tmod

Finally receive the last of my dual commander pledge in Norway just before the weekend. Due to some cock-up I didn't get the field intelligence unit that supposedly was supposed to be sent separately. When I found out I was supposed to have gotten it I got a polite reply and quickly received the box in the mail. I did struggle a bit with figuring out whether it was all there or not as I couldn't access the backerkit page (as late backing is closed), but found out in the end...

Would love to see a female Seamus, but maybe preferably with a box of male Rotten Belles. A Rotten Belle or Beckoner as a gender-swapped single would be neat by itself though. Would love a miss that helped fill out a theme, like Benny or the Unicorn Ulix set. I'm guessing a gender-swapped Sow-as-a-pony could be pretty disturbing... (Miss-Placed...?). My daughter loves the pony set, and it makes me sad that I can't field it in theme in any reasonably way (the fact that she is four and think it's perfectly natural with a man-eating horse also touches my heart in a special way...).

This IS possibly a very serious issue, if it's widespread problem it could be a finecast-level (I still have two very sad Mangler Squigs sleeping face planted on a shelf). This would need to be addressed. But there is also the possibility that you've been particularly unlucky, and that a replacement would sort you out. None of my models show any sign of dropping (dual commander Empire/Cult, + some extras), but I don't have an alpha crawler or anything Abyssinia, so could be my stuff are sculpts better suited to the material. I even have some rare finecast models that I consider amongst the fine GW models in my collection...

Maybe it varies, and maybe it has changed recently (I seem to recall Nathan, or possibly one of the employees, saying they don't do notifications; anyway I know I have read many others saying this has been the norm over the years). I have every single Malifaux miniature released in plastic, so I have naturally filed a few requests over the years (surprisingly few though!), and I have not received a notification so far. They have all arrived silently in the mail though. But great if it's changing; especially for us overseas customers it can get a bit nerve-wrecking to wait for a replacement part but not actually knowing whether it has been sent. 🙂

Largely agree, but have some comments: "Hungering Darkness (both the Manic Tadpole and the Hippo Squid - awful)" Definitely. The alt is an improvement, but not a practical gaming figure, so still waiting for a sensible not-ridiculous alternative. "Copycat Killer (why the multiple hats?)" Hardly my favourite sculpt, but the hats make sense as it's a throw-back to Seamus' hat which can be dropped and picket up. Not necessarily aesthetically pleasing though... "Nino Ortega (a gatling sniper?)" Should be a no brainer. Was the same in M1e, for some absurd reason it carried over to plastic. Still makes no sense. "Metal Gamin (no cohesion, bad sculpts)" I kinda like them, but still a valid point. "Scion of Black Blood (so adynamic)" Yes, this one is probably the single worst pose Wyrd ever did" "Tara (why the arm? Why the idiotic sword?)" Because her arm is a soulstone put there by Obliteration, and ditto her sword. Doesn't look particularly good, but the why is easily answered in the stories. "Abominations (they look like they were scratchbuilt, but not in a good way)" Again, I kinda like them. My wife hates them. What bothers me is that four piles of flesh and machine parts can combine into the organis, smooth muscled beast that is the Desolation Engine. So, the small ones are a patchwork of bits, but if you stitch four of them together they suddenly become organic? This might be what bothers med the most in all of Malifaux... "Nekima (that sword looks like a 12 year old designed it)" This, so much this!! The Nekima Alt is great, but the sword is an absolute travesty. I agree with the earlier post about getting a remake of the metal Nekima done in plastic. Nekima is a bit sad in that all three sculpts have great promise, but are horribly flawed. The metal one is a bit too large, much too heavy, and when done in metal the ancle is too thin/soft. The regular plastic one is pretty nice, underwear notwithstanding, but too smal for "the largest Nephilim ever". The alt is great, but with one of the worst swords ever designed...

Usually Wyrd customer service gives no notification when sending replacement parts. You normally just get an automated reply and, sometime later, and package in the mail.. Now I had to check... It turns out I was wrong, they said they will add unassembled versions to their webstore "some time after the release date"...

I thought they had unsassembled as an add-on option for Kickstarter backers. I seem to remember specifically that it was not supposed to be available later, but it was during the campaign due to some backers' concerns about gaps, flash lines, etc. I cannot recall why I didn't go for this myself (hence my belief that it was an extra cost, or only available for certain levels), but I remember thinking it was a good idea, and a shame it wouldn't be generally available... Edit: I seem to recall them citing the extra sorting work as the reason for not offering this in general retail...

