osoi

I know we spoke a bit about VS before you left to go to the US Kadeton, so you have been setting me down this path of insanity as well. I dont want it to come across as group think in our particular meta but I so far have really come to the conclusion so far that he is a generalist with a bit of crew buffing but what he really does is unlock the Steam Trunk as an available model which helps the crew buffing. I like the Freikorps models and I am almost looking at trying to run the crew with Tara leading them instead

You can keep with a certain Master and learn them, you vary up your crew choices with that master. Sometimes you will find that you take a stable core ste of models with that master and then add on models taht ar emore geared towards your strategy and schemes. Most tournaments are organised around you picking the faction you want to play at the event, some masters ar ebetter suited towards some stratgies and schemes over others but all have tools available to them to copmplete the job, the methods just vary a little. For example I was running Mei Feng as an Arcanist pretty well solidly for all my games for several months and got pretty proficient with how she played and tackled the various strategies and schemes. I played other masters as well during this time but you can defiantely stick to a master for a while and vary your crew up. I am now starting a long trek into Marcus and going to be playing around with him for the forseeable future.

And I used Sonnia as a stand in for Tara

@Math I have had good success with the Rail Golem, he is tankier than Howard which is good for some games but I like reliability a bit more than something that can swing a little wildly. Getting burning onto him is not a problem at all. When playing Reckoning I have often gone with the Howard Rail Golem tag team with a couple of Metal Gamin too that creates a really tight and killy knot

I like the look of the miss model, I dont have any teddies yet and who knows now I may have something extra to use in my TTB campaigns

Well I'm pretty sure I will be picking up Z from this list an dwho knows ... I have been wanting to do some earthy natural painting for a while and Z combined with Marcus looks to be my ticket on that train. Big fan of the render for Bad Juju

For me generally Kang is quite matchup specific against Resser he goes in and then he is included against other factions if I know the master going to be used. Cassandra I think is fine as a substitute but does fulfill a different role. As for Howard vs Coryphee. Howard is a cruise missile, he packs a lot of heat and a great threat range, he can protect your crew through threat of a countercharge that I only ever see elsewhere in Vikky crews plus vent steam early on can also protect elements of your crew from range too. The cory again fulfill a different role with slight overlap with Howard, they are more mobile but dont possess the same brutality of Howard. I have pretty much stopped running the Rail Golem except when I just want to have some good old fashioned fun, I like the reliability of Howard, always having nimble, flurry plus the higher Ml stat

Words fail me again Mako, another very impressive piece

Ok for Mei with what you have getting hold of Howard is nice, since you are already getting some arachnids for Ramos you will be fine there. Rail workers as said along with Johan also solid versatile additions. I would also possibly look at he captain as well along with large arachnids

Not to discount the OP but in the year that I have predominately been running Mei I havent found need for dedicated ranged attacks for her. I would consider Hans for support or the Freikorps trapper but I have never once felt I need a ranged element in her crew. I find if facing constructs that having Magnetism from Metal Gamin gives me some ranged game.

I agree, I tend to max on pairs of any one type of model

I think its someone to do with Kirai, perhaps the Ikiryo?

Yeah big thanks Wyrd, it was completely unexpected

They all look great dgraz and a lot of fun

Having come back to Tara only recently after not using her for a good while I found she is just a good toolbox running midline support with her primary help being adding more AP to your crew while stripping AP from your ooponent. Lure is huge for Tara as has been said in maximising the potential of her toolbox. I havent used Dead of Winter in a little bit and found me not regretting it

Should be able to add in some marcus stuff over the next week

Epilogue and continuing the Adventure The party foudn themselves deep in the quarantine zone not knowing how much time had passed while they were in the void. Their immediate thoughts turned to whether they return to the Guild encampment and advice them partially of what happened or do they live as fugitives even further on the fringes. Luthor was concerned that without the Guild he would nt have any direction of which William replied that he will give Luthor the direction he needs, he seemed content with that. Dai was extremely pragmaic in the change of allegiance in that Obliteration is now his new master so he still has a master to serve. William took Sky under his wing and has started to bond with the hound. The party decided to go on the own and awit contact from one of Obliteration's agents, they decided to head south towards the Starlight Saloon. Leaving the Quarantine Zone was a little tricky as every easy passage they encountered was either heavily fortified or had Guild guarding it. They settled for a blockade that just had a garrison of two. Mishka froze one of the guardsmen solid while Luthor bludgeoned the other to death, as Luthor saw his target lose all life he felt regret and stated he didnt mean to hit him that hard. As the party cleared the blockade the guardsman stood back to attention although not quite as straight or with the same keen glint in his eyes. And that is where we leave the party for now.

