Chanst

Yeah, I do the Magic shuffle thing at the beginning of every turn and usually after I play a card. Force of habit I reckon. I agree that a lot can be learned by how long and how often a player looks at their hand, which it why I almost always hold mine when I am not moving a model around. I have forgot to even look at my cards before because it was on the table and not in my hand. A couple of times it cost my duels, so I try to force myself not to leave them on the table. You can usually tell when a person has a big card they are saving for a specific purpose in their hand. That being said, I can't think of a single time where knowing that impacted my decision. Usually my decision to cheat or not only changes when the opponent has a chance to cheat first. After seeing the choice they make, I can make a better decision. Trying to predict if they are going to use the big card in their hand or not before I use my big card is usually a lesson in futility.

In the Thursday morning 20ss tourney, I was the Resser that got 4th. I ran a varied list all 3 games, Nicodem for game one, Seamus for game 2, and McMourning for 3. The smaller point tourney was a lot of fun, very fast paced. Congrats to everyone who placed above me. There was some stiff competition. And just to confirm, Viks took 1st, Guild 2nd, and the Resser a couple posts up got 3rd.

Just wanted to put in another point of reference to make the point that this industry attracts all sorts of individuals. I am an avid Warmahordes player. Been playing for years and years. We have a group of about 8 or so steady players in my area that have been playing about the same amount of time. We are all what you would consider casual players that like to win. Though we have competative natures, none of us play the game in a tournament setting. I played in Warmahordes tourneys for a time before MKII came out, but I got out of the scene BECAUSE it was mostly the same lists you would see all the time. When I brought Menoth to the table, if I didn't play one of maybe 3 casters, I would place poorly (I was never a very good tourney player anyway). On a side note, when I built my 2 tourney lists, I built pretty different ones because even in this game there were bad matchups. I would say I brought 60-70 models to GenCon with me. So our group is casual. I probably own the least amount of models of all the players in the group. That being said, I have at least 200 points in Skorne, probably closer to 250 in Menoth, and that amount grows slowly over time. And I am the low man on the totem pole. We never play games over 50 points, never play 2 caster games. I buy more models in these games BECAUSE I play casually and like to have a variety to choose from, and I would say most of my group is the same. I stopped playing Warmahordes when I got into Malifaux, partially because I wanted a change of pace from the 30-50 models games I was playing, and partially because Malifaux looked like a good fun game. I got in at GenCon last year, bought 2 crews from different factions. I understood that if I wanted to play competitively--because of the way the rules were written about crew creation--that I would probably have to find a faction and settle down to buying most of what that faction has to offer. I settled on Ressers (which was neither of my 1st two crews I bought) for many reasons. I now own 3 masters for Ressers, not including Kirai. I will be playing in a tourney at GenCon, and I feel that I can be competative with my selection (regardless of my skill level) with about 35-40 models. I play Warmahordes again now. I love both games for different reasons. I don't compare the two because I don't feel the need to try and figure out which one is better than the other. I guess this whole post can be summed up by saying 'Different strokes for different folks'. If you like casual, stick with it. It won't be perfect, but nothing ever is. If you like the competative scene now, stick with that too. It's not perfect either, but that's ok too.

Another one piping in from the other side of the pond, so feel free to disregard everything I say. Just my 2 pennies. I wrote a REALLY long post, but I think I ramble too much, so I parsed it down (it was about 3 times this long). Let's assume that what those in favor of ranking system are saying; that having a ranking system doesn't affect the level of play at tournaments (which is debateable, IMHO). If making this change is purely a numbers game to see who is the best of the best even more so than tournaments already do, then what is the point of doing it to begin with? The "yeas" telling the "nays" 'this isn't going to change anything at tournaments' isn't a valid arguement for implementing the change. We could also say that increasing the temp of the game rooms by 20 degrees won't affect how competative players are, but does that mean we should do it then? Is it just a pride thing, or are folks looking to do more work for a superficial reason? I think ranking really just boils down to someone being able to say, "I am better than you are!" Are prizes and already allowable bragging rights not enough? Some folks don't want that extra level of measurement around for them to be found lacking. Or for them to HAVE to say they don't want to be ranked. It goes back to pride again. If I want to go to a tournament to try and win the prizes and the title of winner, I shouldn't have to worry about my possible failures being on display for everyone else to look at indefinately. I also shouldn't have to say that I want to be excluded. Having to just say that makes some folks feel uncomfortable enough to just not go to begin with. That is like the kid in gym class who says he can't climb the rope because he is afraid of heights, but everyone assumes it is because he isn't strong enough to do it. Why create that kind of atmosphere for that attitude to arise when it isn't needed? I understand that everyone isn't like that, but some are, and this change will make that more pronounced. If you create a ranking system, it will create even more segregation between the tourney scene and casual gamers. That is proven fact in all kinds of games out there. If this becomes permanent, I hope Wyrd will be able to figure out a way to cater to both types even more so than they do now (which I think they do very well).

