ShinChan

I'm still hoping for a slow year for Malifaux and focused on TOS. Malifaux starts to feel overbloated with models and 54 new masters last year didn't help at all. I think there is a niche for TOS, and I've just been containing myself hoping for decent quality models (sorry, but the TOS Starting box doesn't reach there yet). I literally bought into ASOIAF because the TOS plastic was garbage. I've spent more than 500$ in 2 ASOIAF armies in the past 2.5 years and the moment we have a decent TOS product, I'll be happy to undersell my ASOIAF to buy into TOS (unless the price is crazy). I think there's still a good space in the market for an "army" wargame, and honestly the TOS rules are awesome, in certain aspects better than Malifaux. I've seen a couple of independent games (Conquest is starting to catch up and I see more people playing it every month) or into bigger franchises (LOTR is growing more and more, and Legion has a stable playerbase). Even if Wyrd decides to kill TOS, I hope they reuse the models/concepts in a fresh new game and just not overbloat Malifaux. What Malifaux could really use is a campaign system, to attract new and veteran players (sort of Mordheim/Necromunda stuff) while making sure to keep polishing Gaining Grounds to keep the competitive scene engaged.

Let's go people!!!!

Yay! I'm pumped for new stuff for ToS!! If the models' quality improve (first release was a terrible plastic, new starter box had so many issues with details) to a level like the Bayou Starter box... I'm already selling stuff from my shelves to make space for this!!! So excited!!!

That would be AWESOME!

Also not having the upgrade is no longer relevant, since all the summoned models get a token. Honestly, they should bring the action to what it was before. It was fun, it was thematic and was way far from being OP. Even bringing the summoning back to what it was wouldn't even be enough to make him competitive, but at least it would be fun.

Ladies and gentlemen!!!!! It's time for the third and last of our 6-rounds tournament for this year's Malifaux World Series! Get yourself ready for "The Last Man Master Standing"! It will be 6 rounds of Malifaux where some players will try to fight to get a spot in the invitational in November. As usual, every player, no matter the level is always welcome to celebrate with a bunch of people around the world a whole year of virtual Fauxverse! There are still a bunch of points at play and many spots for the invitational still on dispute. Where does it start? 12th of September Until when can I register? 10th of September (if you get me in a good mood, even the 11th 😜) How long does it last? 6 weeks, with the last round ending the 23rd of October Which are the specific rules: GG3 Singles 50ss Use of clock is mandatory (we got an overall, quite positive feedback, so we listen to you, the players!) Where is the player pack? Here! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ryPV9fXUbjO_ZFVvYilAUXtpQ9FGK45g/view?usp=sharing Registration for Last Master Standing: https://forms.gle/cxgjpC42sxw4Hudc9 If you have any other question, do not hesitate to jump into the Discord server and ask! Tag "@World Series Committee" and we'll be more than happy to answer! Participation in this event contributes to your qualification of the World Series Championship, tentatively scheduled for November of 2022. World Series rankings will are hosted at https://vassal.malifaux-rankings.com/#/. Huge thanks to Malifaux-Rankings for hosting us! We have added a code of conduct for the series this year. With the participation we received last year, we wanted to make sure we are being as transparent as possible about what our sportsmanship expectations are and how be intend to enforce any breaches in conduct. Find the MWS Code of Conduct here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XTuvQF5JHyrOKj-43jkvrPzEIEgEP9YlCNq0_yh4PyQ/edit?usp=sharing As usual, we have tried to keep an up-to-date FAQ (which has been updated recently, so please check it out!) so players can resolve as many rules disputes as possible at the table. Our Rulings and FAQ has been updated with most outstanding Malifaux Burns questions. As always, anything we feel is clearly supported by the core rules or Wyrd's official FAQ isn't included in our document. Find the MWS Rulings and FAQ here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z6jmZUtGXBxx31gHywREs95h-26js4maH0JBsBLWRRU/edit

Back at the beginning of M3E I made a post about the insane amount of discards that there were in the Keyword and it was absurd. It will favour to bring only the models that are not that reliable on it. Both Som'ers are definitely in the bottom 5-10 of power level of all the 114 masters (including titles). Honestly, someone has to stay at the bottom for someone else to stay at the top, but what it doesn't make sense is that the ones at the bottom are unplayable if you want to have a real chance of winning a game. Wyrd sould really think twice before some nerfs, because Som'er 1 is not the first model that gets hit way too hard and makes it terrible. Bokors and Yasunori come to mind, and even to a certain extend François. More than card draw, other keywords have discards with much more impactful abilities. So either Big Hat gets real cards draw, we remove the need to discard to things that are really lackluster or we give them a way to benefit from discarding cards.

