New to the game: This Thread Again Edition

[Golden Apple]

I'm going to preface this by saying that I'm the kind of player who does a ton of research before I get into a minis game.

Malifaux has got me crosseyed with choices.

Of the crew boxes, I like Collodi best, hands down. I feel like painting up a bunch of bright wicked puppets (and burlap sacks full of person-parts...) would be a blast and something new. Having read how games in general, and later on tournaments, work I am a bit stumped. The thing is... nothing else in the Neverborn faction really appeals to me. I know that you use the tool for the job ahead in tournaments, which is where my games will likely lead, and being stuck with one master seems like chopping one's own leg off at the knee. Further, the one other player I'm starting up with already bought into Neverborn, having picked up Lillith- and Dreamer's boxes. Because this player is such a sweetheart, I've already been offered the chance to paint up Collodi & Co. down the line.

Next on for things that catch my eye we go to the Outcasts. I really like von Schill, and his team of badasses-for-hire. There are a lot of cool Friekorps models that seem to be good at what they do, and I do tend to play towards themes, though not by any strict code of honor. I just know how my preferences skew. Other than that, Leveticus seems to have the kind of play style I can get into, brutal, selfish, perhaps a bit rude... but then I see his waifs, and I'm a bit squicked out. I don't like the idea of having three female models on the board at a time that exist just to be victims. It bothers me. Proxying seems to be fairly liberal in the game, though, so I could model around that. After that though, the other Outcast Masters don't hold much appeal for me.

Arcanists have the best diversity among the masters, but they seem to be fairly compartmentalized. I like Colette and her showgirl's models (and frankly if I could get my hands on a Dark Carnival box this wouldn't even be a question...) and their playstyle seems pretty radical. I could see myself getting into Rasputina and Ramos, and I like Marcus though his beasts leave me a little underwhelmed, model-wise. Is this going to be buying into one faction, or am i going to end up with a showgirls army, an ice queen army, a mechanical spider army, and a wild animals army where the pieces really don't fit together. Another point for the Arcanists is that I can play very pro-labor, but they lose the working man shine when the next thing you read is that they're a buncha smugglers and criminals.

The Guild is a tough sell for me, what with the whole facist monopoly angle, but they do have the Ortegas, who I think could be fun to paint and play, and McCabe, who is a cool pulp hero who doesn't afraid of anything. They also get a bonus point for Austringers, who can apparently murder with EAGLES. I'd still be playing "the man" though, and that sticks in my craw.

Finally, for me, we come to the Ressurectionists. Without even discussing masters, yet, at a glance it looks like this faction would see the most use of the same models between the different masters, making it a much more cohesive concept for me than any of the others. It seems like a good way to start the faction is to pick up one crew box... then another... then this guy wants that thing from her so another crew box... and we've got them all! Seamus and McMorning seem like a good start, but I could see myself playing all of their masters much easier because I can see how one builds into the other, purchase wise. The dearth of undead hookers is bothersome, but if the proxy rules are cool with some creative interpretations... The biggest problem I have here is that none of the masters really sings to me as much as the faction as a whole does.

Ten Thunders don't really appeal to me, and aside from a few models, I find the Gremlins goofy and occasionally offensive. So at least that'ss 2 factions out...

Feed me your wisdom, if you choose.

[solkan]

"... but they lose the working man shine when the next thing you read is that they're a buncha smugglers and criminals".  You left out the part that that's because of the Guild's facist monopoly.   That's like saying you don't like the Rebellion in Star Wars because Han Solo was a smuggler. 

Another important thing to keep in mind is that each of the masters in a faction has their own personal agenda that may only have a coincidental relationship to the main faction's agenda.  That's especially true for the dual faction masters.  For example, if you're familiar with the recent story events concerning the governor of Malifaux, that wasn't the product of all of the Guild masters working together to achieve a common goal. 

 

[Pyrflamme]

It seems to me like Arcanists have the greatest number of interesting Masters to you, so I'll start there.

There is a degree of compartmentalization, but there's more overlap than would be expected. December Acolytes, although having the Frozen Heart characteristic, are excellent snipers that can drain your opponent's hand and hand out Slow to enemies, and as such are appreciated by masters other than Rasputina. Howard Langston and Joss from Ramos' box are excellent beatsticks that go well with Collette (and her Prompt), and a Howard with Imbued Energies can easily sneak into a Marcus or Raspy crew, he's just that killy. Aside from possibly Myranda, the henchmen could also play well "out of theme".

