New Player

[Dheekon666]

Hi all, I'm about to start playing Malifaux with the Gremlins Faction, specifically Ophilia's mob/gang. I'd like to know what I need to get hold of to be able to play, rulebooks, equipment and so on. Any help would be appreciated...

Dheekon.

[santaclaws01]

You can get a pdf of the rulebook here: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/133323/Malifaux--RULES-ONLY-Handbook--2E?cPath=23027_23028 . As for equipment, you'll only need a tape measure and any deck of cards. Suit conversion is Hearts=Rams, Spades=Crows, Diamonds=Masks, Clubs=Tomes. You might also want to pick up another box of gremlin models to reach 35ss for a game. Have you already found a LGS to play at/have a group of friends that play it?

[Dogmantra]

The bare minimum you will need to play is:

• Models on appropriately sized bases. Pretty obvious, and you get them in the crew box which I'm assuming you're going to buy.
• Stat/upgrade cards. You get the stat cards and model specific upgrade cards in the crew box as well.
• The rules. You can get the Rules Manual as a free pdf from Wargamevault.
• A fate deck. You can buy an official one (and I'd recommend it! they look rad) or you can use a regular deck of playing cards provided they have two distinct jokers. ( ♥ = ,  ♠ = ,  ♣  = ,  ♦ = )
• Roughly 10 30mm markers. You can use empty 30mm bases or cut them out of paper or whatever. These are for markers used in the Strategies as well as Scheme, Corpse, and Scrap Markers. For Ophelia, 10 may be a little excessive but I find it is good to be prepared.
• Something to measure with. It needs to be marked in inches. A tape measure is the simplest option.
• A way to track wounds and conditions. Some people like to use dice, but most people use transparent card sleeves on their stat cards and write on them with dry erase marker.
• Paper and a pen to keep track of score, schemes, soulstone use, or anything you forgot to bring a specific tracker for.

For the 30mm markers, a cheap way to get some good looking scheme markers is to cut out the faction logos from each side of your crew box. They're sized perfectly for it.

 

 

You may also want a physical rulebook/more rulebooks. The other M2E rulebooks have background stories and model stat cards in them. Malifaux 2E (AKA the Big Rulebook) contains all the rules of the game too, but also contains some stories and the stat and upgrade cards from "Wave 1". The other books all contain more stories too. Crossroads has the Wave 2 stat and upgrade cards; Shifting Loyalties has a campaign system and the Wave 3 cards; Ripples of Fate has the Wave 4 cards. Since all the models come with their own cards, the rulebooks are optional, but it's a good way to browse through your options, and you can see the stats of upcoming models before they are released.

The only other thing you are missing is the faction generic upgrades. Models come with any upgrades that are specifically tailored for them, but each faction has some generic upgrades that anyone can take. You don't need them because they are optional, but they can be quite useful and if nothing else it's an extra option. You can find these upgrades in the rulebooks, there are some generic upgrades for each faction in the Big Rulebook, Crossroads, and Ripples of Fate. You can also get these upgrades in card form from the Generalist Upgrade Decks. Generalist Upgrade Deck 1 has the upgrades from the Big Rulebook and Crossroads, while 2 has Ripples of Fate. Or you can get the specific ones through Print on Demand via Wargamevault.

[DanteJH]

Do yourself a favor and pick up somers box, it comes with some essential models that will fill in your crew

[Finalscene]

Personally, before I even decided what crew to play, I bought the aresenal decks. They're a cheaper alternative to the bigger books, in that it comes with all the stat cards and most upgrades for waves 1 and 2 respectively. I don't think they have decks for 3 and 4 yet.

[Dogmantra]

1 hour ago, Finalscene said:

Personally, before I even decided what crew to play, I bought the aresenal decks. They're a cheaper alternative to the bigger books, in that it comes with all the stat cards and most upgrades for waves 1 and 2 respectively. I don't think they have decks for 3 and 4 yet.

