cult of december noob

[sephiroa]

hi,

I'm new to malifaux and I think I would like to buy the cult of december starter box, but I do not know if this is a good choice for a newbie and how to play. I also consider to take a december acolyte.

can u guys give me some hints to play with cult of december and what other creatures work well with rasputina. also note, i do not know any rules yet.

I'm not new to tabletop games however, I love my necrons in warhammer 40k but i saw malifaux and i'd love to try it.

i simply love the cult of decmeber miniatures.

grts Anthony

[the imp]

Rasputina is my first master and I think she's been a good choice. Let me break down my experiences and assessment of how the figures work.

Rasputina is the big gun of the set. She is pretty fragile, but can lay down a devastating amount of ranged magical attacks. She has a lot of little abilities that can be difficult to keep track of at first, so be sure to take your time at first.

The Ice Golem is very much a tank. He's big and durable and can hit pretty hard, but his real purpose is to tie up stuff so Rasputina can kill it. The ice golem and many other December themed models have a trait called Heart of Ice, which allows Rasputina to draw range and line of sight from it. She takes a significant casting penalty to do it, but the ability to shoot around corners and up to 18" is pretty nice.

Ice Gamins fill pretty much the same role as the golem but aren't as durable. All of the ice constructs have a ranged attack and an aura that increases damage against models without heart of ice. These are easy to overlook as well, but the synergy between all of these abilities are what make the crew work.

The Wendigo is Rasputina's totem. It hasn't got too many powers of it's own, but it does have spell extension, allowing the model to cast one of Rasputina's spells. An extra Curse or Ice Pillars, which places persistent impassible terrain, can be pretty handy. There are several other totems that you may link to Rasputina, but I haven't used them.

The December Acolyte is a great piece but not too easy to use. I've found it most effective for slowing down gremlins and taking objectives. You can deploy him after normal deployment and anywhere behind terrain as long as he's at least 12" away from an enemy model.

I haven't actually used hoarcats yet. They seem useful for thinning out hordes. I think they're most effective with at least two bases though, so get two if you get them at all.

I've read very positive things about using the sabertooth cerberus and the convict gunslinger with the cult, but I haven't tried them myself yet.

[Wodschow]

There's a new model coming out for the Cult of December in.. December (what a coincidence!!).

Shes's called a Silent One and adds a fair bit of utility to Rasputinas crew, which I'm really looking forward to. Some active/passive buffing, a bit of healing and another ranged attack spell.

The Silent Ones are however (as the rest of the crew) rather slow, something that you'll bitterly experience yourself if you pick Rasputina.

Some people use the Acolyte in an attempt to mitigate this somewhat, but truth is after his initial deployment he's not really fast either. He has alot(!) going on for him though, but as the imp said is also rather hard to get just right to make him worth taking at all.

For some real speed (needed for many strategies and schemes) alot of people used to bring the Sabertooth Cerberus.

With Book2 there's two new fast moving models added to the Arcanist line that you might want to consider instead, the Coryphée and the Mechanical Rider (which has yet to be released as a model).

If you're concerned about the theme of the crew I've seen some pretty swell big cats in winter fur, the other two will probably be a bit harder to 'justify'.

There's also another Cult of December model that was introduced with Book2 called Snow Storm which adds a fair bit of movement manipulation to the crew, but it too has yet to be released so you'll have to wait for that one for some time.

Well that was a bit of random babbling going on there.. Here's the real deal:

I strongly recommend getting either a Coryphée or a Sabertooth from the beginning as you'll really want something that moves quicker than your average crew members.

You could also try the Acolyte, it's an awesome miniature, but as said repeatedly now, rather hard to get a hang of and you might get to feel he's lacking somewhat compared to other similarly priced models in the beginning. But try it out and see if it works for you!

After you've dug into the game a bit more and seen the synergy between models I'd suggest you to get a Silent One aswell.

Hope this was somewhat useful and not too full of references that you didn't get as you haven't read the rules yet..

Edit:

And... Almost forgot..!

You'll probably want to give Rasputina a totem.

There's the Wendigo which fits the December theme nicely and I suppose is okay gameswise aswell, and then there's the Essence of Power which I feel does more for Rasputina.

