New player, thinking of starting Outcasts with Leveticus and maybe tara, what do I need?

[sirbrokensword]

Hello all!  I'm just getting started, as in I own nothing, and am drawn towards outcasts.  What if any purchases are good to get started with?  Are the crew boxes good deals?  Is there any models that are too situational and I should avoid?

 

Also, If I start with Leveticus, what would be the best starting purchases?

 

I'm also trying to track down what I need from a fate deck, mini rulebook, etc.. Are all the different decks the same?

 

What master would pair with Leveticus well?  or rather what masters are required to play competitivley( even if that's not levi).

 

Likewise, what models am I going to need for tournaments?

 

Also, more of a modeling thing, any ideas for cool bases?  I want to really make my bases "pop" since I'm not used to having so few mini's on teh table.  ( I play warmachine competitivley)

[Dirial]

To play competitively, you need one or two Masters you know well. Which ones is less important.

The crew boxes are pretty awesome. Never buy anything on its own if you can get it in a box.

Yes, all Fate Decks are the same contentwise, but they look and feel differently.

For Levi, you will need a Desolation Engine, and Ashes and Dust once they are available. Rest is season to taste. Mech Rider ans Metal Gamin are popular choice, although opponents will expect it. Also, the other Outcasts cannot play them.

I use Secret Weapon bases and MicroArt.

[SpectreEliteGaming]

Dirial's suggestions are solid. Get Levy crew box and add Ashes and DE. From there you can expand however you want. If you feel like you want to powergame/get into Arcanists eventually - go Iron. If you want floating heads dragging their organs and dead hookers (of course you do) go bone.

With Tara I'd suggest buying a Tara box and a Von Schill box. Then - Johan, Taelor, Killjoy and Bishop should round out a roster that is more than capable. From a solid core crew you can then expand in any direction you choose to.

You will not regret buying a Von Schill box... at least not until you have to put the steam trunk together, anyway.

[KrazyIvan]

Levi's theme models, plus addition of Lazarus, and maybe Hodgepodge Effigy, provide a solid crew that can handle most schemes. That's Levi, Rusty Alyce, Ashes & Dust, Lazarus, Hodgepodge Effigy, Desolation Engine, and at least six Abominations. Beyond the core crew you have loads of options thanks to Pariah of Bone and Pariah of Iron.

[Jordon]

http://spiralingcadaver.blogspot.ca/2014/04/sounds-of-silence-tara-and-obliteration.html    

 

-This is the best spot to learn the inside and out of Tara.

 

I'm relatively new to playing Tara (probably 6-7 games) and she can be quite challenging to a new (and even an experienced) player. However her mechanic is extremely unique and she can be very rewarding once you start to "get" her. Also another benefit is that she is dual faction resurrectionists and can share models with Levi if you decide to go pariah of bone.  

[Sancho of Rime]

The best thing I've heard about Levi is that he's a faction in himself. With his massive hiring pool he can cover any base. My suggestion is getting the university of transmortis.the students are each good at something and they're great to cover your bases.

[jonahmaul]

Levi has some good synergy with Tara because of her use of Horrors (namely the Iron Zombies that come in the University of Transmortis and Punk Zombies).  This UoT is a strong box for summoning (which Karina can do) and as they're both Undead and Constructs Levi can use them.  The regular ones are situational (each one being very good at killing Living, Undead or Constructs) but the Valedictorian is a solid, and importantly for Levi, durable Hench who can be used well as an anchor.  Outcasts have some really solid options.  In order I would probably get:

 

Bishop

Killjoy

Lazarus

Taelor

Johan

 

Bishop is a really versatile model in any crew.  Killjoy is more effective in a Tara crew due to her ability to Unbury models where she wants and give them Fast.  The other three are all really solid models that you can put in depending on strats/schemes/available SS/personal preference.  I'm really starting to love Taelor again recently.  She comes in the Viks crew box unless you can find one of the old metal versions somewhere but that gives you another Outcast Master option so may be worth taking (Ronin are ok too but I find they struggle to make a lot of my lists.  They are 6SS models with HtK though which Levi likes).