They were only really intended to give people with old metal minis a good way to get the 2e cards, so they're now out of print and there aren't going to be wave 3 or 4 ones. You can get them print on demand from wargamevault though.

[Clement]

4 hours ago, santaclaws01 said:

You can get a pdf of the rulebook here: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/133323/Malifaux--RULES-ONLY-Handbook--2E?cPath=23027_23028 . As for equipment, you'll only need a tape measure and any deck of cards. Suit conversion is Hearts=Rams, Spades=Crows, Diamonds=Masks, Clubs=Tomes. You might also want to pick up another box of gremlin models to reach 35ss for a game. Have you already found a LGS to play at/have a group of friends that play it?

Ophelia's box is a ton of SS so you can hit 35 by basically just fielding everything.

Moving forward, you should look at  getting the gremlin generic upgrade cards soon, either by buying the generic upgrade decks and sharing the other factions upgrades to friends in ned, or get them individually (there are a few places online, wargamevault is the easy one)

 

Eventually, as you start looking toward 50ss games, there are two obvious picks.

1) Slop Haulers.  They're an easy source of healing that also provides a really mean debuff that can set the Kin up nicely.  It really helps make reckless gremlins work better.

2) The Bayou Boss.  Somer's box is a logical direction to expand in when you start thinking about it.  Ophelia's crew loves having Lenny around to help boost damage and mitigate incoming damage, while Somer is glad to have competent Gremlins to buff.

[Math Mathonwy]

27 minutes ago, Clement said:

2) The Bayou Boss.  Somer's box is a logical direction to expand in when you start thinking about it.  Ophelia's crew loves having Lenny around to help boost damage and mitigate incoming damage, while Somer is glad to have competent Gremlins to buff.

Even though that is the classic move, I would argue that both Wong and, especially, Zipp are also possible directions. Wong is a bit similar in playstyle to Ophelia but Zipp is really different and his box gives you an excellent Schemer and the Iron Skeeters work superbly well with the Kin.

[the tick]

I'll also add a vote for Zipp as a second master. I started with Ulix and went for Zipp second. Zipp is simultaneously hilarious and frustrating for both you and your opponent. The models he comes with work well together too. Good value in the Sky Pirates box.

[Rosskov]

I started with the kin then picked up a war pig then wong as it was what my fgs had in store. Then I purchased a whole bunch of non crew boxes online ( burt, sami, gracie,  slop haulers, merris etc).  Then I picked up mah and ulix. Brewie,  zorida came next and then sommer and the rest of the individual models that came in crew boxes.  

 

I wouldn't recommend this approach unless you are great at analysing model strengths and synergies (I'm not).  I think this approach set me back as a player.

 

With the benefit of hindsight I feel I would have gotten more or the game by sticking with a core crew.  Say the kin plus slop haulers and merris.  Sommer is a good box for the likes of lenny and bayou gremlins at a reasonable cost but I'd recommend learning the core crew inside out while you learn the game before hitting a second master. 

 

What the other folk have said re cards and markers is spot on.  I picked up some translucent markers of various colours that I still use. 

[Dheekon666]

Thank you all for your comments, they're invaluabe to a 'not even started yet' player. I have a LGS where there are some players so that's covered. I've also been checking out the other Gremlin Crews and decided to go with Wong as my starter crew. It looks like they may be a ittle more fun and the models may be fun to paintas well...

[Math Mathonwy]

1 hour ago, Dheekon666 said:

Thank you all for your comments, they're invaluabe to a 'not even started yet' player. I have a LGS where there are some players so that's covered. I've also been checking out the other Gremlin Crews and decided to go with Wong as my starter crew. It looks like they may be a ittle more fun and the models may be fun to paintas well...

Wong is a solid choice. He is a good all-rounder. And his box is pretty good. Macha Roja isn't quite cream of the crop but he isn't bad and has his niche. Lightning Bugs are amazing. And Wong's totem is fine. One weakness with the box is that if you put all the models in it to the table, you're going to run out of cards really quick. Mancha Roja is extremely card hungry and Lightning Bugs are as well. And Wong likes high cards, also.

