Here is the thing in malifaux things can go down fast , but if you keep your cool it works both ways . against crews like Victoria or dreamer they are made to hit you fast and hard . no matter what against those crews your are going to lose things early , just decide what and move on bait them feed them something of your choosing and counter and take away there big hitter .
against them take things like body guard and hold ground , hide your caster or play someone that can play from the back , and shoot shoot shoot .
bad cards happen but read when it happens to them and take that turn to jump them . i find the caster or a henchman can also force a hand from some one use your soul stone to make them drop there hand , feed them your master most people take the bait and use your soul stones to force them to drop big cards for a few wounds on your master . than take that turn to attack hard with the rest of your crew .
Also taking odd crews that are not competitive help also , since there meant to lose but are a blast to play , and when you do win with them it feels double good !
Also keep your cool I had a ruff game and lost the first few turns but turned it around and squeaked out the win . I was about to quit the game ( Victoria fustrates me ) but Perdita happens and all was well . Also flipping red jokers on damage in the last 2 turns helps as well !