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Trevelyan

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Everything posted by Trevelyan

  1. So Levi should be with us shortly, and the new minis look pretty good. I'll be up a box even though I have a full Levi crew already and look forward to ending my Malifaux hiatus. One thing troubles me, though; the box by itself looks far from playable. I understand that we are getting a fair few minis (9 in total) which is as much as a box can reasonably hold, but Levi needs more crew than the box contains. In the days of 1E (and 1.5), my FLGS ran several tournaments for beginners based on the starter boxes alone (sometimes with one extra pack for variety). Is Levi valid in that format going forwards? Do Levi's additional hiring requirements mean tat he is less valid as a starter master than many others?
  2. That is not dead, etc! Mostly I've been biding time with other minis games while I wait for the 2E boxed sets for the masters that I want to run. A few of my regular opponants are in a similar situation. That siad the recent arrival of Through the Breach has people excited, so I'll probably be turning my attention towards Malifaux in the near future.
  3. I've been taking a hiatus from Malifaux while I waited for Levi 2.0 to appear. Sad to see he didn't make the Gencon announcements, but the cards are at least something, and I do have a full Levi crew to keep me going until the v2 minis land. Have people been getting some playtime in with Levi since the playtest? How is he doing?
  4. Nice tactica. It's good to see that Levi is still getting some love after his incredibly difficult M2E birth.
  5. Given what we went through to get here I don't think it is that bad. Unnatural Wasting is a lot of faff for limited benefit. It would have been simpler to just have the half damage on the rams trigger without needing the half damage. Given that Levi is likely to have a positive flip on most damage flips anyway it won't be that unusual to have at least a straight flip once defence is considered for a good change of naturally getting a 6+ and the option to cheat when required. In most cases you are only gaining a point or two of damage if that, and plenty of targets are worse off facing a normal Unmaking than Unnatural Wasting. It is cheap, but also niche and still only really an option if you aren't planning to take a Pariah upgrade. Other than that there is nothing that stands out as odd.
  6. Trevelyan

    Levi

    Lots of fun discussion about our favourite pervy old man. I feel that I should point out that I never suggested or intended to imply that Levi was an advanged master or that the tactics required to beat him should involve clever trickery which only experienced players can handle. I draw a distinction between "good" and "experienced" (nand equally between "bad" and "inexperienced"). A good Malifaux player is one who recognises that VPs are the win condition and that killing the opposing crew varies between one method of winning among many and a complete distraction. I won a lot more games of Malifau in 1E/1.5E than I lost and in a lot of those cases it wasn't a case of me skillfully outplaying the opposition, but rather the opposition deciding to get into some grudge match and target my crew while leaving me free to skip about and score VPs. Beating Levi should take as much skill as beating any other master. But recognising that Malifaux has never had an assassination victory option, and that M2E downplays the value of straight out killing the opposition even more than the first edition should be a prerequisite for having your views in the beta taken seriously. The game should be balanced around the ability to score VPs. Being immortal doesn't directly help Levi score if he does nothing with it, and doesn't prevent the opposition from scoring either. It isn't the major balance isue that some people seem to think it is. What mattes is how much Levi can accomplish each turn while he lives. If Levi lives but wastes his entire time summoning minions which can't achieve much then Levi doesn't score and looses the game. The trick isn't to kill Levi but to neuter him. That said... I agree on the theme, but the caveat there is that Levi's entire crew tends towards low level entropic damage which doesn't necessariy result in enemy kills. Without any other obvious means of manipulating markers, etc (see the sort of stuff the Lucius can pull these days) killing targets (not necessarily masters) Levi needs to be able to remove a model or two per turn to prevent the enemy blitzing the VPs before they die.
  7. Trevelyan

