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Our worst models


green-n-dumb

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On Raph and Burt: you have to invest extra 1SS on each to keep them alive and allow them using their Reckless and Raphael's dumb luck (which really depends on flipping/cheating Ram and if you are not lucky enough might not happen that often). I agree that the are quite durable but i can't count how many times my clever opponents puts a lot of pressure of Burt with his Df5 and dropped him to last wound which disallowed me to use Reckless for that turn and limited Burt's damage output. Plus he ha 1'' range on his melee so engaging him with 2'' melee range model is pretty common too.

On Sammy: yeah she has Df7 just like Vasilisa. Since that Vasilisa should be a top pick among Neverborn players. Why not? Because other stats which makes her not great. 

On Piglets: great Df, shitty Wp which means they are situational. 

On healing: we are good at it. The best i would say but everything comes with a price - you have to invest extra SS in upgrade or you have to baby sit healer or he will perish as he has big target painted on his forehead.  A bit pressure, Slop Hauler is gone and you famous healing is a past. 

 

Again - not trying to complain but trying to say that every coin has a flip side.

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24 minutes ago, Math Mathonwy said:

I would argue that Raphael and Burt are exceptional and their durability is part of their popularity.

 

1 minute ago, daniello_s said:

On Raph and Burt: you have to invest extra 1SS on each to keep them alive and allow them using their Reckless and Raphael's dumb luck (which really depends on flipping/cheating Ram and if you are not lucky enough might not happen that often). I agree that the are quite durable but i can't count how many times my clever opponents puts a lot of pressure of Burt with his Df5 and dropped him to last wound which disallowed me to use Reckless for that turn and limited Burt's damage output. Plus he ha 1'' range on his melee so engaging him with 2'' melee range model is pretty common too.

Yeah I agree, I picked two very popular models. I somehow think though, that an Opponent investing ressources and putting pressure on those models makes them already pay for themselves.

 

1 minute ago, daniello_s said:

Again - not trying to complain but trying to say that every coin has a flip side.

This is exactly what I meant to say. Every coin has a flip side and there always has to be a "worst model" I think. If you buff Lenny, Roosters, Emmissary and what not, other models will quickly drop down in ranking and people will complain why they are so bad.

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1 hour ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Why are low cost models bad in Ours? Having two 5SS models vs having one 10SS model gives you additional flexibility in controlling the quarters at the expense of losing half the SS cost when one dies as opposed to retaining the full 10SS until the big guy bites it. I think that both approaches are valid

The disadvantage is not only about having 2x5ss vs 10ss. When you have 10ss vs 2x5ss you only have to kill one of the 2 models to win the quarter, and its usually a lot simpler to kill a 5ss model vs 10ss, especially our less tanky low cost models.

What I've seen my opponents do in Ours is having a war of attrition, killing models as efficiently as possible. That is usually facilitated by killing low cost, low/avg defense models.

There are exceptions here, like piglets and survivors who are durable for their cost, but when I need 3 of these to control a quarter, vs 1 10ss model, I prefer taking meatier guys that can hold themselves and dish some pain back too, like Burt/swinecursed/MCTavish. It's very hard for your opponent to win a quarter if you have mctzvish there, unless there are absolutely no lines of fire in your board.

 

Edit: this is more of a description why I think more elite crews in Ours suit my play style better. As you just said, it might be a good alternative to just play with many Mobile low cost minions and keep the opponent chasing them. I just didn't have success trying that, but it might be a matter of not employing that tactic properly 😁

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6 minutes ago, Davie said:

This is exactly what I meant to say. Every coin has a flip side and there always has to be a "worst model" I think. If you buff Lenny, Roosters, Emmissary and what not, other models will quickly drop down in ranking and people will complain why they are so bad.

Not necessary a true. If you 'buff' models making them good option to so-called 'auto-picks' you are creating diversity which is good i guess.

