New to the Game, Fairly Confused And Needing Guidance (Guild)

[Joasht]

I've never really paid too much attention to the game as the first few releases (when the game first came out) never caught my attention, but with the expansion of the range it seems fairly appealing to me now.

I've pretty much narrowed down to either the Guild or Outcasts, so I've opened a thread here in the Guild forum and one in the Outcasts forum to get feedback from players of their respective factions.

I'll just list my questions in point form:

1) How big are games, usually? I.e. roughly how many figures?

2) I'm fairly curious about why there are so many sub-factions in each faction; can they work together, is there a benefit for sticking to just one, and what are the playstyles of each of the subfactions in the Guild?

3) How balanced is the game, overall?

4) How does the Guild compare to the Outcasts?

Thanks!

[jeffb007]

I'm relatively new myself but I will give you my opinions so far!

1) How big are games, usually? I.e. roughly how many figures?

The game seems to be really scaleable. I've found 25 soulstones to be a good size for beginning games, which seems to be 4 -7 models for the Guild, depending on what you choose.

2) I'm fairly curious about why there are so many sub-factions in each faction; can they work together, is there a benefit for sticking to just one, and what are the playstyles of each of the subfactions in the Guild?

Everything can work together but as I see it there are certain synergies between some units working together, like the Ortegas performing alpha strikes where they all activate. I basically just went for the Lady Justice Death Marshalls box set with a couple of other models to start with, along with an Austringer and the Executioner. They all seem to work together well.

3) How balanced is the game, overall?

It's really going to depend on who you are playing, and the cards. I'd also recommend playing the strategies and schemes as they change the flow of the game and balance it out between different factions.

4) How does the Guild compare to the Outcasts?

I can't give an honest answer to this as I don't really know.

I'd pick some things you like the look of and see how they fit into Ratty's crew creator at http://malifaux.nezumi.me.uk/Crew.php to give you an idea of what you want.

The only other thing I can say is that I really love this game, it has loads of depth, great background and fantastic models, so hopefully you will enjoy playing too!

[edonil]

2) The sub-factions are there for fluff and synergy. Wyrd did a good job of making the different Masters unique (at least within their own factions, general similarities can be found) and the sub-factions actually do a good job of supporting their corresponding Master. You can mix and match as much as you'd like, and it'd work well, most of the time.

3) I haven't been playing for all that long, but the balance in terms of faction to faction seems pretty solid. However, the game not only allows, but encourages, you to tailor your list every time you play. You pick Faction, then you find out your objective for the game, and then you write your list. I play Arcanists primarily, and I currently own two Masters for them, Rasputina and Colette. Rasputina is a damage output Master, slow but very killy, while Colette is movement gimmicks and sleight of hand (even in the game). Rasputina I'll take when defending my side of the board, looking to kill as much of the enemy as possible, etc, while I'll bring the Showgirls if I need to grab something on the other side of the board.

4) The Outcasts have fewer sub-faction synergies than anyone else in the game, while the Guild seems to have a good amount of them.

[Adran]

1 Games usually range from 25 -35 soulstone models. Most models fall in the 5-10 soulstone range. This means you are typically looking at 5 -7 models in that range.

Since you don't pick your crew until after you know what you are trying to do having a larger collection will allow you a greater choice, but its not a huge bonus

2 There are 5 different leaders in each faction. In most cases models which are designed to go with one leader can hppily be used by any of the leaders.

The outcasts are a little different, where you have 3 or 4 distinct groups and there is no overlap between the groups.

You would often find people refereign to the ortegas as a crew, but the crew would function just as well with Sonnia Criid as its leader as with Pertdita Ortega. The guild does have the best cross over of models with pretty much all of them being viable for any of the masters. The other factions have this but to a lesser extent.

3 The game is fairly balenced. There are several masters with strange mechanics which can catch people unawares, but typically having faced them a few times you learn how they work, and can work out how to counter it. There are also some masters which have a relatively easy learning curve, so are sometimes thought of as much better than other masters, but time with other masters does seem to eventually get them to similar levels.

remember you have to focus on your objectives and not just on killing your opponent. Just because you have been wiped out does not mean you have lost.

4 The guild is primarily a high damage faction. It has the best ranged models but aslo some very good close combat. One of its masters is a powerful magic user. Another master is very into machines.

Outcasts truely are the leftovers from the 4 factions. I would split them up into the following

Mercenaries - Primarily fighters either melee or ranged. This has the Victorias and Von Schill as you leaders. The forces are quite strong, but low on tricks (similar to the guild). It has the long term advantage that you can hire mercenaries into other crews.

Gremlins - Hordes of little gremlins. And pigs. They aren't good at anythign except havign more gremlins. They can do pretty well, and have several different ways of being played depending on what you like.

Leveticus - the everdying man. He has several models in the outcast faction that are virtually restricted to him, and also has access to every undead and construct in the otehr factions. A trickier crew it involves picking the right time for him to die, but there are still several different options. He is one of those masters that plays a different game to most.

Hamelin - a very restricted crew list, and relatively recently out. he plays very diferently to most crews trying to utilise swarms of rats. I haven't ever played or faced him, so can only go on internet opions. Some think he is boring to face, but that might be due to peoples unfamiliarity to what he does and how to play him making early games with him seem to take hours. There are plenty of disscusions as to if he is unbalanced or not.

