moxypoo

This point can't be stressed enough! Since Malifaux is such a skill based game and the balance is very good, knowing how to use your models well is the most important consideration. I find that I use Levy's themed crew more often than not, because I'm so comfortable with those models. However, the Pariah upgrades give him such a huge hiring pool that you can find some really interesting combos. I'll echo Hateful Darkblack here: in casual games, try out lots of different thing to see what you like best! But when playing to win, you should focus on the models you're best with. I think that it's better to run models that are a little suboptimal for your strategy/schemes provided you know them really well.

In terms of complexity, Tara fits this the best out of all the masters I've played with or against (and I've seen almost all of them). Her playstyle is so counter-intuitive, because you're making the opponent's models better and trying to get rid of the cards in your hand. However, once you get things running and start controlling the board, it can be extremely difficult for your opponent to actually do anything significant. Since it seems like you're into the Ten Thunders a little, might I suggest trying out McCabe? I played him recently and was surprised at how many tactical options he has during any given turn. On paper he doesn't seem that complex, but once you begin the game, you'll realize how many cool things he can do.

To add on to what Kadeton and SpectreEliteGaming discussed, Leveticus is incredibly mobile. I've always been surprised at how infrequently this point comes up. With his (0), you can sacrifice any friendly undead model within 10" and be placed into base to base contact before that model is removed. Do this with Ashes and Dust, and Leveticus teleports ~12" (10" for the (0) action and ~2" for A&D's base). The downside here is that you can't use Sanguine Evocations to Bury, but if you absolutely have to die, then you can always have your own models kill Levy. The other major part of his mobility is from dying and popping up near a Waif at the end of the turn. I like to have one Waif in the center of the board and one on each flank after sacrificing Levy to Sanguine Evocations. That way I have the option of popping up almost anywhere on the board at the end of the turn. Because of these mobility tricks and the 12 attack, I rarely take walk actions with Levy. Also, my regular opponents have figured out that nowhere is safe to hide!

I have to agree with the overall sentiment in this thread that you shouldn't make a "take-all-comers" list. This really doesn't work well in Malifaux because of the variety of crew archetypes and objectives you'll encounter. That said, Spiraling Cadaver makes a good point. Having a core "skeleton" of a crew (say half of your total points) can be a good idea, because it'll allow you to tailor your list to the strategy/schemes with the remaining points. Your list would probably be good for a strategy like Reckoning (and possibly Turf War), but it will have a tough time with any schemes that require you to move around the board. I think that it's especially important to avoid set lists with Levy sine he has such an enormous hiring pool. He can tailor to the objectives at hand better than most masters in the game.

Thanks for all the replies! I'm glad to see that my initial interpretation was correct. Maybe this goes to show that you should always go with your gut.

I very rarely take Line in the Sand. I thought that I knew how it works, but after rereading the scheme for a game last night, I'm second guessing myself. Here's my dilemma: If unrevealed, LiTS says that you receive 2 VP at the end of the game if you have 4 scheme markers on the centerline (I'm paraphrasing since I don't have my book on me). If revealed, the scheme states that you get an "additional" VP if you have two scheme markers on the centerline at the end of the game. Initially, I read this scheme as: get 2 VP for 4 scheme markers if unrevealed. If revealed, get 1 VP for 2 scheme markers or 3 VP for 4 scheme markers. This can also be interpreted as revealing the scheme rewards you with an additional VP if you have 4 scheme markers, but not if you only have 2 markers because of the "additional" clause. If the latter is the case, why is the "2 scheme marker" phrase there at all? I'm probably just over thinking this, but I'd appreciate any opinions/clarifications.

This is essentially how my group plays premeasuring. For example, if I want my master who has a Wk of 5 to take 3 walks, then I'll pull out 15" on my tape measure, and proceed to bend the tape as much as necessary to plan a path for where I want the model to end up. We tend to do the same thing for determining whether models will be in range of each other for attacking, , or after moving; for a model with a Wk5 and a range 5 , just measure a 15" path, and that's the furthest point from the model's current position that can be affected by the aura this turn (assuming 2 AP). This method ensures that you don't mess up your measuring by misplacing measurement markers on the board and eliminates the possibility of moving a model from its position until it actually spends AP. With Vassal this isn't really possible, so things get a little fuzzy (of course, I may just not be bright enough to use Vassal correctly!) We also tend to have our next activation planned out before our opponent finishes their turn, so that cuts down on a lot of the need to plan each AP independently of each other.

