Yew Arcane

Okay, I am someone who has studied Asian culture (my minor is in Asian Studies) and I am going to give my two cents here. 

There are points that edge on cultural appropriation (specifically with Asian exoticism), but those all seem to be commentary on stereotypes or references to other sources of media (sometimes even both). There are also a few things that are incorrect, likely based on misunderstandings, specifically Qi should be pronounced chee not key, but I can chalk that up to alternate history elements.

The rest (which are largely outside my area of knowledge and scholarship) seem to be hinging on penny dreadful representations, and are thus more of a critique of the stereotypes that would have been represented there.

7 hours ago, Ogid said:

In Wyrd's page you have the info about some of them:

https://www.wyrd-games.net/m3eproductsneverborn Titania core + Bults + Rougarous + Killjoy are the same. Here you also have Azde + Wisps + Grootslang (also same models)

https://www.wyrd-games.net/m3eproductsresurrectionists The resser part of Yan-Lo crew remains the same and Goryos and Sheshins too

Some of the Yan-Lo crew (Yan-Lo, Soul porter, Chiaki and Izamu) and also Zoraida's (Zoraida, doll and juju) seem to be remodeled because his art changed from M2e.

Kirai art is the same, the only art changed afaik is the lost love...

Hope it helps!

In addition to this, we know Yan-Lo will be getting a new box, without a specific announcement from Wyrd for two reasons. Yan Lo, Soul Porter, Chiaki and Izamu have new art; and the minions that used to be in his box are already shown to be packaged with the rest of his keyword in a ressurs box.

As for other masters, it's a safe bet that if they have new art, they're getting new sculpts. 

They have said that all cards present within the books will be made available once the books are available retail, as such we should have all cards in all books available at the end of October/beginning of November barring further delays (which shouldn't be an issue since the gen-con orders came out, but I'm not inside Wyrd).

12 hours ago, Adran said:

I think the "pay to win" outlook is misleading.

Most of this is based on my experience in the last 2 editions, I don't have enough experience in this edition to say how much of an advantage things are.

Yes, you do want to have access to more than just a 50ss crew to do well. but the more you buy, the less of an advantage it gives you. I speak as someone that owns almost every master and has been playing since the beginning of the game and who played the last M2E UKGT 7 round event with out duplicating any model other than my master (and totem).  My collection is huge and I try and use as much of it as I can.  

Owning 100ss of options for your list is obviously better than only owning 50ss worth of options, but the improvement to then owning 150ss worth is much less, and  owning 200ss worth of options is almost identical to owning 250ss worth of options (assuming that you purchased sensible improvements all the way through).

I don't think I can give formal data, but I know at least 2 of my local players have won the UKGT during the M2E era, and I think they both played fixed master. 1 of them virtually played fixed crew (Kirai) for all 7 games. You could certainly have replicated every model he used that day for under £200. That wouldn't cover all the models that were tried in honing the list to that level though. (The other play did also manage to win an event with each faction that year, but I think played Leveticus for every game in the GT).

So Neither player only owned a small selection of models, but both only used a small selection to win the largest event in the world.  (I think most UKGT winners over the M2E era played fairly fixed master/lists, with at least 5 of their 7 games with one master, and a relatively stable core list).

I've played in Fixed pool events in both M1 and M2e, and I've even written a blog post on them on this site, but I don't think they are as equalising as people think they are. They do lead to a different challenge to play, but they make you focus more on selecting generalist models and only a few specialist models when they are really worth beign that specialised (or at lest that's how I do it). They still encourage you to own a much larger pool of models than the size of the pool you are playing, because you are much less likely to want to take multiple of the same models, in that sort of situation.

In my view, once you have a decent sized crew pool, that you understand, the next greatest challenge is understanding what your opponents models can do. For me, the best way to do this is to actually use them, so I generally build up a good understanding of as many models as possible by playing them, which is much easier if I own them. Others are happy to get the experience through reading the cards and facing the figures on the table, and do can do that quite well.

There is a lot of depth in the game of Malifaux and it does take quiet a long time to maximise understanding and use of a small selection of models to know how to face different situations. It is very hard work to have a good enough understanding of a large pool of models to use them all competently even when you are faced with unexpected challenges.

The discussion has happened before in previous editions, and generally I think the view is that good skill is much better then a large collection. Its much fast to get to a good level with a small selection of models than with a large selection. If you start 2 players who have equal skill  at the same time and play the same number of games, the player with the smaller collection will generally start off much faster and better, but over time the player with the larger collection will catch up, and eventually the larger collection will give an advantage in a few games when those extra options shine. If the small collection is very small (barely any options at all), then that gap might be caught up fairly quickly, especially if the collection struggles at certain things, but if its a well purchased set that you have tried to fill the holes in your crew then it can take a long time to match

I'm quoting this whole thing, because it's a quite good analysis. These reasons are why Tacticas are so valuable too, because they give you a bit of insight into what the various pieces do. That knowledge gives you quite a bit of power, and money has nothing to do with it.

