admiralvorkraft

They're good, but that's 14 stones of depressingly non-minion models and if I'm going to pay 10 stones for Graves I'd rather just take Ryle. That being said, Tannen in a Lead Lined Coat can get awfully frustrating for people. I love both models, I just wish Lucius worked with them better.

I aim for exactly 1750 each time, but that's because I think it's fun. Flash fiction is totally acceptable and awesome, as are poems (epic and otherwise). At least they are in my book.

I would disagree slightly with the upgrades point. I always run with Secret Assets - Hidden Sniper is extremely useful in pretty much any match-up. I'll also bring Legalese against Outcasts (because giving Lucius the option to use the Steam Trunk is too funny for words) and if I think my opponent is going to go for breakthrough. I never take Surprisingly Loyal in Guild anymore. It's lovely in Neverborn, but there just aren't good Mimic minions other than the Lawyer which he can take anyway.

It's 2015, you can all three get a room together, no one will care. Heck, invite PraetorDragon and your filth-mongering will be immortalized in verse.

And then there's where I'm at; "Man, I'd use everything in the Hoffman box, I should get that next. Say, Hoffman's a cool master, but I really need Ramos' box to get the most out of him... Oh, hello there Arcanists. I wasn't going to, but if you insist..." Wyrd has designed their game extremely well from that perspective, and I don't even mind.

Only thing I might suggest is dropping one of the Riflemen for a Depleted. You can farm the Depleted for stones all game long (eight wounds and htk make it pay for itself with Devil's Deal) or you can use it as a cheap roadblock piece. But that looks like a solid list.

Honestly Lucius really shines in Neverborn. Bringing a powerful shooting core to a faction full of fast combat models goes really well. It's not gimmicky, there's no central combo to break, you're just filling your crew with models that Lucius can get a lot of work out of.

I've never run Neverborn Lucius without an illuminated (or two). Even without much Brilliance play I always get more than 7 Stones worth of work out of them.

The Guardian is better at holding territory in my experience. A 3" engagement range, 40mm base, and Ml7 are really good for locking down an area and it allows him to pretty much cover two squat markers by himself. I'll also baseline take him over Franc in Lucius and McCabe lists where I don't really care if anyone dies, and the Minion characteristic is a good boost. And the new Guardian model is way better than party-hat wearing, rusty-cleaver wielding Francisco.

Theoryfaux here; There are models (even some masters) that have a pretty well defined role that does determine (more or less) when they activate in a turn. For example, when I play Lucius I'll default to activating him late, after most of my models have moved into position - that way he has the freedom to pass AP to the minions that can use it the best, or capitalize on enemy movement to get a beater into place. Sonnia likes to activate in the middle of the turn, after something important has burning on it, or early if she has a bead on something that needs to die. Ramos likes to activate early so he can get more spiders out and bring up his construct buffs. (Un)fortunately Kirai can, depending on her upgrades and the board state, be a summoner, a support master, an assassin, or a friendly manipulator. So what I guess I'm saying is that you can't even give her a general activation suggestion. You have to figure out who you need her to be each round to help you accomplish your strategy and schemes. Which is fun!

That sounds a lot like my experience of playing against Somer. Great job hitting the ground running though, it's a tricky game and Hoffman is no slouch.

Oh, I agree. I said "fun," not reliable... And she can do some really fun stuff when she does get adrenaline going.

Another Opening, Another Show Words: 1750 Ingredients: All (okay, some of them are not well worked in, call them garnish) Questions, comments, critiques are always welcomed and encouraged.

