DavicusPrime

...Remember, though, the name of the game isn't kill the master edition. It isn't even kill your opponent. It's accomplish Schemes and strategies...

So true. I do tend to get distracted by the fighting a little too often. I still win by dumb luck but not as often as I might if I were to actually focus on the VP's. :slap:

Thanks for the advice so far.

-DavicusPrime

Here's my available models:

Ramos

Brass Arachnid

Steam Arachnids (3 magnetized sets of three so 3 swarms or 9 individual)

Electrical Creation

Howard L.

Joss

And I also have from the 2nd Wave Beta:

Kaeris

Mobile Tool Kit

Gunsmith (2x)

Fire Gamin (3x)

Large Arachnid

My first three M2E games I used the following in 50ss:

Ramos

Joss

Howard J.

Brass Arachnid

Steam Arachnid Swarm

Steam Arachnid

Steam Arachnid

Growing Pains:

I ran into a couple problems translating over from 1.5v... That Ramos can't just make scrap counters anymore set me back a little. I didn't plan ahead to generate scrap counters the first couple turns and therefore missed out a couple turns worth of Arachnid creation. And I forgot that the EC isn't a spirit any more so they leave scrap when destroyed. I would have sent it into B2B and let my opponent kill it rather than sacrificed it for the extra point of damage.

Things that worked:

I found sending the Arachnids into B2B of my target and attack if they can. Following up that with a charge from the swarm. And then finished off by Ramos' ranged attack. This was a great combination if you can coordinate it.

I used Howard as a tarpit that was very successful in one game. The free walk action he gets let me tarpit one enforcer classed target, while moving around him, staying engaged but letting him slice up other models that got close enough to strike. I also loved using the decapitate trigger to force my opponent to ditch cards.

Steam Arachnid Swarm! Love the new rules. The ability to eat all the Scheme Markers in a 3" aura really helped me thwart my opponent's VP accumulation. I was kind of bothered by their inability to split back up into 3 individual models at first, but I can't really think of a time I found that useful back in 1.5v anyway. In combination with the individuals in B2B with their target, this model can put on the damage. Add Ramos' ability to hit at range without having to randomize and you can take down some hard targets.

Things that didn't work:

I completely failed to figure out how to use the Brass Arachnid. To use the stoke ability well, you've got to already be in position to cast it using your other action to give yourself the extra :tomes. So I was either just out of position, or when I was actually in a good spot, I just didn't have the cards to make it work. Being able to reactivate a construct is awesome, but I really need to do a better job planning ahead to get the BA where it can do its job.

Not getting Joss into melee. Having Bleeding edge helped my arachnids last a lot longer than I expected. This worked for and against me. I wasn't getting the scrap Markers from them since they failed to die. And I found myself using Joss as a support model rather than the solid hitter he really is. Which also meant not getting scrap markers from his special abilities either.

Not using the EC as well as I could have. I used to use the EC as just another ranged attack from Ramos. Summon, move into B2B to get the free damage then self destruct if it's still alive the next turn. I'm thinking I might need to relook at how and why I'm using it. I've seen posts suggesting that I should hire an EC rather than take the upgrade to summon them to get that early scrap. But 2ss for the upgrade seems like a much better deal than a 4ss model that self destructs on it's 3rd activation. I've also seen it mentioned that you can have more than 1 EC on the table at a time. So I might need to go and buy a second model to try that out too.

So what?

So my question to my fellow Arcanists is this... Based on the models I have, how can I build a better list with and generally use them better in the new M2E environment? Any tactical and list building advice would be appreciated.

-DavicusPrime

The hiring rules specify that out of faction, or dual faction models can only take upgrades from the player's declared faction. I don't have my book handy to reference the page, but I found it last week when I was specifically trying to answer your exact question for myself.

-DavicusPrime

1) I see the update to 2.0 is taking place right now. While I like some of the new models, and enjoy plastic more than metal, I was wondering if there is a release date list of the new stuff coming out, so I could know when and if it was possible to get some of the other plastic crews. Also, are they planning on re-releasing all of the old blisters of individual figures and packs, such as Young Lecroix or the Pig launcher?

