Malifaux, is it your favorite?

[Mournafein]

I have been mini-gaming for about 12 years. That being said, I've been doing it since I was 10-11... Just for perspective. I started off in Warhammer 40k and Fantasy (Eldar and Warriors of Chaos, if you must know). But Malifaux is my favorite Mini-game... I love the themes, I love the rules, I love the story, and I love the models. It's rare that a battle in Malifaux is entirely one-sided (Without hope), from the get-go. I've yet to find a game that has so many different elements, yet maintained such a level of different tactics and balance.

My question: Is Malifaux YOUR favorite game? Why or why not?

:masks Thanks all! :crows

[ukrocky]

2nd Favourite. My favourite mini game was 7th ed fantasy, and always will be. Malifaux is my current joint-favourite (Along with LoTR Skirmish)

[Jonas Albrecht]

It used to be.

[dgraz]

Yes. No question. I'm going to seem like a rabid fan-boy here but:

Everything about it appeals to me. The size of the game is perfect. Backstory is great. Miniatures are awesome. Artwork is awesome. Card mechanic is great. The rule-set is great. So many great characters...........even the ones I don't like (that I choose not to play with), I like. The way Wyrd interacts with us is great. The community is (mostly) great. There is so much coolness.....the homage's to so many things, the comedy, the cleverness.....I mean - the Warpig actually says Porkchop Express inside! How cool is that?

Seriously, there is not one thing that doesn't work for me. Everything clicks for me.

[osoi]

My favourite tabletop mini game ... yes. As with dgraz it ticks a lot of boxes for me.

[Ozz]

Yes for me also, basically repeating most of what dgraz said, so little point in saying much more:)

The game is just awesome, i love the story, and the fact that the game is small enough (5- 10 models generally?) that the story can come across in the game, unlike others. The models are great, and Wyrd have even produced the first and only model so far that i have enjoyed painting, but i diss like doing it less with Wyrd's minis than the other games i play, as the models interest me, and dont tend to have unnecessary detail like other models i have painted I like the fact that it has been relatively easy to join in on the forums and feel part of the community with so many great people here, and that shall do for now.

[Grifonetto]

So far, yes.

[Mournafein]

@Jonas: Why isn't it now?

And +Infinity to what Dgraz said. I love all aspects of Malifaux (Except Hamelin and Nekima's usefulness:price ratio!). I love the story, characters, and how they tie everything in together. I'd rather play Malifaux than any console/PC game. I've never been so enticed by Malifaux. Perfect game size, cheaper than many other Tabletop mini games, back story for everything, AND several different objectives and strategies and winning builds for each master? I'm all about that.

I'm more of a sword-swinging player, personally... But I really like how they tied in all of the steampunk, horror, and mech-magic type stuff, as well. The game is perfectly rounded, to me!

[Jonas Albrecht]

@Jonas: Why isn't it now?

I find myself more invested in the world and lore of Hordes lately, in addition to enjoying the mechanics. With Malifaux, I'm down to just enjoying the mechanics.

[Gruesome]

Malifaux #1

Warmachine #2

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40K (Yet, I still cannot get myself to sell)

[Dorian]

Im in complete agreement with you gruesome. Malifaux on top, i was debating starting dust or rebooting my hordes but since the hirdes communit is actually existent in my neck of the woods i went with that. Despite having almost no interest in 40k anymore i cant bring myself to sell it, though im probably going to dump my high elves.

[ThePandaDirector]

Never played Malifaux so can't really comment...but I will anyway =D

1. Puppet Wars (it has miniatures, get off my back!)

2. Lord of the Rings Skirmish (can't wait for the Hobbit)

3. 40K (I actually want to get back into it, but experiment with rules design)

So it's no surprise that I'm crazy for PW, but that's actually contradictory to my usual priorities. I've always rated fluff and atmosphere above gaming, which despite my lack of skill is even below painting in my interests. Yet apart from its amazing miniatures (which just got an upgrade), it is almost all game and very little fluff. But I suppose it holds a special place in my heart because it achieved what even Malifaux couldn't fully; getting me back into the hobby. But I look forward to giving my puppets their own fluff and creating my own stitched little world =]

LotR is currently my favourite TTG because it achieves a great balance between large and small scale battles. So I can have my army of Orcs and unashamedly enjoy treating them like a historical entity, but I can also access the individuality in the gameplay. If Wyrd ever achieve this level of balance then there's nothing that can keep me from the tabletop =D

And 40k... Well it was the game I started with and I guess I still prefer it to fantasy. But it's stuff like Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn novels that really captures my imagination and I want to try and play around with applying mechanics from various games to that fluff. Also I will also love being able to personalise every single model (I have ambitious plans for a mutant freedom fighter army), so again, if Wyrd manage that, there's nothing that can keep me from buying every model =D