Just wanted to add my agreement to everything that has been said so far. I bought the Nico box set, but I rarely start with Punk Zombies. I usually start with Belles and Crooked Men (on account of the better SS cost), then summon Punk Zombies as the corpse counters become available (hopefully from turn 1, on account of Morty). That way you can place them in your enemy's way as necessary. I will usually get around to a Flesh Construct too if the counters are there and I need something with a little more staying power.

To use the example of the Duet, odds are his other card was higher than a 1 or 3, and like you said, he could have cheated if the Black Joker hadn't showed up. Also, like you said, his opponent could've cheated too, but he has a higher chance of surviving if he can cheat with the Duet than if he can't, regardless of what his opponent is holding. We aren't talking guarantees, but the chances are definately increased. Getting the Black Joker on a flip also increases the chances of your opponent having an even or positively twisted damage flip, which also reduces the survivability of a model. If I cheated the defense of my Duet, and he has to cheat to hit me, he is almost certainly not be able to cheat the damage on account of a negative twist. He also isn't going to have that card to use for damage whenever a even flip comes up. When my Duet is about to be in the thick of things, I might hold onto the Black Joker an extra turn to make sure she survives most to all of my opponents efforts to kill her. If I am pretty sure she is going to be overkilled, I would probably discard it. I guess all I am saying it that there are reasons to keep the Black Joker in your hand, just like there are reasons to discard it. It is just another strategic choice like which model to activate first when there is more than one that can be targeted for death.

Using my mobile so I apologize for the dumb misspells. I would like to restate how subjective this is. There is no right or wrong answer here. I can think of TONS of situations to keep it in your hand. I can also think of TONS of places to get rid of it. I understand that there is a slim chance that it can come up in a flip. However it is much worse than any ace in the deck. It is designed to be that way. It has no suit. You can't cheat into it. Aces do damage, which can be pretty significant compared to no damage in a lot of attacks. Holding it in your hand reduces you cards to viably cheat with. I understand that can be a big deal sometimes. It can also matter not a bit. the only time I use all my cards in my hand is when I am forced to discard for some reason. The last game I played was a 50ss brawl. I was playing ressers. I drew the black joker in my starting hand. I held onto it on turn 2 so I could give my flesh construct fast. Because we were playing a high point game. I saw the black joker on turn 3, 4 and 6 from random flips. None of them were significant. My opponent drew it to start as well. He also discarded it turn 2. There were 3 turns when it showed up for him the rest of that game and all 3 were significant. 2 involved killing blows that did no damage. One was jack daw. Every game is different, but it is a good example that shows that because there is randomness I this game there can't be a hard and fast rule about the strategy. For some theme chance of flipping it is enough for them to discard it at all times. For others the certainty of it never gumming up plans is enough to always hold onto it.

I find for me that it really depends on my crew and my intentions for the game, or even specific turns. If I have a Flesh Construct, I will be holding onto it for Fast. If I am using a crew that will be making a lot of positively twisted flips (from Paired or other such abilities), I will hold it because my odds of flipping it in a turn increase dramatically. When playing with Colette, I will keep it to discard for a soulstone just because I am planning on using 2 cards from my hand to do that anyhow. If I am playing my gremlins, it is just another low card in my already reduced hand size, so it goes. If I only have 2 activations this turn, it goes. I think the point is that there really isn't a 'set in stone' rule about when to keep it or not. It is contextual, like most other decisions in the game.