As others have said, the release schedule hasn't really been announced. I started up just last year, so I've been using the older metals and for the most part they are perfectly useable. Some of the sculpts don't really match up with the new versions of the characters (Old Joss has a pair of axes, but new version gives him an axe and a mechanical arm (think: power fist). It rubs my WYSIWYG mindset the wrong way but it really isn't a big deal. I actually like the older Lacroix sculpts in their old west stylings compared to the drawings published with the new edition rules. I suspect both options will remain available for quite a while until the metals dry up after the switch over to plastic.

2)Amount of players for the game seems like it may be a problem. I can probably get a few of my friends to play, but is there much support from the designers and others for prize support in tournaments, and potential broken or overpowered rules/crews?

I've run into a bunch of folks around me that used to play but moved on. There were a lot of balance issues between some of the first book masters and the newer additions that got partially cleaned up with V1.5 but have all been rebalanced with M2E. My first Master was Ramos (a book 1 master) and I was finding him greatly out classed. I picked up Ophelia and her kin and had a much better success. Since M2E came out I've been using Ramos again and I've been enjoying Him and his crew much more than I did before.

3) Gremlins. I loved Gretchin in 40k, they were a quirky and often did more harm than good to their Ork brethren. I see that they are in a pool of a clan/group in the older editions, but apparently they are their own faction in 2.0? This leads me to my next question

4)Do you only have 1 master, or do you pick factions and then decide your master/crew afterwards? This could create good counter-matchups with more strategy and make the games go much differently. I am confused on how that works. I would assume for tournaments there would be a set list that you would have to submit beforehand.

3) Gremlins in this game are even more potentially harmful to each other than gretchin were in 40K. But they're also more dangerous to your opponent. So'mer tends to do more sacrificing of models and replacing them kind of strategy. Running Ophelia, she can't summon more gremlins and/or piglets to replace losses like So'mer can, so having slop haulers around to heal them up turned out to be a wonderful addition to the starter box. So with her as your master, you'll be a bit more conservative.

4) The way the game plays, you only declare your faction at the beginning of setting up. Once all the map and schemes are sorted out do you actually build your list (in Malifaux terms: "Hire yer crew"). So you can take models that best fit your situation, even being able to take different masters as the situation dictates.

5)The main post grad problem.Money. Am I right to think the game is relatively cheap to play compared to Warhammer and the like? Maybe 100-150 for a decent sized crew and rulebook/paints?

As a father of three with a mortgage, I live with the same or worse cash constraints...

As a 40K player, you probably already have the bulk of the needed modeling supplies. And if you tend to play outside of the shops, most of your terrain will work without much modification. If you pick up your starter box at Miniature Market or some other discount shop, you're going to spend $30 for a rule book and between $30-$40 for a starter box. Then you'll probably want to grab a blister or two of models to fill out your list (usually a Totem and additional Minion) which could run you another $16-$25. So $90-100 would set you up. Your friends can probably get away with just buying the minis and sharing your rule book in the beginning (that's what I did, as a friend was who got me into the game). Other things you can get to simplify things: arsenal boxes for your chosen faction(s) run $6/ea at Miniature Market. These provide a full set of all stat and upgrade cards for the wave 1 releases. And a fate deck, which iirc is ~$6 too. But you can get by with a standard $1 poker deck.

I got into the game buying an opened but unassembled Ramos Crew box off ebay for $25 and A gunsmith, Brass Arachnid (Ramos' totem) and a fate deck from Miniature market for about $30. So, using my friend's rule book, I was in for $55. I picked up Ophelia's crew the same way. Crew box off ebay + a blister of Young Lecroix and a blister of slop Haulers. Probably cost me $55-$60.

After that, just buying a single blister or a different master's starter box here or there adds solid options to your crews. You can do a lot of mix-and-match within your faction's models, so you can try all kinds of things out without having to change masters. and without getting stuck playing the same list over and over.

-DavicusPrime

Yeah, just don't forget to start all the new page names with M2E... I messed up some of the tags on the old Ramos page making the M2E Ramos page and linking it to the M2E Arcanist page. :slap:

-DavicusPrime

ECs are wonderful anyway. If you summon 2 of them, you can put models in a situation where you get one scrap, and they take 5 unresistable damage.

There's another thing I have to get used to... that I can have more than one EC on the table at a time. I really could have used that trick to help me take down the Viks who I couldn't quite finish off before they healed up. Ripping 5 wounds off of them right off the bat (add another wound if I can get the first EC into B2B) would have made it much more likely that I'd drop one in a single round. *furiously scribbling notes for my next game*

-DavicusPrime

Unfortunately, I didn't get the carry away trigger to go off. My control hands for both games last week were pathetic. The only trigger I was successful at setting off multiple times was the Decapitate trigger on Howie. Just about everything else I did was luck of the draw. On the positive side, I got the black joker first turn in both games so I was able to keep it out of circulation.

