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Any epic battlefield / terrain set-up for Malifaux


malifauxkly

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Part of the greatness of table top gaming is in the unique and varied battlefields factions and crews will face off against.  From the streets and alleys of the quarantine zones, to the swamps and fields around the bayou, to the frozen mountain wastelands and thick forests. There are ruined churches and villages or rotting putrid mires that wheeze toxic fumes. 

Most often you'll find people play on tables with enough terrain to densely pack 1/3 of the table, and then scatter it around the table before playing.  In our local scene, we usually try to keep starting areas similar so neither player feels at a disadvantage if they didn't get to pick their side.  Perhaps one side has a bar providing some cover with broken doors and a collapsed wall.  The other side of the market square has a gloomy grave yard with a small church and large headstones that give different, but equal amounts of cover in a firefight.

There is no official, build it exactly like this "map", because the deployment area, strategies, schemes, and of course crews are always changing each game.  The amount of variables is too high to say one setup is a perfect fit for everyone.  However, Wyrd has great guidelines for creating a table and the terrain to put on it and several other threads have pictures of tables people play on for you to get an idea on how to set up.

Malifaux is a strange new world for the cunning, daring, and eager.  Gather your friends, and see where you might find strangers challenging you for the same fame or fortune. Get out there and explore!

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There are no "official" set ups.

Probably because no 2 people seem to have exactly the same collection of terrain. You can look at how other people have made their terrain, there are some photos of Boards in the Battle reports sections, and there are some in the terrain building section in the hobby section.

Alternatively, if you use Vassel, there is a wide collection of "Maps" in there to give examples of what some people play on.  

 

I personally like that that board has an affect on the game, and that I might alter my crew based on the board as well as on the mission.  I also don't mind the map being unequal to a degree because deployment isn't equal. The fact the attacker has the choice of a deployment zone means I feel I like to actually give them a tactical choice (even though I know most of the time I choose based on where I'm standing at the time) (Compared to something like Warhammer Fantasy Battle where hills in deployment zones are essential for some lists, Malifaux is a lot more mobile and unless you're completely trapping models in an area, you can get away with quite a difference in things like access) 

 

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3 hours ago, Adran said:

There are no "official" set ups.

Probably because no 2 people seem to have exactly the same collection of terrain. You can look at how other people have made their terrain, there are some photos of Boards in the Battle reports sections, and there are some in the terrain building section in the hobby section.

Alternatively, if you use Vassel, there is a wide collection of "Maps" in there to give examples of what some people play on.  

 

I personally like that that board has an affect on the game, and that I might alter my crew based on the board as well as on the mission.  I also don't mind the map being unequal to a degree because deployment isn't equal. The fact the attacker has the choice of a deployment zone means I feel I like to actually give them a tactical choice (even though I know most of the time I choose based on where I'm standing at the time) (Compared to something like Warhammer Fantasy Battle where hills in deployment zones are essential for some lists, Malifaux is a lot more mobile and unless you're completely trapping models in an area, you can get away with quite a difference in things like access) 

I'm pretty sure the original poster was more checking to see if Wyrd had an example of how much terrain, and of what types, and in what quantities, is appropriate for a balanced game of Malifaux.

It's the bugbear of miniature games, that certain crews function better with differing terrains. Kirai wants as much blocking terrain as possible, preferably severe too. Dashel wants an open table. Marcus would love a table that's entirely severe. The game at it's core was balanced at Wyrd HQ on a certain expectation of terrain.

The "1/3 coverage of the table" thing is a good standard, but it's not easy to comprehend visually, especially if you're completely new to TTG's. How much of that should be blocking/impassable? How much should be concealing/dense/severe? How much should be hazardous, and should it be in every game?

It's easy to say "You'll figure it out", but a visual example would help so that people can figure out if it's the table that's the problem they're having, or the crew. A friend just got back into Malifaux, and had a completely disheartening game ("I think I hate Malifaux now") playing Seamus into Parker. I can't tell him how much of that was the crew matchup, and how much of that was the table.

Wyrd having 2-3 "sample" tables that they can show pictures of, so people could know what's expected, instead of having to Goldilocks things out, would make both starting games, and competitive games*, a lot easier to assess locally. Also, it'd be great to see what the crafters at Wyrd have done. Seeing a properly put together table is almost as cool for me as seeing properly put together painted crews.

* I've played on some pretty bad tables matchup wise, both for and against, at tournaments.

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1 hour ago, Morgan Vening said:

 

 

. . . .

It's the bugbear of miniature games, that certain crews function better with differing terrains. Kirai wants as much blocking terrain as possible, preferably severe too. Dashel wants an open table. Marcus would love a table that's entirely severe. The game at it's core was balanced at Wyrd HQ on a certain expectation of terrain.

The "1/3 coverage of the table" thing is a good standard, but it's not easy to comprehend visually, especially if you're completely new to TTG's. How much of that should be blocking/impassable? How much should be concealing/dense/severe? How much should be hazardous, and should it be in every game?

It's easy to say "You'll figure it out", but a visual example would help so that people can figure out if it's the table that's the problem they're having, or the crew. A friend just got back into Malifaux, and had a completely disheartening game ("I think I hate Malifaux now") playing Seamus into Parker. I can't tell him how much of that was the crew matchup, and how much of that was the table.

Wyrd having 2-3 "sample" tables that they can show pictures of, so people could know what's expected, instead of having to Goldilocks things out, would make both starting games, and competitive games*, a lot easier to assess locally. Also, it'd be great to see what the crafters at Wyrd have done. Seeing a properly put together table is almost as cool for me as seeing properly put together painted crews.

* I've played on some pretty bad tables matchup wise, both for and against, at tournaments.

I guess the other "balancing" aspect to the game is that you see the table before selecting faction and master. As designed there should not be a bad table for you as a player. In practical terms though, you may not own more than a master or two as a beginner (and you might be far less likely to read the table well), you may show up for a pick-up game with only one or two masters and at a tournament you may be stuck with fixed faction/master restrictions that are not part of the core rules. So yes, some recommended table guidelines/setups might be useful.

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30 minutes ago, Maladroit said:

I guess the other "balancing" aspect to the game is that you see the table before selecting faction and master. As designed there should not be a bad table for you as a player. In practical terms though, you may not own more than a master or two as a beginner (and you might be far less likely to read the table well), you may show up for a pick-up game with only one or two masters and at a tournament you may be stuck with fixed faction/master restrictions that are not part of the core rules. So yes, some recommended table guidelines/setups might be useful.

A standard Malifaux table is 3 feet by 3 feet. Roughly a third of its surface should be covered in terrain.

Using the correct amount of terrain and having a variety of represented Terrain Traits is important to ensuring that games of Malifaux are fun for both players. Long-range Actions are intended to be somewhat limited by terrain that offers Concealment and/or Cover. Severe Terrain is intended to shape the game by making some areas of the table more difficult to reach. Don’t worry too much about not having correctly themed terrain for the table. While well-painted, appropriate terrain looks great, players should feel free to use whatever they have on hand to populate the table, such as books, cups, etc.

 

Taken from the Set up terrain section of the rule book.

I understand that this doesn't give an example table, but it does recommend an amount, and suggest that the table should contain a mix of terrain.

Whilst these are only guide lines (You can most certainly make a good table that doesn't follow these guide lines) I would certainly recommend following them until you at least understand why they are there.

I've seen cases where people have seen an "example" board in a rule book and thought that was the only allowed board.  I assume the not putting in a table example is to try and stop that.

 

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