Wave 2 Beta Guild Wrap-Up

[AgentRock]

Continuing my series of articles on the Wave 2 models at the end of the beta, here's my post on the Guild. 

 

 

Feel free to comment and tell me what I got wrong so I can fix it. Happy reading. 

[hypoking]

You changed your formatting?

[knghtpiper]

What did you think about the Riflemen?

[AgentRock]

I did. I like the more dynamic layout, but I may switch back. The black and white is a little bland.

 

I wasn't blown away by the riflemen. Damage 1/2/4 doesn't exactly impress. It looks like it would require pairing them with another guardsmen just to get the extra ram for critical and give them a normal damage spread, which I don't love. You're going to need to focus every turn for their abilities, so they're going to need Lucius or something to give them back that AP. I don't know, I just wasn't impressed. 

[4thstringer]

What are your feelings on Lucius and Ryle?  I have so far really enjoyed them, but I am a fairly new player, so I might be overestimating their abilities.

[Dirial]

What are your feelings on Lucius and Ryle?  I have so far really enjoyed them, but I am a fairly new player, so I might be overestimating their abilities.

 

In a discussion of strong models, Leaders are a difficult topic. They should be on a comparable level with all other leaders. Lucius should be fun to play and able to achieve victory against all other masters in all scenarios. Sure, there will be hard match-ups and difficult scenarios, but all should be achievable and none should be overly easy. In essence, each blog post about Wave 2 strong models could start with "The Guild gets 3 new Masters, each plays very different, so watch out for them."

 

In this regard, it's always difficult to point out strong models in Malifaux (and other games, as well). It's all about context. The models that are very powerful regardless of context (i.e. in all scenarios, with each Master) are likely too strong over all. Are riflemen good? Sure, with the right setup they are devastating. Are they the same with Lucius or Perdita? Probably not. Perdita doesn't need the kind of ranged attack they bring as much as Lucius does.

 

That said, the models I think are very strong in Wave 2:

Lawyer (versatile supporters, Guild needs more of that)

Pale Rider (he is a powerhouse, but you pay for it)

Watcher (great objective runner, Guild is in need of some)

Brutal Effigy (he is great with every master, save the Wave 2 ones.... hmmm....)

Riflemen (I like how they turned out)

 

Sorry for the somewhat philosophical mood. It's just that I think the game is rather well balanced, and outstandingly strong models are just the opposite of that. Thus, my list includes models that do things Guild lacks. Also, a friend of mine got a really cool job, and we were celebrating with lots of beer. Go figure.

[AgentRock]

What that guy said. The masters are so complex, I thought it would be best for them to get individual attention with their own articles. Lucius actually seems to be right up my alley, as I'm a Neverborn player and I appreciate crews that come at you sideways and are very focused on the objectives of the game. Ryle can shoot things to death in a hurry, but in the small amount of test-play I got with him he drew a ton of attention and got killed rather quickly. It wasn't a construct crew, however, so he didn't have scrap to heal off of. That could make a difference.