Drowsheep

Eh, I've got the hang of him now I've won the last three or four games I've played with him... To be honest; I strongly disagree. (Well, I agree that there are some great versatiles). But, I barely, if ever, run versatiles in any crew--I love thematic crews, and I do very well with them. Asami, Lynch, Youko, Yan Lo, and Mei are all masters that are have cohesive thematic crews that seem to work well for me. As I said, I've barely played Shenlong in the new edition, but his crew--like Misaki's--does seem to be somewhat reliant on him (also I did play a game with Minako as my master, using Misaki's crew--I won pretty handily despite the lack of synergy). I can't argue over Shenlong as I have little experience with him. As for Misaki though, I think her crews main theme (and synergy) is it's ability to work however it wants without needing other models; I mean, Misaki is one of the most mobile masters in the game, being able to teleport to wherever she needs to be--her crew, being almost all self-sufficient models that can go off and do their thing don't necessarily need her or any synergy to get the job done. Meanwhile, if things get tough, throw down a shadow marker and Misaki can come help. I'd argue the synergy of Misaki is in her lack of implicit synergy. As for McCabe--I play him in a very similar way; his crew's synergy isn't necessarily built into abilities and actions, but is more implied by small things the various models are designed to do. I was a big champion of this back in 2e, and I stand by it in 3e, TT has always been the outlyer in factions--they work slightly differently; they're designed to get the job done, even if they aren't the fashiest--they're definitely the most reliable. To kind of invert your thesis statement; I think the reason the TT have so many beaters in their versatiles is because they have such good support built into the thematic crews.

I'll admit I haven't played (that much of) Shenlong or Lynch, but of the other masters I find very little in their keywords that really makes me feel like anything is broken. I had a hard time understanding how to make McCabe work--and I'm told that I play him in a fashion unlike most other McCabes--but that's more of the opposite XD I think there are definitely powerful models, but nothing immediately leaps to mind as being broken.

Hey! Trying to track down a Toshiro model; don’t need the card. Anyone have one to sell or trade? I do t have a lot of trade options, but let me know! Thanks!

Oh--I'm a dummy; it was here, and like three posts down XD Never mind.

Hey, A few days ago I feel like I saw concept art for the new Chiaki and Izamu. I can't seem to find it now. Does anyone know where that was, or where I can find it? Thanks!

I, also, haven't started a game with the dragon out--only with the Effigy. But, when he comes out, it's great. Can work independently, or with the team. I don't recall there being a lot of synergy other than the Emissary is a good model and Misaki and her crew are a good crew.

Glad you expanded on your view and gave some more details on how you feel. 1) As was said, definitely keep playing-- you'll see that you might be getting in less attacks per activation, but more attacks throughout the game. At first I was thrown too, because objectively, it looks like it got worse. But now you have the option to move, charge or to charge, attack, or even do other things that a normal model couldn't do before because they had to spend both AP on their charge. So, I think, as far as giving you options on what you can do, this was a good call. 2) This I can get behind, but again, being able to move then charge means that having 0" reach is more reach than it used to be. I also like it because it makes some plays a bit harder--not every model can control an area of the board as wide as they used to (which just changes the dynamic of the game a bit). 3) I also wish their were more upgrades for masters--but a lot of that content got moved to triggers or to the base cards themselves. so while a lot was streamlined for ease of play (and to help get new players up to speed), it also wasn't all lost (depending on your master). 4) This is one of those double-edged swords--but I'm glad they did it. At the end of 2e, crews were all starting to look alike, there were go-to models that were auto-includes because they were too good. This game has always been about the story and the flavor--so having everyone's crew look alike because they're just playing the "best" models is no fun. Making thematic crews makes it a more varied experience--and makes you use more of the models you paid for but never put onto the table. I am 100% down for this! 5) Gonna be honest, while it might feel cool to paralyze something and watch your opponent squirm, it was never a good feeling getting paralyzed. I'm fine it got tossed. 6) I get that 100%--I really feel sorry for people who lost their favorite master (or who bought five boxes of witchling stalkers they now can't use). I also think that Neverborn got hit the hardest (which might have been for good reason ) so I do feel your pain there. This will always suck no matter what game you play. But all games do this--it's the inevitable momentum of gaming companies to change things up (whether it's banning cards in a card game, releasing a new edition--with new expansions--of a board game, or upgrading a codex and totally changing how certain models work--or whether those models even exist). All in all, I know that reading random people on the internet's opinions aren't going to make you feel better--but try it out, play a few games. The new streamlined rules are still pretty similar to what it used to be, but a lot of the extra fluff was cut--making it more manageable and more easily understood. There are less surprises that will just totally ruin your--or your opponent's day--which I think is good, because it means more people are having fun and enjoying the game. It's really easy to theory-faux based off of the cards, but just get out there and play. I've played against the Dreamer and he's pretty scary (milling through your own deck to get rid of all of your weak cards is pretty awesome). As far as I'm concerned, the Neverborn might have been hit pretty hard in the new edition, but they're still a deadly force to be reckoned with, and no joke to face down on the other side of the table!

