Azahul

Just looking in faction, their competition are Guilty and the Freikorpsmann, with additional competition in the 5 point slot from non-Minions including the Obedient Wretch and Big Jake. The Bandidos aren't really measuring up against any of those.

I think there's a general desire to keep errata on the minimal side, just based on observed behaviour. Presumably the intent is to reduce the total number of cards changed based on their print version more for simplicity's sake than expense. It's awkward for players when your models ship with cards in boxes that don't match their current status, for example. I know in competitive circles that such seemingly minor logistical problems don't get seen as a big deal, and I'm not even going to argue that they are per se, merely that it looks to me that Wyrd leans in that direction. Which makes Drop It changes unlikely, compared to changing Parker2 or the Bandidos directly.

Basically boils down to if you're willing to spend 4 stones in the hope you get 3-5 Blight on an important enemy model early without needing to spend Hamelin's AP. Can take some of the burden off of otherwise needing to land all of Hamelin's attacks to set up effective turns.

Yep, that's how you run him. Models I like with the Piper are: -The DCU and the Catalan Brawler (a model that targets Mv and a model that applies Staggered on an attack that generates attacks that target Mv) -Rusty Alyce (the Piper can force a lot of movement from opposing models, so the Pit Traps can do a crazy amount of damage) -Pride (The Piper is often in the situation of needing to win 4 opposed duels in an activation, has no card draw, Pride helps make this happen) -Scavenger (models like the DCU like Focus, the Piper really wants Focus to get around Concealment in a pinch, and Tools for the Job lets you secure more Severe cards) -Mad Dog (just a solid model and the most efficient model to hit with a friendly Obey, since you can get both movement and an attack quite flexibly) -A Winged Plague (good for ramping up Blight on targets, takes some pressure off of the Piper to be both set-up and payoff) -Midnight Stalker (some pools require fast schemers, which can be hard to come by in Outcasts)

I tend to just assume that with models that squishy the opponent will kill them if they attack them. If they get unlucky then the Winged Plague at least has two ways to get out of melee without a disengage. But if they each get their ideal situation and avoid getting attacked, the Winged Plague is a faster model, is Size 1 so avoiding getting targeted is easier, and can hang out in the backlines in safety longer because Unclean Influence can catapult is an extra 8" forward for late turn scheming.

I agree that changing Drop It would probably be ideal, but it's on like a dozen cards across half the factions in the game. I don't think they've ever made such a sweeping change. Changing the Bandidos and Parker2 so that they don't need LOS to the marker just seems logistically more likely to me.

I'd look at a rule. Hit points above cost is unusual and usually reserved for undead. Bultungin for example gained Hard to Kill in the last errata, which took them into the realm where people actually seem to be considering them. Personally I think Hard to Kill is pretty lazy as a solution to the "Cost 5 models getting one-shot" issue, but... it is actually pretty common in Bandits so it would be appropriate. I could see Stealth or Disguised working too. Favourable Terrain crossed my mind but it's probably too niche to do the job (as good as ignoring Severe terrain would be).

Wyrd gives all the time without taking away. Not sure what you mean there. But hey, it's not like there isn't a ton of useless text on their card. They could lose At Gunpoint easily. I wish that action were good, but realistically it never does anything. They could lose their knife too and I wouldn't really notice. Most of the time if they get engaged in melee they're dead, so it doesn't matter if they have a melee attack or not. I'd disagree that Bandidos have more going for them than most Cost 5 models in the game. They're the worst Cost 5 model in Outcasts, and by a margin at that. And for those they're better than, well, there's a bit of a systemic issue with Cost 5 models not getting played, so being better than some isn't the same as being actually playable. For the Bandidos specifically it doesn't matter how much they do, the problem is that they die. A low cost model with no defences is easy activation control for your opponent, and at that point you're looking at a liability rather than an asset.

Games make the first point a tad more complicated than less interactive media because some of us choose to play as the villains. Which both means rooting for their success, and that some characters (like Seamus) get presented as fun and entertaining and implicitly someone Seamus players kind of want to root for, because that's their in-game avatar. It becomes harder and harder to see that the villain is being condemned for their actions on a meta level if the lore positions you to root for them again and again. This is how the markers of a certain scifi mini game ended up in the position of having to release press statements telling their player base to stop seeing the fascist empire in their game as a good guy... even though their own fluff constantly takes that stance. And I mean, we can all imagine the furor if a video game had you play as a sexual predator, even if the sexual aspects were not explicit and reserved to cut scenes (which is how I interpret written stories in this analogy). And while a lot of media panic over video games is pretty ridiculous, that's not a stance I'd care to disagree with.

