the game as a whole, because when a factor is introduced that causes fun games to happen less often, that hurts developing metas the most. Am I right or wrong? Should there be something done? I am toying with the idea of some creative deployment geometry instead of outright nerfs.

Wyrd needs to both sell new models and protect game integrity from faction bloat. One way to achieve this might be a new faction with limited crossover models plus new alt models for existing models. Though with limited crossover I think they would need to knock both the game design and the model art out of the park for the new faction.

Bringing 3 oxfordian mages will help. They can potentially take a hit from teddy, and their casting will not count for all the incorporeal your opponent brings.

If you have the time, borrowing a Viks crew and playing a few times is a great way to learn their weaknesses. You really need to control the "flow" of the game and attack the Viks on your terms. It all comes down to activation control. And not giving them the opportunity to kill your key pieces. Know the threat range. Only enter it with expendable models. Make it very hard for them to engage more than 1 model at once. Either strike first at the end of turn 1 or 2 after you have forced viks to activate. Or strike 2nd on your terms. It's okay to hold your key models back and forfeit some position on turn 1. Move forward expendable models. But you must make your aggressive move by the end of turn 2 (and chances are end of turn 2 is too late if they've alpha striked)- because by then they can likely attack anything. You may need to wait until turn 3 to start scoring schemes. Maybe you will have to forfeit the strat VP on turn 2. It's okay. Viks do not play the long game. If worst comes to worst and you are in a brawl with the Viks, at the beginning of a turn look at what model "Sisters in Fury" is on. Usually on Vik o Ash. Opponent usually wants to activate Malifaux Child to steal the (1) action on "Sisters in Fury" from the master which gives +2 to damage. This gives you an advantage with initiative. If the Viks are in trouble your opponent may need to activate them before the Malifaux child. This either causes Vik o Ash to lose (1) AP to get the cast off, or the Viks may just go with min 3 damage - which isn't as scary. If you have your choice of vik, usually take out "Sisters in Fury" Vik first if it hasn't been casted that turn.