Rathnard

Dear God. That's pretty damn disturbing. Well done! :)

3 hours ago, Bazlord_Prime said:

What keeps bugging me though is the supposedly immense cost of producing the metal molds for casting in plastic. (smaller) Companies do Kickstarters in order to be able to afford this kind of thing, so it feels off to assume that Wyrd might just go through the expense (not to mention the potential for hassles, mistakes and losses due to scale issues, like they had with Mounted Guard (and others?)), just on a whim. I'm not involved in the industry, so I have no idea what their process is for arriving at a Nightmare Crew concept, but I'd be pretty sure it isn't at all random, or just whatever concept was the first one that blindfolded Nathan's dart ended up hitting. 

It's a fair point, but none of us outside Wyrd actually know about the economics of casting new plastic kits, and how profitable the nightmare kits are or aren't. Maybe it's a factor in what sort of Nightmare kit they make, or maybe it's not.

My own guess about Wyrd's decision process was based on my memory of Nathan's response to the Nightmare Hanging tree when it came out. A subset of the community was upset with it not being a "proper crew", and IIRC Nathan's response was essentially "I went with what I liked, if you disagree then you don't have to buy it".  Mind you, that was six (?) years ago so who knows what's happened between then and now. 

In any case, Wyrd's decision process in designing Nightmare kits isn't really our business. At best, we can let them know whether we like/loathe the design and more importantly, vote with our wallets.

39 minutes ago, Brandu said:

Naaaaahhhh... Almost, but not quite. I'm sure it can get worse.

Oh absolutely. Nobody's compared anyone to Hitler yet. (Modhat: Please don't. Let's keep this friendly, eh? )

39 minutes ago, Brandu said:

And (in my opinion only) it's tailored to those who think it's funny and those who think it's just the random sort of weirdness that keeps Wyrd, weird.  

Agreed. I'd be very surprised if the folks at Wyrd somehow decided that the Nightmare kit needed to appeal to new players and this, somehow, meant going with a My Little Pony theme. What's more likely is that they came up with a bunch of ideas and that someone at the top, probably Nathan, went with which ever one tickled their fancy.

Well first of all, I think every starting player, regardless of Allegiance, should consider having an Adjunct or one of their single model fireteams on hand. Not only do they tend to be good in their own right, but they're also cheap filler options that you can throw in when you have a couple of scrip spare. In the case of Abyssinia, the Engineer's (your adjunct) card draw tends to be absurdly good. There's also the Rail Gunner who can provide you with a powerful long ranged shot. But if you can afford the scrip cost the better option, IMO, is the Marauder. He's fast enough to flank your opponent's force and take unguarded objectives, which is very important for alot of games.  

 If you want to take Steel Legion and Mech Infantry, Kassa Doyle might make a good second Commander for her Titan-specific synergies (she also really likes Dreadnoughts, of course!).

There's also Electrocutioners, who's affinity for prototypes give them some synergy with your starter box Commander - Prince Ulthani. 

Finally (because I might as well go over almost everything  ), Basotho Cavalry have a similar role to the above Marauder (fast Flankers), which makes them invaluable for the relatively slow Abyssinia. 

Anyway, to boil all that down, if you want to expand to 2-commander games you could get Kassa, the Dreadnought, a unit of Steel Legion or Mech Infantry (or both if you drop some Mehal Safari) and a couple of the above cheap units to give you enough for a full 2-commander game. 

But if you're trying to stick to 1-commander games with the Prince, you could consider swapping in Electrocutioners, a Marauder w. the Toughness Asset and an Engineer (to replace Crow Runners and one of the Mehal Safari) to vary your list up a little. Finding room for a unit of Steel Legion or Mech infantry would work too of course - it's not going to break your list if you don't take Electrocutioners.

7 hours ago, (Keenan) said:

Are you counting just the alts? 

