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McNs

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Everything posted by McNs

  1. After Labor Day, I'll try and catch you on a Sunday. I'll PM ya before I head up, but I'm older player looking to get back into the game.
  2. They don't seem like the end of the world, though I'm morally opposed to changing the ss cost/rules of models. Be interested in hearing how it worked.
  3. My experience with Bete is that she's "great" until your opponents learn how to manage her, at which point she's merely "good". Karn makes some great points: she's got a solid Cb of Paired 6, some nasty triggers, and a very good Df. She is "squishy", but StD with One with the Night give her some good survivability. But she's got some odd-problems: Her unique placement mechanic works great a defense to pulses, etc etc; but also makes it harder to synergize non-Aura effects with her. She's a low on wounds in a faction that has a large number of healing effects. Her damage output gets really hampered by certain classes of models (Non-living models with Armor can cause her problems). Sure, she can pass out Slow - but then I'm usually taking her as a heavy-hitter, not as a board control piece (which, admittedly, might be why I've taken less of a shine to her as of late). To that end: she's a very good consistent damage dealer (and great at hacking through H2W), but she's not a high damage dealer. I think coming from a Book 1 background (only recently picking up Book 2 and 3), I've yet to adjust to looking at her as another control piece, rather than a heavy hitter. That may be influencing the broader meta's opinion as well. tl;dr - She's solid, but she's not "Zomgxorz auto-include".
  4. Got my book last night, so I'm still chugging through some interactions but I've got a rosier few on the minions than the OP: Dead Doxy looks useful mainly for handing out :-fate on DF to enemy models. Quite nice for helping Belles hit, helping the Drowned do his thing, or (most importantly) helping the Hanged get off his myriad of nasty abilities. The Drowned I'm mum on. He looks like a good horde management piece, but I think I'd still prefer Punk Zombies for general utility. The effigy is interesting: digging it for Seamus or some McMourning lists (help keep the big nasties up and running; albeit at the potential loss of body parts).
  5. I agree, but trying to apply statistical principals to "absolutely" prove something in a wargame is a fool's errand. There is no standard player, standard list, standard terrain set-up, standard strategy, standard set of schemes, and/or standardized card randomization. Even if you normalized a set of data for the above, people will argue some issue with the normalization. Moreover, its a frickin' game. I'd rather paint my models than crunch R-square's and p-values in order to further argue an opinion on what is, arguably, a subjective matter. My thoughts on this generally: there's a difference between a model being game-breakingly overpowered and a model being very, very good in certain situations that, despite being beatable, takes a disproportionately large amount of resources for the opposing player to overcome and makes the game a negative play experience. To make an analogy to another wargame: Sorcha1's (from Warmachine) ability set before Prime Remix was almost unarguably game-breakingly powerful (especially in conjunction with the tournament rule-set at the time). In contrast, Vlad2 later in Mk I wasn't game-breakingly powerful, but was powerful enough that he dominated the national tournament scene. The model was beatable, but he was powerful enough that if two players of near equal play abilities played each other, Vlad2 gave one play an edge, all else being equal. With that in mind, there were many an internet argument started by "ZoMG! EVlad is teh borkens!" that played out similar to the arguments in this thread. Interestingly enough, Vlad2 was toned down a bit in the 2nd edition of Warmachine and remains viable but doesn't dominate the tournament circuit. At least in my metagame, this has been considered a good thing for the health of the game. ****** I'm not going to argue specifics of the NB models to that metric, but I think that's a fair metric to go by rather than searching for a perfectly objective statistical analysis.
  6. As someone who PTs for another company, there's one big glaring hole in the logic I'm seeing here: - NB presumably were PT'ed for full games (i.e. - 6 turns) and balanced around that. Per Karn et al (and per common sense), NB are the "we hit hard but can't take a punch" faction. - The metric for balance that everyone seems to accept is tournament placement. However, most of the tournaments I've seen haven't been allowed to go to a full 6 turns, usually due to time restrictions (notably: the Masters event at Gencon). Given that NB's weakness is attrition and players aren't being given a full game to take them to attrition, it seems NB may have an up due to the format. - Doesn't it seem logical that some of the problem may be NB models and some of the problem is in the tournament format/way we're measuring balance? FWIW: I think Lure ought to prevent strikes if you're already in melee (Bells usually won't care; they're happy to just take a swing). Alps need a look at too, though with some thought to not make them terrible. Just my 2 cents.
  7. Hoping for the B's to take it again, though after last year I'm not sure how they'll top themselves (we beat Canada so bad they stopped acting Canadian). Go B's!
