Regelridderen

I tend not to stone too much, thinking that if I need to, then it’s because I brought myself in that position. Except for abilities, that are crucial, such as the summoning of the Dreamer etc., aside from that, I go with less than a handful of stones.

Don't concern yourself with efficiency, as you start out. You're gonna take a licking from experienced players anyway. Just concentrate on getting your models painted and some games under your belt, then you'll have a much better foundation to build your model collection on.

To which my answer is “Blah, blah, blah... Your dad, my dad... behind the school...High noon...tomorrow...Bring tiny painted models and a 3x3 board.”. Some people cry “cheese” over stitched, some turn into tears over Zoraida, some people think M3E is the best thing since tamagotchis went out of style, but that really isn’t that interesting, so just get over it, as it is quite far from the OP’s question calling for subjective opinions – and as you point out so well, stitched has a thread of their own. Also, next time when find yourself starting a post with “I don’t want to start...”, please consider the veracity of the sentence, and whether pressing “Submit Reply” is actually aligned with this (missing) intention. - Now back on track Apart from getting The Dreamer, because the crew is awesome, and stitched really aren’t that bad, but people just like to whinge a little. My advice is always to get yourself the crew, that wants to make you paint the most. Paint them up, get some games going, learn the basics, check out how other crews work. Maybe your first crew won’t be ‘the best’, but that’s not the point; the point is to have fun and only play with painted models. My own journey involved getting 5 crews in two factions, before finally branching out to the sixth crew in the third faction to get ‘it right’. I’ve now got 9 crews, but still only two are neverborn, and as I’m getting more and more games under my belt, I start to see the game play appeal of the others – and when they hit the table, they’re all nicely coated in paint. Besides, be honest to yourself. It’s not like you’d ever just choose one crew and stick with it and live happily ever after, so just get into it and enjoy the ride.

I love my Dreamer crew. It requires a ton of models, as the Dreamer is a summoner, and so he can bring in a lot of variation, dependent on his needs. You’ve got the coolest creeps - a spiderlady, a monstrous Teddy bear, your worst nightmares all led by the cheekiest brat in Malifaux, what’s not to hate. And the playstyle is very synergystic, your beaters rely on your little guys to improve their cards and move them around, while the little guys rely on the big’uns to spread fear, so they can come into play. And then you’ve got one of the most loathed abilities in the stitched together, which feels badly undercosted. Its fairly complex to play - not difficult, but just not as straightforward as having a giant demon lady beat up your opponent - so it is very rewarding, and games never feel repetitive.

I was thinking to just go with old Dashel – since he's gonna get a new model anyway, but I like the idea of the midnight stalker. I was also thinking of using Vogel – since Lucius lost his pet werewolf, and the model is just lying around.

Might I say, that the premise/format could be tweaked a bit for M3E. Since you won't know, who your opponents master will be, until you've announced your own. So maybe start with a : I choose Master A for Schemes and Strategies XYZ. When opponent reveals Master ?, I expand my crew with ???, because of this and that?

My guess is, its a question of people needing to get familiar with the rules. I recently attended my first tournament with only a couple of M2E games under my belt. First game only had 3 turns and then 4 for the two final ones. So once people start to get familiar with their crews - and some of the opposition, I’m sure, things will speed up.

And I wouldn’t exactly say, that he is my Star Player. And looking at his actions, he seems more dedicated to running with the crowd and getting into the thick of it - with scheme marker removal, his Unhinge relying on a crowd of nightmare and his friendly push. So maybe his job is to take a bunch of minions to the centre and make everyone fear treading there. But at the price he is by far overshadowed by Serena.

I love the idea of a Master, that can turn opposing scheme markers into executioners

Speed. He can cover quite a lot of ground on his own. So he can go scheme, secure turf, plant explosives on a flank, then quickly hit the center brawl. There are models, that make more of a spectacle of themselves, while octoface is more of a discrete workhorse.

My philosophy is to go with the models I like, regardless of playability, so my purchases went something like this; I started swearing, I should only get one faction and only a couple of Masters, so I went with : Perdita (+ peacekeeper) Lady J. This gave me a start feel for the game, but then I couldn’t help myself with : Dr McMourning Who in turn gave me an excuse to get : Seamus And now I’d already branched out, I couldn’t resist the creepy kids of neverborn : Dreamer Pandora And come full circle back to Guild : Lucius Sonnia And then the undead pirates showed up at gencon, and since I’d already gotten some ressurs, I just couldn’t refuse. - Of all these, I prefer the Neverborn Masters, but I have a blast painting the rest anyway, so the collection continually grows. Next will probably be Zoraida, and possibly Titania although I’ll never play her.

@Mut I like the look of the Hinamatsu, Kade, Doppleganger build. It’s something, I’ve been theorizing with myself. Seems like you can really mess up an opponents plan that way.