I'd suggest getting one of those aswell. Totems can cast their Masters spells and Rasputina have some pretty sweet ones of those.

Edited November 28, 2010 by Wodschow

[sephiroa]

allright,

another question now i know this, the essence of power and wendigo, what are the adventages and disadventages and wich should I take, i like the wendigo model and since you guys said it fits the december theme nicely, it has a heart of ice? so it can resputina can cast spells tru him?

[the imp]

As I see it, the whole thing comes down to what you want the totem to do. If you want to buff Rasputina's spell casting, the essence's bonus to spell based damage flips is fantastic. It really emphasizes her role as the big gun in the crew though. The frozen heart issue doesn't make any difference though, Rasputina grants that ability to all friendly models in a 4" radius. The essence recoils into base contact with the attached model at the end of the turn.

If you're looking for something a little more durable that can dish out some decent melée damage as well as the benefits of spell extension, the wendigo is probably the better choice. I guess it's just a matter of whether you like to go with your strengths or compensate for your weaknesses. Personally, I think Rasputina is destructive enough without the essence of power.

[sephiroa]

i see, with this in mind, i sorted out this,

rasputina,

3 ice gamin

ice golem

wendigo,

acolyte

now i'm going to play against marcus ( my brother will play with him) and he will ad a jackalope and some molemen,

you guys think i need something else? i do not know what hoarcats do, but i'm willing to go for the cerberus.

i'm reading in the forum some stuff, altough i can't fully understand what they say :tongue2: i don't know any rules yet. but i think the cerberus will be a nice thing to do

[waaagh5744]

Against marcus I probably wouldn't feild the cerberus because macus is able to control enemy beasts using an ability called alpha and he has abilities that specificly target beasts (same problem with hoarcats). Against any other master I'd take it though I always liked the idea of a winter sabertooth. As for your list I was using the very same list and it seems to work fine as at 30 SS it gives you a cache of 5 which is plenty. The acolite was a lot of fun to use I liked using his harpoon gun to drag things towards him or into range of rasputina's spells, the wendigo is a lot of fun to I used it qite aggresively and charged things that I thought it would be able to kill and when you cast devour on your opponents totem the look on the players face is priceless. the golem is a good deterent for anyone wanting to get to close to rasputina he's quite slow and can't keep up with the gamins. The gamins work well for taking objectives, finnishing schemes and with their trigger sub-zero and armor 1 they are good for holding things up in combat and then shattering.

hope this helps.

:snow:

[the imp]

Given that beasts, like the sabertoothand the hoarcats, are kind of Marcus' specialty and he has a variety of effects designed specifically to manipulate them, I wouldn't recommend adding them to your crew while you're fighting him. It would hand your brother a significant advantage.

[Nirvanawn]

I started with them too. I really like a cerberus. The golemn is to slow to get objectives. I often use cerberus to get sabotage off. On top of this like a gunslinger for mercs, acolyte, and moleman if it is a collecting strategy like treasure hunt or destroy. Also, wendigo has no real advantage except against res. I prefer essence. empower gives you some explosive damage sets.

My normal list, which was for 30ss, is

Rasputina

Essence 2ss

2x ice gamin 8ss

1x cerberus 8ss

1x gunslinger 6ss

1x moleman 3 ss

7ss Cache Total.

P.s. Hoarcats are okay versus res and I feel that is it. I agree any beast versus Marcus is bad. My list is a general list. Most people around me do not play marcus becuase we see it as the weakest master, but that s open to discussion.

Edited November 28, 2010 by Nirvanawn

[Cats Laughing]

What do veterans think about adding the razorback(?) snake-thing instead of the 3-headed tiger, to a Rasputina crew? I realize it's slower when not charging, but it seems to have a much longer charge range? Is the non-charging speed of the 3-headed tiger that much better?

I probably shouldn't even bother asking until I've got some starter pack games under my belt

[sephiroa]

i think i'm going to field:

rasputina

ice golem

3 ice gamin

2 acolyte

wendigo,

i do not know how many ss this is and how many ss i have to put in cache (to be honest i have no idee what this does or means)

[the imp]

Before the game commences soulstones are analogous with the points used to build an army with any game. Malifaux is a little different from most wargames in that leftover points are not lost, but rather become an in-game resource.

