Tell me about Leveticus, Hamelin, Von Schill and Viktoria

[Merellin]

And here I am.. I thought I had settled on Gremlins.. I even decided to buy a crew box as quickly as possible to make sure I dident change my mind.. Before I had time to decide on what one to get, I started drifting again.. I eyed the Outcasts and these four masters and their crew boxes intrest me.. What are their playstyles, Advantages and disadvantages, And why I should go for one of them instead of a Gremlin? (Cus I just cant make up my mind... Arg.. Malifaux have too good looking models.. I want them all.. xD)

[Franchute]

Levi has the reputation of being OP, but he may not be that easy to play for a beginner. The Viks or Von Schill may be easier to learn.

[daniello_s]

Von Schill - tanky master with good shooting and decent melee. He buffs his Freikorps but can be combined with practically any model from faction. IMO the easiest to play within Outcasts but quite boring as well.

Viks - ultimate glass-cannons. Can buff all friendly Sisters and runs pretty well with everything in the faction. They were my first masters I had and I enjoyed using them a lot but after a while they became boring as well.

Hamelin - master of the rats. Control and support master. Obey is his main trick. When I played him he was played in one piece of the table to deny any charges and toss Obey here and there. Between this and Rat Engine he is absolutely boring  

Levi - the strongest master in Outcast family. He is a killing machine. I like to play him because he is almost 3 faction master with his Pariah of Iron/Bone upgrades and I can change crew a lot between my games. So if you pick him prepare to invest a lot of money in models from outside Outcast faction.

 

[psychogeek]

Viks: swingy games. Tend to wreck face or get wrecked.

Von Schill: reliable and versatile No downsides is his true upside.

Hamelin: denial tactics, defensive control and alternate damage. Likes the mid-long game plans. Suffers vs condition removal and plentiful AOE attacks.

Levi: tricky but fun and powerful. Has a higher learning curve as a new player because he has a unique playstyle. Uses death and rebirth mechanics and has the largest hiring pool in the game making him a daunting first master. He was my first and I love him, but as a first dive, not recommended.

 

One thing to remember is that many of the Outcasts play the game their own way. They deviate from standard types of gameplay with unique mechanics that make them fun to play. If you have some difficulties with them initially, just keep playing to figure out their tricks. 

[daniello_s]

30 minutes ago, Brian Gresham said:

One thing to remember is that many of the Outcasts play the game their own way. They deviate from standard types of gameplay with unique mechanics that make them fun to play. If you have some difficulties with them initially, just keep playing to figure out their tricks. 

That's very true.

[admiralvorkraft]

6 hours ago, daniello_s said:

That's very true.

...and also describes most factions.

[Freman]

Von Schill. Mr Reliability. He's not flashy, but he'll get there and get the job done. He comes with a good crew that you'll find yourself taking with other masters quite regularly. Hannah, Lazarus, and the Strongarm Suit (and the Resurrectionist mercenary Anna Lovelace) are the additional models that finish off his crew. Having a second Trapper is a good way to lose friends.

Viktorias. Kill or be killed. They're a missile that will either rip the heart out of the enemy, or go down like a damp squib. Their crew is a bit more situational, but Taelor is always nice. Vanessa is the fourth sister. Anything runs well with them since they mainly do their own thing.

Hamelin. The rat king. You'll need two boxes to play him, his starter set and Brotherhood of the Rat. Nothing particularly hard hitting in his boxes, so you'll have to combine it with other sets, or models (Strongarm Suit, Lazarus, Killjoy, Desolation Engine) to get that side covered. As an Obey Master he can be played much like a more durable Zoraida. Source of the much debated rat engine. Sure you can do it, but don't, just don't.

Leveticus. The undying pervert. He can take about a quarter of the Malifaux models in production with his pariah upgrades, but he's quite lethal just running Outcasts too. He's strong, certainly top tier, but I don't think he's too strong. His box has some good models (Alyce works with just about anyone) although you'll want Ashes and Dust, more Abominations, and the Desolation Engine, to really get the most out of him.

Although you didn't ask.

Jack Daw. You will pay. He surrounds himself with the insane, and drives his opponents crazy too. A crew box that really only works with him. He is potentially a strong master, but with the high level of interaction with his crew, will take work to "grok". Basically all Tormented models help him, and he them, so get them all.

Tara. The undead master of time and space (dual faction Resurrectionists). Core crew is generally best with her, although the Void Wretches were, prior to the Winged Plague, our best scheme runners. She's famed for throwing big beaters at the enemy, but she's flexible enough to do it all. Death Marshals, some Ressurectionist summons for Karina. More beaters.

Misaki. I choose you... to die. (dual faction Ten Thunders). Pick a model, then she kills it. She's not as good at mass destruction as the Viktorias, but she also doesn't die as easily. She can take Lost Blossom models from the Ten Thunders, and some of the models in her box are mercenaries, so it's not a complete waste playing Outcasts.

