Should I Jump into Malifaux - Why do you love this game?

[jwfortune]

Malifaux looks very cool to me. And I am about to go to Gencon and am contemplating some purchases at the Wyrd booth. I do have the Nicodem starter box. The models were difficult for me to put together, but they look awesome.

I just wanted to hear from you guys - should I jump into this game? Is it a balanced game or are certain leaders much better than others? It appears to have excellent support from the guys at Wyrd. Are the rules solid?

I am just curious to hear some pros and cons from you Malifaux players out there.

Thanks for any comments.

[CannonFodder]

Pros:

unlike most minis games actions go back and forth causing for their to be very little waiting for your turn. Less waiting.

Unique Story and style. Most minis games are Fantasy, sci-fi, or accurate historical. The setting\style is very different Western\Victorian\horror\fantasy.

Each master has a unique play style.

Relatively cheap to start. One crew plus Rules manual cost 100-120$ on average.

Game is not elimination based, its based around scoring VPs (strategies & Schemes). You can technically win after being eliminated (rare but possible).

All rules have been consolidated into a single Rules manual (15$).

Cons

Some master are not equipped to do all strategies & schemes easily.

- So if you are in the mood to play a certain master and get a bad strategy you either need to play with a disadvantage, or play a different master.

- Recommend getting 2 master with different skill sets. Not a huge con considering a crew is not too expensive.

Each master has a unique learning curve in order to play him properly.

Rules in book 1 & 2 (30$ each) are out of date, use rules manual(15$) for rules, but it does not have Fluff or model list. Book 3 due out at GenCon, new rules for avatars(&more??) set not in rules manual.

No Single FAQ for consolidated viewing, requires searching rules forum for clarity.

Not sure if Pro or Con

Malifaux is Crack in minis format.

[Cadilon]

I love the card mechanic. I love the strategy involved in having a handful of 'predetermined dice rolls'

[CannonFodder]

I love the card mechanic. I love the strategy involved in having a handful of 'predetermined dice rolls'

I can't believe I forgot the fact that there is no dice.: PRO

[CRC]

It's the minis that do it for me.

I like the game, but it's the minis that got me in.

[Mister Tezla]

Cheaper than most mini games.

Original setting & story.

Fast turns compared to most.

Not a kill-them-all-to win, which makes strategies and tactics to win.

[Nightjar]

As to whether or not the game is balanced, there's been a discussion about that on the forums this week; look here.

I personally think it's fairly balanced, particularly when you consider that the objective of a game is to accomplish goals that will earn you VP, not to kill all the enemy models.

That said, as Cannonfodder already pointed out, some masters are likely to have a harder time accomplishing certain objectives than others. Also, certain masters tend to have a harder time against other masters. Nicodem, for instance, is likely to have a harder time against Lady Justice because she can shut down his summoning advantage.

One nice thing about the game, though, is that you don't actually assemble your army list until you know what faction you're facing and what your strategy (i.e. the main objective through which you'll earn VP) is going to be. So, if I come to a game and decide to play Arcanists, and end up with the Reconnoiter strategy (in which I have to have miniatures in each quarter of the table by the end of the game), I'm probably going to choose to play Colette as my master instead of Rasputina, simply because Colette and her Showgirls are really good at moving around the table, whereas Rasputina and her crew aren't. That's why Cannonfodder suggests having two masters within the same faction but with different capabilities - it gives you more ability to respond to the game scenarios.

So...you actually have a good amount of control over how your army list responds to the set-up of the game.

[Q'iq'el]

Also, certain masters tend to have a harder time against other masters. Nicodem, for instance, is likely to have a harder time against Lady Justice because she can shut down his summoning advantage.

This is also a great example showing how such a disparity doesn't lead to one-sided matches. While Lady J specializes in fighting Undead, Nicodem has several tricks allowing him to protect himself and his crews from Lady J's anti-undead abilities. Having to use them may be inconvenient, but it allows him to maintain a solid fighting chance.

[jwfortune]

An interesting debate over on that balance thread. Very long. I read a lot of the posts and there are many opinions.

