madaxeman Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Flicking through the rulebook and Crossroads it struck me how many crews seem to have either henchmen, characters (ie rare minions) or generic minions with pretty similar looking artwork - basically a sort of cowboy/gangster type of bloke in a long coat, fedora hat and either a rifle or a pistol or two. Given that this is either a lot of cash to spend just to buy a lot of very, very similar figures, or possibly an opportunity (as they are all basically baseline human cowboy types) an opportunity for some interesting proxy models, is there any consensus out here on the viability of using the same set of figures, either Wyrd or not, interchangeably in various crews? Or, alternatively, are there any "specific to that minion/crew/faction" painting styles, or other basing or design cues that need to be followed to make some of these "blokes in hats" particularly distinctive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDisaster Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Sounds like you've been looking at the Guild almost exclusively They tend to have a lot of similar looking models but that is because they are an organised semi-military like organization. Guild uniforms and what not are all fairly similar. I see where you are coming from though. To answer your question in general no you can't use the same models to represent different ones because the artwork on the cards usually matches them models being used. However in a friendly environment there is no problem with this. I've been using my plastic Death Marshalls as Guild Autopsies at my local club and at home with friends. I've also been toying with the idea of using my Death Marshalls as Postol Wraiths in War Machine. There usually isn't any restriction on this unless you are a regular at the tournament scene. As for painting and basing. Go with whatever takes your fancy, there are tonnes of weird and wonderful people on these forums all with their own wacky ideas on how to paint their screws. Mako for example seems to be on a one man mission to paint a different crew in each colour of the rainbow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madaxeman Posted November 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 OK - so do tournaments generally frown on (or disallow?) proxy figures? The reasoning behind the question is that I'm coming into Malifaux from a historical gaming background in which there are no "official" figures, and where "morphing" figures to use them in multiple armies is very normal, and where sourcing unusual figures is almost seen as a badge of honour, so I don't want to suddenly find that I can't use some of the proxy figures I've lined up. Don't get me wrong, I love the Wyrd figures, I've bought far more than I intended, and some of my historical gaming mates have said that they think my painting has really moved on a level with the Malifaux figures I've done...which I put down to the figures themselves. However there are also some very lovely figures out there from other companies (especially when it comes to generic blokes with hats and guns) which I'd like to find an excuse to buy and use too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewmaster Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Quickie response: As long as the proxy is obvious, 97% of all tournaments are completely cool beans. Official rules say official proxies have to be at least 2/3s "Wyrd" product and not confusable with other models Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbobovalsocks Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Obviously you're entitled to your opinion but I don't agree with you at all. I think it's totally unfair to dissmiss all the models as being 'very,very similar' and does a dis-service to the artists and designers who have worked to 'bring the world alive'. In terms of proxies, I'm sure almost any opponent would be fine with you sourcing miniatures from other lines or having a proxy or two. Personally though, I'd probably not want to play against an entirely proxied crew for many games! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengt Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 What models are we actually talking about here? The ones I can think of sort of having the hat-duster-pistol look are Guild Guard, Pistolero De Latigo, Wastrel, and Desperate Mercenaries, are there any others? I guess if metals are included we also have Ronin but the plastic version got their own (rather groan inducing) look. In my opinion the once that are out in plastic do have distinguishing details and proxying the guild ones for each other could cause confusion. In a casual environment I think it would be ok using any of the others as Desperate Mercenaries in Outcast crews or as Wastrels in Ten Thunder crews as they could really only be one thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madaxeman Posted November 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 I'm also thinking Gunsmiths & Guild Riflemen..? Add a guitar and Sue is probably also sort of cowboy-like (although the appeal of adding a gun to an Elvis figure with a guitar is hard to resist for some reason, even though it does blur those musical genres rather a lot!) Anyways, good feedback - basically a few proxies are OK, but don't take the p-ss ! I guess there are also caveats for proxying where the actual figure is OOP in metal and not yet available in plastic? Would the fact that a figure is (now) only available in a box set make proxying more reasonable as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDisaster Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 I'm also thinking Gunsmiths & Guild Riflemen..? Add a guitar and Sue is probably also sort of cowboy-like (although the appeal of adding a gun to an Elvis figure with a guitar is hard to resist for some reason, even though it does blur those musical genres rather a lot!) Anyways, good feedback - basically a few proxies are OK, but don't take the p-ss ! I guess there are also caveats for proxying where the actual figure is OOP in metal and not yet available in plastic? Would the fact that a figure is (now) only available in a box set make proxying more reasonable as well? Riflemen and the Gunsmiths are fairly similar, I'll give you that one! Sue is actually a walking, talking Johnny Cash parody. All of his abilities and actions have some sort of reference to him or his music. Yeah, most people don't mind the odd proxy but always be sure to ask first and make it 100% clear what is what. For example having a Death Marshall as a Guild Autopsy is fairly clear cut and easy so long as you aren't using Death Marshalls as well. What wont fly is saying "You see these 3 Malifaux Rats and 3 Witching Stalkers? Well they are A,B,C, X,Y & Z models". I'd probably slap somebody who tried to pull that off... In fact there is a precedent for such behavior in my local gaming group, it was all in good fun though and the guy needs a slap from time to time I think most TO's would be fairly lenient towards proxying a model that is either OOP or not available yet in a competitive setting, but it's always worth checking first. Some people can be a little funny about those sorts of things. If there is a model who is only available in a box set and you don't want to buy the box specifically for just that one model (A fairly common issue) then again it's really down to the person you are playing or the TO's at any event. Personally I wouldn't mind but some people might so just ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbobovalsocks Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Personally, I prefer if people proxying use a model that is very obviously not what it's supposed to be so I would prefer that a Guild player used a Malifaux Rat as a Death Marshall proxy than a guild guard for example. That's becuase it makes it easy to remember which model is being proxied and if your opponent couldn't actually field the proxy model in his factio nit makes it very obvious which model is a proxy! I did ask my oponent who was using a plain base as a proxy to swap it for an actual model the other day as I kept forgetting that the base was a model!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengt Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 I'm also thinking Gunsmiths & Guild Riflemen..? Add a guitar and Sue is probably also sort of cowboy-like (although the appeal of adding a gun to an Elvis figure with a guitar is hard to resist for some reason, even though it does blur those musical genres rather a lot!) I'll give you Gunsmiths, but Riflemen has, well, rifles! I guess riflemen, trappers, and pathfinders could form their own group though, the "Hans fan club". I think Sue's burning guitar puts him in a class of his own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madaxeman Posted November 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 I'll give you Gunsmiths, but Riflemen has, well, rifles! I guess riflemen, trappers, and pathfinders could form their own group though, the "Hans fan club". I think Sue's burning guitar puts him in a class of his own. Aaah - riflemen - clue is in the name ! Anyway, I picked up what I think should be some nice proxy figures for these guys (with both sorts of weapons... bu no guitars!) and I'll try and give them a coat of paint at the weekend and see if I can post some stuff up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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