Act 3 Wi the group trying to find its bearings they looked towards the members that were naturally suited to try and navigate this (even more) foreign land. Before he broke down completely Jonas said that he remembered this place and remembered the cave and it was one of the last things he remembers before he was back in the quarantine zone and came acros the party. William tried to tease more information from him but by now he was an incoherant and babbling mess and was clearly distressing Sky. As William and Mishka were suited to navigating the wilds they started surveying the surrounds. There was a breeze that was constantly blowing from one direction that carried whispers of impending doom, the landscape was barren minus some rocky outcrops and what seemed like a river about 7 meters wide flowing nearby. Discussions raged for what could have been hours or just moments as to what th ebest course of action would be. William checked to see if the luminous rock could make markings and it could as he scratched a mark on a larger outcrop, Mishka filled her canteen with the liquid from the font and took sip. Mishka's body convulsed and jerked as she swallowed the liquid and an expanded vision of this place and the cave filled her mind. She was only mildly disorientated from drinking from the font and told the others of her vision showing a stream near the cave. With that the party decided to follow the river upstream deducing it would lead to the cave in their visions. As they neared the rivers edge they saw once again things were not as they seemed as they saw glowing fish like creatures similar to the small shadow creatures they encoutered in the ruins of malifaux. Mishaka tried to blast them with her icy magic but nothing happened except frost appearing at the river's edge Luthor became enamoured with them and before anyone could stop him he placed his grafted hand into the river to try and catch one of these strange fish. It did not go well he missed his catch and he lost feeling in all parts of his arm that entered the river but still could move his hand normally. Upon Luthor pulling his hand from the river the 'water' started to flow in the opposite direction seeing all manner of strangeness the party decided to continue in the same direction for what seemed like simultaneously hours and seconds and all but Dai's fortitude was being sapped and Jonas was descending further into madness. At one point of taking a rest and resurveying their surrounds several members spotted other figures that seemed devoid of colour and purpose on the other side of the river at the edge of their vision. Further walking along the rivers bank they came acros a nural bridge and decided not to cross. Eventually the party reached a point where the river split into a small stream and a wider river as the current is flowing backwards this dirgence caused some debate amongst the party about what direction to pursue, eventually Mishka decided to see if she could garner further clarity by taking a sip of the font liquid again. Her body convulsioned she had a fit for what semed to the other party members like minutes. Mishka did indeed have another vision but it took a very different shape to before and took a greater tol on her body. In mishka's eyes existence seemd to blink in and out and everyone else stood still she pursued a thought and saw her body standing still. She decided to go back to natural bridge and cross the river only to see that everyone had lost their will and they themselves grey nomads. With a blink her vision renewed and she decided to leap into the river at its split with that she teleported to what looked like the cave mouth nearby with the distinctive tree nears its mouth. With another blnk Mishka returned to reality and despite not really feeling great asked her compatriots to trust her as she lept into the river and vanished in front of their eyes. William caught on quickly and had Luthor throw Sky into the river while Dai gripped Jonas tightly and entered with him. Tehy all appeared together close to the cave mouth. Luthor saw the oppurtnity climb the tree and gather the hangmans rope, he climbed with skill belying his bulk but without proper sensation in one hand he could not untie it from the tree. Mishka sougt to help and threw her knife into his grafted arm and he cut the rope loose but his arm did not bleed and he still felt nothing. The constant breeze that blew across this alien landscape eminated from the cave with whispers on the wind and the cave was dark unlike anything else in this realm. William threw a small rock into the cave and its glow was faintly seen so the party ventured in each with rope in hand and holding a glowing rock in the other. Theyu reached a point where the glow of the rocks illuminted no area in front of them and suddenly the beast that sent them to the void was in front of them in a decidely less agressive mood. The Beast conversed with them and explained that his master was impressed that they still held a portion of their will and hadnt succumbed to this place like others before them. He explained that he can return them to Malifaux but a sacririce must be made and they must retrieve 7 keys to unlock his master from this place. There were negotiations between the beast and the party about why should they help and how could he keep them to retrive these keys once they were malifaux side, he explained that there exist agents of his master outside this prison that are looking for clues and whispers of the keys but as they has been touched by Obliteration the keys remain hidden to them. Eventually the party agreed to the terms and the beast lashed out at all but Jonas who remained as the sacrifice demanded and they returned to whence they came. So ends Act 3