It seems this is a young game, so there may be rules that are ironed out. However, the one difference that is noted in that thread is that to counter the inbalance in Masters, the game is based on objectives rather than a kill all mentality. Also, there is flexibility in who you take, which is decided after you know the scenario. Pretty cool.

I think it would be tough to have perfect balance in any miniature game. You need a more controlled enviornment - like a board game to get good balance probably.

But there are a ton of positives. The game seems to be growing in popularity, is interesting and different than other mini games, and is not terribly expensive to get into for a minis game.

[gru6y]

I've came across Malifaux and Wyrd while browsing cmon online store looking for some alternate models for my Wh40k army. Wyrd minis struck me as very original and full of character so when I read there is a game attached to it, I jumped straight to it.

So, for me it is the miniatures, first of all, but the ruleset is very fresh and has a great feeling as well, especially if you used to play other systems. Malifaux definitely plays like nothing else. Some of the minis can be a bit hard to put together and fragile (Viktoria the Swordmistress, Punk Zombies, Misaki, Judge) as they were designed as display pieces in the first place.

All in all, if you are looking for something different and less mainstream and you appreciate unmatched customer service, give it a go!

Cheers, gru6y

[CalmPlains]

Pros:

unlike most minis games actions go back and forth causing for their to be very little waiting for your turn. Less waiting.

Unique Story and style. Most minis games are Fantasy, sci-fi, or accurate historical. The setting\style is very different Western\Victorian\horror\fantasy.

Each master has a unique play style.

Relatively cheap to start. One crew plus Rules manual cost 100-120$ on average.

Game is not elimination based, its based around scoring VPs (strategies & Schemes). You can technically win after being eliminated (rare but possible).

All rules have been consolidated into a single Rules manual (15$).

Cons

Some master are not equipped to do all strategies & schemes easily.

- So if you are in the mood to play a certain master and get a bad strategy you either need to play with a disadvantage, or play a different master.

- Recommend getting 2 master with different skill sets. Not a huge con considering a crew is not too expensive.

Each master has a unique learning curve in order to play him properly.

Rules in book 1 & 2 (30$ each) are out of date, use rules manual(15$) for rules, but it does not have Fluff or model list. Book 3 due out at GenCon, new rules for avatars(&more??) set not in rules manual.

No Single FAQ for consolidated viewing, requires searching rules forum for clarity.

Not sure if Pro or Con

Malifaux is Crack in minis format.

+1

I am new to Malifaux as well, and just played my first game recently.

The game's biggest drawback is for people like me who want to know all the rules up front. The rules are disorganized, incomplete, and without a consolidated FAQ and Errata that is up to date. I see a lot of posts about rules that are flat out missing from rule books. I think fresh eyes (read: contract this out) are needed for the next attempt at a complete rule book. In my opinions, you really do need all 3 books plus forums to get a complete picture of the game and rules.

All that being said, the game is HELLA FUN, and this makes up for any and all shortcomings it would seem. There is a strong online community here on the Wyrd forums, and where the rules lack, the veterans can fill in the gaps for you. The model line is quite good for a newer company (and they have great painters). The models look great on the tabletop, and the small play surface 3'x3' combined with the use of tons of terrain and cards instead of dice, all come together for a very fresh experience that I am really digging and think you will too!

The game has its own sense of balance: not all masters can be all things, BUT each faction has a good selection of masters for the many scenarios. So balance is achieved through the randomness of encounters, and the availability of choices of masters (chosen AFTER strategies are drawn). In a straight up kill the other team game, with no terrain on the board, the balance will be way off, but if you stick to the randomized strategies for victory, and have plenty of terrain on the board, you'll be far better off.

Have fun at Gencon, wish I could be there as well

Cheers

CP

[Koschai]

Though fairly new to the game myself (a few months now) I have completely fallen for it and have not touched my GW models for what seems like an age.

