Jordon

I think the death marshals are a great include if you are trying to focus on the bury aspect of Tara. Hannah also has some nice crew synergy as well as a good upgrade that obviously benefits Tara. If your looking for another hard hitter then Killjoy or Bishop are wonderful includes as well. here is a great resource for new Tara players. http://spiralingcadaver.blogspot.ca/2014/04/sounds-of-silence-tara-and-obliteration.html

Another good idea could be the inclusion of seize the day as getting the initiative from Brewmaster is a really big deal. It's still not a guarantee, but it does help your odds tremendously.

I'd like to welcome anyone in the Edmonton region to our weekly Wednesday night Malifaux. We welcome all players of all experience and can provide demo's for new players. We have lots of table space and terrain and usually have 4-6 people on an average night. The staff is friendly and the players are great. Come down and join Edmonton's biggest Malifaux community! All Star Cards and Collectables Boonie Doon Shopping Centre 82nd Avenue & 83rd Street 6:00pm - 9:00pm (780) 465-3771

Also don't forget Jack just got a whole lot more models via the crossroad seven. Now not many of them are strait up heavy hitters but I look at someone like Envy as being able to fill the role of high damage output.

I think 2 mages are a good include. While the mages tend to fold in combat, don't forget the blood ward as he can use his (0) and then furious cast giving him effectively 4 attacks while engaged. Combine that with wind blast to disengage the enemy model allowing the other mages to do their business. Sometimes activation orders won't always be in your favour but it's something to keep in mind.

Cassandra is probably one of the best well rounded henchmen we have. She'd be my pick

I disagree. There have been games where Mei would mostly vent steam and it has won me games and I'd probably consider it her strongest ability. She's probably a lot more fun when she's wading into combat, but sometimes letting off a little steam is the best way to achieve victory. As for 10T Mei, I feel like misdirection is kind of a big deal, especially on Mei.

Mei is awesome and an absolute blast to play. She offers a lot of versatility compared to a lot of other brawlers and can comfortably take on a variety of challenges. Her typical list can be rather slow, but they're generally tough enough to survive to see combat. If not than Mei herself can stack her vent steam actions to completely shut down ranged attacks, while still keeping up via rail walking. Arcanists give Mei some great options and can really allow her to maximize burning and constructs, both of which she is a big fan of. Another exciting thing about jumping on Mei right now is that wave 3 has really breathed some new life into a lot of Mei lists. The emissary, mechanical pork chop and Sparks are really going to add another level of versatility on top of an already great master.

Maybe thats my problem then. I usually looked at him at 10ss because at 12ss, he's then competing with langston and mech rider and I have a hard time with that. Perhaps that extra AP makes a bigger difference than I thought. It does appear that most people just see him for his hammer and airburst. I get that airburst is totally utility but no one talks about the rest of his abilities. Does anyone get any use from wind wall or eye of the storm? I imagine eye of the storm could be useful but because it's not a Ca action, it's probably difficult to pull off, especially since he's usually playing in the backfield.

I'm curious to peoples experiences using the captain. I originally thought of him as the quintessential generic henchmen for our faction. He can hit hard, support and offers decent board control. However I've found myself running him less and less lately. I don't think it's because I think he's bad, but I think there are a few issues in my mind when considering him in my list. My big issue is that he's pretty expensive compared to myranda, cassandra and the firestarter. This is where I find my toughest challenge when trying to hire him. Generally I won't hire Myranda outside of Marcus but cassandra and the firestarter are rock solid for their cost. I'd probably give the edge to Cassandra as the best henchmen for her cost, however I do prefer to run the firestarter in kaeris and ironsides. I also find myself including Johan more and more into my lists and I feel like that is also influencing my hiring choice for the captain. I know they're fill different roles, but I just see Johan doing way more for his cost. So i'm wondering how and where people are running the captain. Do you take his Ca expert upgrade?

I'm looking for two of the 50mm hanging tree models to proxy for hanged. I'd prefer to buy them without the bigger tree but would be willing to buy all three if necessary. Thanks!

