Waldo's Weekly - Raise Your Glass

[Hobby Wyrd]

Hey Wyrdos!

This week, Waldo broke out the eggnog and started celebrating. He might be a little early with the festivities, but it’s not just the winter season our imp is raising his cup to. Yes, that’s right: the Tri-Chi keyword’s rework from the Fractured Futures campaign is here! Keep reading to get the boozy details on our favorite elderly moonshiner.

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Tri-Chi Keyword Rewrite

Following through on the promise of the Fractured Futures Global Campaign, we’re excited to show off the Keyword Rework for Tri-Chi! 

This rework is a little different from other reworks we’ve done recently like the Oni or Elite and Mimic Rework. When doing previous Reworks there were systemic issues with the way the Keyword performed that we wanted to address. The Keywords that were identified as part of the Global Campaign were a little different. During the ramp up to the Campaign we identified some Keywords that could use a fresh coat of paint, but the amount of adjustment needed varied from Keyword to Keyword with some only needing adjustments to the Master, and some needing tweaks to nearly every model.

Reasoning for Tri-Chi’s Rework

For the Tri-Chi Keyword the scope of our Rework initiative fell somewhere in the center. Unlike Oni where From Beyond existed on every model, there wasn’t a shared Action or Ability that needed to be updated on every Tri-Chi card. Instead, we identified underperforming models across the Keyword and focused on adjusting them all at once to make sure the changes felt cohesive. When determining what models to touch, we focused on two main factors: that model’s role within the Keyword and how accessible the Keyword was to pilot for both new and veteran Tri-Chi players. 

Role is very important as Malifaux expands and evolves. As the game gets larger, we’ve noticed a few trends with model roles. Sometimes new models come out that are similar to older models, and through a variety of reasons are just better equipped for a role than an older model. Other times, there are enough shared Actions and Abilities that it is difficult for a model’s uniqueness to shine through. In Tri-Chi we saw a little bit of both. Shared Actions like Have a Drink, Staggering Punch, and Trusty Flask gave models a similar feel on the table. Some of these models also had similar Costs like Moon Shinobi, Fermented River Monks and Shojo, further increasing this issue.

The Tri-Chi Rewrite also focused on making the Keyword more accessible for players to use. Condition Crews are generally difficult for newer players to grasp. By definition a Condition Crew requires a player to focus on a secondary objective of putting out their Condition of choice. In Tri-Chi’s case this was especially necessary as the Keyword had various effects that are based on having Poison +3 or greater. This meant much more of a Tri-Chi player’s time was taken up stacking Poison. However, Tri-Chi still had poor accessibility even after a player learned how to efficiently stack Poison. Tracking stacks of Poison was a ton of work for a diminished reward. With this Rewrite we wanted to address both sides of the spectrum. We wanted Poison to be useful at lower quantities so a newer player could enjoy the effects faster, and lower the need for excessive Poison so that experienced players needed to spend less time on Condition upkeep during the End Phase. 

Beyond the Poison game, Tri-Chi had the additional struggle of having minor sub-themes that weren’t fleshed out. Cooper Jones is a good example. She was built around Scrap Markers in a Crew that does not generate Scrap easily. 

Focus on the Keyword Rewrite

After identifying the role and accessibility struggles, we took a top down look at the Keyword starting with the two Titles of The Brewmasters. Looking at the Titles it was easy to see that they both struggled with role and accessibility. Brewmaster’s first Title had multiple effects that required a decent amount of Poison, but he wasn’t able to generate very much Poison. The Brewmaster, Moonshiner on the other hand generated much more Poison, but was very complex. Both Titles also performed similar roles. They both had powerful melee Attacks and Abilities that rewarded staying close to the front lines. So while the cards varied greatly, the role of both Titles was surprisingly similar.

After determining that both Titles would be good targets for the Rework, we went down the list and identified models that either had similar struggles or would be good to update to match the new simpler vibe.

Card Breakdowns

The Brewmaster

When designing the update to the Brewmaster we focused on two things. Firstly, we wanted to give him a role distinct from The Brewmaster, Moonshiner. Secondly, we wanted the experience to still feel familiar to veteran players.

In finding a new role for The Brewmaster, we decided to focus on his potential as a control piece. There were already control options on The Brewmaster’s card, so this rework really highlighted those. The biggest change to bring him into line with other control models was expanding his range of influence on the table. This was accomplished by turning Liver Damage into a ranged Attack, replacing Trusty Flask with Bartender’s Handshake and trading Lure for Last Call. These changes allow The Brewmaster to stay a comfortable distance from a battle and still get the most out of Abilities such as Alcohol Poisoning.

The new version of The Brewmaster also works to reduce resource strain on his player. The new On the House Trigger allows a Tri-Chi player to splash Poison around his targets. Bartender’s Handshake is especially helpful as it gives out Poison, Heals, draws cards and has some incredible Triggers.

For veterans, there are many nods to the previous The Brewmaster on the Reworked card. Closing Time has been updated, but the switch from increased Stats to a + flip is simpler to track and more useful for dealing with Concealment. His new defense Trigger “Get That Guy A Drink!” is similar to You’re Drunk, Go Home in that it punishes enemy models for attacking The Brewmaster. Finally, while his damage potential has gone down, Blood Poisoning remains as a powerful Attack to finish off enemy models.

The Brewmaster, Moonshiner

Where The Brewmaster mostly had issues with role, The Brewmaster, Moonshiner was an issue of complexity. Bar Room Brawl and Tipsy Slide were both very long Abilities, and with the Errata changes the payoff for setting them up was lowered. To help solidify The Brewmaster, Moonshiner’s role we focused on simplifying his front of card and increasing his damage threat from Shiner’s Staff.