Just wanted to second the 'don't start with punk zombies' opinion. You are much better starting with some range. You won't have any problem getting some on the table since you are bringing Mort along. Save the one SS and bring a Crooked Man or Rotten Belle. I would go so far to say remove the Convict Gunslinger as well. He is a good model, but the Crooked Men are more resilient with Nico (Df 8 against ranged, better blast damage survivability) and can help take out swarms with their blast markers. The icing on the cake is that you save 2 more SS. That is another Canine, or maybe a Necropunk if you need the speed.

I have only used them a couple times, but I liked them a lot. They worked decent for Destroy the Evidence, and great for Reconniter. I think with McM they would work well in both these strategies, as well as schemes like Stake a Claim and Breakthrough. I haven't tried them yet with McM, but using them to run around while your main force holds a different location can work pretty well, I think.

I will be there as well. Me and GTFriday are going to spend some time playing some Malifaux with whomever wants to. Him more than me probably...I am interested in sooooooo much stuff that GenCon is sensory overload for me. There just isn't enough time for me to play everything I want to.

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I have only played one game with them, but we played that if they take 2 or more wounds they pop, even if it is a killing blow. This never came up, but I was assuming that if the piggy only had one wound left, he wouldn't pop on account of only suffering the one wound he had left. On a bright note, I killed a Lelu at full health by charging him with a stuffed piggy, hitting twice, popping him with the taxidermist, then getting a lucky shot with a bayou gremlin. Left me with a good first impression of them. 24" range is awesome.

The Malifaux Diet Plan! Buy more minis! Have less around the house to eat! We promise you will lose weight or we will give you a free Miss Pack!

When you are in a car accident and you wish there was someone around to understand you when you say, "No, I am not hurt. I am Hard to Wound 1 and my Linked car gives me Armor +2 when I am in B2B with it."

Yeah, I have just played a few games with Nicodem, but I like him a bunch. He has good potential, and because he can summon most undead, his has an amount of versatility that makes him a good catch-all for most strategies. That being said, he is pretty darn slow, and can be caught by most fast masters without any trouble. His only real defense once he gets stuck in melee is Rigor Mortis, though if it is a master he is in melee with, it is luck of the draw of whether he gets away with it or not. Like I said, my experience with him is still limited. I think he is well balanced, good in the hands of someone who can use him well, but far from overpowered.

Yeah, Sword Dance gives you the free Strike on all movement actions. So if you wanted to, you can Walk for all 3 actions and still take 3 Strikes. That way if you do well enough to kill your target on the second attack, you can move on to another for the 3rd pretty easily. I haven't been in a good place to get maximum use out of this yet in the games I have played (been against Kirai and crew for most of my games) so I have been using her as a Breathe Fire machine, using Southern Charm to keep her alive for the counter attacks. Looking forward to playing a non-spirit crew and having fun with this soon.

I think you summed it up well in the other thread, Q'iq'el. I had always been assuming abilities and spells were functioning the same way (mostly because I am a noob to this game) and I think remembering the differences between the two will help me work through many questions to come. Even if it had required LoS, I think Illusionist is still very nice for keeping her out of trouble. I really need to try her with 3 doves at once to see how the whole 'stirke force' idea works.

Illusionist says 'switch this model and one friendly showgirl within 18 inches', so as far as I can tell, you don't need LoS. That's the way we have been playing it.

Thanks for the invite. My work schedule wouldn't permit me to come over at this point, but it is good to know where I can go if circumstances change.

Just wanted to add my two soulstones worth. She was the first master I picked up (just got into the game at GenCon) and I am having a blast with her. Of course I am still learning the ins and outs of the game in general, and she certainly has a lot on her card to take in. Using her as pure support seems to work alright for me (depending on the strategy). Her ability to just gain soulstones that pretty much her whole crew has access to is pretty awesome. Cassandra with 2 Breathe Fires or a 12" threat range Magician's Duel from a dove has a lot of potential. I have played against Kirai in the games, and her list is very effective against spirits. She can really be a powerhouse herself in melee, though that tends to burn through soulstones fast, and you have to make sure to keep at least a mannequin around a corner for her to be able to back off from a pending counterattack. Overall, I really like her, and think that she can do well in most strategies.

Just wanted to introduce myself. Been a lurker for a couple of months, and just got into the game at GenCon this year. Avid gamer of all types, including mini games. The few games of Malifaux I have played so far have been a blast, and I am looking forward to playing for a long time to come.