Levi vs Orphelia (20ss)

[Grenoir]

So, after months of painting, reading all the rulebooks, and nearly finishing my winter themed board, I finally got my first game of Malifaux. Luckily against someone playing their first game too, so we could make an equal number of mistakes and not feel totally dumb.

Going from fluff and look (and later finding out how difficult he’s supposed to be for beginners) I picked Leveticus;

Leveticus

Rusty Alice

3x Steampunk Abominations (SA)

Hollow Waif

(strangely, I couldn't get my camera to focus on Leveticus...)

My opponent went with the other crew I’d been painting up (and I’ve enjoyed painting them the most) the LaCroix gang;

Ophelia LaCroix

Rami LaCroix

Raphael LaCroix

Pere Ravage

There are photos below of the setup. Leveticus had Claim Jump, while Orphelia had Treasure Hunt, and its diagonal deployment. No schemes for our first game.

Turn 1. Leveticus gets initiative and starts with a pair of his SA moving up, one dragging the other. As each can only walk once their other action is usually to put up Anomaly, which is very useful against the guns of the gremlins.

Orphelia decides to run everyone up, Companioning the whole crew so they get prime positions for shooting and covering her with the treasure.

Leveticus finishes off his turn using Death’s Lessons (kept 1 high card), then using a soul stone to cast Unnatural Wasting on Orphelia right infront of her treasure. She has to burn one too to resist….and feels very out in the open… Alyce tries for a shot at her too but is out of range, so she finishes with Misdirection (so there’s actually very little the gremlins can shoot).

Turn 2. Leveticus gets initiative again and starts the same way with his SA pair moving up. The third one, on his own, follows at a slower pace. Alyce wasn’t within 3” so no extra cards (need to remember that one).

Orphelia decides she’s not going for glory with the treasure (not with it being out in the open like that) and uses Instinctual to drag Raphael after her (“ooo, a girl”) into the cover of some trees so he can activate with Companion, get the treasure and run off (“reckless”), also giving out “like herding squirrels” so if he is shot he can run further away. This has the intended effect on me not shooting Raphael this turn.

Alyce moves up and takes a shot at Ophelia but now she’s in soft cover, she misses. Francois moves towards the Abominations to take a shot but then realises he can’t due to Anomaly (which was amusing). Instead he decides to go into Defensive Stance (a mistake we realise later, as that needs to be declared as the first action). Another Companion activation allows Rami to move and cast Gremlin Sights on Leveticus but, while he’s in range and the spell is cast, he’s too far away to shoot with the Extra Long Rifle. By this point all the 3 SA have activated and are moving towards the claim jump counter so in rushes Pere with a Charge, severe damage to trigger the explosions, and a crater leaving just 2 scrap counters…. Levi responds with 2xNecrotic Unmaking and kills Pere! With Deaths Lessons, he kills himself to finish the turn. I summon the Waif just shy of 3 barrels for cover for the next turn …big mistake. (photos below taken before Levi returned and she got Summoned to the barrels on the right)

Turn 3. Now with 2 Scrap counters and 2 Corpse counters next to the Claim Jump marker (or bits of Blu-tac for the observant amoungst you).

Leveticus gets the initiative once more, and decides to activate first to change the scrap counters back to Abominations. That job done he promptly dies again. Raphael activates next and runs back to his deployment zone to bag the treasure but forgetting to Companion any other gremlin. Here’s me compounding my error – I activate an SA and charge Francois, doing no damage and triggering Squeal. What I should have done is get the Waif into cover!! In a burst of activity, Francois, Rami, and Ophelia all activate, kill the two new SA and then shoot the Waif dead too (“Bullet in the Head”) so I’m left with just Rusty Alyce. With the LaCroix gang already back in the deployment zone with the treasure and me with just 1 model, we call it a game there.

Both really enjoyed the game, though I’m wondering whether to stick with Leveticus for a bit or buy one of the 10T crews. Only problem then is whether I should get Lynch, Fei, or Misaki :-)

[ttsgosadow]

Nice battle report! The game is quite complex, so it's easy to miss things the first game. Given you take the time to paint a crew, get the 10T crew and keep playing Levi till it's finished up

[*Jack*]

A very fun report to read

Leveticus is really hard for people just familiarising themselves with the rules... I'd advise picking up one of those 10T masters, (they'd be lovely to paint up if nothing else) and learning the basics with them first, then going back to levvy. He also needs a lot of extra stuff to be able to be played how he should, so you'd probably actually spend more getting levi up to a playable crew than biting the bullet and grabbing another box set.

Gremlins look lovely painted and I love any bat rep with them in :')

[Omenbringer]

Wonderful Battle Report and great table.

