Drafting in Malifaux?

[SEV]

I'm new to Malifaux but I played magic since forever. I'm mostly a limited player and I think the strategic dept and sheer fun of a draft could be imported to Malifaux as an alternative way to chose your crew.

It could be especially nice if you have access to a large collection or you're playing on  Vassal... Those models that are usually unplayable could get a second chance to shine in a limited pool (you're right, I'm just trying  ton find a way to field the awesome wrestlers models 😉).

I think there several way to proceed. This is my suggestion:

Set a stone total (I'm guessing 40).

Choes a scenario and  a scheme pool.

Set aside models. Randomly set 3 pack of 1 henchman/master, 2 enforcer, 4 minions, 1 general upgrade.

Rochester draft each packs.

Build your crew. No faction restrictions. Every models count into the points total. Master come with their totems (but you have to pay for them if you field them).

What do you think (yep it means that you'll have a mismatched crew across multiple faction)? 

[Maniacal_cackle]

Sounds fun and wacky, what a cool idea!

Possibly a bit tricky to coordinate enough people. Also sorting the "packs" for the draft may be challenging, but worth a go!

One thought is I would go with Henchman leaders and leave masters out entirely. Drafts should be lower powered, and you don't want games dominated by 'oh, my opponent drafted Seamus, guess they win.'

A possible alternative to capture the 'limited' feel of MTG without directly copying draft:

Each person declares faction and a henchman leader. They then get an additional 35/40/50/whatever stones for their crew.

BUT after every pick, the opponent gets to ban a keyword. So you might pick Anna Lovelace and see Transmortis banned right off the bat to deny undergraduate synergy or whatever.

Maybe limit it to one versatile.

You would end up with very eclectic, low powered crews, with some opportunity for building synergy (for example, if you could pick carrion emissary and Bete Noire, that is a combo you can slot into any crew).

EDIT: maybe ban hiring models that cost more than 9 stones, other than the leader... Dead Rider and Coryphee Duet are way too strong for a limited format 😜

[SEV]

I think it's possible to draft 1 vs 1. I like the idea of banning keyword but that would be another way to play (look at hearthstone tournament format for example).

If you have to pay for the master + the totem maybe it's not too overpower to have them... but you might be right, summoner could be a problem too... Maybe henchman only is a good idea.

Well, if someone want to try this on vassal, that could be fun. We just need to find a way to make the actual draft work (unfortunately I'm not a programmer, but I guess it would not be too complicated to make a randomizer with o ly the names of the cards).

[Mycellanious]

What about some kind of auction mechanic? Limit it to non-master, then have one player draw a model's card and look at it secretly. Then they tell their opponent the Keyword of the model, and put a bid in soulstones on it. The opponent has the option to outbid the player, or allow them to have the card at the price they listed. Whatever you paid for the card is how much is costs you to hire that model into your crew (but its Cost is still its Cost for schemes and strats)

[Jesy Blue]

Bidding on everything in a tournament setting would take FOREVER!

[Math Mathonwy]

Just take all the cards for the minis that the participants brought and deal them out randomly 

"Looks like I'm playing mostly Guild Masters and Resser Minions today..."

[SEV]

1 hour ago, Math Mathonwy said:

Just take all the cards for the minis that the participants brought and deal them out randomly 

"Looks like I'm playing mostly Guild Masters and Resser Minions today..."

Yeah... I really think Rochester drafting is better. To rochester draft you just laid down the pack (1 master/henchman, 2 enforcers, 4 minions, 1 generic upgrade) on the table. Than the players are picking (so if you finish the first table round you began the second).

There's a lot of strategic depth to it, it's relatively quick and there's ways less randomness than just splitting the cards.

But if you want to go that way, it's more like a seal pool. This is what I suggest:

I would randomize cards from a maximum of 4 different  faction this way : 3 master/henchman, 8 enforcers, 16 minions and 4 generic upgrade.

Player build a crew with one leader. You have to respect faction this time but versatile can be hired out of faction . Also, no OOK tax. No dual master (just to avoid the share luck of getting 2 master within the same faction). You count the points for every models and masters come with their totems. 

This can be really cool too, but way less adaptation to you oponent than within a draft. 

[SEV]

Edit : I forgot the scenario...

Wedge. Corrupted Ley Lines

Sabotage, Hiden Martyr, Leave your mark, vendetta, let them bleed.

Let's try a pack what is your pick order (why?) :

Allan Reid

Jaakuna Ubume

Coryphee Duet

Silent One

Cyclops

Beckoner

Komainu

Land-Line Coat

[solkan]

Maybe I’ve played too many games of it during college, but I’d suggest this if you have the time to play multiple games:  pinnochle style bidding and multiple game scoring, tied in with the choosing.

- Figure out your pool of models.

- Figure out the strategy and scheme pool

- Players bid for what score that can accomplish.  The highest bidder gets to hire their models out of the pool first.  Note that the highest bidder will gain no points and lose their bid in total points if they don’t make their bid.

What I can’t work out at the moment is what to use as “meld” and “trick” points to put more range into the bidding numbers.  I mean, a pinnochle bid is somewhere between 15 and 30, usually, that’s more room for drama and such than bidding on a 1-10 score.