Math Mathonwy

She really, really could use a fourth Upgrade slot at the very least. I don't understand why they didn't have Useless Junk not taking an Upgrade slot. This is true but I think that she should be very playable now. Tara and Ironsides also have these "patch" style Upgrades (though, admittedly, both of them received some errata onto their card as well).

This has been suggested before It's a bit tricky since Swines start in Gremlin mode but the rewards are pretty cool. It is very potent when you pull it off.

I believe that's for Other Side (the base is a giveaway).

TGN took these pics: https://www.facebook.com/pg/tabletopgamingnews/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10154986276537945 What are the tan coloured minis? Are they for Malifaux or for something else (a new boardgame, perhaps)? The last two have different bases so are probably for the Other Side but the rest?

I think that now would be a good opportunity to start talking about cuddling the TT. They have obviously gotten out of hand on the tournament circuit! But in all seriousness, Mei Feng vs Asami sounds like a cool match-up for the top table!

Are the front legs attached weirdly to the ribcage on the one with the upright hair?

She is. Only the Nightmare box of Hamelin is something that won't be available through the normal channels eventually.

I dunno - I've mostly heard that the new Primaris Marines are a bit lackluster on the table.

Sammy is also a problem. No other Faction has to worry about a Henchman carrying the Master-specific Upgrades and not caring about Limited status. You could go around it by making the Upgrade give stuff to "Leaders" or whatever but if you're going to go around Sammy, why have her in the first place? As for favouritism, I think that Dogmantra is correct in that it isn't favouritism per se but more the lack of players and playtesters. Last open beta the Gremlin side was rather quiet though I must say big thanks to the people who had time to test stuff! The models got way, way better as the beta went on. In fact, I think that all Gremlin models started basically unplayable and turned into, if not truly competitive, then at least into something that you can put onto the table and not feel bad. Justin used to start at the other end - making stuff way too good and then toning down. Which seems like an approach that would favour factions with less testing being done. I dunno, may be just crazy talk. I do agree with Loki that the lack of keywords makes things more messy but I'm not sure that future proofing is all that huge a concern - I mean, how many books can they release before they do a more comprehensive relook at the existing stuff (so 2.5 or whatever)? I also think that there's maybe a bit too much doom and gloom going the rounds here currently. I think that all our Masters aside from Somer and Brewski got good stuff that will see play and make the Masters stronger. And even Brewski's might come into their own if he gets more efficient ways of spreading Poison sometime in the future. Did the other factions get even better stuff than us? Perhaps but I'm not yet convinced. And if they did, I don't think that the difference is huge and someone had to be last. Now, that said, I'm super excited for Mah but the rest don't make me hop up and down in excitement. Quite a few Masters in other Factions got really, really good deals (Yan Lo and Misaki, for example, holy crap!) that really change things up. Ulix, for example, got good stuff but it won't make him play differently. Somer didn't need much but I wish they had made an alternate play mode for him, even if it was worse than what he currently does. I think it was Dogmantra who suggested making him more of a melee Master with an Upgrade and that would've been fun (drop the gun for a better melee attack or something - not competitive but different). So I can understand some disappointment (indeed, I feel it a bit as well) but let's not end up wallowing in misery as I don't think that there's need for that quite yet. (I really don't remember Sandeep being seen as weak at any point - didn't someone do amazingly well at the Gencon tournament with him straight out of the box? And at least here our meta's consensus was always that he's amazingly powerful.)

I'm not disputing that that it is very neat with Sparks. I was mostly wondering how this can be a new thing since propelling Loudest Squeel models with non-threatening or beneficial Attacks has been in my toolbox for a long time and in general I feel that Somer doesn't walk but mostly just Loudest Squeels everywhere. So every model should be considered for this role, Sparks included. But if this is indeed something entirely new, then good for Sparks!

