TableTopical

On 2/6/2017 at 4:30 AM, Adran said:

I would say learn to play with a crew you like the look of. If, after you have learnt to play, you don't like their play style, then you might want to consider a different crew, but no crew is automatically going to be a punching bag. Some are easier to gain competency in, so if after 3 or 4 games your opponent seems to be much better/more powerful than you, it might be that they have "clicked" with their crew earlier than you have, which is part of what I would say that difficulty means. Don't dispair, and see where you are after 8-10 games. 

I started with Tara, so I 100% support learning to play with what you like to look at!

As another note, I've been away a while, but I'm planning on getting back to writing more articles and updating the file more. If I haven't already responded to your post from above, fear not! I will do so when I am not writing from a tiny phone screen.

On 1/14/2017 at 1:28 PM, Seadhna said:

I can only speak for Outcasts, but I'd rather give Parker sheme manipulation 1, control 2 and resource manipulation 3

he's no slouch in combat, but you won't be shooting too often with the new scheme pool, especially when there are incredible control options around (Hands in the air just plain shuts down up to three models a turn), and he's definitely not a melee expert as your table would suggest.

 

I would also swap Tara's Control 3 to Mobility 3, because her primary means of control is applying conditions, which is already represented in the table, while the Beast Bomb playstyle is very mobile and specific to Tara.

 

On a final note, I don't see any resource manipulation in Leveticus apart from card draw, so I'd go with Damage Casting 1, Mobility 2 (which also covers his resilience, since he will be taking damage and dying instead of enduring a punishment), Summoning 3 (Desolate soul and A&D are surprisingly reliable summoning tools, albeit only good for summoning abominations; but no-one is trying to be Nicodem in Outcasts anyway; because why would you the bald guy can't even Unmake anyone).

 

 

Otherwise, an extremely accurate table for Outcasts!

Thanks for all of the feedback. I haven't played Parker before, so I figured I might be off base with him from just reading his card and the tactics I've been able to find =P. I've updated the table based on your feedback, let me know what you think!

On 1/14/2017 at 2:30 PM, Freman said:

The key with Hamelin, if you want to play to outactivate your opponent, is to engage just enough activations, but no more. For example if you need nine activations to outactivate, then you do nine activations, no more. Secondly if all you're doing is burning activations with rats, just point at a rat, "activate" and hand over. I rarely move a rat, they're just summoned, then turned into Rat Kings. I keep the models and the cards close to hand so it's just "pick up" "put down" "pick up" "put down".

Also, plan what you're doing with each model while your opponent is moving, especially if it's not going to involve an interaction with their models, they finish, you quickly do what you planned, then hand over. Of course that's helpful with any master, but especially so with summoners.

Great tips! I guess it also helps that since you have so many duplicate models on the field, you get to know their rules pretty quick. Their's less of that "I'll activate this guy... let me look at his card for 45 seconds to remember what my options are"

Hey all, thanks for your feedback! 

On 1/14/2017 at 11:07 AM, Dogmantra said:

I have more thoughts later but I'm procrastinating on an assignment so o keep it short I think that you should maybe consider merging Casting Damage into the other two since it plays out in basically the same way, it just has a different stat associated with it (close damage threat and ranged damage threat) and then replacing it with area damage, which would be like Rasputina, Sonnia, Wong, anyone with blasts or other ways to deal lots of area damage, since that's a bit more than just a surface difference.

I actually debated something like this, and ended up going the easy route of lumping them all together as the generic "Casting damage". Based on your feedback, and others below, I'll update the file!

On 1/14/2017 at 11:58 AM, Masquer said:

Red Tape trigger on Lucius counts as control, think it's worth 1 for the spreadsheet?

I haven't played against/with him before (since he was so maligned before his buff). What do you think his top 3 should be? If I remember correctly, I was sort of stretching to find 3 things he focuses on when I was going through all of the masters.

On 1/14/2017 at 9:55 PM, Nefarious60 said:

What do you consider as resource management for Mei Feng?  

It was just her use of scrap markers for Railwalking, but I'm going to replace it with Force Multiplier as Bengt recommended below. I think the Railwalking is realistically covered by Mobility anyway.

On 1/15/2017 at 2:18 AM, Bengt said:

Resource manipulation seems to thrown in as filler on a lot of masters. It's defined as "Utilizes a specific resource in an interesting way." but when Ramos gets a two for using scrap markers in the most typical way possible it feels kind of forced. Titania doesn't get a number at all even though she is the poster child here (she uses scheme markers to deal damage instead of what they are "supposed" to be used for).