  8. Order #9176 just listed as completed. Woot!
  9. Thanks Mentat_Canis! Looks like we did get an answer there, though it looks like North Wind doesn't extend Ice Mirror 3". T'would have been nice, but having a 19" is still pretty nice. In terms of Strategies/Schemes, what do people like with 'Tina? Should I be gunning for schemes that require minimal interactions with terrain/movement?
  10. Howdy: I'm coming back to Malifaux after a ~2 year haitus. Played a lot at Gencon 2009, came home, sold the game as hard as I could locally, then life kicked me in the junk and I had to drop gaming for a while. Anyhow... after a long break, I'm back in the game. I've got a lot of stuff to catch up on from Rising Powers, and a lot to get used with Gaining Ground (instead of just using the scenario schemes from the book). I'm initially going to play mostly with Rasputina and her theme models. When I left, I usually took: Tina - Essence 2-3 Gamin Ice Golen December Acolyte Gunslinger/Cerebus A lot's changed since then, obviously. I know Silent Ones and Snowstorms are well regarded for 'Tina; though I'd love some list/strategy help with how her new models turn. Any advice? Thanks in advance! - Owen
  11. Hey superior987, I mostly play in Worcester on the weekends, though there's a good group in Malden at the Hobby Bunker that meets on Saturday morning. If you ever wanna get a game in, hit me up and I'll meet you over that way.

  12. Hey man: Nice meeting you on Saturday; I'll keep an eye on your posts for nights at the Hobby Bunker. See ya soon! - Owen

  13. Aww... the "Crazy Cat Lady List" @ 25 points. Best of luck, here's some pointers based upon my experience with it: - Devour is living only; you actually have to beat up the undead. - Be judicious with your use of the Cerebus; don't let him get too far away from Rasputina and end up unsupported. - The list would be much happier with a Wendigo as a mobile buff support piece, but if you don't want to proxy (and noone else in your group does), you should be fine. - Watch out for Perdita; she can kill you dead Again, best of luck and I encourage you to join HIKOMA! - McNs
  14. Currently, I've parred the list of active games down quite a bit... I'm a huge Dark Age junkie. I play dang near every faction in that game and bar Warmahordes is the game I've been playing the longest consistently. I've been playing Warmahordes since Hordes dropped, though Mk II has seriously diminished my interest in playing (go play against the new Thunderhead + eHaley. Way to balance that one PP ::rolls:. I'm really ga-ga for Malifaux; the card mechanic is solid and novel enough to really draw me in. I like that while a concise reading of the rules is necessary, the company seems to have no bones about changing how things work to keep intent. Love this rules culture compared to the Doctorate of Letters I had to get in order to navigate the rules landscape of Warmahordes. I've bought into Infinity, Uncharted Seas, Rezolution, Warlands, WFB, 40K, and a myriad of specialist games in the past. None of that really stuck, though there's parts of all those games I really like. Pulp City, Rusted Heroes, and Strange Aeons are on my "too integrate into gaming group" list; just working on getting Malifaux established before I try to bring too much new stuff in. I played Vampire once as a kid and that was enough to sour me to RPGs for life. I own a lot of the Shadowrun source books, but honestly, unless it was just the right group, I'd have a hard time RPGing. I'm still chewing on Punch Out for the Wii and working my way through Marvel Alliance 2. If anyone has any suggestions for Wii games, I'd love to hear 'em.
  15. I think I've got core Rasputina down; here's a question regarding totems. She's got 4 options: Essence of Power - Seems like the winner to me; (+) flips on spell damage is pretty hot, especially when going for those big blasts. An extra cast a turn is nothing to sneeze at either. Wendigo - Having a hard time seeing it. Its robust, its an extra 'caster, but I'm having a hard time justifying this guy. Am I missing some niciety here? Malifaux Child - No. Student of Conflict - Fast - oh hells yeah. An extra cast is definitely worth it. Clocking in at double the cost of the Essence, this one's actually a tough choice. Would love to hear what others think.
  16. Honestly man, it was a friendly jab. I understand your frustration (hmmm... situational tool-box caster with a multitude of situational and difficult to cast abilities vs. Lilith's "I'm always DF8 if not 10 and I kill you twelve times from across the board. Oh, and terrain, what's that?"). I keep hearing people say Bear/Eagle is the way to go with Wild Heart... I'm a big fan of Hare/Fox on delivery. I know your feelings on Hare; but hear me out - it lets Marcus move 8 and then use (apologies for not having my book in hand) defensive stance or whatever its called to get +2 fate on flips against melee/ranged. Moving 8 makes having a Moleman Defend monkey much easier and it gives him some flexibility in not having to hug terrain. This makes bringing a Rattler/Sabertusk/Joss along for the ride easier. Yes, they risk taking some damage on approach, but their boku threat range should get them delivered in one piece. Yes, its a risk losing initative can really, really hurt. Luckily, you're apt to get charged when in this position and have a high likely hood of surviving via Defend Me. That said, I would never walk out 8" in front of Lilith and expect to be living next turn. I'm seeing Marcus as being very limited in his Strategies (Treasure Hunt and Assassins looking to be his best) but being very good at those - he has excellent mobility for Treasure Hunt and he can alpha strike well enough to probably pull off an Assassination. He's a difficult Master to play, but hey, I likes 'em.
