Looking for a game.

[Guest]

Looking for a game to verify if my list is as good in my head as it is in-game. I'm prone to rather unusual lists which tend to prepare for situations that don't happen, so proof of concept games are very helpful.

 

I'm new to this game and might need to proxy/borrow some models/bases. I'll especially need to borrow some tokens.

 

EDIT: Oh, looking for the game on either Friday or this Weekend. Not entirely sure when or where the local groups meet, but ideal for me would be Guardian Games.

[Mach_5]

I believe there's a bunch of people heading over to Guardian Games on Friday. If you're on Facebook join the Malifaux PDX group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/254120414705331/

[Guest]

Thank you very much, and to Jay for instantly accepting my "join" request.

[Guest]

So, on a side note, the list I'm looking to run is this:

 

Ramos

Essence of Power

Metal Gamin

Mechanical Rider

Ice Golem

Malifaux Raptor

Myranda

Oxfordian Mage

 

Plus 4ss of upgrades which are undecided, though likely 3 imbued energies, 1 of the Wards, Warding Runes or Killswitch and 2 decoys. Should be an interesting one. The synergy is there, but it's pretty unapparent at first glance (and second glance). Might drop the Mage (and the selected ward upgrade) for 2 more Raptors, but beyond that, looks pretty solid.

[orkdork]

Are you planning on a turn 1 scrap marker to start the spider multiplication?

 

Having Joss smash a cheap construct for 2 scrap on turn 1 just seems too awesome to pass up.

 

I <3 the ice golem model, and I'll be running him with Raspy as long as I can get away with it, but I don't see his value here (or even with Raspy). He must be tossing raptors, right? Does that enable some crazy Myranda tricks?

[Guest]

I <3 the ice golem model, and I'll be running him with Raspy as long as I can get away with it, but I don't see his value here (or even with Raspy). He must be tossing raptors, right? Does that enable some crazy Myranda tricks?

The overlooked ability on the Raptor is that his Mi action has a Tome trigger which makes the target (friend or foe) a beast for the rest of the game. The attack does very little damage (1/2/4). This is especially impressive on models with low base Df, like Ramos, Ice Golem and Essence of Power.

 

So we make them all beasts, so now Myranda can Heal them, grant them extra Mi actions, and even give them + on defense flips. If this proves unneeded, Myranda can always summon a beast instead of her, which grants additional flexibility.

 

That metal Gamin is mostly there to shore up the low Df on the Ice Golem AFTER the Raptor makes it a beast. Otherwise, I think Imbued Protection would be a better route on this model.

 

The Raptor or the Gamin could be thrown, but the intention would be to toss Steam Spiders or Electric Creations (still undecided on this upgrade, though I do keep forgetting that Steam Spiders require scrap...). Depending on the turn, the Mechanical Steed could also summon "toss" ammunition.

 

Otherwise, the list is mainly a toolbox army, with no clear goal, but lots of ways to deal various types of damage. Ramos isn't key to the list, in fact, the funny bit on the list is that I can swap out the leader for any of the Arcanist Masters without any real loss in synergy (some things would change).

 

Ramos is mostly there because most of my models attack against Df, which the summoned spiders can lower.

[Guest]

Ramos

Essence of Power

Metal Gamin

Mechanical Rider

Ice Golem

Malifaux Raptor

Myranda

Oxfordian Mage

The thing I did not count on, was how long it would take to run a newb game using a list with lots and lots of options. We called it at turn 2. I lost, but I was also planning on their being more turns. I still probably would have lost, as with 40k, I had totally forgotten the mission(s) by the end of turn 1....

[Mach_5]

Hehe. Never forget the strat & schemes! It's happened more often than I'd like to admit that I get stuck in some kind of mindset where I feel I just have to kill a few models before I can start to worry about my objectives, and then I just go ahead and kill the enemy master before checking that... oh yeah I was supposed to deliver a message to that guy. *facepalm*

[McNathanson]

One other point, you mention using the Malifaux Raptor's Enraged trigger to make your own models into Beasts, and talk about the low Df of your own models, and waiting to apply Metal Gamin's Metal Protection until after applying Blind Rage.  

 

However the defender can always choose to "relent" an opposed duel, and then the (rather than flipping) the defender automatically ties the attacker (with no suit on the Df).  This results in a [-][-] to the damage flip, so the only risk is flipping a Black Joker and dealing no damage and thereby missing the Enraged trigger, or flipping Red Joker and dealing 6 damage (oops!).  If this is a concern, you can instead cheat in a card low enough to cause the defender to lose by 6-10, which gives an even flip and minimizes the odds of accidentally flipping a Joker for damage.  I do this all the time with my Sonnia crew to get around high Defense, or cover, or apply burning to my own models, or a myriad other things.  It's a good thing to keep in mind!

[Guest]

One other point, you mention using the Malifaux Raptor's Enraged trigger to make your own models into Beasts, and talk about the low Df of your own models, and waiting to apply Metal Gamin's Metal Protection until after applying Blind Rage.  

 

However the defender can always choose to "relent" an opposed duel, and then the (rather than flipping) the defender automatically ties the attacker (with no suit on the Df).  This results in a [-][-] to the damage flip, so the only risk is flipping a Black Joker and dealing no damage and thereby missing the Enraged trigger, or flipping Red Joker and dealing 6 damage (oops!).  If this is a concern, you can instead cheat in a card low enough to cause the defender to lose by 6-10, which gives an even flip and minimizes the odds of accidentally flipping a Joker for damage.  I do this all the time with my Sonnia crew to get around high Defense, or cover, or apply burning to my own models, or a myriad other things.  It's a good thing to keep in mind!

Yeah, one of the players pointed this out during my game. "Relenting" is very impressive and a neat rule. Though, thank you too for the suggestion. Very helpful.

