1 Year. 1 Master.

[SurreyLee]

Okay, i've spent the last year to eighteen months going between one master to another, getting a basic understanding but never truly drilling down into the minutae of them. Maybe i don't have the attention span, maybe the masters just haven't truly grabbed me.

 

What i am thinking about is spending a whole year with just one master with the aim of getting to know them better than i know myself but this has left me pondering which masters could offer that kind of staying power/interest. 

 

I'm playing Misaki at the moment and as fun as she is, she just doesn't smack of being that kind of girl (maybe this is my limited ability...who knows).

 

So, if you were only going to spend a whole year with 1 master....who would it be and why.

 

I'm not ruling anyone out other than Gremlins and would prefer to choose a master who is currently available in M2E plastics.

 

[Dirial]

I assume you realize that this limits you enormously in regard to strategy an schemes...

 

However, if I were to choose:

 

Sonnia Criid. Very good at combat, reasonably resilient, able summoner, very flexible in crew choice. She can compete in most strategies or schemes, and doesn't have any too bad match-ups.

[Adran]

Masters with very large pools may help here, although earlier on I would consider sticking to a fairly small pool to get maximum understanding of that (since this seems to be the focus of your intent).

 

Leveticus and Marcus come with the largest pool of models without being dual faction. (any of the duel faction masters could be played in both factions obviously)

 

I think this should be possible with any master though, getting to know them, and what they do. I think back to a few years ago when some people were playing Molly, who was viewed as probably the weakest henhcman in the old rules, with a very narrow hiring pool, and by playing her solidly for the year, they got a great understanding of how she worked, and how to get the best out of that pool of models.

 

Misaki with torkage will be very different to Misaki with Thunder archers, and very different to Misaki with Monks of the low river. Obviously you're not just goign to fill your crew with just one other model, but that is one way to force yourself to get a good understanding of what that model can do...

[MasterDisaster]

Personally I'd go with McCabe. He has varying play styles which can differ quite dramatically depending on the upgrades you take and the crew you build for him. He can work really well with any model available to hire because he makes everything better. He does this by overcoming their weaknesses or enhancing what they already do well. He can focus on himself or his crew and works very well at just about any scheme or strategy you can think of. Seeing as you already have some 10T stuff you can focus on 10T McCabe for 6 months then expand into Guild McCabe later for 6 Months. 

[dgraz]

There are plenty that can function in most games with a reasonable chance of victory.

 

As mentioned......Sonnia, Leve, Marcus, McCabe,.........Yan Lo, and Raspy are two I have experience with that also could fit the list. Nico is also pretty versatile. There are others I'm not experienced enough to mention, but there are plenty.

[akaean]

As a Guild player, If I had to pick one master to play for an entire year, I would go with Douglas McMourning.

 

McMourning and his crew is incredibly flexible, and an excellent balance of speed, durability, killing power, and scheme marker tricks.  McMourning is a terrifying opponent in Reckoning or Make them Suffer, and at the same time, he is extremely adept at schemes like Plant Explosives thanks to his excellent 0 action injection.  McMourning is an incredibly fun master to play, both in Guild and Ressers, and I feel that he is deep enough that he would engage somebody for a year of playing him.  

[zFiend]

I would probably go with Seamus, he is just fun to play and I have had my good and bad times with him but we got through them.

Also he is the boss as a character. Another might be McCabe, you probably can't get bored with McCabe.

[AverageBoss]

I would like to suggest Lucius. He plays so differently from any other Guild of Neverborn master. Additionally his ability to move mimics and guardsmen between the factions changes things drastically. Neverborn with Guild Riflemen? Guild with Beckoners and a Doppleganger? Executioners and Tannen and Graves? And this says nothing of Lucius own playstyle.

[Kadeton]

I tried doing the one-Master thing, and got bored very quickly. I'm not convinced that any Master has sufficient variety to sustain that level of focus for me at the rate of roughly one game a week. Plus, there are so many other cool things in the game clamouring for some attention.

The other problem with this approach, I think, is that knowing what your own crew does won't win you games - knowing what the opponent's crew does is what gives you the tactical info you need to beat them. You're better off worrying less about what crew you play, and more about seeing the widest variety of opposing crews.

What my friends and I are now planning to do is to each focus on a single Faction for a period of time - that gives us access to the full range of tactical options offered by our own Faction, and gives us experience against the full spectrum of other Masters. Just a thought!