Another Opening, Another Show Words: 1750 Ingredients: All (some are kind of a stretch...) Questions, comments and critiques are all more than welcome. Call me Miss Direction. I’m seduction in sequins and as out of place on the docks as an exorcist at the Golden Star, but when you get on the Southern Belle’s bad side you start picking up the black-mark jobs like this is one. Jobs nobody wants to touch. That’s no reason not to walk like I own the place. I ignore the catcallers that stagger out of the bars, and count off the quays as I pass. In two hours this whole area will be hungover, the whirring of mechanical limbs and the swearing of half-dead workers will break the mist-bound silence. But now? Now the docks are still alive, dangerous and noisy. Now even I can move unseen. Quay thirteen, lucky me. The warehouse is around here somewhere. My eyes dart across the grim facades, prefabricated Earthside, planted by the earliest human colonists, painted on numbers fading into an endless wash of gray… I’m used to picking out individual marks in an audience of unlit faces, and still I missed the men before it was almost too late. There are three of them, burly and not as drunk as they should be. Their movements are heavy with a stupid, cruel purpose. “Hey little lady, looking for something?” The littlest one says, I peg him as their leader by virtue of his ability to string three words together. The other two look like grunters. “Just out for a stroll,” I say. “Took a wrong turn did ya? Lucky you run into us, eh? Me an’ the boys’ll have ya back on the road in no time.” “I’m sure your ‘boys’ have better things to do with their evening. I’d hate to make y’all go out of your way on my account.” Dammit, when Cass says "y’all" men melt, when I say it… The leader laughs. Your loss. I miss the next few words he says, but his boys are closing around me. I know what they want, and I know how disappointed they’ll be when they find out what I’ve actually got between my legs - not that I mean to let them get that far. “Wait,” I laugh a little, flirtatious, that’s the ticket, “I’ve got something better.” I reach back to let my hair down, “I keep it hidden…” I pluck my hairpin free and toss my head, even in the dim light I can feel their eyes drawn into the waves - I’ve always been proud of my hair. While they’re all watching the show I shake my wrist and a soulstone falls into my palm. It’s a sliver of a thing, really, but it glows just the same. I let the hairpin swing between my fingers and tuck up against the back of my hand, out of sight. “See?” I show him the stone. My left hand is twirling a lock of hair. That surprises him, “Ned, get it,” he says, and the slab of meat on my right comes closer, reaches his hand out… My hairpin bites his wrist an his yelp of surprise becomes a snore before he hits the ground. I spin, hair flying, the other brute hasn’t caught up with events and I throw the pin, it lodges in his neck and he joins his friend on the ground. The leader is staring at me. “You were right about one thing,” I say, “I’m looking for something. Show me warehouse J-13.” “W- why would you be looking for that?” “Personal reasons.” But now I think we might be here for the same thing… I see his eyes flick to the right, Thank you. I clutch the soulstone in my fist. I feel the heat seeping into my hand. I can’t do much, but I can do this. I start to sing, wordlessly and low. He’s floating towards me, feet barely touching the ground, his eyes roll back in his head. I plant a kiss on his forehead and step around him, he blows softly in the breeze as I slip around the corner. He’ll wake up with a hell of a hangover. The door is already open a crack, and I can hear voices inside, a bang of falling boxes and someone cursing through gritted teeth. I hear a match struck and smell kerosene. I lean against the door and glimpse a sliver of the inside. “...told you we need a light, there’s too much crap on the ground.” “Okay, but keep it low and make it quick.” “Not even a thank you?” “No, just do the… I’m going to sit. I might have broken my toe.” Two voices. One male, one female. They’ve known each other a while… “Are you going to be okay?” “We’ll get one of the oxen outside to carry the goods. What are you, my mother?” “Someone has to be.” The female voice is injured, the male voice is worried. The “oxen” are out of commission. “Just keep looking.” I slip through the door like I’m checking my props after the house has opened. Only instead of Cass yelling at me again I’m willing to bet these guys have guns. I follow the shadows around the edges of the warehouse. The woman is sitting on an open crate with a long rifle across her lap, while the man shuffles around stacks of wooden crates. “Iron, iron, iron… What’s this? Ah, more thrice-damned iron. Are you sure there’s something here?” “Boss wouldn’t have sent me with if it was a bust.” “Do I need to remind you who our boss is?” “He may be the Guild’s least competent Sergeant, but he’s got a sixth sense when it comes to organized crime. And a seventh when it comes to almost getting me killed. Keep looking.” The rifle’s a problem. Not that I fancy my chances against even the one man if it comes to a straight-up fight. He has thrown aside his long coat, rolled up his sleeves, and I can make out the muscles in his arms from here as he pries the top off yet another crate. “Remind me again why we’re in here, and the muscle is out there?” He says. “Because there isn’t enough scrip in the city to weigh down tongues that stupid,” She answers, "I’m sorry I busted my toe." “Not sorry enough to help.” I learned to throw my voice back Earthside, and copy other people’s voices, the journey through the Breach has made me better at both. “What did you say?” The woman says. “Nothing,” the man replies. “Uh-huh, here I am covering your ass and you’re going to sass me because you don’t want to open some boxes?” The man straightens up, turns around, he’s ready for a fight. I tune them out. The crates are all labeled, with shipping dates and destinations, the seal of a Guild certified inspector, and the point of origination - a town called Promise. I remember the letter that came with my marching orders. Signed with the single letter B it said that the crates I want would have been stamped by one Samantha E. Algers, Engineer First Class. I pick my way through stacks of crates; peering, searching. I find the crate in a pile of smaller boxes. I know it’s the one before I read the seal. It takes great care to make something look careless when it’s not, and I’ve been in the business long enough to know when someone is trying to play me. I nudge the box, it feels loose in the stack, like someone has arranged the whole thing for an easy snatch-and-grab. I give it a tug and find that it’s heavier than I expected, no matter, if I can just work a board loose... I get to work with one of the throwing knives Cass sent with me like they were some kind of worthwhile weapon. After a few minutes I’ve separated two of the slats and then all I have to do is lean. There’s a crack, and I realize that the others have stopped arguing. I freeze, listen. “Is there someone there?” The man calls. “What do you think they’re going to say if they are?” The woman says. “Point,” the man says, then louder, “Alright, I’m coming back there. Have your hands where I can see them.” I can almost hear the woman rolling her eyes. The first bullet blows the corner off a crate to my left. I’m pretty sure that I’m safe behind the pile of iron-filled boxes, but now I’m in a hurry. I twist the knife and lean again and the slat breaks free. I excavate with the knife, pulling out bundles of straw and clots of sawdust until I can see something glowing there in the depths. I say a prayer to the goddess of thieves and ne’er-do-wells as I plunge my hand in and pluck out one, two, three soulstones. They are heavy and almost perfectly round, a far cry from the sliver I’ve stashed back in my sleeve. I can hear boots coming around the stack of crates. I have my proof, it’s time to go. I stand up and the second bullet cuts way too close to my face. Rifle-woman is on the move. There’s an odd sort of calm that comes over me. The calm of my partner losing their lines in front of a hostile crowd, the calm of my fingers going numb as I try to work the lock in the water tank without the right skeleton key. I’ve been a lot of things since I crossed through the breach, things I never meant to be; a revolutionary, a spy, a killer. But in this moment everything is clear, I know who I am. I’m an escape artist. Everything in the world is a lock and a chain, a wall is no different than a straight jacket escape. The stones start glowing brighter. The wall behind me is mostly just empty space so long as I arrange the molecules just right. It’s no different than the tumblers in a lock, not really. The man’s face is wonderful to see as he watches me slip through the cement and stone wall. I give him a bow. Somebody is going to be mad to learn that soulstones are being smuggled through Malifaux city and down river without cutting us in on it. There will be killing of poor tormented souls. But right now? I’m whistling, high off the performance. “Curtain’s up, away we go…”

