Vlad the Mad

Any chance that there will be a card for Pandora's old avatar model with the rules from Twisting Fates available sometime? I have the model, but I'd really like a card to match it, now that the rules are official.

Fiendish Fabrications have a lot of good bases for Malifaux, including the ones you are looking for. http://www.fiendishfabrications.com.au/html/solid_earth_bases.html Their used to use some kind of hard resin before, and it was quite prone to air bubbles, but recently they shifted to the "standard" resin and I didn't have any problem since. They are also cheaper then the competition, at least around here.

I don't use the same bases for a whole faction, but rather use the same bases for a certain master and his minions. This is not an iron rule, and I have quite a few miniatures that have gotten their own unique base, not sharing the style with any other miniature I have. As there is no need to move your crew as a unit like in some other games, I have no aesthetic issues with this. However, it might bother a bit if you are trying to make some nice group photos etc.

Thanks for all the names guys, I've spend the last hour on Wikipedia checking all the authors I wasn't familiar with. Now, let's say you were to recommend one novel/story/series from each of the following authors, which one would it be? Louis L'Amour: Cormac McCarthy: Tim Powers: Jim Butcher: Cherie Priest:

I'd like to ask the people from Wyrd what are your favorite books/stories that inspired Malifaux, and what would you recommend to players who like the setting and the fluff. Assume you are talking to a complete literature noob.

Sorry to bump this up, but I'd really like to hear what others think about this, it doesn't matter if it's experience or Theoryfaux.

Although I was originally not so convinced of his value, his recent games in my Hoffman, Justice and Ramos crews made me appreciate him a lot more. Although Perdita is a bit to fast for him, Sonnia might appreciate some Protection as well. I think Protect is his best ability, as it lets your other models (be they masters of minions) operate longer. His other abilities are also very useful most of the time, and should not be overlooked. In a Hoffman crew his Shield attack should really not be underestimated, as it is basically 6-9 points of certain damage, minus any damage reducing abilities. For 7SS he lacks offensive potential, but he is a really great defensive tool for many crews. Most people say that playing defensively won't win you games, but my experience with the Guardian so far tells me that a good defensive strategy in combination with good timing for an "offensive switch" can very well win you games. Force your opponent to over-commit in a war of attrition and use any chance you have to make him pay for it. As for the best minion from Rising Powers, it's hard for me to decide between him and the Watcher. The little one gives quite a lot of value for 3SS, and the only thing he cannot do is fight... but that's what we have all the other guild minions for.

I finally got to play a game with Ramos, although I would've preferred to play three. Sadly, I really felt like playing LadyJ the other two games, so Ramos just got his one chance to shine. It was 25 stones versus Collodi, two Stitched, 4 Marionettes and 3 Wicked Dolls. He had Slaughter, and took Bodyguard and Breakthrough unannounced. I was using Ramos, the Toolkit, Guardian and four spiders, plus two extra stones, and had Treasure Hunt, Bodyguard and Assassinate, both announced. To make it short, although the game was pretty bloody in general, the detonations of the spiders and the electrical creation did a lot of damage to his crew, managing to kill most of his non-Stitched (I actually mostly ignored the Stitched... and it somehow worked just fine!) dolls and Collodi by turn five while he was frantically trying to retreat from the front. Ramos was making spider until turn three, when he decided that it would be better to advance and summon the creation closer to his opponents. Also, scrap counters were lying around literally everywhere by that time, so Ramos wasn't forced to salvage under fire. Good and frequent use of the Surge trigger also made sure I had a good hand when I needed it, and the spiders with their higher Df managed to suck up a lot of attacks from the dolls. One spider managed to suck up nine attacks before turning into a pile of scrap, aligning his attackers for a perfectly placed controlled detonation a few moments later. In the end it was a 6-0 win for Ramos, as my opponent failed all of his objectives, while I managed to finish both my schemes and half of my strategy. The only problems I had with his crew were the Stitched occasionally bothering with gambling and Deepest Fear. In general, I'd say that it was a rather bad match-up for him, as most of his dolls have only 2-3 Wd, and he had to move in tight groups due to both the terrain, and the nature of his crew. This made them an ideal target for explosions. His biggest mistake was probably using too many resources to get rid of single spiders, instead of going for Ramos himself. Although Arcing Screen would've been a problem, focusing on the spiders allowed me to bomb him to oblivion from relative safety. Ramos was so safe, I actually wondered what I brought the Guardian for... Anyway, it was a good game, and I'm looking forward to playing Ramos again. Next time I'll probably play with Alyce and the Brass Arachnid, unless I have the prospect of playing against another quick crew, where I prefer the safety the Guardian can offer.

