New Outcast player

[Obtenebris]

Hello Malifaux community!

Two weeks ago I picked up my first batch of Malifaux models after wanting to dive into the game for some time. I traded in all my old Warmahordes Mk1 models to a FLGS 1.5 hours away and used the store credit they gave me to pick up the following:

Viks crew box

Von Schill crew box

Hannah

Hans

Vanessa(for the Viks)

Hodgepodge Effigy

And also the Outcast Arsenal box and a fate deck. What are some other good things to add into this burgeoning collection? I'm going to be learning the game predominantly with the Viks at first and snagged the Von Schill box in part for the Trapper and other Freikorps guys with an eventual plan to play Von Schill as well. I know Outcasts will be my main faction for the time being and I do have some models in mind(besides other crew boxes of course), but I'd like the community's suggestions on what they consider either "must haves" or "really fun to use with the Viks or Schill." 

Thanks all!

[Franchute]

Lazarus maybe? The Pull my finger wiki is a great source of information.

[Obtenebris]

I was thinking of him. Sadly, the store I did the trade-in at was out of him, so I grabbed Hannah instead. I wasn't even sure what she did(I have read up on Lazarus and want him), but she's just such a cool model that's screams Malifaux to me I couldn't resist.

[dalleron]

If I may, I suggest learning the game with Von Schill.  I feel he'd be more forgiving than the Viks.  The Viks are glass cannons whereas VS can take some hits.

As for other models, the strong arm suit is pretty good.  There is also  Bishop, Sue which are good I hear.  Void wretches are great for running schemes, or the whole Tara box.

Leveticus is the greatest thing since slice bread. 

[MobiusRex]

My knowledge is limited and I've got maybe 20 games of malifaux under my belt in total so please take my input with a grain of salt. I've really only any experience with Tara (I have the Viks though not used them yet) but Convict Gunslingers are great for me. I bought them to use alongside the Viks to bring range to their crew but maybe Freikorps can help you with that so I wouldn't cite them as a 'must buy' but something to consider as a future purchase. They put out a lot of damage with rapid fire and positive flips so I'd speculate they're better than what comes with the VS box but I'd do due diligence and make a judgement call.

 

Then there's Johan who I own but I've not used him yet. Looking back on the last few games I've lost, I've concluded that he would have been a much needed asset for what he brings to a crew. The number one reason being 'Rebel Yell' which removes conditions on a target model. This can be used on yours or your opponents models so he is very useful for that on its own. Additionally, he also gets bonuses when facing Tyrants (Tara, Hamelin and Rasputina, maybe others) and constructs which a lot of factions use. I'd highlight him as a must have purchase for the reasons above but he's also no slouch in combat anyway so I think he'll find a place in many crews.

 

Another notorious Outcast is Bishop. He's killy and adaptable to all manner of opponents but that's really all I know about him. I'm looking at picking him up for my Tara crew but I think you've already got plenty of what he provides with a Viks crew and a VS crew would be better served by Lazarus.

 

Sue is a souped (sueped?) up Convict Gunslinger. I've not obtained him yet but he's on my purchase list as he brings decent ranged firepower with tactical actions that allow you to draw cards and give 'finish the job' to other models helping with getting scheme markers onto the table. I'm a big Johnny Cash fan so I might be biased but I definitely think he'll be worth a look for any Outcast master.

 

Now on to the elephant in the room - Killjoy. I like him in theory but mostly because his reputation proceeds him and I feel your opponent will over commit to take him down. I've used him with Tara twice but on both occasions he was taken down relatively quickly by my opponent who ran a Sonnia crew. I'm in two minds because his death always bought me breathing room but I grudgingly feel he wasn't worth the 12 soulstones cost. I'd list him as a 'your mileage may vary' due to your opponents knowledge, crew and if you can reliably get him out early enough to impact the game. I need to play test him more myself because I think Tara's unbury mechanic works well with him, but with the Viks I feel he would be overkill and I don't see any real synergy with Von Schill.

 

Honourable mention should go out to a few others;

- Aionus; if you can still pick him up, he hands out slow to opponents and fast to cheap minions. He also has limited bury tricks but I like him because he can move scheme markers 6".

- Freikorps Strongarm; gets a lot of opponents in a spin and is thematic with Von Schill but I've never faced one and don't really know anything about Mr Moustache and his crew. Worth a look though.

- Ashes and Dust; great scheme runner that when is killed, splits into two parts that can reform to remake A&D. Expensive and not sure if suited to your current crew boxes.

- Malifaux Child; cheap totem that can copy a masters spell with a plus to cast and a negative to damage (or vice versa - I forget). Ive only faced him with casting opponents. Not sure he'd have much use with your current crews.

- Desperate Mercenaries; I wouldn't bother, they're not bad per se, it's just there's much better options if you need bodies in your crew.