  17. So aside from the previous qq... (j/k) I've been playing a lot with Marcus; I'll grant you this - he's a very convaluted melee 'caster. There's certainly times when I play him that I long for a Lilith, Lady Just-t**s, or Viktoria. That said... Marcus, to me, feels like a "Jack Caster" in Warmachine: you get to take a lot of big gribblies that hit pretty hard, move really fast, and (in theory) can be healed up as needed. My experience with Marcus is that while I could hypothetically get a hand full of high Rams and heal my beasties back to life, I'm typically using my AP to punch stuff in the face. I've tried Myranda a couple of times for this explicit purpose, but I just keep falling short of pulling it off. Anyhow... on to what actually works for me: 1.) Terrain - Marcus ::hearts:: him some soft cover. His ability to move through terrain is really clutch to his delivery. Make sure your board has the appropriate amount of terrain coverage. 2.) Get into to melee.. fast! - Marcus can take a fair bit of punishment, especially with "Defend Me!", the additional DF from Wild Heart, and Regeneration 1. I find blitzing in, keeping my Defend monkey close in tow, works really well. Theoretically, I'd keep a heavy hitter nearby as well (e.g. - Joss, Sabertusk, etc.), but its difficult in practice. 3.) Know what to kill and when - Kill your opponent's clutch pieces, then chew through his puds. Have a determined kill order and expend resources accordingly. I typically accept that my Sabertusk is going to blitz in, kill something big dead, and then probably die/take enough wounds to be ineffectual during the rest of the turn. If I can kill a clutch model though (e.g. - a 'Master, a heavy hitter), it's worth the trade. 4.) Play the Schemes - Marcus has a really tough time with "Kill 'em all" style missions. Play the VP game. My other big take homes... - Molemen are great with Marcus. - You don't just have to take beasts (I'm really partial to Joss and/or Arachnid swarms) - Waldgeists will offer a lot if you play with forests (this is where Marcus falls short with the 'geist compared to Lilith). I'd love to hear other peoples' experience/tricks and I'd love if someone could tell me how to Myranda to work; I've just had zero luck with her as either a transform-beater or a healing/companion monkey.
  18. Dude, you have hockey on your money. I don't think you can get much more hardcore than that.
  19. I don't typically watch hockey on TV, but I go to every Bruins game I can. Watching Hockey close-up is a thrill unmatched by most other professional sports. Go B's!
  20. Wow man, that really sucks! I'm really surprised to hear that about the bases; like I said above, I've only had good experiences with their inserts. Guess I'll stay away from the Swamp Bases then..
  21. @ Breten: That sucks about the Groundwerks man.... I've never heard that before. I've used their "Crystal bases" for all my Dark Age stuff and never had that issue. Just out of curiousity, which DA member did you try working this out with? There's been a changing of the guard over at DA; I know they've had a lot of issues getting product out in the past, but I'm really encouraged by what I see over there now. If you're looking for good Post-Apo stuff, keep your eyes peeled for some REALLY nice stuff coming in December. TGN leaked some of the new concepts; I'm really excited about this.
  22. Rules. Also, bookiness. Pretty much what Weird Sketch said; there's a full run-down on all the factions, but nothing like the Superiority (Warmachine book) style run down on each faction's military organization... which makes sense as none of the factions are totally military in nature (the Guild is more martial than military).
  23. In the novel-length emails between Haight and myself, we've shortened the Masters to: Lady Justice = LJ (because she kinda looks like a better-endowed version of Mary-Jane Parker); also known as "Booby Death Blender", given her melee prowess. Rasputina = Raspy (in reference to "Gaspy" given her nuker tendencies) S'omer = Early (because I totally picture him talking like Early on Squidbillies...) Everything else has been rather uninspired; Levi, 'Dora, Vix, Perdi, etc...
  24. Hey Hellhound, If you need an opponent or someone to help with the rules, let me know. I'm close to Boston, but not afraid to drive! - McNs
  25. I've got most of the above (everything except the trench bases) and its all solid stuff. Love me the Lashers something fierce, both for models and in-game effect. You know, I play this other game that uses 30/40/50 mm bases that would go great with those inserts...
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