chris_havoc

This seems like a really brutal and overly efficient means of activation control as you say, it is an expensive investment at 32ss for all the bells and whistles but it is a game changer Turn 1 and the invested in models are still effective apart from this strategy. I am just thinking of ways to counter it and basically they rely on a significant amount of luck. The Piggapult may be a decent way to deal with it having a wide range and ignoring cover and los. Hans has been mentioned. Clockwork Traps and Pathfinders could cause problems but these models are not as universally effective as the RatJoy models. Kirai with Ikiryo may also pose a problem. However,

I think the problem of there being no Soulstone difference between the way the models change is pretty big. I found the Desolation engine and Abominations a bit too efficient at this too but nowhere near this level. It seems that the Obedient Wretch is actually at the core of the problem at least as much as the Rats themselves. I wonder if the problem wouldn't be solved by needing 4 other rats to Summon a Rat King, and Obedient Wretches only summoning 1 rat when they sacrifice OR upping their cost to six. Doing either makes them far less efficient while remaining efficient in summoning Rat Catchers to keep the engine going.

This would still bring the problem of other Masters benefiting more from Hamelin's models than he does in that hiring them is a cheap and efficient way to soak activations and still benefit from their own internal synergies. So perhaps it should rather be that Hamelin is the only one able to hire Rats and limit the Obedient Wretches Rat Summoning to one.

So I posted this before but I don't think that the Dropbox link worked properly, now with the Monday preview of a sailor type Silurid and talk of a new book I wanted to post it again in the spirit of the rumour mill. Still not done all the back stories.

The Master

Mad Cass Flynn

Cassidy was born to a naval family Earthside. Her father was a decorated officer and Captained an Pirate catching vessel when the New World was rife with their like. Her mother died in child birth and so her father became an idol in her eyes. When the Breach opened 100 Years ago there was profit to be made on two fronts. As such, the powers that be decommissioned her father. Destitute and and desperate her father turned to piracy himself. Using his insider knowledge to amass a great fortune. It was for Cassidy's penchant for fearlessly running and climbing through the rigging that her father's vessel was named The Mad Cass. As is so often the case, Robert Flynn's adventures in piracy end in his capture and hanging.

The first mate of The Mad Cass and a young woman Cassidy fled Breachside to pursue a new and discreet existence. The pull of adventure was too great however and soon she found herself smuggling Soulstones and other contraband back and forth on the lakes and rivers of Malifaux. Her own ship, The Orphan's Lament, became infamous for it's ability to avoid the Guild's attempts to capture it. Mad Cass, as she had come to be known, was known to treat her subordinates with respect and share the ship's bounty equally between her crew. Cass was never particularly interested in the loot but lived for the danger much to the chagrin of her Quartermaster. Her bravery in the face of danger and willingness to place herself between that danger and her crew mates has earned her an unwaveringly loyal crew.

Unfortunately recklessness and dangerous situations rarely end live in harmony and on a particularly dangerous cargo run The Orphan's Lament found itself crippled after a hard-fought battle with The Guild's pirate hunters. The competency of her crew would usually have meant this was a non-issue but the sea is nothing if not fickle and so The Orphan's Lament was sunk. This seems like an odd place for Cass' story to start but start here it did. As she drowned Cass' tenacity and fortitude caused an ancient power to stir take an interest in her. She recognized the entity as Davy Jones, the sea's own devil. The entity found this description amusing and offered to spare Cass her life. This was not enough for her and she argued for her crew to be saved as they drowned around her. The refusal to accept his help in order to help her crew mates amused Jones but so too did cruelty. Jones agreed to save her but only to help her crew if, and only if, they had the fortitude to survive the sea for eight full minutes. Impressive though it may be her first crew mate perished after six and one after the other they passed into Davy Jones' Locker. All but two succumbed to Jones' test Gillie the Quartermaster and The Orphan's Lament's Cook, Red Swain.

