Fog

And to avoid being a complete yes man I will say there were a few things I was hoping to see that weren't there: Transluscent Datsue Ba & Seishin, to match the Kirai box Transluscent Firestarter, to match the new Kaeris box

1. What if I don't want to spend that amount of money even with friends? I just don't need that amount of models, as I already have most iuof my faction. 2. The issue with them being locked in is that it's a wasted chance of getting the minis to people who don't want to buy crew boxes for 2E Henchmen alone. Mostly veterans with a lot of 1E stuff. 3. "The way they have always done it" is a shit argument. I give feedback so they can improve the model (in my eyes) next time. Oh great! So, what if there are little tournaments in my area? What if I don't attend tournaments because I like casual gaming? So, you're the target customer. Lucky you. I'd have to start a new faction to get that amount of models, and I won't do that. Feels a little venomous, sir. I'm going to continue in the hopes of having some discussion and assuming that it wasn't the intention to be so harsh. 1. Then don't spend the money. None of these peices, except Aionus, are anything but vanity peices. You don't *need* them to compete. Take a look at last year's black friday sale. Within a month the alt bette noir was on ebay for $30. 2. I agree, they could have made it easier for people using only 2nd edition metals to get some of these new peices.. Demanding easier access to FREE limited edition bonuses they hand out with purchase, though, seems like it's asking too much. Compare this to the other big mini companies. PP's big holiday special is usually "Get a free mini rulebook with a $200 purchase." GW gives you a free $15 model with $500 purchase. They're already leading the industy in their holiday specials. On top of that, we'll probably see these models again at Easter. Henchmen will probably have access to ordering them through soulstones down the road. We'll probably see them in prize kits. These aren't going to be hundred dollar models. 3. My argument isn't "They've always done it this way so it's right." My argument is "They've always done it this way so acting surprised, shocked and insulted is baffling." Yeah, I get that you want to click a button on the web store and get these cool models. I don't blame you at all. Wyrd wants these models to be somewhat uncommon. They're locking them behind some kind of gate to keep it that way. I don't blame them, either. In RE: Tournament situation If you don't have tournaments in your area, you still have options. You can help build a local scene, helping out your local store and introducing more people to the game. You could play in vassal tournaments. You could become a henchman, run demos and maybe earn one as a reward. If you don't like tournaments, then head to the secondary market. If I don't want to compete for a prize I don't complain that I don't get one anyway. Re: I'm the target customer I don't know if I am, actually. My fiance and I decided to forgo buying malifaux for october and november to ensure we had enough to buy on black friday. We saw the limited sculpts, said "If history tells us anything, those will be the 150 and 300 dollar bonuses" and planned ahead. Unless you mean that I'm the target customer because I buy the new plastics, in which case, Yes. I buy their product. They're much better off catering to someone who buys new product than to someone who has every old release in metal and refuses to buy outside of their pewter collection. This may not apply to you but I know local players who only have the old metal kits and refuse to buy any of the new plastics. They might be playing the game but they aren't supporting it. Now, in case I've come across too harsh, I'd like to say that my original comment was intended as "I can't believe people are surprised and outraged because Wyrd's running a similar promotion for the third year in a row." This post is intended to discuss how different avenues exist for you to get these peices in the future and how I feel you shouldn't worry about availability. There's my wall of text. Thanks for reading.

I can't believe everyone is complaining that the alt sculpts are the freebies for various purchase levels. Honestly, that's how they usually do it. If you really need to get one, find a friend and order together. There's two LEs at each reward level so you can split the extras. These figures will probably show up down the road in tournament kits too. No need to worry, they'll be available. That said, I'm a little surprised in the lack of wave 3 stuff, but it's not the worst thing ever. I'm excited about the transluscent Kaeris, my gf is excited for Lynch, and there's enough new stuff to get us to 300 with only a little grumping. And on the PVC figure, I'd be willing to bet that productions issues forced their hand on this one in order to get him out in time. I'd expect the official release might switch materials.