Okay its been a bit longer than I hoped but now having completed the first act and set the real story in motion I think its worthwhile to update our adventures. We rejoin the party as they spend the night in a derelict saloon that has good vantage to keep an eye on any unwanted vistors and is relatively defensible if needed. The players have all fleshed themselves out a little further and while there is a little ocnversation between some members it is not free flowing yet from here on I am likely to just use the character names William Boyd - The pioneer Mishka - The december tribeswoman Dai - The man mountain 10T guard who doesnt speak much english Luthor - The ignorant mortuary assistant Luthor seemed relatively at ease with his situation and was most upset about there not being any other undead dogs for him to play with. Dai and William alternated taking guard while Mishka was reserved and a bit suspicious of her companions. Come the new day the party heard noises of somthing coming close that did not sound like shambling undead they have so far encountered the party were on alert, the first thing they saw was a dog, rather large and was definately not undead and looked as if it had an owner as it had a collar, Luthor was excited! Shortly after a humanoid figure appeared and while the party was on guard they were soon relieved when he identified himself as a Guild Pathfinder named Jonas Freidrich and the dog that Luthor had taken to and Wiliam saw already as a well trained hound was his companion Sky. Jonas was dishevelled even more so than pathfinders usually are and was relieved when talking to the party that they were friendly to guild interests. During their conversation Jonas revealed he was part of a Guild expedition looking at securing the same area the party had been tasked to do. Details that Jonas provided were sketchy beyond he and Sky being the only survivors and he was aprhensive about going back saying there were unnatural things at the site and on the way. He eventually relented as the party wanted to pursue their end and he said that he would show them the way but did not want to go except in clear daylight. When questioned why he said the sights he saw were unnerving enough during the day let alone contemplating them at night, he whispered things of animated shadows that stalked men to which Luthor exclaimed 'well wouldnt going at night be better then since shodows only happen in light?' Jonas was adamant that the dark was even worse. The party waited until first light the next day to head out. The party ventured for a few hours with no major incident until the landscape changed with more ruins of old Malifaux an dincreasingly ornate structures and narrower pathways. Jonas guided the group through a more open easier area where the party discovered shadows that were cast by no man but instead meandered across the area with a mind of their own. Sky became acutely alert and Jonas attempted to navigate a way avoiding the shadows. Luthor took his lead as did William. Miska was intrigued and skirted sepearte to the rest of the party and came close to the shadows a few times before Dai attempted to punch a shadow at which point he was transported to another shadow and momentarily frozen in time. At this point the shadows seemed to become aware of the group's prescence and started aproaching them more aggressively, Mishka lashed out a shadow for her only to feel the cold embrace of nothing. The party managed to navigate the moving obstical course and exited the area to continue their progress albeit with a little more respect of Jonas' warnings. Eventually the party reached their goal with still some daylight left, what they encountered was a set of large ruins of a building from old Malifaux, although largely destroyed and in ruin its footing were large and intact. The party spied some figues who appeared to be in guild uniform on and around the ruins along with more of these animated shadows. William decided to carry out recon and skirt the edges while Jonas was aprhensive about returning to this place, Luthor dragged him along assuring him it would be ok. Mishka took to a flank in approach while Dai approached head on and started punching at shadows again ... It was discovered that the individuals in the guild uniforms wer in fact reanimated guild soldiers and William dispatched several along with Mishka freezing some and Luthor making a heroic climb to fell one and have it impaling itself as it fell to its demise. Dai's punching shadows had a similar impact as before however as he materialised in his new locations small malevolent creatures of shadow appeared near him which snapped Jonas from his fear and into rage as he sought to slay these creatures. In addition to creatures appearing from the shoadows some of them seemed to move with purpose towards each other growing in turn into a larger single animated shadow. Dai's headstrong approach meant he reached the center of the ruins before the other caught up to him where he saw a font filled with a water like substance that generated its own half light. As he reached the font the large shadow coalesed into a large creature with four arms and tentacles on its face and struck at Dai knocking his helmet off his and making hime blink from existence. Jonas' blood lust turned to sorrow as the new creature sipwed at Sky and she too vanished, he too followed shortly thereafter along with Luthor and Mishka, this being was a whirlwind of oblivion. William was not ware of what had happened to his comrades as he contnued dispatching undead around the perimeter until large shadow loomed over him and cut him down as if he never existed either. The party all found themselves in a strange barren landscape with a moonless and starless sky but landscape itself was illuminated as if by moolight, they were disoriented and slightly scattered but all relatively close to one another around what appeared to be a font similar to what Dai discovered in the ruins. A shared vision came to them all of a cave with tree by its mouth and a hangman's noose swinging gentley from one its branches. Jonas was a wreck mumbling gibberish with Sky near her master trying to comfort him. Luthor found he experienced an awakening of sorts as his grafted limbs resonated deeper with him and a connection to dead things may have been formed. So ends Act 2