His amusement sated, Jones upheld his end of the bargain though his power lay dormant, imprisoned and confined as he was to the depths. He kept his rescues safe in the Locker until a great red light reached even the depths of his confinement and he found himself empowered as he had not been in ages. He freed his wards and restored their ship under a new name, Davy's Lament. Despite having saved her life Jones' only asked that Cass report to him periodically on the power struggles within Malifaux and in return he offered her the aid of those lost at sea. Cassidy's charm soon drew a crew to her and her skills have proved beneficial to Ramos and his Arcanist movement.

The Henchman

Gillie Byrne

Gillie has always been a stubborn bastard. Always. Even when tested by the crushing, drowning depths of the sea and its devil. Stubbornness aside, Gillie's loyalty is without question. To both Cass and her father before her. That's not to say that the grouchy Quartermaster is perfect. He is often harsh to the hands on board but more often that harshness is born of high expectations for his charges. His crew earns his respect from at the end of his whip and he earns theirs by leading through example both in the day-to-day and in combat.

The Totem

Cabin Boy

Cabin boy is not the most glamorous job on a ship. At least it's a job though right? Fortunately for Cass' Cabin Boys she isn't the type of captain to kidnap boys into servitude. Save them maybe. That doesn't mean that life on the Davey's Lament is easy. 'Cannon fodder' is not the right phrase but 'crossfire' is one mentioned often enough on any ship for Cabin Boy to be a job not many aspire to without some serious guilt tripping or blatant threatening. In between raids and runs though, a cabin boy may as well just be called an errand boy.

On 05/03/2016 at 8:37 PM, tomjoad said:

I've been having an issue where, if I have, say, 4 Guild Hounds in my collection, and add them to a crew, then decide I don't want then and delete 3, the crew builder won't let me add them back in later. It seems to think I've already used all 4, if that makes sense.

When you're using McCabe in 10T or because of the rare limit? 

Guild Pathfinders and Clockwork Traps (if you have them) might also be decent because they could blast onto Mannequins. Also they can trigger to ignore Armour so some splash damage on those Coryphee could work very well. The Traps could also frustrate the your opponent by dishing out Slow.

I thought I'd ask the question to find out if anyone knew or if official Wyrdos could say if the Emissary models will come with the Upgrade cards for their Faction's Dual-Faction Masters that are listed in their other Faction's area in the Shifting Loyalties book. In other words, would Tara's Conflux of Nothingness be in the Carrion Emissary's box, and would the Brewmaster's Conflux of Inebriation be in the Shadow Effigies Box?

I've not played much against Colette specifically but I know from experience against other Masters with a lot of pushes, like McMourning, that trying to manipulate their movement is kind of a pointless endeavour as they end up having the advantage because they cancel your manipulation without losing much utility themselves. So, I reckon if you're going to pushing models around it should be your own to try and match your speed to Colette's a little.

I know Colette is pretty much impossible to kill unless you can get rid of all her scheme markers (NOPE!) so I think what Yvarre says above is good advice. Shenlong would be pretty awesome at taking out Colette's models I reckon. With a bunch of Focus, he can get around Cassandra's 's from Southern Charm and the Coryphee Duet's high Df and 's. Snipers are a good idea because they can hit Sh 6 with Focus around Sensei Yu and deal real damage to some of Colette's support pieces at range. Tengu may also be a good idea as they can use the insane number of Scheme Markers to their advantage to jump around. 

Hey! I just got the app this week wish you could stretch it to iOS and Windows for official support. I think it's great if that wasn't obvious. Love the features. There's only one thing I wish I could do in that I can't screenshot an image of the crew to send to a friend or something like that. Other than that it is a great app.

On a content note, I can't seem to get the Smoke Grenades Upgrade when building 10T crews.

Yeah that's why you also have to put the other curse on him I reckon. Had you done that from the beginning he'd be in a bad way. I think the trick is to make Shenlong waste his actions rather than trying to kill him so maybe the curses are a good option for him too. Then have jack chase down the archers with Jack and do the minion curse. I do reckon that maybe Gunslingers would be a good answer to the Archers. They can deal damage if they are hit and can hit them at range and Charge in to tie them up.

