paradoxstorm

I hope the father-son connection works out for you, but as the father in my father-son Malifaux group I want my son enjoying his life and hobbies not worrying about my feelings about the game. If my son does continue with Malifaux and we get to connect, I will count that as a bonus. (My other son is a 40k lover, sigh. But we still bond over painting minis.) Wish I could have talked to you before your game. I would have suggested putting less pressure on yourself to get everything right from the start. Got an email from my very experienced and highly competent regular opponent last week saying "ooops, I misplayed some of my models, you actually won the game we thought you lost." This isn't checkers where the rules can be written out in a couple of pages (at most). This is a game with a fairly deep and extensive rule set that takes time and energy and practice to master. And even then experienced players can still make mistakes when playing unfamiliar models. As long as you are having fun, just follow the rules as best you can and get better as you play more games. You'll learn more as you play more. And, you never did say, how did your dad feel about the game?

Someone else will have to help you with players near you. There are several ways to get started and you'll have to choose what works for you. If there is an active player community near you going in for a demo day is a good start. Or if you can simply find someone (ask around for a Henchman) to walk you through a basic starter game that's good too. For me selecting a starting crew was best managed by reading the model descriptions in the big rule book (and now Crossroads). Everyone has their favorite master/faction and the only wrong choice is a master/faction you personally don't enjoy playing. For me it was hard to sort through all the online chatter from faction acolytes to determine which faction was best for me--hence the books. Once you have narrowed down your choice make sure one or more of your choices is currently in stock. The one downside of this game is that as a small company Wyrd has struggled to get manufacturing organized so that a broad range of models are regularly available. But there are enough that you should be able to find something you like that is easily available. Buy models, assemble, paint, play. (Once you have a first and second master picked out, many folks on the forums will be able to help you select models to build out crews for those masters. And, yes, nobody can pick just one, so just surrender now and plan on two masters.) Your initial purchase should include: Either the small or large rule book depending on your budget and desire to read the model descriptions and/or fluff. A crew box for your preferred first master. A box of models to build out your first crew. Something to use for counters, soulstones, etc. These can be dice, beads, decorative stones, or specially manufactures items depending on your tastes and budget. 30mm counters/markers are frequently used and a box or two of 30mm bases will work really well to get you going. If you don't already own some paints, brushes, glue, etc. you'll want some. Most will strongly recommend a fate deck with the Malifaux suits printed on them. You can use a regular deck of playing cards but it is a pain, so count me among those who recommend the deck. Well worth the additional cost. If you are using an older (metal) box set you'll probably want an arsenal deck, although if your budget is constrained you can make cards by hand copying the text from the large rule book and/or Crossroads books. From there you have tons of options depending on your budget and preferences. I fell like I am forgetting something, but I can't think of what it is. Oh well, whatever it is, someone else will surely point it out before too much longer. I was a little bit amazed to be the first responder to this post, then I remembered that there are a couple of large Malifaux tournaments this weekend so the normal crowd isn't around in full force to answer your question. I expect you'll get more replies on Monday when folks have had a chance to recover a bit.

I like metal models so I bought all of the arsenal decks 'cause I like metal models and I like having anything I might possibly need comfortably in hand. If you are buying plastics and getting all but a handful of cards you probably don't need the arsenal decks, and as I understand it there is no "tournament legal" printing of the cards so you can pretty easily make your own if you have access to the big rule book and Crossroads. If you have access to a scanner and printer, simply scan and print the relevant page, cut out the copy of the card and glue it to an unused magic or pokemon card. Less pretty, use a word processor, type the text into appropriately sized text boxes, print, cut, paste. Even less pretty, take a 3x5 index card, cut to an appropriate size, hand write the appropriate text on the card. Or, if you don't like the "do it yourself" approach and have $$ to waste, buy the arsenal decks, take out the cards you need, leave the rest in the game store where some unsuspecting non-malifaux player will pick them up, read them, become curious, and start playing.

Love 'em both. Must remember to save $ for gencon and black friday.

I can't speak for the other masters, but I started with Rasputina and found her to be relatively straight forward. Some of her support models are hard to get right now, so proxies are a must. Tried Colette for the first time yesterday and I can say that I definitely have some learnin' to do before I try to win with her, although part of that is unlearning the approach I use with Raspy. My son started with Mei Feng and while she has some tricks, you can start off with relatively straight forward play. All that said, if Outcasts are "speaking" to you then go for it. They look like fun to play to me---I'd like to get a crew together and try them out. Also, if you have a local shop with henchman ask about demo days. The flgs I frequent has them once per month, and often there are folks around willing to show newbies the ropes on a pick-up basis.

If you have one or both, go through the big rule book and/or Crossroads and read the fluffy descriptions of masters and some of their themed models. I found a couple of masters that "spoke" to me and I have not regretted the choice. From a game play perspective any choice you make is fine (see above comments by others) the only "mistake" is getting a crew that you personally do not enjoy playing.

For me the short answer is "henchman." Someone who can work with you as you learn. Edit: I am going to add the large rule book and Crossroads to my answer. Those are great for browsing models and getting a good sense of their flavor. I don't think it is exactly what OP had in mind with their question, but it should be close enough.

Watching the auction for a friend who lacks ebay.

You in the U.S.? I managed a snowstorm, but there is a guy in my group still looking for one. If you find a Silent One I am definitely interested.

For the OP--if you are playing friendly games one word absolutely saves you: Proxy. There is something better about playing the real model, but I've grown rather attached to some of the proxies I have been using. If you have an ebay account there is a new listing for a Viks crew + Colette crew + some other stuff. I would appreciate it if you buy it before I get home from work and talk myself into buying two crews I already own. (I really, really like those two crews and have a bit of an impulse control problem when it comes to them.) Speaking of poor impulse control---I have a plastic Viks crew in the box and it will be at least 3 months before I get to it. If you absolutely, positively can't wait for the new run to hit stores, pm me since I can wait. As for the rest of it--I agree, it gets frustrating not being able to get models and I look forward to the day when Wyrd does have a much more predictable production schedule.

Not sure why, but it took several minutes for the file to download to my computer--long enough that I thought it wasn't working the first two times and quit. Third time I opened the file and did other stuff for a bit. File opened fine given some time. I don't have a color printer so I'll be taking the file to a local print shop and have it printed on heavy paper of some sort.

LOL!

I've run into that a couple of times. Fortunately it was in casual enough games that we accepted a "ruling" from the store henchman of "we usually play it as ... " But if I were in a serious game/tournament I would have been upset for myself, or dissapointed for my opponent. Best to make sure everyone is on the same page before the game begins. Even if I don't like the agreed to terrain restrictions, knowing them allows me to adapt my game. Midgame decisions are problematic in that they can easily be abusive to one player or the other. (I like winning, but only through skill and luck of the cards....an adverse midgame terrain decision/clarification that goes against my opponent is a bit too much like kicking a puppy--or being kicked if it goes against me.)

Mold arrived yesterday, so with a one-day holiday for the postal service about one week for delivery. Later today I'll actually get to try it out and see how I manage it. For anyone ordering, I should mention that I go an automated order conformation (which needs updating, I think we are past the pre-xmas rush) and then nothing until the mold arrived--made me a little nervous not getting an email confirming shipment or that a human had actually seen my order, but all is well.

Looking good.