valhallan42nd

Howard Langston is broken. Miss Step is much more balanced!

Joking aside, Howard has free movement, a possibility of flurry, armor +1, and min damage 4 with a high melee. The decap is just icing on the cake. He/She is easily one of the bigger threats in the format.

*starts designing an Existential Crisis upgrade for both*

I wonder how much trauma it would cause the artists to have two different feet for the standard model. One flat on the ground, the other pointed downward, as if in flight? Kind of like how the Strongarm Suit has two sets of legs...

Things to hire: Datsue Ba - She has good speed, a decent ranged cast, decent melee, and, more important for me: Guide Spirits. A model slowed by summons can still keep up with the crew if Guide Spirits is used. It's also useful for Deliver a Message and other scheme running. Triggers Malevolence.

Night Terror: a 3ss model with WK 6 that can be used as a Swirl Spirits target for your heavy hitters, and then can be used as a casting boost for Kirai. It's great to have around.

Izamu: Healable by lost love and Kirai, a total beat stick made absurdly fast by Swirl Spirits, high armor, with a self heal, and he triggers Malevolence.

Flesh Construct: Tons of wounds for a low, low cost, a perfect summon beacon, with a end of turn regeneration. Triggers Malevolence.

Chiaki the Niece: strips the slow off of your summoned models while healing them with the trigger. Triggers Malevolence.

Lost Love: Heals, an additional Malevolence bubble. Triggers Malevolence.

Crooligans: Because they're the best damn scheme runners in the game for their cost. Triggers Malevolence.

Summons priority:

Hanged-----> Shikome  -----> Drowned.

It's my rule of thumb. Assuming no pressing priority (needing a fast, durable scheme runner [shikome are great for this]) summon a hanged first, then a shikome if Hanged aren't available, then Drowned, who are Spirits and Undead (and thus Triggers Malevolence), and are resilient in Melee, and who also have Finish the Job, which is a great way of getting last minute scheme markers out of summoned models.

This is not to say that these are the only summons to take, but these are the priority summons to take.

How I run Kirai: I take swirling aether. She really doesn't need anything else.

How I run Datsue Ba: assuming I'm not facing a crew with blasts, I don't take her with any upgrades. I keep her for movement, and for tempting people into triggering Malevolence. 

Izamu is great with Necrotic Preparations.
 

That's pretty dang nice.

I've recorded an episode of Before We Begin with Dan. It will likely be released this week. We explore the various strat/scheme layouts for the North American Championships, and explore the things on offer at the Con!

Because of possible inclement weather, the usual Tuesday demos might be cancelled.

Here's a preview of some of the terrain at the tournament!

The vassal map didn't fit well. We tried this. It contains all the necessary information, though not all possible information.

I think that based off responses, it worked fine but could do with some improvements. I'm pretty happy with it

I'd agree, but a statement like "After a hard fought battle, these are the models left on the board" would be beneficial.

Lest this seem like a complaint, I really like this idea, and I would love to see more of these. Anything that gets you thinking about what more can be done to win a game helps the community, and gets people interested in figuring out what models can do.

Once you get Izamu, I'd also look into picking up Yan Lo's crew: 1. because it gives you a different master to play. 2. Chiaki can both remove conditions (like, say... slow from newly summoned models), and heals them at the same time.

Take a note of this list of models:

Doppleganger
Fingers
Performer (Merc)
Rat Catcher

Those all have "Don't Mind Me," allowing them to interact while engaged. These should be your priority selections and priority targets, as they will allow you to score points by picking up head markers in people's engagement ranges, and are the most direct way to force that through without challenges. Things that push or pull enemy forces away are also solid.

Beware of things that have a 3 inch engagement range; they're going to deny a lot of interacts. For the same reason, you'll want them as well. A 1 inch engagement range will have to work very hard to deny interacts; a two inch interact is really worthwhile.

Take things that ignore hard to wound, for one. A peace keeper and hunters are also good, as their harpoons can keep the Dust Storm from reaching its goal. Exorcists also are great against undead, denying triggers, etc. And their crossbow has the pinning condition as well. 

In that case, Kirai doesn't need LoS to the point where Ikiryo appears. If that was the case, the Ikiryo would join the enemy's crew, too, which would be silly. The whole paragraph of summoning via actions doesn't apply to Malevolence, as it's an ability.

"If summoning is the result of an Action, the summoned model must be placed within LoS to the acting model. In addition, the summoned model belongs to the acting model's Crew, and is under the control of the acting model's player (regardless of which player controlled the acting model during the Action)."

Put another way: A model summoning via an action needs LOS and range to the summoned model to complete the action. A model summoned via an action belongs to the crew of the  model using the action. So, if a model was Obeyed to summon another model, the summoned model would belong to the summoning model’s crew.

Since Malevolence is not an action, let’s break that down.

1. No LOS is required to place a summoned Ikiryo, as Ikiryo is summoned via an ability

2. LOS and range is required to the target of the attack that activates Malevolence, as it’s aura based, and auras require LOS

3. Ikiryo does not belong to the active (IE, attacking) model’s crew, as it is not the attack that summons Ikiryo, but rather the Malevolence’s effect on the use of that attack ability. The attack action activates the ability, and the ability summons Ikiryo.

Aaron, points off for not using "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

/looks at thread. Slowly backs out of thread.

I want the creative minds at Wyrd to make new awesome games that I might like. Because when you make a new game, you're not stifled creatively. New ideas strengthen the imagination, and keep it from being stale.

Opening new vistas might open them to new ideas in Malifaux, too. Creative conversations/collaborations work that way.

Yeah, NoVa is a fairly big well of Malifaux play. The same goes with Baltimore.

I like playing Malifaux, and I like playing it on many levels, from the most casual to the competitive. If it's competitive, you take the gloves off and swing for the fences. You bluff, you plan, you lead them on and (loaded word here), you deceive them (but not lying, that is cheating).
But the point of it is to be Br'er Rabbit or Anansi, not Snidley Whiplash. Be a clever person, not a jerk.

Dupe 'em, don't crush their hopes and dreams.

Bluffing happens; feigning weakness when there is strength happens and vice versa. If someone looks over at what I'm pulling out of my bag/off my tray in a tournament, and I notice, she'll be sure to be looking at three different masters, all with very different play styles. She'll have 15 minutes to figure out who I'm playing, for whatever advantage that will give her.

It's no skin off my nose.

I think something is missing from the Puzzle on page 10. Has the Daw crew killed a model prior to Daw's activation on this turn? If so I failed to notice a mention to it.

I believe it's spelled Purstuit.*

*Beta Typos FOREVER.

I'll be there on Tuesday to answer any further questions regarding the Tournament.

Here are the Scenarios/Schemes:


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ZCH0d1AQ-pYmdIUTBRRWJha3M/view?usp=sharing

Only five and a half hours!