Welcome back. Everything you have works well together although maybe a little differently to how you were using them before. You have enough models already to cover for a 50ss game with some flexibility for some swap outs. If you are looking to expand your collection I would have to reccomend the Ramos crew box as it adds Joss, Howard Langston (Steamborg Executioner) and 6 Steam Arachnids so a lot of choice of models that all work nicely with Mei Feng, plus you get another master as a bonus! The pullmyfinger wiki is being populated at the moment with a lot of the updates for M2E models and what works well

You want the links to the pages set up on the wiki as blank pages? I have now got a bit of my life back to being mine after the past couple of months so can oversee and manage things a bit better now

The Emberling, Steam Arachnids and a Pair of Molemen are usually my first choice in objective running with Mei. The molemen are independant and dont need babysitting so you have 2 activations of just achieving strats and schemes with them, the emberling is also the same whilst also having a nasty counterpunch with a Cg of 9 and handing out burning. Steam Arachnids just go wherever you need them beacuse of unimpeded as well plus being a cheap construct they provide a 'port point for Mei and Railwalker. Metal Gamin are my 'hold' models they are always rockstars and always perform well when the rest of my crew works around the solid rock a pair of them provide. I tend to prefer Howard over the Rail Golem as he is a little quicker and more deadly plus I dont have to worry about building him up in any way ... he just works out of the box and if I have the stone to spare Imbued Energies is astounding with him.

Blood Viktoria can pretty well handle an entire crew herself and is still quite effective without her bigger sister. I have been on the receiving end of her in a 25ss game and although I ended up winning she took a lot of resources to contain.

We are a couple sessions in on a new adventure all using the pdfs, it is a little cumbersome at times using the pdfs instead of some printed books and yes it is a firste edition RPG so has some faults but we are all having fun playing it. I have just had work consume so much of my time of late tah I havent been able to update our groups adventures beyond the first non character generating session. It will be coming though.

I have only faced Sonnia a couple of times but both times I have come up well using Mei. Each time I have taken Howard and Johan along with the Emberling then rounded out with a combination of Molemen, Spiders, Metal Gamin and Railworkers. The crew is fats enough to worry really worry her and the threat of an Imbued Energies Howrad missile often sets you up to be in a better posistion, if Howard survives even better but I have found the tthreat of shoving such a lethal model down an opponents throat often comes up trumps. Taking Bleeding Edge Tech on Johan makes him a bit of a lynchpin model in the crew but he is tough an dif you take a lot of minion constructs he really helps keep the crew humming along passively along with his condition removal.