If you do end up grabbing one of the Ten Thunders crews I would recommend either Misaki or Mei rather than Lynch (who is great but has a rather complex mechanic). Levi is a difficult Master to really learn (but very effective once done) controlling when he dies is key (as is understanding that he doesn't necesarily want to die every turn).

[DarcXON]

Wonderful Battle Report and great table.

If you do end up grabbing one of the Ten Thunders crews I would recommend either Misaki or Mei rather than Lynch (who is great but has a rather complex mechanic). Levi is a difficult Master to really learn (but very effective once done) controlling when he dies is key (as is understanding that he doesn't necesarily want to die every turn).

To be quite frank, I only think Levi doesn't want to die when there are no waifs on the table. Also remember that Leveticus is out there to support his crew. Support meaning killing whatever is in range. So next time you play him just butcher key models for the turn.

One thing I do recommend everyone that wants to start Leveticus, "Don't play with Abominations on the table!" When Malifaux was just beginning you could probably get away with it, but now it's just not a feasible thing to do effectively. In fact the only time I see it work is when playing newer players.

[Grenoir]

Just had another game tonight (I'll write it up later in the week) with the same crews - without spoiling the result, I did better but, yes, think I would find it easier to focus on Stratagies and Schemes without worrying where Leveticus was going to reappear if (or when) he resurrected. Oh well, something else to buy and paint ;-)

[CRC]

In order to keep Levi alive, you really should buy a 2 pt Canine Remains and turn it into a second Waif at the earliest opportunity.

Also, I should mention, that when Levi's dead, the Waifs can't move. If you plan on letting him die during his activation, he should companion them, and activate them first so they can hide properly.

Finally, most of the time, you shouldn't actually kill Levi during his activation. Just get him down to exactly 1 Wd left so that Unstable Necromancy kills him at the end of the turn. Not only does this let your Waifs continue to act, it means that if the unthinkable happens, and all the Waifs die, you can use a Soulstone damage prevention flip to save him...

[Omenbringer]

To be quite frank, I only think Levi doesn't want to die when there are no waifs on the table. Also remember that Leveticus is out there to support his crew. Support meaning killing whatever is in range. So next time you play him just butcher key models for the turn.

As CRC says in his post, controlling when Levi dies during the turn is very important to learning him.

He definately doesn't want to die with no waifs on the table however there are also plenty of times you wouldn't want to do this even with 1 or 2 on the table. The more an opponent plays against Levi the easier it is to set up these situations especially if Levi activates early in the turn.

[DarcXON]

Just had another game tonight (I'll write it up later in the week) with the same crews - without spoiling the result, I did better but, yes, think I would find it easier to focus on Stratagies and Schemes without worrying where Leveticus was going to reappear if (or when) he resurrected. Oh well, something else to buy and paint ;-)

Do you plan on getting more significant models for Levi + a dog or are you going full 10t? I'm curious about this since you mentioned that would be a possible route. Leveticus gets a lot more fun when you start mixing up models from other factions, and he usually does better at the 35 point level. Also I can't help but reiterate, do not start with abominations on the table.....please!

[sharpobjects]

You need 2 hollow waifs. Its a standard for Levi. Add a doggie to the list so you can make the 2nd one turn 1.

[Grenoir]

So, game two, same crews – I got most of the replies (thanks for the feedback!) to my first battle report while this game was going on, so didn’t really get to implement any of the tips but also I don’t have a Canine Remains model yet…..or anything to use instead of Abominations (and yes, I quickly came to the conclusion myself I really don’t want to hire these to start the game with).

I get Treasure Hunt and Ophelia gets Destroy the Evidence. The terrain is similar to the last game – sorry, no photos this time.

Turn 1. Learning some lessons from the first game, I keep Alyce closer to Leveticus to get the extra two cards (I manage this all game, which I was happy I remembered and managed to do) and the Waif nearby, hidden in some woods. Everyone moves towards my Treasure marker, the Abominations in one group, Levi and Alyce off to the side in another.

Orphelia activates and drags Raphael and Francois in a group down the left flank heading for the first of their Evidence markers. The 2 male gremlins then activate and move ahead of her. Pere and Rami move off towards my treasure, hugging trees for cover.

Turn 2. Pere and Rami again move towards the Treasure marker while Ophelia hangs back and lets Raphael and Francois break for the Evidence, stopping just an inch or two short. My Abominations still move towards the Treasure (wow, they are slow) while Levi and Alyce, in the cover of a building, swing towards the group heading to the Evidence marker. Levi manages to get an Unnatural Wasting off onto Raphael for a few wounds.

