How to get the most bang

[Snipersunset]

Hi all,

I came across Malifaux earlier this week and i will be getting a couple of crews and the big 2e rule book. I'm a mature student so cash is at a premium due to family commitments etc.

 

What i want to know is which 2 crew boxes would give the widest amount of play options? Is there a particular crew that has a bit of everything?

I don't want factions that could become boring quickly as i won't be able to buy new models on a regular basis.

I've been looking at rezzers, especially Seamus, and was thinking maybe a Ten Thunder crew as then i'd have more options with their dual crew status. Have i got that right or am i getting it wrong?

I need 2 crews as i'll be playing at home and hopefully be finding a gaming group near me.

 

Also if you can give me pointers on what extra models i'd be looking to buy after your crew suggestions would be appreciated.

What Malifaux resources are worth looking at? Any podcasts,  blogs, youtube channel etc?

And finally, well until i think of something else, what extra counters etc would i need to be able to play. Is there a Malifaux starter set anywhere?

 

Cheers

[Webmonkey]

I suppose the answer to this very much depends on you. What sort of play style do you enjoy? Speed? Brute strength? Magic? Tactically diverse? Is winning your top motivation? or is fun?

 

It also might help to get the book(s) and read up on back-stories. You might find that one catches your interest more then the others. Alternatively, if looks are more imporntant then stratagems,.. you could make your decision based on the looks of the models, rather then how they play on the board.

 

In short, ... can you give us a bit more detail as to just what exactly you want in a crew??

[Cats Laughing]

If you are really interested in Seamus and the Ten Thunders, then Yan Lo could be a second crew to pick up as he works for both Resserectionists (Seamus' faction) and Ten Thunders, allowing you to use all your models in Ressurectionist crews and half of them in Ten Thunders.  You could then slowly branch out more into the two respective factions as you grow your forces.

 

I don't believe their are large synergies in those two crews, beyond both working for Resserectionists, but that's not a bad thing in my opinion.

 

Beyond that suggestion, see above for questions about style of play and such.

[Snipersunset]

Thanks for quick replies.  i don't really know what styles i want/like to play as my only miniature game i play is x-wing. That's why i wondered if there was a crew box that had a bit of each kind of play. I do like thinking about differnt tactics, and the more options i have during ply the better.

I don't want to win every time i play, i want to have enjoyable games when i play.

I like the rezzers and the guild have taken my eye too. I like the look of the dark debt crew.

 

I've read that it's mostly whatever catches my eye/imagination, but i want to get as many options from the start as possible.

 

If theres anything else that would help you help me, let me know.

 

Cheers

[HowNot2Wargame]

By options do you mean...

A) majority of models are Jack of all Trades master of none

B ) each model in the crew plays specific roles and depending on what I need to do the rest are fodder

A) I would think of von schill (outcasts) or Lilith (neverborn)

B ) I would think of dark debts or the Ortega's (guild).

Personally, get two box sets, o efor you and one chosen by your opponent. Explore all of the standard and story encounters you can in the £10 rule book and THEN worry about extra models. Small games with a lot of imagination are usually the best way to enjoy the hobby on a very tight budget.

Good luck with studies !

[Snipersunset]

By options do you mean...

A) majority of models are Jack of all Trades master of none

B ) each model in the crew plays specific roles and depending on what I need to do the rest are fodder

A) I would think of von schill (outcasts) or Lilith (neverborn)

B ) I would think of dark debts or the Ortega's (guild).

Personally, get two box sets, o efor you and one chosen by your opponent. Explore all of the standard and story encounters you can in the £10 rule book and THEN worry about extra models. Small games with a lot of imagination are usually the best way to enjoy the hobby on a very tight budget.

Good luck with studies !

I think a crew in the style of A and a crew in the style of B would be good as we could both play each crew and in multiple ways?

Cheers

[Snipersunset]

I think a crew in the style of A and a crew in the style of B would be good as we could both play each crew and in multiple ways?

Cheers

[Webmonkey]

All factions can do everything to some extent or other,.. but the basic breakdown goes something like this,..

Gremlins>> a "fun" faction,..(not that they can't do damage,.. but do sometimes blow themselves up)

Guild>> a more serious faction. Have some heavy hitters, but tend towards being "shooty"

Arcanists>> based a lot on "movement" shenanigans

Rezzers>> Not real heavy hitters,.. but as the name suggests, they resurrect things over and over again.

Neverborn>> a lot of magic and status effects (ie: poison, slow, paralyze,..etc)

Outcasts>> Jack of all trades faction,..

Ten Thunders>> Seem to be more combat oriented,..

These are all, of course, vague generalizations. But hopefully it helps to break the factions down a bit in your head, to help you make a slightly more informed choice.

