gribble

On 10/28/2018 at 8:53 AM, Clement said:

On the face book group there's some central Europians who have gotten shipping notifications.

AFAIK, these were all Backerkit notifications from Wyrd closing out the orders there - not actual shipping notifications unfortunately. Mine certainly went to a broken link when I clicked on "track shipment".
I don't think the shipment has even arrived in the UK (EU distribution) hub yet, let alone shipped out from there to backers.

14 hours ago, Kerrida said:

Unfortunately, bad communication is another staple of KS-ville. In truth, the communication I've seen from Wyrd has been far more regular than the majority of kickstarters I've seen and been a part of.

That has not been my experience - and I'm a superbacker with over 250 projects under my belt. Sure a minority of projects do also suffer from this (maybe 10%), and they similarly earn my ire. But I don't expect communication unless there is something to say -  I just expect there to be something to say when a project is late on delivering it's goals (i.e. regular updates on why and what they are doing about it).

19 minutes ago, retnab said:

The original projected delivery month was Dec 17, so it was delayed by 10 months (but then again, I've literally never had one of my KS' arrive on time).

9 months - long enough to have a baby, but not long enough to have ToS.

Sorry, couldn't resist. 😁

(Plus I'm in Europe, so I expect it'll be at least 11 months by the time mine arrives).

I'm a huge Wyrd fan, but even I have had issues with this KS:

1) The long delays, though that is somewhat par for the course for KS projects, so I'm willing to forgive it.

2) The abominable communication however, especially in conjunction with the above delays, is much less excusable.

3) The whole "get it on KS for less than the MSRP" debacle. I understand things change - especially with a project that has been delayed as much as this - but I think we at least deserve a bit of an acknowledgement, if not explanation (see point 2).

4) And now... the quality I'm seeing on the Alpha Crawler is not filling me with confidence... especially given the reason most often stated for the delays (when anything was given), was issues with quality, and the titans are the flagship products so should be better than most. I'm 100% on the "happy to wait if it means a better product" bandwagon, but if the AC is indicative of the final quality... I won't be too impressed. That being said, I'll reserve judgement on this one until I have the actual models in hand.

Overall, I loved this game when announced (like most things Wyrd), but even my enthusiasm for the game has waned with a combination of the points above. I've gone from "this game can't come fast enough - I want to play now!" to "when it arrives it arrives - maybe I'll get it on the table eventually". Which is a real shame. Hopefully having the actual products in hand (finally) will re-ignite my enthusiasm...

6 hours ago, -Loki- said:

Wyrd stated stateside (domestic) shipping would happen after all international shipping was done in one of the last updates. I’m guessing they’re waiting until their international fulfilment centres start sending out the international orders before they start actually sending the domestic orders to try to get it all arriving around the same time.

That's not what the last update said at all:

Quote

Things are moving along at a good clip, we have the balance of the International Orders being picked up early next week and going on to their proper distribution point. We have moved on to the domestics and will be working this Saturday and into early next week to get those all wrapped up. 

Depending on Wyrd's definition of "early" next week, I'd expect at least *some* domestic backers to have received shipping notifications, if not *most* to *all* of them.

Unless there has been another delay...

I think the biggest issue I have found with the system is with construct or undead opponents of enforcer+ station (which are not exactly uncommon in Malifaux). They are both immune to unconsciousness challenges from hitting 0 wounds (due to enforcer+ station), and immune to bleeding out from being non-living. In addition to often giving opponents on damage flips and/or having armour. They're also (narratively) the opponents least likely to flee or surrender. All this can add up to a bit of an annoying grind as the PCs need very hit severe criticals to take them out of the fight... I've learned to narrate the end of the combat once they're reduced to being ineffective from critical effects (which is usually long before they are actually taken out of the fight).

