MobiusRex

My knowledge is limited and I've got maybe 20 games of malifaux under my belt in total so please take my input with a grain of salt. I've really only any experience with Tara (I have the Viks though not used them yet) but Convict Gunslingers are great for me. I bought them to use alongside the Viks to bring range to their crew but maybe Freikorps can help you with that so I wouldn't cite them as a 'must buy' but something to consider as a future purchase. They put out a lot of damage with rapid fire and positive flips so I'd speculate they're better than what comes with the VS box but I'd do due diligence and make a judgement call. Then there's Johan who I own but I've not used him yet. Looking back on the last few games I've lost, I've concluded that he would have been a much needed asset for what he brings to a crew. The number one reason being 'Rebel Yell' which removes conditions on a target model. This can be used on yours or your opponents models so he is very useful for that on its own. Additionally, he also gets bonuses when facing Tyrants (Tara, Hamelin and Rasputina, maybe others) and constructs which a lot of factions use. I'd highlight him as a must have purchase for the reasons above but he's also no slouch in combat anyway so I think he'll find a place in many crews. Another notorious Outcast is Bishop. He's killy and adaptable to all manner of opponents but that's really all I know about him. I'm looking at picking him up for my Tara crew but I think you've already got plenty of what he provides with a Viks crew and a VS crew would be better served by Lazarus. Sue is a souped (sueped?) up Convict Gunslinger. I've not obtained him yet but he's on my purchase list as he brings decent ranged firepower with tactical actions that allow you to draw cards and give 'finish the job' to other models helping with getting scheme markers onto the table. I'm a big Johnny Cash fan so I might be biased but I definitely think he'll be worth a look for any Outcast master. Now on to the elephant in the room - Killjoy. I like him in theory but mostly because his reputation proceeds him and I feel your opponent will over commit to take him down. I've used him with Tara twice but on both occasions he was taken down relatively quickly by my opponent who ran a Sonnia crew. I'm in two minds because his death always bought me breathing room but I grudgingly feel he wasn't worth the 12 soulstones cost. I'd list him as a 'your mileage may vary' due to your opponents knowledge, crew and if you can reliably get him out early enough to impact the game. I need to play test him more myself because I think Tara's unbury mechanic works well with him, but with the Viks I feel he would be overkill and I don't see any real synergy with Von Schill. Honourable mention should go out to a few others; - Aionus; if you can still pick him up, he hands out slow to opponents and fast to cheap minions. He also has limited bury tricks but I like him because he can move scheme markers 6". - Freikorps Strongarm; gets a lot of opponents in a spin and is thematic with Von Schill but I've never faced one and don't really know anything about Mr Moustache and his crew. Worth a look though. - Ashes and Dust; great scheme runner that when is killed, splits into two parts that can reform to remake A&D. Expensive and not sure if suited to your current crew boxes. - Malifaux Child; cheap totem that can copy a masters spell with a plus to cast and a negative to damage (or vice versa - I forget). Ive only faced him with casting opponents. Not sure he'd have much use with your current crews. - Desperate Mercenaries; I wouldn't bother, they're not bad per se, it's just there's much better options if you need bodies in your crew. Finally, and apologies for what has turned into an essay, a word of caution with Outcasts from one newbie to another. The crews you have now are good, but pretty much any other outcast master you pick up, will end up needing resser minions (or 10T in Misaki's case) and that becomes a slippery slope. Even Hamelin will benefit from crooligans and canine remains. Just something to bear in mind when considering future crews. Hope this overly long post guides you to making informed future purchases and welcome to the Outcasts, you're in good company.