Be warned, with the number of Resurrectionist models that can be taken with Outcast masters, you'll probably end up with the entire Resurrectionist faction as well. And then there's Leveticus. He's evil man, evil on your wallet.

[daniello_s]

3 hours ago, Freman said:

Leveticus. The undying pervert.

It is morning in here and you made my day with this already...

[Jafar]

Von Schill - master with great box. Trapper and Librarian are models often used in other crews. Master is tanky, can shoot and stab. Damage track is OK, but not great. Master is quite mobile, because can charge out of engagement. Playstyle, take some Freikorps models, stick in bubble, heal abd march forward. Meanwhile shoot and kill everything in your way.

Advantages:
- nice buff to WP for Freikorps models and Hard to kill, but name is different so enemy models cannot bypass it.
- nice in schemes / strategies, where you can stay in bubble
- good models in box

Disadvantages
- for me he is boring to play, mostly it was charge or shoot, use 0 action, heal / repeat.
- not as mobile as other masters (Jack Daw for example)
- like to play rather elite crew in bubble, don't have easy acces to summoning (can take rusty with upgrade, but it's 10 and 7 cards for 1 abomination per turn). So in some scenarios you don't want to take him.
- need other models to target WP, his box targets DF


Leveticus - master that will kill one enemy model per turn. His game is about protecting Hollow Wifes and killing enemy models. Can take crew of any models to fit schemes, thanks to upgrades can hire undead or constructs. Very OP if played against beginner or table without shooting covers. Box is good for his use, but mostly you will only take Rusty in other crews. Can take abomination for card draw combo with Lazarus, but don't know if it's worth it. 

Advantages:
- powerful master
- killing machine
- can summon abominations when Levi kills enemy models
- difficult to remove from game permanently.
- gives great Henchman, may be used in other crews

Disadvantages
- auto 3 VP for enemy, when Neutralize the leader is in play
- can create negative experience for other players (read - you will lose friends)
- may lead to getting undead and construct models from other factions (Hoffman box, Seamus box)

[SinJ]

I will start by saying that I am also collecting Gremlins, and there is not a lot of crossover with Outcasts unless you build Wong. Of the two factions Outcasts are much more specialized which means generally less cross-over even in their native faction. For example with Hamelin you will need at least one Brotherhood of the Rat box as well as his crew box. You may also want Taelor which only comes new in the Viks box and a Trapper or Libraraian which are in the Von Schill box. That's just to play Hamelin. Gremlins also have this issue as well with Trixiebelle, Lenny, and Francois which are home to their own crewboxes.

If you were to start either Outcasts or Gremlins the crews that will give you the most bang for your buck will be Ophelia's Kin Box and Von Schills Freikorps. Both of those boxes easily expand out into the faction are are solid crews for beginners. They also both have models that you will take into other lists. The worst box to begin Outcasts with would probably be Hamelin's as you still need the catchers and kings out of Brotherhood of the Rat to effectively play him. The worst box to start Gremlins with would probably be Mah Tucket as she wants Rooser Riders, Francois and/or Mancho to lay down the pain.

 

For Outcasts:

Leveticus - As others have already mentioned he can be a difficult master to start with. He has unique requirements to come back to life and requirements to do so which can be difficult to balance as a new player. He has the largest hiring pool in the game and you will want to fill it so RIP your wallet. If you have experience with other war games and are good at picking up new ideas he is not terrible to start with. If you have a competitive meta then you should expect that you will play against him. If you are just playing with your friends then maybe skip.

Hamelin - The Rat master although he can play a solid Obey game with heavy hitting mercs. Overall more of a Denial master and will play to schemes and strats rather than focusing on killing your opponent's models. The Rat Machine is almost integral to his playstyle, but can provide a less than thrilling experience for your opponent if you are not fast with activations and summons. I would recommend him the least out of the four you suggested for a new player.

Von Schill and Viks I don't really have experience with but generally what others have mentioned is solid advice.

I highly recommend checking out the Podcast Schemes and Stones as they have episodes for almost every master. It will give you a better idea if they sound more like your play style and what models work well with them. Either way just take the plunge and start playing, I began in Ten Thunders moved to Outcasts and am now collecting Gremlins so you never know where you'll end up.

[Merellin]

So, After asking arround on various parts of the forum, And thinking, And reading, I think I want to either buy Ophelia's Crewbox or Jakob Lynch's Crewbox.. Now to try and chose what one to get without spinning away to other Masters again..

Thanks for all the helpful posts about the Outcasts Masters, But I decided not to go with any of them. You have been most helpful in making up my fractured mind though!

[SinJ]

@Merellin If you want a self-contained box Lynch is solid.

[Freman]

Lynch is pretty cool. Throw in Graves, Tannen, a box of depleted and a box of beckoners and you're set. Maybe Nekima if you want to continue the scantily clad (but a heck of a beater) theme.