Freman

I would say Leveticus because of Rusty Alyce, then Tara for Nothing Beast (remember to get his new Henchman card if your set doesn't come with it) and Void Wretches (good scheme runners), and then Jack Daw. Jack is cool, but the models in his box (even with Montressor's improvements) really work best with him.

Are you getting the Wretch to "throw rat" at another rat to bring it down to the two wounds that Von Schill needs for Finish the Cur?

It's either her or Sandeep, yes.

Any model can use the Scion's (0) ability to unbury it at the cost of a couple of wounds.

Bigger they Are is very good in a Jack Daw crew where you can be sure that when you want an enemy model to have an upgrade, it has one. In other crews it's... situational.

My bad. Yes. You ignore buried friendly models when trying to bury enemy models, but buried enemy models (well one buried enemy model) prevents you burying another.

You can Glimpse, then Pine Box, it's the way you do the double beast beast bomb. You can also copy Pine Box with Hannah to get another bury, but that might be overkill. If you have the cards you can summon with Karina, activate it, then bury it with Hannah's Void Record, whereupon, at the end of the turn, instead of losing half its wounds, gaining slow, and being buried, it loses half its wounds, gains slow, but is unburied so it's not taking up space. Void Shield on the Nothing Beast allows friendly models within 10" to ignore buried enemy models for the purposes of Glimpse (friendlies still count) and given most of a themed Tara crew has the ability to bury enemy models that's pretty handy.

When I put mine together I found the left rein was broken, so I rolled out a thin piece of green stuff to replace it. When I got it all together and painted I found the broken section of rein stuck in the Emissary's box. Oh well.

The other thing I like about campaigns is the way it encourages you not to charge in with guns blazing. You don't want your unit killed or injured so you play the game more as you would in real life, sneaking around doing schemes, not trading shots unless you absolutely have to.

I just build for my schemes and strats. Outcasts are so varied that there's not really much you can tailor for anyway.

With Masters like Parker, Hamelin or Jack Daw, where they can command or push him into position, saving his precious AP for the important task of flaming people, he's okay. Apparently he's a popular hire with Sonia Criid for handing out burning. Perhaps Bone Leveticus, if you had a Dead Doxy or Rotten Belle, or if you hire a Performer and she has a spare AP to lure him along could work too, but most of the time, if he has to get places under his own steam, he's not worth it.

Malifaux is a little different to other wargames in that you play a faction rather than a master. Though it's possible for all masters to do all schemes and strategies, it is likely that one will prefer one style of scheme/strat over another. The Viktorias for example excel in doing massive damage, and since you effectively get two models for the price of one they can also be handy for holding quarters or scheme marker dropping. However they are not particularly tough, being the epitome of glass cannons in Malifaux, so schemes that require your master to stay alive may not be easy for them. Ronin are decent, but they are six stones which makes them mid cost models for Outcasts (we're rather heavily weighted to the 9-10 stone range, possibly because a lot of our models are mercenaries). We prefer four stone models like Void Wretches or Winged Plague for minor duties like that. Cheaper models also allow us to bump up our activation count as ideally you want to equal or exceed the number of activations your opponent has available in order to prevent them being able to act without interruption from you. I think that Neverborn have some better theming options than Outcasts, for example Lilith leading a full Nephilim crew (while not the most powerful around) gives you a mix of scheme runners (terror tots) beaters (Nekima and Mature Nephilim) and mid range models (Black Blood Shaman, Young Nephilim). That doesn't mean that that is the strongest crew available to Lilith, but it covers all the bases and remains themed. Outcasts, perhaps unfortunately, are a bit of a grab bag. We're basically a faction defined by not really fitting in with the other factions. Hamelin has his rats, Von Schill his Freikorps, Leveticus his arcane abominations, Parker his bandits, Tara the creatures of the great void, Misaki her Lost Blossom minions, Jack Daw his madmen, and the Viktorias their mercenaries. We can mix models (as can any faction) but sometimes it's a bit harder to play a theme and cover all the bases. If the Viktorias really grab you, but the other masters and models don't do much for you, while Neverborn offers a variety of models you like, then it might be better to play Neverborn. I can't imagine anything more frustrating than investing time and money in the game then finding out you don't really like playing the faction you chose.

Parker. He's flexible with his upgrade switching, he supports his crew, but he doesn't do so much that you're in a constant state of analysis paralysis (Exhibit A, Jack Daw). His themed crew are decent, and have some nice tricks with scheme markers. That said I can't really compare him to other Wave 4 crews and Masters since I only play Outcasts, so I can only say that I think Parker is well-designed, I can't say that he's better designed than any other Wave 4 Master.

