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anencephalous

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Everything posted by anencephalous

  1. Zoraida is pretty versatile, the main thing that list is missing for me is a first turn heavy hitter. Not every game, but quite frequently, I want something flying across the board and trying to delete an enemy model. Hooded Rider is good, but ramps up as the game goes on. I have tried Bad Juju, but that minimum 2 damage and his slowness just means he doesn't have the impact of some of the more impactful Neverborn models.
  2. I am in the no-he-may-not-unbury camp. The wording is pretty specific - do not physically fit in the specified location. Zipp unburying is conditional upon doing so next to a Bayou Gremlin. Not having a gremlin to stand next to is not the same as not physically fitting in a specified location. It is clearly not an issue of physical space, but of absence of legal placeable locations. These are not the same thing, and therefore I argue the rule for placement in the starting zone is not invoked. If there is no gremlin, there is no unbury, so there is no check for if it physically fits or not.
  3. I have been really keen for 3rd ed for a while now. Malifaux is such a good game, but there are a plenty of low-hanging fruit for a new edition, so I have been really pumped to see the new material. However, I must say this early presentation has left something of a bad taste in my mouth. I play Neverborn and TT, and so I seem to have a significant number of models that will become obsolete. It is still early, and I wont panic until I see how it all pans out, but at the moment it reads like I am to be punished for my significant prior investment in Malifaux. I have Lilith and Collodi from Neverborn that are getting grandfathered. I am losing Brewmaster from TT, who I literally just purchased, painted and based. I have the infiltration models for the now TT exclusive models – I do not imagine McCabe will be able to hire Gulid Hounds, Guild Sergeants, Guild Guard or Elli and Patti Ramone. In addition, I have a stack of mercenary models, which I could not see getting a specific mention, but the consensus seems to be they are not longer a thing? All in all, I think about a quarter of my models could be getting shelved. Yes, I know technically I can still play Brewmaster, but not without buying all the faction cards, and not without further model investment in a faction I have zero interest in. If the deleted models were equally split across the factions, it wouldn't be so bad, but the losses seem disproportionately weighted against some factions, and against people who bought mercs. A Gremlin player gets no models shelved, I lose three masters and probably an additional handful of models. This has certainly dampened my excitement considerably.
  4. I have found the summoning insanely good, unless the conditions exclude model spam. The Depleted are undervalued models, and unlike normal ones who have to waddle over from the touchline, these ones are usually summoned amongst enemies. As they are tarpit-exploders, this is really where they need to be. I have frequently summoned two or three by midgame, and made a quagmire for my opponents. They don't want them on the table, but they are too expensive to remove from the table. Now several of my opponents try and focus down Huggy, which is always a win for Lynch, in my opinion.
  5. I am with the neigh-sayers on this one. Opinions on all sculpts are subjective, and Wyrd has made models I like, and models I don’t. But this is the first set of models that I have not thought either "I wish I had that model", or "I don’t wish to get that model", instead I have thought "I wish those models were not in the game". Previous comedic sculpts, like the cats and the snowmen, reminded me of Tim Burton’s work - Nightmare Before Christmas sort of thing. Cute but creepy. I didn’t want to buy them, but I could see what the designers were getting at, and I didn't think they detracted from the game. Homaging My Little Pony, on the other hand, makes me uneasy for several reasons. Firstly, it is not just a subtle nod to a real world thing (and Malifaux is full of pop culture references) but this time they have actually lifted the entire look from a kids toy series. This breaks my suspension of disbelief, because My Little Pony should not exist in the Malifaux universe, because Wikipedia tells me they were first on the market in 1981. Secondly, adults playing with My Little Pony has a specific cultural meaning in the real world, and that meaning is not positive. If I walk into a back room of a games shop and see people playing a game with undead and cowboys, you have sparked my interest. If I walk into the back room of a games shop and see adults playing a game with My Little Ponys, on the other hand, I am going to back away slowly. It is the jump from "those models are creepy" to "those people are creepy".