    Levi

    I wrote pages on why Levi wasn't working in the last round of playtesting. As a long term Levi player I was pleased to discover that Wyrd recognised he still needed a lot of work and are taking the time to get it right. If he hasn't progressed from the last version we saw in the last couple of months then I'll be disappointed. But the real problem was that Wyrd wasted a lot of time listening to the wrong people in the first wave of playtests - when the Levi players are telling you that something is broken beyond redemption and the Levi opponents are insisting that it only needs a slight tweak then you don't waste three weeks of a six week playtest trying to tweak it, you remove it and start dealing with the other issues that the Levi players are concerned about. The final playtest verison of Levi was a lot more viable than the original version, but still had a lot of issues. I'm not going to rehash them all here unless there has been no more progress (in which case it'll be worth raising them again as part of the playtest feedback). EDIT: Anyone complaining that they can't easily kill Levi is a prime example of the sort of feedback that can be safely ignored. Levi has always been hard to kill in the hands of a good player, but a good opponent should realise that killing Levi isn't the goal. M2E is even more focused on scoring VPs than M1E was, and killing Levi is a distraction from that. The problems with Levi in the last playtest revolved around the summoning balance, the distribution of core abilities over cards and the fact that the Wiafs didn't seem to know what their role was. Among other things.
  8. With great regret, I can't make it either. Am in the process of moving house and weekends are proving increasingly precious. Normal service will resume once things settle.
  9. I play Levi and this pretty much represents my view. But as the guy on the Levi side of the table I am painfully aware of his limitations and the ways that people could easily undermine my plans. My advantage is that most players seem eager to play to my strengths. Although I have never played as a Resser (Nico idles on my to-do list after I raided his box for parts), I have used plenty of undead minions and I imagine that Levi's attrition style is not dissimilar to that of the Ressers - gradually tearing down opposing minions and using them for spare parts so an initially small crew greatly outnumbers the opposition by Turn 3. In that situation, the people who lose the swiftest are always those who continue to throw minions at me and ignore their own Strategy and Schemes. You can't beat someone who can turn your own minions into cannon fodder to use against you by providing them with more cannon fodder. People who are slow to learn this deserve to be beaten hard and often. In the context of this thread, I personally find ressers laughably easy to defeat, but bless them for trying.
  10. I don't fear Pandora because I play Hamelin is probably not a good defence against the suggestion that Pandora is a problem (even with post-errata Hammy). Personally I don't fear Pandora because I can call on the services of the delightful Ms Ortega, although she doesn't trouble my Levi crew much either.
  11. What exactly is it about my warty green armour that offends you?
  12. You don't really want to be shoving Hammy in someone's face most of the time anyway, if you can help it. Hammy can handle himself, but he works best as a a threatening support caster churning out spells to render the opposing crew insignificant. Remember that the aim in Malifaux isn't to kill the opposing crew but to score VPs from your Strategy and Schemes, and to prevent the other crew from doing the same. Hamelin specialises in denial against most other crews (some crews do have ways around being made insignificant and therefore require a different approach). Using Hammy as a beat stick doesn't play to his strengths. As for actually killing Hammy, there are plenty of masters and minions who can do the job if necessary, especially post errata - those Stolen aren't just for show. Running Hammy too far forward and hoping that the Stolen will keep him alive is risky if you face someone who has the capacity to take out the stolen with Burst damage and whack Hammy himself hard. I can think of a few candidates for that. Having 8 soulstones will obviously prolong Hammy's life and make the entire tactic a waste of time for your opponent, which is why they wouldn't bother, but that is a huge resource sink and a canny player will just ignore you and go off to score their own VPs and win while you keep trying to chase them down with the rat swarm.
  13. Only if you are playing against a complete moron or total newbie. Attacking Hammy when he is accompanied by a full entourage of Stolen isn't soething that anyone who knows the crew will fall for, and 8 soulstones should be enough to warn off anyone who doesn't.
  14. Conversely, if you are winning in a duel without the right suit for a trigger and the other player does not cheat in a higher card then you are free to cheat in a lower card yourself with the right suit for the trigger (as long as you still win the duel with the lower card, if necessary). That is why it sometimes pays to cheat in a card when losing even if you cannot win.
  15. Early indications on the revised rules suggest that individual masters needn't change too much. Hamelin has just been through the errata mill with Voracious Rats intact, and it is fairly key to his playstyle. If it does change in M2 then I expect that we will see something else to keep the concept of the rat swarm running smoothly. I'm primarily a Levi player too. He is potent but not without his weaknesses. If anything, I might expect to see a few tweaks to the waifs to prevent him from being gimped by a few masters (Dreamer can still curb stomp Levi wiht ridiculous ease, he just needs one more turn to do it than before his errata) or minions (hiding waifs from something like an Austringer is next to impossible). Waifs which are easier for all crews to target but tough enough to stand up to some punishment (rather than impossible for many crews to reach but made of paper when you do) might be the way to go. I wouldn't expect to see significant changes to Levi's hiring restrictions, though. For all that he can select from across different factions, he is still somewhat restricted, and his hiring rules are very thematic. Wyrd seem aware of the need to maintain the fluff element.
  16. I feel the same way. Hamelin has one of the strongest themes and playing a nephilim grow list with him doesn't fit with my sense of narrative. But then I play Levi in competitive games and have no problem mixing and matching his crew to suit circumstances.
  17. Having only one Stolen around is dangerous. Starting with only one is fine, but Hammy can and should be churning them out on a regular bais (he can summon one per Turn) unless he ahs a particular reason not to. How did you run out of rats? Assuming you kept them in Voracious Rats range they are nearly impossible to remove, and with two catchers there is plenty of aura to go around. Did the other player take out the Rat Catchers in advance or did you over extend?
