Choosing the right crew

[pxsaber]

Hello,

 

as i stumbled uppon Malifaux and spread the word across my local gaming group. As you can imagine after seeing the beautiful miniatures, everyone is totally into the game

 

I ordered the Rulebook yesterday, which is already on shipping.

 

But as i dont know much about the rules yet, iam bit confused about crews, factions and which master can use certain minions.

 

I really like the asian / chinese / japanese setting in Malifaux, so iam about to choose one of those crews. But as i really really want Izamu the Armor within my crew, iam not sure about who can use him.

 

My most appreciated box right now is Misaki´s crew. But is she able to use all the other 10T units? And isnt Izamu actually a Ressurectionists minion?

 

Hope you can clearify my questions about how a crew is put together and what resctrictions i face with the different factions, because iam a little confused by those multiple faction masters.

 

Thanks in advance, and iam eagerly awaiting my rulebook to arrive

Greetings,

 

Saber

[Dracomax]

Anything 10 thunders Master can use any model that is 10 Thunders, if they declare 10 Thunders as their faction. Most of the 10 thunders masters are dual faction, and have to declare 10T, or their other faction when hiring crew. They have upgrades that let them choose certain models regardless of declared faction.

 

Izamu is dual faction Resser/10T, and goes best with Yan Lo. However, any 10T master, including Misaki, can take him so long as they declare 10T.

Edit: SpiralingCadaver

said it much better below.

 

You can tell they are dual faction by the 2 seals in the upper right corner of the card. The orange/tan Oni mask is 10T, the green seal is Resser, so he can be hired in both.

 

I'd start with the Misaki Box, 1-2 other models, and try combinations in a couple of games to get a feel for the box crew and what they are good at. then, I'd look for specific models to fill in the strategies where you are weaker. Then I'd do the same things for schemes.

 

Remeber, As my signature says, a fixed list is good for learning, but the game is designed around building a new crew each game to fit your objectives, rather than just picking one crew and playing them constantly.

[SpiralngCadavr]

There are 39 masters, 10 of these are dual faction, which means they can be fielded as leaders of more than one faction; the others can only lead their faction (Misaki can be either TT or outcast).

 

The majority of models can only be fielded in one faction, but can be fielded by anyone in the faction. The exceptions are:

-dual faction models (same as above. Izamu is both Ten Thunders and Resurrectionist, so misaki can field him if she's playing as TT)

-mercenaries (which cost extra out of their native faction, and are mostly from Outcasts)

-most totems and a few other models that can only be fielded with their masters, which all come with their respective masters

-some masters allow specific models or models with a given trait to be fielded from any faction (ex: misaki can field Last-Blossom models regardless of primary faction)

-a very limited number of non-masters allow you to do the same

[pxsaber]

Wow you guys are fast

 

Thank you very much. That helped me a lot. I guess the cards for almost any existing character is inside the rulebook?

Or where else you get to see the cards to know if they can join your crew?

 

On wyrd´s shop you cant see that Izamu is Res/TT, he is only green colour labeled.

 

Oh and i got another questions regarding the box releases.

 

As Misakis crewbox seems to be released before 2nd Edition, i assume that the cards needed to play her and her crew, arent inside the box?

Do i need a arsenal box for TT then? And are dual faction models in both arsenal boxes?

 

Thanks again for your answers i cant wait to get the rulebook in my hands

[Dracomax]

There are 3 waves of models ATM. Only Wave 1 are in the book, but all wave one models are also in the arsenal packs of the appropriate faction(with dual faction models being in the primary faction).

 

Wave 2 can be found here: http://wyrd-games.net/community/files/file/53-malifaux-wave-2-cards-low-rez/ These are official and tournament legal.

 

Wave tree are currently in beta, and can be found in the appropriate beta forum. These consist of upgrades and avatars, and are not necessary at all to a new player.

 

IIzamu is wave 2.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Sure!

 

The reason Izamu is only green on the store is he used to only be resser and is now dual faction, so you're looking at last edition's box art.

 

Misaki, it depends if you got the updated box or not- I've heard the updated ones have a M2E sticker on them, though I haven't seen one. If you get an old box, yeah, you need the arsenal deck and Dracomax covered the rest of that.

[Gorbad]

You might want to get an arsenal deck anyway, as it includes the generic upgrade cards as well. And although they are in the rulebook, it might be handy to have the cards for them. Certainly not essential, but could be handy.

[pxsaber]

Thanks a lot guys. You really help me getting into it

 

And thx Gorbad for your advice, i guess i will buy an arsenal deck together with the starting box. But i wanted to view a few stats and fluff of those characters before i decide which crew i pick to start.

 

As we are about 6-7 people who are starting the game, there will be a little fight about the cool crews i guess

 

Are there any recommendations from you, whats good to start with? Beside that i always play what i think, looks cool.

 

But is there a little overview somewhere to get a feeling, how the different factions are played? And what are schemes?

 

lots of questions, haha! But im really addicted right now

[Hateful Darkblack]

This tool is also very handy for determining who can hire what: http://www.malifaux.com/M2eCrew.php

[pxsaber]

Ahh very handy tool to experiment some possible crew boxes

 

am i right, that if for example i choose Misaki and play her as Outcast, her entire crew box is usesless because she is only allowed to pick crew members marked as Outcast then?

 

So it merely depends on the crew within the box and not the master, what i gonna start to play with?

 

Lets say, i decide to buy the McCabe box (wich i really like the style and the opportunity to play guild models aswell) and Izamu, i cant combine them, because McCabe needs to be 10T to use Izamu but his crewbox is all guild?

