Audio Blood Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Hi everyone, I'm just starting to get interested in Malifaux as a friend of mine plays and it looks interesting to me. I read through the 2nd Edition rulebook today and got started on understanding how the game works, but I'm pretty unsure where to start when it comes to building my own Crew(s). My friend gave me a synopsis of each Faction's overall theme, but while that was helpful, it doesn't give me specifics on where to start. I could read each and every Master's abilities to decide which one sounds like the kind of game I'd like to play, but don't want to put that much work into it just to discover that I've picked something other players have decided is inherently weaker. So I guess my question to you all is: Which Masters are the ones I should maybe look at to get started in the game? My first attraction to specific factions are the Resurrectionists and the Arcansists. Thank you all in advance for any help you are able to give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uktena Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Nobody sucks. A couple are more direct than others and you may dislike that. Some have bigger crew requirements due to summoning. A couple are periodically brought up on the board as being "better", but I've never seen (or experienced) anything to substantiate that other than a bunch of whining informative forum posting. That said, Gremlins HAUNT MY LIFE due to all my friends playing them. So I can tell you unequivocally - Gremlins work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asrian Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 As Uktena said, nobody sucks. All the masters/crews have enough options available to them to win against any other master. If two players, of equal skill, were playing and both players were proficient at all masters, honestly it'd be a toss up on who won/lost no matter who they picked. That said, some crews are more into direct damage while some are into subterfuge and trickery. Some masters perform better at certain schemes/strategies than others, but you choose your crew after schemes/strats are randomly chosen, so that lends itself to bringing the right tool for the job. Honestly, for a first crew, it comes down to personal preference of aesthetics and play style. I liked the idea of manipulation and coming at my opponent sideways as it were, so my first crew was Pandora of the Neverborn faction, then from there I branched into Lynch. You said your first attraction was Ressers and Arcanist. Does one appeal to you more than the other for painting/figures? Do you prefer a more straight forward, in-your-face style of play, or prefer to mess with the opponent more? I'd suggest looking over the PullMyFinger wiki (http://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/) at the Factions that appeal to you. Read the general idea of the masters in those factions. Look at the artwork and figures available from the ones that you like then choose that one. No master is truly overpowered compared to any other as Wyrd has done a decent job of keeping the playing field pretty level at the 50SS game range (which is what the game is designed to be balanced around insofar as game size is concerned). Once you think you have an idea of what crew(s) you'd specifically like to play, look over the faction forums for any information about those crews and feel free to post questions. Best of luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgarbonzo Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Gremlins are da bestest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiglitz Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 I would echo Asrian's advice to check out Pull My Finger, it gives some great advice on the factions, masters, and general play. As all the masters are a viable starting point, my advice would be to pick a faction and crew you like the aesthetics of. As most factions are capable of most play styles and each has it own unique quirks, a key factor in starting out would be the models you like the most and their availability. Everything after that you'll pick up in no time. Have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDisaster Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 To put it bluntly the game is balanced incredibly well, more so than any other system I've had personal experience with and due to this you can pick pretty much any master and begin with them right from the get go. Some Masters have a higher learning curve than others but they are all very effective in their own right. As a beginner however it might be worth while staying clear of the summoner masters as the pool of models required to bring them to their full potential can be quite large. (I'm looking at you Nicodem!) That being said it won't hinder your ability to play the master effectively it just limits the versatility of them if you don't have a wide variety of models to summon in. In short, pick who you like the look of, check them out on PullMyFinger and get cracking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Agree with others.....especially Masterdisaster. The summoner-type models can be played they just lack the versatility without a larger model pool....part of their power is being able to pick or summon the model that you need at the moment (Nicodem, Molly.....though not a summoner, Marcus also falls into this category because he can hire beasts from any faction and tailor his list for every scenario). If you want an idea of who to play with you're going to need to do the research....either on Pull My Finger (highly recommended) or by reading through the book/cards. The play-style of the crew and the aesthetic are going to be the main factor....and only you can judge whether you like that or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Blood Posted July 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 After some thought, I think I'm going with Rasputina for my first Leader! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 An excellent choice. Semi-straight forward enough to learn with......but tricky/synergistic enough to keep you entertained for a long time. She has several "in-theme" model outside her box set that are very good with her......Dec Acolyte, Silent Ones, Snowstorm, Blessed of December........but she can also make use of several other models in the faction. Have fun with her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uktena Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 After some thought, I think I'm going with Rasputina for my first Leader! Superb selection! She was my number 2 and it was a close call. I play with her the most, and enjoy her options tremendously. Since you get the Gamin and Golem out of the box, it's a great idea to practice with her at first using the Shattered Mirror approach. You can really branch out with her and do some fun things besides that though. My last game with her, she spent the whole game pushing around the board slowly giving herself high Armor, while Acolytes and a Sabertooth Cerberus picked away at the opponent. About halfway through turn 2 the opponent was close enough, and she became a slippery armored Paralyzation beacon. Once she could reliably Paralyze half the crew by nailing a couple key models, the Acolytes just dropped a ton of markers and called it a day while the Wendigo ate like....everyone. Some players hate December's Pawn, but I swear by it. