Amdor

As has been stated above, it's really not difficult to back an elite crew with Ramos's usual mass summoning. I usually run Joss, Hank and Johan with Ramos and still outactivate my opponent by turn 2 if everything goes according to plan. Upgrade-vise I use Under Pressure and Field Generator with the last one depending on the situation, usually Electric Summoning though I've recently discovered the awesomeness of Arcane Reservoir. I find Combat Mechanic to be a bit of a trap, as using it eats up your precious scrap that might not even be there when you need to heal, as well as hand if you're unlucky, since you will want to cheat a weak healing flip. As a support master Ramos doesn't want to be fighting too much himself, so his activation consist of summoning, putting up Arcing Screen and getting in to position, maintaining a 6 death ball that gives everyone to Ml and Df. Then use the summoned spiders to either run schemes or latch onto enemies, making them easier pickings for your beaters. In a nutshell; elite heavy or not, Ramos always wants as many spiders as possible.

I had moderate success and great fun with the following: Joss Langston Arcane Effigy Metal Gamin (pre-errata, now would probably go with an arachnid)

Thanks. The question arose in a resent game and the potentially infinite range felt crazy powerful at the time.

Quick question, is The Formless Mantra supposed to have infinite range?

Rooster riders, at least pre-cuddle. It's not a tiny green man on top of overgrown poultry, it's a bloody 6 point cruise missile.

@dancater Thanks. I'll see if I can get the Ice dancers for the demo.

@dancater, thanks. I've already decided on most of your suggested ideas; the hands are coming in game 1 and the final game's going to be 35ss (maybe 40) Turf war, most likely with standard deployment. The Ice dancers were left out mostly because at the time of ordering there wasn't too much discussion about them, so I was unsure of their effectiveness (also the order was expensive enough as is). I'll see if I can get them during the Easter sale, Raspy could definitely use more scheme runners. But do you think it's really necessary for these demo games if you're suggesting playing mostly with the base box? Although I can see why Snow Storm and Blessed should be excluded, those two can bring unnecessary complexity, why should the Acolytes be left out, they bring a good straight-forward shooting attack and are overall great models?

Actually that's exactly what I suggested in the first post (though didn't dwell on too much) I'll definitely go with hand-picked Strategy and schemes, but I'm having second thoughts on which ones I should go with. I first thought of going with ones that involve fighting as little as possible, just to emphasize the objective-based nature of the game, but that's not very beneficial to Raspy, who's crews are quite killy and fairly slow. So... Turf war sounds quite fitting, not too much movement and removing enemies denies them points. To compensate, the schemes should probably be focused on interaction (if it's not Breakthrough or something similar, the slower average speed isn't going to be an issue). What would you suggest?

@hydranixx, I agree with @Vorschlag as well, I'd love to weave a song of ice and fire. But, what I'm afraid of is the fact that Rasputina is vulnerable to getting locked down in melee, especially if caught without Guarded Advance or support from Snow Storm and Kaeris can fly (as well as Firestarter and any friendly burning models nearby if Kaeris is carrying Grab and drop). To me, this seems to equal in a Kaeris swooping in from out of nowhere and locking down (and most likely killing) Rasputina with her Ca 7 attacks, that can be used in close combat (Ca, so Sub zero is of no use and neither attack needs suits, so Counterspell isn't helping much either). And yep, that's Warding Runes. On it's own it just gives Counterspell, all the neat stuff comes from the Oxfordians (hmm, that'll be a lot of upgrades...). Actually, now that I think about it, I'm starting to see similar issues with Ironsides. She can't fly, but with assistance from her thematic crew she can jump quite a distance and if Rasputina ever makes the mistake of coming within 6", she's definitely going to get hit by Rush 'Em. And then we're at the same point of getting locked downed with an Acting value of 7 attack with the added disadvantage of boosting the enemy, when any models arrive to her aid. This time Sub Zero can limit the onslaught to one attack, but it'll probably be a focused Uppercut, so it's not too helpful. In addition any Oxfordian upgrade can be quite nasty against Raspy (though Blood and Nemesis seem more beneficial than Doom). Edit: In conclusion, it's either going to be Ironsides or Kaeris, but I have to think about it a bit more deeply. Both have nasty tricks that I have to inform my sister about. It mostly comes down to whether I want to deter her from grouping up or spreading out.