When expanding somewhere down the line, note that Wong likes, among other things, these things:

1. Sammy LaCroix is a good Henchman who can hold Wong's Limited Upgrade Ooo Glowy so Wong can take Gremlin's Luck. She is versatile and not very card hungry.
2. Burt. Everyone likes Burt. The ultimate Gremlin crutch. He is stellar. With Wong he makes a great recipient of the Magical Condition and can group enemies up. And kill them dead dead dead.
3. Gracie is also very solid and the third in the original theme. She can haul Wong around so he can focus on blasting. Maybe even Focus on it, if you know what I mean. She is extremely durable as long as the opponent can't ignore Armor.
4. Stuffed Piglets and Taxidermists. Stuffed Piglets make great targets to blast Wong's blasts off of. They are also really cheap activations and generally awesome. Taxidermists can make more of them. Taxidermists are also solid in melee. Quite squishy, though.
5. Old Cranky. The other Gremlin crutch. Even comes with a crutch! Combos really well with Wong and Sammy and with everything else, really. Stupid good. There's nothing wrong with Wong's own totem but Cranky is just stupid good.
6. Swinecursed turn into absolutely horrific killers with Wong. They are really, really scary. Squishy, though they heal well.

[Dheekon666]

Which fate deck to get hold of? Looked on eBay and there are loads. Do I need a specific one? Seen 'Through the breach' fate deck, 'Black Arcane' fate deck, 'Bad Ink' fate deck, 2e rulebook and fate deck, 'Arcane' fate deck and 'Twisted' fate deck...

Somewhat confusing really... lol

[Clement]

25 minutes ago, Dheekon666 said:

Which fate deck to get hold of? Looked on eBay and there are loads. Do I need a specific one? Seen 'Through the breach' fate deck, 'Black Arcane' fate deck, 'Bad Ink' fate deck, 2e rulebook and fate deck, 'Arcane' fate deck and 'Twisted' fate deck...

Somewhat confusing really... lol

Any of them works fine.   Just pick the one you like the look of.  You can technically use any standard 54 card deck (you need the jokers) for now, but you'll have to do the suit conversion yourself.   A lot of standard decks have identical jokers also, but a marker fixes that right up.

[Finalscene]

Fate decks are more for personal style in my opinion. I have a friend who just has a RWBY standard deck just because he didn't like the ones wyrd sells. 

[Four_N_Six]

I'm going to throw another vote in for Zipp over Wong, though the two of them make up two of my favorite masters.

With Zipp, you're getting the First Mate, who is a great scheme runner, and if you play him properly, also denies enemy schemes quite easily while making himself fairly survivable in return.

The Iron Skeeters are a pretty good addition to an Ophelia crew.  Just being able to pick up and drop off the dangerous Kin where you want them to be, while also potentially making sure they have 4 AP on their activation, is well worth the stones for their cost.  The Sky Pirate upgrades they can take is just extra icing.  I'm not sure how thematic pianos flying in an Ophelia crew are, but I'm sure she'd welcome any kind of offense that she can get.

[Dheekon666]

I have now purchased the Wong and Zipp crews plus McTavish and a Fate Deck...

Awaiting arrival so I can paint them. Looking forward to it but not painted for years... lol.

[Math Mathonwy]

On 6/30/2017 at 5:24 PM, Dheekon666 said:

I have now purchased the Wong and Zipp crews plus McTavish and a Fate Deck...

Awaiting arrival so I can paint them. Looking forward to it but not painted for years... lol.

Some Malifaux minis can be a bit tricky to put together. I recommend getting a good plastic glue and being methodical. Also check out Gmorts' unboxings:

http://gmortschaotica.blogspot.fi/2017/01/unboxing-malifaux-zipps-sky-pirates.html

http://gmortschaotica.blogspot.fi/2015/09/unboxing-malifaux-wongs-explosive.html

http://gmortschaotica.blogspot.fi/2016/05/unboxing-malifaux-m2e-mctavish.html