Yeah. IIRC Teddy has had two regular releases (one per edition) and three alts - Nightmare Teddy, Miss Ery and Puppet Teddy. The Warpig is sitting just behind; two regular (again, one per edition) and two alts - Rooster Rider and War Wabbit.

8 hours ago, Bazlord_Prime said:

Pssst! <Nightmare Crew> is what I was talking about (and you know it 😉). As for Black Friday etc, I want talking about availability, but opportunity.

Yeah, there's plenty of other Factions that haven't had a Nightmare crew yet, which is why it'll be a long time before the G-men get another shot at it, which is why I'm a little bummed about it. Still - can't fault the enthusiasm of some of the reactions here. Sounds like Wyrd will shift quite a few of these boxes!

Actually Now that Gremlins get one this year, I'm pretty sure every Faction has now had at least one a Nightmare release;

Guild: Dead Justice and McCabe

Ressers: Tara, Dead Justice and Hanging Tree (although with the latter two they counted as non-Master releases, plus the Hanging tree models only counted as a Hanged in M1E...they're Montressor proxies now)

Arcanists: Colette (although you might want to count Rasputina's christmas release too)

Neverborn: Lord Chompy Bits and Teddy

Outcasts: Tara, Hamelin and Hanging Tree (as above, it's a Montressor proxy now)

Ten Thunders: McCabe (even though it was more of a Guild box)

Gremlins: Ulix, Whiskey Golem

I *think* that's all of them. So it really is open as to which Faction gets a new Nightmare box next Gencon. 

13 hours ago, Durza said:

This is 200% a @Rathnard crew.

Oh yeah. I might even have to by 200% Nightmare boxes this year.

To be honest I was hoping for an Alt Zipp box, if only because he's the one Gremlin Master I don't have. But this is pretty awesome nonetheless.

5 hours ago, -Loki- said:

Colette/Mr Cooper got a Nightmare Coryphee.

I wouldn’t be shocked if they did Nightmare Sow and Piglet Boxes. Don’t really need a War Pig, since the War Wabbit is silly enough to be in theme.

I'm at least hoping for Piglets and possibly the Sow. Warpig would be good too, but if they do one it would literally be the third Alt Warpig they've made (War Rooster, War Wabbit and now War Pony?).  Only the legendary Teddy comes close (who's also at three IIRC, if you count the Puppet version).

3 hours ago, Bazlord_Prime said:

Gotta side with most of the above posters whom I recognise as staples of the Gremlin forum: not at ALL digging this. Was really hoping for something cool for Gremlins, because honestly - when will this opportunity come around for us again?

Probably Black Friday. Or Easter. Or when that Bayou racing game comes out. TBH Gremlins have gotten ALOT of alt models already. Pretty sure it's way more than every other Faction.

I'm in love.  This is the most awesome preview ever.  

In M1E it didn't take me long at all to find my favorite Master.  I started with Pandora but after realizing she was utterly broken (she really was in those early days!) I switched to Zoraida... and didn't look back for 18 months. After that I only started playing other Masters because i wanted the variety and I already had most of them anyway.

In M2E I've rarely played a single Master for long, for a variety of reasons. But the one I've enjoyed the most, and who I keep coming back to, has been Misaki. She's gotsome surprising depth to her playstyle and the Ten Thunders models available to her are some of my favorite. 

I don't know enough about the model making process to make any kind of judgment call on how it would affect a Puppet Wars release.

Personally though, I'm hoping they one day do Alternate Puppet-Malifaux crews.  It could be a back door way to support Puppet Wars without diverting resources from Malifaux.

4 hours ago, the tick said:

Maybe Mah cause I don't own her yet?

I'm hoping Zipp, for the same reason. I'll probably buy the nightmare box regardless, but it'd be pretty convenient if it was the only Gremlin Master i didn't have.

EDIT: Actually Ophelia would be great too.  She was the first Outcast crew i painted (this was back in M1E), and she's in desperate need of replacement.

