Alcibiades

Thanks for the comments guys, especially zFiend who seems to appreciate all the tricks Gremlins have to make one's life difficult. I have thought of and tried most of the tactics suggested without positive result. There just doesn't seem to be a way to challenge the number of APs a Gremlin player can access each turn. Just to recap a bit let me point out and stress what I see to be where the troubles lie. When I refer to Gremlins, I am referring to Som'er and Ophelia builds only. I have played Brewmaster once and while he was tricky, he was failry manageable and I haven't experienced Ulix or Ma Tucket yet. 1) Gremlins are cheap so there are a lot of them even without So'mer's summoning ability. This means that at 50SS Gremlins will almost always have 2 or 3, if not more, extra models which means a minimum of 4-6 extra APs; 6-9 if they go reckless. This allows the Gremlin to wait and see where his opponent moves his heavy hitters and either avoid or counter. With a modicum of effort, So'mer can have four summoned and fully healed Bayou Gremlins by the end of Turn 2 generating an additional 12 AP from the third turn on and 10 APs on the second Turn. As most Guild crews seem to average out at around 7-8 models that leaves the Gremlins original 50 SS crew to deal with 4 or 5 Guild models. Barring a positioning error, the Gremlin can keep whichever models he choses safe until Guild has finished activating. A careless Gremlin player might find himself in a bit of trouble if Guild win the following initiative and have models that can companion, but it would require, as I suggested, a very poor or very high risk move on the Gremlin's part. 2) Most Gremlins are Ht 1 so can often duck completely out of sight. Combined with Reckless or Drunk and Reckless means that an entire Gremlin crew can be out of sight to their opponent requiring a move to get into a position for a ranged attack. Forgot about charging with most models as there is no visible target. So, in many cases you get a single, unfocused shot which is rarely enough to kill even the lowliest Bayou Gremlin. 3) While there is a down side to Dumb Luck, the ability to throw out a ton of damage is fantastic. A replaceable Bayou Gremlin can quite easily inflict 6 points of damage at the cost of 3 inflicted. While that might not take down a larger model, there is likely another Gremlin nearby who can potentially do the same thing and take the target off the board. Worst case, the model is still there at the end of the turn and wins initiative. Perhaps that model can relocate or take down the Gremlin who offered insult. So what? There's plenty more available and an important resource has been reduced to dealing with a 3 SS model. How about Francois with his 23" melee threat dealing out a potential 20 WDs and costing him his life. However, with rare exception he can take out any model he so desires in one Turn. He costs the same as Nino, 7 SS, less than a Witchling Handler and has a killer ranged attack as well. 4) Reckless/Drunk and Reckless makes them almost unstoppable in Scheme pools where interaction is required. Deliver Message is a gimme unless the opposing Master stays well away from the Green menace which is hard to do or is prepared to sacrifice the Master to deny the points. 5) So'mer's 2 point Skeeters are one of the best models in the game at any points value. They can tie up virtually any model in Guild with impunity. Lady J and Perdita have the best chance of killing the thing but to do so would require the expenditure of some pretty high cards if the Skeeter with DF 7 wants to keep you engaged. In both cases Lady J or Perdita would require a 13 or RJ to get away if the opponent has a 13 to burn. In addition to just shutting a model down, the Skeeter can reliably do 4 points of damage each activation or drain your hand of moderate/high cards using So'mer's Pull My Finger ability. 6) Gremlins have a huge amount of healing. The Slop Hauler alone can heal up to 4 models every turn for 2 AP and can remain out of sight/range etc. until required. There is no need to ever expose the Slop Hauler to enemy fire. In at least 10 games against So'mer/Ophelia I think, iirc, that I have managed to get one shot off at Slop Hauler. Those who claim to have taken Slop Hauler out makes me think their opponent is not very skilled with Gremlins or perhaps overly aggressive. In my experience, he remains in the rear until I am too busy with other models to worry about. In my experience, he has usually earned his keep by the end of Turn 2, well before most models are in range. The above is not an exhaustive list of all the things So'mer and Ophelia can do to ruin your day. Our Gremlin player is quite candid about the Guild. They trouble him not a whit. The only Master our Som'er/Ophelia player worries about at all is Ramos, on a good day and to a far lesser degree, Sonnia and Colette. However, on the advice given I have looked at Hoffman and he and his crew certainly have more survivability than other Guild crews but I remain concerned about the AP difference. All of that said, I will continue to draw sword and pistol against them and strive to find the answer. As I said, I've still got a couple of tricks to try out. Cheers lads, and Long Live the Governor!! Guild for Law, Order and Justice!!

Hi all. Jumped on the Malifaux bandwagon with the release of 2E and have been having a ton of fun playing a wide variety of Masters and Factions. Guild's Sonnia was my first crew and Guild remains my "go to" faction. I've had varying success against most other Masters and Factions but absolutely no joy against either So'mer or Ophelia. I have tried a variety of Masters and crew combinations but the result remains the same regardless of Strat or Schemes; a nasty beating. Between an inevitable numerical advantage, the extra APs generated by Reckless and Drunk n Reckless, the wicked damage output from Dumb Luck etc. and the mass heals available through Slop Hauler my crews just get annihilated in short order. Throw in the hand demolishing and tar pit Skeeters and an unpleasant experience turns even uglier. Whatever scheme markers I manage to get down are usually removed by game's end. It doesn't help that our Gremlin player is very good in his own right and knows his crew and their capabilities inside out. I have a couple of tricks left to try with Sonnia with Traps and Austringers with Witchling Handler but I would welcome any hints, tips, insights for use with any of the Guild Masters/crews (though I don't have Hoffman, Ryle, Watchers, Guardians or Wardens).