I'd love to have a situation (in every faction, not Gremlins only) that, say, when I want to choose a beater I have 3-4 equally good models to pick rather than 1 obvious choice, 1 maybe and 2 never happen ones (this is just loose example not referring to any particular situation any particular faction ;))

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8 minutes ago, cfrag said:

The disadvantage is not only about having 2x5ss vs 10ss. When you have 10ss vs 2x5ss you only have to kill one of the 2 models to win the quarter, and its usually a lot simpler to kill a 5ss model vs 10ss, especially our less tanky low cost models.

What I've seen my opponents do in Ours is having a war of attrition, killing models as efficiently as possible. That is usually facilitated by killing low cost, low/avg defense models.

There are exceptions here, like piglets and survivors who are durable for their cost, but when I need 3 of these to control a quarter, vs 1 10ss model, I prefer taking meatier guys that can hold themselves and dish some pain back too, like Burt/swinecursed/MCTavish. It's very hard for your opponent to win a quarter if you have mctzvish there, unless there are absolutely no lines of fire in your board.

 

Edit: this is more of a description why I think more elite crews in Ours suit my play style better. As you just said, it might be a good alternative to just play with many Mobile low cost minions and keep the opponent chasing them. I just didn't have success trying that, but it might be a matter of not employing that tactic properly 😁

One meatier model is easier to Push (perhaps even to the no-score zone!) than two little guys especially considering the activation advantage that you get. This is quite significant if you pick, e.g., Mah or Zipp (or just Trixie!) who are very mobile and very good at displacing enemy models. I'm not saying that you're wrong picking more elite models but I think that there are certain advantages to having your eggs in several baskets that might not be apparent straight away. And a shout out to @Dogmantrawho inspired this way of thinking about Ours!

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3 minutes ago, daniello_s said:

Not necessary a true. If you 'buff' models making them good option to so-called 'auto-picks' you are creating diversity which is good i guess.

I'd love to have a situation (in every faction, not Gremlins only) that, say, when I want to choose a beater I have 3-4 equally good models to pick rather than 1 obvious choice, 1 maybe and 2 never happen ones (this is just loose example not referring to any particular situation any particular faction ;))

 I agree. I'd also love more diversity and I think you raise a good point.

I just wonder if you can achieve this Kind of diversity. I think once you go down the path of optimizing a list you always end up with the same two or three models in your Crew.

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4 minutes ago, Davie said:

 I agree. I'd also love more diversity and I think you raise a good point.

I just wonder if you can achieve this Kind of diversity. I think once you go down the path of optimizing a list you always end up with the same two or three models in your Crew.

Except @Adranwho uses stuff like Ice Golems with Marcus and does well in tournaments :P 

But in all seriousness, I think that, at least in theory, the Strat and Scheme system allows for much more diversity in valid profiles for Malifaux than for most other minis games. And seeing the table before picking your crew as well.

For example, if you're expecting Armor, Banjonistas and Lightning Bugs spring to mind. Banjonistas not having :ToS-Range: on their ranged attack might give them an edge over the Reckless Lighning Bugs on certain tables. Especially if deployment zones are full of Severe and the Banjonista Pushes would allow your crew to clear it.

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1 minute ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Except @Adranwho uses stuff like Ice Golems with Marcus and does well in tournaments :P 

But in all seriousness, I think that, at least in theory, the Strat and Scheme system allows for much more diversity in valid profiles for Malifaux than for most other minis games. And seeing the table before picking your crew as well.

For example, if you're expecting Armor, Banjonistas and Lightning Bugs spring to mind. Banjonistas not having :ToS-Range: on their ranged attack might give them an edge over the Reckless Lighning Bugs on certain tables. Especially if deployment zones are full of Severe and the Banjonista Pushes would allow your crew to clear it.

Cheers - I think this is one of the reasons why I often end up on the other side of these discussions, I look at the faction I am playing, and I don't see any auto picks and I don't see any models that are too rubbish to select (I think I used about 3/4 of the models that got buffed last errata before they got the price decrease) regardless of the faction I am using. (That and I'm an optimist who doesn't like change, so I hope every model has a niche that means it ought to work well, and I try to find that niche). 