Pine boxing a Wp 1 aSeamus... priceless. You do have to survive until then of course... Anyway, in general I agree that it's best used for your own models, as it's too situational to be effective as an offensive spell.

I've had a few days to look at Book 3 now, and here's my first impression of LadyJ (pure Theoryfaux). Although she always was a melee orientated master with a small level of crew support present, the latter has been enhanced at the cost of the former. By losing Sword Style and -1 Cb, her damage capacity drops somewhat, although this is partially mitigated if one uses In Pursuit. She still can deal out a lot of damage with her Greatsword + Critical Strike, and should not be considered an avatar one needs to hold back - Melee Expert should preferably not be wasted. Her pistols are gone, and she has no ranged offensive capacity bar her spells. Her defense remains the same, and she gets Hard to Kill on top of it. Although the "nuclear deterrent" that is Riposte is gone, with Reposition Foe and In Pursuit properly used she's arguably more resilient than before. Still not enough to actually call her actually resilient, but certainly better than before. On the other hand, Ht3 and a 50mm base is not really helping... Mobility has been commented on before, and as someone has already mentioned, due to In Pursuit being a push, you have an easy way out of melee should it get to hot. However, as you have to move towards an enemy model, you opponent might influence your possible movement paths by placing his models cleverly. Also, being an (0) action, you might want to use one of the other two (0) actions instead, based on the situation. Still, I get the feeling she's actually more mobile than before. Her spells are very varied and give you a tool for almost any circumstance. Yet, all of the spells except Blind Justice need an extra suit, and to make things even more "interesting", she used all the suits except Rams. As most of them have a resist as well, high cards are preferred. This is IMO her biggest weakness, and probably the reason why Fate, the Great Leveler is a (0) action spell. As none of her spells have the ranged mark, I have a feeling she's a caster & supporter Avatar that wants to be in or very close to melee combat. Last but not least, her Mark of Balance. More than any other Avatar (just had a short glance at them all), she seems to influence your crew hiring decisions. Taking Witchling Stalkers is all good and fine, but their high Cb and Df might actually turn out to be weakness rather than a strength. You might want to hire a good balance of minions with low Cb and low Df, as depending on whether Ram or Crow is up, they are going to cause a lot more trouble for you enemies. Finding the proper mix here is probably going to be very important to mastering the Avatar of Balance. Also, her spell Even the Odds works much better with minions with many wounds (Guardian anyone?), as she'll be able to inflict more Dg on enemy models. Those are my first impressions, but I'd like to hear from you what you think are the best minion choices to make use of the Mark of Balance. Also, as mentioned above, I think the Guardian is great with her, as before the manifestation he can cast Protect on her to make sure she gets those requirements done without getting killed, and after the manifestation all those wounds he sustained can be "transferred" to enemy models via Even the Odds. Keeping him alive at just the right number of wounds sounds a bit tricky, but I believe it is a viable "combo".

Jonas, While I agree with many, if not allof the things you've been saying in the different threads, I have to agree with karn on this one - threads should at least try to stick to the topic. This one is probably too far gone though... Sometimes I just want to get what it actually says on the package, not another Avatar or Neverborn discussion (although I don't dispute that there is plenty to discuss about these topics).

My order was sent out on the 18th and arrived today in Japan. It seems it arrived in the country on the 23rd, but customs took time in clearing it. Still, no custom charges were due. And off I go to read the book...

Fixation on your opponent can make your forget your strategies and schemes, leading to crews with little or no internal synergy towards achieving your goals. Also, it comes with a high risk of misreading your opponent's crew - as you said, Ressurectionists could mean Nicodem or Kirai, Neverborne could mean Dreamer or Lilith, Outcast could mean anything really. Your crew and your objectives should be your first priority, your opponent comes after that. Also, many people make crew lists upfront, but in areas where people actually pick the terrain right before the battle, I would often consider terrain to be of more importance than your opponents faction.