I agree that casting damage isn't a useful distinction. But having ranged, melee and AE is also problematic as AE can be both ranged (Sonnia) or close (Viktoria).

Some individual critique.

Ironsides: She gets Melee 1, Conditions 3, Resilience 2 even though she deals middling damage and only uses a condition on herself as a resource. Her stand out things are Hand Picked Men, one of the the more powerful buff auras in the game (force multiplier 1), her ability to push enemies and keep them near her (control 2) then I guess you could maybe put resilience or damage 3 since she can do some healing or damage under the correct conditions.

Mei Feng: I'd put in Force Multiplier for Vent Steam instead of resource management (which I assume is there because Railwalker can use scrap, though I think it's more common for her to step on constructs directly). Not use about the exact order on her as Vent Steam can see a lot of use depending on opposition.

Ramos: Summoning 1 is fine, I'd put force multiplier as 2 (he has several buff auras) and damage 3 (Electrical Fire and Uncontrolled Detonation can both be strong in conjunction with his summoned Arachnids).

Rasputina: No idea what resource she is supposedly using? Damage is her primary focus sure and she have control with Ice Pillars and Paralyse. Then I guess I'd put Force Multiplier 3 for December's Touch if I had to put something.

Kaeris: Force Multiplier 1 without a doubt, she has several auras/pulses. Mobility 2 perhaps, but then it gets tricky as she is spread quite thin over several areas (ranged, melee, summoning, control, scheme, resource manipulation (having burning on the correct model in the correct location is quite important to her)). She really needs a tick the Jack of All Trades column.

Colette: I think I'd put resource manipulation rather than mobility as she uses scheme markers as a resource to fuel other effects.

Might do more later.

Resource manipulation is definitely a filler. I was trying to figure out the best way to get all of the different resource interactions into the sheet, but it ended up as a pretty bloated category. Any recommendations for how to improve it are appreciated! :). I've also gone through an updated the sheet based on your suggestions.

Do we think there should be a "Flexible" category to cover masters like Kaeris?

On 1/16/2017 at 5:13 AM, Adran said:

I personally would put Perditas melee damage as at least the 3 if not the 2. (She is generally happy to get stuck in, and does more damage in close combat than she does at range. I would agree that her ranged damage is the more normal play style.)

I agree that there is little use in Casting damage as a separate category for the purpose of picking a master. Area damage is probably useful, knowign if the master is good at dealing with hordes of figures, the how they do it is slightly less important. 

Thanks for the feedback. I've updated Perdita, let me know what you think of the new ratings!

On 1/16/2017 at 6:28 PM, Nikodemus said:

With moderately lucky flips Shenlong can do quite good damage with Drunken Kung Fu or blasts, but I wouldn't rate that among his top-3 characteristics. Scheme manipulation and force multiplication are where he shines. He can easily push models and markers into or out of scoring positions, hands out fast/slow with his pushes and also heals like a boss.

Thanks! I've updated Shenlong, so let me know what you think!

I'm writing a series of articles on picking your first master, and in my most recent one I put together a Spreadsheet that rates each master on which areas they focus on. The idea is to have a "quick reference" guide to the playstyles of each master as a first step in the Master choosing process. Since I don't have experience with all of the masters, I would appreciate any feedback on the ratings I gave .

My article explaining the categories can be found at http://tabletopical.com/picking-first-malifaux-master-part-2/, and the spreadsheet can be found on Google Docs here.

Let me know what you think!

Ken

On 12/30/2016 at 4:34 PM, Seadhna said:

You should probably reference this classic archetype article my Mark Rosenberg

http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/timmy-johnny-and-spike-2013-12-03

 

It's about MtG, but the archetypes work in any competitive setting, really

Ahh, I remember this article from back in the day. Good call! I gave the article it's own paragraph at the end for extra reading on the topic!  

On 12/30/2016 at 8:08 PM, Freman said:

My first master was Viktoria, because the heavy melee focus interested me. Of course, as of now, I've played exactly three games with her.

The master I've played the most with has been Hamelin, who at first I didn't get into because the imagery of a plague lord summoning hordes of rats didn't appeal, but then I thought of him as a piper, piping his way to power, and he began to feel much better.

In order of most games I've played.

