Ropetus

Not to mention, if your opponent has any area effect spells, a trick like that is doomed to fail. The moment those Woes start to pile up in order to all use Mimic, throwing an area effect spell their way will most likely toast almost all of them.

Nasty trick in theory but I don't think it will work in practice very well.

-Ropetus

Well, looking at Ramos and Rasputina, I think Raspy has a bit more synergy with Marcus than Ramos does. Ramos is mainly a backline summoner who buffs and heals constructs so he plays very different compared to Marcus. I'm sure you could make it work but it would most likely feel like having two separate Crews on the table. I think the most effective variant would be a basic Ramos Construct list with Marcus and a few Beasts added in as a speed element, instead of a Marcus Beast list with Ramos as a support.

Rasputina on the other hand has plenty of options that might be interesting with Marcus and his Beasts. First of all, spreading Ice Pillars around the battlefield will make it much easier to close in with the Beasts (especially the stalking Cerberus) without getting shot to pieces. December's touch also reduces incoming damage. Better yet, Marcus can cast Feral on Raspy to make her a Beast, granting Myranda access to these spells, letting Rasputina focus on other things. Freeze over should not be overlooked either, Marcus already loves taking advantage of terrain.

Rasputina also fixes Marcus' biggest weakness, lack of ranged attacks. The Ice Witch brings plenty of those along, adding a new threat to the crew (especially after handing out some Frozen Hearts around with December's touch). Of course, Ramos works for this as well but December's Curse is much more effective than Electrical fire.

Another interesting option could be the Viktorias. Marcus and his crew is already all about hard hitting and mobile melee units. Adding this duo should compliment those tactics nicely. There are few sneaky trics here though, just more melee swings to throw at your enemies.

-Ropetus

True. It's an option but as usual you have to be cautious. It's pretty safe on the first round when there are no enemies about to mess your plans and later you should have enough trouble dealing with your opposition to make it more efficient to attack your enemies.

On the other hand, throwing away a really low card for a friendly model's defence should not be too damaging, the card was not much use in your hand anyway. Unless of course the opposition has a lot of card discard powers (Seamus and Sonnia come to mind).

-Ropetus

My understanding is that Myranda doesn't have to haver a specific beast in the agng to shapeshift.

She can shapeshift into any "beast" listed in the book.

So main reason for another Cerberus is to have 2 not just gain Roar.

But I think Cerberus is an auto include.

Nope, she doesn't need the Beast for Shapeshifting. That she can do on her own and turn into any Beast needed.

I was talking about her Animal Instincts spell. Having some options besides Healing and Shapeshifting for spellcasting is always a plus. After all, she is better at casting most spells than the Beasts themselves. And the Beast can concentrate on what it's best at (mainly pummeling the opposition in melee).

And of course, the Cerberus is a fine model in itself. As with every model, they have to accomplish something by themselves. Taking it along with Myranda just gives her an extra boost as well in addition to getting a Cerberus.

-Ropetus

Can't he be part of a mixed force in the Brawl Level of encounter. I know that he can only have Gremlins and Piggies at Scrap level...

Indeed, he can join with another Outcast Master or Zoraida in a Brawl. That means he can ally with Zoraida or the Viktorias at the moment (Leveticus has his own rule about only allowing Constructs and Undead when he is present).

The Gremlin's have particular synergy with Zoraida: Both have lots of card control abilities ("Oops, looks like the Mosquito just ate all your Cards. Now, lets take a look at your deck before sending something nasty in...") and Zoraida can hire any Wp4 model so you could for example get Nurses to stuff your piglets full of steroids before sending them at your opponents.

-Ropetus

moleman x3, slurids x3, myranda, marcus and 4ss

I think that crew wastes a lot of Myranda's potential which is her huge versatility with spellcasting. I think another beast would suit that list better, the only thing Myranda is good for is healing and changing into a Beast.

Myranda might want to have a few different Beasts around to give her more options for her spell repertoire. The Cerberus should be an auto include to give Myranda access to Roar (devastating against living models after Marcus Howls) unless playing against Undead/Constructs. Devour could also prove useful. Waldgeists give her access to Uproot (Shapechange first to get that :masks for your Ca).

Using Feral on non-Beasts grants you access to even more spells: Convict Gunslinger grants Suppressing Fire (should be nasty with her higher Ca) and Hamelin could be fun just for the laughs. She also gains a lot more potential in Brawls: taking Rasputina along and casting Feral on her gives you a LOT of December's Curses or allows you to give Armor to most of your Crew.

This is all just theory though. Haven't tried her yet but will as soon as my Arcanists arrive.

-Ropetus

Wouldn't Pandora drop the Treasure counters the instant she won a Wp Duel? That would trigger Fading Memory, which is a talent so it's use is not optional and changes her position on the table by other means than a Walk Action. That makes Pandora about the worst model in the game to carry those tokens.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

-Ropetus

Both models are controlled by you so you flip cards for both. You flip one card for the attacker and one card for the defender and may cheat/use stones/whatever as normal. Of course you cheat to ensure you get a hit or fail to resist or whatever you desire. This also gives some use for those low junk cards in your hand.

