Considering Malifaux

[BionicRope64]

Hello. Long time wargammer in Wiltshire, UK. Spent most my life doing GW games. But moved away from them. Tried Infinty and really liked that. I'm considering picking up Malifaux but struggling on first master.

 

I decided to collect masters not fractions. But have 4 masters I really like look of. Who would be better for a beginner? Lady Justice or Sonnia Criid vs. Rasputina or Kaeris.

 

On that note. Does anyone know what the new 2 Player starter set is like? I got a couple of friends who are interested. Can the models in that be used in Guild/Arcanists?

 

Finally. What is the lore like? I really like good background story and artwork (only reason i still like 40k is the lore). It looks good but I’d like to know if it’s worth it before I spend my money on the big book.

Thanks for any advice.

 

Edit: This was posted yesterday. Then the forum was rolled back and topic was lost (for me at least). So thanks for the people who did respond, advice was good.

One other question: I’m being to learn to draw. I really like Malifaux’s art style. Any idea where I can find more examples of the art?

Thanks. 

[psychogeek]

Well, first of all, Welcome! second, I would recommend Rasputina or Lady J. Lady J is the most killy master in the game so she is easier to use while learning. Rasputinga has some fun stuff and isnt too complicated to learn. 

 

Next the 2 player starter has 2 crews, each containing a henchman to lead, 2 minions, and 1 enforcer. They are all mercenaries so yes you can use them in any faction as long as you pay the 1SS extra for out of faction. Its a fantastic set to pick up and learn the game with and the models are actually really good outside of just using them to learn. 

 

For artwork, its mostly in the rule books and rpg books but look at the chronicles as well.

 

Again welcome to Malifaux!

[Phototoxin]

Justice Vs Raspy is a classic.  Kaeris is a bit more 'fiddly' but by no means unsuitable for a newbie.

 

What I would advise is start at 35ss with only a master and minions  (IE no firestarter for Kaeris or Hopkins for Criid, Rasputina doesn't get a henchman) and no upgrades. Then try a simple turf war / camp the middle type objective. The idea wouldn't be to win but to see the real application of mechanics. The objective in the middle forces you to come together.

Then when you both feel comfortable with the idea of  or   and such as well as triggers play a 'proper' game!

The important thing is that generally information is open so it's a good idea to ask about crews and masters that you don't know about - you should win or loose by your tactics and ability to cheat fate not the 'gotcha' factor of inexperience!

Good luck 

 

PS: TERRAINZ! You need it! about 33% coverage!

[AverageBoss]

Hello.

I know that Lady J, Rasputina, and Sonia are all good beginner masters. Keris I am less sure of but as a general rule, the masters in the Wave 2 book (Crossroads) tend to be a bit more advanced than the Wave 1 masters.

Lady J is pretty much the most straightforward melee based master in the game. Sonia on the other hand is pretty much the most straightforward magic master in the game that will also introduce you to one of the games more common conditions, burning.

 

Rasputina plays kind of like a magic heavy warcaster from Warmachine (if you are familiar), using friendly Frozen Heart models as arc nodes for her to fire her spells through so that she can stay off the front lines.

Looks like you will either be an Arcanist or Guild player though. Guild tends to be more traditional gunplay and swordplay for the vast majority of its units. Arcanists are much bigger on weird magic abilities and tend to bring alot of armor (reduces damage).

 

As for the 2 player starter, half the models are guild, the other half are neverborn. They are all mercs though meaning that you could use two of them at a time out of faction if you wished.

 

The story is very different from what you are used to in 40K (Coming from someone who played 40K for 15 years until 5 years ago). The stories tend to have much more personal focus usually on the trials of a single individual. But since it is also a much smaller setting (obviously), when something happens to a big player or location, it tends to be felt. For example a very huge event just happened (a death) in the wave 3 book (Shifting Loyalties), that will at the very least have drastic repercussions for the factions, if not the entire setting going forward in the story.

 

The big wave one book does a good job of giving a basic rundown of the masters and models in that book. But it is also by far the lightest fluff wise out of the 3 big 2nd edition books. For example each faction gets a four page story plus a 1 page rundown in book 1. In book three, each faction gets a 15 page story and a large setting effecting story at the end (I think around 40 pages). Also the stories it does have tend to be a result of events that happened in first edition fluff, so can be a bit confusing for new comers. But given that wave 1 book had to have room for all the rules this is understandable.

 

The first edition books can be found really cheap nowadays. Also, they have started to retell some first edition stories via Breachside Broadcast (its done like an old timey radio story reading broadcast). Those can be found here: thttp://www.wyrd-games.net/breachside-broadcast

 

Theres also a good amount of stories (and other things) to be found in Wyrds free E-Magazine, Wyrd Chronicles. Those can be found for download here: http://www.wyrd-games.net/media

 

Lastly, I would like to link this for you. It is an amazing site. Its the Malifaux strategy Wiki. It filled with tons of tips and tricks on just about every model in the game. Its great for both trying to learn how to play with and against new models while also letting you exactly what those models do. It also has quite a bit of that artwork you like scattered about. https://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/

[CannibalBob]

 

 

Finally. What is the lore like? I really like good background story and artwork (only reason i still like 40k is the lore). It looks good but I’d like to know if it’s worth it before I spend my money on the big book.

Thanks for any advice.

 

 

 

I have played a huge array of miniature games since the late 80's and in my opinion the fluff and background in Malifaux is second to none.  There are other games that have done just as good a job at the basic concept of their universe and the world-building, but I don't think anyone holds a candle to Wyrd in regards to the narrative fiction that they put out for Malifaux.

 

They do an amazing job of bringing the world to life through the eyes of the inhabitants in a wide variety of short-stories from all sorts of genres.  They have action stories, horror stories, mysteries, thrillers, etc.  I have not really seen other companies that take to their fiction with such gusto and variety.  One thing that I greatly enjoy is that they also vary who the protagonist and main characters of a particular story are.  Many other games will only tell fiction through the eyes of the main in-game characters, but with Malifaux you get many stories from the eyes of common (or uncommon) citizens, villains, monsters, heroes, etc.  How the world is protrayed also changes depending on who's view you are getting.  How many games have fiction delivered through the eyes of a 10-foot tall teddy-bear powered by the stolen nightmares of children?  Every story is different, and so far they have all been fun.

[Paddywhack]

If you go with LadyJ just don't get frustrated if she keeps dying. A lot of players will throw her far out front on the first turn and while she is quite killy, can be taken out by a combined attack. Keep her back just a bit with her crew and she'll stay alive longer. That said, she has a nasty threat range and can be used like a missile to kill stuff, just don't shoot it off too soon 

[BionicRope64]

Well that was very quick responses.

 

Thanks. Will  probably go Lady J for the moment pick up Rasputina later.