Wicked Games: Beginners Guide to Zoraida

Introduction

Pretty sure she doesn't belong to a sewing circle

The Swamp Hag has not been an easy Master for me to get a solid grasp of. She presents a large and varied hiring pool and has a complicated list of abilities and upgrades. However, as I've learned to play her, the tricks that Zoraida can pull off are fantastic. I'm of course going to be looking at her from a Neverborn perspective even though she can play as a Gremlin also. In this post I'm going to visit the Bayou and learn how to do the voodoo that she do so well.

Dolls are Creepy

Malifaux Acupuncture

Ok so lets talk about the aspect of Zoraida that is the most important right out of the bag. She summons Voodoo Dolls. Why does a tiny little Insignificant Doll terrify your opponent as much as it does? Because of their ability to Hem Fate. Zoraida can spend 2 AP to summon a Doll who then Hems Fate immediately on a target. Once that ability lands, any condition or damage done to the Doll is transferred onto the targeted model until the Doll dies.  This is one of the strongest powers in the Zoraida arsenal as she can do any amount of tricky and mean things with the Doll after that. Want the model to sit where it is and do nothing for a turn? Hit the Doll with Paralyze and watch their Beat Stick collect dust. Want it to go down in a fiery inferno? Inflict the Burning condition on the Doll. At the end of the turn the model will take damage from its burning AND the doll's condition. (Same goes for Poison). The most fun thing is, that if the Doll is healed, it is ready for dishing out more pain and your opponent will more than likely be scared to mess with it, so you can leave the doll out in the open as a taunt.

Obey

Next to Lure, Obey might be the most hated ability in all of Malifaux. For only one her AP Zoraida can force a model to use one of its 1AP actions. Is a squishy enemy model standing next to a friendly bruiser. Force

some betrayal and smack that model off the board. Is that model in engagement range of the Doll? Force it to swing for the fences and put some damage on the Hemmed model. Want an extra Lure from a Beckoner, Take Your Meds from a friendly Nurse or a heal from a friendly Candy? Pop Obey on them, they won't resent it..much.
At first glance, Obey seems like it is something you want to play on the enemy as much as possible, but the truth is that Zoraida is not a front lines, stay out in the front kind of girl. Using it on your own troops from the back generally proves safer and sometimes more efficient.  That being said, getting the chance to use it on an opponent's model is always fun. Obey can be used defensively too if an enemy model is in charge range, just make the 1 AP action be a walk that gets it far away from Zoraida or move one of your own models to block the charge and set up a beat down when they activate. Thanks to a suggestion from the A Wyrd Place Facebook group, another great option for Obey is to force an enemy model to attack one of your terrifying models and cheat in a low card for an effectively free Paralyze.  (Extra note: The A Wyrd Place group is fantastic and I highly recommend any Malifaux player to look into them as an amazing community resource.)

This ability will have your opponent doing 1 of 2 things. Either they will gun for the old woman as quickly as possible or they will go out of their way to stay out of range. Anyone who's played against Zoraida knows that a group of squishies clumped near a beat stick with low WP is begging from swamp style mind control.

Bewitched
Oh this ability. Many opponents will be terrified of Obey, and they will respect the Voodoo Doll but most vastly underestimate how good Bewitched is. An enemy model who is Bewitched lets Zoraida draw 2 cards whenever they Walk, Charge or Attack. Its pretty important to know that limited resources are always good to have, in Malifaux every card in your hand is a potential Red Joker as far as your opponent is concerned. Card advantage is a very real thing and Bewitched gives you a lot of control over whether your win or lose duels as the turn goes on and you are gaining cards while your opponent loses them.
Note: Combining Bewitched with Obey is a purely evil thing that can net you 4 cards if you hit the enemy model twice, and I highly approve of these types of shenanigans if your starting to run low on cards during your turn and there are still some significant things to do in the rest of the turn.  Zoraida is a control oriented caster who leaves the dirty work to her crew, spending her turn to draw you 4 cards and move a model that is useful to the enemy to an unwanted section of the board is a very solid way to spend her 3 AP.