Sign me up again! Had a blast with the last one.

Congratulations to the winners! I'm looking forward to the next contest, and more awesome stories.

Put more thought into this. To continue with my terminology from my previous post, here's why I don't think the Sybelle/Killjoy thing works: The other models being discussed, such as Leveticus, Bete Noir, and Collette, and have a trigger or ability that changes them from the "killed" state to the "killed, but something happens first" state. These triggers/abilities resolve and remove the "killed" state. The game checks again and can't find any models to kill. With the Sybelle/Killjoy example, the game sees Killjoy in the "killed" state, but he/it has no trigger or ability that changes him/it to the "killed, but something happens first" state, so the game immediately (the rulebook uses this word) removes him/it from the game before any other actions/abilities/etc. have the chance to resolve.

@OP: This is a situation where the rules could be written in a tighter form a legalese, but I think it's very clear how these situations are meant to work as Godlyness points out. Situations with triggers and abilities that override death seem to be an exception to the game state of "killed." So think of it like this: your model was reduced to 0 Wds and its game state immediately becomes 'killed' due to this statement from the rulebook: Rulebook: If the model is reduced to 0 or fewer Wounds it is immediately removed from the game as killed. However, the model has a trigger or ability that alters the killed state to "killed, but something happens first." You perform the "something," and the game checks whether the model is still in the "killed" state (i.e. reduced to 0 or fewer Wds). If if the model is in the :killed" state, then you drop corpse/scrap markers, remove the model, etc. If is model is not in the "killed" state anymore, then the "killed" state is removed and the model lives (for now...mwuahahah!). Before typing up that explanation, I was sure the Sybelle/Killjoy example would not work how Godlyness explained it, but now I'm not so sure. My gut says that it feels wrong, but I can't come up with a good rules argument against it. I'll have to ponder that for awhile and reread the arguments in this thread...

Here are my 5 in no particular order: 1. Void Wretch - Great objective runners and solid tarpits, great survivability in crews that use control cards quickly. Lots of utility with the potential to bury and heal models and hand out Fast or Slow to enemy models. For 4 SS, what's not to like? 2. Ashes and Dust - Probably the most versatile model in the game. Can produce lots of activations? Check. Puts out high damage? Check. Can summon? Check. Hard to kill permanently? Check. 3AP per activation? Check. The Ashen Core and Dust Storm are also great models. Well worth the high SS cost. 3. Rusty Alyce - Excellent henchman (henchwoman?). Great damage output with her gun, and a solid damage track in melee. Being able to reactivate constructs (albeit at a steep cost), can be game changing. Really shines with her upgrades (From the Aether and Desolate Soul) which allow her to summon Abominations. 4. Lazarus - Incredibly hard to kill with very high damage output (also - Rapid Fire +). Can set up some nice combos with Assimilate as well. 5. Ronin - My favorite minion for general purposes. Good offensively with a good damage track (ignoring armor) with a built in push and Flurry. Good defensively with an inability to be charged and hard to kill. Plus you can get SS from them by committing Seppuku!

Finally got a chance to read all the stories, and I'd like to thank everyone who participated! Got a lot of enjoyment out of reading everything.

I don't know whether "sexy" or "vomit inducing" are better descriptors for Levy's Abominations, but I must own them! Love the new Leveticus sculpt too. Hoffman's crew looks great, and I think the Crooked Men are a definite improvement over the old ones (they don't appear to be that crooked though).