It's such low Masks that I tend to get them either in hand or through top decking. I really love him with The Sow as Reactivate makes her so much better. Mech Pork is also surprisingly fun to Reactivate since Armor lowers the damage from it and Bayou Two Card helps heals from Slops. But even a humble little Piglet can become ridiculously annoying when they do their Pig Charge Defensive Stance routine. I once held off half a McCabe force with a lone Defensive Piglet (though there was lots of luck involved there). And Reactivate using Truffles gives good mobility boost to the rest of your guys. After giving out Reactivate, my Hog Whisperers tend to either do Schemes or kill something gigantic in a suicide Dumb Luck Attack. I've killed for example Wrath and Izamu with Dumb Luck from one. It tends to be a bit of a shock to my opponents

Sure. But like I said, I thought that everyone was using Loudest Squeel like that already? I mean, Sparks is really good for that yes, but there are lots of avenues for doing that in general. I once propelled Fingers an absolutely ungodly distance by Obeying her to Walk with Zoraida and having low Masks to have him fail resists with.

...? I'm not sure I get it. Do you just mean that you attack with something beneficial someone who has Loudest Squeel (or Stumble Around Drunk) and then instead of relenting, you cheat/flip in Masks? I've used these sorts of "attacks" a lot against Fingers and Moon Shinobis (mostly because I don't play Somer much at all) when I have Masks to spare. Trixie's Lure and her Poison thingy (just don't flip Crows) are very nice for this as is, e.g., Mah's Horrible Hollering. Francois' Gremlin Menace is also fine, though takes somewhat careful positioning to be worth it.

Great stuff, mate! Congrats - very well done! Especially nice one against Viks in Close Deployment! Mah maybe one of the weaker Gremlin Masters but that's only inside the faction (and in fact mostly because of Zipp) - she is still very capable. Also interesting analysis. Did you ever have trouble with the Roosters becoming uncontrollable? All in all a pretty unconventional list - no healing aside from the DCs (and, well, Skeeter I guess) and very limited tricks. Except for Mah, naturally.

I missed Zipp giving a (0) to all Bayou Gremlins to spread Mood Swings. That could be pretty potent, yes. Of course the range is a bit short on it so we shall see how it really shakes out, but the potential with Bayou Two-Card is pretty interesting, I think.

It looks like it's meant for Sammy to carry. I could see a use for it in Headhunter but it's a bit weird otherwise, agreed. Maybe GG18 has some tricks for it to be useful.

I dunno, Focusing with them next to Lenny is absolutely horrid to the opponent in general. I think they're pretty cool. I agree that her Upgrade limit isn't really gelling with this design which is annoying, but I think that Trash looks pretty nice. It doesn't cost AP as such (well, other than Ophelia shooting her gun) and gives out a Push and a potential Heal and Scheme Marker and those don't cost AP, either. Plus it's unlimited range on both parts of it.

I really don't see much of a point for the melee attack but I think that the Doll teleport looks pretty potent. Armor lowers the damage and it's not limited to Minions so can be used on Hinamatsu or the Emissary. Or with Stitched whose lack of speed is one of their main failings.

Though I do somewhat share your pessimism, I won't make a final decision until I've tested some of these. As for Brewie's Poison being a trap - well, there's naturally ways to make it silly powerful if one wanted. Giving Brewie a Ca 7 vs Wp to outright kill anyone who has Poison would be bonkers, to pick a random example. So there's obviously ways to make Poison into a viable strategy. Now, whether these new ones make it viable and whether the application of Poison with Gremlins is too much trouble for the reward remains to be seen. I do think that the weaker Gremlin Masters got better Upgrades and the two top dogs got silly ones (Zipp's Bayou Gremlin trick is funny as hell but probably one of the worst Upgrades in the whole game unless I'm missing something) so I suppose the inner balance got better. And I kinda wish that other factions would've followed a similar course. But unfortunately it seems that old powerhouses like Ramos got some sweet sweet loving.

Aye, it's an interesting trade-off for sure.

OK, that sounds seriously brutal!

These are things I've heard: Lilith can make Hazardous terrain. Collodi gets a melee attack and something to do with her Summoning. Zoraida gets a Trigger for the Obey to have the Target Charge and also a Trigger for her Bewitch to Cast Obey on the Target. Also something about causing damage on models with multiple Conditions or something. Titania can change models into Undead Fae and can give out Armor. She can also choose Suits to add to her Actions. Pandora can Summon Sorrows and hire Woes cross-Faction. Also, her attacks get a default damage track.

I heard that Zoraida got a Trigger for Obey allowing her to get the target to Charge.

Ooh, I'm hoping it'll be Mah! Though Ulix would be fun as well. Whatever the coin says, best of luck, mate! I'm rooting for you!