  6. I played the Lotus Eater's pretty extensively during the beta. I just could not find a way to use a six point scheme runner who needs at least a 10 (!!!) to get any extra movement, and even then it is conditional. Billed as a anti-scheme runner style scheme runner, this model really doesn't have anything useful left printed on the card. There is probably a card drop crew that uses Threaten, but outside of something niche like that I would never reach for this model. I won't buy them. Charm Warders are good, no doubts about that. Although some of that is due to the dubious wording of the Charm of Hiding. If and when that is fixed it will help tone them down. But at six points, I don't know, I just cannot see them as being worthwhile. I was comparing 6 point TT and six point Charm Warders to Yamaziko, because that was the original post. I thought Yamaziko was good even at seven, and I frequently stack her with Smoke Grenades, making her eight (now seven). In our meta, lures and snipers are pretty common, and so a model that can ignore pretty much all lures, while also taking a full five point sniper severe and still running schemes is great. She is mobile, she can put down two scheme markers in a turn, her engagement range is useful, and once in a while her attacks are devastating. Min 3 damage on a six point model? With an AoE attached? So good. At the very least she wins duels verses other scheme runners. She is in all ways the model Lotus Eaters dream of being in their drug fuelled euphoric haze.
  7. I have pretty much stopped taking Terracotta at six. Even 10T bros at five, who are awesome at that price, are usually too expensive for my tastes. Because our faction is so tied around well supported, Recalled Trained models, I find that the difference between two five point models, and two four point models, is far outweighed by a two point cost increase in the second beater (or support or whatever). It just doesnt really matter who the low models are, they need to run objectives, tar pit and be an activation. Most turns they dont get cards, so the abilities on them just are not that relevant. I will not buy Lotus Eaters at six, because I know I will never find a spot for them. Charm Warders are pretty good, but if/when the disguised gets nurfed back to what was intended, I wouldnt buy one at six cost. The only six cost model I really go for in TT is Yamaziko. Compare her card to a 10T bro or a Charm Warden and tell me they should cost the same? However, I am a fan of changes to Tengu, which are terribad. The advantage of dropping them to three is that there is no risk of someone spamming them, like Guild Guard.
  8. I voted for his ItW. It is neither fluff thematic nor tactically fair. If you are going to have a do everything master (of which we have several, like, for example, the Dreamer), you need to make it eminently killable. Now I am not going to suggest he go down to 6 wounds, but I would suggest that ItW combined with Arcane Shield is too damn good. Ideally he would go to 10 wounds with no ItW. That way he can still do lots of stuff, but you are going to need to think hard about his placement on the field.
  9. I am glad you found it funny. Oddly enough, the moderator who deleted it said they found it comedic as well! I believe you if you say the moderation here is light, I really don’t have much to compare it to. I also missed the soapbox controversy, whatever that is. I certainly don’t think this is some civil liberties thing, where I have a right to post or something. Obviously this is a private company's forum and they can do whatever they please with it. The question for me is whether or not the community is generally okay with censoring this kind of thing or not. For me, it seemed heavy handed, but I interested in what other people have to say.