Does Not Play Well With Others

Zoraida has a huge WP but a low Def and pretty decent amount of wounds. She does not do well to sustained pressure. Enemy models can and will take her down if they get to her. She does possess a few saving graces that can help her out of a tight spot. Proper Manners is a defensive ability that gives any enemy model attacking her a negative flip on the attack unless they have the Focus condition. Therefore most models that have to charge or walk to get to Zoraida are going to have a decently hard time landing a hit. When combined with her other defensive ability, Regret. On a Mask flip, if an opponent does severe or moderate damage to her, that model's activation immediately ends. This happens even if she uses a stone for

He doesn't play fair.

a healing flip. All in all, these two abilities should keep her out of harms way for most melee models. She gets into trouble when assassins are involved though. I learned the hard way how nasty Hans is against Zoraida, as he can focus as his first action, shoot and then doesn't care that he has to stop after the hit. If your opponent is fielding a sharp shooting sniper get Zoraida well hidden because she will go down quickly.

Repulsive is an ability that Zoraida has forces TN 17 WP duels or be pushed outside of 6" of her. This is great if she finds herself in a bad situation and doesn't have Animal Shape to rely on. It doesn't get used very often but it comes in handy during certain situations.

I should mention that Zoraida has a limited upgrade that is called Animal Shape, which allows her to be placed anywhere within 15". This ability is both offensive and defensive in nature, allowing her to get to a good position to Obey and a way to get out of dodge. Taking this upgrade keeps you from getting Crystal Ball though, which is a fantastic upgrade as well.

Crystal Ball

So one of my favorite upgrades with Zoraida is Crystal Ball. This gives you choices at the beginning of her activation. You can draw a card, force your opponent to discard a random card, or peek at a deck and see whats on top. The tough choice is that you give up Animal Shape, which is Zoraida's only movement trick.
It really comes down to what you want Zoraida to do for you in a game. Is she going to be Obeying enemies and causing havoc around the board? Animal Shape is for you. Is she going to sit back and play with her dolls? Then she shouldn't leave home without her crystal ball.


Never Ask Whats In A Lady's Purse

Hex bag is Zoraida's upgrade and it is a utility (0) attack that makes good use of her diminutive totem by adding conditions loaded with triggers. She can dish out 2 damage, Burning+2, Poison +2, and stop soul stone usage for a turn. You mainly want to dump these on her Voodoo Doll and by circumstance an unlucky Hemmed model to put some damage on it. This can be used directly on an enemy model, but hopefully you don't have Zoraida in a position where she's in that kind of trouble.

Upgrade Options

Zoraida can take any of the other Neverborn upgrades as well, but only one stands out if you have room for it. Hexed Among You allows up to 3 swampfiends to infiltrate the enemy side of the board at the beginning of the game which is awesome for getting your own schemes rolling or setting Waldgeists in very annoying spots. On Dreaming Wings

Scheming and Strategizing

Zoraida is not a reliably murderous Master. She sets a lot of the heavy lifting on the shoulders of her crew, though a Voodoo doll can wreak havoc on one model a turn, it costs her 2 AP to summon it back and that's not incredibly efficient. Since Zoraida can bring a Nurse, I like to just find a model and paralyze it for the rest of the game instead. However, a lucky Voodoo Doll can help you achieve Murder Protege very effectively.   Since she often employs Silurids many of the movement based schemes (Power Ritual, Breakthrough, Line in the Sand) work for her as well.

Strategy wise, my favorite for her is Reconnoiter. Using Obey to walk a model that has already been activated to close to the center or out of a quadrant all together can leave your opponent very frustrated. She is fun for Turf War as well for the same reasons, though it does force her to be closer to the action. I wouldn't recommend taking her for this Strategy if you don't take the Animal Shape upgrade for a quick escape. Unless you bring a particularly kill focused crew, I would say that the only Strategy she doesn't do as well in is Reckoning.


Conclusion

So that's most of my Zoraida insights so far. Outside of Lilith she is probably the most adaptable Master in the Neverborn Arsenal (props do go to Lucius but I have very little experience with him). Once your enemies learn the proper respect for Obey and Bewitch they will attempt to gun her down every time. Just be aware that even with her impressive defensive abilities, Zoraida will go down quickly under concentrated fire. Keep her safe. For the newer player, I'd recommend the safety net that is Animal Shape until you get a good feel for how to keep her well hidden. Zoraida is pretty complex, and wouldn't be my first choice for a player brand new to Malifaux or minis in general, but there's honestly not a straight forward Neverborn master, so if you are starting with the monsters of Malifaux, she's good to have in the arsenal.