I'm looking forward for a year in which Malifaux takes a second priority and they focus on ToS more. If there is any plan for the game to come back, that's should be the way. I'm really close to fall into it, but between the quality of the plastic and the so very few news about the game, it really prevents me (and a bunch of people I know) from dive in.

I agree. But 2/3/4 ignoring armor and incorporeal and targeting Df/Wp at will is quite good already. I think any of the standard reposition triggers could be perfectly fine there. I don't recall if there's a trigger that allows to push ignoring other models and/or terrain, but that could be interesting too without reaching the absurd levels of Hole in the World. But my main point here is that I don't think that Yan Lo 2 is far from being balanced and even if I don't play him, I wouldn't like him to get TBB (The Bokor Bat)

I would change "Hole in the World" for "Pulled Here and There" (Hole in the World in such a mobile master is just bananas) Df 5 (so he's a little bit more vulnerable and cannot just camp whenever he wants, also puts pressure on him and the Komainu for shockwaves, even if Incorporeal is just going to reduce most shockwaves to 1 damage) Make his place only during friendly activations (this is just mandatory) And he's good to go. I don't think he needs to be toned down more than that honestly, and I don't even play him, just against him xD

Df 5 and Disguised instead of Manipulative would definitely go a long way.

I hire a Rifleman in most of my Parker 1 lists. They're so much better than Bandidos, so much! And I do play 2-4 Bandit models in a Parker 1 list (not including Parker and Doc Mitchell).

At Gunpoint is such a useless ability that it doesn't even count. Bandidos are terrible models, no matter how much you try to justify with very corner case scenarios that happen in one of 20 games. It's not Focus' fault. In M2E you were either playing super-lethal stuff or a lot of models since pass tokens were not a thing, so they would give you activation control. Focus is not a problem, it was not a big issue even when it could be stacked infinitely. The real "problem" is that is easy to get activation control by killing a cheap model. Every competitive player agrees with that and has been said many times. So let's not keep messing with focus and address the real issue for low cost models with very little or no defensive tech: activation control. The fix is could be as simple as giving the owner of the model that dies a pass token if the model hasn't activated that turn.

Why Whisper on Archie? Just curious

to damage prevention with SS seems amazing! The concept looks a bit disappointing, but I'll wait to see the miniature itself (sometimes I've been fooled by a subpar concept when the actual model was better). Love all the ties of this model to the story. I truly appreciate all the amazing effort that ties the models and the lore.

Nah, A&D is bad for its cost. I think in out of 20 games with Leve, I played Rusty 3-4 since she got Mv4. An immobile turret that doesn't ignore FF, Concealment or Cover? No thanks. A&D doesn't have a quick action in 95% of the games, and when it does, it requires a 7? What a joke. Now with Summoning tokens and some limitations to replaces, A&D is just really bad. I would rather see the Desolation Engines buffed. Right now they're really bad for 10ss. I think I'm the only Leveticus player that brings one, mainly because I have it beautifully painted and (don't ask me why) I like the miniature a lot. Also, Necropunks need to lose 1 wound (2 wounds if they get back the mask in the leap).

I'm one of those wins, and I felt during the whole game: I just wish I brought Zipp1, everything would have been easier.

Not having a master for whole turn it's usually game deciding, specially one like Levi, who cannot just spend his turn doing some support (because he has none lol)

On Reva 1 there is and has been plenty of discussion in this forum, the latest one is here: I wrote quite a bit of text in how I play Reva and I had a decent level of success with her. Not against LJ tho, she has many things that Reva doesn't like.

They need a quick action, some decent candidates that actually fit the theme: Risky Maneuver Ambush I've got your back Follow my path Creep along Quick Retreat Reckless Free Loot Forage At Gunpoint is a terrible action for the reasons you've mentiones. Also I think they should have a printed in their attack, so there's a reason for them to shoot. Still all these changes wouldn't increase their survavility, which is one of their bigger weaknesses. Printed mask in Defense or Disguised would make them more playable. Right now they're terrible because: Don't provide any utility They die too easily They don't have any decent damage output, not even for a 5ss minion They have 3 attacks, one is so terrible that doesn't even make sense it exists in the game, another one is forgettable (Knife) and the gun is decent, but they don't ignore FF, Cover or Concealment. They're completely outclassed by Catalan Rifleman, and I don't consider those more than "decent" 5ss models