Tomorrow's the day! Come on down!

I think I'll be able to make it, but Quinn is booked running demos for a store in bridgewater that's looking to expand into the game.

Firstly, I didn't realize that upgrade gave the ability to minions. I don't think I've used the ice golem in 2E yet, so that's my bad. Secondly, I switched stream of thought midway through the sentence. I was intending on saying "and as for the rail golem, even with def 4..." Proofreading does a body good.

The golems are always hit, sure, but the ice golem can end your activation after you hit him, and even with Def 4 I find it easy to reliably limit my opponen to a negative flip. They'll usually hit for 1 after armor, maybe two, and I'll be on my way. Def 6 may mean you can force a miss here and there but if they want to force it through, they still usually can. Something with a Weak damage of 3 is dealing double damage compared to the golems. And Langston has terrifying, which isn't always applicable, but he's also got unparalelled maneuverability. He'll live longer because he can pick his spots, kill something, and maybe even nimble away. It's not raw, on paper "lives longer" but it isn't something to discount. I do concede the point on heals, though. Self heals are never bad.

A large pile of abilities doesn't make a model good. For example, I would never take the Emissary with Ramos. His pile of special abilities doesn't mean much when you've already got reactivating Hank. His minimum damage on his mainstay attack is low for a model of his cost. He's obnoxiously slow when he's not charging. He's not as straight up tough as Langston, Joss, the ice golem, or the rail golem. He really needs to be played with a master that gives him a relevant upgrade or he's strictly inferior to the four other models in his price range that do his job better. To be honest, I am still really bitter that they took our cool, flavorful wizard puppet and turned it into a high cost melee bull robot competing for the same role with all of our other high cost models, so I may be slightly overcritical. I've tried using him, though, and every time I have I wished he was something else.

That's a lovely idea. I think I'm going to have to give that a go at some point.

As others have said, Ramos is easy to crutch on. The only strategy I'll second guess playing him into is... um, maybe Squatter's rights?

I'm not saying it's overpowering in a vacuum. I don't think it is. What I am saying is that it's drowning out other options. I consistently hear "I like this upgrade, but I can't take it because OK/IE is just better." I don't want to see things reach a game state where three models on each side in every game have the same upgrade, and I'm worried that's where things are headed. "Which three models have sac fast?" should not be the first question I ask after sitting across the table from somebody. It's boring, it's bad for model viability, and it's already oversaurated.

There. I've said it. The upgrade is too good. The benefits it gives for one soulstone are amazing and it's drowning out other choices for upgrades as well as design space for further upgrades. Oathkeeper, too. It's rare to encounter a competitive Arcanist or Outcast list that isn't taking the upgrade in multiples. When that's happening something needs to be done. When an upgrade sees as much play as IE, it hurts the game in several ways. Lists become more homogenized as you begin seeing three copies of the upgrade in every list. Making newer upgrades stronger so they can compete with IE would be power creep coming in hard. Every new release needs to be designed with concern over addiional AP. The game becomes stagnated and design becomes bogged down. I'm guilty of overusing this upgrade. I know many of you feel the same way. It's time to admit this is bad for the game.

Fire gamin were a better summon in 70% of cases anyway. This is a buff to players who crutched on metal gamin.

I never hired metal gamin, and I've honestly been finding it more advantageous in most circumstances to summon fire gamin or ice gamin with the Rider. I think people have been too focused on the 'hard to kill' bit, and people will very quickly come to realize that summoning models that can participate in a more active manner is almost always a stronger choice.

I feel like I'm the only one who likes field generator. Watching a young nephilim struggle to kill a spider for two turns makes me giggle.

Ramos has the highest potential significant ap generation in the game. He can bring in 3 significant minions off one scrap and one ap. He can then theoretically summon again with a zero, leaving him with two ap to continue influencing the game.

