Do you buy factions or individual Masters?

[Math Mathonwy]

Malifaux has been built and balanced based on the idea that you see the battlefield, declare your faction, hear your opponent's faction,and flip for the strategies and schemes and only then build your actual team for the game. This was even more pronounced in M1.5 but it is still present in M2 - some Masters (and their synergistic crews) are more capable in some situations than others.

Now, I've noticed that many (most?) people don't buy based on faction but rather based on Master. In other words, they hop from faction to faction buying a Master here and another there based on aesthetics and playstyle and whatnot. But this means that often when declaring faction you get a very limited choice of Masters to actually pick from.

So yeah, how do you do it and do you feel that this is a real thing?

[Nagash1959]

I'm a completionist for things, so in almost any game I play my main faction will end up with about a 100% completed collection...which is why my painting backlog can wrap around a city block.

off-faction things like picking up other crews for demos, not so much. I plan on having a crew from each of the main four and an Outcast done up shortly after I get home just for the sake of running demos. But I'll keep picking up Resurrectionist stuff for as long as they produce it. Damn my addictions.

[Kogan Style]

My friends and I are very drawn to certain masters and play styles, so in the past we have tended to pick only those Masters and play. However now that some of us are venturing into the competitive side of the game, there is certainly a need to pick a faction and  collect more for that one. 

 

I want to play Jack Daw more, but I appreciate that he may not be the best choice in every strategy, so eyeing up the Viks and Misaki to round out the Master choices. However playing time is a big factor, unless you can get lots of playing time with several masters you will not see some of the more outlandish synergies available to you, whereas getting expert with one master/play style may show you how to shore up precieved weaknesses in certain strategies

[zFiend]

I went with Master to Master until I realized I'm just crippling myself on purpose.. So now it's Faction wide and my focus is now on Guild and Neverborn.

[MasterDisaster]

I tend to get interested in a particular master and build on that faction, purchases I make for said master lead to other masters. I started with Outcasts/Ten Thunders because of Misaki and I then expended on the Outcast faction dramamtically but as I'm not a major fan of many of the metal sculpts out there I decided to then move over Lynch and McCabe. McCabe lead me to Guild and Lady J and wanted to build her crew up but ended up buying all the plastics I could and now play Perdita more often than LJ. I then dabbled with Kaeris who is sat on a shelf for the moment. At the moment I'm working on a Nico crew which basically means I'll end up with almost the entirety of the Resser faction just to accomodate him but I don't see this as a bad thing. 

 

Basically Ten Thunders caused me to branch out into lots of different factions but Nico was the first Master I ever used during my demo games so I'm really putting a lot of focus on him at the moment. He will eventually lead me to Yan Lo as I bought Izamu and Toshiro for Nico but I want Chiaki for Condition Removal and Ashigaru for summoning purposes, I might as well just get Yan Lo's crew and play with them as well. This is basically how my collection has expended.

 

Can't say I've got much interest in Gremlins and my Neverborn interests go as far as Lynch and Lucius. Arcanists don't interest me much either outside of Kaeris so 3/7 Factions will barely if at all enter my radar.

[Joel]

Of the factions I really love, I have all the masters - allowing me to use the models I like in as many different ways as possible.

Of the other factions, I tends to only have 2-3 masters. My favourites whom I enjoy either the model/fluff/rules for, and a selection of models to use with them to vary things up a little - but not to the extent of my main factions.

So, bit of both really

I think m2e can be done either way however, but you may find your experience gets staler quicker if you don't add some variety to your games. You certainly become a much more predictable opponent and that generally means a less fun one to play against on a regular basis. Not from a player point of view, but from the challenge you set for your opponent as part of the social contract of a game.

[MasterDisaster]

I think m2e can be done either way however, but you may find your experience gets staler quicker if you don't add some variety to your games. You certainly become a much more predictable opponent and that generally means a less fun one to play against on a regular basis. Not from a player point of view, but from the challenge you set for your opponent as part of the social contract of a game.

 

I agree. I've got a local gamer who plays pretty much the same Misaki crew each time and it's become incredibly tedious. He has more crews but he refuses to play anything that's not entirely and completely painted which is fair enough but It's become so boring playing him now I often make a habit of utterly crushing his Misaki crew in an attempt to discourage further use. All my efforts have done it make him never want to face Tara ever again lol 

[dgraz]

So yeah, how do you do it and do you feel that this is a real thing?