I agree with Mostly everything here. Leveticus not removing conditions is a huge hit. Stunned is always bad on him and with Malifaux Burns there are new 13 models that can hand out Stunned either with an opposed or forcing a simple duel but without needing a teigger. Dying with Staggered could mean that he's never gonna see the fight for the rest of the game. Distracted can be really painful too, but manageable, altough now makes Channel completely useless. Burning and Poison can just permakill him. I would love to see some trigger in Marlena's attacks to make her more interesting. I agree with A&D. The scrap synergy is stupid. It's too squishy and doesn't hit hard enough for its cost and now it gets a summoning token that doesn't even go away if Ashen Coren and Dust Cloud reform. Alice Mv4 is a joke and completely unnecessary. I however, think that the pit traps are useful. The problem with the necropunks is still there, they're too tanky for their cost. They should drop to 4 wounds and get back the mask in the leap. The problem was never the leap with them, but that even if they were chased and caught, not even a min3 beater would have it easy to kill them, and that's still the case. Scavengers didn't get a nerf, it's more of a rework. They are still supergood in keyword. I understand the reason why the 9" leap and giving out fast needed to go, but rhey should have kept Forage, because it even fit them thematically.

I have 5 games with Molly2 so far and my main complain is: Lack of good fading abilities. For a keyword that is based on discarding cards (the most precious resource in Malifaux after number of actions, also old called "AP"), they don't get really good benefits out of it. With Molly1 you don't have that much of a problem, because she's not focusing on maximizing fading abilities, just to support her crew (which at least 50% is gonna be OOK models) and annoy/threat the opponent. On top of that, some of the models that have decent fading abilities (only Night Terrors and up to a certain point Archie and Necrotic Machine), the most interesting one with Molly CC would be the one from the Night Terrors, and those are the models that shoot themselves in the foot (or the claw) by having perma-concealment. Add to that that most models in keyword are Df4, with only one poorly designed henchman. Focus is not really that good in the crew due to the best target for it (Archie) can't gain conditions. IMHO, the minimum fix to Molly CC would be to make Parade Route ignore concealment. I wouldn't her having also stat 6 in the Leading Baton action, for God's sake, she's a master! Noxius Neph is an okay addition to the crew, but without a meaningful action and easy to predict where he goes and just avoid him or kill him. The Last Memory "engine" is too action intensive to be worth it, and anyways, you don't get that much benefit from high cards when what you usually want is cards to discard. Most of the time there isn't any point on wasting actions to cycle cards. I do agree that the Forgotten Marshall has a place in the crew, but mainly because of lack of better options in keyword (and if you're a keyword sucker like me, you wanna maximize in-keyword picks), but he's not better with Molly CC than with Molly 1, probably event the opposite. But the worst thing about him is that he doesn't even have a Fading ability, which if it were a half decent one, it could be a reason to play him, instead of just because I wanna play in keyword. Do you know who actually plays with Fading? Perdita 2. When someone in her crew discards a card, the crew generates: 1/2/3 heal on any model within 6" of the Guild Mage Out of activation 4" push model (which is amazing to interacts after) Gains a Focus Draws a card Now, that's an amazing (too good if you ask me) Fading setup, and they don't even have to use an action or anything to trigger all of that. Not that much variety as Forgotten's Fadings, but definitely way better.