We've a pretty good sized group attending so far! Come on down and join in the fun!

I'm not as familiar with Tina as the rest of the crew, and to be honest the list is built for laughs as much as anything. I think it could be a hoot regardless.

I think that were I running Rasputina I'd choke the board with Ice Gamin, like maybe six of them. With the upgrade giving them the defensive trigger for 'end your turn' you'll basically be the most obnoxious tar pit in the world while hanging out around the stash markers. You'll be able to dance around them for cover too, and it'd be hilarious. I'd also put in a pair of ice dancers. They'd sneak around the ousides to give ice mirrors for Tina that would avoid shooting into cover. You can get the angle you want off then blast away. It'd be fun times.

Why wouldn't BET be legal? Isn't the requirement "M&SU?"

I like Ramos for this. Endless streams of spiders ensures you get full points off the strategy. I wouldn't, however, build quite the same way. Here's my thoughts: Ramos w/Arcane Resevoir, Arcing Shield, Under Pressure, 7 Stones Joss w/Imbued energies & Bleeding Edge Tech Langston w/Imbued Energies Johan w/Imbued Energies Brass Arachnid Mobile Toolkit Here's my thoughts: The two stash markers are both hard cover so if Ramos gets to shoot it won't be as effective as you want. Therefore, I'd bring Johan instead of the emissary. The extra 3 inch melee will help clear people off the markers as needed, plus you'll be relatively bunched up so there will be ample opportunity for Open Revolt to make a big difference. You still get your condition removal as well, but you can use it to strip conditions off of enemies as well. Ramos is geared for making your team hit harder and survive longer. I find that in a bunched scenario like this his auras become worth their weight in gold. The various IEs get you the extra swing when you need it to ensure you take something off the markers, and extra cards just in case is never bad. For schemes, the only one I'd be wary of taking is Entourage, and even then Joss can get it done if you're playing particularly aggressively. Spiders interact everywhere, making ALITS and Deliver fairly trivial. Hank kills whatever master or bodyguard they might have. Joss is really tough to kill in most circumstances.

I typically hire one. He's a point more than a tool kit but I like having the option to magnetize for the extra movement first turn if I don't feel like I'll need the extra scrap. The four points are worth it for the extra upgrade slot. I tend to run with under pressure, arcing screen and arcane reservoir. Having the right cards is essential.

I play Ramos into everything with a very elite crew (6 models including my scrap token) and I rarely have activation issues. Make your spiders, activate your spiders, send in the big boys after. Collodi may threaten activation order, but you should be able to control the reactivate at least. Imbued energies on a reactivated Joss can take two stiches off the board. Three hits from Langston will kill one dead without worry. Don't forget that Ramos has an accurate gun that can shoot into melee. Ramos can also keep defense duels up with arcing shield. That can help take the edge off. I also find it helps deal with the puppet swarm left behind. With their low attack they'll find it difficult to make things happen

I wouldn't hire arachnids. Use your points on something else that can't be summoned. You've got twelve points in spiders and 4 in gamin that could instead be a mobile toolkit for your early scrap, a mechanical rider or howard langston, and imbued energies for joss. Otherwise, the list isn't bad. The low damage on the gunsmiths is mitigated by the generally low wounds on the enemy models you'll be facing. Johanna has the heals and the hammer that works on EVERYTHING you're fighting.

Ramos is arguably the best master in the faction. He brings a slew of great abilities that turn weak models into capable combatants and strong models into monsters. The brass arachnid is criminally underrated and ensures you can surgically remove what needs to go. He summons obnoxiously survivable spiders by the handful and, unlike the rest of the summoners in the game, still retains the majority of his actions to influence play directly with an armor ignoring non randomization gun. He's hard as nails with his armor and defense trigger and he heals when nearby models die. My only complaint is his sculpt is kinda boring. I'd gladly take suggestions on how to remedy this.