Long post incoming! Malifaux is hands down the best balanced wargame that I’ve played, and I’ve at least dabbled in X-Wing, Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy, tried out Warmahordes, and played some Dungeon Crawlers such as Descent 1st and 2nd ed. I attribute this level of balance to the excellent playtesting (including the open beta) that Wyrd did. Before Malifaux, I was an avid 40k player. That game has the most horrific balance I’ve ever encountered in a wargame, so coming to Malifaux was like a breath of fresh air. Outside of a few corner cases (Hamelin and the Dreamer in M1.5E), I could pretty much pick any models I liked and have a reasonable chance of having a balanced game. M2E only improved upon the balance, and it’s gotten to the point that I think I could pick a legal crew of random models and still have a chance at victory if I outplayed my opponent. Your in-game decisions are more important than your list – this is the most important feature of a balanced game in my opinion. I think that the Strategy and Scheme system is where the true balance lies. The most common complaint I’ve encountered is from people who just try to kill opposing models and ignore VP while opponent focuses on VP. However, playing to your victory conditions largely mitigates bad matchups. Naturally, there will be some bad matchups, but I’ve learned that no matchup in this game is unwinnable. It all comes down to outplaying your opponent, which is exactly where you want a wargame to be. My last point is this: Nothing is overpowered when everything is. I’ve been on both the giving and receiving end of some truly crazy combos in this game (Tara dropping Bete Noir, Killjoy, and the Nothing Beast in the enemy deployment zone Turn 1, Hoffman shooting a super-buffed up Rail Golem into my crew first turn, Ramos summoning 60 SS worth of spiders over a game, Victoria killing 40 SS of the enemy crew, Som'er summoning hordes of gremlins and discarding my hand, etc.). The point is that every master has extremely powerful combos, so you’re often surprised when you first see them. However, this makes one a better player by learning to adapt and overcome.

I have to agree with all the other posters in this thread - power creep in M2E is pretty much non-existent. So far, it seems that most (all?) of the models or upgrades that are slightly above the curve are from Wave 1, suggesting that Wave 2 is equal or lesser in power level. My thoughts are that some things slipped through in Wave 1 due to the rules being new for everyone, and the fact that there weren't any existing M2E models in which to compare wave 1. For Wave 2, we had the benefit of hindsight, so there were fewer models that "slipped through the cracks." In my opinion, Wyrd has done an excellent job repairing things that are slightly overpowered or underpowered (ex. Nexus of Power, Perdita with Diestro, upgrades for Samurai, etc.).

Hamelin can also take the Sewer King upgrade, allowing him to hire Baby Kade who has Lure.

I've always pictured it like the guy furthest to the right (except it's Levy popping out of a Waif). Reminds me of something from the movie "The Thing". In levy's story in Crossroads, the author specifically mentions how everyone stops to stare at the transformation of the guy into an Abomination, so you can imagine how disturbing it is. I like to think Levy's "rebirth" is similar.

My story is up: Discoveries I'm always trying to improve my writing, so I'd love for some comments and criticisms. Enjoy!