Hope this is helpful

[cerealkiller195]

as others have mentioned, guild is a pretty forgiving faction. Though guild lacks some of the more intricate tricks that other factions may bring to the table that doesn't mean they are any less effective at what they do.

outcasts are the "mercenary" faction of malifaux, though just about every master is "self contained" and follow rigid hiring restrictions.

Each master in guild can hire their crew with little to no restrictions maybe 1-2 models (usually totems) that can't be hired by certain masters. But other than that you can make your crews however you desire, sure there are some models that are inherently better with other masters but that doesn't mean they can't be used effectively by all masters.

[Joasht]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm thinking of starting with the Lady Justice and Witchhunter starters, figured I could just combine them together to give me options. One of the things that kind of disappointed me is the ability to tailor your lists; while its good in a sense, I'd imagine its also bad if you are just a newbie with a small pool of figures, while the opponent has everything in the faction at his/her disposal.

Either way, any advice?

Thanks!

[Iamwyrd]

It has its disadvantages not own a huge pool of models, but it isn't a huge deal either. Most of the guild models that come from both the boxes you like will be fairly interchangeable. As witchling stalker are good as well as death Marshall's. Which are the common minions that come from the boxes you like.

The only advantage in having a huge range is more options, malifaux is pretty balanced, (there are the occasional strong master) and the strategies and schemes help balanced it out even more.

Malifaux isn't wipe the board and you win, on the contrary, I've wiped the table and still lost because of VP totals. So alot of strategy comes into play as well.

Hope this helps and I hope you like the game as much as we all do here on the forum.

[Slinkdawg]

Those starter boxes would be a fine foundation to get started and learn with.

The best advice is to build your crews for the strategy and pick schemes that your crew can carry out. Combat is fun in malifaux, but its a means to an end. Playing to the strategies and schemes versus trying to slaughter every model each game is going to be much more effective. Also, even with just 2 starter boxes you have some options and can get an optimal mix of models with what you have. Malifaux is a game of very low model count (generally) and rewards building the right crew for the job.

[Q'iq'el]

You don't need all that many figures to tailor your list. Remember, most of the time you chose your crew for the mission and terrain, not for the opponent you face - so the ability to tailor means ability to swap faster models in, or models that can ignore terrain if the map is terrain intensive, or someone who can charge/shoot without LoS, if it is a forest etc.

Take your basic crew to learn the game, play low SS games - 15~20 for the starters (that way opponents with huge selection of minis can't leverage that much of an advantage over you) and as you see what areas you are lacking in, buy extra blisters to fill the gaps and raise the cap to 25-30 SS once you get them. Then consider a secondary master or a henchman (best, one that can use the models you already have) and you are pretty much set for 35SS+ games.

[hippieshopper]

Pretty balanced?

Have they fixed Hamelin yet?

I haven't played in awhile so I don't know if he still shafts anyone using counters.

[cerealkiller195]

Hamelin is like any master with "tricks" find out how it works, study the machine and the cogs that make it run. Disrupt and destroy. He makes you insignificant I believe you can dispel magic/shrug off the effect. Don't half ass killing his guys focus fire destroy move onto next.

Take schemes that don't require stop you by being insignificant. Tie up rats with something with terrifying hell any of his crew minus hamelin have low wp.

Getting back on topic the guild faction is made of professionals and plays as such. Straight forward every model is proficient in what they do. They are the tools you use to accomplish your mission. Always keep that in mind, just as others have mentioned keep your eyes on the mission/schemes and you will do fine.

As far as people with larger collections having a better shot playing. This is somewhat true but overall will not matter that much in the end. When starting out get familiar with the models in hand don't be afraid to mix your forces. Add a blister or two when you feel its necessary. Most important rule have fun!

[Joasht]

Given the lack of "tricks", does Guild get boring fast?

I'm just slightly worried because I've traditionally played "blunt" armies, like Space Marines, Khador etc., nowadays I sometimes branch out into armies that are the opposite of my usual playstyle, for fear of being too predictable, and getting bored of it.

[Ratty]

Guild still have tricks. Sonnia can be used as a blunt instrument, but can also be played slightly differently, using her own models as targets for blasts, using flame walls for board control. Lady J is fairly straight forward, but does have some useful buffing tricks. Ortega is all about setting up lines of fire and using your ability to alpha strike at just the right time. Hoffman has lots of complexity to him.

[cerealkiller195]

hmm both yes and no to the if they are "complex" question, just because they are a little easier to use doesn't mean that they have easy "win buttons" or have no "tricks" of their own.

True they do not have the walls of text that Neverborn/Outcasts have but you can still pull off some rather good tricks. With guild a few things immediately stick out to you of how a combination of models SHOULD work. Of course how deep you follow that vein of thought is up to you. Like i said when it comes to Outcasts in particular just about everyone but Viktoria plays completely different.

Outcasts in particular "bend/break" a lot of the conventional rules of malifaux, but that also means they are VERY strict in the way they HAVE to play in order to achieve results. Getting something wrong can set you back quite a bit. In the end just go with whatever models attract you most to the game, you could never go wrong with that route.

[osoi]

The Guild certainly has its fair share of 'tricks' and I dare say they will be getting more with the new release coming soon. Lady J has a lot of crew buffing abilities and can take a very varied crew that each has its own little quirks. Hoffman has a lot of complex interactions available to him as is by no means just a point and shoot master.

As cerealkiller said above you really cant go wrong with just picking up a crew that you like the look of and going from there, its how I started, and still when I buy into more crews/factions I am pretty well buying minis I like the look of (this is a problem as I like so much of the entire Wyrd line)