Time to vomit out some random ideas with little forethought;

Ophelia crew that's actually Perdita and her family dressed up as Gremlins.

So'mer Teeth Jones crew led by Gremlin-Abraham Lincoln

Brewmaster crew that hands out not Booze, but Delicious Candy, Cupcakes and Iceream. 

50's Sci Fi-inspired Zipp crew

Upper Class Ulix, with everyone dressed in a suit with top hat and monocle. 

Puppet Zoraida, complete with a bunch of Gremlin Puppet Swampfiends to order around (McTavish, Wisps and/or Bayou Gators?). Please Wyrd, I want more puppets!

That's all I can think of for now. Nothing jumps out to me with Mah and Wong. They seem tricky, since they've got pretty ridiculous concepts to start with.  

Ooh, good idea! Here's what I've been thinking;

Combat Engineers;

These soldiers are equipped for supporting the King's Armies through both the construction (and demolition) of entrenchments and other groundworks. In-game these squads would be able to remove (or at least neutralise) nearby hazardous terrain as well as "fortify" objective markers by making them hazardous to enemy units. For close encounters they're equipped with, of course, shotguns.

Mobile Infantry

I'm less clear on this one, but I like the idea of introducing a squad with a combined arms titan for Kassa Doyle to support in the Kings Empire. Emphasis would be on mobility and shooting over resiliance, so maybe a Transport-type Mini-titan with a mounted gunner, that can rapidly redeploy it's squad on a rush order?

Colonial Troops

Being Australian I am, of course, very keen on the idea of some Colonial representation in the Kings Empire. But I think a great way to represent this would actually be via an asset that can be attached to certain squads. Such an asset could give them a boost to their Df, Wp and/or Ar, (being from hardier stock) but at the cost of losing the Empire-wide abilities "Rapid Maneuvering" and "The British Army" (since they're unruly colonials  ).

Actualy, you could instead make it an "Envoys from the Colonies" card, only accesible to Kings Empire Companies. So they take up your allies slot, but Kings Empire units hired as Envoys get a bonus/penality like the ones mentioned above. 

I think the Lotus Eater is in his element with Misaki. His discard effects synergise fantastically with Misaki's Assassination trigger and he's amazing at removing enemy scheme markers. For the latter I've often taken a Tengu in my 10T crews (regardless of Master). But now if I can find the extra 2 SS, I'll be using the Lotus Eater.

11 hours ago, PolishSausage said:

I also hear sticking engineer into every squad is a good idea. (extra attack)

Only to a point. Remember 3 Engineers is equal to a Marauder, which can be invaluable for taking objectives. So while Engineers are definitely amazing, you don't want to splurge on so many that you have trouble achieving the Operation.  

I've not played with Abyssinia yet (only against), but I just want to add one thing - Crow Runners.

On the face of it they're useful harrassers who can threaten objectives early, but once they flip to Glory they get Lead the Way. This lets them move another fireteam (inc. Titan or Commander) up to their speed and with the trigger, take an action. For a 6 Scrip unit that can do this up to three times per activation, that seems like a pretty incredible force multiplier! 

I love the WW1 aesthetic of the units, not to mention the Kings Hand being the best looking Titan of the bunch. 

They've also got some great stratagems, possibly the best of the available allegiances. It gives them a strong tactical feel, with plenty of objective manipulation and subterfuge. If I wasn't so into the maDnESS oF tHe bURniNG mAn, Kings Empire would totally be my Allegiance of choice.

These are some rather dashing fellows. Am I the only one who wants to run a crew of these guys, some Wastrels and Graves/Tannen for the classiest crew about town?

12 hours ago, retnab said:

I don't know about the starter pack but i'd be shocked if any more allegiances dropped before next year.

Completely agree. TOS and the first four Allegiances look to have an official release this year, probably around Gencon since that seems to be a thing games companies do. 