My biggest problem was not figuring out how to get scrap markers on the board early on. I'm going to have to sort out using the electrical creation to make my first one. I'm still getting used to the idea that it isn't a spirit anymore. And I was so used to Ramos being able to generate them as a (2) Action in 1.5 that I didn't really think ahead on how I was going to get the raw materials to multiply my spiders. And when I finally did start seeing scrap markers accumulate, I didn't have the cards to ensure I could build more than two a turn.

I need to do a better job of resource management in the future if I'm going to have any hope of going the summoning route with Ramos.

-DavicusPrime

I like using individual Spiders and a Swarm together. I took 2 Plus a swarm in my last couple games and they really work together well.

I waited until my opponent activated a high Df model, then I ran my individual spiders into B2B for latch on and then charged the Swarm in to chew it up. If the target survives, then Ramos zaps it with his friendly ignoring ranged attack, or Joss charges in and carves a scrap counter out of it.

And of course, once the spiders start getting chewed up, the scrap just lets you replace your losses, if not get a net increase in models (which is why I need to pick up more arachnid models).

The scheme marker destruction abilities of the Swarm were wonderful at thwarting my opponent's plots and will become a major part of my VP Denial stategies.

-DavicusPrime

Do any of you folks know of how I can learn to use Vassal? I've downloaded the software and the Malifaux module but have no idea how to use it.

-DavicusPrime

Whether or not you need to heal up your spiffy new spiders depends on your strategy, I guess. SteampunkCake's point is well put. If you're just planning on making a swarm, healing is irrelevant. And if you're intention is to have the little boogers just walk up and explode, you're not really all that worried about keeping them at full strength anyway.

But if you like them nice and healthy, the upgrade Dracomax mentions (IIRC: Bleeding edge technologies) is the way to go, as it doesn't burn AP, has a nice big range and allows all the spiders in range to heal 1 as they activate.

In my last few games I put it on Joss and had him follow my arachnids around. My strategy didn't require that I keep my arachnids alive, but it did force my opponent to kill them outright or watch the damage go away. A feeling I am well acquainted with as my opponent really likes the Viks, and if you can't finish them off in one go, they're coming at you, fully healed, by their next activation. Grrrr...

-DavicusPrime

Hi guys,

I've been developing an idea for a new terrain product, and while it is only a concept (which I won't be sharing), I was just wondering if it is worth pursuing further. So I'd like to know what people's attitude is towards terrain.

1) How much are you guys willing to spend on your board and the terrain on it?

I'm cheap so as little as possible. I build my own terrain, so putting a price tag on what I have is dodgy. But for about $100US worth of materials I can make enough terrain for maybe two 3 x 3 tables with two different themes.

2) What has more value, the quality (i.e. plastic/resin modelled terrain) or the quantity (card/wooden such as Terraclips)?

I have spent some cash on terraclips and I think they are great for what they do. But I mix in my own 3D terrain elements to flesh it out. So I like both, but cost, quality and utility all play into my mental calculation on what I'm willing to buy.

3) Do you consider it a big bonus for terrain to have a high level of modularity and/or storability?

YES! Flexibility is a huge issue for me. I don't have time or money to build fixed terrain boards. I like to be able to mix and match to build interesting battle fields and so that not every battle is over the same piece of territory.

4) Is your attitude to painting terrain or buying prepainted sets any different to your opinion regarding miniatures, and what is that opinion?

Same. I like continuity in my models and in my terrain. Pre-painted terrain means it's less likely that everything will look like it goes together, but it's not a deal breaker for terrain.