Any model with the Use Soulstone ability may spend a soulstone from your remaining points (plus the master's cache) to flip an additional card on any flip where fate can be cheated. Unlike cheating fate, where you can replace the flipped card with one from your hand, this card adds to the face value and suits represented. All masters have the use soulstone ability, even though it is not indicated in their specific descriptions.

Soulstones may also be expended to power certain abilities, to thwart other abilities, and to heal. All of this combined makes soulstones a very powerful resource, so you may want a larger cache than whatever the master you have selected normally comes in with. In this instance, Rasputina comes into play with a cache of four. So far, I have made an effort to start every game with eight, the maximum for a scrap. I've not used all of them in any game I've played so far, but I like having them available.

The list you have created comes in at 35SS. Consider dropping one of the ice gamins to bump your cache back to eight in a 35SS game.

[Nirvanawn]

Please o Please run essence over wendigo

[sephiroa]

so

rasputina

2 ice gamin

ice golem

2 acolyte

wendigo/ essence (still can't choose)

8 ss cache

i prefer the wendigo because i just like the model

but the essence gives me the extra power thingy but wendigo is (tthats what you guys said) a bit stronger and harder to kill

[the imp]

Get both and use the one most appropriate for the encounter. If you need a melee critter that can eat height 1 models, like totems or gremlins, the wendigo might be the better choice. If you need to lay down more explosions to take out hordes of mindless zombies, the essence is the better choice.

[sephiroa]

allright

[Doctor Amos]

Don't retire the Ice Golem altogether, though. He's really, really hard to put down, especially for crews that rely on striking with large, powerful units of thier own (Neverborne Nephilim and Teddies spring to mind). If you have to Hold Out or the like, he's an absolute beast. Once he has an objective, he keeps it.

[Wodschow]

Get both and use the one most appropriate for the encounter. If you need a melee critter that can eat height 1 models, like totems or gremlins, the wendigo might be the better choice. If you need to lay down more explosions to take out hordes of mindless zombies, the essence is the better choice.

Funny you say this.. I only ever consider bringing the Wendigo when against ressers (since it can remove corpse counters from the table (Faction as a whole ressers also tend to bring more Ht1 models than most other crews)) - but really I always go for the Essence.

@sephiroa:

I really would suggest against using two Acolytes, I realize you probably like the model and such, but I just don't think it's a good idea games wise.

Yeah well.. I already gave most other general advice I could give you earlier so nothing more than that.

[Doctor Amos]

If you haven't done so already, also check out thread Tactica: Rasputina thread.

[sephiroa]

ok, so wich replacement do i have to take for the acolyte,

you are right i do love the model

so: raputina

2 ice gamin (maybe 3 for replacement of acolyte)

ice golem

acolyte

wendigo/ essence

8 ss cache

[the imp]

I've run two acolytes before. It can be useful if you're trying to hold up your opponent's forces. In one game I stalled a gremlin crew long enough to throw ice pillars up around their objective and get the wendigo into position for a really nice December's curse.

The thing about Malifaux is that you'll want to adjust your crew for almost every game; tailoring it for your opponent and the objectives that you're after. You could conceivably buy every Arcanist and mercenary figure in the line and never play the same combination twice. Every model has its own strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately there is no right or wrong list; only legal and not legal ones. As long as you're playing friendly games, proxy the hell out of them. Try out different combinations and go with what is most fun for you.

[sephiroa]

allright,

ok thank you very much guys ^^, i think i know what i will do,

i'm going to buy

cult of december

2 acolyte

wendigo

essence

so i will be able to change my list

[wizuriel]

Just wondering does Tina have any good/specif strategies against other masters or is her plan always just blast everything away with December's Curse?

[the imp]

Rasputina herself is a blast machine and can't be forced into any other role in my opinion, but one of the great things about this game is that you select your crew after you determine strategy. That enables you to field another Arcanist master or choose a crew for her that emphasizes other tactics while she provides fire support when it will help you most. The crazy cat lady list, for example, adds a lot of mobility to her crew by choosing the Saber-tooth Cerberus and Hoarcats over the ice constructs; which operate mostly to expand her field of fire and to hold enemies at range while contributing their own ice blast effects to the picture.

[Malevolens]

There isnt too much nuance to Tina, she is really a straightforward glass cannon.