1 hour ago, Jesy Blue said:

The Arcane Reservoir/Unseen Manipulator combo is SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!

When I do this (and I don't always take Amanjaku), and it works really well but I need either a pile of soul stones or a really good starting hand; if I don't have a starting hand to get a Jorogumo out first turn, I will change my whole tactic in summoning.

.... and that's the best part: Asami is so (lower case) versatile that she's good for everyone!

For Arcane Reservoir, would taking Misaki and Shang also be beneficial, or is Asami/Amanjaku better due to the summoning?

1 hour ago, mattbird said:

I tend to disagree, as apart from a Low River Monk, I've been exclusively running only in-keyword models to this point, with 4 different masters. 

Not using something and it not filling potential gaps are not the same thing.

1 hour ago, Takoa said:

 it is a little sad that there seem to be more OOK models that fit the crew better than their existing keyword.

It's not that versatile and ook models fit better, more that they cover some weaknesses of the keyword, which is true for pretty much every keyword.

I've got a few (don't have exact numbers), but for at least some of them (definitely the Eternal Servitude box) I'll just get the whole box and deal with having multiples.

I know that Wyrd want to do more with Wyrdscapes. I think it's just a cost and supply/demand issue.

28 minutes ago, explorator said:

Nathan pinged my IP to figure out where I lived, then told me, "At the end of the day though, if folks just think we're plain shite and can't stand it, well I encourqge them to live a less stressful moment in life and find a company and game they are pleased with."

I have played more Warcry than Malifaux in the past month so I guess I took the advice.

Looks like Wyrd continues to step on their own tails with shipping issues and staffing shortages.  I only hope they finally get their act together and reach the potential Malifaux holds.

 

Yup. Definitely misrepresenting what was said. Also quite insistent upon it.

16 minutes ago, Thimblesage said:

What I was wondering is who's marker is dropped if both models had markers available to drop?

The model taking the action.

1 hour ago, Fetid Strumpet said:

I got everything but the High Society Box I ordered. I assume because they ran out of stock. Is there any internal tracking regarding this?

I’m totally understanding and willing to be patient. I just don’t want 5 months to go by, never hear back, and when I follow up get told it looks like that order was filled. Is there any email that could be sent just so I have official documentation that that product is still waiting to be fulfilled?

Thank You.

You have the packing slip, yes? That is documentation. 

58 minutes ago, tmod said:

Pretty certain Wyrd is doing all they can to speed up production. The issue was caused by a massive overperformance of M3e, and Wyrd have everything to gain from increasing production rates and sell more product. The issue is probably that there is quite a bit of lead time on injection moulded plastic, but I'm sure they're turning every stone...

This and part of their supply chain has been..... less than honest and forthcoming with them recently.

2 hours ago, CaladanCid said:

The things you have said re this sale have mostly been wrong so far, including the parts where you tried to say there was no problem with the books.  I would have thought that might convince you to make less strident statements.

If the books were not sent in a different box at the same time with the same shipping number (and I guess this is my best case scenario) how do you think the new shipment will function, logistically? Those books have already been marked fulfilled.  The tracking number they were assigned has been marked as delivered by usps.  

You know, buckaroo, you might want to provide examples to back that up.

I don't know the inner workings of Wyrd specifically, but I do work for a store that has an order fulfillment team. Backorders are put into a list to be picked when available. I can't imagine that they wouldn't have backorders documented somewhere.

12 minutes ago, CaladanCid said:

Yes they did say that.  I can tell you didn't order any books during the sale did you?  

My order was not split into two orders, one with models and one with books.  The entire order has now been marked as fulfilled by Wyrd, and delivered by USPS.  That includes the books which share the same tracking number as the models, and which as far as I can tell were not fulfilled, shipped, or separated into a different order.

As they've said. They will be sending the books separately. Your order was separated, they marked what they didn't have as back ordered, and you will be getting it as soon as they get it to be able to send. And yes, I ordered 3 books. So slow your roll there, hamtaro.

45 minutes ago, Cronex13 said:

Did Melissa have rules in the Beta?

Looking through my cards and haven't seen her but I might be missing. Just bought the M2E Hoffman box and feeling dumb

She did have rules in the Beta, but she's new, so she wasn't in the M2E Hoffman box, she will (likely) be in the M3E box. Since she is new for M3E, she wouldn't have a card in the faction pack, and because neither the books nor her model have been released they aren't in the digital files.

21 minutes ago, mattbird said:

The more I read all these cards, the less I see here worth taking. Nothing really threatens the opponent; it just annoys them constantly. 

 

Malifaux isn't really a game about killing your opponent. It's about completing objectives and preventing your opponent from doing the same. Qi and Gong are great at prventing the opponent from completing their objectives.

9 minutes ago, Ogre_man said:

Does anyone have a problem with a package held in Newark facility? Mine is there for two weeks now. We Russians joke a lot about our Russian post, but two weeks not moving? Really?

It takes here three weeks max to get a package across the whole country by train, by December's sake!