5) Does your experience with terrain have much effect on your hobby, e.g. "I chose to start/ignore game X based on the terrain I have access to"

Terrain is important to me on the table, but it won't keep me from getting into a game. What it does is push me into making/acquiring suitable terrain for the game. in fact I usually put more effort into getting the terrain built than i do at trying to get my models painted. For the most part I try to re-purpose my old terrain to every new game as well as make terrain that I can use with multiple games. For example... I play or have played Heavy Gear (12mm Sci-Fi), 40K and Malifaux. I've pretty much walked away from 40K so I have a bunch of scifi/gothic city ruins collecting dust, but all of my "wilderness" terrain has been re-purposed to the other two games I play. All the hills and rock formations I've made are compatible with Heavy Gear and Malifaux. All the 3" and smaller trees/shrubs have become tall foliage for Heavy Gear, while all the 3" and larger trees have gone right into use for Malifaux as the scales are close enough. For Malifaux, I bought some Terraclips sets to get into things right away. But now that I've spent some time getting to play the game, I've started building a table worth of Swamp Terrain.

Don't feel restricted to these questions.

Thanks for your thoughts.

-Panda

Usually, I'm short on funds so pre-made terrain has to have a lot of bang for the buck. I find it especially hard to justify buying terrain if I can come close or match the quality through my own efforts, only paying for materials. I'm much more likely to spend modest amounts of cash on detail items such as barrels/crates, light fixtures and other small decorative items that are annoying for me to mass produce.

Good luck on your unnamed business venture.

-DavicusPrime

You will notice I added some greenstuff because I didn't care much for some of the fan service.

I'm going to have to remember this phrase:"Fan Service". It amuses me and I would like to use it in conversation. There are more than a few mini's in the Malifaux range that seem a little too eager to show off the mammaries. Greenstuff would be my goto "modesty enhancement" as well. Good job making it blend into the model so seamlessly. A little paint and it'll be as if it had always been part of the sculpt.

-DavicusPrime

So I have finished one of the sections completely... The center section. Here it is in all it's glory...

The one thing I noticed is that the brown on the tree's bases is a little too light compared to the brown on it's new home... I think a quick wash will solve that little discrepancy. Otherwise I think it turned out pretty well for my first water feature... Hopefully I'll be able to present the rest of this project over the course of the next two weeks.

-DavicusPrime

Here's some Pics with some natural light and the trees in place. The idea of this project is to be able to make one large swamp piece, one small swamp piece by removing the center, or two swamp pieces extending off the sides of the map. This is an example of the off the side of the table.

And here are some closer pics of the detail bits I've added so far...

I painted a portion of the log under the water in hopes that with the water effect it'll look like it's just under the surface. The cattails are a 1 1/4" bit of wire, a little fine sand glued on and some green painted paper added for the leaves. Turned out to be pretty easy.

Next, more tall grass in places as well as additional cattails and then some flocking all around the edges.

You'll notice I haven't yet painted the shack up. I ran out of black. :-P

-DavicusPrime

Well... I got more time to paint tonight than expected so here's a few little poorly lit pictures. I've got some work to do to help the transitions on the green to better match each other, but there you go.

So the whole thing...

And a little better look at the details on the ends...

Hopefully I'll get a little more work done and can get some better pics tomorrow with some close ups of the cattails.

-DavicusPrime

So I haven't got any new pictures today but work has progressed... I have the middle section painted and the two ends base coated (need to hit the craft store for more paint). I've also been experimenting with scratch built detail bits to go with my woodland scenics tall grass to pretty things up.

Last night I successfully made some cattails to put on the shores. And I'll be whipping up a batch of Green Stuff Lilly Pads after I get enough cattails made.

However far I get this weekend, there will be new pictures posted by Sunday Night.

-DavicusPrime

Update Time! I shaped the masonite/hard board, added some sheet metal for the magnets I put under my trees to hold on to and sculpted a stump and half submerged log as well as added some supports for the bridges.

So here;s the whole thing, all three parts w/o the trees so you can see the ground level details.

I found these spiffy wooden barrels at Hobby Lobby for $2US. Perfect scale for these things.

And here is a little close up of the sculpted details I added. Once I add some sand, paint and water effect, these two things will integrate right into the board.

And here are a couple angles with all the trees in place. All the trees are interchangeable as are the three sections.

Next time there should be some sand and maybe a little paint on these things.

-DavicusPrime

Here's a little preview of the "Modular Swamp Project"...

More to come...

-DavicusPrime

The roof came out beautifully. I also made one of the walls a bit irregular as well but it's too subtle to see unless you're looking for it.

Great thing about using the wood/card to sheath the underlying structure is that I can make the shape I'm going for any way I can conceive of then hide it with the exterior detailing. I did most of this project on the fly. I drew up a preliminary sketch and decided on the general envelop I wanted the structure to fit inside, everything else just kinda happened. :-P

Next Step: Building a marsh base to mount the platform and outhouse on. But that'll have to wait for me to assemble and base my Lacroix for my upcoming weekend O'gaming coming up next week.

