New to mailfaux, plan on joining the Cult of December

[islyfe]

Hello everyone,

So have been playing Warhammer 40k for a while and I wanted to try something different. So I stumbled upon malifaux which appears to be one of the most unique TT games I've ever seen with a nice selection of beautiful models. Which brings me here, I red NerdElemental's primers which were a good read. Now I'm interested in picking up the "The Cult of December" boxed set and my question is what other minis would compliment this set? I want a big enough force so I can play standard size games while being competitive. Can someone also give me a run down of how rasputina plays? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. How well are the characters and factions balanced in malifaux?

Thanks,

islyfe

[Ropetus]

Well, to play a standard game you need nothing else but the Cult of December starter. It is one of the most balanced crews to use in 25 SS games. As for other models to use with her, December Acolytes fit the theme nicely as do Hoarcats. Some people also like to use the Cerberus, Moles and Myranda with her. You can actually use any models in the Arcanists faction so just pick whatever you like the most. Her Ice Constructs and maybe the Moles and Cerberus have the most Synergy with her though.

However, I recommend to start with the Cult of December box to try out a few games and then add some more models later.

Rasputina is a very powerful spellcaster but also very fragile and almost useless in melee. Therefore she likes to hang in the back as far away from her enemies as possible. To aid this she can create terrain elements with her spells and also use her constructs to channel her spells while she stays away from danger. Her Crew is there mainly to protect her and add some melee punch.

The factions are fairly well balanced with each other. This is even more true because the games are scenario based and not always about killing all the enemies. Also, you get to build your crew after you know the scenario so you can adapt quite a lot.

-Ropetus

[Parintachin]

Compared to 40k, you're going to find that this is a balanced game, with rules that actually make sense! I recommend starting small, around 10SS.

[Wombats]

Rasputina is a great starting Master.

Give her the Essence of Power when you start playing competitively.

Apart from that she works well with any Arcanist crew, I do like to take the Golem for a Height 3 turret she can fire spells from.

If she can catch her opponent or use Freeze Over she will blow away the opposing crew regardless of her own crew.

She desperately needs her crew to get her out of trouble fast if she gets in melee, though.

Grab the Order of the Chimera or Miner's and Steamfitters next.

If you are teaching other people to play its nice to have a melee crew, Raspy has her weak points but they aren't apparent to a new player who just took all their nicely painted minis off the board.

I love parking Ramos' Steamborg next to Raspy and daring anyone to try and thump her.

She doesn't do too bad with Arachnid swarms, either, they can heal themselves and take a lot of damage with Armour 3 total after her buff.

Raspy also looks awesome with Sabretooth Cerberus and Hoarcats, her crew becomes an independent melee threat.

[paperbag4]

I use my Convict Gunslinger (he's an Outcast mercenary) more often than my December Acolyte when I'm looking for another ranged model. For missions where speed is important, the Sabertooth Cerberus is tough to beat. I agree with Wombats (on most tihngs it seems) that the Essence of Power is one of the key parts of competitive play. Being able to reliably trigger blast damage against a crowded board while remaining out of sight (via Icy Mirror through the Gaimin and Golems) is the key to any Slaughter or Assassinate strategy.

I seem to always run at least two Ice Gaimin and the Ice Golem, however.

[islyfe]

Cool thanks a lot for help. I will be having my first demo game on thursday, I'll let you guys know how it goes.