The ones that could have an impact but have not yet been fully experienced:

1. Malifaux (funny that...)

2. Sedition Wars (it was enough to rob me off $400)

3. Relics (just received my Britanan stuff and their super awesome)

So Malifaux caught my eye where others failed, and I still have my first purchases waiting for that first game. I think the story encounter packs might be the final push I need. It also led me to PW, which I'm very grateful for. Sedition Wars however is in the boardgame territory that I'm becoming increasingly smitten with and seems to have some decent fluff to back up its streamlined gameplay. That and the models are super sexy (baby drones!) Relics is one I'm not yet familiar with rules-wise, but while I got the Britanan starter (during Tor Gaming's IndieGoGo campaign) for use with Puppet Wars, I might have to actually play the game now.

I've been on the fence with Warmachine for a long time now, and have been close to getting a Kraye Cygnar and Kaya Orboros force (among others) too many times to count. I just hate too many of the models (ugly infantry, bland armour) and am strangely off put by the stereotype I "know" to be false.

[LordZombie]

Of all the games I have played, I would have to rate Malifaux as number one. It has it faults, but it is one of the few games I have ever played that I did not have fun playing. Even if you are getting totally tabled, it is quick enough to set up a new crew and strats and try again. Not something easily done with other games.

[rancor709]

It is my favorite! Very good game that keeps me coming back for more. I go through withdrawals. When i cantplay. While far drom perfect it is incredibly fun. Just dont take it too seriously.

[ThePandaDirector]

LordZombie's avatar just reinforces why PW is my favourite game =D

[Zombie Kitt]

Warmachine will always be my first true love. But I roll Malifaux around in my head when I should be concentrating at work.

The bit of games I like the most, is the story that unfolds around the rolls or flips, and it's that aspect where Malifaux really shines for me.

Crews are the right size and I like pretty much the entire range of minis. I like the mechanics and the wild swings of fate that the Jokers provide. Also, I have yet to play a pillock at Malifaux, something I sadly cannot say about WM or 40k (admittedly you're fishing in a bigger pond at that point, and I'm not having a pop at WM or 40k players, I am one.)

It's not perfect, but it is certainly my favourite.

[Ebonstar]

Malifaux is bar far my favorite game. Nothing else even comes close. Great mini's, good mechanics, good fluff, and well, chicks. Most other tabletop games out there are sausage-fests.

For me it's:

1. Malifaux

2. Blood Bowl

(300 miles of garbage)

(another 300 miles of garbage)

Some random GW/bad shoulders and names game.

[Cornelious1424]

Malifaux is the only game I haven't either sold all of my stuff or taken extended breaks from since I started playing it, a little after it's initial release. I'm with UkRocky as far as 7th ed fantasy goes, it was my game until 8th came out. That's when I really started to appreciate Malifaux for its awesomeness! Since then I don't think I've gone over two weeks with out playing a game. With all of this said, yes, Malifaux is my favorite game!

[Boardgameguy]

It's Malifaux for me.

I don't have a long pedigree of miniature gaming. I did get into Warmachine first (Cryx Rules!) a few years ago right after Mark II came out. Dropped a severs amount of money on models and then early January started Malifaux and fell in love with it.

Later last year our group kinda got into Dystopian wars but that didn't really last too long. I'm still loving Malifaux and hope to build up the community of players here. I'm doing a Malifaux demo night at our local LGS in 2 weeks.

[Cornelious1424]

I'm doing a Malifaux demo night at our local LGS in 2 weeks.

Sounds like you should talk to Justin about getting some cards above your head!

[MudgeBlack]

Malifaux #1

Warmachine #2

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40K (Yet, I still cannot get myself to sell)

dgraz pretty much said it all.

A big +1 there (6 40K armies collecting dust)

[Sybaris]

In the last 20 years, the list has changed alot...with 40k 2nd edition being my first miniature game.

Regardless, here's what it looks like today.

1. Bloodbowl, one of the best boardgame all round, and the large community just refuses to die after GW pulled the plug. With the game ported to pc almost entirely, it's even possible to find opponents outside the local circle. You're sometimes faced with nerve-crunching moments, but it is a bucket load of fun all things considered.

2. Lotr - SBG by games workshop, currently their most entertaining system which is only let down by the fact it is almost not played around here. We do not use the new warband system though.

3. Warzone system (mutant chronicles), definitely something that should have lived on, as the system was really great (actually close to malifaux, in many ways). It was based on a rpg, so you needed to balance the game yourselves (bits like inquisitor, but with point values). With a bunch of house rules, the game was a blast and the setting was very deep, while being familiar at the same time. It is dead now, mostly, but still holds a place in my list, and besides i have a huge collection to play with.