There are a lot of problems with customs right now. Trade wars and whatnot. Newark is a hub for international shipping, so it's fair to say it's on the way and tracking might be.... sticky.

Youko has access to armor through Hinamatsu and the Bunraku. From what I can tell she doesn't have a lot to deal with black blood though. So you might want to use the speed of Bunraku and Hinamatsu to manage schemes and strategies.

30 minutes ago, gozer said:

Thanks for the redirect to his post. I missed it!

The reason I asked this in the first place is because I had an order that went to "pre-shipment" on Wednesday of last week and hasn't moved from that status. So, either it's still at Wyrd's Warehouse or USPS didn't scan it in. I'm just trying to figure out which. If the order did get split (as Kyle had mentioned) there is no reason for it to still be at Wyrd's Warehouse, which means USPS probably didn't scan? I don't know. 

USPS is..... notoriously unpredictable on that front.

8 minutes ago, The_death_jester said:

@Kyle I understand the delays as unfortunate as they are. Have Wyrd considered releasing PDF codes for faction books to Gen Con pre-orders? I'm sure that access to the content digitally would certainly be seen as a welcome gesture for patience and support and go some way towards salving a large amount of the ill feeling.

They will be providing digital copies to anyone who bought a book. They will be providing more details soon.

1 hour ago, darksoul281 said:

Some time ago I contacted to ask what happened to the orders before the post was created, the answer you gave me was this and I have not received any information, since we spent money we would like to know some kind of update or more accurate estimate of when they could be there, since more than a month since the orders.

A greetings.

Kyle actually gave us an update on this.

On 8/29/2019 at 6:19 PM, Kyle said:

A quick update. We are still chugging away at getting orders completed and shipped out as quickly as we are able. Unfortunately, even with the entire staff in the warehouse, it looks like we didn’t hit our mid-week estimate.  We have a small team coming in tomorrow to wrap up anything that still needs doing and going back to double-check that everyone’s order updated properly.

Unfortunately, some of the obstacles in front of us were not in our own control, and we are addressing them in the only way we know how. We aren't in the practice of publicly airing our dirty laundry, but we believe that you all deserve an honest answer. For the last decade, we have worked with the same production company to produce our books across all of our games. We have built up a strong relationship with them, and have never once doubted any of the information presented to us. We were affirmed on numerous occasions that the books would arrive at our warehouse while we were away at Gen Con, which is why we decided to sell the books early in the first place. Since then, we have been misled, and have experienced poor communication, which have led to unexplained delays.

The comfort and familiarity that we had with our printing partner caused us to not question their intentions, instead, believe their delivery promises. Because of that, there has been a negative impact to our schedule and your trust, and we aim to remedy that.

In order to get the orders into your hands as quickly as possible, we have decided to take an approach that may seem counter-intuitive at first. Some orders are going to be split up into several orders at no extra expense to our customers. This does mean that some of the products will be coming later than anticipated.

If you have placed an order for a Faction Book or a product that we unexpectedly ran out of stock, those orders will be split up accordingly, with those products shipping out in another wave of orders as soon as they arrive.  The books are currently en route (we have actually had a shipper confirm) and we expect them in our warehouse in about a week, with the others order coming in just about the same time.

Because of this delay, we felt it was important to regroup and refocus as the delay has rippled down through every aspect of the company.  To remedy the long-term impact that this has on our schedule, we will be bumping August releases to September, September to October, and so on.  This allows our distributors and their retailers a chance to process the new inventory in a timely matter as well.  The new street date is September 20th.  With this, we felt it was only fair to extend the August retail receipt promotion. That now will run until the end of September.

We know that this news is disappointing and for that, we apologize. It is the last thing we want to do to our community. 

28 minutes ago, Trample said:

I don't know what the USPS practices are, but I revived my shipping notice Monday morning but as of now (Friday evening) my order hasn't moved. I would assume the shipping labels are printed to match with shipments but the order picking hasn't been done yet. It feels a little bit like when the plane backs away from the gate and then they tell you you're not going to take off because the destination airport is restricting traffic. Technically they are credited with an on-time departure but  really you're just late. So my 7/31 order is technically shipped but perhaps not yet picked. I'm more frustrated now that I received the shipping notification Monday morning than if I hadn't received one at all.  

 

 

The United States Postal Service runs about as smoothly as any other part of the US government. 

6 minutes ago, thebarbalag said:

So Friday, Saturday? I only ask because this post from a week ago said "middle of next week."

He said:

Quote

With the work that the team is scheduled to do over the next several days (including the weekend) and the pace they are currently working at, we believe that we will wrap up all of the orders by the middle of next week.

Emphasis mine.

This means that it wasn't some declaration that they will for sure without doubt have it done by the middle of the week. It was an estimation not a calculation.

3 minutes ago, Deadpool said:

So I've recently heard that there was a rumor of a sale coming up. Where wyrd might sell single figs from boxes. Anyone have any insight other than rumor?

Wyrd will be giving details in time.