I have every single Guild model available from Wyrd, and most of the time I choose to play with Lady Justice, although I cannot really explain why. I don't mind picking a master based on a specific strategy/opponent rather (and I very often do), Lady Justice has always been fun to play - never too easy, never really hopeless, not too slow nor too quick, powerful yet fragile, able to hold her own, but still supports her crew. When I want to try out a new Guild minion, I will probably play Lady Justice. Somehow it feels like playing on home ground. Really looking forward to her Avatar (my package just might be waiting for me when I get back from work today). I also play Sonnia quite a lot, although recently I started experimenting with Hoffman as well. I think I'll play a lot more Hoffman once the Warden comes out. Lucius also gets his fair share of action, but rarely as a leader. As for Perdita (and the rest of the family), I have her painted for some eight months or more, but I just can't find the will/interest to play her (probably because there was a perception that she was overpowered back in the day). I'll see to give her and the family a try in the next few months.

This... and basically everything else cerealkiller said. The Proxy is in my opinion arguably one of the best totems in the game, for both the Wp bonus and his rather high Ca. Also, opponents tend to be a bit afraid of going after him with anything bigger due to the "win a Wp->Wp" duel or die thing in case the kill him. Just be careful how you use him against opponents with many morale duels. Against Pandora, Seamus etc. he can prove to be a double-edged sword.

This is actually a very interesting approach to a robust spider factory. Guardian cast Protect (Mobile Toolkit) on turn one, the other turns he just keeps casting Shield Wall, and moving with Overprotective. The Toolkit keeps giving Ramos the extra tome while he keeps Salvaging under Fire and making spiders and/or electrical creations. The occasional Arcing Screen from Ramos or the Toolkit will increase all their defenses and punish any potential attackers. That's Armour +6 on Ramos and +4 on the Guardian and the Toolkit, with improved Df and 2Wd to any melee attackers that are up to the challenge. With Self-Repair, Mend Machines or even Combat Mechanic, the team could take punishment for quite a while. The problem with this combination is how, or even more when to move in order to accomplish your objectives. Thanks for the brain-food Jonas, will have to try it out sometime.

Just staring Ramos as well, and no matter how fond I am of him I have to admit that the above is pretty much my impression. If you compare him with other masters, he just lacks a good "exit" option or "deterrents". Looking at the book one caster masters, they all have something. Zoraida has Proper Manners and Repulsive (on top of Df 5), Pandy has her WP checks, Leveticus wants you to kill him, Nicodem has mindless zombies, Raspy has Biting Chill (and generally makes up for her low survivability by being an damage output monster...), Sonnia has Inferno (and damage output similar to Raspy).

Order #8535 shipped! (the book, three avatars, five alternates, both nightmare editions, a stat card) This will be a very long two weeks...

Hmm, that's after my order, and mine's still being processed. It really might be the case that the Nightmare Edition only orders get processed first. Would make me a very sad puppy. :sad2:

Care to elaborate on a bit more on the shenanings? The spider swarm reactivation does allow for a lot of movement. Any other tips or tricks? I guess you're right - I'll probably try to stick to the "fluff" as much as possible (hoping the remaining minions from Rising Powers get released soon), but I might stray from that path if I cannot get any good games with him ("good games" doesn't necessarily mean wins, but at least not playing completely hopeless games all the time). I do plan on getting the Duet anyway though, as it really adds a good (albeit expensive) agile element to the crew. At the moment, I think I'll go with Alyce + 4x Spiders + Brass Arachnid for starters, and see where it takes me from there.

There might be some truth in this, but I guess a few games will tell more. Reactivating does seem worth one of those four rare cards though. Your partially right, as I prefer playing with models that have been released by Wyrd (too lazy to look for good proxies), but I am not really restricting myself to the "proprietary" minions. Duet, Convict Gunslinger are good choices, and the Kaeris box will surely bring some good options, but also some new questions. If I don't stick to the "theme", why not just use Kaeris as a master instead? What does Ramos bring to this crews and how does he synergize?

That's just 40 orders away from me! Can't wait for the notification e-mail!!