  10. An interesting thing happened to me this week on the forums. I made a post about the way people respond to queries about power imbalances in the game. It was designed to be taken in jest. It was a satire, but not a particularly damning one. It wasn't directed at anyone in particular, and I didn't think it was trolly or in poor taste. Within a day it was taken down. I did get a polite note from the forum moderator, explaining why. The note, ironically, started with “The Wyrd forums are intended to be inclusive and somewhere people can come to discuss issues” - well, some issues but not others, I guess. Or perhaps, discuss but not in jest. The key identified problem was “Whilst the thread may have been intended as a harmless joke, it was viewed as too likely to head towards trolling and rudeness and so was removed.”. In the exchange, in a further note, the moderator clarified “I couldn't think of a way to preserve the humour that you had put in without leaving the whole thread turning to the trolling that was starting.” I went to bed shortly after I posted, and woke up to it gone, so I cannot comment on what was later added to the thread. My question for the community is this, how do we feel about this kind of censorship? I am all for deleting offensive, lewd or insulting posts. Everyone here should have a good time, but is it ideal forum policy to delete posts because they are “likely to head towards trolling and rudeness”? One of the things that particularly worried me is that it seemed like the moderator was implying not that the original post was not problematic (or not as problematic), but the thread had started down a bad path. Is it not normal in this instance to lock a thread, if it has come unproductive, rather than deleting it all together? I find a precedent of deleting posts due to problematic responses concerning, because it seems to let the trolls win. If you don’t like a post, enough trolling in the thread and the whole thing goes away. I probably look like I am brewing a storm in a teacup here, and I don't want to make out like this is some huge event. But I am interested in what our diverse community feels is an appropriate response to these sorts of situations.
  11. Over time some of our weaknesses have been reduced, which is nice. We now (sort of) have a summoner master. We now (sort of) have a blaster master. We are slowly collecting bits and bobs of armour penentration, even if the wave 5 one is pretty iffy. Our biggest weakness is still a lack of cheap scheme runners. We do now have Low River Monks who are excellent for their cost and the Akaname have a small but useful role. So with the already good Effigy, we now have enough useful four point models, which is nice. But Tengu are still the worst of all seven faction's scheme runners, and we sorely lack for a four point schemer who does not evaporate, or who can move quickly, or both. Since guild and outcasts both scored a three pointer, it appears that anyone is allowed to swarm (16 guild guard lists are all the rage I hear). We are now the only faction without a three point model - accepting of course that the quality of those three point models varies significantly - but even so, every one is an activation at the very least. I dont think it would break the faction flavour for us to get a three point chaff model of our own. I imagine some sort of oppressed worker or down trodden drug mule.
  12. Having come late to NB from TT, I have been amazed at how good the Mature Nephilim is. 4 min damage is nice, especially with Zorida, where you can get a charge on her turn, then a flurry in the Nephilim's. His walk 6 is just bonkers for getting into position, more so when combined with obeys from Zorida or lures from Beckoners. But it is the armour, terrifying and black blood that makes him so useful. Killing this model is usually just too expensive to be worth it unless it can be engaged by some other heavy beater. If you put him next to a normal small model, they are more likely to turtle with defensive than attack back, because min damage 2 against armour and black blood is suicidal. I usually charge him to a flank, away from the opponents heavy hitters, and with his good engagement range, he can usually get to, and delete a medium sized model from the table every turn or second turn.
  13. I think Colette has the reverse problem to TT. TT has such good support that the beaters cannot be too good. Yasunori is statistically weaker than any of the heavy hitters in other factions. But with Recalled Training, fast, damage immunity and many pushes, he becomes a monster. On the other hand, Colette, who has a similar role to Shenlong - a utility support master, cannot be too strong because the elite models in Arcanists are so good. Imagine Shenlong with Joss and Howard packing Recalled Training, it would be outrageous. Colette's nurf would not have been needed had she been a TT master. No one would have been complaining if she was 3x Prompting min 2-3 damage models (well, not as much). In many ways Howard et al are the problem, not Colette. I can think of several ways to make Colette more fun as a support master, but they are always going to be force multipliers, and with such good elite models, it makes her hard to balance. In the short term, the simplest quality of life change would be to make Now You See Me reworded as "After suffering damage, sacrifice a scheme marker within 1" to prevent all damage, then place this model within 6". This trigger may always be declared." That will give her significantly more survivability without just being unkillable. Having a defensive trigger she can always use, like Hoffman getting armour that always works, is such a key part of her kit identity I think it makes sense.