But I accept that for most people seeing a few models they use get worse, and lots of models they don't use get better, but not good enough to replace the models they already use does easily seem like there is no silver lining. (so my earlier comments were a very simplified view, but I don't see Gremlins being picked on any more than other factions) 

I do see that a lot of players are generalists. They like to build their list, and then fit it to the game they have to play (possibly by changing a very small subset of models, or none at all). The perception of this is probably not helped by the time I spend on the forums, because that's almost the only way to talk lists on the forums, except the times when topics come up with set tables. 

If you are this sort of player then you will naturally gravitate to a small number of "best" models. and its very hard for other models to break into that list without just outright replacing something already there. 

 

 

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9 hours ago, Davie said:

Maybe I'm just used to it? (played Warhammer Fantasy Orcs for like...15 years and went through highs and lows with them)

Hope we will never be in that state like orcs in different systems of that company.

When i was choosing between Malifaux and that game system i choose Malifasux because of having balance and dont having unplayable/horrible models.

Hope that not only cosmetical improvements like ss cost change but tottaly rework will be held to realy uncompetetive models and masters.

And i still consider Brewmaster as one of the weakest masters in a game and dont understand why its not being reworked.

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7 hours ago, Adran said:

I do see that a lot of players are generalists. They like to build their list, and then fit it to the game they have to play (possibly by changing a very small subset of models, or none at all). The perception of this is probably not helped by the time I spend on the forums, because that's almost the only way to talk lists on the forums, except the times when topics come up with set tables. 

If you are this sort of player then you will naturally gravitate to a small number of "best" models. and its very hard for other models to break into that list without just outright replacing something already there. 

I suspect that that's not just forum skew. There's value in repeatedly playing the same models (and combination of models).

Most players are probably better off playing a crew full of their faction's best and most efficient models that they are very familiar with but that aren't quite right for the encounter (but not a liability) than they would be running a crew that was built to be optimal for the encounter that contains models that they are less familiar with. 

The tournament format encourages running mostly static crews since it reduces the time spent constructing crews,  reduces the amount of crap that needs to be lugged to the venue,  and a player using models that they are less familiar with will have a harder time playing within the time limit..

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5 minutes ago, green-n-dumb said:

Hope we will never be in that state like orcs in different systems of that company.

When i was choosing between Malifaux and that game system i choose Malifasux because of having balance and dont having unplayable/horrible models.

Hope that not only cosmetical improvements like ss cost change but tottaly rework will be held to realy uncompetetive models and masters.

And i still consider Brewmaster as one of the weakest masters in a game and dont understand why its not being reworked.

Only 1 model (and 2 or 3 upgrades) spring to mind as having a complete re-work, Lucius. everything else has either been a minor cost change or minor text change (or even just new models coming out that work with the original model better), but that has produced some fairly major changes in Player perception of power level both up and down. (removing 1 ability, totally changed the rooster rider, limiting prompt to only once per model happened and Collette dropped from one of the best masters to one of the worst, although also because the GG changed and more models that could kill her came out)

And I don't think we know what they are looking at, and how they are trying to make those changes. 

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On 4/19/2018 at 2:41 AM, green-n-dumb said:

McTavish is good merc? Ok, remove the merc keyword. It wont hurt Gremlins and old granny Z still will hire him as a swampfiend.

Perhaps a way to fix the problem would be to reset McTavish's cost and add a trait ("that pays for me but it won't feed the Croc") which makes means it costs two stones to hire him as a merc rather than one. 

That let's players use their models but addresses the problem of McTavish being too expensive for us. 

 

For what it's worth I don't think the faction is in a terrible state. The loss of synergies the have been disappointing (stuffed pigs and the pigapault ; ophelia and lenny etc) and some of the newer models may not have lived up to their predecessors but wave 5 fixed mah and injected some new/fun options for our other masters. 