Similar cases of targeting friendly models could be Lure or Obey to get some extra speed out of your grunts or Pandora Pacifying her own minions to get some free pushes. You could even use an area effect spell on your own models to ensure you get a nice damage flip and get to spread those blasts.

-Ropetus

Remember you can attack your own models. Slicing up a 2 SS Canine Remains or the Chihuahua on the first turn can be very good business for McMourning: Attack it once with a melee attack or use Wracked with Pain to gain 1 Body Part and then Dissect it for 3 more (even weak damage will kill the doggie), then pick up the Corpse. This will get you 6 Body Parts.

If you get the right cards, you can do this to two dogs on first turn. That should net you all the Body Parts you need before McMourning gets into melee and starts producing them en masse.

-Ropetus

You are correct in that killed models leave behind Corpse Counters. Models with the Graverobber characteristic can pick these up and use them for their abilities.

McMourning operates on Body Part Counters. He receives these by buying them with Soulstones or picking up Corpse Counters and converting them into Body Parts (1 Corpse = 2 Body Parts). In addition, he gains them by damaging models in melee or by some of his spells.

The Chihuahua only Fetches existing Body Parts. The amount of Corpse Tokens generated when a model is killed depends on the model's base size.

-Ropetus

Playing with unpainted miniatures is a big no for me. If someone wants to use unpainted models against me its fine if they have just bought the game and want to get a try. On the other hand, if they have a painted crew to use, I would prefer to play against those models.

I also like to spend some effort on my models and make them look as nice as possible with my skills. This is the main reason why I moved to skirmish games from Warhammer: having an entire warband nicely painted was not just an utopia.

However, because I'm such an enthusiastic games, this is what I do: I paint the miniature with just the base colors at first. No highlights, no details, nothing. That way the model at least has paint everywhere and looks good enough on the table for friendly games. After that I can take one model at a time and use all the time I need painting every detail while still having a painted crew for painting. If you don't have time to paint, you should try this approach, the base colors take like an hour tops for a Malifaux starter. If you have time to play, you should have time to do a quick paintjob on your models.

-Ropetus

Falling Back last sentence of 1st paragraph):

The model's activation then ends.

A few paragraphs later under the new theme Rallying:

A model that has fallen back must spend its subsequent activation rallying.

To me that means 2 different activations but WEiRD sKeTCH is lurking around this thread so maybe he will say a final word on this.

Uh oh, totally missed that sentence. You're correct. That means Falling Back is a SUPER nasty effect. Better not fail that Wp Duel when she got the crows. Even though its easier said than done.

-Roope

1st: Mental Angush in itself do not forces models to fall back. You need another failed Resist Duel to make this happen. Ie. cast another spell on them. The one that triggered the trigger (in this case Dementia) does not good for this since the trigger is activated after the victim failed its Resist Duel.

I disagree. When the trigger is activated, the defender has just failed a Resist Duel, so the trigger should activate immediately. The interpretation that this is not the case really opens up a can of worms (you could for example move another model in melee with the target to the other side of he model and force it to flee straight in the middle of your web).

2nd: Out of activation fall back is not an inmediate move. You have to wait for the next activation to do this. Then in the next one you can rally. And just after that, during the 3rd activation can you move freely again. Nasty-nasty trigger it is.

Yes, it is not an immediate move and doesn't happen until the start of their activation. However, it would not miss two activations due to Fall Back. Nowhere does it state that the double Wk movement counts as the activation for the Falling Back model. It is just stated that this movement happens at the start of the model's activation and that the model cannot move for the rest of its activation and it receives on all flips. Falling back is crippling, but not THAT crippling.

From the Errata:

Treasure Hunt

Add to the end of the first paragraph: "A model drops the Treasure Counter in base contact with itself before changing position on the table by any effect other than the Walk Action or before being removed form play.

interact is not a walk action. therefore, if you have a treasure token and interact with another one, you drop the one you are holding.

Interact does not change the model's position. Therefore it does not force it to drop the counter. You would force a model to drop it when casting or fighting as well? Those are also actions other than Walk.

-Ropetus

Only living models can be affected by terrifying. Pandora does not make living from an undead or construct.

Ach, of course. Should have checked the rules for Terrifying as well.

Still, Pandora makes them vulnerable to all other Morale Duels.

-Ropetus

It is correct. Even the Undead get terrified when Pandora is around.

Though the example is not quite good because the Resist Duel is a Wp Duel but not a Morale Duel so the Belle would not be immune to it anyway. Also, models immune to Morale can be forced to Fall Back with other effects that are not Morale effects.

The main advantage of The Box Opens is removing Immune to Influence and the benefits of Undead and Constructs concerning Morale, making them vulnerable to Terrifying from Kade or Teddy.

-Ropetus

The official model is not my favourite either so I have decided to convert him to match my Ortega crew. I though about using green stuff to add a scarf similar to Santiago on his neck, eyebrows, moustache, long hair and a shaggy beard. Maybe change his knee pads as well. Throw in a sombrero for a finish and call him Crazy Pedro Ortega, their dirty old uncle who has a bad temper.

