Special Events and Terrains

[karavak]

I was curious about how people play their games.

In almost all the battle reports I've read, the games I've played and, of course, the few tournies I've played in special terrain and events have never been used.

So I'm curious is to how many people do use them or is it a "nice idea" but not practical since there is a growing level of competitiveness to this game and people tend to play more in a tournie mind-set and not a really casual "let's play the story" mind-set. At least as I have seen.

Our group has been using the special terrains/events every once in a while and they tend to lead to some colorful games for sure.

Thoughts?

Edited January 30, 2012 by karavak

[Wolfgar]

I'd like to see special terrain get more love, personally.

[Cadilon]

We've used them in the past just as a brief departure from the Gaining Grounds Rules. I always feel like I am in training for one tourney or another so I hate to do it. We tend to avoid these generally because they often give a greater advantage to one side or the other and we are looking for more evenly matched games. I've always looked at them as another option to explore later as I inevitably become bored with standard games.

[Bruglyother]

Our group only uses them once in a while, and I think this is a shame. So, I'm taking steps to correct this. I'm running an escalation league, where the main purpose is to fully familiarize yourself with ALL aspects of the game. So, certain weeks are REQUIRING special features.

I'm also running a tourney where I am including special features in the missions. It's challenging to set this up in such a way as to not overly favor one side, but I'm enjoying the challenge.

And on top of that, our local store owner hosts monthly lock-ins for various activities. I've managed to get one of them for MAlifaux, and I am setting up something real special for it, including special features and some funky missions. The Lock-ins are generally less competitive and more fun, so I am less concerned about balancing it all the way.

I'll be posting more about these things in my blog as they happen, so feel free to check out how it works. I personally would love to see the special features more often, even if it's just remembering to flip on the location chart each game, in or out of tournies.

[Wolfgar]

Our group only uses them once in a while, and I think this is a shame. So, I'm taking steps to correct this. I'm running an escalation league, where the main purpose is to fully familiarize yourself with ALL aspects of the game. So, certain weeks are REQUIRING special features.

I approve of this.

[JayBarlekamp]

I played a game last week that we flipped the random event (I can't remember the name) which changes all 13's into 1's and vice versa. It was awesome and my opponent and I both wound up doing spectacular things, and failing miserably, because of it. We have already decided that our next tournament will have that special event in one round.

[mythicFOX]

We used them when we were learning Malifaux now not so much. There's still a full set of Book One special terrain in the Malifaux terrain box at the club.

A couple of UK events used them last year, I wasn't a massive fan of this though. Neither was my round one opponent when I got Collodi into a Campsite. Mwahahahaha!

The problem tends to be that the terrain/event seems to give one side an advantage or not do anything worth worrying about.

[Bruglyother]

The problem tends to be that the terrain/event seems to give one side an advantage or not do anything worth worrying about.

But how is this any different than strategy selection? In many pairings, you can run into the situation where the strategy either favors one side, or is not an issue for either side. Using the terrain and features simply offers new wrinkles. Yes, they may not always be an issue, and they may sometimes favor one side, but that's the nature of the game. I'd rather play something with flavor, even in a tournament. The trick is for the TO to do this without letting it be too overbearing.

[brdparker]

We play every game with a random event, and thoroughly enjoy them.

I played a game last week that we flipped the random event (I can't remember the name) which changes all 13's into 1's and vice versa. It was awesome and my opponent and I both wound up doing spectacular things, and failing miserably, because of it. We have already decided that our next tournament will have that special event in one round.

Ah, Dark Omens. I came across this one once, and we weren't sure how to play it. The way it's writ, (so said my opponent) it can be interpreted two ways:

Printed 1's are numerically 13's and weak cards

Printed 13's are numerically 1's and severe cards

(This was my interpretation, and I felt it was the correct one)

The player I was going against however, said that it was a complete swap:

Printed 13's are numerically 1's and weak

Printed 1's are numerically 13's and severe

The latter seems very pointless, as there is as much chance of the 1's coming up as 13's. It has little true effect on the game (only a minor effect on which cards to discard at end of turn), takes up the slot of special effect (which could be used on something more entertaining) and adds unneeded rule memorization. How did you guys play?

[karavak]

There are plenty of special's that give an advantage to one side or the other which is why I would expect those not to show up in a competitive environment.

I could see dangerous terrain being used more though..

But otherwise I like to use them to get us out of the "prepairing for the next tourney" mindset.

[Patchwork]

I use them almost every time in casual play. I think it can cause people to think more about what they should include in their crew, and try out different things. During our grow league I printed up cards for them to encourage people to use them more often. For tournaments I use them every table, every time.