It's just that I hardly find it worth being "potentially" useful when we have access to imbued energies which is guaranteed to be useful. Unless I know for certain that my opponent is bringing lure models, I don't see why I'd take this over imbued energies on my henchmen without the mage bonuses.

It seems like the arcanists have quite a few cases of counter spell floating around. Raspy has it built in and Ramos, Ironsides and all of our henchmen can get it via upgrades. It's one of those abilities that seems very situational so I figured I'd ask other people their experience. Raspy get's it for free so I don't really count her. Same with Ramos, as I feel like you get his upgrade for his overdrive and counter spell is just a bonus. My real dilemma is what situation would you take it as an upgrade? I just feel like its rarely relevant, and there are a lot of spells that just don't seem affected from the loss of a built-in suit. The best use I've gotten out of it is the lure immunity, but other then that I can't really recall it affecting much. Maybe it's just that I haven't seen where it can very effective yet, but that's why I want to hear other peoples experiences. On a side note, I do still think the upgrade is quite valid with the bonuses of the oxfordian mage upgrades.

http://spiralingcadaver.blogspot.ca/2014/04/sounds-of-silence-tara-and-obliteration.html -This is the best spot to learn the inside and out of Tara. I'm relatively new to playing Tara (probably 6-7 games) and she can be quite challenging to a new (and even an experienced) player. However her mechanic is extremely unique and she can be very rewarding once you start to "get" her. Also another benefit is that she is dual faction resurrectionists and can share models with Levi if you decide to go pariah of bone.

A wise man once said. "With great power comes great responsibility" The acolytes are probably pound for pound the best shooters in the game. I think spamming slow can eating an opponents hand can be extremely effective, but its also a list that can be a real negative experience for your opponent. On the tactical side of the list, it does seem very one dimensional and I feel like it will either crush of be crushed. Generally in my experience, malifaux is a game where you need to be prepared for any situation and I'm not sure this list does more than it's obvious intention. It seems very dependant on schemes, terrain and the opponents crew selection. I do agree that Colette does better with this type of crew than Raspy. Just as long as you don't mind having no friends afterwords....

While condition removal is not something pivotal to a "typical" ironsides crew, its never someone you can have too much of. However I usually just rely on Johan and the blood ward to cover most of my condition removal needs. Burning is pretty sweet though. Especially on a model that can generate extra AP as reliably as ironsides.

Thats a pretty nasty combo considering there is basically no resist once Gluttony's condition is on you. You could even do it twice in one turn before the condition wears off. Or toss on some hazardous terrain damage if Jaakuna drops the marker close enough to the shafted aura. This would require quite a bit to setup mind you, but could be a very effective combo if successful.

Just looking at some of the synergies with the crossroad seven (looking at the beta files). I'm curious about gluttony's "a rhythm to those who hunger" ability which basically gives an enemy model a condition that automatically pushes them in base contact with scheme markers which are placed within 6" of them. They suffer 2 damage and the marker is discarded. My question is how would this stack with the crooked men's "shafted" ability? My assumption is they would take the shafted damage then suffer 2 additional damage before removing the scheme marker. That could be pretty mean if it works that way...

I have to disagree with this. While I will not argue that acolytes are probably the best shooters in the game for their cost, the synergies between the gunsmiths and a kaeris crew can be amazing. First, their multitude of triggers really come in handy. Specifically the armour ignoring one as it tends to be something my kaeris crews lacks. I also find the mask and ram triggers nice, but tend to benefit more from being focused. Also since Kaeris loves attacking her own models to put burning on them, it gives you opportunities to cheat in a low ram to give the smiths fast which is amazing and can even be accomplished via simple duels (flare). I also love their (0) to gain against burning models and it is tailor made for Kaeris. It's no trouble to get burning where its needed with Kaeris and then all you need is LOS and the smiths tend to do the rest. Getting a against models in cover is awesome and at the very least I find they chew through the opponents hand. Lastly they work wonderfully with purifying flame. Healing combined with any H2K model is always a strong combo and Kaeris can do it in spades. They can be a real nuisance to put down and also retain their effectiveness in melee whereas the acolytes don't. Either model is a great include, but I wouldn't write off the gunsmiths until you've tried them out first hand.