Ive found that its when I get aggressive and try to bum rush my opponent is when I lose the game for myself. So here is a couple things Ive learned and Im sure have been said in other posts.

First, do not, under any circumstances get into melee with anything. Tina is as fragile as a 1st edition D&D wizard. Enemies that other masters would normally shrug off cant be taken lightly with Tina. Sure you have a nice up close mini Decembers Curse (cant remember the name of the spell) but you cant kill anything with it. Plus if you have something nasty in melee you will be burning soul stones to make sure the mini nuke hits and then you wont have them for when it counts, ie; Decembers Curse.

Second, this one follows along with the first one. Let your enemy come to you. Tina and a large part of her crew are slow as snails. Let your opponent come across the board to you. Dont be afraid to spend 2-3 turns throwing out ice pillars and moving around behind the scenes with almost all of your crew. Tina really shines when she has a full series of casting Curse on something. Dont waste AP slogging to your opponent that will likely have some ranged attacks to whittle down your expensive crew. Stay in your deployment zone behind cover and play to the schemes or get your gamin in position to be used as nodes. The more time your opponent has to waste getting across the board is the more time Tina can wail away and piecemeal their army. One or two of their models will get out in front of the rest and you will blast it to smithereens with a full three cast of Curse and maybe more depending on your cards. With any luck you can then switch focus to the model thats following behind the dead one and nuke two in the same turn.

Three- dont be afraid to cast through your minions! Sure casting at a minus 3 sucks but if you have a decent card and your casting on a minion your at least gonna hit, might not be hard but everything counts. Moreover, if your using the Essence of Power you get a plus one on damage and the golem and gamin have the damage boost to opponents without armor. I always forget about that ability and Im sure I could have killed a few things with just that one or two extra damage. Park your gamin at a corner and statue up and channel Curse through them all day. Armor and a double negative flip due to statue make them durable and Tina stays hidden until the time is right.

Four- dont be afraid to cast on your own troops!!- especially when your against masters like Pandora or Perdita with high df. Target your golem if he is close to a master and cheat the flip high and his df flip real low and get a severe and that opponent master is eating an unavoidable blast template. You also have the added bonus of when he explodes he does aoe damage as well. I use this when the opponent has obviously targeted the golem for destruction. So why not help him along and wear his master or other stuff down in the process. Players hate blast templates with a passion, at least most do, so give them a taste.

Fifth- grab a Silent One or proxy it ASAP!!! This little girl is mighty for just two reasons. The added range that she provides and her ability to grant frozen heart on other models. The range is a great way to mitigate Tina and her crews slowness. 3 extra inches when you take into account it applies to all abilities. So 3 extra inches on the cast through your minions ability and then 3 extra on Curse. So you can cast through a Gamin 9 inches away now and then cast your spell 15 inches away. 24 inches is pretty much almost into the opponents deployment zone and means you will be nuking almost from turn one.

Now the Frozen Heart ability is tricky, so this means you can grant Heart to one of your models down range and cast through something you normally wouldnt like a Cerberus. Well who is to say you cant grant that ability for a turn on an enemy model and use him to hit his master around the corner? It opens up new avenues for Tina for reaching out and touching someone.

(I made this last bit without the benefit of having my book with me so please correct me if Im wrong on the details)

So really the key to playing Tina is having patience. She is a tough master to get ahold of, and even tougher to win games with. Rising gave her new toys to play with and it was a huge step in the right direction. Tina was my first master and I have since switched to Pandora due to my lack of patience. But when I did play her my list was usually as follows.

Tina

Essence of Power

2-3 Gamin

Golem

After that I kind of just filled in depending on what I wanted to see in action. I have the Cerberus, but I found him to be a bullet magnet. Same with the Rattler. I have the Acolyte but he is very situational and not as useful as he looks.

The Hoarcats are great. They add speed and if you have 2 stands of them they can devour height 2 models. (EVEN MASTERS!!!)

Sometimes when I was feeling froggy I would pull the Golem out and put Hamelin in. He is a fun model to play around with and adds a different dimension to game play that Tina doesnt have, namely controlling the other players models. Ive seen the Convict in action and he would be a great addition to the crew but your talking about models that are expensive being added to an already costly crew.