Who is your favourite Master, and why?

[Shadowfane]

Blatantly stealing the thread title/idea from my good friend Vaiuri over on the Guild forums...

 

When I say favourite, I mean gaming-wise and fluff-wise.

 

Personally, gaming-wise my favourite Master is Lilith - She was the first Master I used, and she's the first one I've really got a handle on - I can build a crew around her for any combination of Schemes and Strategies, and have a reasonable expectation of coming out with a win

 

Fluff-wise, I love Pandora - she was actually the Master who, when I looked at the rulebook, grabbed me in a chokehold, slamming my face into the wall, and said "Congratulations, your faction are now the Neverborn!".... if only I could get her to work for me on the gaming table, she'd be my first Master in virtually all things...

[valhallan42nd]

I'm mainly a Resser Player, but of all the Neverborn I have (Lilith, Pandy, Lynch), Pandora is my favorite. She plays unlike any other master, and having a 3 inch melee range is amazing. As for what makes her work: dump the 'geist, get a Primordial Magic, and find two Insidious Madnesses. You'll have a lot more fun.

[Dirial]

I think, mine is Wong.

 

Or do the other Neverborn not count?

[zFiend]

I think, mine is Wong.

Or do the other Neverborn not count?

Take your filthy we don't name that faction talk straight out of here.

Anyway The Dreamer. Amazing game wise, amazing fluff.

[rubbe]

I think, mine is Wong.

pure genius!!!!

 

anyway..

collodi.. so romantic, so deviated, so much movement!

[vonevilstein]

Dreamer for me as well. I started the game playing him in beta because of his feel, fluff and models. I expanded to TT because I didn't think he was as much fun as a melee character at the end of the beta. I've come back to Neverborn because of his stunning new kit.....and having re-read his rules properly since beta, he looks like he will actually be a lot of fun to play as melee (who'd have thought it, Justin knew better than me... ).

 

For me, he's the twisted essence of Malifaux.. . 

[Somnicide]

Lilith because I need a safety net like illusionary forest

[Sybaris]

I use Nekima as leader, as often as i can for personal fluff reasons (a master is a more efficient use of the free slot), but in games where i need to get master instead...i'd say Lilith with a grunt, though i am experimentating with Zoraida. I do have Pandora and the dreamer models...will see how fun they are once i get the time to test them.

[Mastershake]

As much as I like the fluff and style for Lilith and Lucius, they simply aren't that much fun on the table in an average game.  That's not to say I don't play them or you can't have fun, but they just aren't as intricate as some other masters which makes them a little less multidimensional.

 

Jacob Lynch and Pandora on the other hand tend to have lots of weird mechanics and intricate interactions that just make them more enjoyable to play.  It also gives them more points of failure, but you get a higher curve for raw power if you can get the mechanics to work and something about engineering scenarios where you obliterate high end models with no effort is more fun for me (like having candy beat to death a master or Jacob Lynch obliterate the dreamer without using an action).

[Kadeton]

Pandora was the Master that originally drew me into playing Malifaux, though I hated her crew's models so much that I ended up having to wait years for M2E to update them.

An honorable mention goes to Zoraida, who is similarly awesome in the fluff and on the table.

[necroon]

Collodi, for me. I love his fluff and mechanics and the "Puppet Master" theme is my absolute favorite. 

 

Dreamer gets an honorable mention as he's a ton of fun to play and pretty cool, too.  

[EnternalVoid]

Fluffwise hands down Zoraida wins for me.  I always liked Baba Yaga's mythos and liked the imagery they used in Hellboy for her appearance.  So the manipulative swamp hag struck a cord with me  *much to the torment of my gaming group as I proved adapt at her in last edition*.  She only earned it further after I read more of her fluff like her discussion with Lilith in the swamp and her role with the history of Malifaux as a whole.

 

Game play mechanics wise it is a bit rough right now.  Though I have got several of the masters down well and do good with them, something is not clicking.  It is not mechanic or tactics, it is just the lack of that old glee.  It has made me leave my Neverborn to the side more as I tested the waters in other factions more looking for that spark.  That said my last game I finally broke out Pandora *I avoided her in the last edition partially because we had 2-3 people really keen on her so I did not like sharing* and I have to admit I had a bit of fun doing all the mean things I knew she could.  Might have to give Neverborn another serious spin to see what might tempt my tastes.

[Insidiously Mad]

Dreamer for sure. Whole reason I got into the game. Love the raw speed in that crew as well

[Hateful Darkblack]

Lately, it's Zoraida.