Thank you for your responses and special thanks to iamfanboy for reminding me of multiple things I would've screwed up otherwise (I've read the Starter booklet but don't own a copy, so I didn't remember that the early games are on a 18" map. Also, I'm definitely one of those guys who would do the math quickly and just tell the results without explanation). I'll include the hand from the start, I was doubting it myself from the moment I wrote it down (There's not much to keep track of in the first game anyway and without cheating the fight would quickly stagnate). The final game will also be 35-40ss, just so I can roll out the masters for a Grand finale. I thought a difference of 10-15ss would mean just 1 or 2 models and upgrades, but that might be just enough to nudge the game to being cluttered and confusing. I can suggest 50ss games later on, if she seems hooked. I didn't even consider the complexity of playing with upgrades, so I will need to hold back and introduce them slowly (only in the last two games and only 1 or 2 per side). As for the masters, I'm leaning towards going with Ironsides (Sandeep would be neat, but is a summoner, as well as incredibly difficult to keep track of). Kaeris and Mei are too strong (and intentionally avoiding effective actions like Vent Steam might come across as throwing the game) as well as the Freikorps and their blast-ignoring armour (I'd play as thematically as possible to make the games visually simpler to understand and more interesting). I was afraid that Ironsides might get beaten bit too easily (and thus being boring to face), but that just means I don't need to hold back.

So, a little while ago my sister agreed to play a Malifaux demo game with me on the condition, that she gets to choose any Master from the Factions I collect and I'd get their full thematic crew for her to play with. As the title suggests, she went with Rasputina and I now have all the frozen heart models apart from the Ice dancers on my painting schedule. I know my way around the game and have a good idea of how to teach the basics, but I've got a few issues I'd like to hear your opinion about. My main issue is not knowing what master to play against Rasputina. I have all of the Arcanists except for Marcus (and with Sandeep on the way), Shenlong, Von Schill and Leveticus. So far I've debated between Mei Feng, Ironsides and Kaeris but I'm not sold on any of them (Mei and Kaeris might counter Raspy's tactics a bit too hard and Ironsides might get squished way too easily). What masters/crews would you suggest to provide some challenge but not be overwhelming for a new player. As for the games themselves, I've got a good idea but would like to hear if you have something more interesting to suggest. I've read the scenarios in the Starter box and devised my own Tutorial consisting of three games. First game would be a couple of minions without any general tactical actions apart from walk, schemes, strats, upgrades or hands. This would teach the basics of activating and taking actions. Second game would be a bit bigger and includes enforcers, upgrades, hands and the rest of general tactical actions, as well as possibly introducing Victory Points. Last game would be a full blown 50 ss Scrap with crew building (with possible assistance), soulstone mechanics and either preset Strat & schemes (So that Raspy's not at a disadvantage) or randomly flipped ones if she wants it. Do you think this works, or should I add a fourth game and take the introductions a little more slowly.

Pity I don't play Ressers, cause I'd really like to field Goryo and Draugr... oh wait, there's always Levi.

Damnit, I already had an extensive shopping list for Gencon and didn't plan on spending any more money, but screw it; I want that dancing Djinn. I think I can live without the other guys, at least for a while. In other news, it seems the Satori got the generalist name Yokai...

Not too excited about playable gremlins myself, but it's fun to speculate and there might be other interesting things in there. If Into the Bayou follows the theme of the other expansion books, pretty much all of the pursuits are loosely or partially based on Gremlin masters. What I'm expecting is: Bokor: Definitely a Zoraida-type debuffer, most likely a mage utilizing Curses. Som'er: Supporting the team at their expense and benefiting from friendly suffering. Ulix: Minion master based on Husbandry, summons and buffs pigs or beasts. Brewmaster: Drunken Kung fu and other buffs for being Intoxicated. Most likely talents to brew stronger booze. Mah: Survivalist based on wilderness, specialising in either melee (like Mah) or ranged (like Bushwhackers). Quite likely Wong and Ophelia will have their own pursuits, but I can't speculate anything about them right now. One thing the book is sure to have is expansions to liquors, brewing and illnesses with Intoxication becoming an Illness.

Just adding up some totals: Yan Lo would come to a total of $ 101: Crew box ($ 40), Toshiro ($ 16), Izamu ($ 16), Yin ($ 11) and Komainu ($ 18). If you do, though, you'd be completely set for Yan Lo. Tara would be $ 87: Crew box ($ 45), Guild autopsies ($ 21) and Punk zombies ($ 21) and you'd still be lacking a bit in heavy hitting. If you get something like Izamu, the total will be around $ 103. So getting a functioning crew would cost around $ 100 with either of the two, although Tara might make due with a bit less. Of course the actual cost will vary wildly based on the bargains, taxes and shipping costs you encounter. On another topic, I think you might have mixed McMourning with Leveticus. Since you're sure the "corpse snake" isn't The student of viscera, the next thing that comes to mind is the snake-like abomination in the middle of this picture (Painted by ConqueringWyrm, the Toad painter. http://themostexcellentandawesomeforumever-wyrd.com/topic/115420-leveticus-friends/ Nicked from this forum post). Leveticus is quite into the body horror theme, so it's easy to see his crew making people queasy.