 

You'll also want a box of Death Marshalls for Tara.  Unless you plan on expanding into Guild then you can go ahead and break the golden rule and just pick up the minion box of these rather than buying Lady J's whole crew box.

[Patzer]

My take for "Leve on a budget". Leveticus box, Lazarus/Ryle, Necropunks/Void Wretches, Ashes and Dust, Johan, and Hodgepodge Effigy. You will rarely need more than 4 Aboms at the time, and unless you either dedicate a lot of effort to make, or hire, a Desolation Engine, you will rarely see it in game.

 

If you want another Master while still complementing Leveticus, my suggestion would be 1) Von Schill 2) Viktorias 3) Tara. With VS you will get Librarian, Trapper, and Specialist which are all outstanding. Viks will give you the Jack of all trade Ronin, as well as the monster Taelor. Tara will mainly give you Void Wretches which are nice filler models, if you want to keep in faction.

[jonahmaul]

Tara is a lot of fun to play but she takes a while to really get.  I've only played a handful of games with her and don't feel that I've really got a handle on her yet so she's definitely one to persevere with and less beginner friendly.  SpirallingCadaver's BLOG linked above is very helpful and he is also a guest on the Schemes and Stone Podcast about Tara which is definitely worth a listen.  Hateful Darkblack (Ted Prodomeu (can't remember how to spell his surname so sorry Ted!) has also done a beginner guide to Levi on YouTube which is about 10 mins (I can't link it as in work but sure a google search will throw it up).

[Freman]

Don't overlook the Hoffman and Ramos boxes too. The Guild constructs are fairly tough, and Joss and Howard are machines (literally).

 

Plus you get Hoffman.

 

On second thoughts, don't go down that rabbit hole. Danger Will Robinson, danger!

[Kirby]

For initially learning Leveticus I highly recommend limiting your choices.  He has so many that players fall into the trap of trying to find the perfect combination for something when it'd be better just to learn a key set of models and grow as your experience grows.

 

I would start with his thematic crew as noted above:  Leveticus, Rusty Alyce, Ashes & Dust, and Lazarus.  This leaves room for upgrades and either a 4ss or 6ss model (depending on upgrades).  To make purchases fewer at the start, I would fill in with a single Abomination.  This lets you draw another two cards per turn from the Abomination tagging Lazarus with their card draw ability and then Lazarus tagging the Abomination back.

 

Leveticus - Desolate Soul, To the Earth Return - 5ss starting cache

Hollow Waif x2

Rusty Alyce - Desolate Soul, From the Aether

Ashes and Dust - Scramble

Lazarus - Oath Keeper

Abomination

 

This keeps your initial purchases to a minimum and gives you a solid core to build up from with Leveticus.  Ashes & Dust's model is not out in plastic yet, but you can generally find the metal version if you look around.  I personally use a counts-as because I'm not a fan of the current one.  You can happily swap that hired Abomination for a Hodgepodge Effigy, and I definitely would if you add any more upgrades that would eat into Leve's starting cache any further.

 

Unless you're really going out of your way to summon them or if you start with more than one Abomination in your hiring pool, then the four Abominations in his box crew are enough.  I would hold off on purchasing the Desolate Engine until you play a few games and see how often you have four Abominations in the same place that don't have anything better to do - like scheme running, getting in the way of charge lanes, tying up shooters in engagement, or being a pest by shutting down (0) actions and Casting suits.  The DE (for me) is more of a boogyman threat for people that know that it can be formed, but I get far more use out of the flexibility of having the Abominations running around being low-level threats that the opponent has to waste AP and cards to disengage or kill.

[AllistorPreist]

So, I am not great at Malifaux, and I have had little time to play with my outcasts, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But my outcasts are Tara and Leveticus, so my buying advice could be helpful, but probably not tourney winning. 

 

Tara and Leveticus can work with a lot of different models, so I try to aim for some overlap (then end up buying cool looking models instead). Leveticus may prefer necropunks, but thanks to Tara's sidekick Karina, Tara and Leveticus can use Crooligans, so they may be worth a look. But again, I am thinking as a model buyer more than a tourney player which is why I started with a pair of Convict Gunslingers.