Wet Coast sounds great and will see how the schedule and wallet plays out. I'll just be getting back from attending the Waterloo 200th. Sprectre...drop me a line when you are heading to Edmonton next and I'll do my best to set up a game for you. K

Greetings to you. I'll just be getting back from my holidays but a trip to the coast is always worthwhile. Coupled with a few days of Malifaux sounds like a no brainer and a bloody good idea. I'll see what I can do. I'll hunt down a website for the GT and see what's up. Good to hear from you. Wonder how many other groups there are out there. Kent

Malifaux is alive and well in Edmonton, Alberta, a city best known for the futility of its NHL team... We have a group of around 18 players of whom 8-10 regularly show up on a Wednesday night at All Star and our local tournaments usually attract around 12-14 participants. Grande Prairie has a growing Malifaux scene with 3 lads making the trip to Edmonton this past weekend for Malifaux MayHam. Anyway, just wondering whether there is any Malifaux activity in other parts of the province or in Saskatchewan or B.C.? Cheers. PS If you are in the Edmonton area and looking for a demo, just drop down to All Star on a Wednesday. Either our Henchman or one of our regulars would be happy to introduce you to the game.

Adran's advice to read the schemes carefully is some of the soundest advice that you will receive. I can't tell you how many games I lost, and still do, because I failed to read the schemes carefully. If you have an unrevealed scheme, it doesn't hurt to remind yourself now and again. I got caught up in a killing frenzy the other night and ended up whacking a model I had chosen for Take Prisoner. It was only after the last damage was inflicted that the penny dropped...D'oh!!! This is a great game and a great community. Enjoy and welcome. K

Hands down the best Malifaux AAR I have seen. Really appreciated the commentary and seeing the flips as it made it easy to follow along. Well done Miranda and Chrissie. Hope you do some more. Cheers.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Malifaux. I started playing about a year ago and absolutely love the game. Easy answers first. The girl on p. 25 is Rusty Alyce, Leveticus' Henchman and an Outcast. Given the size restrictions which you impose, I would heartily recommend Sonnia and Lady J. While Stalkers work best with Sonnia and her flame shenanigans, they are a pretty good model and their ability to remove conditions makes them invaluable in many match ups, although Lady J has a great action for removing conditions. For a little extra support I would add a Witchling Handler (if you can find one), a Hunter, Austringer and a Pathfinder and his traps and maybe some extra Stalkers. There are a couple more models I would want in my collection to face the Neverborn. Something that buffs up Will Power like the Guild Lawyer is very handy and the Brutal Effigy helps keep your Master in the fight a bit longer. I started with Sonnia and keep coming back to her. When she works, she works well and is a ton of fun to play. Had a nice win with her earlier today against a Resurr Yan Lo crew. Sonnia was blasting everything and summoning Stalkers from the burning corpses of her enemies. Poor Yan Lo forgot about her Pyrokinesis Ability and wandered into her blast range, much to his regret as he was quickly reduced to a pile of ashes and a new Stalker....lol... Good luck and have fun. Hope this helps. K

My French, I'm ashamed to say, is not good enough to understand much of the dialogue but I really liked the way you introduced the Strategy and Schemes and introduced the two crews. Hope you continue to post your vids. Kent

Good job...really enjoyed the vid and hope you make more. However, Perdita's Hero's Gamble requires you to discard your whole hand, not just certain cards out of your hand. Keep up the good work.

Thanks guys...helpful and fast.... K

Hello and season's greetings, all. Forgive me if this has been asked and answered but my search skills revealed nothing. Simply, does Raspy/Wendigo require LOS to place Ice Pillars? I suspect not but just want to be sure. Thanks all. Kent

All Star Sports Cards and Collectibles in Bonnie Doon Mall is hosting a 50 SS Fixed Faction Tournament on Saturday, November 22, 2014 beginning at 10:00 am. For details and registration please contact the store. So, c'mon down for some Malifaux madness and a day of fun.

I have just stumbled across this thread and have read all the arguments and reviewed the MRB and have concluded, for what it's worth, that the answer, IMHO, is a definite "NO"; you cannot spend 0 AP to gain the "Defensive +0". The starting point is in the "Generate AP" section of the rules, p. 34 in the SRB. It says: "Each model now generates 2 general AP (Masters generate 3), which can be used for most types of Actions the model is allowed to take. The model may possess other Abilities or Conditions that increase or decrease the number of general AP it generates, or generate AP that can only be used in specific ways." So, all models (excluding Masters) have 2 AP; some models may have/possess more or less either through an Ability or a Condition. There is no mention or suggestion that all models have a (0) Action. On the contrary, in the highlighted box on the same page entitled "Zero AP Actions" it specifically says: "Some models will have Actions that have an AP cost of 0. A model may take only one of these 'free' Actions per Activation." This of course, must be read with the first quoted paragraph in mind. The "Some models" is a subset of "Each model". Unless the model possesses a specific Ability/Condition printed on it's card, it does not have a 0 Action. Also, it must be remembered that the Condition under discussion is "Defensive +1: This model gains + to all Df duels." It is not "Defensive +X " where X = the number of AP spent. Just like there is no Condition Poison + 0, there is no Condition Defensive +0. To gain the Condition, and any associated Triggers and Abilities, you MUST spend 1 AP. The Oiran of the OP have the Ability "Reading the Stone" which grants the following: "The first time that this model takes the Defensive Stance Action during its Activation it gains an additional Defensive +1 Condition." The Condition the Oiran receives is an additional "Defensive +1". In order to be an additional Defensive +1 Condition, there must be a pre-existing Defensive +1 Condition. My 2 cents (slightly reduced due to exchange rates)...:-) Kent

Hi: I'm in Edmonton and have an unopened Seamus box set and an opened but untouched Perdita box set. Kent