1) Field Generator is pure money. Ramos is really tough and can generally sit pretty comfortably just behind the front line and I've gotten so much use from field generator. It also tends to work pair nicely with the under pressure, BET and PBF upgrades as they all have a similar area of effect. 2) I don't think you'll get many people to dissuade you from taking the mech rider... However hiring metal gamin can get you an early start on your schemes, where as the summoned one's take a bit longer to get scheming. Both are great options, you can probably just choose based on your personal preference. 3) Acolytes are bonkers good and you'll be hard pressed find a better shooter for its cost in our faction (probably in the game). I've see them in just about every arcanist list, but I tend to stick to theme pretty strictly. However if you'r looking for a nice alternative and slightly fluffier ranged model then try giving the ox mages or gunsmiths a try. Especially if your running the PBF upgrade, the gunsmiths laugh at cover modifiers against burning models. 4) Silent ones are also very solid, but again I would lean more towards the ox mages personally. They are great on their own due to their built in Df trigger and probably the best thing about them is that they don't randomize into melee and ignore cover.

I wouldn't say she's under or over powered. I will say that she can be misleading and during the beta I think people were trying to wedge her into a role she's not necessarily designed for. I've gotten her on the table a few times over the past few weeks and I can tell you she's rarely lived to see the end of the game. That doesn't mean she performed terribly or anything. On the contrary she diverted so much of the opponents AP that it really left the opponent scrambling to catch up. I'll usually get one good turn to use all of my stored adrenaline and cause some serious damage, but she doesn't often live long after that point. She's been challenging, but a lot of fun to play.

Really? Because I tend to think a 4ss model that has Sh5 and min damage 3 (if you include burning) is extremely potent for its cost. But more to the point, Oxfordian mages are great in just about any crew, but you'll usually want to try and run them in pairs however if your going to run one then you can get some decent results by taking the nemesis ward upgrade. They can offer burning for Kaeris and pushes for Raspy and giving slow tends to be awesome in any crew.

Hopefully one day we'll see Raethford become an official member of the arcanists. He's the best of both worlds in that he's both December and a member of the M&SU. Models such as him do a good job bridging the gap between the M&SU and those themes that tend to isolate themselves within the faction. He's also badass and a ton of fun to play Getting back on topic though, I tend to think of Ironsides as an "opportunist" more than trying to peg her as a combat/support master. No doubt her strongest ability (HPM) is a passive support ability, but I feel like her true strength is in her versatility. I always have a level of confidence when fielding her and I feel there are not too many situations that she can't find a way to deal with. She may not hit as hard as Marcus or Mei, but she's by no means a slouch in melee. She also doesn't really offer much to support her crew other than HPM, but wow that one support ability is more than enough for me to theme her whole crew around. She can tank, she can be mobile, she can tar pit and she can hit, all while passively supporting her crew. To me thats the true strength of Ironsides.

Maybe it's my local meta, but I've never had anyone complain about prompt (or maybe i'm doing it wrong ). I play the entire arcanist faction and people tend to complain more about my other masters. -Marcus getting 4-5 attacks at min damage 4 and domesticating enemy masters. Or turning Langston into a beast and Alpha him to reactivate. -The ease at which Raspy can paralyze models, usually masters. Or how with her and the Wendigo can block off huge areas of the board with ice pillars. -Ramos summoning 2-3 models every turn (usually at full health with BET/Johan) with a reactivating Howard or Lazarus. -Kaeris and her 5-6 AP flying rail golem is both hilarious and frightening. -Mei Fengs ability to Vent Steam a couple times can completely shut down certain lists entirely. My point is that it seems like the game is full of powerful abilities and it's up to you as the player to overcome them. Who know's how the game will shake up once wave 3 hits and all new combo's will be added to the game.

M&SU gives you a nice variety of options, but unfortunately not much has been released in plastic yet. She also gains access to the generic M&SU upgrades which opens up a whole other way to play her (primarily with constructs). But I agree with most that the best gang for your buck and easiest way of expansion will be in the Ramos starter.