 

I'm think that the original list was too numerous in options, so I'm going to need a more focused set of tactics. At least until I get the rules better understood.

 

I love that Ice golem and throwing my height 1 models across the field. I keep calling him a troll....like the blood bowl troll that can throw models downfield. I just love the model's rules. Not only that, he's just very flexible in function. I did find that their is a Mercanary, Lazarus, which can both duplicate the Toss, and isn't a horrible "buddy" model for this guy.

 

At present, I'm mentally torn between Ramos and Leveticus. I realized that Leveticus has that "Pariah of Iron" upgrade which allows him to field over half the Arcanist models including my beloved Ice Golem. I have a particular model in mind that would be either of them, but couldn't be both (model is bald, so I'd be using putty to match the hair). That said, the main drawback is that I lose my Arcanist upgrades, which might not be a bad thing. Argh, I'm just torn.

[orkdork]

For efficacy, Leveticus will never be an issue. So don't sweat the upgrades, I would say :)

[Mach_5]

Just a clarification, you don't have to use the red joker, even on a negative flip. You may use it if you want. So when attacking your own models you don't have to take the red joker.

[McNathanson]

Ah, thanks Mark!

[Guest]

Okay, so I'm decided on Leveticus. Bought a selection of Gold/Yellow bases for this crew today. Not totally sure on models, but I'm planning on a Construct crew for sure. I'm planning to have at least some of this crew double as my Inquisitors & Henchmen for my 40k collection. Should be a good fit.

 

I also picked up the Shifting Loyalities card set. Are these upgrades welcome for casual play? In particular, the GG casual groups, like Beerifaux and their friday gaming? Nothing looks terribly unbalanced, but I thought it was worth asking.

[orkdork]

I haven't even looked at those cards. Frankly, there is so much in the 'standard' game that we haven't even considered story encounters or campaigns yet!

 

I'm sure they'd be super fun though. I think a campaign at some point would be a blast!

[Guest]

I haven't even looked at those cards. Frankly, there is so much in the 'standard' game that we haven't even considered story encounters or campaigns yet!

 

I'm sure they'd be super fun though. I think a campaign at some point would be a blast!

Not a campaign, I mean can we use the campaign upgrades in casual one-off play?

 

They've got a whole jumbo deck of any faction upgrades, and a few neat faction specific ones. Loads of conversion options, too.

 

Like, example, There's this Outcast upgrade in there called The Chosen. 0ss. This model is the crew's leader. Grants soulstone use, doesn't count towards upgrade total, and grants an extra upgrade slot.

 

Kinda silly though, I mean, you'd have to pick an Enforcer or Henchmen character, which aren't always leader material, but it would be fun, if only for variety.

 

Mind you, there are a several upgrades which either don't do anything in a one-off encounter, or just are bad...(like one called broken arm, which lowers Mi by 1 with no bonuses.)

[Mach_5]

Mind you, there are a several upgrades which either don't do anything in a one-off encounter, or just are bad...(like one called broken arm, which lowers Mi by 1 with no bonuses.)

Yeah, well those are all part of the campaign system... you play a series of games and as your models gain experience they gain new abilities which are represented by those upgrades. They also gain injuries, like broken arm. The Leader one is probably available if your Henchman leader dies mid-campaign, though I haven't read up on specifics of how the campaign works yet.

 

Basically, they have not been balanced for typical play. Most people play a 50ss game because that's where the game is balanced. You could ask your opponent if they mind you using one or more of those campaign only upgrades, but it'd probably be on a case-by-case basis.

 

Keep in mind there's different types of upgrades in there, Equipment which generally has a cost is easy enough to add with your opponent's permission, but Skills generally have a cost of 0 but represent a campaign model after it's lived through enough encounters to gain the skill. I'd recommend either staying away from Skills outside of campaign play, or determine a cost.

 

Honestly, if you like the upgrades I'd say start a campaign. It's what they were designed for.

[Guest]

Got another game in.

 

Outcasts

Leveticus (Pariah of Iron+Desolate Soul)

2x Hollow Waif

Joss (Oath keeper)

Ice Golem

3x Steam Arachnid

Metal Gamin

Arcane Effigy

Soulstone Miner

 

Opponent had Tara with an outcast crew. My army was mostly tokens and his included several proxies as well as models with black and white copies of their cards, so there was certainly some visual issues. Otherwise it was fine, though rather slow and again, we didn't finish. This one was more likely a draw than the last.

 

Anyway, in terms of tweaks to the crew.

 

Steam Spiders are fun, but I'm not sure they are the best fit as my dedicated "ammo" for the Golem. That Arcane Effigy actually turned out to be pretty cool ammo, as it can activate and then acomplice the golem into throwing it. Might look into more Effigies for ammo, as I think they all have that rule.

 

Speaking of the golem, turns out I was reading it wrong and I only risk damage if I collide with enemy models. That's sure nifty.

 

I need a fast heavy hitter, or a model with scramble, as one thing this crew lacks is speed.

 

Hollow Waifs are mostly useless. I mean, the presence of extra lives certainly made Leveticus get attacked less, but I think they weren't being used well enough to justify their inclusion (despite being 0ss models).

 

Soulstone miner was iffy, though tara made me not bury it at the start of game, so that was working against him. Not sure if this game counts for evaluation.

 

I still need much work with leveticus. He certainly didn't sync up with the crew and that Desolate Soul was a total waste.

 

Metal Gamin was decent for that Df buff, but opponent lacked constructs, so he really didn't do much.

 

Anyway, was a good game. Thanks to Spiral Cadaver (Nick) for the game.

[Guest]

On a side note, even since I got the Ten Thunders deck, I've been kicking around the idea of making a Misaki crew with her model replaced with Murasaki from Dragonball.