[Fireuser]

Yan-lo's crew really does offer quite a bit of diversity.  If you want summoning and support Toshiro is your man, Izamu is a beat stick, chiaki is a control and support piece, The ashigaru are decent hard to kill minions, Yin is an excellent control piece, and the onryo and komainu are also excellent minions that can be used to suit your particular style.

[AverageBoss]

No single crew box will offer every kind of play style. If you do want a large variety of styles available, I would suggest Ten Thunders as a faction. Of the 7 masters 6 are dual faction, meaning that Ten Thunders can tap into every other faction. Getting the Yan Lo box will let you run more Resser stuff, or pair him with TT models from other crews, or a mix of both due to his retainer ability.

 

Going further, since you are new to the game, I would give a serious look at Jacob Lynch. He well let you go further 10 Thunders or Neverborn and can take 4 Darkened models in his crew regardless of their affiliation. He is probably the most straight forward of the TT masters, but is still fun and interesting. If you are personally good at bluffing, one of his upgrades lets your crew cheat card face down. It can be a blast to mess with your opponent with this ability .

 

Misaki is the Outcast/TT master. She is also pretty straight forward. She is pretty much a fast moving glass cannon, that is pretty good at assassinating key models. She lets you take a few last blossoms regardless of faction. Unfortunately, last blossoms only exist on the TT side of the fence meaning you only really get use out of this ability running her as outcast.

 

Yan Lo is of course I mostly covered above. His gimmick is based around gather Chi from models that die during the game and using it to attach new upgrades mid game or boost his spells. He tends to take quite a few ancestors models in his crew which are exclusively henchman and enforcers.

 

Lucas Mccabe is Guild/TT. He can take Black Sheep regardless of affiliation. Play style revolves mostly around passing upgrades all over his crew throughout the game in order to make models more threatening they they initially appear.

 

Mei Feng is Arcanist/TT. She can take Foundry models regardless of faction. She has abilities that give shooting crews a hard time and tends to like the burning condition.

 

The Brewmaster is a bit of a strange one. He is Gremlin/TT and can take Tri-Chi ignoring faction lines. His play style alludes me though.

 

Shenlong is the only pure TT master. He loves synergy. His main shtick is changing how conditions work. He does not get rid of burning or poison tokens (unless he wants to) and he does not take damage from them. He can use them to make his fighting styles (represented by upgrades that he can switch between almost at will) more potent. Friendlies within 6 inches can take focus or defense as 0 actions.

 

With TT you could (and I have) run a Jacob Lynch led crew, toss in Toshiro (one of Yan Los ancestors) and a Torekage or two (Misaki box). This way I had the tough, drug tossing core of Jacob (complete with card tricks), the minion boosting Toshiro who also gives me the ability to summon Ashigaru off of corpse markers, and the fast moving hard to hit objective running ninjas.

 

So yes, while individual crews tend to have only a few styles on their own, TT on the whole offers so many that can be mixed together in so many ways.

 

Just my 2 cents worth of ramblings. If you do decide to pick up any particular TT master or masters, I could make further recommendations.

[PraetorDragoon]

It is pretty handy if you post your location. 

 

Thanks for quick replies.  i don't really know what styles i want/like to play as my only miniature game i play is x-wing. That's why i wondered if there was a crew box that had a bit of each kind of play. I do like thinking about differnt tactics, and the more options i have during ply the better.

I don't want to win every time i play, i want to have enjoyable games when i play.

I like the rezzers and the guild have taken my eye too. I like the look of the dark debt crew.

 

I've read that it's mostly whatever catches my eye/imagination, but i want to get as many options from the start as possible.

 

If theres anything else that would help you help me, let me know.

 

Cheers

 

I think based on this the best way is to look at the guild. Most models in guild are interchangeable and work also pretty well with other masters. 

[Snipersunset]

Thanks for the replies. Just the kind of info I looking for before I split with my cash.

I'm in Tamworth UK.

[Dirial]

Generally, THIS is a good place to get a first impression of all the factions and masters from a gameplay perspective.

[Snipersunset]

Will I need to buy the rising power expansion book or is that covered in the 2e rule book?

Cheers

[Webmonkey]

It is pretty handy if you post your location. 

 

 

I think based on this the best way is to look at the guild. Most models in guild are interchangeable and work also pretty well with other masters.

Nah, don't play Guild!!,... Guild players are evil cheaters!! (Snickers and ducks to avoid the incoming bullets,..)lol

[AverageBoss]

Will I need to buy the rising power expansion book or is that covered in the 2e rule book?

Cheers

Rising Power is a first edition book. It is unneeded unless you are very interested in fluff.

 

The large 2E rule book will have all the rules for ALL wave 1 models. The new Cross Roads book will have the rules for all Wave 2 models. There are also arsenal decks, for each faction, split between wave one and two.