I think the following need a little help (and I do mean a little) to see more play:

Rami

Lenny

Stuffed pigs

Pigapault 

Gators 

sparks 

brewmaster (subject to the new models) 

Possibly the emissary. 

in the interests of balance the greatest bug bears I hear from opponents are:

1. Wide access to reckless 

2. Stilts being used to avoid dumb luck damage on franc 's own melee action 

3. Zipp being able to use up we go on the charge. 

I don't feel that any of these make the faction or particular models too strong (I mean we don't have a sandeep or monster hunters after all 🙄) but it is interesting to see how gremlins are perceived .  

I also feel that any advantages are balanced by the faction's weaknesses (which opponents don't complain about). 

Reckless is less available than previously was the case (I.e a smaller percentage of models have access to it) and makes squishy models squishier. It is thematic. The existence of drunk and reckless (and the faction that bayou gremlins will often be too far away top have easy access to healing) balances it out our 3 stone minions (as does other factions haveing access to significant 3 stone minions).

 

The Franc item is a corner case with which I disagree. It is a rare 1, one time effect on a model which now has a fair price (and if it is taken it also means he can't be used in a iron Skeeter alpha strike). 

Up we go is,  generally, why I take zipp in a list. It is a good attack on an insignificant but very mobile master. He would take a big drop (no pun intended) in appeal of that was tweaked.

I appreciate that I've just pointed to the complaints I hear (and then argued against them) but I was trying to be objective in setting out how I think the faction is perceived. 

 

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Gremlins are fine, they're aggressive in nature, so you need to be extra careful with your placement and how you use your tools.

Playing an aggressive faction like this is stressful for players on both sides of the equation in many instances.  If the gremlin player plays well (and the opponent does not understand how it works) they can be oppressive, tilting, and negative for the opponent**  It can also be stressful to play as, since many gremlin models are effectively tissue paper, and they can often be traded up INTO.

BUT, almost every single Gremlin model can trade UP (if not equally) but more so than any other faction you have to be supremely careful when orchestrating trades. (since, as previously stated, it's easy to lose trades with them as well) You can't expect to take a hit and then hit back (outside of a few exceptions).  (IMHO This is where I see the perceived "disparity" is coming from) Burt, for example, is generally a safer tool, but he is not better than other tools because of this, just EASIER. There is nothing wrong with playing with easier tools, but IMHO easier does not equate better.  Very often though, people like taking "easier" things to events and the like as there is more room for error.  Forgiving tools are typically seen as "more competitive" but I believe that this is a dangerous viewpoint to have towards a game. 


[side bar:] Start playing with more terrain on your tables to help advance your gremlin models, practice when and where to go in and strike, start with way too much and tone it back, you need to learn to use terrain to your advantage and how to hide behind it, etc.

If aggro is understood and played properly it is infuriating and oppressive, but when taken apart crumbles.  This is okay, there is nothing innately wrong or "bad" about this playstyle.  While the perception of "alpha-strikes" is often negative, I think that the dialogue around them should change. 

There is nothing wrong with not enjoying a High-Risk, High-Reward style of play, there is nothing wrong with wanting to avoid those types of lists for tournaments (as many want to curb the risk as much as possible in a competitive setting).  There is also nothing wrong with enjoying High-Risk, High-Reward styles of play, particularly for tournaments.  If you can get good at managing your risks you can have great success, if you like taking that gamble, excellent! Join me in the gamble.

Remember, just because it isn't for you, doesn't mean it's bad.

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1 hour ago, PirateCaptain said:

Gremlins are fine, they're aggressive in nature, so you need to be extra careful with your placement and how you use your tools.

Nice assumption.
But if you read the topic you may know that gremlins don't get aggressive models for years and old one get nerfed.
Looks like even developers these days don't clearly know what our faction road is - its clearly seen at book 5.

 

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15 minutes ago, green-n-dumb said:

Nice assumption.
But if you read the topic you may know that gremlins don't get aggressive models for years and old one get nerfed.
Looks like even developers these days don't clearly know what our faction road is - its clearly seen at book 5.

 

Who cares? Everybody knows Gremlins are OP and have no weaknesses.

😁

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5 minutes ago, green-n-dumb said:

Nice assumption.
But if you read the topic you may know that gremlins don't get aggressive models for years and old one get nerfed.
Looks like even developers these days don't clearly know what our faction road is - its clearly seen at book 5.