  18. Other than Levi, who is already one of the hardest hitting ranged casters in the business?
  19. Seems pretty simple to me - the target is using Wp to defend, therefore I2I applies and the attack doesn't work. Nothing about I2I specifies that it only works against spells or other abilities.
  20. Possibly. For a start they will kill any rat that isn't in range of a model with Voracious Rats. There might also be marginal situations where it helps to a given rat knowing that the replacement will appear in B2B and not in the exact same location if you need to clear some space (since models can walk past rats but not stop on them), or just ensure that the replacement is outside range of the aura. Plus if you are playing Slaughter then rats are the gift that keeps on giving! If someone appears to be targetting your rats then they either have a very cunning plan, or else no clue whatsoever.
  21. That is good fun. You can do something similar with Break Through. I often declare Break Through with A&D in my crew since there is often nothing that my opponent can do to prevent A&D from (0) dying in the final Turn, have the Dust Storm pop up just outside the opposing deployment zone and step casually inside. As long as A&D isn't removed form the game, that is a very easy 2vps. Did you make good use of her Bag of Tricks? I find that keeps a lot of potential threats at bay. One of my regular opponents recently tried a change of tactic against Levi and managed to get a Guild Guard Seargent into melee range with him, thinking that the old man wouldn't be a threat in melee. I don't think I have enjoyed the look on someone's face when he realised his mistake for a very long time. I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually used Levi in melee (strangely never more than once per opponent before they learn their lesson) but it is always fun.
  22. Yeah, Levi doesn't need many stones. He may want a couple to boost casting flips against a rival master, but that is about it. Generally speaking, and especially if played well, Levi shouldn't need stones to boost defence or reduce damage since he wants to die each Turn. And he has enough card manipulation abilities to make the most of his own casting against non-masters without the need for stones. I am usually happy with 2ss. I think I once took 5 against the Viks (twice as many masters to hit with Unnatural Wasting, and they have pretty good Def scores too), but otherwise I build the crew I like and whatever stones remain make the pool. Deliberately setting aside a pool in advance is for less potent masters
  23. Pop over to the Outcast sub-forum when you've played and let us know how it went. There are a few Levi players around and we are always happy to share advice.
  24. Why ignore Bete? If you are assuming that you will kill Ashes & Dust then it is a given that Bete will get to appear - she can pop out when A&D dies. Something like that, yes. A&D generally want to activate after Levi unless he is reforming that Turn. And Levi benefits from activating late. Waifs are a non event so will always activate early unless there is a compoelling reason for something else to go. Given those four models and no other circumstances, I would say that your order Waif, Jack, Levi, Ashes, is spot on. Yes and no. Ultimately it would prefer to be close up, but not in the first turn or two. The opening salvos would come from Levi himself with an effective range of up to 12". Given his free movement and casting expert, he can start 15" away and still hit you with three Unnatural Wastings, or 18" away and hit you with two (where one is enough to bring anything with 9Wds or less into Necrotic Unmaking territory). If you get anywhere near Levi in Turn 1 then a large chunk of your 6 model crew could be looking shaky without anyone on the Levi side getting close. Alternatively, Levi could set them up and A&D could steamroller in and start killing whatever is left. Anything on 3Wd or less will becomes a steampunk abomination if A&D lands a hit, and something in range of Unnatural Wasting from Levi is in range of a move+charge from A&D. Anything with only 2Wd left is an iffy choice to attack A&D in melee given that his trigger couls convert them into a SPA too. A&D needn't get into melee, but if he does then it'll be because he can afford to risk the blows. And one thing you don't want is A&D sitting with a couple of SPAs in the middle of your crew. Protecting a waif is a given, but killing Levi is a (0) action for A&D, no cards involved. It is one of the reasons why he wants to stay reasonable close to Levi and activate after him. In tha above scenario, Levi could free move into range with Necromantic Sacrifice, stack the deck to hit with multiple Unnatural Wastings against multiple targets, then A&D could activate, move up a little past Levi, sacrifice him for a (0) action and charge an enemy while still preserving a high hand for defence and, ideally, his trigger against someone on low Wd. Where "up to me" is "within 1) inches of me", yes. Although I've highlighted a situation where A&D might want to rush in (on his own terms) a Levi crew can happily hold back for another turn while Levi himself turns a couple of your crew into SPAs from a distance. That means that A&D only needs to survive a ranged attack, which will certainly struggle to kill both him and the Ashen Core Or A&D. Don't forget that. No. Bete ideally wants to appear form the death of one of my models killed in melee so she can immediately retaliate against the target which killed her. You seem to be forgetting that A&D is one of those models in a scenario where you expect to be fighting him in melee. Assuming that you are talking about Lucious' Hidden Sniper spell, then allowing Jack Daw to die to that is a failure on the part of Jack's Player. That doesn't make Jack Daw an easy kill, it makes your opponent thoughtless. Of course Jack Daw can be killed. As can Bete and Ashes & Dust (although the last time I saw A&D go down remotely easily it was to two consecutive activations from Lord Chompy Bits). But just as you might know how to kill them, so too should the person playing them know how to keep them alive. And no one is going to let you have 5 activations against an undefended Ashes & Dust if they have a modicum of sense. ---------- Post added at 12:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 PM ---------- Locally people vary crews, but I/we are usually fairly open about what we intend to play ahead of the game. I have crews for Levi, Hamelin, Perdita and Hoffman, and while I could easily declare faction (Outcasts or Guild) and retain the element of surprise with a fair difference between the crews I field in each case, in practice I rarely do. Most of the time I prefer it if people know what crew I will be playing and give at least some thought to making the game challenging for me. Facing a lot of Ht1 and Insignificant models with low Wp when I have brought Hamelin along makes for an easy game but isn't much fun, after all!
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