It's also nice that the master riding the train and the master riding a horse work well together That definitely is a cool synergy thing I hadn't thought of. With both Luna and Forgeling, you get two free scrap in addition to whatever else you brought along. The more scrap the better-- especially now that Ramos is dead

I'll be 100% honest and say I don't think I've purchased a single non-thematic upgrade this entire third edition. They seem good, but I just never have the soulstones for them--I'd much rather do something else with them, I guess? And I totally agree, I think that is definitely another strength that she has--she can work with almost anything on the table. While her thematic crew does get benefits from her markers, you could easily enough replace them with other models and Misaki still functions. I think that with the many options she brings to the table, just from her thematic crew options, you have a wide range of models (utility, damage, scheme running, etc). I really love thematic synergy, so I'm all about running her thematic crew. But yeah, she definitely doesn't suffer at all from getting other models on the board.

Haven't tried Mei out too much since 3e (only a game or two)-- and I haven't yet done one of my old favorite tricks, which is hiring an Obsidian Oni to just lob scrap markers at potential targets and then rail walk in on that. At 8ss for out-of-keyword hire, it's a little pricey, but I think it'll still be worth it. Combine that with Minako Rei being versatile and summoning Katashiro, or bringing Asami along for the ride to to summon other Oni, it could be a pretty fun game, no?

Minako is versatile, I noticed while going through the new cards--so that's pretty awesome! I don't remember if she was in beta or not, but I didn't think she was. Some people are starting to mention Masters. Which masters do we think work well together--and which would you make Leader vs which do you hire in? I think it might be funny (though I have no idea how feasible or practical this actually would be) to have Mei Fang rail walk into combat and then have Asami turn the scrap she railed in on into Oni to back Mei up. Similarly, I felt that Youko might work nicely with Misaki or Mei--giving them good support and hampering my opponent (both with card control and pass token/activation control) so that I can take down what I need to.

Since 3e came out, I actually haven't ran Misaki with any versatile non-Last-Blossom models. The Crime Bosses are fun models that can hit hard, but also have support options. The Torakage are great scheme runners. Wokou Raiders are the only model I'm not 100% sure of--I just haven't played them that much for whatever reason (they aren't as well painted as my crime bosses is the reason, tbh). But the few games they've been on the table they've done good things. Ototo is actually usable again. Yamaziko isn't as good as she used to be at the end of 2e, but she's still great, and can be very dangerous. Archers are decent, as are snipers, depending on your pool of schemes. I think it's worth having one or the other, but both can be good. Minako Rei is great--I like having a bit of summoning to either even the odds, or just run schemes. As for Misaki herself, she's such a good master right now. Being able to bounce around makes her hard to pin down (i.e. hard to kill), but where other Masters in TT who can bounce out (like Mei) are somewhat limited in where you place your scrap, Misaki can pick where to drop her shadows, and can reach farther. All in all, her thematic crew are all decent models and worth taking depending on your pool. While TT has some cool versatile models that are nice to have, I almost think that Misaki is self-sufficient enough to not need them if you don't want to bring them.