The most recently released book, Shifting Fates, has introduced new models that bridge the gap between certain themes, and these models will start seeing stores in July and releasing on into the fall. These include the Ice Dancer, which has both Showgirl and Frozen Heart characteristics, as well as the Scorpius, which is a scorpion that a mad scientist gave a makeover with all sorts of mechanical parts.

Ironsides might also appeal to you since she just wants to wreck the Guild in general. She may be Ramos' brass knuckles, but she's pretty smart and doesn't really give a flip about the criminal side of things.

[admiralvorkraft]

You can probably comfortably play protagonist Ressers, with Molly and Kirai. Molly has the strongest character development in the game - she's all about making the city safer for the little folks and Kirai hates the Guild as much as any Arcanist.

If you're looking for other "good guys" Hoffman just wants to help his brother, Lady J and Perdita are all about killing monsters and saving human lives. Most of the Neverborn just want their home back - Zoraida is a super sympathetic character (to me at least).

Ironsides is great, and Mei Feng/Kang also work the "People's Hero" angle. Colette just wants to keep her girls safe and her theatre afloat.

Of course they all have their dark sides, but mostly they have reasons to make the compromises they do.

[Golden Apple]

I'm not necessarily looking for the good guys, I just prefer a certain type of evil.

Zoraida tickles me a bit, but she's either Neverborn or Gremlins, and moreover I've already spent some time playing an Old Witch.

How viable is it to play a faction with just one or two of their masters? Three? What's the cut off to have a solid amount of versatility? If the end result is to buy the faction, then it seems to me that Ressurectionists have the most obvious cogs that work throughout the machine.

Mechanics matter to me too, I've been wargaming for longer than i haven't. Just looking for something to light all the fires.

[Adran]

You can quite happily play a faction whilst only playing one master from that faction. 

It might not be the most competitive, but every master is capable of hiring a crew that can compete in every game. You might find that your best crew doesn't really match your intended theme, but that's up to you. (You might not be able to justify Collodi working with the spawn mother and her gupps from your theme. Or you might not care about theme, or you might make up a story in your head about how the Gupps are the young in the neverborn swampfiend world, and that Collodi takes to them as a replacement for the children it can no longer play with). 

You might also find that you want certain models which only exist in master boxes. 

 

Looking at the UK scene, there quite a few players at the top of it that play only 1 or 2 masters. 

[Ludvig]

One or two masters can get you really far even if you want to be competative. Some are more versatile than others of course. 

If half-naked subservient ladies rub you the wrong way (which I totally get) then I wouldn't be starting ressers since a lot of their quite useful models fit that bill. 

Perdita and McCabe are prime examples of masters who can easily do any strategy by themselves so you could play one of them and never feel like you were missing out. Perdita is her own boss and McCabe actually hates the guild and is a spy for the ten thunders so you they're not typical public servants.

On an arcanist-related note I think every single master in the game is a self-serving criminal who considers smuggling and racketeering peanuts. Some are mentally deranged killers and others "only" ruthless murderers motivated by their own interests.

[Golden Apple]

Well, I retire now to a mountain, to meditate on the paths before me.

Thanks for all the help so far, I'll let you all know when I finally make a decision.

[Golden Apple]

I return from the mountain, and have chosen a path.

To start with I have settled into von Schill. I figure he would be a good intro, and further could be helpful in teaching others the game. I can focus on building his own little crew of Freikorps dogs-of-war, while ending up with a few mercenaries that seem to have utility outside of the faction. *coughJohancough*

From there, I can dig a bit deeper into the Outcasts and go with Leveticus, replacing his waifus with clone replacements (looking at you, essense of power...) and have a Faction more or less finished for the moment. Alternately, I can let von Schillamania run wild as i continue to divine my true path, faction-wise.

Thanks again for your time, you guys were super helpful.

I'll keep you all updated with my progress.

Shine on.

[Boshea]

Von Schill transitions to a Viktoria crew pretty easy since both masters generally play "Good Models".crew with very little synergy among their pieces. The parts of each crew box also play well with each other. Ronin and Friekorpsmen are fairly interchangeable depending on what you need, Taelor is a solid heavy hitter for the faction, and the Librarian and Trapper are pretty staple model. Each of the large base Friekorp models are also very good depending on what you need to achieve.

Digging into Leveticus usually involves taking a dip into either Guild, Arcanist, and/or Ressers depending how you want to play him. The Pariah upgrades give him some powerful hiring options depending on what you need to do. You don't need to go buy every piece he can hire, but they'll be a few things only he'd be able to run until you dip into other factions.