You can start your crew with one Henchman, one Enforcer and an unlimited number of minions (up to the stone cap). Henchmen and Enforcers basically start with stats of 5Def 5Wp 8Wd Wk5 Cg6 Ht2, cost 8 stones, and has a cache of 4 stones (which are the only stones they can take as a cache, unlike regular games any stones you don't spend on your crew are wasted), Henchman can take two upgrades three skills and use soulstones, Enforcers can take one upgrade two skills and not use soulstones (like in the regular game). Minions start with 4Def 4Wp 4Wd Wk5 Ch6 Ht2, cost 4 stones and can gain one skill. When first forming your team you can give them stat adjustments at a certain price, but only to a maximum of +1 in any stat and initially only to three stats, and all stats except wounds have a hard limit of 7 (wounds are 14). Gremlins trade one point of Ht for one point on another stat. Henchmen can take one skill (things like Nimble, Casting Expert, Melee Expert, Shooting Expert, Flurry, Rapid Fire, nothing overpowered but preferably ones that you would pick to represent the character of your Henchman). Your flat Ml/Sh/Ca attack abilities are 5 for Henchmen and Enforcers, 4 for minions, they can be improved with experience but again only up to a hard limit of 7. Every three stat points a model gains, however they're spread across the stat card, increases the value of that model by one soul stone for the purpose of choosing crews (trying to keep things a little balanced). Because Gremlins exchange a point of Ht they can gain three stat points without paying the extra stone initially. Reckless cannot be purchased on a starting crew, it's just too powerful. Obviously you choose a faction and that determines the models you can take as allies. Each crew can take one ally, which is a model hired out of the soul stones in its cache (stones earned at the end of a battle) which can be an Enforcer or Minion from that faction. You hire the ally, paying its cost equivalent in soul stones, for one battle. They don't stay, and if you want to use them again you have to pay for them again (similar to the mercenary rules in Mordheim). Obviously, since you should have no spare stones after making your initial crew you cannot hire an ally in your first confrontation. Faction also somewhat affects the kinds of territory you have access to, and obviously the upgrades you can purchase. You choose weapons for your units. A pistol and a melee weapon is free. A brace of pistols (which gives you both a ranged and melee attack, and positive flips) is one stone. A rifle is free, and a rifle and melee weapon is one stone. Paired melee weapons (like Neverborn claws) give positive flips in melee and are free. Pretty much everything is 1/2/3 damage at this point, and only changes when you're able to buy upgrades, skills, or new weapons. Ca attacks can be used at both range and in melee and cost one stone. Every battle that your characters take part in allows them to add one stat point to their statistics sheet or their Sh/Ml/Ca value. Obviously if they're on the sidelines none of their abilities are going to improve, and just to avoid people jamming all their bonuses onto one stat, you cannot increase each stat sequentially, you could not, for example, fight two battles and put both stat points on your Sh value (obviously this ceases to apply if they've already reached their limit in their other stats). They can, instead of gaining a stat point, decide to attach a suit to their Df or Wp stats or to their Sh/Ml/Ca ability. That has a limit of one suit for Def or WP, or two for Sh/Ml/Ca. This isn't so useful to start with, but as you learn skills that require triggers it can be handy to have a trigger built in. A sniper with a rifle might, for example, gain the critical strike trigger, and then having two built into his Sh attack could prove very useful, allowing him, if you have a high in hand, to hit a 4/5/6 track even with his basic weapon. A counter-attack ability that requires a on your defensive flip will be far more reliable if it's built in. A wizard whose gains the ability to blast on a or critical strike on a would benefit greatly from having both those options automatically available to them. Every three gains increases the value of the model by one stone, that includes suits. After battles you earn an amount of soul stones derived from your victory conditions, you always get one stone for each model that survived the battle (play carefully) plus one stone for every point you got in your schemes and stones, and one stone for winning the battle. Potentially you could come out of the battle with 15+ stones if you play cannily, so you won't need to scrimp and save much. Shopping is similar to that in Shifting Loyalties, where you have tables that you flip against to see what you can buy, skills which can be allocated to a model, triggers which can be added to their Sh/Ml/Ca abilities, equipment that can be switched around from game to game. There are also weapon shops where you can go, but that's pretty basic, you pick the type (melee, paired melee, pistol, brace of pistol, rifle) flip once, 1-5 is a weapon no different to the one you start with, 6-10 is a 2/3/4 weapon of equivalent type, 11-13 is a 3/4/5 weapon of equivalent type, flip a Joker, red or black, and the weapon is a 3/4/5 type that also ignores incorporeal and armour. You then pay for the weapon if you have the funds. A single weapon of the type is 3 stones for the mid range (obviously you don't need to buy a basic weapon) or five for the top end, or seven for the Joker, or doubled for a brace ie if you were shopping for a brace of pistols and flipped a Joker you'd have to pay 14 stones for weapons that can be used at both range and in melee, give you positives to flip, with a 3/4/5 damage track, that also ignores armour and incorporeal. That is pretty tasty, but it is also a chunk of change. The model you give the weapons to also increases in value for future usage, one stone if it gains a 3/4/5 damage track, and two stones if it gets Joker weapons. That's a rough outline of how I'd do it. I've tried to make it so that while yes, your characters do increase in power, they also cost more so you have to play larger games and an opponent with less experience is going to outnumber you.