Definitely a real thing....but:

 

I think m2e can be done either way however, but you may find your experience gets staler quicker if you don't add some variety to your games. You certainly become a much more predictable opponent and that generally means a less fun one to play against on a regular basis. Not from a player point of view, but from the challenge you set for your opponent as part of the social contract of a game.

It's much easier now for a newer player to get just one master and to switch up their play enough by choosing non-standard crews and/or Upgrades to be competitive in more games than was possible in 1.5.

 

I also think that you don't need to go for an entire faction. You can cover just about any situation with just two or three masters (and a variety of crew choices). For instance, I play mainly Sonnia and 'Dita for Guild.....if there is a lot of killing needed, I go for 'Dita because she can struggle with spreading out too much but excels at smacking down (she's excellent for Reckoning or Turf War)....but if there is running around to be done I take Sonnia since I can take a few Stalkers and I can summon more during the game.

 

For Arcanists, I mainly play Marcus and Rasputina (although, Marcus can actually compete in any scenario if you know how to pick his crew well....and you have all the models he can hire).

 

Unfortunately for me:

 

I'm a completionist for things, so in almost any game I play my main faction will end up with about a 100% completed collection...which is why my painting backlog can wrap around a city block.

I'm like this too........so, while I may only play 'Dita and Sonnia, I have every master and model Guild can offer.

[DeleteAccount]

I'm sort of a completionist myself, owning all resser masters and waiting for Shenlong and Brewmaster for all 10 T. I might expand to outcast purely because I already have Tara and Misaki and can field a big chunk of the choiuces Jack Daw and Leveticus want, though hopefully I'll stop at that point.

 

Basically, I buy per faction, but enough masters in another faction will make me jump ship.

[AverageBoss]

I started just getting Kirai and all of her themed models. Then I decided I wanted somethign more straightforward and so picked up Jacob Lynch and all his themed models. Then I got Misaki because she looked neat. Then Yan Lo for the same reason. I decided I was going to do Brewmaster and Shenlong when they were released. I recently realised I was doing 5 of 7 TT and so just picked up Mei and Lucas. I now at least 1 of every TT set / model in print. I am currently waiting for the release of Lucious. So paint me however you will.

[The Zinc Lich]

I am on a wargame diet right now. I spent the last several years flitting from one Warmachine army to another, never getting a respectable collection of any of them. Now I have a big case of half-finished armies that I haven't used in years. Until I buy, build, and paint an entire faction in Malifaux, I'm not allowed to buy a different crew.

 

Also, while I am definitely on the side of "play your whole faction, not just certain masters", most tournaments won't let you bring every master in the faction with you. I think that as long as there are three masters you like playing in a faction, chances are you won't be forced into a bad match-up at crew selection.

[Cats Laughing]

I just get all the stuff.

Actually that's almost true.  I have all the factions and with the exception of Outcasts (where I only have Misaki, since Somer and Ophelia left) I have at least 2 masters in each faction.

 

Then I go ahead and pre-build lists before seeing the terrain/strategy/opponent...

[necroon]

Mostly Factions: I consider myself a Neverborn player but have managed to end up with 10T and Reser stuff, too... I blame Gencon. I usually suffer from a  case of "OHMYGEHRD LOOK AT THAT ITS NEW AND SHINY!" and than compound that with "I'M JUST 45 DOLLARS AWAY FROM ANOTHER FREE MISS MODEL! BUY THE EVERYTHING!". 

I stand by my life choices. 

[LordZombie]

I always recommend that new players pick a faction with lots of master they like. Getting one or two master from different factions does hamstring yourself, even in m2e. I have one guy in my local gaming group that only has 5 different masters and themed crews but they are from 3 different factions so some encounters he gets a little stomped because of limited choices. Personally I play factions. I have all but 5 Reserrectionist models (metals only) and all masters for Ten Thunder that are out so far. I do have other random masters, but I rarely use them. Mainly got them because of great deals on buying them.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Whenever breaking into a new faction, I need at least 2 masters I like so there's some overlap using a shared pool of minis or I'll hold off, but won't necessarily go past that into a whole faction. 