If you want to stay "Guns for Hire" besides the Viks, Tara can do that theme pretty well. While she wants to play a few void piece, and picking up some Death Marshals isn't a bad call, she can run the standard "Good Models".crew pretty well some Fast and Burry tricks.

[Golden Apple]

To help my sanity, and try to maintain forcus, I was planning on Playing Leveticus with an entirely Outcast crew. That is, if I bought into him.

The Viks are pretty low on my list, unless I can develop my modeling chops to turn them into Strong Female Characters... They are another set of interesting mechanics with models that don't appeal to me.

[Boshea]

Because leading one of the most successful (and all female) mercenary companies in Malifaux, and being death incarnate doesn't make you a strong character by one of them showing skin.

[Golden Apple]

Strong Female Character in this case refers specifically to three parody characters by Kate Beaton, Meredith Gran,  and Carly Monardo . Didn't want to accidentally break the board rules in my "hello I'm new can I get some help" thread.

[Kadeton]

Don't stress, I knew exactly what you meant.

[Parker Barrows]

Well, there's going to be new Outcast Master in the new book. Maybe s/he'll appeal to you?

There's a vote going on right now to see the Faction that gets there new Master revealed next (Outcast is in the lead, but things can always change).

In case you're curious:

Neverborn: Titania - Undead Fairies - http://www.wyrd-games.net/news/2016/5/16/monday-preview-titania (Unlike other Masters - so far - there's a little bit known about her. SPOILERS!!! She's the former queen of the Neverborn who made a deal with the Grave Spirit and was overthrown and sealed away by her people. END SPOILERS!!!)

Rezzer: Reva- Revenants - http://www.wyrd-games.net/news/2016/5/23/monday-preview-reva

Ten Thunders: Asami Tanaka - Oni - http://www.wyrd-games.net/news/2016/5/27/monday-preview-asami-tanaka

Arcanists: Sandeep Desai - Academic and Gamin - http://www.wyrd-games.net/news/2016/6/6/monday-preview-sandeep-desai

Outcasts, Guild, and Gremlin are fighting it out for the next reveal (though there is a picture of what is believed to be the Gremlin Master floating around somewhere - not a leak, a banner Wyrd at an event).

I'm hoping they'll all be out within a year.

[Golden Apple]

I really like the look of Sandeep Desai. A lot. One more point for the Arcanists down the line.

The gamin models, on the other hand... not so much. That said, despite my distaste for the gamin models, it does lend a bit more into sharing models between crew boxes. The "we play well together" aspect is something that still draws me towards the Resurrectionists. Not saying that other factions don't play well together, the Resurrectionists just do it in a way that seems blatantly obvious.

[Parker Barrows]

I think the Arcanists do blend together fairly good. Raspy and Marcus stand out, but the others go together.

Ramos, Ironsides, and Kaeris are all M&SU and can share stuff. Mei Feng and Ramos can use each others' constructs. Sandeep can use other gamin and maybe Academics (speculation anyways)?

Colette's crew might not seem like they fit in with others, but they are smugglers using a variety of Arcanist gadgets.

So, straight up fluff-wise, the Arcanist fit together decently with Marcus and Raspy just doing their own thing.

[Morgan Vening]

7 hours ago, ABoyNamedSue said:

So, straight up fluff-wise, the Arcanist fit together decently with Marcus and Raspy just doing their own thing.

And that's not really any more different than Ressers being split along the Undead/Spirit line.

Initially when there were three Masters per faction, it might have seemed that Arcanists were the most disparate, but as the factions have fleshed out, Wyrd have done a pretty good job of integrating each faction.

That's good for the game. Bad for my wallet.

[Golden Apple]

I will focus my energies on von Schill. (Does he have a first name?)

Focus helps one ignore suppress the fickle vagaries of fancy playing tug of war with one's attention.

Thanks again all, you've been helpful and kind.

I'll keep you updated.

Shine on.

[Baltohdoalim]

Lazarus is a good stand-alone and I've been on the recieving end of his bombardment led by a Von Schill gunline. It can be brutal. Maybe something to look into.... Plus, he "hates the maker" (only model I'm aware who has this) to further strengthen an anti-Guild stance.

[Golden Apple]

On Friday, June 10, 2016 at 4:51 PM, Baltohdoalim said:

Lazarus is a good stand-alone and I've been on the recieving end of his bombardment led by a Von Schill gunline. It can be brutal. Maybe something to look into.... Plus, he "hates the maker" (only model I'm aware who has this) to further strengthen an anti-Guild stance.

Oh yes, Lazarus is very much on the shopping list.