 

Wave 1 for 2E Ten Thunders for example includes Misaki, Jacob Lynch, Brewmaster, and Mei Feng. Their rules are both in the large 2E rule book and the Ten Thunders Wave 1 arsenal deck. Yan Lo, Lucas, and Shenlong are wave 2 and therefore in Cross Roads and Wave 2 deck. All the factions are split like this with roughly half in one wave and half in the other. Wave 2 rules were available for free download until about 3 weeks ago. They have been pulled due to Wave 2 hitting physical print. You should see it hit store shelves within the next 1-2 months. Wave 1 stuff is of course available now.

[Fetid Strumpet]

As a clarification, I'm pretty certain the Brewmaster is not in the 10T arsenal deck. Each faction section only had 3 masters in it, even though there might have been more faction masters in the book. The 10T Section had Jakob, Mei Feng, and Misaki. While the Brewmaster is 10T his rules were in the gremlin section alongside Somer and Ophelia. So just as a clarification, if you want his cards before his model is released you need the gremlin arsenal deck, not the 10T one.

 

I know its a little confusing.

[AverageBoss]

As a clarification, I'm pretty certain the Brewmaster is not in the 10T arsenal deck. Each faction section only had 3 masters in it, even though there might have been more faction masters in the book. The 10T Section had Jakob, Mei Feng, and Misaki. While the Brewmaster is 10T his rules were in the gremlin section alongside Somer and Ophelia. So just as a clarification, if you want his cards before his model is released you need the gremlin arsenal deck, not the 10T one.

 

I know its a little confusing.

You are absolutely right. Brewmasters rules are in the large core book and the Wave 1 Gremlin deck, though he is still a TT master.

[Snipersunset]

Those last two posts have confused my little brain! If I buy crew boxes do I need these arsenal decks?

I'm starting to think I'll definitely get the red chapel crew, but not sure about the second crew

[Crescent]

Unless you get old crew boxes with cards from the previous edition of the game, then you dont need the arsenal decks. There are however some shared upgrades that are only contained in the arsenal decks, which is a bit of a shame if you ask me.

[AverageBoss]

To clarify some things, Malifaux 2E was split into two waves. Wave 1 went into print with the launch of the new rules last year. Roughly 2-3 weeks after 2E launch wave 2 went up on this site for public beta and completely open access. The beta wrapped up a couple months ago and the cards were prepared for the printers. In the meantime, all the Wave 2 stuff, in its mostly finalized form, was available on the website. About 2-3 weeks ago the download was pulled as the cards were finished and were sold at Gencon.

 

Any box with the M2E stamp will come with the rule cards for the models therein as well as that masters specific upgrades. The arsenal decks have all the cards for that specific faction as well as the generic upgrades that all members of that faction have access to. The wave 1 resser deck, has all the rules for the crews of Seamus, Nicodem, and McMorning, as well as all the other wave 1 resser models the specific upgrades for those three masters, and the general, all comers upgrades for ressers.

 

Hope that helps

[Fetid Strumpet]

Essentially. Here's how it works. The main wave 1 rulebook has the rules for all models in Wave 1 and all upgrades. You are totally able to play the game just from the book, but you'll most likely ned to photocopy the cards you need to play for your crew.

 

If you buy any of the new plastic models, you will get the 2nd edition cards and the crew specific upgrades for them in the box, so if you buy Shadows of Redchapel, also my favorite master, you will get the 2nd edition cards.

 

The issue comes in when you buy an old metal mini pack, or if you buy a ten thunder master in plastic that has been on a retailer or distributor's shelf for awhile.

 

The metals were all released during the 1st edition, and as such no metal pack to my knowledge will come with 2e cards.

 

The Ten Thunder masters were released the year before M2E, and were the first foray for the company into plastics. Since they already had plastic sculpts, they aren't currently getting new ones, so if you buy a box of any of the models that came out in book 4, Eseentially any of the 10T starters, or a member of their theme crew, you'll want to look for an M2E sticker on it somewhere in order to make sure that the 2e cards are inside.

 

So that brings us to the arsenal decks. The arsenal decks are Wyrds way of trying to make sure those that were fans of the company, and were playing malifaux for years before the edition change could get the rules for mini's they already own. An arsenal deck contains all the cards for a faction that were in the faction's section in the book. This includes multiples of cards for some models which are not unique, and one card each for unique models. The pack also comes with all that faction's generic upgrades, and is currently the only way to get those generic upgrades as a card.

 

This can be slightly confusing when dual faction models come into play. Dr. Douglas McMorning, for example, is both a guild model and a resser model. All of his upgrades save 2 of them are both Guild and resser. One of his specific upgrades is guild only, and one is resser only. However since McMorning is listed in the book in the resser section you can only get any of his cards in the resser deck. If you intend to run him as a guild model, and buy the guild arsenal deck, you won't find any of his cards inside, not even the guild only one.