After finally receiving my package I was going to post some thoughts on the model quality, but thought I might as well add to this discussion rather than starting my own... I agree mostly with Burning Coal here, the cast quality is excellent. The minis are simply every bit as detailed as anything out there, except high-end hand cast resin. If anyone believed they were getting Forgeworld type minis here I don't think Wyrd is at fault. That said, there are huge gaps, and the minis are at times horribly put together. The plastic is really annoying to clean, especially when already put together, and if you want to get the most out of them you'd have to toss them in the freezer, take them apart and glue them, together again. This also means that in order to get the best results there is quite a bit more involved with getting the TOS minis to perfection compared to Malifaux minis. This is definitely annoying to me, as I'm a bit of a perfectionist. The upside is that you can get a whole army ready to play in an hour or less. I would have prefered the minis to come in parts, as that would actually save me time, but this was hardly something I didn't know when I pledged. The minis are in many ways an intermediary between high-end board game minis and miniature game minis. The gaps, flappyness and all imperfections still seem pretty good when compared to most board games. But yeah, they are not going to out of the box beat Malifaux minis, lovingly put together by an enthusiast. I like my TOS minis, but I still prefer Malifaux, miniatures-wise. I also think it's a smart move by Wyrd to marked a minis game to the board game crowd. CMON recently did something similar with A Song of Ice and Fire, which I also backed, and also like. For what it's worth I prefer the TOS minis to the ASOIAF minis in terms of quality, durability, detail and feel, but to each their own. TLDR; If you bought pre-assembled TOS minis and expected them to be already scraped and filed for a perfect fit, you should also expect a much, much higher price. They are quickly put together, sometime quite badly. That's what you get with pre-assembled minis. They are not bad quality, they are what was promised or better, but they are not resin cast, nor are they prepared for painting to a exhibition standard. But they are nice minis, nice sculpts, and they are table top ready.

Yay, got my package yesterday! It arrived just as I was rummaging through my inbox trying to find the order confirmation from backer kit to file a missing item request... 😄 I think it should all be there, but will have to have a look during the weekend. One thing I did notice though was that my King's Hand Titan was in a pretty poor shape; the fingers had come off, the same with the gun, and the attachment point for the hand was broken (ie, the plastic shattered). I can probably fix it, but this seems a little more fragile than "we can throw them at the wall without damage" quality I had expected. And not ideal for a rather expensive model that'a supposed to ready to play out of the box. They were very well packed (inside a vacuum formed plastic tray, inside a cardboard box, the whole thing in a very well padded cardboard box), so it cannot have been caused by impact. Anyone else experienced something like this?

I don't agree at all with ten thunders being out of place. That said, I can understand the sentiment for the Asian ressurectionists being out of place before the thunders were added. Kirai was well explained in the fluff, but things like Datsue Bae and Jakuuna Ubume seemed a little odd before the Asian links with different breaches were explained...

This not being possible have been a design goal from the very beginning of Malifaux. Some masters have certainly been able to do this at times, but have usually been errataed soon after this ability has been demonstrated over a few major events. Pre-built crews being competitive run directly against what this game is supposed to be about. If you can pull off decent results with pre-built lists, more power to you. But you shouldn't expect the erratas to warp the game to make this easier; it makes no sense for Wyrd to errata out one of the main draws the game has compared to the competition. Also, it wouldn't make much sense economically for Wyrd as many, if not most, models justify themselves as niche pieces that only works in very specific situations. If generalists could successfully replace specialist in competitive meats that would make a large portion if the game's model base superfluous. Not a sensible business decision...

Yeah, that's obviously op... Should be "wide", but plenty more room for fun in that one... 😉

I'm a little torn on these. Something needed to get done; when so many feel the game is turning into Sandeep vs. Nico vs. Autoloss it's a problem, even if not technically correct. I don't have any issues with Sandeep's nerfs, seems balanced to me (but we'll see), but I'm a little more uncertain about Nico. Don't get me wrong, I think he should still be fine, and these changes quite possibly reflects how he should've been from the start: versatile summoned, but needs resources (card draw and all for healing). My issue is that the two biggest hits are to parts of him that have beevln there all along. Undertaker always felt a little exploitive, but it's been integral to Nico throughout M2e. The same with easy access to useful summons without the need for further support. What has been pushing Nico over the top IMHO have been Asura and Kentauroi plugging the balancing gaps in his playstyle. When M2e rolled around we were presented with a design philosophy that I really liked: models will change, but the feel should not if at all possible. For Nico I feel this is a departure from that philosophy. It's not the first, Levi's errata was similar, but I don't think the Levi errata is a great yardstick for bringing down op masters (I've played him quite a bit, and I think he needed the change. But he feels totally different, and if you liked Levi's old playstyle chances are you might not like heis new and vica versa.). I'm not really negative because I don't have any obviously better solutions, but a little sad that Wyrd couldn't find a solution not changing his playstyle. I know some (Fetid Strumpet amongst others) have pointed out that he has been flawed from the outset because of his wife summoning keyword and easy access to resources (getting more cards the more he summons). I don't disagree, and if this had been changed before the initial release I'd all in favour. But a little bummed about this being changed through errata so long in... 😕