My "core" Reva1 list is: Reva + The Whisper (2ss) She's usually the one activating either last or first, depending on how exposed she is. The main goal during that activation is gonna be one of the following (or multiple): 1) Kill an unactivated enemy model if it's doable (so the Whisper is great for that) 2) Heal a friendly model so it doesn't die 3) Set up to score points (the trigger on her melee is great for that) 4) Detonate pyres to enable my crew to hit the enemy (usually if she's one of the first activations of the turn, otherwise is loses some value, but can be still worth it depending on the situation) Shieldbearer (6ss) They're great to move your models into position with the mask trigger and Blasphemous Ritual is a must in this crew. Depending on strats and schemes, I could include a second one, although a Gwishin is probably a better option. Dead Rider (11ss) First and foremost, it's a great scheme runner and helps moving your pieces around. He can enable some crazy plays turns 3 onwards and the injured pulse helps A LOT the crew. Restless Spirit (4ss) Decent scheme runner and gives you more corpses, which usually are never enough due to all the marker's hate that has been released with the book of Explorer's Society and Malifaux Burns. It also enables some nice plays by being able to give shielded on demand, so Reva can attack through the model with Shielded. Bete Noire (8+1ss) An independant scalpel that benefits from many synergies in the crew and can enable some crazy plays with Scarlet Temptation, making sure that Reva gets kills with exploding pyres and/or Feed on Grief. It's also quite easy to trigger the setup for her ability Pounce (all the models mentioned before can do it), making her a 4 action model. Now you have 18ss left to play. So let's dive into that: My favourites: Gravedigger: Great support piece that can easily tag along with the Dead Rider to keep him alive. He's papermade, so you need to be extra careful with the positioning. Also helps to do the double Blasphemous Ritual turn 1 without compromising you activation order. Opponents usually underestimate his damage track, but the trigger "Accidental Roll Over" makes him an effective min 4 damage. He also enables the Zombie Apocalypse of the Dead Rider and helps to score different schemes and strats, being able to drop 2 scheme markers in a single activation (or take 2 interacts on the same strategy marker in in the same activation, can get out of engagement by himself...). Wanyudo: If you need fast, this is your boy. Send him to do some errand (scheme or strat) early, and later in the game use him to run over people forcing simple Mv duels when the opponent has few cards in hand remaining Draugr: I'm on the opposite side of the equation regarding this guys. They're bad for 7ss, I'm not even gonna deny that. But they fill a purpose in some of my lists, which is being an expendable cruise missile. Their tactical action "Draw Off Flame" gives them a lot of options to both become a threat range and get out of combat to safety next to a Shieldbearer/Gwishin, so they're another long range threat that the opponent will have to take into consideration, and not only Reva. They're good if you can get a back-to-back activation (last activation turn 1, first turn 2 for example) to get into the middle of the enemy crew, show aside someone in the frontline and delete a support model in the backline. Then he's gonna die, but if you managed to delete that low cost model was gonna be an annoyance later on, he's fulfilled his mission and he can die happily. I usually throw him in turn 2 with 2 focus and 5+ burning to achieve that goal. Gwishin: They only reason this aren't better than a Shieldbearer for you is that they cannot gain burning from pyres. The best on their card is the ability to remove enemy scheme markers while engaged with Trail of Gore (and even get a benefit from it!), which is quite rare to have in Ressers (at least the masters I play). Situational picks: Vincent: Mainly an anti-summoner. He can also provide shielded and move pyres around which can be, in certain situations, really good. I usually don't have the resources to make him work due to my playstyle. Anna Lovelace: She's expensive, but she provides so much when you need to control an area of the map. Her two auras (Gravity Well and Hostile Work Environment) make her worth the 11ss against many masters (Kirai2, Dreamer, Marcus, Von Schill, Tara...). On top of that she draws you at least 1 card every turn, which is really important against certain crews that can put some pressure in your hand. Bone Pile: Decent scheme runners, fairly tanky that can heal and remove conditions without TN. Emissary: Tanky piece that hands out injured and helps protect your models thanks to the coffin. Also provides more attack nodes for Reva (Zombies) and hands out Injured, which is a condition that synergizes very well with the crew, due to the lack of card draw. Personal "I don't like" picks: Grave Golem: Doesn't bring anything to me. Too slow, too vulnerable to conditions (slow, staggered), doesn't bring anything you cannot do in a more efficient way with cheaper pieces. The only good thing he brings is probably being able to throw a corpse candle to someone without a TN, but for that I would even consider Archie, since he at least has a chance to actually hit with the attack. Lampads: Even after the buff, they're still Df4, which makes them really squishy and they can even become a problem from the rest of your crew due to blasts and ranged attacks (the crew already hates Blasts by itself). They eat Pyre Marker and a card to not die, which is A LOT of resources for this crew. You have 6 cards per turn and you really like to hit your TNs, which aren't many, but are there, plus Take the Hits, etc... Removing a Pyre can also be a lot due to all the terrain marker hate (I've finished games with only 2 pyres on the board after 5 turns). You could give them the upgrade Grave Spirits Touch, which fixes some of their issues, but bumps their cost to 10ss, and they're already not worth 8, at least IMHO with Reva 1. One of the best things they have is the mask trigger in their tactical action "Hovering Flame", but all the crew is competing for already: Shieldbearer for the push Bete Noire to bury herself Reva for the triggers in Ethereal Reaping, The Unquiet Dead and Embrace the Flame Draugr for Shove Aside Vincent to charge one your models and trigger Quick Shot (which gives him a poor's man Run&Gun) Gravedigger for Accidental Roll Over trigger Mourners: It is sad, but they're just bad models. Deacon Hillcrest: The main reason to bring him is "Translocation Ritual", which you cannot guarantee due to the lack of card draw and he not being a henchman, so his utility is based on pure luck, since he doesn't do anything else relevant for Reva 1 (he's great with Kaeris 2 tho). Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps!

I'm concerned that the Whiskey Gamin is just called that, "Whiskey Gamin", so maybe it's just an alternative sculpt for a regular "Whiskey Gamin" or even doesn't have a profile in Malifaux.

I think you can see everybody but Som'er nowadays. I've seen great players get a lot of mileage of Ulix1 or Wong1-2. Maybe Brewmaster 1 is a bit lackluster, specially with the nerf to poison damage.