Discoveries By: Moxypoo Ingredients: The Price of Progress, Industrial Zone 1743 words Part 1: Results An older, silver haired man in a pristine white laboratory coat snapped his fingers, and a small, spider-like construct immediately leapt off a storage rack and raced across the floor to the man’s desk. The laboratory encompassed the whole of three rooms in the basement of an old, rundown Industrial Zone warehouse. The walls and floor were old granite, worn smooth by many years of scuffling boots and heavy machinery. A few Soulstone-powered lamps kept the worst of the darkness at bay, though the lighting in the laboratory was dim. Occasional fluctuations in power from the Soulstones caused the lamps to flicker and shadows to dance on the walls. In the main room, a solid wooden staircase led to a securely barred trapdoor in the ceiling, and a long L-shaped desk contained all manner of scientific paraphernalia. The scientist sat at this table while writing in his notebook. Sensing the construct approaching, the scientist said, “Good. We’ll pick up where we left off. Begin recording now.” After nimbly scaling the desk, the construct opened its optical iris and began scanning the notebook. October 28th 113PF Research into the soul’s powering of Soulstones con’t. It is well known that Soulstones obtain power from captured human souls. This is generally achieved as the soul leaves the body after death. In a simplistic sense, one can think of these gemstones as a rechargeable energy storage device. Is the soul the energy source, or is it a catalyst to produce energy from the stone? Continue with plan to analyze soul before its passing to the aether. March 15th 114PF Experiment to detect the soul’s passage. Success! The transanima device was able to detect Subject 3’s soul as it left the body. Soul had a lifespan of approximately 500 milliseconds in this realm. Possible to capture soul outside soulstone? Need to determine soul’s energy content. June 6th 114PF Measurement of the soul’s energy content After repeated failure to capture a soul outside a Soulstone, an apparatus was created to detect any energy spike emanating from a Soulstone upon capture of a soul (Sacrificed Subjects 4 through 8 to make these measurements). Results: E = mc2 E = 300,000,0002 = 9x1016 Joules (Soul has no detectable mass – breaks known laws of physics by being able to spontaneously create energy with no mass – or are the laws just inadequate?). How is the Soulstone not destroyed by this incredible influx of energy? Could the Soulstone prevent the soul from passing to the aether and slowly siphon off its energy? ***If the latter is true, it should be possible to slowly siphon the soul from a living human!! August 14th 114PF Soul Absorption Serum High lode Soulstones can be powdered, suspended in a dimethylformamide medium, and injected into a test subject’s bloodstream with a fatality rate of only 20 percent. ***Limited success of soul absorption serum – seemed to have no effect in surviving subjects. Need to find a catalyst that triggers the start of soul absorption. September 21st 114PF Soul Absorption Serum, con’t. A unique influx of energy last evening caused a fascinating result. The Red Star fell from the sky, and the energy wave released appeared to be the necessary catalyst. The entire stock of Serum began to glow with a bright, white light. Subsequent injection seemed to cause extreme pain, with a similar proportion of subject death. Upon certain stimuli (notably injury), serum can be triggered in the bloodstream. Appears to cause varying effects, such as hallucinations, paranoia, and increased physical capabilities. Preparing to inject Subject 15. He is more refined than the others – should produce more satisfactory results. Part 2: Awakening I suddenly became aware. It wasn’t that I awoke from sleep or unconsciousness; it was like coming into being from a state of nothingness. I had no memories before that moment. My eyes opened reluctantly, and even though the light was dim, it stung mercilessly. I squeezed my eyes shut quickly, and tears slid down my cheeks. I could feel my body for the first time. My limbs and head were strapped to some sort of upright table, preventing me from moving much. I was cold. Reluctantly, I cracked my eyelids and forced my eyes to adjust to the light. I was in a large room with walls and floors of stone. Directly across from me was a doorway leading into another room; I could see sterile light and a human shaped shadow against the wall. There was some strange, almost antiseptic smell suffusing my surroundings, and I could see dark brown stains leading to a drain in the center of the floor. I tried to swallow and my parched throat hurt, causing me to moan loudly. As if that were a signal, a small mass detached itself from a shadowy corner and skittered into the adjacent room. The human shaped shadow abruptly moved, and some piece of furniture scraped against the stone floor. A small, grey haired man in a white coat marched through the door directly at me, and I panicked, thrashing at my bonds. “Now, now, we can’t have you thrashing about and damaging yourself,” the man said. He whistled and a construct I hadn’t noticed leaped onto my chest and stabbed a syringe into my neck. A sense of calm and relaxation rapidly spread from that spot; I found myself unable to move but fully aware. “Is that better?” the man asked me. He seemed satisfied. “I will return shortly, and hopefully you’ll hold up better than the rest of the test subjects.” While I felt that should worry me, I was too deep into narcotic bliss to care. Moments later, the white-coated man returned from the adjacent room carrying a large syringe full of some viscous liquid that glowed with white hot fire. It glowed so brightly that the objects in the room cast stark shadows. I squeezed my eyes tightly to ward off the light, but I could see the man preparing to inject that noxious concoction into my arm right through my eyelids. Searing, burning pain lanced from the injection! It felt as if the lunatic in the white coat had injected molten metal directly into my veins. I screamed until I lost consciousness. When I awoke this time, I had memories. They weren’t pleasant, but at least the pain had died down to a dull ache. Taking stock of my surroundings, I realized that I was laying on a floor in a heap rather than strapped to that abominable table, and my stomach ached terribly. There were pungent lumps of cheese and bread resting on a board; I devoured the food and drank a small cup of musty water. I tried to stand and immediately collapsed – my legs were numb. Eventually, I managed to crawl through the rooms, up a short staircase, and through a heavy trap door in the ceiling. I found myself in a large, dusty warehouse that had clearly been abandoned for a long time. As I crawled to the door, feeling slowly came to my legs, and I was able to stand and shuffle slowly. I made the street and wandered aimlessly for some time. “You there! Hey you!” Two men in long grey overcoats started yelling at me. I tried to respond, but my throat was too clumsy to form the words. As the men walked closer to me, a massive humanoid construct carrying a broadsword and kite shield stepped around the corner of a building. I cowered in terror against a sooty brick wall as its gaze fixated on me. The men stopped near me and began conversing. “Wasted on ‘shine probably. Don’t even know where he is. Should we throw him in lockup?” “Naw. Pissant like this will just be back on the streets tomorrow. Probably get ate by some Neverborn monster. Kinder ter just put a bullet in ‘im and be done with it.” “Yessir, Sarge.” The larger man pulled a large pistol from his coat and shot me in the chest. It hurt, obviously, but was nothing compared to the raging inferno of pain that consumed me as the serum returned. My muscles convulsed and white light shown from my eyes and mouth as I writhed and screamed on the ground. The blood flowing freely from my chest slowed to a trickle and then stopped completely as the gaping hole slowly knitted itself over. New, incredible strength came to my limbs, and I stood as the pain subsided. For the first time, I smiled and clenched my fists. Part 3: Stimulus “Ah, so you’re back already? Did we observe anything interesting?” A small, many-legged construct deftly climbed up the scientist’s desk, small puffs of smoke venting from its miniature boiler as it climbed. An iris on the front of the construct opened, and a fuzzy image of Subject 15 projected onto the stone wall of the laboratory. The scientist watched with intense interest as 15 wandered drunkenly down Garnet Avenue. His eyebrows raised when 15 was shot by the Guild patrol, and a small smirk twisted his lips as he watched the Serum in 15’s blood activate. He watched as 15 stood, skin glowing faintly in the semi-dark of the Industrial Zone’s dusk. The Guild Guards backed away slowly, pistols trained on 15, while the Guardian stepped forward and interposed its shield between itself and the new threat. The Guardian lunged toward 15. He met it head on and smashed it to the ground. The Guardian struggled feebly to right itself as 15 repeatedly smashed his fists into its head. The steel crumpled, sparks flew, and the construct ceased its struggles as its cortex was crushed. 15 leaped twelve feet through the air, tackled the man who shot him just seconds ago, and pummeled him to death while screaming incoherently. The sergeant bolted, and the projection ceased. The scientist leaned back in his chair, pursed his lips and paused for a moment, then patted the construct as if it were a dog. “It seems that the field test was successful. Shame that we do not have more control over his actions, but I suppose that’s the price of progress.”