I have not played with or against the shuffle, but there seems to be some players having at least some success with it. Also read about a "shuffle light" variant doing ok as well, but no first hand experience. I don't disagree that Nico seems very strong, just bringing it up cause I felt this is a bit of a circle argument: 1. Nico is OP because he has the strongest card draw in the game. 2. Others have stronger card draw. 3. Yeah, but they don't count because they're not OP. For what it's worth I think it's likely Nico is too strong or nearly too strong, and it'd good for the game if he was slightly adjusted. But I also think some of the arguments in favour of nerfing this or that can sometimes get very close to whining, and as I've mentioned in other threads I think that's potentially bad for the game. I have a lot of respect for the effort Wyrd puts in, so I hope they will keep hitting the mark more often than screw up. But unfounded whining, when/if present, can only cause one of two end result with regards to game balance: either it is taken into account at some level, and we risk game balance will suffer (how much of the forum perceive Colette now, though I don't think it's reasonable to asume she was nerfed due to whining), or it's completely ignored, and thus also completely pointless. A side effect of whining and entitlement is an increased risk og animosity on the forum, and thus the more the forum members complain without backing it up with data, the less pleasant the forum risks becoming. I read the original posts in this light, and it's hard to disagree. However, many replies, from different people (including the original poster imo), have at times come across as entitled/aggressive, and thus counteracting what this thread seemed to be about. Language barriers are a real thing on a global forum like this one. I think this forum would be a better place if we all refrained from: 1. Making demands on Wyrd, either of buffing, nerfing, or ignoring problem models, real or perceived. This is also largely a language thing: there is a huge difference between saying: "I'd like to see x" or "Wyrd must/should do x". 2. We should all accept that Wyrd will do whatever they can to make Malifaux the best it can be. It's in their best interest after all! 3. We should all refrain to engaging in influencing campaigns, where players of a given faction flood the forum in coordinated post parroting the same message. There have (imho) been hints of this in some open betas, but it hasn't been a big issue otherwise, unlile certain other forums I've frequented in the past. Let's keep it that way! 4. We should all accept that what's best for the game might not be what's best for my favourite model/faction. Conversely, we should all asume we all prefer a balanced game to a game where "my" faction has an auto win button. We should: 1. Not hesitate with providing feedback, all experience matter. James Varney saying he believes Nico is OP would be a lot more valuable than myself having a npe against Nico, but my lowly experience is also important. But not all-important. 2. Endeavor to be constructive. Keep trying to help newbs being stomped by Nico rather than parroting that he is OP and there's nothing to be done. No master is an auto-win button (though some are certainly a lot more powerfull than others), let's nor pretend player skill is irrelevant. 3. Provide constructive feedback to Wyrd. Wyrd games have listened to the community many times before, constructive suggestions, and evidence, giving them incentive to keeping on doing so. 4. Preserve this awesome community! The Malifaux doesn't need to be fixed, it is already amazing. But we need to strive to keep it that way, and not take it for granted...

It is deck cycling. But Survival of the Fittest is card draw, and there is some synergy between cycling and drawing wich was why I brought Bayou 2 card up; when you can cycle through a large part of the deck you can sometimes know more of what is left, and the ability to cheat from the deck can get stronger. Also, the ability to b2c means you'll need fewer cards in hand to hit, and thus taxing your hand less => card draw makes it easier to keep those 13s in hand when really needed... No biggie either way...

Both Som'er summoning engine and Lynch should be able to at least get near Nico when it comes to just card draw/card efficiency. Lots of Bayou Two-card combined with Survival of the Fittest, Criers, and efficient healing should make it pretty doable to draw most of the deck each turn. For Lynch, check out Melbourne shuffle which is litterally a legitimate strategy fir drawing your whole deck each turn. Not saying either of these are as strong and efficient as Nico at all btw, just that their card draw can be... (Hyperbole and all that)...

I'm kinda torn on this. IF M3e is nearby, and with it factions splitting up, then I'm all for widespread limited infiltration to make sure commonly used in-theme models can be used by most masters. If not, I don't think the game need wider hiring pools. In fact I think generally huge hiring pools are the main challenge for keeping the game going at the moment. I think the main rule should be more restrictive model pools, a small handful of universal mercs (could easily be fewer; main role should be to fill gaps), limited infiltration (could very well be in dual-faction masters), and masters like Leveticus and Nellie should be the exeption to the rule. One thing I quite enjoy with Leveticus right now (post nerf) is that his combo potential is where most of his power lies. Everyone getting wider pools would steal his thunder. Similarly I'm fine with Nellie getting easier access to Mercs and Marcus to beasts. Worse if everyone get it...