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my opponent's face when they have to take Red Joker damage twice on some December's Curses or eat full Shatter + Demolish. Enjoy the Wendigo for a while, but try the Essence of Power once or twice - it's also a lot of fun and provides some variation. Can't remember if it's Mindshred or Joel (or maybe someone else?) but one of our experienced players has shown that Molemen are Business Mode. My preference for speedy objective grabbers is the Steam Arachnid! Give 'em Armor and jump on a pile of enemy minions! Comedy gold! People use the Golem to throw Gamin into position all the time for Frozen/Shattered Mirror - but don't forget about Toss once you're into the enemy crew either! Sometimes pushing enemy peons can be just as good as flattening them. For example, if you take Make Them Suffer, grab some The Stolen and chuck em off someplace for Raspy to blast. Gain VP and ruin Hamelin's day all at once. I recommend expanding first to Acolytes. They take practice to keep alive (hint: just because you can doesn't mean you should, ie; Pull & Drag and From The Shadows), but they hit ridiculously hard for their cost and reliably dump Slow on the opponent. Lemme know how you do! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowry Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Was wondering how are gunsmiths with rasputina? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengt Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Was wondering how are gunsmiths with rasputina? Not sure why you would take them over December Acolytes if you want a 7 ss shooter. They are fairly similar, but notably Acolytes have Frozen Heart and Gunsmiths have burning synergies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorbad Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 I can only echo that. IMO gunsmiths and Acolytes are two models that are almost in direct competition because of doing similar jobs and the Gunamith require a crew that can put out a decent amount of burning before they can match the December Acolyte in the first place, and with you using Rasputina the Acolyte is even better than usual that there really isn't any particular reason to bring the Gunsmith. That being said, don't feel that you have to run your crew along strict themelines for it to work. It can be well worth it running a mix of models from the different themes. For instance I think Angelica is an amazing addition to Rasputina's crew as she bring increases mobility (pushing your own models) at a low price. So once you played a few games and get a better feel for your crew and the game let your mind run free and see if there is anything else you would like and think would help you to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 That being said, don't feel that you have to run your crew along strict themelines for it to work. It can be well worth it running a mix of models from the different themes. . Agree...my friend uses a bunch of frozen hearts (snowstorm...ice golem) with Kaeris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paradoxstorm Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 Working on my Rasputina crew and noticed mention of December AcolyteS. Is this a model I'll want more than one of when I finally get around to playing? I know that some models come packaged 2 or 3 together (gamin) which I take to mean that there is some form of synergy from having the multiples. Others come packaged as singles which I was taking to mean you would likely need/want only one. But as I catch up on my reading it looks like I might want 2-3 of models that are packaged as singles. Am I thinking right? If I am, sounds like Dec. Acolyte is a model I should double up on. Any others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocSchlock Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 Models come packaged in multiples usually because Wyrd tries to give you all the copies of that model you'll ever need in one purchase. Just remember to check the Rare value of those models you want to double up on. Rare X means you can only have X of those models on the board at one time. A model with no Rare value can be taken as many times as you want. December Acolytes are great for Rasputina, since they're From the Shadows (can deploy farther up the board) and Frozen Heart (so Raspy can cast through them). The Harpoon with a built-in Slow is pretty amazing too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therat Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 I've heard talk of people taking 4 December Acolytes in a 50ss game. *shudders* Working on my Rasputina crew and noticed mention of December AcolyteS. Is this a model I'll want more than one of when I finally get around to playing? I know that some models come packaged 2 or 3 together (gamin) which I take to mean that there is some form of synergy from having the multiples. Others come packaged as singles which I was taking to mean you would likely need/want only one. But as I catch up on my reading it looks like I might want 2-3 of models that are packaged as singles. Am I thinking right? If I am, sounds like Dec. Acolyte is a model I should double up on. Any others? It sounds like you're looking at the old metal December Acolyte. It's a nice model, but they are now available in plastic and come in a pack of 3. It always bugged me there was only a single sculpt, but now there are four different ones! If you want some Acolytes I'd recommend just picking up the 3-pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paradoxstorm Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 I've heard talk of people taking 4 December Acolytes in a 50ss game. *shudders* It sounds like you're looking at the old metal December Acolyte. It's a nice model, but they are now available in plastic and come in a pack of 3. It always bugged me there was only a single sculpt, but now there are four different ones! If you want some Acolytes I'd recommend just picking up the 3-pack. Yep, I have the old metal one. I have always enjoyed working with metal. But different sculpts are nice too. Sigh, decisions, decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonahmaul Posted August 12, 2014 Report Share Posted August 12, 2014 I can only comment as somebody who has played against December Acolytes but they are very good. The in-built ability to hand out slow is a massive pain in the ass and the fact they have frozen heart works very well for Raspy's casting and against me personally as I often run Ressers (Horror Duel you say - don't think so pal, blood like ice!). The new boxes of them come with three in the box and are lovely, picking up one of these should suffice. I doubt you would want to run more than three unless you were playing more than 50SS and doing so in a 50SS game I doubt you would keep your friends for long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paradoxstorm Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 I doubt you would want to run more than three unless you were playing more than 50SS and doing so in a 50SS game I doubt you would keep your friends for long LOL! There are those who would say I have no friends, so I have nothing to lose. I've reached a decision--one more metal and a 3-pack of the plastic Dec Acolytes. That satisfies the metal worker in me while giving me some variety in sculpts and more models than I am ever going to need. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorbad Posted August 13, 2014 Report Share Posted August 13, 2014 I have a metal one and I'll be getting the plastic 3 pack at some point as well. Running 4 is only 28 points and they are really good with Colette. There is nothing gained per say from running multiples of them, but it is a very good model on its own right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.