I'm a relatively new to Malifaux and my first master was Tara due to spiralingcadavers blog - http://spiralingcadaver.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/sounds-of-silence-tara-and-obliteration.html?m=1 - in fact I'm pretty sure Wyrd should be paying him commission on any 'Herald of Obliteration' sales. I've played probably six games with a roughly even split between Outcasts and Ressers. My thoughts so far are that depending on your game experience Tara will be easier to learn as a Resser. I found her theme crews defence mechanism one too many in terms of Tara's dynamics. With the AP shenanigans and bury mechanics I found myself being overwhelmed with Outcasts. Of course this could be as a result of my lack of Malifaux experience in general. When it comes to upgrades, I've always taken Dead of Winter. I've never been disappointed by the DM's but I love the models so I'm ill inclined to not use them and the negative to WP from the upgrade is something I'm considering trying to maximise with Crooligans. Obliteration Symbiote and Knowledge of Eternity are both also very solid but I'm looking at mixing in Transfusion in my next game and bringing some poison to the table just to experiment with play styles but also keep my regular opponents on their toes. To do this I'd probably drop KoE and consider using Karina to cast fast on to the buried model instead but the juries still out on whether I think she has a place in my crew. Karina herself I find to be underwhelming every time I use her. Her summoning upgrade I find myself using infrequently at best, and honestly whenever I do get a high enough crow card I'd prefer to use it on something more productive. As I only have punk zombies though, my summoning options are limited. I'll reevaluate my position when Guild Autopsies become available as I think Karina will become a lot more viable then. For hitters, I've been using Bete Noir. She is decent and works well in Tara's crew but ultimately, I find her actual damage output to be lacklustre. I'm contemplating trying to squeeze in a Rogue Necromancy instead. The intention being to use the beast bomb technique (read Spirals blog) to deliver it and thus hopefully keeping the positive twist to attacks. I appreciate that it may sound like myself and Ryin (who I suspect is more experienced) differ over Void Wretches and Crooligans but I find the children to be more straight forward in terms of their use initially as well as spreading poison and WP debuffs. In turn though, I think Void Wretches will be stronger once you're familiar with running Tara and are confident with her mechanics but until then I think Crooligans or Canine Remains would be better for scheme running. Of course this all comes down to personal preference and my knowledge is nowhere near comprehensive. Anyway, I hope I've at least provided you with another perspective from a relatively new player like yourself. It's always nice to see how others develop in terms of strategy and schemes so keep us updated on your progress.

I've just started a Lynch crew myself - trying to keep it strictly themed though. I've found illuminated to be durable, but my only opponent so far plays Criid and so I've found myself struggling a little. Bad terrain placement, a Malifaux child and that annoying tactical upgrade that means she can throw up walls really did a number on me. I can't wait for Stitched to come out in plastic, I think they'll help against that little problem, but until then it's an uphill battle. What are your thoughts on depleted and beckoners. I've not used depleted yet myself but I'll be picking them up in due course and was curious to see if anyone ran them in any real numbers or just had one running solo, maybe to tie up a scheme runner in a lane.

Yeah mine was pink, I'm not sure if it's consistent amongst all the bonus models though.

... and also here is the extended tactica; http://themostexcellentandawesomeforumever-wyrd.com/topic/100735-leveticus-tactica-burnt-offerings/ the pullmyfinger wiki is a condensed version of this and it's put together by - you guessed it - Hateful Darkblack (He pays 5 cents every time I advertise him :P). but seriously though, these guides have made getting to grips with Leve far more smoother for me.

Welcome back to the 'Faux. Now I'm a newbie that's played a grand total of two games with Leve, so please don't take what I say as gospel; My only advice from my experience is look to out activate your opponent, otherwise the waifs die. You need to play a quasi elite crew by virtue of needing anchors for you extra lives. No waifs = no resurrection = no channeling = reduced capacity for damage, so for me Leve is all about balance. If you don't have Rusty Alyce and some abominations already then the crew box is a must. As for anchors, I currently use Convict Gunslingers as my collection is still quite small but the pullmyfinger wiki (pretty much exclusively put together by Hateful Darkblack, who if you're looking for advice on Leve will become your Yoda) has a range of more competitive suggestions. This; http://schemesandstones.podbean.com podcast has an episode focussed on Leve featuring the aforementioned Mr Darkblack (Yoda), I think episode number 9. Between that and the pullmyfinger wiki; https://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/M2E+Leveticus you should have a good idea of purchases.

Will this come with options for models to be bought and painted or will it be exclusively cardboard cutouts to represent the players?