WARNING: Lots of text... Ever since starting Malifaux more than a year ago I wanted to play Ramos. However, as he was the only master from the faction that appealed to me I decided to leave him for later. I've however been following most of the threads concerning Ramos in this section, and now that I've finally got the miniatures I have a few thoughts and questions. I have never played with or against Ramos or any of his crew yet, so everything here is pretty much pure Theoryfaux going through my head. So, judging by all the other threads going around, Ramos is considered somewhat sub-par, or to put it in a nicer way, "a challenge". This seems to stem mostly from the following: - He's slow, and one of his main abilities make him want to move even less (Salvage under Fire). - He has 10 Wd and Armor +2, but with Df 2 is pretty easy to kill. This gets someone better if his totems casts Arcing Screen, but Df 4 is really not going to make him any more survivable. - His spells require tome suit cards, so you can either use the Mobile Toolkit to get the tomes, or pray that you get enough of them every round to keep Ramos running. Using Rusty Alice will improve your chances of getting those tomes, at the cost of 10 SS though. - His mainstay minion, the Steampunk Arachnid isn't actually that bad. If only it wasn't insignificant... the ability to make a Swarm makes this somewhat more bearable. Then there are some considerations about his crew. - The eternal "Brass Arachnid VS Mobile Toolkit" debate - I do prefer Reactivate, but somehow it seems that using the Brass Arachnid requires Alyce to secure the necessary tomes. - Lack of good minions in the 4-8SS range. At 3SS we have the SPAs, over 9SS we have Arachnid Swarms, the Steamborg*, Joss**, Alyce, Kaeris, maybe even the Duet. In between we have Johan, but he is only really worth his points next to Ramos or Joss. I hope the Soulstone Miner, Large Arachnid and Gunsmith will help alleviate this a bit. * Most threads insist that the Steamborg is a glass cannon, but has "decent" melee potential. In several post people were even saying that a Stoked Steamborg can kill anything. While I agree with this, is there something a non-Stoked Steamborg cannot kill in one full activation (assuming already in melee range) besides the likes of Lilith/Perdita in defensive stance with 4+ soulstones?!? Also, with Df 4 (actually not bad for a 50mm Ht3 model), Armor +1 and Steam Cloud he seems survivable enough on paper. I think his perceived low survivability stems from the fact that you opponent will focus his resources on him as he will probably be the primary threat. ** Someone mentioned that in order to get Power Counters early on, I should charge Joss in the first round (activate -> +1 counter, charge -> +1 counter), as he will still be able to keep up with the slower Ramos. What do I have him charge if there are no opponents in LoS? My own models? Basically all of this thinking started as I was trying to make a 25SS crew. I just couldn't figure what to take! My initial thoughts were either Alyce+Brass Arachnid+SPAs or 'Borg/Joss+Mobile Toolkit+SPAs, but somehow it seemed lacking something, not really sure what. I'd like to ask all the other Ramos players to share some insights on how you play Ramos, especially focusing on the following: - Strategies: which are hard to accomplish, which are easy, and how do you cope (assuming you have no option to choose another master). - Opponents: Tough match-ups and easy ones, and how do you cope with them as well. - The Art of Spiders: How do you get the most out of the SPAs and Swarms? Tips and tricks are welcome. - Your ready-to-go 25SS crews. Why and how do you play them? It's been a long post, but I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences. I'll be getting my Ramos painted and battle-ready in the meantime.

I always read that Sammael was very powerful, but the last few times I've played him (over six months ago) he never really seemed to do so well - he'd usually get beaten to death in melee before he got a chance to unleash his rapid fire fury. However, yesterday I played a few games and found some new respect for him. Hunter + Flaming Bullets + Rapid Fire + Ricochet is unbelievably strong, even more so when shooting a model with Ca of 6 or more. I managed to keep him out of melee in all the games, and my opponents had to allocate quite a few of their resources to handle him, allowing me to complete my strategies and schemes while denying them theirs. Anyway, just wanted to share, Sammael is great!

I had a chance to play a few 25SS games with Hoffman, and he is quite straightforward top play, as he probably should be considering he is a Guild master. I've had no problems with him so far, but that might be in part due to the fact that I chose to re-flip any strategies I considered hard to achieve (Destroy the Evidence etc.). I hope the Warden from Twisting Fates will add another alternative to the Hunter as a model to run away from the core group and complete objectives. I always played the boxed set + Peacekeeper or Ryle. The Peacekeeper is a beast with Hoffman, and the Watcher did so well I decided to use it with Sonnia and LadyJ on occasion as well. The Hunter, despite still being a sub-par model IMO, did have it's moments of glory, managing to drag a December's Acolyte and a Silent One off a building to their deaths in a game against Rasputina among others. I've now gotten my Ramos stuff, so once I have it painted I'll try playing with other options as well.