Count me in! Definitely need some writing practice, and this gives me some incentive.

You sneaky devil...I had the Black Joker in my hand from Turn 2 or 3 onwards too haha. That's why they never came up during the game. Von Shill had Engage at Will and I Pay Better for upgrades. I'll give our readers some notes from my perspective. This was the first time I've ever played Von Schill, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing the Freikorps. Von Schill basically just jumped around stabbing constructs to death the entire game, while the Steam Trunk kept all my models topped up on health. Lazarus is nuts when he can take 2 (0) healing actions per turn, not to mention having the Librarian healing him if necessary. With Make Them Suffer in the pool, I knew I was taking a gamble by only taking one minion/peon (Steam Trunk). However, that model was really key to my plan, so if it died early in the game, I figured I was done for anyway. I guessed correctly that CougDyver was bringing the Rail Golem (he's been telling me about this cool Rail Golem-Hoffman combo for awhile now so it wasn't a tough guess!), so I figured the Steam Trunk's Fire Extinguisher action would be extremely useful. The Rail Golem missile is terrifying. The only reason I was able to weather it as well as I did was that fate was on my side this game, and I flipped much better than CougDyver during the key interactions on the first turn. The Steam Trunk flipped like a champ on its Df flips while the Golem didn't flip well. Also, me using a SS to win initiative on turn 2 (I had something like a 1 in 6 chance to beat an 11) was key. Otherwise, the Rail Golem would have had another entire activation to cause mayhem. I just want to reiterate how lucky I was on the first turn, because it swung the entire game. With average flips on that number of AP, we figured that the Golem would have been able to kill the Steam Trunk and the Librarian, eliminating all my healing. Von Schill was able to take out the Rail Golem in one activation (through Defensive +2 and Df6 on the Golem) due to lucky flips and the fact that his Jack Knife attack ignores Armor. @CougDyver: What do you think about running the same/a similar Hoffman crew, but holding the Rail Golem back until maybe Turn 2 or 3 when the crews are closer together? Almost use it like a counter-charging model.