The biggest simplification on The Brewmaster, Moonshiner’s card is the removal of the Bar Room Brawl Ability and the update to Tipsy Slide. Bar Room Brawl was a fun Ability, but it required many restrictions to make it balanced. Removing it both freed up space on the card and allowed the Shiner’s Staff to do more damage. Tipsy Slide on the other hand was an Ability that incentivised The Brewmaster, Moonshiner player to stack an enormous amount of Poison on models. The new version of Tispy Slide has a lower maximum movement distance, but it halves the amount of Poison required to move models.

Beyond simplification, we wanted The Brewmaster, Moonshiner to have more interesting Activations. To help with this we added Triggers to his Actions like the new Service Charge Trigger, and replaced some Triggers with ones that helped out his core mechanic of doing large amounts of damage like swapping Private Stash for the new Sloshed Trigger that works very well with Drunken Kung-Fu.

Apprentice Wesley

As a totem, Apprentice Wesley is pretty great; he is significant and is able to remove Conditions from models with Sober Up. The biggest issue with Apprentice Wesley was that he came with an Upgrade that was rarely used. 

In this Rewrite we removed the Upgrade and boosted his survivability by giving him Too Drunk to Care. We then expanded his role as a Crew support piece by adding Lasting Liquor which incentivizes him to stay near friendly models, and Creep Along, which gives him the tools to stay near his friends.

Cooper Jones

Cooper Jones was in a difficult place for most of Third Edition. Her Summon was very expensive and required resources that weren’t easily available to Tri-Chi Crews. This caused her to either languish unhired or required Out of Key models to provide her with Scrap or damage reduction to get the most out of her Summon. In this Rework we wanted to keep her focus on Constructs and Summoning but wanted to smooth out the rough edges so she was a more attractive hire.

In reworking the Cooper Jones card we went two different directions. First, we wanted more shared Actions with other Tri-Chi Constructs, which is how she gained Barrel Blast for a fun nod to the upcoming Barrelby model. Second, we wanted her Summon to be easier while still having a connection to Scrap Markers. To do so she gained the new Barrel Armor Action which generates Scrap Markers while giving Shielded to Tri-Chi models, and Moonshine and a Barrel was changed so it no longer needs to remove Scrap Markers to function, but it can remove them to increase the Action’s stat.

Rounding out her support package is the new Hooch and a Lighter Action. It has a Burning threat like Blow Torch, but can now Heal Tri-Chi models. This means that Cooper Jones can either aggressively attack enemies with Barrel Blast and Burning, or hang back and heal models like the Whiskey Golem.

Shojo

Shojo was included in this Rework as she had some specific issues. She was a model whose power varied greatly between the two Keywords she was aligned with. In Tri-Chi, her Actions were nothing spectacular since Have a Drink was shared with quite a few models, and there wasn’t much need for Distracted. Generally, she spent most of her time exchanging Poison for Pass Tokens. In Qi and Gong it was the opposite. Her Poison-focused Actions and Abilities came up rarely and weren’t very useful when they did.

In this Rework we attempted to address this by narrowing the gap between the two Keywords and allowing her to stand on her own. To begin with, Trade Secrets was updated to give her either Poison or Favor Tokens during the Start Phase. This lowered the overall number of possible Tokens created but made them much easier for both Crews to plan around. As an added benefit, Favor Tokens are much less disruptive to gameplay than Pass Tokens. As she’ll generate more Favor Tokens now, a new way to use them was added to her card in the new Slurred Speech Ability. This allows the Shojo to trade Poison or Pass Tokens for + flips. This both gives her a second way to spend Pass Tokens, and allows her to have a Leverage-like Ability.

To make the most use of those + flips she now has two new Actions. High-Proof Punsch gives her a damage threat and Poisonous Words gives her a way to put out Poison and Distracted at a longer range than Biting Insult. Both Actions also have the new Tip Your Waitress Trigger to generate more Favor Tokens.

Moon Shinobi

The final model we reviewed during this Rewrite is the Moon Shinobi. Moon Shinobi’s biggest issue was how similar they were to Fermented River Monks. Both Moon Shinobi and Fermented River Monks were 6 Cost and they shared the Staggering Punch, Have a Drink, and Trusty Flask Actions. While they had different Triggers and Abilities, players generally chose one of the two models to play and never used the other.

In this Rewrite we wanted to differentiate these two models. To do so, we lowered the cost of Moon Shinobi and reworked them so that they are scheme runners with a side of support. On the scheming side, Unnatural Speed combined with Stealth and Hard To Kill means that while they’re not the fastest scheme runners in the game, they are one of the sturdier ones. When they switch to supporting, It’s 5 O'Clock Somewhere combined with Lasting Liquor allows them to add Poison to friendly models and prevent enemies from removing it.

Let the Liquor Flow!

 For those excited about the Tri-Chi Rework, updated cards will be available soon in a few ways:

• Visible in the Malifaux Crew Builder Application.
• Print for free from the Wyrd Dropbox.
• Order from Wargame Vault!

That’s not the end for Tri-Chi’s winnings as part of the Fractured Futures Campaign. Nia’s playable card will be revealed as part of a future update. We hope you enjoy this update to the Tri-Chi Keyword and thanks to everyone who participated in the Fractured Futures Campaign!

Hopefully, this rework’s shaken, not stirred, up excitement about our friends in the Bayou. These new cards are on the M3E app; if you haven’t already, pop over and download a great resource for your games of Malifaux.

You’ll also be able to purchase a Bundle of the entire Tri-Chi keyword cards in a few days as well!