 

It is not an assumption, and what makes you think that it is an assumption? I actually disagree with you about wave 5. I have read the topic, and again my point is I disagree

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On 4/22/2018 at 2:10 PM, Rosskov said:

Perhaps a way to fix the problem would be to reset McTavish's cost and add a trait ("that pays for me but it won't feed the Croc") which makes means it costs two stones to hire him as a merc rather than one. 

That let's players use their models but addresses the problem of McTavish being too expensive for us. 

The "problem", or at least what got it so much attention, is Nellie. She doesn't pay merc taxes because of an upgrade.  Before Nellie, gremlins would field McTavish with Wong to make him glowey, and that was mostly it.

After Nellie, most guild players ran Nellie into pretty much everything, and *always* brought McTavish (and Burt) because she can pretty trivially make them both fast.

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2 hours ago, green-n-dumb said:

its clearly seen at book 5.

Book 5 could be on the weak side for us since Bayou Bash is coming out
and they could make it so that one or all of the models in that game can be used in Malifaux
Effectively giving us ALOT more then what other Factions got, just had to wait for Bayou Bash

 

Just a thought

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22 minutes ago, Beeray said:

Book 5 could be on the weak side for us since Bayou Bash is coming out
and they could make it so that one or all of the models in that game can be used in Malifaux
Effectively giving us ALOT more then what other Factions got, just had to wait for Bayou Bash

 

Just a thought

But bayou bash will just give us alt Mc Tawish/Rooster/Waldgeist/ War Pig. Its board game and its not bringing us new models.
Our new release till GenCon is backdraft but i dont belive too much that it can help Brewmaster with his lackluster.

 

 

2 hours ago, PirateCaptain said:

It is not an assumption, and what makes you think that it is an assumption? I actually disagree with you about wave 5. I have read the topic, and again my point is I disagree

Ok, i have three questions.
First - whats your faction?
Second - what models and masters you are considering like "aggresive"?
Third - if gremlins are aggressive then what master are Rasputina/Perdita/Viks? Turboaggressive? Gigaaggressive?

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11 minutes ago, green-n-dumb said:

Ok, i have three questions.
First - whats your faction?
Second - what models and masters you are considering like "aggresive"?
Third - if gremlins are aggressive then what master are Rasputina/Perdita/Viks? Turboaggressive? Gigaaggressive?

First: Gremlins and Rezzers
Second: This is an absurdly long list in Gremlins, and frankly I do not have enough time to give you my full analysis of the gremlin faction, as that is what you've asked for and I'd rather do it justice instead of listing almost every model in the faction.
Third: They are also aggressive, no where is it written that other factions can't have aggressive options, I simply believe that most of Gremlins and their tools favor a more aggressive/offensive playstyle. I think Raspy/Dita/Viks are all aggressive options, but I think Mah/Wong/Zipp/Somer/Ophelia/Ulix can all be played at near that level of Alpha-Strike.

I also think there's more to playing Aggressive than just sending everything across the table for an Alpha-Strike, but that's just me.  You can keep aggressive pressure on the board while running schemes and things if that's all that's needed.  I don't think Gremlins plays a balanced/defensive/reserved/counter-punch style of game in most cases.  They'd rather hit first whenever they can.  They have a lot of synergy that promotes getting in, hitting hard, and hitting fast, as opposed to synergy that rewards taking a beating and hitting back, they have little synergy towards locking down areas of the board, immobilizing things, or other tricky sneaky things.

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IMO I've never seen the Gremlins as under or overpowered and assume that their play style is a high risk/high reward that IS difficult to play. This automatically puts them at the extreme when talking about their power depending on what exactly you've experienced. This is all we can base our opinions on and TheoryFaux is extremely difficult because all the variables that lead up to any situation that could occur in a match. 

With that, I find the Gremlins to be a difficult faction to get the most out of and their newer models are a reflection of that. Less direct and more sneaky play style that lends itself to the character of the Gremlins. Frustrating your opponents with careful matchups and positioning OR doing combinations that your opponent has to stop. This new Som'ers x2 Warpig list... 