I am personally hoping for a Nobunaga type master. He was supposed to be king of the Oni.

Against the Archers there's not much to do but get to them quick or snipe them unfortunately, fortunately they do melt if you breath on them.

Shenlong may be really tough to take down but Sensei Yu is certainly a decent target for models with decent stats and brings Shenlong down to only one Style at a time if you kill him.

Izamu is tough as nails and honestly I haven't faced him much but I have played him a bunch. I imagine Jack's Curses are the ideal counter to his effectiveness. If you stack Drowning and Firing Squad Injustices on him, he is very much in a bind especially if he is getting Fast and trying to heal because he is either effectively Paralyzed or killing himself very efficiently. With Misaki Izamu is also a pretty decent target just because he has Df4 and can't burn Soulstones to prevent damage. This means Decapitate works like a charm on him though you do want to try and burn some cards to ensure it's a sure thing.

If the problem is that the Peasants are sitting back with the Archers pumping them up with Focus, then all the more reason to get a Misaki or a big hitter in there to disrupt 18ss worth of models, more counting whoever has Blot the Sky. Misaki can definitely do it and I assume Jack can too.

Basically, Shenlong himself is going to cause you to have a migraine but you can deal with the crew around him diminish his scoring potential. Obviously, focus on objectives too.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised just how good bringing back Yin, Izamu, or even Chiaki is. Also, watching your Ca 8 attack make short work of almost any scheme runner. Yan Lo is definitely not a waste of money in my eyes.

On another note: When the Emissary is available, Yan Lo's most useless upgrades (Brutal Khakkahara and Bone Ascendant) actually have a place though I've not got my brain around how to get it right, an Incorporeal, Impossible to Wound Yan with Ml 6 3/4/5 damage track is going to be pretty fun I think.

Rail Workers are a pretty great addition for Toshiro in general and because they are he works pretty great with Mei but that's besides the point. If you are looking for 35ss, your best bet is likely to get all the Ancestors and Retainer (not sure how good Onryo are with him yet). Komainu and Izamu are especially cool just because Yan Lo can use is Spirit Ascendant upgrade to make them take actions. 

So I have The Crossroads 7 crew on the way and I am interested to hear what people think of them as individual hires especially Lust given she's 10T specific. I also want to find out what you guys think of declaring Wrath and the 7 as a 50SS crew in 10T. I think I'll start the discussion by listing each model and giving my thoughts on it and amend it as people comment.

Greed

I think in the context of 10T Greed would be a pretty welcome addition to a Misaki crew. He is essentially a Soulstone and card sink and that makes him really dangerous with Misaki's Decapitate Trigger. He'll also thrive against Summoning crews who often rely on Soulstone Suits to ensure Summons. Greed is great with Brewmaster too as he targets Wp and with the fact that most of the Seven target Wp in some way I'll say that this applies to most of them.

Sloth

Sloth is a difficult spot for me. I am not sure I would choose him over the other Seven though he is a really great control model and tough. However, he doesn't hit particularly hard. I feel he would serve better in other Factions but perhaps with the Brewmaster or Shenlong who can already mess with Activations and Slow respectively may find a place for him.

Envy

I really like Envy. I think he is a cheaper, if not quite as potent, replacement for Fuhatsu. He does have a pretty great Cg and his Wk is certainly better than Fuhatsu's and he has a Ml attack that makes him more versatile. Dishing out Focus for a (0) in 10T is also a really great thing with all the bonuses models get from it. Not to Mention he can give it to himself, making his Focus Sh range 17". Manipulative and Armour give him some survivability too.

Wrath

Wow I like this guy. Wrath hits hard, moves fast, and heals easily. Yes his Empty Rage can mean risking your models with the +1 Damage but 10T has access to more than a few 3" Rg Ml models who can avoid the negatives of the Aura.

Pride

As a 10T player I love to use Misdirection on my Ml orientated Masters. McCabe, Mei Feng, Misaki, and Shenlong all love the Upgrade. This makes Greed a really, really attractive model for these guys. Like most of the other 7, Pride's Aura works on discarding a card to prevent bad effects. However, Pride's other actions all contribute to this card discarding making Misdirection (and Misaki's decapitate) all that much more potent. On top of this Pride makes it harder with his You Don't Need Them Trigger and (0) to make it even harder for a model to survive the considerable onslaught of any of the above mentioned Masters.