If you're determined to stick with one Master, I think Leveticus offers the maximum possible variety and can perform very well in any scenario.

[Patzer]

If you gonna do it, take a master with a large hiring pool. Zoraida, Marcus, or Levetiucs is the peak of that mountain. Another way of doing it is taking a master that can do multiple roles, McCabe and Marcus comes to mind. If plastic is a mayor concern, then I don't know. There is a lot of stuff still unavailable for everyone... Marcus might have a slight advantage in the plastic department.

[Jimbobovalsocks]

I think you'd be mental to stick to one master for a whole year. Seems a bit too hardcore for me. What I did when I was trying to learn Warmachine was to stick to one 'caster for either 6 or 10 games. I started to take the same approach with Malifaux but I don't feel this is really how the game works really so instead of sticking to one master, I've got a few but all in the same faction. Right now I feel ike Sonia would be the best if I had to stick to one though!

[Rathnard]

Well back in 1.5 I stuck with Zoraida for a whole year, and enjoyed using her immensely. Her massive pool of models available plus her very flexible playstyle helped alot in that regard.

 

If I was to do it again I'd probably go back to Zoraida. After all, it's been a while since I've really plumbed her depths (har har), especially now she's a Gremlin Master too. 

 

Having said that, I'm actually doing the same thing as Kadeton (I'm "one of the friends" ) and focusing on a single Faction for a while. At the moment it's Outcasts, both because I've been enjoying them lately and there's only two models I haven't painted from the Faction. But that's only until the end of January, at which point I'm moving onto a Faction I've had the least amount of experience with - Ressers. 

[paradoxstorm]

I'm focusing on one faction for a while.  Adding masters as I feel comfortable.  

 

An opponent who enjoys "training" games is a good option for learning opposing factions--lots of talking out loud about strategies during play is a good way to learn how to deal with opponents.  

[ddot]

If I had to do the "One master for One Year" thing, it would likely be Pandora... much to the chagrin of my limited pool of opponents. Her playstyle is unique enough that it could be done with a variety of crew members outside of the usual suspects (her box)... many NB models do Wp duels as part of their schtick, as do a  number of Outcast mercs-for-hire. Then there's the opportunity to try her out without the Wp-schtick crew to try out the various interactions with hard-hitters in addition to that.

 

Either that or Nicodem, for similar-yet-opposite reasons. 

[Gorbad]

Easy, I'd do Colette. She is 90%+ of my Arcanist games anyway and she is so much fun to play. And because of the nature of her gameplay she have an amazing variety of models she can use, and use well. Completely unlike her old version that was almost single build, she really can make any model she field better and while she doesn't quite have the hiring pool of Zoraida or Marcus she really can use any Arcanist+Merc model and in many, many combinations. And she can do well at almost any Strat/Scheme as well.

[vonevilstein]

Well I've near enough done that with Mei Feng and whilst I've almost certainly not played as many games as some the posters here I still feel I've got lots of things still to try with her. I personally think she has the widest variety of play styles and flexibility. I'm probably telling you to how suck eggs but here's how she can potentially fulfill various roles:-

 

1) Support role.

Vent steam (tactical action) to completely shut down opponent shooting *and* casting. 

Hand out +1 armor (Intimidating pose trigger on Jackhammer kick - requires damage so good to use when intercepting threats in the back line)

Marker clearer and great melee pushing abilities (Thunderous Smash, Seismic Claws upgrades).

Burning condition spammer (Vapormancy upgrade - for use with Rail Golem and Sensei Yu)

Dish out ignore armour and hard to wound to Foundry models (Hard Worker upgrade)

 

2) Scheme Runner

Great mobility with Railwalk (tactical action - use with other fast constructs)

Marker clearing (Thunderous smash upgrade)

Killer - should normally dispatch opponent scheme runners with ease unless they are masters themselves (abilities and upgrades - tiger claws, scalding breath etc) 

Very large engagement range (3" with jackhammer kick)

 

3) Damage Dealer

We all know she's capable of devastating damage against clusters of models but is vulnerable to true melee beast masters/models. However with judicious use of Scalding Breath from Vapormancy upgrade (MI 7 +burning)/Tiger claws (+dmg flip for burning models) and Hard Worker offensively and also Misdirection and Leap Aside defensively she can hold her own or at least be very, very annoying for the opposition master. 

