Hot Topic - Chucking Principles in a Box

Good morning, Malifaux world.

A lot has happened since this blog went to sleep. Wave 5 has been confirmed and much of it appeared on an open playtest. There have been many, many events. It turned out that Americans really can play Malifaux and us Europeans were being sniffy. I know, right?

 

Anyway. I’m making resolutions here and now to try and get the blog active again, so without further ado, here we go.

This post was inspired by a tweet from Tobias Dracup about how he felt that his game had hit a glass ceiling lately. There was a lot of advice given, and most of it was very useful. A tip that stuck out for me included getting practice games against better players, something I’ve long been a big believer in. It’s why I make the hour’s drive north to Leicester every Monday for Squigs night. Well, correction. It’s why I started making that drive. Now I do because they’re my best mates and Monday evenings are the highlight of my week. But you also have the UK number 1 and 2 in regular attendance, along with 4 other event winners and our newer members, nearly all of whom are hitting podiums lately as well (sorry Scott, your quest for relevance continues… have you tried playing Gremlins?).

 

Some of the advice Tobias received was from me – look back at your defeats and see if there are any common themes. Any particular strategies. Any particular factions. Are you getting your scheme choices wrong. And so on. Identify problems and work to fix them.

Primarily I am one of those players that plays the game for fun. I do it for relief. I do it because I enjoy it. I do it because I thrive on the social interactions. But, and I think everyone who plays competitive anything will admit this, I do like to win too. And lately I have started to realise there are games I’m losing regularly, so I took my own advice.

It’ll come as no shock when I admit to being an aggressive player. I love the alpha strike. Applied brutality is a beautiful thing when it works, and a top-ranked player has to do a double-take because the erratic loon across the table has just pulled off a Master assassination run top of turn 2. There are other aggressive players on the scene now – Baby Squig Chris Donaldson, the shop-keeping walking rage machine Karl McConnell of Warzone’s Own and the Gonads’ (I know it’s Faux-mads but Snezzley renamed them and I can’t stop myself…) Tim Britton , to name but 3.

That means that players are adapting to deal with aggression and what I’m seeing a lot of is chess-style piece / model exchange. My opponents accept that at some point, something big and powerful that they don’t want to lose is going to disappear, and potentially a couple of its friends as well. So they set up to make extra sure that the counterattack takes my hitters down too, leaving the shells of both crews to score the remaining points in the game.

 

This is where I tend to lose. That tight, technical last couple of turns where things like activation order and finesse are paramount. Your top tier players are ultimately happy to end up in this situation because they back themselves to win these exchanges.

One game still sticks in my mind against the nicest guy in Malifaux, Rich Bream. My Sonnia crew tore into his Pandora crew with such gusto that I was 7-0 up by the end of turn 2. I was then completely outplayed, didn’t score another point and lost 9-7.

So my areas of improvement are painfully obvious. I need to teach myself some measure of finesse and learn the finer points of the game so that I’m not completely outclassed once I’m done smashing things off the table. That means playing a faction and Master that isn’t particularly forgiving of mistakes, rewards good technical play and proper activation order, and will let me get to grips with these things.

This is where it gets slightly murky. After thinking about it I realised there is a Master that meets those criteria. It’s Pandora.

 

Yes, I know. THAT Pandora. The one that induces epic keyboard-smashing rage. I can hear the indignant squeak from Castle Marshall even as I type this. That same Pandora that I published an article for here on this very blog telling people thinking about playing her to go and buy a WhoreMachine rulebook. The Master that I once bought, painted and sold 6 months later having never played.

But think about it for a second.

She is all about auras, and getting her areas of effect to overlap with those of her crew to catch enemy models between them. That means she needs to be in the right place, and the right place for her is up front. Her wounds count is a pathetic 10 and if you get it wrong, her only defence is a stat of 7. Cock it up, and I’ve seen plenty of Pandora players do so, you’ll lose her and you’ll lose her early.

The activation order has to be right in order to get that placement for her. Fears Given Form, the Neverborn upgrade that forces difficult Defence duels on activation with pain if you fail, is a double-edged sword for that reason because it affects both friend and foe. Get your bubble wrong and you could potentially have to take all those tests with your own crew, and Neverborn aren’t renowned for their staying power.

 

That lack of staying power is why, in my view, Neverborn aren’t a very forgiving faction. If you screw up then you can lose models to a single activation from your opponent. But get it right, and have those cogs turning properly, and they are very, very strong.