-Ropetus

The Box Opens: Models within 12" of this model lose any immunities to Wp duels

Ignore is not the same thing as immune. The errata has made a clear difference between them:

“Some models are able to ignore or are immune to game

effects:

• When something ignores X, other models are not

affected by X when resolving the effect.

• A model immune to X cannot be affected by X

when resolving the effect. Duels requiring X do not

occur.”

Pandora only strips other models of Wp Duel immunities. Models that ignore Wp Duels still do so. This makes Pandora especially Vulnerable against Perdita and models under the effect of Blind Justice.

-Ropetus

Buy a swarm and base them individually. There are no separate models for individual spiders.

I think some people have placed magnets or pins on the bases to allow the same spider models to be placed either three on a large base or one on a small base. That way the same models can double up as swarms or single spiders which could come handy considering they can swarm up and scatter during the game and that Ramos can make more of them.

-Ropetus

Seamus should have an easy time staying out of melee if he gets some support from his crew. Belles can cast Lure either on his enemies or on Seamus (remember you can cast it on friendly models) to get him away from melee. With Ca8 and all suits from their Ca stat it should not take too much effort to get it work.

Another option is of course make them regret getting into melee with him. He has loads of option to make their lives miserable: Terrifying, Slit Jugular, Trail of Fear, The Face of Death. With the last two up even high Wp opponents have to spend some resources to avoid running away. And remember, Seamus is not Undead so Lady Justice and her crew don't receive +2 Wp against him.

Also, keeping an Undead model nearby and casting Undead psychosis could be a nice way to keep enemies at bay.

-Ropetus

I think Molemen and Rasputina should work quite well together. Though combining December's Touch with the existing Armor on the Molemen will likely be an overkill (let's face it, Armor 4 or 5 is already plenty). Moles should make nice bodyguards for Rasputina though, being cheaper than Gamin and just as fast as Rasputina. Their Tunneling and Sense Footfalls should also combine nicely with Ice Pillars.

An idea I had was to use a couple of moles, use Tunneling with them for Armor 5 and unhindered movement, then use them as targets for Rasputina's December's Curse. Move them next to your opposition and blast them with your spells. Because they're friendly models, you can cheat their Df very low to ensure Severe damage from the spell. Armor 5 will absorb all but a single point of damage and you get to spread some blasts your enemies can do nothing about. Add Myranda to Heal the Mole after the barrage of spells for good measure.

Haven't tried it yet but seriously will when my Arcanists arrive. On paper it should work quite nicely.

-Roope

Lady Justice is a melee beatstick, arguably the best master for that role in the whole game. Her crew is all about physical damage, both melee and shooting. Their spells are mainly about enhancing their melee abilities even further. This crew should be very straightforward to use and easy to learn the rules with.

The Seamus box is great at board control. The Belles have a lot of ways to distract and control the opposing crew and Seamus has some fear effects to mess with the opposition. They are fairly speedy and can take a lot of punishment (Seamus can even bring back killed Belles) but are very limited in ranged attacks, only Seamus can shoot (but he has a nasty gun). This means they will have to enter melee, but its more like "use your tricks to separate a victim and gang everything on the poor thing". His crew is also very good for learning the game.

Ramos is entirely different to the other two. He does not like to enter the fighting himself, but stay behind the lines from where he buffs his minions and summons new ones. Although Ramos has some attack spells as well, mostly he relies on his minions do the fighting, as he is abysmal in melee and quite fragile if the enemy gets to him. Ramos takes a bit more from the player to be efficient than the other two, but should be nothing overwhelming.

-Roope

Action is not the same thing as activation. Activation is once per turn when the owner of the model activated the model when it is his turn to activate. Actions happen as part of activation and there are some effects which allow models to do actions outside their activation (Slow to die and Obey for example). Effects that trigger during activations, like Poison, don't trigger during these actions.

However, there are some effects which grant additional activations. For example Reactivate. Poison will work as normal when a model reactivates.

-Ropetus

You control the model for the action and using triggers is part of the action. From this we conclude it is of course the caster of Obey who decides which triggers will be used. Also, if the trigger results in a new action (Trigger happy, Onslaught, etc), you get to control those as well.

-Ropetus

The Obey action can be any (1) action or a Charge so no problem using it for a cast. Just as long as the spell is (1) action and not (0) or (2). Using Obey for a cast can be very nasty on certain models (Papa Loco's "Take ya with me!" comes to mind).

Instinctual covers all (0) actions so Leap is also fine. Just remember they have to be two different (0) actions so no multiple Leaps per activation.

-Ropetus

Woops!: Unmodified damage flip of 1/2/3. No blasts there

Actually:

Woops!

Replace description with: "When this model misses with

a [weapon name] Strike, the closest other friendly model

within 10" and LoS suffers an unmodified Damage Flip of

[weapon damage]. If there are no other friendly models

within 10" there is no effect."

-Ropetus