Also, another thing to bear in mind is that with negative aspects and a randomisation range of 0-14, the range of even starting PC capability can be much greater than you're used to with other RPGs. I.e. things that challenge a party member with a +3/4 aspect and a couple of ranks of skill, will be all but impossible for a PC with a -2/3 aspect and no skill ranks. And vice versa - anything that the weaker PC can comfortably achieve, the stronger PC will likely be achieving with margins of success.

Other than that I've found it to be a pretty good and well balanced system. Among my favourites, and something I bring out when we're in the mood for something different from the standard dice-based games.

It's a shame it is just the rules. Would be great to start digging into the story/background too.

Still, better than a kick in the teeth I suppose.

It's almost impossible to tell.

I'd with an old fashioned auction with a reserve you'd be comfortable letting them go for. It's pretty much designed for this scenario (where you aren't sure of the actual value of something).

I've had good luck with the Horsemen list, post errata. I've been playing: Levi, 2x Waifs, Emissary, 3x 10ss Horsemen, Midnight Stalker.

3 hours ago, emiba said:

A friend of mine here in Christchurch is from Yorkshire.

Game over...

Oh well, I gave it my best shot. I guess I'll have to settle for a bronze medal.🥉

BTW, we're both screwed if any of the thousands of kiwis living in London happens to play Malifaux:
Hmmm... pictures not working anymore, must have hit some sort of limit, but the distance is:
18,324 km

😭

5 minutes ago, emiba said:

Gothenburg to Christchurch?

I honestly thought Sweden would be both further west and further north compared to Prague.

Yep... that makes a difference.

It's always difficult to judge distance accurately on a flat projection of a globe.

6 minutes ago, emiba said:

Sorry mate, originally from Sweden, living in New Zealand, I think that's further... 😉

It is very close, and depends on where *exactly* in Sweden and NZ, but I think I'm slightly ahead:

17 hours ago, Nathan Caroland said:

I might do a couple contests between now and then to hand out some of what we have on site ..

Oooooooh... do "person who lives the furthest from home"! I think I can win that one (living in Prague, originally from New Zealand)...

8 minutes ago, Adran said:

The amount of SS you use is largely a play style. (both of the player and the Master/crew)

Good to know I'm not missing something crucial in "how to play Malifaux 101".

What you wrote is pretty much the way I tend to play - minimise the impact of initiative and a bad hand as much as possible. Though I realise sometimes that can be taken out of your hands by a good opponent. And sometimes "bad things happen", regardless of planning.

16 hours ago, daniello_s said:

As long as you always have strong control hand and win initiative then indeed you don't need SS in your pool.

Maybe I'm just naturally lucky.

Seriously though, I've found that I can manage well enough with 1-2 SS so I can draw a couple of extra cards or reflip initiative on a crucial turn. I prefer to have the points on the table in models and upgrades, and just deal with the bad flips if necessary.

It probably also helps that I tend to play henchman light and enforcer heavy, my two main masters to date being Von Schill and Levi.

Maybe as I improve as a player (and/or try other masters) I'll find SS more important. I've only been playing for ~6 months (though I usually place in the top third of the field for local tourneys, once coming second and once third).

9 minutes ago, daniello_s said:

😮

I'm beginning to think that having a lot of SS just doesn't suit my style of play. Everyone seems to have a ton more than me, but there have been very few occasions where I have felt that I needed them... 🤔

36 minutes ago, daniello_s said:

Levi, 3x Waif, 4x Riders, Emissary, Midnight Stalker???

If you take 3x Rider, Emissary (to get 4th rider) and Stalker you are already on 48SS which will give you only 3SS in pool and bare Levi. Really? 

I was playing Rider Levi quite a lot before (before errata and in gg17) and what i learnt was that he really needs SS in the pool for cards and winning initiative.

Start with Levi, 2x Waifs, Emissary, 3x Riders, Stalker. Levi at the end of his activation summons Waif (+1 activation), Emissary at the end of his activation summons Mechanical Rider (+1 activation).

Yep - I have had no problem going SS lite. I typically pick up desolate soul as well (to get even better activation control, and more nuisance value for the opponent to deal with while the riders are hiding), so I normally only carry 1SS (used for cards top of 2 or 3).

