Claymore65

Yeah, nothing against the rules, but your opponent may not appreciate it. I wouldn't appreciate counting cards that way. As for more general notes, that's perfectly fine. It can be very helpful to keep track of who has different conditions (like burning), or you can keep notes on enemy models after reading their cards. As another note, you can look at your opponent's model cards at any time. If you have any questions, feel free to look at the card. You CANNOT ask to look at their actual hand though. Taking notes might help though. For example, maybe you write down a reminder that you cannot charge Ronin, so you don't build your battle-plan based on it. You might also find it helpful to write down your opponent's general tactics last turn so you might be able to plan for it. Still, directly counting cards like that isn't against the rules, but I would ask your opponent if it's okay first. Not wrong, just common courtesy.

I think the reason they MIGHT be at least "seen" as overpowered is a number of factors. The Auto-suit is understandable, it's probably more the fact they have a Ca of 8 (most masters only get 7), and 8 Wds, which is way above most 5SS models. Combine that with pounce and some other tricks, and they are very good for their cost. I'm not saying they necessarily are overpowered, but I can understand the concern. They are tough, cheap, and their lure (frankly) is better than anyone else's in the game (even more expensive models). The Oiran do have 8 Ca as well, but they lack their survivability (only 6 Wds, no Hard to Wound) and auto-suits. The Beckoner costs 2 more SS, and while her Lure is also auto-suited, it is only Ca 6, and she isn't as survivable either (only 7 Wds, no Hard to Wound). I can see where someone can view them as a little too powerful for 5SS. IF they need a cuddle, I wouldn't say it should be losing a suit, I would instead say they lose Ca 8 and switch to 6 or even 7, which is much more the norm for a 5SS model. I'm not saying they are overpowered (I haven't played against them much), but if they are that's what I would change.

Yeah, I had the one from last edition, and it was very handy for checking rules quickly and easily. If you own the big one, it's no big deal, but for newer players who don't want the fluff (or simply want to pay less), it's a pretty good deal.

Both of those models are in Wave 2 of the transition to M2E. For now, the final cards are unavailable. Fortunately though, we are currently in the open beta for the second wave of M2E. If you go on the Beta subforum, you'll find a downloadable beta packet. That has the rules for the Excorcist and the Guild Guard Captain. Understand though, that these are subject to change. Every week (on Tuesday), they release a new beta packet, with balance changes based on both internal and public playtesting. For now, feel free to use those, though you may want to update your cards every once in a while. Once the wave 2 beta is complete, their cards will be released in a Wave 2 Arsenal deck. This will be the Wave 2 Guild Arsenal Deck in your case. Hope this helps. Note though, you cannot use the 1st edition ones. Cost balances and many other changes make 1st edition cards not compatible with M2E. The beta cards are definitely your best bet.

Nice.

For Mcmourning, those nurses look amazing. My buddy is interested in starting Ressers at some point (namely Mcmourning and Kirai), and the set is pretty perfect for him. He plays Guild, so it gives the whole study group, a canine remains , and a flesh construct. I think everything in there looks great. For my buddy, he loves Sonnia, and he's considering her set for Samael's new sculpt alone.

It sounds like the problem is moreso with Shen Long then most other models. If it is a problem with him, I would rather have him have a special rule such as One Can Only be So Focused:Shen long can only gain a maximum of :+fate:+fate to his attack and damage flips from the focused condition. I don't really think any other models can really get obscene amounts of focused conditions. Maybe some other members of his crew can, but I haven't looked at them in too hard detail yet.

Overall I prefer plastics. When a model is a single piece (as was the case with some of my metals) I love metal minis. But when I have to glue on arms or something, it generally doesn't go well for me. Plastic tends to be much easier (for me) to assemble.

It makes sense. Most Neverborn were previously human as well (I think), so I just assumed that to be true...

I'm okay with it. Quick FAQ is better than no FAQ or balance updates. You do make a valid point that we should strive to make it perfectly balanced out of the book itself. We should work hard in this beta to get as much as we can ironed out. I don't honestly think, especially with so many models, that we can make everything perfectly balanced so FAQs/Errata will still be required, but I hope we will still have this quick response time in the future.

Welcome. As far as next purchases go, it's a little bit up to you. The arsenal decks are great to have if you want to use the metal miniatures. All of them come with M1.5 cards, so if you played M1.5 they're extremely helpful. My advice would be to play a couple of games with your crews and see which one you like a lot. I don't know much about Seamus, but I know Rasputina likes Snow Storm (a very strong Henchmen model), the December Acolyte, Silent Ones, and maybe a Blessed of December. All of them are thematically appropriate, but that's not entirely necessary. Since you have the book, take your time and read through the units. See which models you like, then start buying. Also, check out the Wave 2 Beta Files. It has stats for some of those models I mentioned earlier, and a ton more. Anyway, welcome.