One weakness I see in the Malifaux campaign format is that you really just start with characters you play the game with anyway. There isn't the thrill that you got with Mordheim or Necromunda of taking a complete unknown, given shape only by yourself, and then leveling and training them to reach their full potential. If there was a way of creating your own characters in Malifaux campaigns that would make it better in my opinion.

Ronin are quite good for their price.

I didn't notice it but @Seadhna is right. I was thinking only of Freikorps and Sister related models and ended up recommending a whole bunch of 8-10 stone models which don't help when bulking up a crew. Winged Plague are our best native low cost scheme runners, and having a couple available is never a bad thing. They can also intercept opponent's scheme runners, even bigger ones. With armour 1 they'll usually take a couple of AP to finish off, more if you're willing to burn high cards to keep them there, and voila, your opponent has used an entire turn of a 10 stone model to get rid of one 4 stone model. Since AP is the most valuable resource in Malifaux you're winning on the trade. Johann is almost too good for his 6 stones. Other factions (like Arcanists) don't complain about having to spend 7 stones to buy him. He has a relic hammer, acceptable durability for his cost, and if you have the cards available he can remove conditions.

For myself. Viktorias box. Von Schill box. Hannah (Freikorps henchman, works with Viktorias too) Lazarus (Freikorps enforcer, tough and shooty) Strong Arm Suit (Freikorps enforcer, tough and beaty) Vanessa (fourth sister, magic shooty, on the centerline she has Ca9) Anna Lovelace (Resur merc, Freikorps) Malifaux Child (2 stone upgrade that saves Blood having to cast Sisters of Fury) Sue (toolbox) Hodgepodge Emissary (he's great for marker based schemes, being able to put Companion on Viktoria of Blood frees up a slot on Ashes for Survivalist, Regen and Don't Mind Me are never bad options) Generalist Upgrade Deck Generalist Upgrade Deck 2 Priced at Miniature Market that's just under $200US. Postage still has to be factored in of course. Obviously if you already have the decks you don't need to worry about those. I would either hunt round for an old metal Trapper so that I had two (because when it comes to Trappers two are better than one) or find another model that can represent one on the Malifaux board so I had two. I quite like this one.

My bad.

Has anyone ever run Frame for Murder on McMourning's chihuahua? As people have already said, both styles of Levi play are viable, but bone is a little more manipulative/tricksy, and iron is a little more face beaty. There's not much in it, and Bete plays quite well with Levi being another model that doesn't really die (provided you keep a 10 in hand). Basically run whatever looks good to you. If Levi leading a bunch of mechanical monstrosities looks good, good, and if you prefer him surrounded by zombies twirling parasols, that's good too. He himself plays more or less the same, pick a weaker target, kill it (preferably turning it into an Abomination) and move on.

Parker is a very good unit. Some of my best successes have come with him. He's not particularly hitty himself, although Sh/Ml 6 with positive flips isn't bad, but it's how he helps your crew to do stuff that makes him good.

Rules as written that actually works.

I have metal Teddy and Miss Ery, perhaps I should get a third Teddy.

I should paint my two teddies.

Today I rolled up probably the perfect combination of schemes and strats with Leveticus. Strategy was Interference, Flank Deployment Schemes I took were Mark for Death and Neutralize the Leader I took Leveticus, desolate soul, from ash, to the earth return, 6 stones Rusty Alyce, desolate soul, from the aether Ashes and Dust Desolation Engine two Hollow Waifs My opponent took Colette Mechanical Dove Cassandra Angelica 2 Coryphee 2 Performers Mannequin I don't recall the upgrades. He took Claim Jump and Leave Your Mark. I was blessed with good hands for the first four turns (a change from my usual bad hands for five turns) and proceeded to kill, convert, and summon models all game, finishing with Ashes and Dust knocking off Colette's last wound on the last turn. I used From the Aether and From Ash to summon an Abomination in the first turn who sat in my home quarter holding it while the rest of the crew made a mad rush towards the enemy. Desolation Engine died in the second turn, after fluffing his attack on Cassandra with a black joker, but the Abominaitons he summoned were probably more useful than he was. It ended up being rather one sided with a 10:1 finish and no models left in Colette's crew, while I had only lost Desolation and a few free(ish) Abominations. With the revised Leveticus rules I don't feel any particular need to bury him except when his wounds get low, although I did sacrifice Ashes for the teleport at one point. Leveticus still works as an offensive summoner, he just has to keep his expectations realistic.