I've had a lot of success with it locally. Not saying we have the strongest meta here, but there are a bunch of regular players (~20-30) between Prague and Brno.

I've been fond of playing it with Midnight Stalker.

He really helps put the early game pressure on the opponent (along with Levi), so the Riders can hang back for turns 3+.

Between Hodgepodge Emissary -> Arcane Rider and Levi -> Waif, I've yet to have problems with activation control. Unless something goes horribly wrong, you trivially get 10 activations first turn (Levi, 3x Waif, 4x Riders, Emissary, Midnight Stalker), and with a bit of luck (happens more often than not) you can get an extra one from an Abomination. In later turns, you have Arcane Rider summons, Abominations, and Waifs to keep activation control.

I'd tend to keep it simple. Something like:

• GM sets a stake amount and TN determined by the best opponent's Rank + Gambling or a set house difficulty for games where you play against the house.
• Each player flips gambling, with potential [-] based on circumstances. E.g. one player vs multiple skilled opponents should make things harder for the player, so perhaps for each other opponent who has a higher gambling than the Fated they suffer a [-] to their flip.
• On a success, that player wins the stake. For each margin of success, the player wins an additional amount equal to the stake.
• On a failure, that player loses the stake. For each margin of failure, the player wins an additional amount equal to the stake.

Or, if you're looking to simulate a game more directly and have gambling skill influence the outcome, just play a normal hand of poker / blackjack, with each player (including the GM) drawing an extra card into their starting hand per Rank in gambling (they still have to pick the best 5 cards / 2 cards for blackjack).

4 minutes ago, daniello_s said:

Since change to Channel, Desolate Soul is no longer upgrade you will need to take as it will guarantee you an Abomination every turn. With his min damage of 2 and usual two shots a turn into something in hard cover he can only finish already wounded models. Untimely Demise helps him to get Abomination when he is in melee or close to enemy models but again it is quite situational. T2 is IMO exactly good for him (good but nothing great).

Being new to the game, I never got to play him "in his prime" unfortunately, but he still seems plenty good to me.

I think we can agree Tier 2 is the right place, though I'd argue he's in the upper group of the Tier 2 models. I'd certainly consider him (slightly, but perceptibly) stronger than other masters in that group that I'm familiar with, such as Perdita, Tara, Viks or Asami - which tend to be one trick ponies with some very bad match ups. With Levi's hiring pool, I have yet to feel: "Oh, crap, that's a match up I can't win without a bit of luck". Then again, there are still a lot of masters I haven't played with or against, so I'm happy to concede it could just be a lack of experience talking.

I'd argue Levi is at least Tier 2, if not Tier 1.5.

While it's true (from a certain point of view) that he doesn't do much to support his crew, I've always found his "support" is in the form of being up front killing enemy models and winning you activation control by summoning waifs and abominations. And if the enemy crew kills him? He's still winning you activation control, because they "wasted" their activation killing him instead of your other models.

That, combined with his incredibly strong and flexible hiring pool (which is only getting stronger and more flexible as more construct and undead models are released) make him a pretty strong master IME. Whenever I play with him, I have a much greater feeling of control over the game than I do with other masters (admittedly, I've never played with Sandeep or Nico, both of whom also have this feature apparently).

21 minutes ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Oh, and a cookie to anyone who notices the Master I forgot!

Seems you also left out Molly.

And included Levi twice. Because he's just that good. 

11 minutes ago, the tick said:

What is "Sam"? Assuming that's shorthand for one of the singleton models?

Sam Thrace, the Guild model which is the earthside factions counterpart for Binh.

2 hours ago, Ludvig said:

Listen on your way to work and you'll be through them in no time. At least if you have an hour or more of travel.

Yep, that's what I did. Was a sad day when I finally reached the last one, and it came all too quickly. Then I read the books from that point (I couldn't wait).