Hamelin (Pikachu, I choose you)

Von Schill (Old Mr Reliable)

Jack Daw (I do like him, but there's a lot to think about while playing)

Viktoria (Killy killy death thing)

Leveticus (Undying pervert)

Tara/Parker (zero each)

Misaki (not even painted).

Any good tips for saving time in your Hamelin play? The whole rat engine really takes up alot of time! Also, I played a game with Jack Daw the other day, and I agree with your point about there being a lot of thinking involved. I feel like I spent more time staring at his and his crew's cards than actually playing the game! I think that I'll like the puzzle of him though, so I'm excited.

16 hours ago, randomhero125 said:

I have very limited experience in the game as it is just myself and my wife that paly at the moment. I personally think that the Viktorias are amazing as a starter. From what I have played so far they are very straight forward; see a target model, kill a target model. Crossing over from Ressers their play style has been very forgiving and a lot of fun. I enjoyed the Tara and Misaki. I really enjoyed the style of your reviews, very informative without getting too into the mire, and broken up for an easy read.

I agree that the Vics are a great way to start and learn the game! I personally don't like that playstyle too much, but I totally see the appeal of just deleting something off the table at a moments notice :). Thanks for the compliments on the articles as well, I'm really trying to figure out the best way I can share what I know, and help people getting into the game!

In other news, I wrote a new article in my "Picking your First Malifaux Master" series here. I created a Spreadsheet that shows what each of the masters focuses on, so I'm hoping it will be a good resource for newer players! I do want it to be community driven though, so let me know if you disagree with any of the ratings for your favorite masters!

On 12/28/2016 at 3:26 AM, Fopp said:

I'm absolutely tickled to see someone not fall for Schill as the place to start in Outcasts. I had a somewhat grueling start-up period for Malifaux almost entirely because I wasted time trying to get his box to work when there are simply better options. I perused plenty of "beginner guides", and I feel the community sometimes underestimates a beginners ability to pick up masters like Tara, and dumps them with masters like Schill.

From purely anecdotal experience, I second people's recommendations for Jack Daw, as that's the master that truly clicked for me.

Inspired by your comment, I wrote up a  blog post this morning with my thoughts on how to pick your first malifaux master. As nerds we're pretty smart, and doing a "one size fits all" master recommendation for everyone seems to be a disservice for getting people the master that they'll truly enjoy.

http://tabletopical.com/picking-first-malifaux-master/

On 12/20/2016 at 10:39 PM, Freman said:

Yes. Yes we are.

I tend to regard models that are both Undead and Constructs to be the "natural" recruits for Leveticus, since being both undead and construct is a feature of much of his themed crew. Off the top of my head that's the University of Transmortis models, Necropunks, Flesh Constructs, and Rogue Necromancy. All of which, it has to be said, are pretty decent models albeit (in the case of the Students) somewhat overspecialized.

As much as I love the fluff and model for Levi, I think I'll be waiting a bit before starting him up.  I'm resisting the urge to branch out into other factions as much as possible until I get and play everything in outcasts.  I know Levi would be a slippery slope for me lol. I have his cards though, so maybe I'll look them over and see if I get inspired ?

On 12/21/2016 at 4:17 AM, SoylentRobot said:

It's a lot less painful if you collect Ressers first, since you can just grab Levi and Jack later on, since theyre both honorary Resser masters

Nothing ever really jumped out to me in ressers.  I do like the look of Reva though...

On 12/28/2016 at 3:26 AM, Fopp said:

I'm absolutely tickled to see someone not fall for Schill as the place to start in Outcasts. I had a somewhat grueling start-up period for Malifaux almost entirely because I wasted time trying to get his box to work when there are simply better options. I perused plenty of "beginner guides", and I feel the community sometimes underestimates a beginners ability to pick up masters like Tara, and dumps them with masters like Schill.

From purely anecdotal experience, I second people's recommendations for Jack Daw, as that's the master that truly clicked for me.

I've played enough miniatures games to realize that I need to pick factions/miniatures that I like the theme of, as well as the mechanics.  Whenever I just get what people recommend, I play a few games, and then get bored. Playing the less beginner friendly masters also gives me a puzzle to solve, which I enjoy more than winning.

You will all be happy to know that I had a very good holiday in the minis department, so I will in fact be starting Jack Daw! I also got a bunch of other Outcasts models, so I'm thinking about testing them out and writing up some in depth stuff on them!

20 hours ago, DefyingReality said:

Sounds like someone has an excuse to pick up Yan Lo.