[StaticVortex]

Hands down, Dreamer for both game and fluff.  Strolling through my LGS I came across a new display of boxes.  I looked over a few with mild interest before I found the small box for Lord Chompy Bits...because his name was Lord Chompy Bits!  Then I found the Dreamer's starter box...mmm...and the fluff...yummy.  

[Rathnard]

Zoraida. Didn't even need to think about it.

She was the first Master I really got into, I quite like her background and most recently, people seem to be passing her over for other Masters in her Factions. And I do tend to like the underdog.

[4thstringer]

No one has stood for Lucius yet, so here I am .  I started with him in Guild, but man is he fun with his favorite mimics and brilliance/darkened models.

[Nical]

Lucius & Collodi. I like their Minion-specific theme.

 

But If I need to choose only one, I choose Lucius. 

[Betterthenlife]

While it was the Dreamer who got me into Malifaux and my first master the moment i read Lynch's fluff I fell in love with the guy. Great background, awesome character and his supporting cast (Graves,Tannen and Hungy) are all great as well. He's also my most used master, the mechanics behind Brilliance and the way he and his crew use it is for me just great.

[Wessex]

I love Jack Daw fluff wise, this tormented spirit of injustice floating through Malifaux seeking revenge against any that wonder into his path. No schemes, no ulterior motive, just vengeance in a condensed spirit form. Also Poe.

Play wise, I love the masters that break crew building rules (Marcus/Hoffman/Jack Daw/most of the ten thunders). I also think that there's a lot of tactical challenge in summoning, knowing what to summon and when in a given turn or for a certain scheme.

[ddot]

Fluff-wise, I   Lilith's back-story of watching the first usurpers come to Malifaux and learning their ways like the perfect predator. Also, kicking Nekima to the curb was a nice touch. She can also be a hoot game-wise, but my overall has to go to 1E Pandora. Her playstyle was a wyrd mix of attrition and denial. For someone used to attempting devastating alpha-strikes, she made me a better gamer overall.

[Kalkris]

In Neverborn:

 

Mechanically my favorite master is The Dreamer. He is such a versatile summoner/support master. He is ridiculous with or without Chompy in tow.

 

Fluffwise, my favorite master is either Lynch or Lucius. I love Lucius's fluff but I think Lynch's has even more of that "deal with the devil" feeling that Malifaux needs more of.

 

In general:

 

Mechanically I am right now in love with Jack Daw. He is a beast in the three major fields (Offense, Resilience, and Mobility). He is so fun to play, in addition!

 

Fluffwise, my favorite master is, was, and will probably always be, Hamelin. The Pied Piper of Plague is so interesting (even if he is a creepy kiddy-luring sonovagun). That said, JD is a close second, and miiiiiiiiiiiiight surpass Hamelin in short order fairly soon...

 

~Lil Kalki

[Pip]

Hmm... soooo many choices...

 

From a gaming perspective I'd have to say Ulix because, well, PIGGIES!!!

 

It makes me chuckle when my opponents carefully laid plans are foiled by a stampeding War Pig! Also, the thought of a drove of stinky pigs that squeal, birth and oink taking on some of the deadliest masters/crews in the Malifaux world also amuses me.

 

From a fluff perspective, I'd have to say Seamus. He was my first master and I've really enjoyed his story through out all of the books. Plus, as psychotic and vicious killer not to mention down right barking mad, you can't help but like the guy. I mean, he'd have no trouble slicing you open, but at least he'd do it with a smile.  

 

Cheers,

 

Pip.

[McAirHwhip]

Favorite if I want to win at any cost would have to be Sonnia. There is just so much firepower in that crew (no pun intended) and if you strategically place her and Sam, you're going to be decimating the opposition while being nowhere near the line of fire.

 

On the other hand, if I want to win and have an absolute blast, my current favorite is Jakob Lynch. Pepper some brilliance on models and then those illuminated and Huggy unleash absolute hell.

 

If I go into the game with the intention of just attempting pure jank, that would have to be Lucius. Sometimes it makes me look smart, sometimes it makes me look like I have zero idea what I'm doing (heavily weighted on the latter).

[Gorbad]

Colette. So much fun to be hard with her, especially the new version of her, it's even better than the old one.

 

For Neverborn it's Pandora, easily. The whole concept is just awesome, and she is quite fun to play on the table too. Only problem is that people sometimes still don't really like playing against her and that makes me sad.