4. Malifaux. The system is awesome, the fluff too, but the game is new and it suffers from what i call the syndrome of "word law". There is too much detail and importance given to every single words in the rules and cards, which can lead easily to wrong interpretations...and an overabundance of rules to remember. So while the game is rising in my list, it depends on how it evolves from here. Also...Nekima behaving nothing like her fluff on the table was a turn off, .

5. Space Hulk. Excellent and very fun boardgame, in the same leagues as Blood Bowl but with less replayability. The 1993 pc games featuring the Deathwing was very, very hard and quite frightening (honestly!). It can still be played on DosBox if you can tolerate the pixels (i don't mind, myself).

6. Warhammer 40k, 2nd edition. I consider this edition as the most fun, but like warzone, it needed to be played in a "fun and casual" way. It wasn't well build tournaments or competitive play. I still own a demonic legion of slaanesh, but none of the ugly new models. Selling it would be very profitable on ebay atm lol, but i just can't stomach the idea

7. Warhammer Quest. Just a fun game to relax with non-gamer friends. Best at low levels, because afterward it's more "Administrator Quest" due to the stuff that must be noted.

[FoolWithTheFez]

I'm going to chip in and say, Yes. Malifaux is my favorite miniature game, but its a bit disingenuous as it the only one I play (and only the second I've ever played). But I did do quite a bit of research on other games before jumping into this one and chose Malifaux cause it looked awesome on every level. The game hasn't disappointed me.

[Orboros]

1. Malifaux

2. Hordes

3. Infinity

And i'm starting to get into Dark Age right now. Still Malifaux is the game, i had the most fun with/invested the most time and money in/ where i actively built up a community.

[nix]

I glanced at this thread a couple times and each time decided not to post in it. I even wrote up a whole blog-post in the interim talking about being a fan (in a back-handed sort of way). Like a moth to a flame, I just cannot resist the temptation to post here.

Yes, Malifaux is my favorite. There is no contest here, I play a ton of games and wish I could find the time and opponents to play more.

I started out years back playing 40K and the moved to WHFB. Both were fun games and introduced my to mini-wargaming. Prior to getting into 40K I had no interest in miniature games, in fact I was a RPG player who did not use miniatures.

I was a die-hard GW game player, with extensive investments in Eldar, Tyranids, Dwarves, Goblins, Dark Eldar, and High Elves. Warmachine and Hordes did not really strike my fancy for a long time, and I did not know about other games. I actually heard about Malifaux on a 40K podcast, and then further on the D6G. Both of those put a small "oh, that sounds interesting" kernel in my head and that kernel really didn't go anywhere.

Then my most-regular 40K opponent convinced me to come out and watch a game of Malfiaux. Funny enough, the first game I watched was actually a Playtest of some book 2 models. The game made absolutely no sense to me. None. Despite this, I was convinced to sit down with a crew of models and try the game out. I read over the cards, and looked at the models, and thought, meh. Then I started flipping the cards and playing the game. The person giving me the demo was horrible (he had played maybe 3 games plus 1 or 2 demo's). The guys who had played the game gave some advice then wandered away. Despite this, things clicked. I was in love with the game.

So, then comes buying models and starting to play. The more I played the more I wanted to play. It was a little like I imagine a drug addiction is like, without the negative side-effects. I bought more models, painted them, and tried to teach my wife to play. That went badly. I decided I wanted to be a better teacher, so focused on how to do demo's. I became a henchman.

Now, the guy who originally introduced me to my first Malifaux game has quit (literally Rage Quit in the middle of a tournament) and does not play. The game is "too complicated and unbalanced" so he finds it unfun. Those guys who were play-testing and passively taught me the game are now my regular play group. I am a henchman and have grown the local community respectably. I travel for tournaments to both play and help out with them.

Yes, its my favorite.

But, I still have a disturbing amount of Eldar on 3 shelves of my miniature cabinet. I have a less disturbing 1 shelf of Dwarves. I have an entire Highelf army in a box waiting to be painted. I actually have a significant amount of Hordes (Legion) that I do not play.

Will I play other games, yes. I play board games with my family, I play Puppet Wars with my daughter and friends. I have less than a dozen Hordes games under my belt as well. I enjoy Hordes, its probably ahead of 40K or Fantasy for me right now. I really dislike the model design for Warmachine as a whole though. I also dislike the majority of the hordes factions. The only models I really like are in the Legion range. This makes it tough as I have to look at models on the other side of the table as well.

So, my ranking:

1. Malifaux

A fair drop then:

2. Puppet Wars

3. Variety of board games such as BSG and SDE.

a significant drop then:

4. Hordes

then an unmeasured drop and:

5. 40K and Fantasy

**Holy crap thats a book to read. I am starting to infringe on Panda-space.