The Viktorias might be the best hard counter for the Resurrectionists as a faction, since their main defences are high wounds and Hard to wound, both of which the Viktoria are great dealing with thanks to Mark of Shez'uul and solid damage tracks (min damage 5 with Sisters in fury). With careful timing and placement they can also take out a bunch of newly summoned models with their Whirlwind trigger. Taelor is an essential counter as well with "Welcome to Malifaux!" Against the typical, summoning-heavy Resser I'd probaly recommend Misaki or Leveticus in addition to the Viktorias. Misaki can dive in and kill the enemy master, halting all summoning and severly crippling the enemy crew, while pretty much everyone in core Leveticus crew can farm Abominations from the usually weakened summons with Desolate Warping. Also, Leveticus' Unmaking attack ignores H2W and H2K, which is a plus against ressers. Resser also tend to be slow and favour close combat, so shooters, like Convict gunslinger, Freikorps trapper and Hans might do well against them. I'm unsure of the usefulness of the rest of his abilities against Ressers, but Von Schills gun ignores Hard to wound as well, so it might be effective, especially if you can get Stand and Shoot to go off. Against Kirai the Viktorias are still great with Whirlwind and Mark of Shez'uul, althought every other master - apart from Tara and Von Schill - has a Cast attack that can get past Incorporeal. Hans, The Nothing beast and Freikorps Librarian can get past Incorporeal as well. Against McMourning Johan is your guy, thanks to his condition removal will keep your crew free of poison bombs and general poison harrasment from McMourning's and Sebastians Catalyst and Sebastians Induction, which bumps poison damage from 1 to 3, and his and Relic hammer, which can deal with McMournings Flesh constructs. Hamelin might seem effective as well, since the He and Nix have Nihilism, but flooding the board with rats and stolen almost guarantees McMourning a Flesh Construct per turn thanks to Moonlighting, which he will have. Also, McMourning's Precise ignores most common defences (including all of Freikorps) and his combination of 14 wounds, Hard to Wound and Organ Donor make him incredibly hard to kill with damage alone. Tara and Jack Daw might be the best options to disable him, Tara through burying and and Jack Daw through Paralyzing with Nurses, while Misaki and Leveticus might be best equipped to deal with him for good. Outside master, Killjoy, Alyce and Bishop's haymaker might be useful against the good doctor, as well as (heavily theorizing here) The Nothing beast, as the Ca 7 on it's attack easily tops McMourning's Wp of 5, Precise doesn't get past Incorporeal, if you can empty your hand it's Df 9 can easily top his Ml 6 and with Voided set up you can retaliate for every Ml attack he hits with. (Damnit, now I wan't to try Tara and the NB against McMourning, I'll report here as soon as it happens) This is mostly just theoryfauxing based on the books, but based 2 years of experience almost exclusively against Ressers. Still, take it with a bit of salt.

"Don't make me (0) He's Mad Now... you"

That's Hannah, the chief librarian of the Freikorps. She's technically Von Schill's designated Henchman but also a mercenary, so anyone can bring her. Despite her steam harness (the mech suit) she's more of a supporter than a beatstick (fighter). She's got a good melee attack that reaches far and can effect multiple models, she can steal magic spells from other models, she can remove targets for the rest of the turn with an upgrade, she's got the normal Freikorps defences of armour and immunity to blasts and pulses, she increases her crews hand size and disrupts enemy magics. So yeah, she's got quite the toolbox of abilities that can help any crew and she's sold on her own, so she can be added to any crew you deside to get.

...yyep. PVC or not, he's coming with me.

Might seem odd, but for me it was the Captain. When I started playing, I didn't see much worth in his pushing skills and thought of him as bit too fraqile and expensive guy with a nice hammer, that can light things on fire. As I matured as a player I learned the importance of positioning and began to value his skills more and more. Then I played a single game where I could justify him over Joss and now I'm in love with the guy.

It's three unique sculpts so it's quite hard for it to come in a either/or configuration like the coryphee.