False Start...at Gen Con

[Druthu]

Well the good news is I did visit the booth at Gen Con, and looking at the miniatures I picked up the Judge - Death Marshall mini (I liked the way the fig looked). The bad news is that is all that I picked up. I was mostly doing RPG games at Gen Con, and being my first Gen Con that is what I stuck to. I play tested and looked at a lot of skirmish games. I am a long time player of Warhammer 40k, and I have played a little Necromunda, War machine, Warzone etc.

I watched a few of the demo games on You Tube and I am hooked on the small scale skirmish style games. I don't need to paint 100-300 figs to get them on top of the table and start rolling dice. I like the playing card mechanic vs using dice. I like the idea of the games usually are looking at 5-9 models on the table at one time.

I am looking to pick up more models to get a gang started, but I could use a little direction. I don't see a breakdown on what certain factions are good at or why I would want to play them. So after looking at all the models, I picked out which ones I think look better (to me) so I could see how to put a gang together.

So far i am looking at:

The Guild

The Arcanists

The Mercenaries (box set)

I could use a little help on the difference between the ones I have listed.

Thanks,

D.

[Illustrange]

Im not the best to comment on gameplay, but I think Guild and Mercs will suit you well when used to more shooty games (necromunda, 40k, warmachine, warzone.. all have a significant amount of artillery-based strategy.)

you allready have a guild mini right there, and I think you can play the judge with any of the other guild subfactions, so could easily go for a starterbox there. (as a starterbox with lady justice would give you another judge, and you dont need 2.)

the advantage of mercs, when you like some of the mercs (and basing it on your taste in other factions.) high chance you can still use them with your guild group!

not the most usefull post mind you, other people will probably give better advice (especially as some allready have the book at hand.)

and offcourse, welcome to wyrd !

[AoM]

Well, first let me welcome you to Wyrd.

Now, on to your faction play style question.

Guild

The Guild of the Ram is a pretty straight forward faction. They have a lot of triggers that revolve around doing direct damage, and increasing the amount of damage done. They've got a lot of flexibility when it comes to ranged vs. melee, and they have specialist models against all of the other factions. The Ortegas are wicked cool models, and Sonnia Criid is one of my favorite Masters in the whole game so far. She's got a lot of fun spells, and she's also a threat in melee that most people don't expect since they'll be worried about Flame Burst instead.

Arcanists

As their name implies, the Arcanists are built around magic. Whether that magic takes the form of elemental ice magic, construction steam-powered arcane constructs, or Chimerancy (think creature-magic), the Arcanists are the specialists here. Rasputina is another one of my favorite Masters. She can throw down lots of fun tricks, and when you mix in a few beasts for speed, she gets even more interesting. A list built around Ramos' arachnids can be super powerful, and it can be pretty tough to stop in certain strategies. The Arcanists have some fun triggers that help them get additional control cards, too.

Outcasts

Ok, so you've specified the Viktorias box here, so I'll focus on that box. This box rocks! Add in a Convict Gunslinger, Misaki, and a few Ronin, and you're ready to rock. I personally don't like Hans with this list too much, only because he's a more static model, and the rest of the list is going to be moving and getting into people's faces. Of course, depending on what strategy and schemes you've got going on, Hans does make a great deterrant. But, back to the box itself.

The Viktoria twins are a lot of fun, but you need to think about what you're going to do an activation or two ahead of time. Bishop is a Swiss army knife in melee. There's no situation he can't handle. Taelor is one of my favorite models in the entire Wyrd line, and she's a brick in melee. She can take quite a bit of punishment, and she dishes it out with her Relic Hammer. Johan mixes a bit of Taelor with a pistol. He's a few stones cheaper, and has different stats, but I've thrown him into a lot of the Viktoria crews I've run.

If you go with the Viktoria box, it will match up nicely with pretty much anyone else if you decide to play a Brawl, although it will come at a premium for the stones.

You've already got a Judge, and you said you like models from those three factions. Let us know which models you like the best, and what types of lists you like to play, and I'm sure that a few of our friendly neighborhood Henchmen will be along to give some suggestions. I know I'll happily add some if I get additional information.

Edited August 19, 2009 by AoM

[Druthu]

Looking thru the catalog, I would have to say I am a fan of "The Guild".

I like the look of almost all of the figs in the line. Sonnia, Francisco, Nino, Santiago, Lady Justice, Death Marshals. The Outcast box set looks really good also. Bishop, Viktoria 2x, Taelor sculpts look awesome.

When I was playing Necromunda, I would try to have a decent shooter, and then some hand to hand specialist to close the gap and get my hits in. I usually like to play a list that is flexible and can handle any opponent with some moving around....So I do like a balance of shooting and hand to hand.

thanks for all the help,

D.

[EricJ]

I just wanted to give you a welcome to the forums, I'll let the others give you input on the different factions, they're real good at that!

[AoM]

Looking thru the catalog, I would have to say I am a fan of "The Guild".

I like the look of almost all of the figs in the line. Sonnia, Francisco, Nino, Santiago, Lady Justice, Death Marshals. The Outcast box set looks really good also. Bishop, Viktoria 2x, Taelor sculpts look awesome.

When I was playing Necromunda, I would try to have a decent shooter, and then some hand to hand specialist to close the gap and get my hits in. I usually like to play a list that is flexible and can handle any opponent with some moving around....So I do like a balance of shooting and hand to hand.

thanks for all the help,

D.

I'd recommend Guild, then. You've got all of the options you could want there. Sonnia, Santiago, the Judge, a Death Marshal or two is a pretty cool crew. Of course, I'm biased towards Santiago. You've got decent range there (10" is the average for most ranged attacks in the game, iirc), staying power, and some models that can be powerhouses in melee. And Sonnia's got all kinds of fun spells to throw out there.

If you pick up the Viktorias box, you can just throw in a model or two once you know your strategy. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either, based on what you've said you like. You've listed the models you like, and the playstyle you like, so I'd say its just a matter of looking at your funds and then picking a bunch of them and seeing what holes you want to fill after that.

As long as you like enough models in a faction to build a crew, you can totally buy for looks with Malifaux. There isn't a single model that is "filler."