sullie00

List of the Masters I currently own/can get cheaply Dita, J, Nelly, Lucius, McMorning, Criid, Pandora, Lillith (Dead man's hand but still awesome!), Momma Z, Dreamer, Lynch (TT now I guess?), Seamus, Kirai, Colette, Zip, Sommer, Lacroixs, Tara.

I played M2E very heavily but I was busy getting married during the release of M3E and haven't spent any real time on the table. I have 3 stepsons and my wife that are all interested in getting into the game but IDK what crews are simple enough for them. None of them have any wargaming experience and they've seen me play a game or 2 or M2E but were all a little confused because the meta out here is super aggressive and fast paced. If anyone could give me some advice I'd appreciate it. I have most Guild models, 2/3's of Neverborn, a few Ressers and a budy has a bunch of models he's willing to sell on the cheap. My wife and I would love to do a crew for each of the boys as a Christmas gift but I really want the boys to have an easier crew to learn. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Also, if you encounter a Rider they add +suit minus the turn number to EVERY duel they make. That means that on Turn 3 they already have 2 of whichever suit they need and one more if the flip it. Turn 5 can be FUN!!

Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the Beta for 3rd edition because this is the busy season for my second job. However, the more I listen to my friends talk about how it looks like 3rd Ed is meant to streamline and simplify the more anxious I become. This was the same them I heard about Age of Sigmar… There were just "too many rules" and it was difficult to play the game. Now, AoS is so easy to play that every game I've ever played was decided in Turn 2. I play Malifaux because it is unique, fluff-oriented/driven, and every piece is an individual that has strengths and weaknesses. I understand that war games are hard to balance. However, I really hope this game keeps its identity. I LOVE the fact that when I look at a card there are fun little half references and cute little jokes (See Teddy's HUG+Peek-a-Boo or the Spanish names for Ortega abilities). For those that would make the argument "... (random ability/action) is broken!" YES! It is broken! But so are the mechanics of almost every other crew if you know what you're doing!!! That's the entire point of this game. It allows YOU as the player to find your own individualized play-style and tell everyone else "Bring it ON!" I truly hope that this game does not lose its unique identity in a world full of games that have cookie-cutter factions with no soul (War-Machine, Hordes, WH Fantasy, WH 40k, etc.). Feel free to diss me if you disagree I don't really care anyway. My entire point is that I love this game because I DON'T have to be like anyone else.

What my friends and I do is we all have 35-40 stones of core models for each master. For casual play we like to proxy a model 2-3 times to see if it will work well before sinking the money into something that we will very rarely take. However, I am a sucker for a good fluff list every now and again. Fluff may not always win, but it always seems to be a ton of fun anyway.

If the strategy is guard the stash or extraction, I like to tag in either Bishop or Copelius. Bishop because no matter who you are attacking, he can still be annoying, and Copelius can be a great tar pit once his "Plucked Eye" condition kicks in.

In my personal experience, I do really well with Perdita, Criid, and McMourning. I don't play Justice too much because in my meta there is a guy who played her almost exclusively for almost a year. I LOVE the idea behind Lucius and WANT him to be awesome. With all that being said, here is what I have found in my meta. Dita, Criid, McMourning, are all solid competitive choices. Justice and McCabe do well if you know how to use them properly. Lucius... I always lose close, but I also win close. The only time I really have a lot of success with him is when I bring a mostly mimic crew after declaring Guild. I don't know if it's just me or if he really does need a tweak, but I can't disagree with his ranking currently (as much as I want to). However, I still love to pull him out against my meta because even when I am losing with him I am making them work twice as hard as they usually have to.

Using Lady J against Raspi is always going to be tough. Mostly because it is so tempting to go after Raspi with J directly. I suggest using death Marshals, Guild Rifelmen, or other ranged attackers to help out. Killing Raspi's minions is the only way to cut down her range. If she is running with silent ones, KILL THEM ASAP or Raspi will destroy you! Then, use the terrain to flank Raspi with J. I would NEVER take Assasinate against Raspi with J just because you will only get ONE melee attack in on the first round of combat and then you will be frozen (ends activation as soon as Raspi is damaged by melee). Stick to your schemes, keep J away from Raspi, and use ranged attacks to take out minions, that is the only way to stand a chance with Lady J against Raspi. PS, taking Nino Ortega helps too. If Raspi can be seen, he can keep her head down from all the way across the board with a range of 18 and positive flips to his shooting duels. Also, he starts with a 5 ram so he will always get critical hit at the very least.