 

Finally, and apologies for what has turned into an essay, a word of caution with Outcasts from one newbie to another. The crews you have now are good, but pretty much any other outcast master you pick up, will end up needing resser minions (or 10T in Misaki's case) and that becomes a slippery slope. Even Hamelin will benefit from crooligans and canine remains. Just something to bear in mind when considering future crews. Hope this overly long post guides you to making informed future purchases and welcome to the Outcasts, you're in good company.

 

[Freman]

You may need to pick up the second Outcast Arsenal deck (the Wave 2), or the Generalist Deck which has all the non-model specific upgrades for all factions, in order to ensure you have all the general Outcast upgrade cards.

Strongarm Suit is very good, as is Lazarus. Strongarm is more a melee beater while Lazarus excels at range, they have the same armour but Strongarm gains the Freikorps suit with its immunity to pulses and blasts, so is a little more durable. Lazarus can heal himself 1/2/3 as a (0) though so can be remarkably survivable. One game I had he was reduced to one wound from a Guild player's first turn shooting, but after his own heal and 2 heals from the Librarian he was up to 9 wounds again.

Hannah works well with both Von Schill and the Viktorias. Put Sisters in Fury on Blood and Hannah can (so long as she is in range) cast it and give +2 melee damage to all friendly sisters as well as herself. Her damage track becomes quite impressive. That said Blood is often going to be lost, so you lose that bonus pretty easily. My preference is taking Sisters in Fury on Ashes and using the Malifaux Child to cast it. At 2 stones (3 as a mercenary) he's one of the cheapest totems in the game and quite useful and can hide down the back doing nothing other than cast Sisters in Fury.

I do like Rusty Alyce with Von Schill, he and she together make a decent little shooting team and both their guns ignore hard to wound making Resurrectionists somewhat easier to kill. I haven't played enough with Sue, but the little I have done is promising. Convict Gunslingers are more shooting, and work well on either team. Hodgepodge Effigy can give your Master loyalty to the coin which allows them to get back soul stones when they kill enemy models. That might be a little less important with the Viks, where Blood is usually the one inflicting the kills, but Ashes is still pretty darn good at killing, and Von Schill likes killing too.

For six stones Johan is a steal. Other factions hire him for seven and consider him cheap. Remember to hang onto a low  or two in order to cast Rebel Yell if you're running against a team which hands out conditions.

With swift (3AP) Bishop is a good scheme runner and he can mince enemy models in melee, what's not to like?
 

I guess what I'm saying is, "buy all the toys".

[gjthordarson]

13 hours ago, MobiusRex said:

 Additionally, he also gets bonuses when facing Tyrants (Tara, Hamelin and Rasputina, maybe others) 

 

Though December is a tyrant, Rasputina rules-wise does not count. However Shenlong does.

[Nexus]

21 minutes ago, gjthordarson said:

Though December is a tyrant, Rasputina rules-wise does not count. However Shenlong does.

Yeah, Tara isn't a Tyrant either.

13 hours ago, MobiusRex said:

Additionally, he also gets bonuses when facing Tyrants (Tara, Hamelin and Rasputina, maybe others) and constructs which a lot of factions use.

I'm pretty sure this is the full list of Tyrants in the game:

Hamelin

Lord Chompy Bits

Shen Long

(Not Tara or Rasputina)

[LunarSol]

Not terribly important or useful as new player info, but Tyrant hosts aren't Tyrants.  They used to gain the Tyrant trait in Avatar form though, but that's not really a thing anymore outside of campaigns.

Anyway, you've got a GREAT start there.  Like, almost everything I'd suggest as must.  I'd actually just add a Strongarm Suit, Johan, and Lazarus and say you're good to go with both those masters.

If you're wanting to collect into the "fun to have", the question starts being if you want additional masters.  If you do... well, that's a different story.  If not, most of the in theme Mercenary models work well with both crews.  Hannah is a solid pick, but I tend to pass her up for the other 10 SS models available (Strongarm, Lazarus, Taelor) but she's fun and worth playing as is Sue.  There's a cute crew you can run with Howling Wolf Tattoo that can abuse the prevalence of Rapid Fire/Flurry among the Mercs, including Bishop and the Convict Gunslingers too for fun.  I'd definitely stick with those 3 must haves to start though.  You've got a lot to work with mixing and matching across those two crews.

[SlackerLM]

On March 29, 2016 at 11:44 PM, dalleron said:

Leveticus is the greatest thing since slice bread. 

That's because he's so old...

he made the first slice...(rimshot)

is this mike on?

sheesh tough crowd?

[Khoregard]

Really the only thing I could suggest here is Salvage & Logistics. And Herald of Obliteration. And Guilty As Charged. Possibly also The Thunder. Or The Plague Cometh. Welcome to Outcasts!

[SlackerLM]

5 hours ago, Khoregard said:

Really the only thing I could suggest here is Salvage & Logistics. And Herald of Obliteration. And Guilty As Charged. Possibly also The Thunder. Or The Plague Cometh. Welcome to Outcasts!

Don't forget The Brotherhood of the Rat!