So I’ve decided to risk the nerd rage and play some Pandora. She ticks the boxes I need to be ticked in order to learn, and her way of coming at your opponent sideways appeals to me.

 

I’m aware of the Negative Play Experience potential and will be doing my best to mitigate it. Paralyse builds don’t appeal to me in the slightest for that very reason. I’ll be more than happy to talk things through with my opponent after the game, assuming they didn’t kick her head in. And I’ll make sure before we get going that they know what to look out for.

Ultimately though I think this experiment will be worth it. I need to learn, and Pandora will teach me. And along the way, through my own thundering incompetence or post-game chats, I hope a lot of the myths about her can be deconstructed and she won’t be so scary for people in the future. And if they prove true, at least I’ll have facts and evidence on my side rather than Internet dogma!

Hot Topic - Panzer's Crew of the Year

Afternoon all, 

After batting a few ideas back and forth with the Little Lass (aka Eless, Bunty and a few other names she doesn't like so I'm not using - Bane of Kneecaps hurts when you're 6'4" and have a long way to fall), I had an idea for a topic that I actually quite fancied having a bash at myself. So here we go. 

What's your Crew of the Year? Not bothering with faction boundaries or the need to actually accomplish anything, what 50SS of models have you found yourself enjoying most over the last year? This was inspired by those vapid 'team of the week' articles that Garth Crooks vomits forth for the BBC (his continued employment amazes me - I hear more insightful things shouted over the fence by drunk people at 3 in the morning). What if people who can string a sentence together put a Malifaux spin on it?

So this is my Crew of the Year. A few bits of it might surprise you but this is one benefit of the 'what the Faux...?' approach I tend to take!

Master: Ulix, Gremlins

Cache: 4SS

Husbandry: 3SS

Dirty Cheater: 1SS

Here you go - shock number one. My favourite Master of the year is not only a Gremlin, but one universally derided as crap. 

 

It'll come as no shock to learn I disagree with the Internet on this one. Not going to lie, Ulix has a number of shockingly awful matchups. The entire Neverborn faction for one. Marcus for another. Ressers spawning Belles for another, and in general anything that can abuse the ludicrously low Willpower score of his entire crew. 

But... If you can drop him into a game, you won't be disappointed. His summoning engine is deceptively simple once you work it out. Got a big pig? Have a 9 handy, and you can put a piglet next to it. Need a big pig? Have 3 scheme markers handy plus a 12, and CALL FORTH THE PORK (yes, I did put on the voice and the stupid gestures when casting this). Plus, he can do an impressive version of Prompt or Machine Puppet that grants positive flips to the attack if you want something flattened. 

Ultimately, I just found it so hard for me or my opponent to take the game too seriously when one side is spending the entire time generating bacon and then trying to flatten the other side with it. Ulix was sometimes brilliant, occasionally awful but always entertaining.

Totem: Malifaux Child, Outcasts

Cost: 2SS

OK, the Malifaux Child is here for 3 reasons. 

 

First is the versatility. I take him with Colette for extra Prompting, Sonnia for Flame Walls, Kaeris for Flaming Halo, Wong for cheeky extra Lightning Jumps and lots more. There are always choices unless you're a complete muppet and lose your Master early. 

Second is my model. I can't paint so I add little touches to make my models my own. The Child is a homage to reigning Master and my good friend Graham 'BluTack' Bursnell - it has a dolls house scale packet of BluTack on the base, Mr 53 on the back in tribute to his favourite crew size, and a phone featuring Rob Smith's angry face from when Graham left him at Leicester train station at 6am. 

Final reason is courtesy of the Squigs resident lunatic Brooks Martin. Malifaux Child + Mei Feng = Karate Kid. Fun enough to warrant playing Mei Feng. 

Henchman: Dr Grimwell, Guild

Cost: 9SS

Research Grant: 1SS

Disrupt Magic: 2SS 

I love this guy. Not only do you get to live every mad doctor cliche going without sullying yourself by playing McMourning, you get to put down a 'starter' model that nobody knows. 

 

The main thing I love about him is the (2) action Lobotomise. 4/6/10 damage at Ml7. Did I mention he's Nimble to make it easier to get in position for this? He's Nimble to make it easier to get in position for this. 

