Crona452 Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 My local game store has about a dozen people getting into Maulifaux right now and I'm trying to decided on a master. We've agreed on starter box only until we get the basics down so is the box worth getting beyond that, as in are the pieces competitive in 35ss+ games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Eyes Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 A Marcus crew is VERY strat/scheme oriented. The models in the box will help you in some and not so much in others. IMO, the Tiger is the best model in the box set and makes it into almost every crew regardless of strat/scheme; Myranda & the Rattler, not so much. I will say that to use Marcus effectively, he needs access to Beasts across ALL factions. Shikome's, Night Terrors, Waldegeists, Sluridds as well as more of the Beasts in his own faction; Molemen, Blessed of December, among others.. and Marcus probably has one of the most annoying totems in the game, The Jackalope, and at 1ss, he should see time in any crew. Marcus can definitely be competitive BUT he has a much steeper learning curve then most other Masters. For some extra Marcus schooling, you should check out the Gamer's Lounge Podcast (Episode 58) and also the tactica at pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com Good Luck & Welcome to the Wyrdness!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crona452 Posted August 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 I need to stop liking masters that want million options lol. Are Myranda and the rattler at least playable in some strats/schemes or are they generally unplayable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
011121 Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 I kind of like the box but I'm in the minority, I love miranda and the rattler together as there's a very over the top combination to do with her in rattler form. The cerberus is decent. You'd almost certainly want silurids or night terrors as speedy guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozz Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 They are always playable, a friend at my club says he almost always takes the Rattler (forgot why) but he said he can always find a use for it with its crazy charge range (wk/cg 4/12) Sort of odd but makes it faster:) Just they are not always optimal, and as said Marcus has such a range of minions, and he likes to chose the right ones at the right time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Eyes Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 They are definitely playable in the right circumstances... Myranda's "Transform" ability make her very useful in a lot of situations and she has Scout & Melee Expert on top of that.. but she is not very survivable... Say for example, if you're playing the Arcanist "Sabotage" Scheme, transform her into a Shikome, have her fly across the board, stay out of sight, and sabotage the piece in the 2nd or 3rd turn... easy 2pts. The Rattler is useful for taking on crews with a lot of small, easy to kill minions... he has a (1) Charge "towards the closest enemy model" and if he kills it in one hit, he can (1) action charge something else. Plus he has a 12" charge range... he's most useful in strats like Slaughter because he's pretty much just a melee beat-stick. Beyond that he doesn't have the speed to keep up with Marcus in strats where you have to get across the board... which is a lot of them... and the reason he doesn't get a lot of love. My thing with both of them together is, that's 14ss, which will leave you outnumbered against probably EVERYONE and being outactivated is never a good thing.. I should point out that Transform on Myranda is extremely difficult to get off, there are only 6 cards in the deck that will get it off.. probably another reason she doesn't see a lot of use.. in most cases you can get a beast at the same ss cost that will do the job for her just as good, if not better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crona452 Posted August 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Thanks a lot. After reading the wiki I'm going to start with Marcus and go from there. Considering both night terrors and shikome are playable with him it makes it easy to move into Kirai and silurids come in zoraida's box set which adds another option . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukrocky Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Apologies to poop on the parade. The starter box is absolute trash, 2 of the minions are useless, and one was useable, but was replaced recently by a model that does the same job, but better. So to answer. No. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephalumps Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Sad to say, but I agree with unrocky here (sad for the models, that is.) Myranda is a toolbox model, but her rules are way too clunky to work well in the current environment (you can tell how early she was designed.) Every time I brought her along, I'd rather have just spent the SS on something good right out of the gate. The Rattler has decent rules, but he's priced above his weight class, especially since it tends to get one good round of attacks in (that don't to a lot of damage,) and then die. The Cerberus can be useful, but as unrocky said there's pretty much an in-faction replacement available that's better a majority of the time. And from what I hear, the new book has an Outcast model that's also a solid Beast beater in that SS bracket. If you want to start Marcus, I commend your bravery. *wink* But I also would highly advise against buying his crew box. All of the