let's talk about malifaux factions

[Nirvana]

hi, i'm new on this game and I don't know so much about it, before chose the factions i need to know some tactician styles of them, can i have the help from players who knows this game? thanks guys i hope you answer me!

[Freman]

That's a difficult question to answer because there's a lot of crossover playstyles between factions. For example Lady Justice (Guild), Misaki (10 Thunders/Outcasts), and Viktoria (Outcasts) have a heavy melee style of play, while Perdita (Guild) and Parker (Outcasts) have a shooty style of play, and Sonnia (Guild) and Rasputina (Arcanists) are probably the premiere nukers of the game. You could say that Resurrectionists are predominantly summoners, but there are summoners in pretty much every faction although they each work differently.

Basically it's easier to pick a faction whose Masters you like the look of, and then play them. I got into the game with the Viktorias, and therefore play Outcasts. That said I also like McMourning, so have some Guild and Resurrectionists on the sideboard.

 

If you haven't done so already, I would look at Wyrd's Malifaux page here and see what appeals to you.

[goth]

malifacts Scroll down to factions!  You're in the right place!  this site has articles searchable for every model in the game (look for the M2E tag).

[Math Mathonwy]

7 hours ago, Freman said:

Sonnia (Guild) and Rasputina (Arcanists) are probably the premiere nukers of the game.

Wong be like:

 

[Freman]

Sorry. I forgot about Wong.

[Ludvig]

I saw a really condensed view of this somewhere on facebook but alas, things vanish from there. 

 

Guild: Almost every model can shoot. They are big on damage and have a harder time with manipulation generally (but they have a few masters that can manipulate the board). Rather slow compared to others. Defend through killing their opponents more or less.

Arcanists: A lot of tough models through armour. Lots of crews that share the theme M&SU which is cyborgs, robots and unionised workers. Other masters have their own very strong themes.

Outcasts: Strong shooting and a lot of denial pieces. A lot of their models can be hired into other factions through the mercenary trait. A lot of their masters do really solid damage. Somewhat slow along with guild.

Ressurectionists: Very tough to kill models through a high number of wounds. A lot more focus on summoners compared to other factions (but all factions has some way of summoning). Love applying nasty conditions to enemies. Can also manipulate enemy models quite well.

Neverborn: A lot of models with high movement and cool movement tricks and abilities. Generally defends through high defensive stats rather than wounds or armour. Hits hard in melee but has fewer shooters than most others. Have lots of ways to manipulate their own models as well as enemies.

Ten Thunders: Lots of high cost well rounded generalists. Has a lot of crossover so each master can play as another faction or bring in some unique models. 

Gremlins: Does a lot of damage and has a lot of extremely potent synergies but often hurt their own models for their bonuses. Their models tend to be squishy in general but they have tanky models. Also have a lot of fast runner models.

 

This is a very rough breakdown. All the factions have several themes within them and the right crew can turn all of this on it's head because every faction has access to so much stuff. I guess ressers always have higher wound counts than what any other faction can manage It's easier to ask for tactics on particular masters you like the looks of.

[Adran]

http://www.wyrd-games.net/malifaux

links you to a page which contains Links to each faction. On each faction page there is a bit of fluff about the faction as a whole and a link to each of the 8 masters. On Each master page there is copy of their card and a brief tactica. This should give a very rough overview to waht each master does, but its not easy to realy break it down. 

Most Masters can be played in most styles if you really try, so its hard to break it down too far. 

[Butch]

Voices of Mars did a very helpful video about choosing your faction.

[Akai]

Below is excerpts from the main site's links to each faction's general tactics that I put together in one file for personal use.

 

Guild Tactics

The Guild tends to favor direct tactics over subterfuge. They have a strong focus on ranged combat, with plenty of models who are capable of putting out good damage at long range. There is also a minor focus on scheme marker manipulation, particularly among the Guardsmen, who are trained to notice strange things while on patrol and react accordingly.

The Guild mostly deals in Living models, though they also have a number of Constructs capable of providing support for their Living allies. Their Enforcers and Henchmen are quite dangerous, but since just about everyone has a gun of some sort, even their Minions can prove dangerous to their enemies.

 

Masters: Sonnia Criid; Lady Justice; Perdita Ortega; C. Hoffman; McMourning; McCabe, Lucius, Nellie Cochrane

 

Resurrectionist Tactics

The Resurrectionists are a sturdy faction that relies on recursion and durability to carry it through a fight. There is almost no ranged combat among their undead ranks, so they often have to close to melee range to kill things. On the plus side, they tend to make good use of the corpse markers dropped by Living or Undead models, and some Resurrectionists can transform these corpses into useful effects or even new Undead. The Resurrectionists also have access to a number of incorporeal Spirits, allowing them to send models right through walls to get where they need to be, and a Poison theme, with many, many models that can hand out the Poison Condition on a successful attack.

The Resurrectionists primarily deal in Undead models, though a number of their zombies have been augmented enough that they also count as Constructs. Their minions tend to deal the bulk of the damage that Resurrectionists put out, with most of their Masters and Henchmen falling into more of a support role.