 

Wave 5:

The Wrastler can really put a stop on a beater model, but is garbage in other circumstances, so he must be positioned correctly and used correctly to get the most out of him. He's not just a "Generally" good model.  The card draw from Criers can be a game winner on a turn 2 or 3 assault when brought with the right crew. Otherwise, they are squishy and dont offer much themselves.  The Smuggler (who most people hate) has the Swap action which will be oppressive in the right pool.  The Tanikipult is great, its in the nature of what the Gremlins are supposed to be able to do, score big and fast or fail miserably. Bokors reactivate models and frankly, War Pigs  wild boars (my bad) are an excellent option for this nowadays being only 5ss. Big Brain Brinn is solid with condition removal and trigger shut down, in the right pool and against the right opponent, extremely effective. Flying Piglets.... eh, they make the taxidermist cooler... LOL.  So yes, not generally great models, but situational models that shine when played correctly. Gremlins are not a forgiving faction. 

 

There are so many interactions between these models that it can be difficult to consider them all when talking general power, but they are there and the combos have yet to be discovered. The mystery can be fun and is something I like about this game, you cant just net list and carbon copy other peoples stuff, you gotta understand it first. 

@green-n-dumb

I think a better approach would be to ask questions about the faction and find out how other players are using these models. What works and what doesnt work. I think it can be a difficult sell to ask the developers to make the game easier for Gremlin players when they have their own intentions in mind about the theme and play style of the faction. Remember, they do this for a living. 

 I also  think a faction of the 7 should be a bit more difficult to master while another should be easier. Its a simple matter of taste and investment, not everyone is the same.  

 

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2 minutes ago, Fixxer said:

 

IMO I've never seen the Gremlins as under or overpowered and assume that their play style is a high risk/high reward that IS difficult to play. This automatically puts them at the extreme when talking about their power depending on what exactly you've experienced. This is all we can base our opinions on and TheoryFaux is extremely difficult because all the variables that lead up to any situation that could occur in a match. 



With that, I find the Gremlins to be a difficult faction to get the most out of and their newer models are a reflection of that. Less direct and more sneaky play style that lends itself to the character of the Gremlins. Frustrating your opponents with careful matchups and positioning OR doing combinations that your opponent has to stop. This new Som'ers x2 Warpig list... 

 

Wave 5:

The Wrastler can really put a stop on a beater model, but is garbage in other circumstances, so he must be positioned correctly and used correctly to get the most out of him. He's not just a "Generally" good model.  The card draw from Criers can be a game winner on a turn 2 or 3 assault when brought with the right crew. Otherwise, they are squishy and dont offer much themselves.  The Smuggler (who most people hate) has the Swap action which will be oppressive in the right pool.  The Tanikipult is great, its in the nature of what the Gremlins are supposed to be able to do, score big and fast or fail miserably. Bokors reactivate models and frankly, War Pigs are an excellent option for this nowadays being only 5ss. Big Brain Brinn is solid with condition removal and trigger shut down, in the right pool and against the right opponent, extremely effective. Flying Piglets.... eh, they make the taxidermist cooler... LOL.  So yes, not generally great models, but situational models that shine when played correctly. Gremlins are not a forgiving faction. 

 

There are so many interactions between these models that it can be difficult to consider them all when talking general power, but they are there and the combos have yet to be discovered. The mystery can be fun and is something I like about this game, you cant just net list and carbon copy other peoples stuff, you gotta understand it first. 

@green-n-dumb

I think a better approach would be to ask questions about the faction and find out how other players are using these models. What works and what doesnt work. I think it can be a difficult sell to ask the developers to make the game easier for Gremlin players when they have their own intentions in mind about the theme and play style of the faction. Remember, they do this for a living. 

 I also  think a faction of the 7 should be a bit more difficult to master while another should be easier. Its a simple matter of taste and investment, not everyone is the same.

 

  

I cannot like this enough, very well put

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