von Clausewitz

Something you should always keep in mind when building any crew is specific suit requirements the models have. As an example, I rarely take bot Santiago and Nino with Perdita because they all need masks to be maximally utilized. As a general rule I try to avoid hiring more than two models with similar suit dependencies.

If you hire four pairs of hounds and a total of 39 stones of models u will have a starting pool of four stones.

Models must have line of sight in addition to being within range.

Q'iq'el is correct on all accounts.

Hey LordZombie you should update the original post to include the Soulstone size. I'll be there for sure, just need to plan my crew and can't do that without knowing how big the games are!

Yeah, you guys have to get some better pictures up. These pics don't capture how good they look in person.

You know what old Jack Burton always says in a time like this dont ya?

Yes sir, the check is in the mail.

I use Vallejo Game Color, Model Color and Panzer Aces series of paints. I have found that you can thin them down to 5-6 parts water to 1 part paint without the pigment separating from the medium, which is very nice if you use glazes. I use a few of the citadel washes and the new line seems to be just as good as the old one. As for a brush, a Kolinsky sable size 1 (it will have the same tip size as a size 0, but with a bigger belly) will cost you around $15. As you may have read, most people use the Winsor and Newton 7 series, but Raphael makes a good one as well. If you do get a nice brush be sure to get some brush cleaner as a kolinsky sable brush that is properly cared for will last a very long time.

The only disadvantage with von Schill is that he's not a Master and so is a viable target for Disappearing Act (although obviously a tougher proposition as he can use Soulstones)

He'd also be a prime target for Magician's Duel since his Ca of 3 would be reduced to 1; he'd be starting at a strong disadvantage even against Mechanical Doves and even taking his MR1 into account.

And if you hang back too much, you're playing into Colette's hands - she'll just hit and run with the Duet & Cassandra while she stays at the back creating Soulstones & Doves, at least that's what I'd do.

Excellent points, but don't forget that armor and magic resist stack, which gives Von Schill armor +2 against magical attacks. This makes magician's duel's dmg line against Von Schill effectively 1/1/3 which is not particularly impressive.

Also, Sword Vik may have one less CB than Lilith's DF, but she has paired weapons, meaning that Lilith will almost always have to cheat and/or Soulstone before you do. This is a significant advantage. By buffing sword Vik's damage with gun Vik you can feasibly kill Lilith with two attacks. If you are not already doing so, try bringing a 6+ SS cache.

If the spell or ability contains the word "target" then you need LoS. Charges and melee strikes require LoS. Showgirls do not need LoS to teleport, nor does Lucius need LoS to cast Reinforcements since those abilities/spells do not contain the word "target."

Edit: Ninja'd by Lucidicide!

I'm a bit biased toward Lady Justice seeing as how she is one of the masters i play regularly, but if you are interested in a fast crew with tricks then she is probably not the master for you. Lady Justice has massive damage output...and massive damage output, and in case you didn't get the point, she has pretty decent damage output. She has a few buffing spells that serve niche purposes, but for the most part she can operate completely independently from her crew. With Lady Justice what you see is what you get.

Dreamer/Lord Chompy Bits have much more synergy with their crew than LJ does. They have better movement, more tricks and are more versatile. I'm not a Dreamer player so I'm not qualified to really tell you about his ins and outs, especially post-errata. My best advice is to play the models you like and worry about the rest after you get some games in. One of Malifaux's greatest strengths is that if don't like the way your first crew plays you are only out $30-40 instead of the $200+ in certain other game systems.

Reread the bury errata. All effects resolve according to their descriptions, not just ones that happen in the closing phase.

Actually you can use Slow to Die on instant kill effects. It's just that it won't heal the model.

Bête Noire is very special, because she actually seem to be able to shrug off such effects (especially with the most recent ruling). That's because she heals and Buries before she gets to be removed from play, only to return to the game later. If I understand correctly, all the effects on her fall off from her at the end of the turn (recent ruling) while not affecting her, so once she returns to the game next time, the instant kill is not on her anymore.

Sacrifice is something else altogether. It simply doesn't kill model, so anything which triggers from the model getting killed doesn't happen. So in this case not letting her use Slow to Die was the right choice (if I understand correctly).

It is also worth noting some abilities and effects trigger from model getting killed or sacrificed. Bête Noire's Drawn to Death works like that. In that case it will not only go off from the obvious cases of kill and sacrifice, but also where model gets sacrificed by an ability you may not look at as an ability sacrificing models. For example, when Nicodem sacrifices a Corpse Counter to cast Reanimate, and that Corpse Counter happens to be a Mindless Zombie (a model), that is enough to trigger Bête Noire's deployment ability (since a model gets sacrificed).