If you can, get the current M2E rule book. It is in high demand, but any model in there is complete. Before deciding a faction, take a look at the Malifaux main page faction entries. While most of the data there is from M1.5, the lore and general play style is unchanged , do you can still get a feel for the masters. Pick one you like the most, then look at the rest of their faction . Most likely , you'll like there other stuff. If not, you can still play what you want to play. This actually isn't a bad time, as every model is playable between the main rule book and the current beta. You could even test the waters using the beta if you want to. For lesser popular factions... Gremlins right now I guess ? Many of their models are not released yet and they are comic relief. I wouldn't pick on popularity though. Find a master you think is cool then play him/her.

It really depends on your opponent. If you know you need some blasts, Lazarus is pretty great. He can also copy attacks from any of your constructs, so that may come in handy. Hans is a fantastic sniper, and Levi benefits from him no less than any other master. With Pariah of Iron, you have access to some fantastic constructs. The Large Arachnid from the Arcanists will get you double the corpse/scrap counters, allowing you summon more. The Rail Golem is pretty tough, as is the Peacekeeper. The watcher is a fantastic objective grabber, being quick, cheap, and flying. If you prefer undead, there are a lot of other good choice. Bete Noire is a dangerous opponent that come back to life when killed. Canine remains are cheap attackers for you to use. There are a lot of other options as well. If you have no idea how to build Levi, his core crew (A&D, Alyce, Abominations, Desolation Engine) works great as well. I guess the "issue" is that there aren't too many "bad" ways to build Levi, instead there are a lot of great ones. Pick models you like and build a playstyle that suits you. With a large hiring pool, you have a lot of freedom.

Yes. If they are in the same faction, you can hire them.

For Anti-Viks, never group up your own guys too much. The Viks can kill most things in one activation. If you group up too much, that's just begging for a Whirlwind. Try to stay at range with the Viks. They are surprisingly vulnerable to Ranged/Casting actions. If Hans is giving you trouble, take advantage of terrain. He can't see you everywhere, and every time he has to move he get's reduced ranged and power. What other units is your opponent using? Rasputina is an excellent master. Your opponent must be very skilled to move that fast and powerfully.

The Ice Golem (still a construct) can wreck face in a Ramos crew. Hamelin/Leveticus can totally bring other Mercenaries like Hans. Anyone in the Guild enjoys a good some of the Ortegas. For Guild again, McMourning and the Judge (despite the irony) are a great team. There are a lot of examples, and making up your own ones is part of the fun as well.

I remember hearing somewhere that eventually they will update the current plastic box sets / plastic units (10 thunders stuff etc) with M2E cards. I don't think they are getting new sculpts though. Most are pretty fantastic, so I'm personally fine with that.

Jakob Lynch is a great suggestion. If your looking for very tricky crews, you may also enjoy Tara. Her Nothing Beast is straight out of Lovecraft's nightmares. Her rules are in Wyrd Chronicles #7 (I think). That's a free magazine you can find here: http://www.wyrd-games.net/content.php?235-Wyrd-Chronicles. Her models have been sort of released already, but it's not in general release mode yet (it was a special Gen-Con release). Still pretty cool though.

Thanks for the link. The masters sound very interesting.

I'm really looking forward to Ashes and Dust. He's one of Levi's coolest (and most powerful) units. I also want to see the Avatar of Von Schill. I play him a lot, and I'd love to see what they do with him. My buddy plays Hoffman, and he's very interested in his changes. He absolutely loves the new Sonnia, so I have a good feeling about Hoffman as well.

Well, the beta does start tomorrow, so you could still use the Von Schill box set if you wanted to. The Librarian and Trapper will have rules throughout the beta. The set was fantastic in 1.5, and with the M2E rules we have the crew is still great. I would suggest it if you're interested (that and they look really cool). The Ramos set is still probably worth it, but I hear it's hard to assemble. I know the Freikorps set was a joke for assembly (I think most of them only had to be glued to a base).

While I can't help you with the tournament rules, I can help you with the questions on Nekima / other M1.5 units. The edition change has two waves of models. Each wave has a large beta testing period, where the community plays games and tests out the new versions of the models. On October 7th (Monday), the next Beta Wave starts. That means every model without an M2E card will gain one. Throughout the beta, they will change based on balancing and community input. After the second wave is done, another arsenal deck for Wave 2 will be released for each faction. In short, your models without M2e stat cards will come.

I heard of the game from some source, and I started looking at the crews online. The Freikorps set looked pretty fantastic to me. They look like such an organized, cohesive fighting unit. The fact that they were great to play right out of the box was just gravy. Next, I got Levi, and needless to say Outcasts became my main faction.

I would pay good money for a trickery based Misaki Kitsune avatar...that was a great suggestion.

This is going off of the last beta, but basically a M2E beta forum will appear. In it, there will be links to PDFs of all of the cards/extra rules etc. Every week, a new version of this playtest packet is released. A tracker will tell you exactly what changes are made. For example, if the Dreamer's daydreams changed from 4SS each to 5SS each, it would be mentioned in the tracker. You simply play games as normal. Any new units won't have the models released until at least post-beta. This is to ensure their cards are finalized. Posting on the forum can have a profound influence on the models' rules. Your personal store might do different things with the beta (Print-outs etc.) but otherwise it's up to you. Expect a decent amount of proxying, but it can be very fun.