 

Masters: Seamus; Molly; Nicodem; Kirai; McMourning; Tara, Yan Lo, Reva

 

Neverborn Tactics

The Neverborn are, in many ways, a faction of very fast, very fragile models which attack their enemies' Willpower almost as often as they attack their Defense. Most Neverborn crews come at their enemies sideways, relying upon unique tricks and special abilities to weaken and destroy their prey. It's not uncommon to see Neverborn models with high Defenses and self-healing abilities, but very few of their models can take more than one or two hits from an enemy and survive.

The Neverborn are essentially a faction of tricks. Their Masters all revolve around a specific gimmick, which their crews can either support or ignore to varying degrees of success. Their playstyle rewards cunning and clever play, and while they have a number of models with long-range magical effects that can be used to sow chaos and confusion among the enemy's ranks, very few of their models have mastered the use of ranged weapons, making them primarily a melee faction.

 

Masters: Lilith; Pandora; Dreamer; Collodi; Zoraida; Lucius, Jakob Lynch, Titania

 

Arcanist Tactics

The Arcanists are a faction that revolves around the dual themes of magic and Constructs. Their masters are somewhat removed from one another, to the point where it might seem as if there was very little synergy between their various crews. In truth, the various parts of the Arcanist faction tend to work rather well with each other even if played without any regard to a master's theme, though they do tend to be a bit easier to manage when working with their thematic crews. There is a strong focus on card draw within the Arcanist faction, and when combined with their additional focus on scheme marker manipulation, it makes for a very strong and competitive faction.

The Arcanists are mostly comprised of a combination of Living and Construct models. Many of the Constructs are themed to specific Masters, but are still capable of pulling their own weight in other crews. In addition, the Arcanists have access to a few very expensive, very punishing Constructs that see frequent play due to their high damage, maneuverability, and durability.

 

Masters: Ramos; Rasputina; Colette; Marcus; Ironsides; Kaelis; Mei Feng, Sandeep Desai

 

Outcast Tactics

The Outcasts are a collection of models that don't really fit anywhere else, and as a result, their playstyles tend to vary drastically from one Master to the next. As a whole, the Faction has a fair number of ranged attacks which is balanced against some very good melee models. Many Outcasts are also Mercenaries, which allows them to be hired into the crews of other Factions at a slight increase in their cost.

The Outcasts tend to mostly use Living models, but a number of Masters can hire Undead into their crews as well, so it's not uncommon to see the Outcasts borrowing some Resurrectionist models from time to time. Because their Masters are so unique, many of the models are thematically built around supporting one Master, which can make it difficult to get much use out of them in crews led by other Masters. Most every model with the Mercenary Characteristic is generically good, however, making them solid additions to just about any crew.

 

Masters: Viktoria of Ash; Jack Daw; Leveticus; Hamelin; Von Schill; Tara; Misaki; Parker Barrows.

 

Ten Thunders Tactics

The Ten Thunders are a very diverse group of models - many of them hailing from a second faction - that don't really have any defining focus, other than their lack of focus. In many ways, the Ten Thunders are the wildcard of Malifaux, for while an opponent generally knows how a Resurrectionist or Arcanist force will approach a battle, the wide hiring pool and vast differences in how each Ten Thunders Master operates makes it hard to predict just what they'll bring to the table.

Most Ten Thunders Masters are dual-faction, and thus can bring select models from their second faction with them into a Ten Thunders crew. This allows them to exploit the resources of the other factions, often opening up tactical combinations and synergies unavailable to anyone else. The Ten Thunders also have a number of models which owe allegiance to no one but themselves, and these models tend to be balanced between melee and ranged combat, making them versatile and useful to every Ten Thunders Master.

 

Masters: Shenlong; Misaki; Jakob Lynch; Mei Feng; McCabe; Yan Lo; Brewmaster; Asami Tanaka;

 

Gremlin Tactics

The Gremlins are a faction that revolves around swarm tactics and damaging themselves for various game benefits. Many of their models are at least somewhat uncontrollable, especially their Pigs, making them a bit of a nightmare for anyone who enjoys carefully articulated battle plans. On the other hand, their abilities tend to be quite fun and chaotic, and if you're okay with a bit of friendly fire (or sometimes a lot of friendly fire), the Gremlins make for a strong faction. Many of their models have Reckless, allowing them to take damage when they activate to gain an extra AP, and there's plenty of healing within the faction to minimize the damage that they're invariably end up dealing to themselves and their allies.

The Gremlins tend to mostly be comprised of Living models, and are generally split between Gremlins and Pigs. The two work reasonably well together, but most Masters focus more on one race than the other. Pigs tend to be hardier and faster than Gremlins, but require constant supervision, lest they randomly charge the nearest model in the hopes of an easy meal.

 

Masters: Som’er Teeth Jones; Ophelia; Ulix; Mah Tucket; Wong; Zoraida; Brewmaster; Zipp