A couple of things, coming from someone who has struggled and struggled with Lucius; First, Lucius isn't fragile. His crew is, but hang on to some low cards for Highest Authority and he will laugh off a surprising number of attacks. Second, there are a couple of issues with that crew. The first is only one Guild Guard - they get massively better with a friend around, ask any Arcanist how good a 4 stone Df 6 model with armor is. Also, Lucius needs a Lawyer around. Right now the Sergeant is passing out your Wp buff, but the Lawyer is tougher, provides high Ca attacks against Wp (which Lilith HATES) and provides the Wp buff to non-Guardsmen which gives you greater flexibility in crew construction, and most importantly, is a Minion. Of course Austringers really are that good, like don't-bring-two-if-you-want-to-keep-your-friends good. Final note; it's easy to think that Lucius' primary ability is Issue Command. In your next game try limiting yourself to walking, That's What Lackey's Are For and attacks. Only Issue Command if you have a really great opportunity and the cards in hand to make it happen. That's what finally made him click for me. Lucius is also a master that forces you to play really "good" Malifaux. A lot of masters can let you play murder-the-other-crew and give you time left over to quick finish up your schemes. Lucius doesn't. That means that everything you do needs to be focused on scoring you points. If Lilith is sitting in the middle of the board eating one model a turn then unless it's Turf War/Reckoning/Make Them Suffer she's not scoring any points. Work around her. Lucius is not an easy master to play, he is certainly the trickiest Guild master to get the hang of, and you will usually lose most of your crew. But if you concentrate on scoring your points you can almost always win anyway.

Now is the time for every good man... I'll fight for the Guild.

Frontline is pretty much required if you want to get anything fun out of Ironsides (in my experience, ymmv) - the discard to gain adrenaline allows her to use the (0) on her card to engage, and the (0) on the upgrade improves her already considerable tarpitability.

I've only run Hoffman once, but I really ended up feeling like All-Constructs wasn't a great way to go. You hit diminishing marginal returns really quickly if you start spending your whole turn setting up Power Loop, and you suffer from a lack of cheap activations even with Arcanist assets opening up a huge number of strong 4 point options.

That's sweet. Not every Malifaux story has to end in murder.

Bring a Watcher (or a Peacekeeper I guess) and your Wardens can do their thing at Sh 6... It's a fun thought, and Hoffman's extra actions can get more shots off with the built in tomes. In a scheme heavy Turf War game that could be super effective.

Yes the condition stacks, yes it will all be removed at once. Outside of low Wp beaters (Teddy springs to mind but Lillith would actually make a pretty good target) stacking Fees isn't worth the trouble in my experience.

Right, you keep your increasingly-worthless models, and then all they need to do is run forward and get blown up (again). It sounds funny, even if it's not as effective as other options.

Lelu is awesome in a Zoraida crew - with Lillitu of course. Hem them so that you can push Lelu around like nobody's business, hire a nurse to pass +2 damage and you've got a first turn Vendetta (or maybe Assassinate) run. I'm also pretty sure you can then cast healing effects on Lillitu and pass that healing even if she hasn't already taken damage, but I could be wrong about that (it's not a combo I've run, but I've had it run against me).

Alright! I'm in, of course.

All good points, thanks guys. What do you look for in schemes when you know your opponent will have activation control? Stuff like Plant Evidence and Breakthrough I normally like, but they're so AP intensive that I feel like they'll make the out activation worse.