20 hours ago, Freman said:

Leveticus is one of those masters where you're either playing the faction, in this case Outcasts, or you're playing the master. If you're playing Outcasts then you'll generally be picking up a lot of Resurectionists. Nix can take Canine Remains (so with any master), Hamelin can take Crooligans, Karina summons Horror minions (and Tara is dual faction Resurrectionist), Jack Daw draws a lot of Tormented models from the Resurrectionists, and obviously Leveticus can take any Undead model (except Gremlins) which largely come from the Resurrectionists. While Misaki can't take any Resurrectionists as an Outcast, if you play her dual faction Ten Thunders there are models like Toshiro, Chiaki, and Izamu that she can hire there. It's why I regard Resurectionists as the natural second faction for an Outcast player. On the other hand if you're only playing Leveticus you may find yourself concentrating on Constructs in which case you'll be picking from multiple factions, but not a huge number of models per faction.

11 hours ago, SoylentRobot said:

And then there are the handful of Undead Construct models like Necropunks, Students and Flesh Constructs, who you can take with either Pariah upgrade

You are all the devil.

Seriously though, I'm going to wait until after the holidays to decide whats next for me to write as far as masters go. I'm expecting to get a box or two of Malifaux stuff, so those will probably be my next articles :).

In other news, I've conscripted a few local gentlemen to guest post as well, so everyone can look forward to more than just my boring crew box reviews!

12 minutes ago, Freman said:

Yes, Leveticus has the largest hiring pool in the game, either all Undead (except Gremlins) or all Constructs (except Gremlins) or all Riders with the Emissary (except Gremlins). I'm pretty sure that Wyrd are now a bit more stingy with the Undead and Construct keywords, knowing that they'll all end up with Leveticus.

I've definitely noticed the various opportunities across the factions to get you bought into other factions.. as a Tara player, I now own ressers for summoning with Karina. As a Misaki player, I now have 10T models... The first hit in a faction is always free I guess...

On 12/8/2016 at 9:07 PM, Freman said:

That's true. The only good Neverborn are Candy, Iggy, and Baby Kade, who run with Hamelin, and Teddy, Stitched Together, Hooded Rider, and the Undead models with Titania who can run with Leveticus.

I reallllyyy like Teddy. So what you're telling me is that I can buy Dreamer, get Teddy, and then still defend it to my wife as "No I'm not starting a new faction, this can all be used together!" ? I need to buy Levi...

23 minutes ago, Freman said:

Terrible, aren't we?

i was being tempter by Dreamer, so its probably for the best that I bumped him down the list.

7 minutes ago, Freman said:

He's a very synergistic Master, although if you slap Bigger They Are on him he can also turn into a beater with his ability to attach an upgrade to the model he's attacking.

I'm painting the Crossroads Seven now, and they'll slot into my carry bag with Jack. The Creeping Terror, combined with all their auras, is nasty.

Thinking about it, Pride (being an Outcast) can carry TCT even in a non-Jack led crew, and if you have a Guilty to make a model Tormented (like Hamelin) all their Auras and Pulses suddenly have a +1 inch range. It would be finicky to make it worth the 14 stone investment, but I'm sure there's some way of exploiting it.

I've now moved Jack up on my Amazon wish list.. Look what the two of you have done...

23 hours ago, Freman said:

I now find myself with 6 painted masters, only Parker (almost done) and Misaki to go. Of course Misaki including her Lost Blossom models is a mini-Ten Thunders faction.

Still have to paint all Jack's non-Outcast tormented models too.

I wish I was even close to that with my painting!

13 hours ago, SoylentRobot said:

Jack is my favourite Outcast master out of all the ones i've tried (havent played Tara, Viktoria or Misaki yet), definitely give him a go if you havent already

You guys are like the little devil on my shoulder whispering 'Buy more models!'. Now that you mention it, I've liked jack's aesthetic since i started playing back in 1e...

Maybe I'll do Jack's crew box review next and get nice an comfortable with the cards to see if I would like him..

19 hours ago, Freman said:

Just in your "What's in the Box" section you wrote that the Rat King can be sacrificed to summon two rats, although in its later description you wrote (correctly) that it's sacrificed to summon a Rat Catcher and a rat.

I keep forgetting the Voracious Rats ability. Being able to summon free rats by killing an enemy model (or a blighted friendly model) within six inches of Hamelin or a Rat Catcher is pretty funny, especially if you have enough models around to summon another Rat King. Oh I do love Rat Kings.