 

Add to the above the vast array of models she can have interesting synergies with and I reckon you've got about two years of play let alone one! For example I've still yet to try Fuhatsu + Blot the Sky + Archers + Thunderous Smash upgrade. A horrible amount of firepower that thanks to vent steam can only be engaged and if enemy models do make it to them, Mei Feng and Fuhatsu push them away again! The Arcanists bring in yet more fun. I've used Mei + Joss on a couple of occasions and they made quite a nasty team.... .

 

What I would say is that not all of these options are optimal in tournament circles. An issue with tournament play though is that only certain models for each faction (not masters) are considered optimal, which unfortunately limits your choices whatever master you choose. If you are looking to give yourself the best chance of winning at a tournament I wouldn't recommend Mei Feng or in fact any other single master for a year. If you are just looking to try stuff out and have fun, Mei Feng is the dudette! Although to be fair, you could probably say that of a fair few masters....

[vonevilstein]

I tried doing the one-Master thing, and got bored very quickly. I'm not convinced that any Master has sufficient variety to sustain that level of focus for me at the rate of roughly one game a week. Plus, there are so many other cool things in the game clamouring for some attention.

The other problem with this approach, I think, is that knowing what your own crew does won't win you games - knowing what the opponent's crew does is what gives you the tactical info you need to beat them. You're better off worrying less about what crew you play, and more about seeing the widest variety of opposing crews.

What my friends and I are now planning to do is to each focus on a single Faction for a period of time - that gives us access to the full range of tactical options offered by our own Faction, and gives us experience against the full spectrum of other Masters. Just a thought!

If you're determined to stick with one Master, I think Leveticus offers the maximum possible variety and can perform very well in any scenario.

 

Whilst I agree with this, I believe you need to know your own crew inside out first and then learn the opposition. If you have a thorough understanding of your own crew's capabilities you know what tools you have available to you to complete a given task. The next step is a better understanding of the task at hand and that's where knowing your opposition comes into play.

[Math Mathonwy]

I disagree about Marcus having a really wide variety in his hiring pool. I mean, sure, theoretically, he can hire any Arcanist and any Merc as well as the beast but in actual practice he is about the beasts. How often would you really hire a Rail Golem or Union Miners or Oxfordian Mages for him?

With Levi it also seems that he tends to focus mostly on his thematic models.

The less synergistic Masters seem to offer more variety in that you really can use anyone and anything with them. So someone like Zoraida seems to offer more variety.

Mind you, Marcus is a very versatile Master and can do lots of things, so I don't think that he would be a bad choice for this just that I don't think that his huge hiring pool is actually all that gigantic when it comes to what you're likely to actually take.

[Math Mathonwy]

Whilst I agree with this, I believe you need to know your own crew inside out first and then learn the opposition. If you have a thorough understanding of your own crew's capabilities you know what tools you have available to you to complete a given task. The next step is a better understanding of the task at hand and that's where knowing your opposition comes into play.

"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

- Sun Tzu

[Patzer]

I disagree about Marcus having a really wide variety in his hiring pool. I mean, sure, theoretically, he can hire any Arcanist and any Merc as well as the beast but in actual practice he is about the beasts. How often would you really hire a Rail Golem or Union Miners or Oxfordian Mages for him?

With Levi it also seems that he tends to focus mostly on his thematic models.

The less synergistic Masters seem to offer more variety in that you really can use anyone and anything with them. So someone like Zoraida seems to offer more variety.

Mind you, Marcus is a very versatile Master and can do lots of things, so I don't think that he would be a bad choice for this just that I don't think that his huge hiring pool is actually all that gigantic when it comes to what you're likely to actually take.

Canine Remains and Raptors can turn friendly models into Beasts, so he can up his synergies with all the juicy Arcanists beaters. Also, he doesn't need to go all beasts, sure it is usually the way to go but there is always room for a Effigy, Soulstone Miner, Large Arachnid, Mech Rider, or Howard Langston.

 

When I play Leveticus, the only thematic model I usually field is Alyce and Ashes and Dust. Aboms and Waifs are more resources and I never hire the former. Necropunks, Ryle, Joss, SS miners, Stitched, Lazarus, Effigies, Trappers are usually in for fillers. On the other hand, if I go undead, Belles, Necropunks, Drowned are staples. None of these are thematic so to say.

[Adran]

I disagree about Marcus having a really wide variety in his hiring pool. I mean, sure, theoretically, he can hire any Arcanist and any Merc as well as the beast but in actual practice he is about the beasts. How often would you really hire a Rail Golem or Union Miners or Oxfordian Mages for him?