 

This really only causes issues as I said with the Dual faction masters and models. For example the Illuminated are a theme minion for Jakob Lynch, a 10T and Neverborn master. Because Jakob and the Illuminated are both dual faction, and were in the 10T section of the book, if you play NB and want their cards you need to buy the 10T arsenal pack.

 

The example I brought up earlier concerned the brewmaster. The Brewmaster is a new master for M2E that never existed before 2e. He is both a 10T master and a Gremlin master. However the layout of the wave 1 book had 3 masters in each section. The 10T section was Misaki, Jakob, and Mei Feng. So to get the Brewmaster in, and make certain the Gremlin section had 3 masters, that is where he got put, and as such his cards are in the gremlin deck.

 

Some people choose to see this as where a model's primary allegiance lays, but to me that is utter non-sense. A dual faction master is equally both their factions, and isn't primarily one or the other. So should you have any questions about what boxes to buy to make certain you get the cards you want you can always ask on the forum.

 

I personally suspect that within a few years, Wyrd will phase out the arsenal decks, once all those who were playing the game before have had a chance to get the cards they need, and will most likely release a deck of all the generic upgrades. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

Does that make anything more clear to you and help remove some of the confusion?

[Snipersunset]

Thanks for the replies everyone, some very helpful info in there. Just need to decide on the crews now

[Snipersunset]

Essentially. Here's how it works. The main wave 1 rulebook has the rules for all models in Wave 1 and all upgrades. You are totally able to play the game just from the book, but you'll most likely ned to photocopy the cards you need to play for your crew.

 

If you buy any of the new plastic models, you will get the 2nd edition cards and the crew specific upgrades for them in the box, so if you buy Shadows of Redchapel, also my favorite master, you will get the 2nd edition cards.

 

The issue comes in when you buy an old metal mini pack, or if you buy a ten thunder master in plastic that has been on a retailer or distributor's shelf for awhile.

 

The metals were all released during the 1st edition, and as such no metal pack to my knowledge will come with 2e cards.

 

The Ten Thunder masters were released the year before M2E, and were the first foray for the company into plastics. Since they already had plastic sculpts, they aren't currently getting new ones, so if you buy a box of any of the models that came out in book 4, Eseentially any of the 10T starters, or a member of their theme crew, you'll want to look for an M2E sticker on it somewhere in order to make sure that the 2e cards are inside.

 

So that brings us to the arsenal decks. The arsenal decks are Wyrds way of trying to make sure those that were fans of the company, and were playing malifaux for years before the edition change could get the rules for mini's they already own. An arsenal deck contains all the cards for a faction that were in the faction's section in the book. This includes multiples of cards for some models which are not unique, and one card each for unique models. The pack also comes with all that faction's generic upgrades, and is currently the only way to get those generic upgrades as a card.

 

This can be slightly confusing when dual faction models come into play. Dr. Douglas McMorning, for example, is both a guild model and a resser model. All of his upgrades save 2 of them are both Guild and resser. One of his specific upgrades is guild only, and one is resser only. However since McMorning is listed in the book in the resser section you can only get any of his cards in the resser deck. If you intend to run him as a guild model, and buy the guild arsenal deck, you won't find any of his cards inside, not even the guild only one.

 

This really only causes issues as I said with the Dual faction masters and models. For example the Illuminated are a theme minion for Jakob Lynch, a 10T and Neverborn master. Because Jakob and the Illuminated are both dual faction, and were in the 10T section of the book, if you play NB and want their cards you need to buy the 10T arsenal pack.

 

The example I brought up earlier concerned the brewmaster. The Brewmaster is a new master for M2E that never existed before 2e. He is both a 10T master and a Gremlin master. However the layout of the wave 1 book had 3 masters in each section. The 10T section was Misaki, Jakob, and Mei Feng. So to get the Brewmaster in, and make certain the Gremlin section had 3 masters, that is where he got put, and as such his cards are in the gremlin deck.

 

Some people choose to see this as where a model's primary allegiance lays, but to me that is utter non-sense. A dual faction master is equally both their factions, and isn't primarily one or the other. So should you have any questions about what boxes to buy to make certain you get the cards you want you can always ask on the forum.

 

I personally suspect that within a few years, Wyrd will phase out the arsenal decks, once all those who were playing the game before have had a chance to get the cards they need, and will most likely release a deck of all the generic upgrades. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

Does that make anything more clear to you and help remove some of the confusion?

Now i understand, thanks for that and sorry for being so dumb

 

So roll on pay day and lets get playing!!

 

Oh and does anyone know of any good resources for learning how to build scenery? Starting at the basics and moving on to more advanced stuff.

 

Cheers