Nah, but it seemed like that was the objective. You might be hard to chase off, but given enough tries, who knows? Also, not the best way to create dialogue, even if not successful.. 🙂

I have a lot of sympathy for this, especially the latter paragraph. But I don't think the best way to fight "outcries of Nerf" is with more outcries. If we are to add something meaningful to the discussion it's important to rise above faction v. faction group-think, and strive for what's best for the game based on our own experienses. For the sake of the game we're all best served with as good balance as possible; if gremlins had been two levels above everyone else we'd all get bored as well. I don't always agree with Fetid (often though), but he deserves recognition for being involved and caring for balance and the game since pretty much the dawn of the Dark Ages or thereabouts. He, the game, the Gremlin faction and the community deserves better than him (or others) getting chased away from a topic for stating their opinion!

I don't think this is useful. The best you can hope to achieve is to shout down legitimate disagreement, and even if you achieve your goal of supporting the view that piglets got hit too hard, we're all worse of for it. It would encourage others to shout even louder, and we've got a shouting match on our hands. Fetid raises a valid point, and I think it's undeniable that 2ss models in general is right on the edge of what the game can deal with. I personally don't agree that limited amounts of 2ss models (like totems) are a problem, but the 6x stuffed piglets package was definitely threatening to be game breaking in my opinion. I cannot how Asura is comparable, but she is definitely putting some strain on the game in some crews... I think the biggest problems with stuffed piglets going up was the indirect hit to the pigapult. Second I think a spamable 2ss model was one of the unique elements that set Gremlins apart as a horde faction. Loosing that was, for better or worse, a blow to the faction identity. The other unique element was the only useful 3ss model hirable in multiples. I still think Bayou Gremlins are useful, but no longer uniquely so after the points drop for Guild Guard and Desperate Mercs. Together those changes are problematic, it's not in itself problematic that Stuffed Piglets are no longer 2ss (and Fetid does have a point in that no 2ss models would be healthier for the game)...

I actually think this would be a touch too much; gremlins pretty much always outactivating for 12ss of stuffed piglets was a problem; on the other side three for 6ss would probably be ok. Maybe they could have an ability causing them to be more expensive when hiring more than three? 2ss hiring cost, but all cost an additional 1ss if you hire 4 or more? Maybe even three or more? Then they'd be useful for an extra activation or two with leftover stones, but too expensive for the full out-activation package, yet still summonable, so a decent chance to see more than the limit (and maybe all six!) in some cases...

I think I agree with all of this. I understand the argument that no spamable model should cost 2ss, but personally I think something like the taxidermist fix should be enough, amd would preserve some of the horde feel to the faction. Also, that would avoid the collateral nerf to the pigapult. I also think the bayou gremlin got hit with a collateral nerf with the proliferation of 3ss minions in other factions. A decent minion at uniquely lowe price point was, along with a 2ss peon, the main factors establishing the horde element of the faction identity in my opinion. Loosing both unique elements hit the identity hard, even though Gremlins might still be competitive through other means and other builds... Yeah, this is where you at least partially loose me. I agree that many exaggerate theor abilities; drunk & reckless is very strong, but very much weaker than a free ap. You can use it once per game, and that's great if it can score you a vp/kill off an important model. Similarly, Dumb Luck is amazing, but demands finesse, as one trigger will almost kill it. Cheap and powerful but random fit the faction profile perfectly in my book! For me Gremlins have probably the strongest non-totem 3ss drop in the game. Gremlins also provide better synergy, ie slop haulers can in some cases mitigate the self-damage. I do however agree that Desp. Mercs and Guild Guard have become much closer, almost on par, and even if Bayous still hold a small edge, that's still a problem from a faction identity perspective. Gremlins' ability to outswarm anyone except dedicated out-activation crews have taken a severe blow, and that's a serious issue. There's no need to present dubious arguments about the immense power of other factions' models, or hyperbolic claims of Bayou Gremlins' uselessness. If they are a little stronger that still represent a significant relative powerloss for Gremlins overall...

Plastcraft and Customeeple both officially licensed scenery and/or markers for the game, so I guess the door isn't always closed. I'm guessing they're fairly restrictive though...

I think you're a little too pessimistic: warhammer did manage to keep canons away for chaoa for a pretty long time before they caved, so could probably have managed to avoid it... And Wyrd have been pretty strong on standing up to the entitlement culture previously, so there's still some hope! But must be getting harder to find design space to design new models that bring something new to the factions while maintaining faction identity as the model pool increases...

Well, ahead of the curve is hardly the same as op. Balance is never perfect, so some will always be better than the average. OP territory for me begins when a model is stricktly significantly better in most or all situations... Kentauroi are mong the little handful of Malifaux mini I don't own yet, so don't know where they fall specifically...