[daniello_s]

As a new player I can say that taking a Crew Box is a good option for a newbie to get into Malifaux.

Crew box gives you a solid base to learn the game as the whole box is focused on its the Master and support him.

 

After you get baby steps you'll start to buy extra stuff - I'm sure of that as it happened to myself and my friend already

 

First I bought Viktoria's Crew, then Freikorps Strongarm and Vanessa. Next was Lazarus and Desolation Engine followed by Rusty Alyce and Freikorps Librarian.

Now I'm looking at Killjoy

[Absolution Black]

I originally collected all Guild (metal models) but sold all of those off when they started releasing the plastics as I much prefer the dynamics and style of the plastic minis.

 

So at the moment I am still planning on getting all the Guild models as and when they release them in plastic..no rush for me as I don't play in tournaments and I can always proxy the models I don't yet have.

 

But the lush plastics has seen me dabble in the other factions and I will probably get one Crew from each faction just for a change in playstyle.  So far I have got Seamus and the Viks from the other factions but plan on getting Misaki, possibly Pandora and when she comes out Colette.

 

Otherwise I am usually a one faction completionist.  I have virtually everything the Protectorate has to offer in Warmachine and now only own one army of choice for both Warhammer and 40k.

[Soundwave]

I wish I could say that I play factions, but in all honesty I play masters whom mostly stick within 2-3 factions so I don't have to expand with too many minis.

 

That's just the way I play the game - it's the masters that draw me in, but I still try to remain within Ressers, Guild and NB.

[Dracomax]

I play masters. More specifically, I play factions with a focus on specific masters.

 

What I mean is that I will pick two or three masters from a faction I like, and then basically pick up every minion I can get my grubby little mitts on, changing the actual crew up and seeing what works and what doesn't. WHich means I tend to play Arcanist/Guild, with a few Outcasts and 10T. However, I would probably tell you I have Sonnia, Lady J, Hoffman, Ramos, Collette, Mei Feng, and am working on getting Levi, Tara and the Viks to playable levels of crew. I have Kaeris and Lucius, but I need a lot more work to reach playable levels with them. I'll probably pick up 'dita before I get them there.

 

<singing off kilter>...And a partridge Jack Daw in a pair tree.</singing>(although I am incredibly interested in Jack daw, and some of the neverborn,,, Maybe I just play Wyrd...

[Bengt]

Masters. I'm just starting and only have Hired Swords and Vanessa. Going forward I expect I'll pick up a few more Outcasts (Misaki and probably some of the upcoming plastics depending on how they look), giving me 2-3 outcast masters. Then I'll most likely start on a new master from some other faction.

[Dracomax]

Message removed by author: wrong thread.

[LunarSol]

I'm focusing on a faction right now (Guild) but eventually when its fairly fleshed out, I want to keep up with my favorites and focus on something new.  In general, I like to grow my collection down to convenient paths to try as many masters as possible, and later cherry pick my favorites disregarding faction boundaries.  I guess my answer is that I play a Faction right now, but once my collection is a bit more robust, I'd like to get to where I'm playing Masters.

[paradoxstorm]

I don't understand the question.

 

 I am a collectaholic--I collect things.  When I start a new hobby I collect all the things.  I can't stand the thought of not having a piece (model) that I need/want for a game once I get around to playing.

 

I enjoy assembling metal models.

 

I buy masters (in starters) that I don't have yet regardless of faction--as long as they are metal and I can have fun with assembly.

 

I'm probably going to stink as a player, but I'll be able to play whatever faction moves me (assuming I can learn to paint the figures once I get them put together).

[valhallan42nd]

I'm a resser first, and then an Arcanist second. I tend to play McMourning, Kirai, and Tara first, but I have all seven in the faction.

[Twg]

I have to admit that I am a Malifaux addict. Started with Lynch and then expanded with Graves and beckoners. Then wanted to expand and saw the Lilith box and thought the NB stuff would work well with Lynch. Then got hooked by Lilith and ended up with Pandy during Gencon and then went mad and purchased Tara, Viks and Nephs. It really has spiraled from there. I had stuck to the 3 factions until I saw Ramos and now Aracanists have joined the expanding collection. I can foresee some Ressers getting added before too soon to add to my Tara crew...my poor wallet. So for me it's factions.