Turn 3. I really wanted to get initiative as I was planning on having Alyce move over to the Evidence and plant boooby traps…but I didn’t. Instead, Francois moves up and destroys it. In retaliation Alyce stands still and Rapid Fires at Raphael, before he can make a healing flip with Gremlins Bleed Green, killing him. Rami shoots and injures 2 of the 3 Abominations heading for the Treasure, while Pere moves right up next to the marker ready to charge or shoot them some more next turn. Leveticus activates and, with Unnatural Wasting and Necrotic Unmaking, kills Francois and summons another Abomination before dying. That Abomination walks and engages Ophelia but she easily disengages and walks towards the centre (hiding around the same building Levi and Alyce were behind).

Turn 4. Ophelia gets initiative again, and starts by having Rami shoot and kill two Abominations before they can activate and put up Anomaly. Ophelia, peeking around the building, injures another. Pere then activates, charges the last SA, kills it, and uses Reckless to run into contact with the 2nd Evidence marker. Companion really helps the Gremlins get shots and attacks off before I can activate and get Anomaly up!

Needing to kill Pere before he can activate again, Levi wanders out of the forest he’d resurrected in, gets line of sight and casts Necrotic Wasting and then, as Pere has just 2 wounds left, Entropic Transformation (burning soul stones to make sure) to kill him off and get another Waif (had to proxy this one).

Turn 5. I need to get that Treasure! My Abominations had slowly made their way towards it before being gunned down easily once they were in range. Alyce makes two walks towards it and puts up Misdirection hoping the cover will keep her safe….no, Ophelia gets her easily with Dirty Shots and she dies. Still needing to get that Treasure, Levi sends 1 Waif forward hoping to resurrect from her, nearer the Treasure, if we get another go.

Now, Levi is a little in the open after his desperate play to stop Pere destroying the Evidence marker, and the Waif is right out in the open hoping that she can dodge bullets from Rami….no (again). Rami, guns down the Waif, guns down Levi, and with a Reckless shot followed by a flip of the Red Joker (of all times) shoots dead the other Waif hidden in hard cover behind barrels! Only one Abomination left, miles from my Treasure

Turn 6. Ophelia walks 3 times with Reckless to get into contact with Evidence but needs Turn 7 to Interact and destroy it. Flips a card, no turn 7.

So the game ends in a 0-0 draw.

Good game, and again a good learning experience. We’ll add in Schemes next game, as we’re getting more used to the models rules.

If I keep going with Leveticus I need a Canine Remains to make a second Waif, and a replacement for my Abominations. Really seeing that I need something that can move a bit faster as the Gremlins were racing round 15”-18” when they wanted to get somewhere. Any suggestions on what to go with?

I hamper myself somewhat with choices as I also need to like the model, rather than just get it for it’s ability. Nicely I think the new 10T range is all brilliant!

[Paddywhack]

Nice battle reports and pictures (though shame for not having pictures on the 2nd report). I really like your crews - nice painting and the board looks good. That Sarrissa precision stuff is great. I only have 1 so far, but plan on getting several more of various sizes for a nice town.

[Adran]

I would consider going with a 4th abomination. The 4 can move 12" on the first turn, and then form into a desolation engine, hopefully near enough to the enemy to wreck havoc. The aim is that by the time it dies, it has created 2 new abominations to create a new desolation engine.

Its tough in a 20pt game, but for 25 should work.

For fast movement there are all the riders as options, or necropunks.

[CRC]

Abominations are not slow. Because of the way they push (you can move the others to anywhere in base-to-base contact), you can move three up to 15" in one turn, and if you have four, you have have a DE make a melee attack can place 28" from the nearest SPA ( fourth SPA ends 19" forward, summon another 2", walk 5", 2" reach ).

However, SPAs aren't very good. If you're starting with them on the table, your plan should be to form the Desolation Engine. Try to keep them safe and hidden until you're ready.

As for new models to add, the conventional opinions are Ashes and Dust, or Collodi. Both add mobility and killy-ness, but of different kinds.

Other good options abound. For a start there's all the riders. I prefer the Dead Rider and the Mechanical Rider, but there are uses for the others.

Guild Watchers are very good for objectives.

Molly has her uses, and lets you take a totem.

Jack Daw can work well once you learn how to use him.

Rotten Belles are strong models in any list.

Bête Noire was very popular a while ago, but I haven't heard much of her recently.

There's lots more information of all kinds on Pull My Finger

[Grenoir]

My problem with thinking Abominations were slow was that I beleived (wrongly) that Keep Pace only dragged one model forwards, and that it was then at the back, not all of them together and anywhere in B2B contact.

Still only playing small games at the moment so will save 13ss Ashes and Dust for the future. Thinking of trying a Necropunk and Lazarus in the next game, if I can get them painted (plus a Canine Remains) - I don't like playing with unpainted models.