The rumoured Guild/Court Starter box is something we have almost no info on - just a couple of art pieces and IIRC, a few *possible* prototype sculpts shown at previous conventions. Beyond that, we've no idea where this set is at in terms of production, so it's anyone's guess as to when it's coming out. If we're really lucky it'll be Gencon, but I'm not holding my breath. 

The Three Kingdoms/Kimon will presumably be part of the next major expansion for TOS, likely with it's own book full of rules and background. If Wyrd follows the pattern they have with Malifaux then I'd expect to see a Gencon 2019 release. But that assumes they don't decide to stagger major releases with Malifaux (ie. Malifaux book one year, TOS book the next). I think it's very unlikely they'll do that, since surely they'd want to maintain consistent releases for both systems year round? But then again, who knows what nefarious plans they're brewing?

On 4/7/2018 at 3:47 AM, Saduhem said:

Has any art from the Kimon/Oni allegiance been shown?

Not that I know of - the only info we have on the Kimon is a sentence or two pretty much confirming that they'll be an Allegiance in TOS. The closest you can probably get to pics is by looking at the Oni found in Malifaux. I like to think that Ohaguro Bettari, the Obsidian Oni, Yokai and Jorogumo in particular would inform the design of the Allegiance as a whole.  

At the moment I'm assuming that the Kimon would all be Japanese mythology Oni.

As per Asami's story the Obsidian Gate is located in Japan, and "Kimon" translates to "Demons Gate" in Japanese. Asami herself links the Oni in Malifaux with the Obsidian Gate in Japan, and all of the Oni represented in Malifaux thus far have had origins in Japanese folklore.

So based on the above, it seems a pretty safe bet that all of the characters in the Kimon Allegiance will be Oni or at least be rooted in Japanese folklore. Having non-Japanese spirits in the TTB Campaign is certainly interesting though (I've not read anything from the campaign, mind you). It might mean the Kimon allegiance will draw from more cultures than just Japan. Or it may mean nothing at all.

Here we are. The bottom base is black on one side, pink on the other. So I can flip it over according to how badly the pink damages my opponent's retinas.  

What is it about TOS previews and bad puns?

9 minutes ago, Lokibri said:

- Merris LaCroix: She is not as useful as iggy with her attack, but getting 6-9 burning on the doll and her victim pretty much kills every model going around.

IIRC Merris can only target enemy models with her Burning attack. Which is a real pity when it comes to the Voodoo Doll.

I've got nothing else to add at the moment (apart from the fact that Zoraida was my first love in Malifaux ). But I'm hoping to pull out Gremlin-Zoraida again some time soon so I'm following this thread with interest.

I've always preferred a Discard-focused playstyle with Misaki to get maximum use out of that Assassination trigger (also because it's really fun to empty your opponent's hand  ). I've played 10-T Misaki alot more than her Outcast version. But when I have gone Outcast, my top picks have generally been Convict Gunslingers and Montressor. The former provides threat range and is great for encouraging your opponent to cheat (unless they actually like receiving Slow or extra Trigger Happy shots) while Montressor provides both push effects and plenty of simple duels to drain that hand.

After that I'm less consistent about what I've taken. Yamaziko is a bargain of course, and Desperate Mercs would probably be my scheme runners of choice (plus there's a bunch of henchmen in the crew they can give soulstones to). I'd like to Try Hans at some point but I've yet to fit him in. Beyond that, Wokou Raiders and Hodgepodge Effigy are pretty great. If you're not taking Shang then the Malifaux Child could be good for an early push via Downburst. 

As an aside, I did once try an anti-charge Misaki crew (ie. Alyce, Ronin and Desperate Mercs), which was pretty darn fun.

I got a friend with an industrial laser to make some fireteam bases for me. Basically two MDF bases on top of each other (both 80/100/120mm diameter), with holes for the 30/40/50mm bases cut into one of them. I've modeled and painted a few, and they look pretty nice with some Malifaux minis on top of them.