Trigger Finger is a Once Per Turn rule, so it doesn't quite scale that well. Plus the Drop It issues plus the reasonable unlikelihood of the Bandido getting the trigger on its own activation means that you probably get a number of Trigger Finger actions equal to X-1 where X is the number of Bandidos you hire. Once you've had two successful trigger finger actions odds are your opponent will be able to avoid having a third come up, so that's a pretty hard cap against crazy scaling. Your theory about why they ended up this way is probably reasonable. I'd really just like to see Trigger Finger lose the aura symbol (same for Perdition) and Bandidos gain maybe one defensive rule. That would probably be enough.

Mine come off the shelf when I need to teach a new player the game and want some models that they will be able to deal with easily and won't run the risk of actually killing much on the other side of the table. Virtues in intro games, less so in other games. But hey, it means they have a role and a reason to see table time on occasion.

I'm one of them. And you know what forms part of that? Functionally ignoring the existence of Drop It as a trigger. You hire models with other ways to make markers (the Emissary most prominently) if you want to make the Bandit crew work. Also I can't say I've ever hired Bandidos outside of intro games.

The problem isn't with a Bandido getting Trigger Finger on its turn, the problem is any other model trying to proc trigger finger. The enemy controls the placement of the Marker with Drop It, so if, say, Mad Dog gets the Drop It trigger the enemy model can always place the marker on the opposite side of their base to the Bandido to block LOS. Trigger Finger is an aura and requires LOS, so this denies them Trigger Finger. This seems to be something that Wyrd and their playtesters keep missing, because Parker2 has the exact same issue on his Perdition aura.

If you want a fast, squishy schemer, doesn't Plague have a faster flying option in the Winged Plague that does that role better?

Some moments from the front lines: Reporter #1: Did the Executioner say he was going to kill us? Reporter #2: checks notes Yes, that's what I have down too.

Sounds right. The FAQ is quite clear that the effects are generated when you target the initial model, but aren't generated when you change the target.

The "champion" having been watched over for centuries doesn't sound particularly Lilith-esque. In fact nothing in this story sounds like Lilith, the only connection we have is Barbaros and he may have signed up only because of "enemy of my enemy is my friend" reasons.

To my knowledge it hasn't been used yet, but the MWS committee ruled the actions would transfer over. Worth noting too that it doesn't matter if the generated actions count as a "lasting" game effect, merely a game effect, since all effects are said to transfer over.

Heya folks. I'll be running Brisbane's first Malifaux Burns event on Sunday at Irresistible Force Tanah Merah (we've had a couple of events since it released but have been waiting for more of the models to release before using the content). All comers and skill levels are welcome. Please feel free to reach out if you want more details.

2 hours and 15 is preferable in my view. Not getting a lunch break is a pain. I would say on average half our games go through to Turn 5. We have a lot of newer players though and some of the older players don't always get to play regularly.

Most local players have families and can't give up two days of a weekend for an event. That immediately locks us locally into three round, one day events. Many local game stores don't even open until 10am and most players don't want to be playing past dinner time. So... it's kind of irrelevant how complex the game is or should be. When I set a local event I want three rounds played and finished within 8 hours. 2.5 hours per game, which includes deployment and packing up post-game, is the absolute maximum I can allow a round to go for, and ideally I'd like it to be less so that there's actually time for a lunch break.

I don't need to be playing a different game in different settings so whatever happens in my meta is on you

Oh, 100% anecdotal. Nevertheless if the MWS makes a ruling that's essentially the standardised version of the game most people with exposure to that scene are going to play even in their home metas, so if that is their ruling and no one can change their minds then it probably stands until an official FAQ.

So I played a game last night using this ruling (the MWS at least seems convinced that stacking the actions on the Rat King is the correct way to play). It was certainly impactful, though the reality with Hamelin is that it isn't always easy to have a bunch of rats lined up for it. On the turns where I was able to pump out Rat Kings though it was like the Mindless rule was being switched off, giving me full (Fast) Rat King activations back to back (or in the middle of) Hamelin's own turn. A similar vibe to the Mech Rider in a sense, though Hamelin's own AP are extremely high impact. That said, it mostly felt like a win more benefit. Hamelin's dream activation is always activating with a bunch of Vermin nearby and an enemy model or two to punch. This didn't change that, nor does it change the fact that savvy opponents can avoid that scenario. In terms of actual impact it did allow me to kill the Dreamer (who was out of stone) with a two Focus King who otherwise would not have been able to make any attacks at all. The other turns it came up there wasn't a good target for the King so it was of fairly minor benefit. But still definitely a high impact change make no mistake. Obviously I know we aren't making this decision based on the relative power level of this ruling. And I want to emphasise the caveats that a) this is a one game sample against an opponent who knows Hamelin well and could see the move coming, and b) I didn't tailor my list to take any crazy advantage of the rule. No rats were hired so I was crutching on four rats/turn from Benny turns 1-2 and then Voracious Rat auras each turn after that.

Honestly if I'm not bringing Arik I start to seriously question if Hannah is worth her points. And at that point I'm just not playing Freikorps and declaring another Master.