The plus side for me, aside from the models which are beautiful and the rules which are innovative, is the setting. Most games fall into a cliche. Post Apocalypse, High Fantasy, D&D esq, Elves in Space, Classic Sci Fi, etc. Even Steampunk and Cyberpunk are getting their share of the limelight these days however Malifaux manages to be different.

Combining creepy babies, demons, zombies, zombie hookers, French showgirls, wild west, Victorian England, steampunk, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Witch hunters, Anime, creatures from the Island of Doctor Moreau and a little boys nightmares... all into one fluid setting with enough coherency to actually have some pretty rock solid fanfic developing is quite an achievement.

The other major draw for me is that most games while they have different armies all play in a fairly similar manner dependant on the game system. Yes some are more assault to other's gun line, some more magic to others more physical however the patterns are easy to see and due to cost and army size once you invest your committed to that path. Malifaux on the other hand allows such a huge variation of play styles you just never end up in that kind of a constraint and if you want a complete change it’s not that expensive.

Most of us have so many masters, simply because we can! So in summary, unique setting and varied game play combined with great models, solid rules and a cheap entry point.

The downside if there is one is that the rules, while being recently consolidated into one book though errata’s and FAQ’s are not always simple to locate, are a little encouraging to rules lawyers. Most games aim to have a “spirit of the law” approach. Some players will look for loopholes in wording but they are shunned and the companies try to emphasize the spirit over the letter. Malifaux though kind of forces upon itself the letter of the law. Read any tactica, listen to any podcast, read the forums or just interact with players and you quickly come across situations where the difference between does damage and does wounds is huge. The difference between summoned and placed is a massive deal. While in the English language two words may have the exact same meaning, the choice of word will completely change how that rule or that model interacts with others.

This focus on the letter of the rules has not, to my knowledge, caused any serious game issues beyond confusion to newbies (easily rectified) yet however if Wyrd slips on their proof reading there is the potential that it might. Thankfully to date they have been very proactive in working with the community to make changes. The downside of course is that if a model comes out in a book, then is updated for the card (as many are) that rather diminishes the value of the rule book making it almost feel like a beta test document.

An example here would be the Avatar’s that are coming out prerelease at Gencon and in the latest book Twisting Fates. Might we see V2 cards come out later when the models go officially on sale leaving those with the book or the early released models out on a limb.

Overall though these are mild criticisms for what is an amazing and addictive game and I would say yes, jump into the game!

[Soundwave]

Pros:

Zombie hookers

Cons:

Needs more zombie hookers.

[WookieeGunner]

To CalPlains comment about needing all 3 books I want to make sure you understand that the Rules Manual replaces the rules in Book 1 and Book 2 and a lot of the confusion in the game has been cleaned up by this transition.

Now to answer your question, the thing that I love about Malifaux is the Cheating Fate mechanic. I am a very tactical player who likes to plan things out. So having the ability to know what my flip will be before I touch the deck due to being able to replace the random card with a known card from my hand is a huge plus in my mind.

[striker8]

Pros:

Zombie hookers

Cons:

Needs more zombie hookers.

If I didn't already play that would probably set the hook right there! lol

I took to the game for a few reasons. First off it's an actual skirmish game, meaning outside a few masters your force is generaly 10 mini's or less. It also means I could have all my mini's painted and looking good in a week or two.

The card mechanic is a pleasant change from dice and gives a different feel.

I love the mini's and the setting has a depth that gets you identifying with the characters that populate it.

The last reason, and one that relates to my love of mini's in general was even if I didn't like the game I wasn't out much and still had some nice mini's.

Now at this point I want to put this comment I saw a few times about how the rules are convolutued. In the first book I think most of us will agree the organization was daunting at times and out right maddening at others, but with the release of the rules manual that is all in the past. The rules manual is very well organized and even if you can't find something were you think it would be, the index will put you right on it.

[Bienivrai]

I love to play with cards instead of dice. The ressource management aspect with your hand to cheat fate is great!

Love the universe and the chatacters of malifaux. Minis are very good quality also.

Some masters are indeed better than other but if you focus on objectives you can still beat stronger masters.