With Levi it also seems that he tends to focus mostly on his thematic models.

The less synergistic Masters seem to offer more variety in that you really can use anyone and anything with them. So someone like Zoraida seems to offer more variety.

Mind you, Marcus is a very versatile Master and can do lots of things, so I don't think that he would be a bad choice for this just that I don't think that his huge hiring pool is actually all that gigantic when it comes to what you're likely to actually take.

 

Personally I would answer all the time.  

My Marcus play style doesn't really care if the model is a beast or not. If a model isn't a beast I can't Alpha it. Its rare I Alpha my own crew even when they are all beasts, so thats not a bad thing.

They won't get a bonus from Howl. I often don't take Howl anyway.

Can't be given the rage bonuses. thats a bit hit and miss anyway.

 

Erm, what other beast bonus' are there?  Myranda can give plus defense flips, and extra attacks and healing, but if I'm not building a death star (probably for Turf war), my crew are often too far away to get the defense bonus.

 

About 90% of the time I only care about the beast keyword during hiring, and then only if they arn't an arcanist.

Don't get me wrong, I have played all beast lists, but even then I don't find Marcus having much interaction with his crew that he could have anyway.

 

Other peoples experience may well vary, but if you're playing a single master for a year, you probably will try him out with his faction models.

Marcus can run really well in a "Ramos" list, or a Showgirl list. In fact there are very few lists I've seen for Arcanists that he would struggle to do ok with.

 

Zoraida doesn't actually have that many extra hiring options. She has a larger Merc pool than anyone else, but is still restricted to 2 models from that pool. Those  2 mercs don't signifigently change what my Crew would look like.

 

Mind you you and I also seem to disagree on levi, who doesn't actually do anything with his thematic crew (except be able to summon more abominations which in turn can summon a desolation engine). The Ashes and Dust rebirth works nicely with his self kill theme, as does Alyces summoning, but neither are essential to how to play him.

[SurreyLee]

This is all really good stuff so far chaps. It seems as though one master can be done but far more challenging and it would seem that Zoraida, Levi (not out yet in plastic) and Marcus are receiving a lot of love. 

 

That said, and more to gauge opinion here, but what about masters without cross faction hiring ability. Do you think they would have the same longevity.

 

McCabe was mentioned and great write up on Mae Feng. Ressers don't seem to get much love for this idea....any real reasons?!?

[Math Mathonwy]

Canine Remains and Raptors can turn friendly models into Beasts, so he can up his synergies with all the juicy Arcanists beaters. Also, he doesn't need to go all beasts, sure it is usually the way to go but there is always room for a Effigy, Soulstone Miner, Large Arachnid, Mech Rider, or Howard Langston.

Oh aye, he can use other stuff as well but I don't think that it really is all that optimal for him to do so excepting some few models. Beasts really do have most roles nicely covered. Compare to Zoraida, however, and she really should utilize all of the Neverborn arsenal if the mood strikes her (maybe not Sorrows) as well as all the Gremlins and then a couple of the low Wp models as well (mostly Nurses but there's a couple of other options as well).

 

When I play Leveticus, the only thematic model I usually field is Alyce and Ashes and Dust. Aboms and Waifs are more resources and I never hire the former. Necropunks, Ryle, Joss, SS miners, Stitched, Lazarus, Effigies, Trappers are usually in for fillers. On the other hand, if I go undead, Belles, Necropunks, Drowned are staples. None of these are thematic so to say.

I have to say that my experience with Levi is super limited so I suggest people listen to you and not me in this case

[zFiend]

Ressers don't seem to get much love for this idea....any real reasons?!?

There's a lot of anti-Rezzer people around here. Looking at you MD.

[deValmont]

  I'm thoroughly in the Resser camp here. I've been collecting Malifaux since last November, and I have been only collecting Ressers, and McMourning is my only master. He's got enough variability of play to work in all of the strategies, and there's virtually nothing in the Resser faction that doesn't fit in fluffwise in one way or another (Only the spirits really don't fit, but that doesn't stop me running Hanged with him quite often, as I figure he'll have done their autopsies and maybe they're indebted to him for putting them all back in properly when he's finished. )

  The only other master I've looked at seriously is Jack Daw, and that's because I already have Nurses, Hanged, Jaakuna Ubume and so with his boxed set I'd have a good 60SS of models to play with for him.