Douglas Scoundrels

Kind of, but I don't always need two. I try and knock it down to even one if I can (really depends on the opposing keyword). I really need to wean myself off of balling up and two henchman usually means everyone's in the center and I'm letting my opponent run circles around me. Reckoning is probably Amina/Howard. That's really the only time I'll bring Howard unless I know I'll be facing nasty defensive triggers. I think the Emissary is more useful more often for 10 stones. I can offset the bubble a little to one side, locking down 2/3 of the board while the bull can patrol the other 1/3. Harder for my opponent to do backfield shenanigans on me. I probably should bring Fitz more often, but I just have not had much luck flipping into scheme-heavy games. SO. Addressing your final line, this is how I'd approach each strategy:

Reckoning- Amina and something for her dote on, Howard/Emissary/Cojo. Possibly even a tertiary attacker in the swarm or mecharachnid
Turf- Amina and/or Fitz. One or two gunsmiths. Own the center and use kills to deny points. Threaten three Strategy points but primarily deny your opponent either their own points or force them to hold models back to keep reflipping markers.
Idols- AMINA. If they're dumb enough to park a model next to a marker and not move it, punish them. Medical Automaton for additional heals.
Explosives- Amina. Same idea as as Idols in forcing your opponent to drop on their side. Emissary is great here as he can hunt fast models trying to skirt your crew.

So I guess Amina is my crutch (didn't realize that till I typed this out), though I do tend to bring 2 henchman more often than not. As far as schemes go, you'll always find use for one soulstone miner. Even as a bluff. Outflank? Bring at least one. I think opponents think you're not going to stretch models out to stop them from scoring it, so they seem to take it often. Using a SS miner will also be easy points for Claim Jump, as Toni wants to own the center anyways. Union Miners are great for Detonate and Dig (though any scheme marker scheme is good), though they are often the first target. Steamfitters seem to have a smaller target on their backs, so a good model to start breakthrough or use the Captain to surprise your opponent.

Ok I should probably elaborate. I never take any henchmen (and/or Howard) without knowing my opponent's master. I feel like those four options are key to the survivability of your crew and denying your opponent. Miners and Steamfitters are there for the scoring on my side. Since Toni has such a small keyword pool, a good portion of scheming will be outside of keyword, as there are only a few schemes her minions are good at.

Ya'll got your standard lists and I'm here refusing to pick anything until I hear my opponents master.

Hooboy. Well I'll honestly say that I would never have found Through the Breach without Malifaux. I picked up the skirmish game about five years ago after I quit Heroclix and wasn't terribly interested in 40k. My wife overheard a few people playing the game, and got me interested in it as something to play together. I ended up falling in love with the system and the setting, enjoying the lore behind the game and it's characters as much as the game itself. I was already an avid RPG player, so when I found out there was a system for Malifaux, I bought all of the books I could. My god was this game for me! Not only did it give me even more juicy lore, but the system was tailored to focus on creating interesting characters and situations to put them in. My favorite part of being a GM was always getting my characters into situations where they would just talk and talk and roleplay something mundane for a good chunk of the time. Sure the battles and progression were fun, but the most memorable stuff were the silly arguments and discussions that made these characters feel REAL. Through the Breach provided more tools for me to develop this than any system I've played, and I've been a rabid fan since.

So it only took me 7 months but I finally finished a character sheet for Roll20. It's public now and should be selectable for anyone hosting games. 

Let me know if you find any bugs. I am also welcome to any improvements you can think of.

I'm working with Muse On Minis to hopefully produce a set for conditions, scoring and markers, and individual factions.

I ran a modified version of an Enforcer Brawl utilizing the M2E Campain Upgrade deck at MuseCon this year. Players had an absolute blast, and after getting asked on A Wyrd Place, I wrote the rules in a Google Doc for people to use. 

Here it is

4 minutes ago, WWHSD said:

There's nothing preventing them from hiring any of those models besides Johan.  I can see paying the extra point to bring an Oxfordian Mage anytime you think you'll be playing into a condition heavy crew and the Medical Automation is probably going to be worth 5SS (or 7SS with Diesel Engine) for a lot of crews. 

You're right, there's not, but that's not what I'm getting at. Strictly at a surface level it feels 'unfair' that some masters get more toys to call their own than others. It's not an actual imbalance within the game (at least not that I've seen) but with the encouragement to stay in theme with this edition it feels like masters should have similar amount of options within their keyword. Yes, I'm arguing about feelings.

5 hours ago, retnab said:

I'm assuming the 14'ers won't be getting new models for a while while the 8/9's catch up.

While new models for Ironsides and Kaeris are tempting, I wonder how broken it would be to give a few existing models their keywords without necessarily also handing out the abilities that normally comes with. Ironsides could make good use of Willie, Johan, and the Medical Automaton. Kaeris is a bit harder but I know the current Ox Mages would be useful for her.

8 models compared to 14 feels like a really big difference.

What: 12 round Shifting Loyalties Campaign

When: First round starts Dec 12th. Each round will last 2 weeks and players are expected to get their game in within this time period.