I'm glad you guys are reading through these enough to actually catch these mistakes! 

I can totally feel your pain with Voracious Rats! I'm particularly bad at anything that requires me to remember things outside of my activation (I think I'll steer clear of becoming a pro Jack Daw Player with all of those auras in his crew...)

By popular demand, I've done a review of the Brotherhood of the Rat models. I may have went a bit overboard in the descriptions, but this is what happens when I don't have a master to write about!

4 hours ago, Seadhna said:

On Tara's models:

1. Learn to love your Wretches. They're great toolboxes that do so much for their points it's not funny. Just remember to keep them safe until you run out of cards. 

2. Scion of the Void is a beast. Having a durable beater for a low cost can work wonders, and her (0) teleport is crazy good. You can also heal her up with wretches!

 

3. Among thematic models, Aionus hits the hardest. His triggers are something special too (like the unconditional bury on Severe). Don't forget he can a) tear buried enemies to shreds

b)move all scheme markers in the game

c) is the coolest sculpt ever

 

4. Hannah is my go-to "slow expensive melee beater"

counterspell/nether fluctuation saves multiple models from things like Lure or Decapitate or Assassinate

the Ancient Tomes upgrade is a cheap way to score Take Prisoner or Exhaust, and it's got a good chance of going off. 

She's also a must when going with Karina (seriously, even with Arcane Reservoir i've spent entire games without a single high crow in hand).

 

5. Desperate Mercenary.

A cheap way to cycle through cards is beast-bombing the Merc withKnowledge of eternity

sure, he's Sh 4, but 3 [+] shots with Fast from Tara are fun to do. Make that 6 Sh 2 shots if multiple enemies are in range. Drain your opponent's deck of all good cards!

Thanks for all of the tips! I'm constantly finding new uses for the void wretches, and the fact that they're incorporeal opens up a lot of tricky moves that can catch an opponent off guard! I also really enjoy Hannah for all of the reasons you mentioned. I just got a Librarian, so I'm excited to play her with her big robotic sister

1 hour ago, SoylentRobot said:

I dont think enemy models need to be Blighted to get a rat out of them when they die near Hamelin? IIRC, the wording is "when an enemy model or a model with the Blighted condition" so only friendly models need to be Blighted to get a rat.

You are correct! This is what happens when I don't have a peer checker! I'm fixing the article now.

32 minutes ago, Freman said:

Just as an aside, Hamelin can only hire one The Stolen (the rules for Totems say you can only hire one, and The Stolen don't have a special rule on their card that allows you to hire more) the Rare 3 limit is there for his summoning of them.

I would say that Brotherhood of the Rat is a vital purchase with Hamelin, along with some models on 40mm bases to represent Rat Kings (I use Wyrd's Twisted Apparitions). Basically his summon cycle is gutted without them. That and summonable 8 stone Minions are nice to have, to the point that it's somewhat unfair to any opponent who wants scheme markers on the table.

Valid point with the Stolen. I've updated the post to be more clear. I think I'll maybe do a review of the Brotherhood of the Rat box, and then stress it's importance a bit more in the Hamelin article.  

Thanks for looking over the article!

While he isn't the most beginner friendly master, the article for Hamelin is up!

Hamelin Box Review

I've also started linking to all of the reviews in one central place here.

On the Docket for the rest of this week:

• "Beyond the Box" Article for Tara - I like how the article name flows!
• Add soulstone ranges to each of my crew box reviews (Including Hamelin's... woops...)

For the Beyond the Box article I think I'm going to stick to just discussing models to expand to 35 and 50 points (Like Seadhna recommended), and general tactics rather than going into Strats and Schemes (Since those might be getting updated in GG2017). I can go back in once GG2017 is out and either add them in, or just make a third article that focuses on that.

Outside of the crew box, anyone want to weigh in on the models they like or fun tips and tricks with Tara? I would love to include some of your mad skills in my article later this week.

1 hour ago, daniello_s said:

It is dragon-ish looking thing but if you classify it as Pegasus then all we have left is unicorn. We can call it My Little Pony or something like that.

Who says Unicorns need to be My Little Pony like? https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Dark_Unicorn_(4e_Race)

Since we already have a donkey, I vote Camel Cavalry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_cavalry

7 hours ago, Seadhna said:

Never tried Misaki, but Tara was my first master when I got into the game, and she's extremely intuitive to play. Pretty much proceeded to wreck face (still lost quite a few games, but not because my crew was weak, mostly because I didn't know which schemes to pick).

