thanks for the replies guys.
...hmmm.
Well to clarify my situation a little more (was in a rush yesterday). I intend on buying two starters mostly for 'demo'/starter and basic gaming purposes. Though I fully intend to make one into my main force.
I'm sold on arcanists as my main faction, though I'm not convinced about two master expansions - I like my forces themed and I find the distinct differences between the masters (in each faction) offputting.
That said, I couldn't decide between Rasputina and Ramos.. Ramos has been selected purely as a gaming mate of mine has ordered me the brass aracnid.
And, I'm not too worried about the SS differences between the boxes as I do plan on expanding both boxes to at least 30pts.
So, I'll be getting Ramos, his totem and some more spiders... that makes one 'starter'. The others I have mainly been looking at are Pandora (her playstyle sounds very enjoyable), Somer (he just plain sounds like themey fun), and Rasputina (though I'm really not sure about getting two things from the same faction). The Guild (Ortega and Justice) also seem very playable, though I personally find them rather vanilla.
Being indecisive I'm failing to really make any decision on what to get. And figure it'd be best decided by determining the 'best' opponent forces. (given a Malifaux playgroup around here will be pretty much non-existent for the foreseeable future)
From the replies so far I guess Ortegas are more what I'm looking for interesting match up where they don't over power one another?
Where does Pandora stand in combatablity with Ramos (and vice versa)? What about Rasputina?