  14. One of the reasons I think people are flippantly theory-countering this list is they have never played against that many cards. I play a few variations of huge card draw crew in TT and NB, and it is hard for people who have not played against it to understand how difficult it is to play against. It gets to a point where all or most of the duels go one way. Most things you do fail, and most things your opponent does succeed. The only way to get around this is to alpha early before all the cards are picked up. Depending on table terrain, starting hands and deck flips, it seems possible (although not probable) that several Guild line ups can alpha one of the pigs off the table in the first few activations. That isn't a win, because there still plenty of kill on the table with good cards, but the game should at least be playable from that point. It is unfortunate that this is another crew to which alpha-or-go-home is the best answer, given that alpha-strikes are problem already.
  15. Well, let me take you up on that argument. Lynch has no inbuilt defence at all. None. Ten wounds, then back in the box. Yes, you can put some upgrades on him, but two of his three upgrades slots are filled with core function upgrades, so you wont see much defence squeezed in. In practice, he folds like... well, a house of cards, I suppose. Does he die every game? No. He sits at the back, is careful about positioning, and he lives in more than half my games. What he cannot do, is walk to the middle of the board and do his thing while laughing at people attacking him. I see zero reason why Sandeep could not have the same role. Only, of course, slightly tougher, because arcane shield is awesome. Especially on a summoner who can frequently win activation control. In many ways the Lynch-Sandeep is a good parallel, because they both rely on a reoccurring, heavy hitting off-siders to do half the work. I stand by my argument, 10 wounds and no impossible to wound is the easiest fix that does not mess with his core mechanics.
  16. First of all, I would like to commend Raderk for keeping cool during this discussion. The original post, whether you agree with it or not, was a legitmate opinion to express – that Sandeep is far too strong, based on personal and local experience. The response he has gotten from this expression of opinion has been both bellicose and histrionic, honestly it made me ashamed to be part of the Malifaux community. But moving on, my problem with Sandeep, and incidently Nico, is not that his kit is so diverse or powerful, but that he is so hard to remove from the table. The Dreamer has an astonishingly diverse and powerful kit, but the downside is he just seven wounds away from waking up fully and annoying his mum for an early breakfast (ie. leaving the game). The defence he does have – incorporeal, defensive triggers and burying, all have clear counter play. Conversely, Sandeep needs to do nothing to be unkillable, and his defenses can rarely be countered. Not only is this bad for balance, it doesnt make a lot of sense in the fluff. The guy is supposed to be a magical academic. He isn't a zombie, a steam-cyborg or an deity incarnate (I doubt he even lifts, bro) there is no reason in the game or in the fluff for him to be that tough. I would like to see his wounds dropped to 10, the default for non-combatant humans, think Hoffman, Lucias, Zorida, Asami and Lynch. I would also like his impossible to wound removed. Leave hard/impossible to wound for zombies and grizzled hard mofos, and leave him with arcane shield – the fitting defensive tool for a mage. At wounds 10 and sans impossible to wound, you would have to think about his safety and placement, rather than just plonking him down somewhere in the middle of the table with good line of sight.
  17. I have used two railworkers heaps, occasionally three. Now High River Monks, they are perfect zombies. No one ever plays them. Everyone gets them with Shenlong.
  18. I recommend against Misaki for demos. Her alpha-strike nature makes for one sided games. Which isn't great for demos. I like Lynch a bit more, but Huggy is hard to balance in low stone games. Mei Feng is good to demo, as long as you don't put her up against a gunline.
  19. I am a fan of them in Symbols of Authority, where there are six focus points on the map, and often a marker is taken or defended by just one model. The Illuminated is just the tool for the job, because they are reasonably manoeuvrable and usually kill an equivalent model in the same price range. In the middle, fighting multiple models, they fold too quickly.
  20. Oiran are not great, because the trigger is after damaging. That means Lust is taking a right pounding even at min damage 1. I do like the idea of the card farming from the Doppel, but she is so useful normally, I usually have her doing something turn one anyway. The multiple Final Debts could be revolting in the right situation.