The moment of pant-wetting terror on an opponent's face when they realise Grimwell does that much damage and is standing next to one of their key models is worth the Soulstone cost. Every now and then, when he hits that Severe or even a Red Joker and takes out a Peacekeeper in one shot (done it twice now - sorry Craig!), the stories just fuel the terror. Gaining a Soulstone back for every kill is just the icing on the cake. 

To be honest though, the games he's really earned his points have been the ones where he's used his speed and power to chase down and eviscerate enemy scheme runners, or sat near a casting model putting them on negative flips thanks to Disrupt Magic and performed brain surgery on anything that's tried to dislodge him, or used his Doctor's Orders to push a model that the enemy thought was done. 

He looks straightforward and he can be. But he's got hidden depths...

Henchman: Phiona Gage, Guild

Cost: 8SS

Wrath of the Guild: 1SS

Debt to the Guild: 1SS

There had to be some pickaxe love in here somewhere. And here it is. 

 

Phiona and Nellie form, in my view, the strongest Master / Henchman combo in the game. They both make the other that much better. Phiona is here and Nellie isn't simply because a lot of what Phiona can offer translates well to other crews as well. 

She makes a great bodyguard due to being able to place into melee, push her ward out of melee, and then thump something as well, all for 1AP. She can summon blocking terrain. She has a surprisingly long charge range and a long reach when she gets there. And she has a version of Smell Fear too. 

Plus, I just love twatting things in the head with a pickaxe. I'm only human. 

Phiona is also here so I can wax lyrical about Debt to the Guild. At long last, after 3 waves of dross, in wave 4 the Guild got a generic upgrade that's worth taking. It's our Oathkeeper and Imbued Energies. It's not if you take it, it's where you put the 3 copies you're allowed. Draw a card and do more damage for a turn, and the upgrade stays in place for Show of Force purposes. It also pays for itself if the model dies, giving you back the Soulstone you paid. 

Thank you, Wyrd. 

Enforcer: Angelica, Arcanists

Cost: 6SS

Practised Production: 1SS

 

The primary reason I started using Angelica was as a caddy for Practised Production. That upgrade is pure unadulterated filth. Place a scheme marker near one of your models, and ignore every single rule about placing markers whilst you do it. You can drop a marker off a Malifaux Raptor that's in some obscure, unreachable corner of the board and score your schemes with a big, stupid grin and absolutely zero skill. 

I use Angelica over the much more popular Cassandra because a) I can't get Cassie to turn in 8SS of value yet, and b) Angelica feeds the all out aggression I so love by pushing models around, and letting me give a Sabretooth Cerberus or two a head start is going to make somebody's day that bit more difficult.

Minion: Ice Dancer, Arcanists

Cost: 6SS

These girls crack me up every time I use them. They're so damn good at what they do it's unreal. 

 

Walk 12", push another 4", then drop a Scheme Marker. That's Malifaux Raptor speed with a marker at the end of it. 

Or they can barrel up on the charge, hit with a 2/3/6 damage track, and then skip away afterwards and potentially still drop that marker. That was one of my biggest grins all year - an Ice Dancer kills a healthy Vik of Blood, then pushes away and drops the last Convict Labour marker for points. 

I've not even started experimenting with the ice markers they can drop yet but the Ice Dancers are already amongst my favourites. 

Minion: Field Reporter, Guild

Cost: 4SS

Yep, it's another wave 4 Guild pick! What can I say, we got new toys and they're brilliant. 

 

These can do different roles depending on what you need. They can scheme run themselves, they can mess with enemy scheme runners, or they can play a denial and control game. And they're 4SS! I don't know any models for similar cost that can make the opponent bite through their fate deck in frustration with such regularity. Being able to flip their Scheme Markers into mine for a 9 is an amazing (1) action. 

Minion: Bayou Gremlin, Gremlins

Cost: 3SS

Getting 2, potentially 3, full fat AP for 3SS is an absolute bargain. I lost count of the amount of Gremlin games won by having one or two of these little buggers in the right place at the right time.

 

You don't need to invest anything else in them to buff them, or even use cards from your hand to cheat for them as you can just Bayou 2-Card instead. 

Occasionally they even kill something, and then you really get to wind your opponent up. 

Total: 48SS

Cache: 6SS

So that's my favourite models for 2016 shoehorned into a crew. What are yours?

If you want to have a go at this I'm happy to post up some crews, and other bloggers please feel free to do your own!