Out of all the goodies I ordered from Gencon, I was most excited about Crossroads for the artwork and the background material. I read the book cover to cover in one sitting, since I couldn’t put it down! Some of my favorite stories were: Hoffman – You read so many stories where the Guild are portrayed as bad guys, but here, there’s a Guild official who’s clearly doing some good by stopping something pretty terrible. Hoffman seems like a genuinely good person compared to many of the selfish, uncaring people in Malifaux. Ironsides – I really liked that Toni is portrayed as a tough, intelligent brawler instead of a meathead running around picking fights. She clearly understands what she’s doing rather than just running headlong into danger. The Oxfordian mages were really cool too! Leveticus – Obviously, I’m a little biased, but the characterization in this one is excellent. We find out more about what Levy actually does, the relationship between Rusty and Levy, and get some visuals about what he can actually do with magic. I also like the connection with Hoffman’s story in that there are small groups in Malifaux (besides Levy) practicing amalgamation. Plus, we finally know how to abbreviate his name! Jack Daw – I loved how Jack was portrayed as dancing and reveling in the betrayal in the town. He seems like an agent of chaos rather than having any sort of specific plan or motivations. Lucas McCabe – I liked this one for two major reasons: First, you get a glimpse of Earthside London, which reminded me a little of V for Vendetta. Second, McCabe is almost a pitiable character in my eyes since he’s clearly made some bad choices that really hurt him. Now, he ran to Malifaux to escape those consequences, but one has to wonder whether he can outrun them? Lucius – Insight into the Neverborn is always really nice, and I think this story both explicitly tells us some valuable information and drops several subtle hints to the nature of the Neverborn. It also insinuates that Malifaux is in DEEP if Lucius is increasingly the one running things. The only Master I wasn’t too keen on as a character was Shenlong, because he seemed much more arrogant than I imagined him. I was picturing him as some calm, zen master, but I can see how having a demigod living in your head would make you a little cocky.

Edit: Wrong thread!

Godlyness and Hateful Darkblack are both correct - the best way to show that this combo is/is not overpowered is to post battle reports with a detailed explanation as to why the players felt the way they did. I haven't played with or against this combo yet, but as a general rule, I try to give combos the benefit of the doubt and assume they aren't overpowered until there's a very large amount of evidence to the contrary. I'm not calling anyone in this thread out , but people in general tend to have emotional attachments to their favorite characters, so a knee jerk reaction to something crushing your favorite models tends to be "OP!" Given the outcry against Guild Austringers and Rotten Belles (and the lack of errata), my impression is that Wyrd doesn't errata models lightly. To the people suggesting this combo is overpowered, post battle reports and present logical conclusions as to why this combo is too powerful. That said, my gut reaction from reading the relevant cards is that there are many other similarly powerful combos in the game. For example, my friend CougDyver has some new Rail Golem - Hoffman combo that puts the Golem in the enemy deployment zone with elevated stats attacking models on turn 1. I played a recent game with Tara where I dropped a Fast Killjoy and a Fast Desolation Engine into the middle of Perdita's crew on turn 1. I think it's a slippery slope to start errata'ing powerful combos unless they completely warp the meta.