  21. It is a strong list on the correct board with the correct scheme pool. I usually use three snipers, so I can squeeze the Emissary and Yu in for the AoE and plus one hit on focus. There are a few strats now that suit the gunline - Ours and Public executions, and unlike previous editions with the randomness of the pool, you can end up with a stack of killy schemes as well. That having been said, if you run this pool, and you need to run schemes or play tag, you are right out of luck. Most of your points are standing around enabling your shooters. Usually I spend a few rounds shooting, then run around the map with Shenlong and Yu trying to throw together some VP.
  22. Obsidian Oni's Scorched Remains trigger is inbuilt on my cards. It is the scheme marker one that needs a suit off the cards. Back to the original topic - Ramos is literally the best TT counter in my opinion. Summons and armour, the two things we most struggle with. For a brief but glorious window, we had Misaki as the solution, finally a sort of blaster, that could penetrate armour. Hurrah. But now that is done, Rammos remains our biggest hurdle. Personally, I like Misaki, Mei Feng and Asami into summoners, but as recent discussions in this sub-forum have shown, people's milage varies considerably.
  23. My hot tip for Oiran is Hans. I used to run a few, years back, if there was some nice high terrain I could pop Hans on. At one point cheaper, it cannot be all bad. With focus and shoot he is pretty much guarenteed to damage something at the top of every turn, giving your Orian fast (and if you put him on a high point, keeps them in line of sight even if they are off scheme running). 5 point fast minions every turn, its like being in Gremlins. Only worse.
  24. I don't mind two damage on a lower level model, but for a high cost beater, needing recalled training to do more than two points a hit is just stingy. Statistically he will be doing a bit over two points of damage on a charge, maybe four on a flurry. That just isnt enough to justify the cost for me. My opponents ignore him, because there is almost no way to stop TT from getting a beater where he needs to go, so there is not point trying to stop him early. He either gets a round one or two push and charge with fast and recalled, or if you are really lucky, a flurry and fast with recalled. That is going to hurt (although not more than any other beater we have). But once recalled is done, and he is away from the support, his threat is massively diminished. Why would my opponent spend AP to kill a model who is probably not going to kill another model all game? Stick a small or medium sized model next to it and ignore it. In a similar situation, no one ignores Izamu. Is he alright? Well, if I had to prioritise our beaters by quality, I would say - Yasunori, Izamu, Kang, Lone Swordsman, Mr Graves, Ohaguro Bettari, Katanaka Crime Boss, Obsidian Statue, Dawn Serpent, Ama No Zako, Ototo and then Jorogomu. So not actually last, but pretty damn close. There are ten in faction (there are good mercs as well) models I would reach for before I went for Ototo. Note that a few of those - Lone Swordsman, Bettari and Dawn Serpent bring only 2 damage to the table, but at least they are doing something else cool and useful.
  25. I think NB Lynch is probably about at good as TT Lynch for the first time since 2e started. The new limited upgrade, Cheating Bastard, is a solid pick in most scenarios, and works very well for a lure/bubble combo. As NB have superior lure options to TT, the balance has pretty much been restored. In the fun and exotic category, NB cannot do as easy a Melbourne Shuffle as TT, but it is still viable. Using a bunch of nice cheap corrupted hounds, Lust as a merc and the Emissary with Mysterious Conflux, you can flip most of the deck in a turn. Lust can use her 0 to get a Beckoner up a bit, who can then lure Lust up the table on the first turn, so the charges on the first turn are also movement. Once you have the ace of tomes plus another ace, you can choose two or three hounds to charge Lust as she gets on with her day, giving you four or six card draw until they are dead. The other new upgrade, Burn Out, is good for this. As the dogs disappear, there is often not much for a summoned depleted to do, and if they are anywhere near Lust they can also generate cards. Like all Melbourne Shuffle crews, it is doubling down on the murder, an element that Lynch already excels at. It works well into small elite crews, and poorly into trash spam like Somer and Collodi.
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