Gluttony

I don't see Gluttony having a particularly Master-specific function in a game except perhaps with Brewmaster who can bring Fingers to Drop Schemes in Ml and Shenlong who can drop them for nothing. He is however a pretty great model generally. He can waste cards/wounds/actions in games that don't require Interact Actions and can really hinder another player's ability to get Scheme Markers down in games that rely on it. His once per Turn Action is also a great way to force an important model into a compromising position or get a dangerous one out of the way. 

Lust

Lust is obviously the most relevant to 10T as our resident member of the Seven. She's a great card Control model with her Df Trigger and Attack so can up your luck for other combos. Now Kiss is a really powerful ability and can disrupt an opponent's plans pretty effectively if played right. Proper Positions is like a mini Lure with more versatility. I can see her being a great way to set up Charges. Once again I can see her thriving in a Brewmaster crew or keeping her just outside of the Turf War bubble to pull models out of scoring. Obviously she will be great in general as a control model, more so than Sloth, and cheaper, but I think she will excel in those areas.

As A Crew

Obviously this isn't going to differ hugely to taking these guys in any other Faction. However, there are two Upgrades in particular that favour The Crossroads Seven namely, Misdirection and Recalled Training. I feel Wrath would LOVE Misdirection as he and his friends all force opponents to discard cards. It also makes damaging Wrath so much harder and therefore Triggering his Aura. In the case of Recalled Training the benefit is obvious I do think I would most likely put it on Wrath and Envy and not really consider the others for it.

What bothers me is that he is heavy hitter points and seems unreliable in killing things according to what you say above unless it's to finish off a model. He's also really soft in combat so he can hold up models efficiently. More Charge in and Push out of combat which could be frustrating for the opponent but then you need something else holding the heavy hitter in place.

Hey guys I have some players joining a group who don't know what the Malifaux universe is all about. Is there a quick catch up resource to get the gist of the story up until now?

Hmm maybe the scheme dropping Swordsman could work. With Tengu trailing. They aren't bad at hitting if he needs support and can give him Regeneration which will be doubly effective when he does reactivate and - maybe - survive. 

Hmm. I will have to Tey him more. Sometimes it takes a while for a model to click.

Hey guys,

I have tried to get The Lone Swordsman to work but unless he's being shot at he seems squishier than squash. Which troubles me because he's supposed to be in the face of big nasties who can get 7 Wounds and past HtK relatively easily. 

So how do you get him to do his job? 

Hey guys,

So I wasn't sure where to post this but here seemed like a good place to try! I have been tinkering with the idea of making a fan-made crew for a long while and hesitating to post it because I didn't want to be shunned for being too much of a fan-boy.

Anyway I have added the link to my dropbox folder where the crew is contained and thought I could get some feed back. Bare in mind it's just a bit of fun but I really liked the idea of a pirate/privateer themed crew because it's not really been explored in the fluff as of yet. Malifauxs rivers and tributaries are still very much a mystery. Also, this is obviously all not meant for monetary gain and I found all the images via google so any IP infringement is unintended!

So tell me what you think!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zx59en8jk0zxg4n/AAAjvxdYeLulIPb1dg7HTjeBa?dl=0

Please note:
I've not done a blurb for each character as yet but it will happen in time!

Well that's why the Focus comes into the equation. 7 of any suit on a  is statistically probable. Honestly, I very, VERY rarely need to cheat cards with them thanks to Focus. But yeah I see your point. I still love them with both Molly and Seamus.