 

 

And another question about those Totems. Does every Master have a totem? and is it always inside its crewbox?

I read about totems, and know that only the master it is related to, can use the totem and hast some special benefits using it. so it mostly a set member of the crew.

But, are those totems dual faction models aswell? Or can i use Luna only if i play McCabe as guild?

 

Sorry for my neverending questions and thanks for your really helpfull answers.

[Fetid Strumpet]

It depends. Misaki, for example has an ability called infiltration: last blossom, which lets her hire up to four last blossom models regardless of faction, I don't have my book on me but I would expect the Torakage and Ototo are all last blossom, so you can use them all regardless of faction, as long as you don't hire more than four last blossom that aren't your declared faction.

Most of mcabe's box are dual faction I believe, and he has the ability to hire a certain number of black sheep models regardless of faction. But you are correct, if you declare as guild, and choose mcabe as your master, you can't use Izamu as he isn't guild, and has no characteristics that allow McCabe to hire him via infiltration, and he has access to no upgrades that would allow him to hire Izamu either.

As far as I know every master has a totem, and at least with the plastic sets, that totem is in the starter box. This was not true of the metal sets where the totem was almost universally sold seperately. Most totems belonging to a master that is dual faction, are also dual faction. One exception I can think of is McMorning's totem the zombie chihuahua. Its only a resser model, but McMorning's guild only upgrade, on the clock, allows him to hire some resser only models while in guild, and the chihuahua is on that list.

[Dracomax]

Questions are good, so no problem.

 

As for cool crews fighting...There really isn't any reason to fight about them, since there are over 40 cool crews...(not one crew is uninteresting, full of terrible sculpts, or too difficult for a beginner, and they all do at least middling well at advanced levels.)

 

Even if two people do get the same crew, mirror matches can be fun, and you learn a lot seeing how someone uses your crew differently than you.

 

That being said, If you each pick a faction you like, and pick up a crew from that, it will keep things a bit simpler, and give you all a wider range of playstyles and abilities, which will help to make you all better players.

 

Every master has a master specific totem, but there are also generic faction totems, and two mercenary totems. These can be taken by anyone in faction, and the mercenaries can be taken by any master for a "merc tax" of one extra SS. That being said, you may only have one totem at a time, unless the totem in question or the master says otherwise.

 

If you really want to be informed before picking up crews, I'd recommend waiting until you have the book and flipping through there, and the final wave two files, and picking the crews that look interesting. If you just want a crew with a given aesthetic, pick what you want. As of yet, there are no bad crews, and very few crews that are at all unfriendly to beginners—I think Tara might be the worst, simply because she is the most complex and sideways master I've seen; She still only takes a game or two to get a decent grasp of.

 

If there is a playstyle you are looking for, I can give you a quick rundown of masters that fit it; Bruisers, summoners, support, etc.

[Adran]

Duel faction has made it a little harder to fully say who can hire who, but I'll give it a go.

 

Everything in the McCabe box is duel faction, so could be used by any of the 10 Thunders Masters.

All the ancestors are duel faction so can be used by any 10 Thunder master.

Everything in Misakis box is 10 thunder so can be used with any 10 thunder master. Much of it can be use with Misaki if she is used as an outcast due to her infiltration rule, but can't be used by other outcast masters.

 

Other possible Japanese themes would potentiall include Kirai, who Is ressurectionist and her crew is based on Japanese spirits (currently only out in metal). being resurectionist she could also happily hire Izamu, and the other ancestors.

[pxsaber]

Okay im getting the hang of it.

 

So i really need my rulebook first. Which is already at my neighbour ill pick it up when im getting home form work! yehaaa!!!

 

@Dracomax:  Thanks for your offer. In other games i prefer a playsyle of mobile, melee fighters with a good option on some shooting and magic.

 

i guess that describes almost every single crew that is not too slow

so for malifaux i dont really know what prototypes of playstyles are available.

 

But to narrow it down to three arguments id say: mobility, high melee potential, and maybe some nice tricks they can play (like teleportation etc.)

Oh and i like the chinese setting (Misaki, Yan Lo, Izuma etc), the cowboy setting and some of the neverborns (but more the ghot and nightmare creatues)

[Dracomax]

Misaki and Mei feng would probably do well for you in the 10T faction.

 

Both have a lot of mobility, both tend to do melee damage. Mei Feng has a bit of a socialist/union thing going on, and can jump from scrap or construct to scrap or construct across the board to kick you in the face. With the right upgrades, she gets some decent extra attacks, too.

 

Misaki doesn't have quite the maneuverability, but she has a bit more hitting power.

 

As for Cowboys, Perdita from the guild crew has a lot of shooting, a lot of manueverability, the ability to move her own crew around, and decent melee. Also, guild have Death Martials, who are all but literally undead cowboys(they aren't actually undead. they just kill them.) The death martials can remove models from play without killing them(using a (1) AP bury that can be done on a charge).

 

If you just want melee focused, Lady J is the best. While she is not much cowboy focused(although her new model does have an eastern feel, with the katana and all...) but she comes with 3 Death martials, and works well with them, the lone rider, and the Pale rider. She doesn't shoot much, but the crews she uses most often do, and they do it well.

 

Keep in mind, though, that just because a master plays one way, it doesn't mean that the crew has to.

 

I can't help much with Neverborn, but I can say that Lilith is a heavy Melee hitter, with the ability to swap one of her models and one of yours from 12 Inches away, and no cover or terrain can help you. She doesn't have much in the way of shooty attacks though.