minions contained therein need various degrees of retooling before they'll be really useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 I'm on board with ukrocky and nephalumps. Box set is a waste.....I've haven't used any of those models in ages. The comment about Myranda transforming into a shikome and getting the VP quickly can be accomplished easier with 3ss Night Terrors. I would stay away from the box. The alt Marcus is a way cooler model than the original...everything for Marcus should be done with blisters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephalumps Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 I would stay away from the box. The alt Marcus is a way cooler model than the original...everything for Marcus should be done with blisters. Plus, his Alt model looks much more like his Avatar, so it matches up when you use the two together. Wait, what does his Avatar do again? *aww* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukrocky Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Plus, his Alt model looks much more like his Avatar, so it matches up when you use the two together. Wait, what does his Avatar do again? *aww* Funniest thing I've read today. Thankyou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Hahahaha!!! Marcus has an Avatar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephalumps Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Yes. One of it's Manifest requirements is: set $30USD on fire. :-P I'm mainly bitter because I bought it, rules unseen, during the GenCon online sale last year. I was really excited that it was going to change his game up, or at least be interesting. My blind faith was not rewarded. The model is pretty nice though, if on the unexpectedly small side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraz Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Yes. One of it's Manifest requirements is: set $30USD on fire. :-P I'm mainly bitter because I bought it, rules unseen, during the GenCon online sale last year. I was really excited that it was going to change his game up, or at least be interesting. My blind faith was not rewarded. The model is pretty nice though, if on the unexpectedly small side. Same here. Except I don't particularly care for the model either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniddy Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 See I want to defend the box....but I can't Cerberus is outclassed (but I still like it as a hunting partner with a Shikom) The Rattler is so,so at best....the range is nice, it's mediocre - I take it sometimes but it's rare and more for newb games or people testing stuff And yeh Myranda is not worth taking unless you plan far too much around her (Rouge necro and her to have a decent copy spell lawyer works too or beasting Ramos/raspy or Mctavish) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 Although I like the sculpt of Marcus from the box set better than the alternate.I intend to use the upper half of the alt sculpt to convert/scratchbuild an avatar since I dont like the current "pensive centaur with a stick and his pet rock" I'm going to have to also recommend against buying the boxed set for many of the reasons cited most importantly, obsolescence for the game. Definitely still buy the box if you just want to paint and hobby these models cause they are still excellent. Myranda was "indefinitely borrowed" from my collection by a particularly rabid SavageWorlds RPGer for example... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decker_cky Posted August 17, 2012 Report Share Posted August 17, 2012 I think the marcus box is best thought of as a box for Myranda and things she can do well transformed into. If she can transform into a rattler early, she has some fun tricks she can use. The cerberus is still one of the better things for her to transform into when she's in the thick of things (cerberus is better early, mauler is better when she's taken some wounds). And while I like the alternate a bit more, the old marcus sculpt is still quite good, and happens to be a free throw-in in the Myranda box set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Indio Posted August 18, 2012 Report Share Posted August 18, 2012 Really? I actually like the original Marcus model better than the resculpt. He looks more driven and hermit-like than the bellowing shaman. More like someone who might cooperate with Ramos. I don't own Marcus yet, but I've read a lot about him, and I think it's worth pointing out that he doesn't need to use beasts exclusively. He can use any Arcanist minions. Using only beasts leaves you woefully lacking in certain areas, like ranged support. Why not pick a few of the better beast options to start, then fill out the roster with more generic Arcanist pieces (Gunsmith, maybe)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephalumps Posted August 18, 2012 Report Share Posted August 18, 2012 El Indio (awesome name, btw,) that's actually exactly what you want to do with Marcus. It's what unrocky did to make Marcus an unholy terror of his competitive circuit, and I know I did a lot better when I started splashing in other models to Marcus' crew selection (Gunsmiths are pretty great, for example.) However, that's also why I'd recommend against the starter box. The beasts in there range from bad-to-okay, and in all honesty there isn't a one of them that I'd take over his other options. Which is a real shame, because I feel like Myranda should be an integral part of Marcus' crew, and the Cerberus and Rattler are very iconic of his aesthetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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