 

That being said, I think your reviews are spot-on.

 

What I would add would be the following: count the SS in the crew box and provide a sample crew list for 35 SS, then name 1-2 small boxes that would improve the crew up to 50 ss.

Also, list a few strats/schemes that you should never play with this master (can't think of any for Tara, she's a beast).

Thanks for the feedback! I love the idea of mentioning how many soulstones the box is in the review! I was thinking that it might be a good idea to do "After the Box" Articles that go over what models to buy next, and some of the more advanced stuff like schemes and strats. Which way do you all think is better? I want to make sure that these beginner articles don't end up being too long, and I also don't want to step on PullMyFinger's toes too much, since that is already such a great source of info.

Thanks for taking a look at the articles!

2 hours ago, yanlosbeard said:

I have to comment that I am a little surprised by your choice of Masters.

I am a new player myself, so cannot comment in terms of real gameplay experience, but when looking at the Outcast Faction, the advice that I was given by veteran players was that Tara and Misaki were definitely NOT good choices for a beginner. Tara has unusual mechanics, and has to manage a reduced control hand when using the Void creatures that come in her crew box. And I was told that if I was thinking of choosing Misaki, to go down the Ten Thunders route because some of her preferred support pieces are exclusive to Ten Thunders,  making her a much weaker Master in the Outcast faction.

Again, I don't really have the practical knowledge to have formed an opinion of my own, but in my experience the advice from veteran players has been unanimous: Misaki and/or Tara are not the best Masters to choose when starting Outcasts.

In the longer term, will you be looking to write similar articles for some of the Masters that are considered more beginner-friendly (e.g. Viktoria, Von Schill)?

I mostly chose these two boxes because they were the first 2 that I picked up after returning to the game after taking a long break (I used to play back in first edition). I saw the recommendations to stay away from these two masters, but I don't mind getting my face stomped in for a few games while I learn a more mechanic intensive master. What really drew me to them was the theme anyway!

I plan on doing these reviews for all of the Outcast masters I can, and then maybe expanding out to other factions. I might have other people write the articles for masters that I'm not super familiar with (Although these are pretty basic, so I think I can get enough information from PullMyFinger and here if I need to). 

1 hour ago, Drunken Kung Fu Kid said:

In my experience some players might wanna start with complex masters because the simple ones dont fit their general playstyle. I started with Tara because i loved the theme of a Time manipulating master and i have to say i got crushed super hard in my first few games (knowing nothing about card mechanics or the potential of focusing with a 2/4/7 dmg track). 

So a starting guide to those more complex masters is a good thing in my opinion. Maybe an added section about key things to keep in mind when playing Tara or Misaki as a last section is more important for those master as it would be for the Freikorps.

If I was forced to play Von Schill or Viks to start Outcast, i'd skip the faction because i just dont like the simple beatstick crew. 
So thanks for the blog! I can only say if u wanna start Tara or Misaki cause u like their flair - Do it! 
Even if it has a rough start, it doesnt get bore with them =) (Both Masters have so much Potential)

+ Misaki in Outcasts is underrated. It might be worse in case of a cruise missile build than in TT but it has much more potential in some other aproaches. (Hand pressure, survivability, certain combos)

Misaki and Tara just have different playstyle option in their different Factions. Explore those Playstyles, pick ur favourite and enjoy them.
 

Good points! I also picked Tara because of her mechanics and theme (burying people and Cthulu monsters? Sign me up!). I had a bit of an advantage when restarting the game, since I played in first edition, so I may have been able to pick up the more complex mechanics more quickly than other new players.

I like the idea of adding a section of things to keep in mind! I'll add it to my list of things to improve

I agree with your point about probably switching factions (Or going back to another game) if I started up again with one of the more straight forward masters. I played Circle Orboros in WarmaHordes for a long time, so I think I am a glutton for punishment when it comes to trying to wrap my head around a playstyle.

I recently started a blog, and one of the things that I want to do is to try and write some relatively quick overviews of the crew boxes. In the future, I'm hoping that I can write some more in depth articles for the masters as I get more comfortable with them. These are mostly meant for people just starting the game.

Misaki Box Review

Tara Box Review

What do you ladies and gents think? I'm up for any constructive criticism or ways that you think I could improve the articles.

Thanks!

Ken