Sybelle is great, hits pretty hard, and boosts Molly's speed significantly. I love her and use her in a bunch of crews. Although I find myself using the Dead Doxies (who haven't been mentioned) more with Molly. Their (0) Take the Lead is really great in terms of AP efficiency as they and the target get to move you can Focus for a (1) and not sacrifice movement for it. This makes it really great at moving Molly around the board. With Pounce, Take The Lead can turn into Melee Expert effectively with a cool Push mechanic against opponents and considering that the Doxies actually hit quite well this is a proper threat. Because they are Belles they benefit from Black Blood and the (0) to make a Belle/Horror/Spirit take a (1). They are also pretty great if you keep them close-ish to other friendly models with the threat they pose as the dish out Fast with Final Encore when they die.

Otherwise, I agree wholeheartedly with the models and pointers mentioned by Fetid. Personally I like having Gorgon's Tear but am keen to try out Spare Parts instead!

I tried Molly out on Wednesday with a focus on Jaakuna Ubume. I gotta say I can't see Kirai being so obviously better that she is the go-to choice. I have only really run Molly as a Horror master but damn she is potent with Spirits. Datsue Ba suits Molly's play style really well. Extra movement for Spirits and Seishin Summon for heals and blast protection. The Belles/Doxies complement the Jaakuna tar pit really well. The Drowned are just awesome coupled with Datsue Ba using Spirit Whispers. All of a sudden killing my model is almost beneficial because I drop two Scheme Markers but the thing that is great with Molly is she can Summon and kill a Drowned off the bat and place two Scheme Markers for 1 AP. Made Spring the Trap REALLY easy.

I still definitely want to try out the Kirai/Jaakuna list because I see it playing very differently. She can Summon Drowned in game and out of engagement so doesn't have to hire them which leaves points open for Izamu as a beat stick. She has no Black Blood for protection but heals and Ikiryo definitely make up for it. Using Swirling Spirits on Jaakun with Unnerving Aura also sounds really great.

I agree but she has to choose between options of or pay for that flexibility whereas Levi doesn't for the most part. If she wants to use the great (0) movement, she can't Summon a Seishin. If she uses her Masks/Stones to defend, she has worse odds of getting that movement trick off. The Gaki Summon is VERY AP efficient and her Summons are pretty efficient but can get rid of that numerical advantage you're talking about and also leave your Summons vulnerable to retaliation if you don't take Bloody Shears but no denying the ability to Summon off your own models' wounds is GREAT. She relies on models (likely hers for Spirits) dying for that upgrade of hers to get more Seishin, She also has to choose between high damage and Accomplice which I don't think was really mentioned, both would definitely be broken. The heals she has are also expensive to discard a card or sac a Seishin so they are resource intensive. I would say she is certainly powerful but broken is a push I think. I'm not disagreeing with you on any point that she is versatile and competent in multiple arenas though it's just that all the things you mention have a cost that mitigate that versatility. I feel similarly about Molly though she has one or two hard counters in the game.

Back to the topic at hand, when I was looking at Spirit Molly vs. Kirai I had trouble deciding which would be better. To my mind they offer different styles of play to Spirits in general.

Molly offers a lot of passive support with Black Blood and to move key models around with her (0). Reactivate on Hanged is nothing to frown at either. Her synergy with Belles also means that you have more reason to go for the great mobility they offer. What I like about Spirit Molly is to Summon an Onryo all up in your opponent's business for the Pulse damage and an extra model (obviously) but because the model comes in engaged, the opponent has very little choice but to go for the Onryo and thus splash out Adversary to several models at once.

Kirai, on the other hand, has a more active role in assisting Spirits. She can heal them, actively dish out Adversary, switch out Spirits around the board. With Ikiryo busting out of Kirai and/or her friends also adds more aggressive support. So she can dish out Adversary and throw a heavy hitter forward to take advantage of it.

OK so the title of this topic may be slightly misleading but... I was making a crew today with Jaakuna Ubume as the linchpin and was wondering whether Molly or Kirai would be better for her. Having looked at them on paper they definitely offer different things to how Jaakuna would work so it got me thinking. If you want to use Spirits, when do you reach for Molly and when do you reach for Kirai?

This is awesome! The one thing I've noticed is that the drop down resets after each selection of the '+' button. I don't know if that is a choice or if it's supposed to stay with the last choice like it did before?