Lucius is going to be changing what he is in the next edition, he used to be a support master that used and maximized a lot of guild minions. Now he’ll be in charge of the elite faction, kinda the top tier members of the guilds forces. I haven’t seen him play, but I think how he worked in 2e will be different from how he functions in 3e. McMourning was super potent in 2e, not sure how he’s doing in 3e, but I know he was always more popular in Ressers than in Guild—I don’t think he’s changed to horribly much between editions other than focusing on his more potent resser side. Pandora can be pretty scary, while I haven’t seen as many people play her, the games I’ve played against her have always been tough (even when I’m the high Wp Ten Thunders). i have a special place in my heart for Colette, but she’s definitely not an easy master to play. This is one of those masters you might really enjoy since she can be tricky, she doesn’t have a lot of damage output or tank-y models in her list, she relies on smoke, mirrors, and good planning/playing to keep her from getting wiped off the board. But if you play her well, she’s so fun. Parker seems pretty good to me—he hasn’t changed to much between editions. But while I like how he works mechanically, his main mechanic is manipulating his opponents scheme markers, which can be dangerous and scheme markers get go for your opponents VP, so it’s kind of a dangerous game. Again, you might enjoy that. Youko isn’t out yet. So you’d have to proxy her until her box releases (the only model that is Qi and Gong that’s released is the Oiran—with a new name now). I think some people dislike her since she is kind of a control master, but isn’t the most efficient. She’s similar to Colette, but has some larger beaters—the kabuki warriors. He henchman, Bill is also a little jack-of-all-trade-y making some people dislike him. That being said, I’m a fan of her and her crew and want to pick her up once she hits the shelf (I am also a hardcore TT player). Similar to Colette and Youko, Zoraida is a control master. I don’t know much about her in 3e. But she was very tricky in 2e. I think some people feel like she was greatly weakened—suffering many of the same issues Colette and Youko suffer from. Hope that helps you figure stuff out.

I think Ten Thunders might be the faction for you to try out; or Outcasts. both factions are diverse with eclectic masters that do weird things and that have harsh learning curves, that being said, they’re fun to play. Ten Thunders had a few rumough patches in 2e as they’re an elite faction that focuses more on objectives than combat. Outcasts are the most gimmick-y; in a fun way. I would read through the beta games and forums, maybe you can find a recurring theme of some master or other not working—and that can be your master?

I of course didn’t read that it was Nathan who had replied. So now I like pretty silly XD

Definitely a young woman, probably mid-twenties to thirty since she was the “star reporter” for Malifaux’s newspaper before her death.

Oberon's drue would of course be Puck. I would love this! A female Yan Lo or Lynch would be cool--I'm particularly sold on Yan Lo as something akin to the noh witch in Throne of Blood.

Muraki pretty much nails it. Just so you have a list of versatile TT models (in 3e), TT models that are versatile are: Dawn Serpent, Shadow Effigy, Shadow Emissary, Samurai, Fuhatsu, Lone Swordsman, Tanuki, Ten Thunder Brothers, Obsidian Statue, Terracotta Warriors, Wanyudo, Yasunori, and Lust. While I want to check out McCabe, I haven't yet in 3e, but I expect you'll want to supplement his thematic crew with a heavy beater from the versatile list or one of the other thematic crews.

Well, the more important question is what will you be doing? if you're just playing to win in a very competitive meta, you'll have to look at what works in your meta and what doesn't. I personally prefer playing a bit more of a laid-back game and like playing with different models--even if they aren't the *best*. Investigators and Monster Hunters look like fun models. Get the models that you want to get! I find that in the right list most models can be competitive, so get one or two, try them out and see if you like them!

Mostly so you can tell players with counterspell that they got rid of a suit without cramping your style. But it's not uncommon, I know Chiaki had a spare suit on either her card or her upgrade. A few other models sprinkled throughout the game have them. Either they're there for interactions that haven't come out yet, or left over from playtest concepts that just didn't get removed.

At least in a TT player's defense, we don't do that much summoning XD

Are the spellcasters something that Lucius might like working with? I usually run TT, but since my McCabe guardsmen purchases are going to keep building up, I figured I might as well get the other master that really likes those Guild Minions...

While I haven't finished the storylines, as of now, with what I've read, they don't appear much. But I do think that there are several figures who might be linked to it. Ironsides might be technically a part of it. I figure it's all of the non-mage arcanists who are fighting the Guild. Or maybe the elites of the organization.

Necro-posting--sorry! Anyone have good conversions for some of the named characters? I'm more interested in some of our favorite people showing up in my TTB campaign than I am running a game of Malifaux with TTB Characters. Although, if I were less lazy, I could just make the conversions myself...

Crime Bosses have only worked favorably for me so far. They have a lot of benefits, many of which have been mentioned: min 3 dmg, card draw, scheme marker control. Fragile is a great ability to work with and they work well with other models around. However, what I've found is that they are a mind-game piece. Frequently, people worry about giving me another card, so they delay activating models near them, or use resources to push and move models out of disengagement just so they don't give me a card. With the ability to give out fragile, and a min 3 dmg, they also can be a threatening piece just sitting on the table. Obviously, it depends on the scheme and strategy of the game. But I find that in many ways, the Crime Boss is a great representation of what the TTs are: a model that you play to focus on winning the game.