It its actually the opposite for instant kill effects on bete. Because effects now resolve as normal when a model is buried she will remove all wounds, then bury, then her state is checked, the kill effect is still on her and she is removed from the game.

Copying a weapon does not grant you triggers associated with the weapon as they are entirely separate from the weapon. Any additional effects produced by the weapon itself, however, are copied. In the original scenario you played it correctly. The weapon and the trigger are copied separately, and all suit requirements must be met in order to use the trigger.

Lucidicide is correct on the timing order, I'd post a link to the thread that officially outlines the strike sequence but I am on my phone and it's a pain to do.

Awesome! Rush is my favorite band, I try to see them play whenever they come near the midwest US.

Yes, you are missing the Banish to Oblivion trigger that is on Exorcise, but not on the xbow.

There is no doubt that in a vacuum Brutal Effigy is one of the best models point for point in the game. Unfortunately there are many factors to consider besides value per point in a game of Malifaux. Let us explore Brutal Effigy while accounting for as many constants as possible.

1. Special Forces (Doll)
   
2. No totems
   

So what do these two important restrictions mean for a Guild crew? First we can look at Special Forces (Doll). If you hire Brutal Effigy you may not hire the following models that you would otherwise be able to due to the single Special forces group rule: Lucius, Lawyer, Guild Guard Captain, Ryle, Von Schill, and all Freikorps. Add in the no totem rule and the following models are also excluded: Scales of Justice, Enslaved Nephilim, Drill Sgt., Governor's Proxy, Purifying Flame, Mobile Toolkit, Mechanical Attendant, Student of Conflict and Malifaux Child (no comments about my inclusion of Malifaux Child in this list!). That is a total of 18 models that you are unable to hire simply by hiring Brutal Effigy.

Variables:

1. Opponent's Faction
   
2. Strategies
   
3. Terrain
   

The above are three game factors that you have little or no control over. So how does each of these variables impact the viability of a model that reduces your overall model pool by 18? Let's start with your opponent's faction. Every faction but Ressurectionists have such a dearth of models with the spirit characteristic that Brutal Effigy's magical weapon is a negligible factor when determining which models will be of use during the Hire Crews phase. Against Ressurectionists, however, there is a significant chance that there will be at least one model in your opponent's crew is a Spirit, making a 4 stone, melee expert, magic weapon wielding model very appealing. Another thing to consider is whether Brutal's healing flip spell is more effective against certain factions. Guild and Outcasts in particular often kill a model from full wounds in a single activation. Arcanists, Neverborn and Ressurectionists, on the other hand, while sometimes exhibiting a single-model assassination play style, are slightly more likely to whittle your models down over time, making Brutal's healing ability marginally better against these factions than Guild and Outcasts.

To be continued...(gotta go to the gym)

There is no problem with a Witchling Stalker targeting Hopkins with Dispel Magic, and Paralysed can be removed by the spell like any other effect.

He would make a resistance flip on a successful cast as normal, however, after establishing dual totals you can have him reduce the difference in the dual totals to 0 because he is a friendly model (So he just fails to resist).

After Paralyzed is dispelled from Hopkins he can activate as normal that turn

As for the extra credit, I know you can't dispel counters from models, and I am almost 100% sure you can't dispel tokens.

Hope that helps.

You've almost got it all. A single token can be removed via Dispel Magic. So if you had Poison 2 you would still have Poison 1 after casting Dispel Magic. The Witchling Handler card has the correct (post Rules Manual) wording for Dispel Magic.

Great job on the Rules Clarification/FAQ. I would recommend anyone running an event to use your document.

Thanks for the heads up. Just downloaded Armageddon: The Musical on my kindle and am looking forward to reading it.

I am a Guild player through and through. I love their fluff, I love their deliberate play style, I love their models. People will tell you Guild is not top tier, and there is some merit to this...but it doesn't make a lick of difference to me, I'll play a Guild master over my Colette crew any day. Doing well with Guild is much more rewarding than winning with my "top tier" master.

I agree Ned you would that is why suggest Santiago. Though executioner does well against a marcus crew.

Agreed, given a choice i would take Santiago over Samael nearly every time. Paired pistols are too good to pass up, as well as frequently having an additional AP, +2 CB and on damage flips. Can't forget that he is a stone cheaper and has trigger happy either!

Hoffman can hire out of faction but has to spend the +1 stone. It's a game balance issue.