Where: Mayhem Comics and Games in Clive, IA (Des Moines).

Cost: FREE!

Contact me through here or find our group on Facebook under Iowa Malifaux. Late comers are welcome as the campaign allows people to jump in at any round!

This event has been cancelled

What: 4-round Enforcer Brawl with custom rules per round.

When: August 26th

Where: Mayhem Comics and Games, Des Moines, IA

Cost: $10 entry fee. Every participant is guaranteed at least store credit.

I'm really digging this night-mare box.

Night-MARE box

Get it?

Please let their entire card be a reference to the musical.

Please let them be dual faction Guild/Arcanists.

Where: Holiday Inn Des Moines-Northwest (Urbandale, IA)

When: May 5th, 12:00PM - 4:00PM

What: Malifaux demos (both Henchman Hardcore and Enforcer Brawls) for a four hour block at the Demicon convention

Cost?: $65 for the full con weekend (May 4th - May 6th) or $45 for just Saturday.

Additional Info: https://demicon.org/demicon29/

Where: Mayhem Comics and Games in Clive, IA

When: March 17th, 10:00AM - 4:00PM

What: Malifaux demos will be run all day as a part of a store event featuring demos for several miniatures games.

Cost?: Its free!

Wat: 50 Soulstone 3 Round Tournament using Gaining Grounds 2018.

When: March 18th from 10:30-6:30

Where: Mayhem Comics and Games in Clive, IA (Des Moines)

Cost: $10 to participate

Prizes: Store credit and TBD.

Ringer'ed three rounds today. Took this hot mess of a list

Ironsides
Arcane Reservoir (Switched to Warding Runes last round), Union President, Veteran Fighter

3x Oxfordian Mages (Usual Upgrades)

Union Steamfitter

Hannah (Warding Runes)

Anna Lovelace (Warding Runes)

This worked strangely well. Seeing 9 cards at the start of each turn was real nice. Hannah and Anna had some great staying-power, with Anna providing a good cast for Hannah to copy. Hannah wrecked a lot of face with those blasts and the abundance of cards meant I usually had something to cheat to keep both of them going. The crew managed to pull off some great feats, like Toni beating Ashes and Dust and the subsequent core in one activation. I didn't focus on scoring, so I technically lost twice and the third round ended too early to really decide.

Obviously losing ANY models was a big setback. Mages are still made of wet paper, and the Steamfitter goes down just as easily. Still, Never once lost Toni or either of the sisters.

Due to a lack of interest, this event has been cancelled

3 Rounds of 50ss Malifaux goodness. This is our farewell to GG17.

When: December 17th from 11 AM to 6 PM

Where: Mayhem Comics and Games in Clive, IA (Des Moines)

Cost: $10 to participate

Prizes: Store credit and TBD.

Tournament Pack: https://app.box.com/s/zlqnais49lwxho34vuu48h1i5vr20auu

No Mercy November is a 4 round Henchman Hardcore tournament
 

When: November 19th from 11 AM to 5 PM

Where: Mayhem Comics and Games in Clive, IA (Des Moines)

Cost: $10 to participate

Prizes: Wyrd Mystery Boxes, Guilders, and store credit.
 

Hoooboy. I've been waiting for a question like this.

1. Ironsides: Don't need a guy version, per se (Mike Haggar) but something a little less ball-ed up. I know it's a proper pugilism stance but mid-punch would be a bunch of fun. Or a taunt.
2. Captain: Also not necessarily a girl version (all the hair billowing in the wind!) but something a little more dynamic. Extra billowy, regardless.
3. Myranda: Honestly the pose doesn't bother me, the mask does. That's my one gripe. People see to want a different version of her so I'm jumping on that wagon. Why not a 'Sir' model? 'Sir Loins'. All leopard print and baby oil.
4. Angelica: Dr. Frank N Furter. Doubles as a McMourning alt.
5. Gunsmith: I want one that looks like the picture in the TTB book. A gun smith that got a little overzealous, like...he SHOULD be getting +1 Armor with all that iron on his person.

6. Slate Ridge Mauler: Have him mid-maul. Something less compact.

7. Mobile Toolkit: I know people just use the thing for scrap markers most of the time (maybe package some in the box as a wink to the players?), but I would find it wonderful to go full goof and have an actual toolbox with legs. Not good legs, like...bendy chicken legs pumping as hard as they can. And the box is open and tools are just going EVERYWHERE as the little guy sprints along.

8. My wife demands a box containing zombie alts of performers for Seamus to use.

Mei Feng needs a hat.

Definitely worth it. Ironsides suffered pretty heavily from all the min damage creep. Now she's not going to get blended so easily.

Steamfitter is now coming in every crew. I think I'm going to run her with her two new upgrades and keep Runes. The mage trio is still great and I'm not a 'cruise missile' player. Emissary is probably going to be showing up because 4 Adrenaline on turn 2 activation is beautiful. Amina can make Challenge extra brutal as well.