Was a GW gamer since '99, but then they turned out to be the Nazi's of the gaming world, i escaped their grasp and then played Warmahordes. Stopped collecting warmahords at the right moment (when they went for the same pitfall as GW, "bigger is better" so battle wagons, colossals, etc.)
I came across Malifaux at Salute 2012, wasn't a fan of the Macabre setting at first, but it was the mechanics of the game that really got me, but the biggest one is the use of playing cards instead of dice. That was a breath of fresh air.
I then read the fluff and that was hook line and sinker. Over 12 masters and 3 henchmen later, i am now the aspiring puppet master my lgs loves today.