On the drawing board:

-Pig Pen and shed.

-Modular marsh sections with "islands" of solid ground connected by board walks/bridges. (I'm seriously contemplating building the base for the shack as part of this configurable swamp).

-Scrap Pile.

Something I made a while back for in my 40K years was some scratch built trees that I'm going to be re-purposing for Malifaux. Here's a couple examples...

Stay tuned!

-DavicusPrime

Okay. I finally got a chance to finish up the modeling portion of the shack and it's ready for some paint. Here's a couple pics of the roof before and after adding all the shingles.

-DavicusPrime

I think I like the skin a little lighter on the gremlins, but personal taste aside, you've done a fine job on both versions. As for eye catching, Lady Lacroix in Pink is the one I'd put on the table. Post up the whole Lacroix gang you've got painted up so we can see how they look together on the table.

-DavicusPrime

Alrighty... I've got a little more progress to show. The following pics are the beginnings of a Gremlin Shack. I'm still toying with leaving the shack separate from the platform to allow for more modularity, but the original idea is that the shack will be built to fit the platform.

You can see here what I was trying to do with the outhouse, I drew a wood grain and knots into the wood with a ballpoint pen pressing hard so as to leave depressions that will show up well with a little dry brushing. This time I got the results I was trying to get.

The left side is the bare wood with the wood grain drawn on, and the Right side is the same thing but with a couple layers of gray. That's exactly how I wanted it to work.

I am now in the midst of building up the shack. I started with a foam core shell to create the basic shape then adding an outer sheath of craft sticks using the same drawn on wood grain to detail this thing. The door is recessed into the foam core to give it a little more depth. After I get the wood on, I'll add a slightly dilapidated looking roof and awning.

The Platform is roughly a 5 1/2" square and the shack is roughly a 3" square. This allows me to easily place 30mm and probably 40mm based models on the platform on any side of the shack. I'm not worried about making the interiors playable as they're so small. But I want at least a portion of those platforms to be playable space.

After I get these built, I'll have to start building a swamp base to mount the platform on. Which means it's going to be time to teach myself how to use some water effects!

In the mean time... I've got to get this thing finished and get to assembling some models for my next scheduled battles coming up in a couple weeks. :-)

-DavicusPrime

Thanks for the comments. I need to add some rust effects to the hinges and the roof needs some more weathering but I'm liking the way it turned out.

...the wood looks very natural.

I spent some time on google looking at photos of weathered shacks and about three coats of paint more than planned to get the wood to look right. I thought starting with brown and building up the gray over that was the trick, but it turned out to be the opposite. Black undercoat, a build up of grays from dark to light then a wash of light brown. The green "moldy" look is just a little green wash strategically stippled on after the fact.

One thing that didn't work for me with the outhouse was the attempt at adding a wood grain and knot holes using a ballpoint pen. I didn't press hard enough to get a good indent with the pen so it didn't show up when I painted it up. I should have done some testing on a scrap bit of wood.

The second piece to this terrain set is going to be shack on an elevated wooden platform. I've completed the platform and my wood grain lines for that one have turned out much better from what I learned from this one.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some time to get the shack built and some paint on the shack before the weekend.

I look forward to seeing mire

I see what you did there. :-P

-DavicusPrime

---------- Post added at 11:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 AM ----------

Do any of y'all have suggestions for a reasonably priced "water effect" material?

The woodland scenics stuff is a little too spendy for me. I've thought about just using some colored white glue but it tends to warp my bases something fierce. Anybody had any luck with two part epoxies or varnishes?

Swamp terrain without the swampy bits just won't do.

-DavicusPrime

Howdy. I've just recently become the proud owner of a Lacroix crew so I'm going to build me some swamp themed terrain to go with it.

My first "test piece" is an outhouse... Obviously a priority structure for any swampland settlement.

Pre-paint:

With most of it painted:

More to come.

-DavicusPrime

Pretty much all of my fledgling Malifaux collection is on my work bench at the moment...

Ramos,

Brass Arachnid

Mobile Toolkit

Gunsmith

Electrical Creation

Steamborg

3x Arachnid Swarms/9x Arachnids

The only thing that wouldn't work rules wise is the two totems.

-DavicusPrime