Arcanist crews vs Neverborn crews

[Taira]

Hey guys, I'm brand new to Malifaux and I'm trying to choose a Master to start with. In most games, I'm the type of player that likes to mix things up rather than playing the same character the majority of the time. Due to this, I've decided to pick a faction and then buy 2 or 3 Masters from that faction so I can keep the game interesting for myself.

So far, I'm liking mostly like Masters from the Arcanists (Rasputina, Marucs, Ramos) and the Neverborn (Dreamer, Jakob Lynch, Lilith), with a few Masters from the Ressers and Outcasts catching my eye. I may be completely wrong here, as I haven't actually played a game yet, but it seems to me that the Henchmen/Enforcers/Minions from the Neverborn seem to work well and have synergies with most of the Masters throughout the faction. However, it seems like the Arcanists' Henchmen/Enforcers/Minions seem to be more specialized or specific to a certain Master's playstyle with few units seeming to be strong for multiple different Masters.

If this is true, it seems like I should lean towards the Neverborn to start with, as it would cost me less money to gather the units to field a decent crew for multiple Masters. Then maybe I can move to the Arcanists later, once I've filled out my Neverborn army. Am I missing something about the Arcanists? Or does my observation actually hold true in gameplay?

Thanks,
Taira

[Bengt]

Those particular Masters (Rasputina, Marcus, Ramos) are a bit exclusive to each other. Ramos, Kaeris, Ironsides, Mei Feng and Colette are more inclined to share models.

Rasputina want mostly Frozen Hearts, while some FH models are popular with any crew (primarily Acolytes, but also Silent Ones and Blessed) none of the those are in the crew box.

Marcus want mostly beasts, none of the other crew boxes have any (though some beasts, like the Blessed of December, also belong to another subfaction (in this case Frozen Heart)). Also to optimize Marcus you'll want beasts from other factions (since he can hire any beast in the game) which you wont be able to use at all with any other Arcanist. The Myranda and Cerberus combo from his box can be fun with any crew though.

Ramos' box is a very good primer for the faction, with Howard Langston being one of the most popular models in the faction. You can plonk him down with any Master and he'll do his job, and do it very well. Steam Arachnids are budget scheme runners/cheap fillers that work with several Masters. Joss is a bit specialized but is a very good option to have available.

[Derpology]

Agreed,  I started with Ramos and had a great time playing with the crew. I ended up picking up the Tara crew to gain some perspective on some of the other available triggers and abilities out there and have had fun playing with her too. But yesterday I bought the Rail Crew and I have been plotting crew builds with models I've picked up prior since.... There's a lot of fun and synergy to be had with these crews and I can't wait to field them in some scraps.. 

[-Loki-]

About those Neverborn crews, they mix well even without other boxes.

Lilith is pretty crew independant. She offers things like movement tricks, placeable terrain, and being a decent if fragile beater. She doesn't need her thematic Nephilim (and I'm under the impression most people actually don't run Nephilim with her). Illuminated work fine with her. Illuminated work better with Jakob because he and Huggy can spread Brilliance, but Terror Tots from Liliths box work well with Jakob (and really any Neverborn crew) as scheme runners. With Jakobs 'Ace in the Hole' ability, if you manage to get a 13 of Masks your Terror Tots will move 10" every action thanks to Sprint getting cheated with it and then recycling back into your hand, which is super fast.

The Dreamer has Coppelius who is a goot independant model. He's a good scheme runner who can reliably kill other scheme runners and has some nice tricks when he steals eyeballs. Alps aren't that useful as hires for Lilith and Jakob but Coppelius can summon them.

[santaclaws01]

On 5/14/2016 at 4:17 AM, -Loki- said:

With Jakobs 'Ace in the Hole' ability, if you manage to get a 13 of Masks your Terror Tots will move 10" every action thanks to Sprint getting cheated with it and then recycling back into your hand, which is super fast.

You mean the 1