Speaking of which - is the old crone set for getting new models? She sounds like fun

As Guild is defined by having the coolest women with the biggest swords, I was wondering, If you could come with a fun build featuring : Perdita, Sonnia and J in the same list?

Haven’t tried the woes yet, and only a handful of games and middling tournament place with nightmare (took first for painting though). But the nightmare crew is a lot of fun.. tons of utility, killiness and nasty tricks. I like the crew very much, it really caters to my playstyle, with the internal synergy, the theme of the models. I liked that chompy and Dreamer is now both on the table, and chompy is more the beaty extension of the Dreamer. I had one game, where I didn’t stand a chance. I won no duets for the first 3 turns, and even unresisted duels hardly came through, so I didn’t even get my summons unburied till turn 4. Despite this I managed to outmaneuver my opponent and eke in a draw. My best advice is, not to think of summoning as your primary resource. Its great and powerful, but stuff like teleporting chompy into position, pairing him up with Serena etc. really brings the pain. So to make sure things work, remember to bring soul stones. Also, your deck might become a lean, mean duel-winning machine by the end of the game, but even in turn 1 your deck is at least just as good, as your opponents, so there is no reason to hold back. Stitched are amazing of course. Miss Ery always look the part - I can’t think of a nightmare, that does work.

So as I’ve now covered the Woes and Nightmares + the Elites (sans the new boys). And will take a little break doing skelly pirates and Guild fireblasters - but after that it is back to Neverborn. Then a question comes. Where to go? Which Master would you suggest (+ what modrls?).? I’ve got my eyes on Zoraida or the Savage crew. But could go elsewhere.

One argument that hasn’t been put forth against DMH yet is, that quite soon these masters probably won’t be available for purchase, their cards will probably be limited to an app. So they just won’t be available to all/new players. This should pose some balance concerns for tournament organizers - also concerned with bringing new players into the fold.

I’ll just go with keywords. Painted : Marshalls Family Elite Experimental Redchapel Nightmare Woe In the mail : Forgotten (Brine and Bone) Witch Hunter

I’d go for the Master, that makes you want to paint the most - even if others play it. Then don’t bother about winning every fight, but try your darndest to do so. You will inevitably expand your collection anyway at some point, when you’ve actually have enough experience to regularly win games. But until then, you might as well play with the models you like the most. - Another thing that might happen, as you start playing is, that you learn to appreciate other aspects and tactics of the game, and so learn what is the ‘right’ choice for you, when it comes to playstyle. Me I’ve got 4 Guild crews, 3 Ressurs and 2 Neverborn, and despite me loving the looks of all of them, it is the neverborn that see the brunt of the action.

That would mean, that you’d have to measure range from the dying model, and Nekima is the model that defines the range. Also the ability triggers after the first model has been killed, so it isn’t around for you to target - even if the ability didn’t specifically require you to target ‘another’ model.

Sounds awesome. I’m looking forward to getting Pandora crew on the table myself.

Thanks, I do my best 😛 But yeah, pretty much everything. She seems to not have gotten as much attention in m3e? So I’m looking for experiences, synergies, strategien etc.

How do you do it? And for what schemes do you choose her?

Whoopie! Just returned from the tournament. It was a blast, I dragged things out, so I never got to finish a game, only managed two turns in the first and four in the remaining two. Only played Dreamer, as I quickly realized, that trying out a whole new Master wouldn’t be fair to the rest of my opponents. Round 1 vs the family. Great game vs the Family. Really showed me the potential of the Dreamer, as I summoned, Lucid Dreamed and Fiendish Gambled like there was no tomorrow. If turn 3 had come around, I’m sure the family had been in tears. But as it was, I lost 2 - 1 ( and chomped Perdita ). Round 2 vs. Parker Barrows. I got wrecked. I learned that you need to buy soul stones. But my big problem was, that I didn’t win a WP duel till end turn 3, and I barely won any duels at all, I played to claim Turf War and managed a draw at 3 - 3. Round 3 vs Sonnia Now my teeth where whetted, and I just went aggressively headfirst into the witch hunters, ignoring the threat of Burning. I completely outflanked my opponent, killed most of his minions and dumped explosives all over the place. MVPs were Coppelius and the ‘spiders’, as they’re speed and web sheananigans allowed the rest of the crew to concentrate on wrecking face. Both Summoning and Lucid Dreams played a minor role in this game. The game ended with a win 3 - 1. - I’m glad to see, that Dreamer can play very differently, and there is a ton of fun in his playstyle. My biggest problems were, not knowing my cards and abilities by heart, and equally the Schemes and Strategies. Its hard to make a good plan, if you’re not completely aware of your objectives, and it also makes it harder to learn, how your opponent plays. But a few more games and this will be learned by heart. I didn’t win the tournament of course, but I did win for best painted army - which by a stroke of coincidence happened to a Serena Bowman, so soon my Nightmare keyword will be complete

Don’t get it? 😛