Until next time, Keep Cheating Fate-- John Fox

I know Zoraida experts will be pointing out that I left a huge part of the Zoraida tactics out of this post, her impressive pool of models to choose from. This is intentional and will be covered in the next post. Zoraida more than most Masters needs a full blog to talk about all the choices she can bring to the table. So next week we'll take a look at those that owe a debt to the Swamp Hag. 

Animal House: An Intro to Marcus

Hey guys and gals! I'm excited to be a part of something new and now I have the time to actually put my thoughts on paper (digital notepad?). This means you guys get to hear my ramblings on my dive into Arcanists, and more importantly, Marcus.

Introductions

To kick things off, I wanted to properly introduce myself with some sort of credibility.  I've been a part of the miniatures world for over 16 years.  I've played Warhammer Fantasy, 40k, Heroclix, Heroscape, X-Wing, Warmachine and now I make the plunge into Malifaux. I consider myself a player who is semi-competitive so my writing will focus on trying to figure out which models work best for which situation, strategies and schemes. I'm sure this will be revealed in battle reports, articles and tactica. The H&H team is also planning some video footage as well.


I have a passion for painting and I try a variety of techniques and methods to get my crews and armies on the table. So from time to time you guys can expect some pictures and fun stuff like that.  Moving onto my intro topic today.



Starting with Arcanists

I have decided to pick up the Arcanist faction and most notably with a focus on Marcus. His abilities looked like fun and he seems to have completely unique play styles depending on which upgrades you select. I'm not going to go into a super detailed summary of what he does as there is a lovely write up over at the Wyrd wiki, Pullmyfinger (check it out! Marcus Tactica).  Instead I plan on giving my thoughts and opinions from personal experiences and what I have discussed with other Marcus advocates and detractors.

Kinda like this, but with a pimp cane.
The red head is optional

The main thing I was attracted to regarding Marcus was the whole idea of being a Beast Master.Marcus loves his animal friends and they love to tear into his enemies.Wyrd has done a great job of creating mechanics and abilities with great synergy and style. The beastmaster WANTS to play beasts and he does it better than anyone!

You mean the beastmaster actually gets to use his beasts?!

Our group started Malifaux about two months ago and I have collected all the beasts models that have been released since M2E. I picked up the metal Slate Ridge Mauler too because he looked so cuddly. I've been able to get 4 games in with him and so far I have been super impressed.  The lack of ranged attacks has been a little hindering since I have decided to play all beasts all the time, but with some of the sweet beta beasts coming out we seem to be getting some new options in that department (check out that Basilisk).

 From this moment on I will be writing my thoughts on each model within Marcus's arsenal, how I play them as well as my general feelings on their viability. I want to try something radical and give them a grade based on Strategy and Schemes, rate their effectiveness and hopefully get some good feedback from our new readers. I firmly believe that you can never be good enough at any game and constructive criticism will be beneficial. Well, if you made it this far then thank you for sticking it out through my first post. The next few will focus on Marcus as a master, his favorite strategies and all the crazy things the beastmaster can accomplish. 

-Baltz

Malifaux Blues

Well, it happened again! I found myself staring at the 3x3 board in shock as my opponent declared a 7-5 victory over me. This time, the opponent happened to be my 14 year old son with his brand new Ophelia crew. I looked over my list, feeling betrayed by my own models. I'd been so sure I could win this one, only to be proven wrong.

To be fair, everyone loses sometimes. It doesn't matter how good you are, statistically thinking, we all lose eventually. Plans are thwarted, Black Jokers are flipped and so forth. As humans we tend to rail against Fate and cry out the injustices that make up the RNG Gods. (that's random number generation to anyone who doesn't know). Our plan was perfect, how dare a bad flip or an awkward die roll take away our perfect victory?

As a Warmachine player, I heard more than a few people tell me, "I won't play Trolls. My luck is too awful to rely on all those tough rolls."  Malifaux is no different. Just the other week I found myself saying, "I would have won if it wasn't for an awful hand on the last turn." Is that really true? Did I lose because there is an unseen force that set up my deck for failure? Or did I not look at all the avenues my opponent had for success and allowed myself to be in a spot where a bad hand sank my chances of winning?

No matter what endeavor we have managed to fail at, the fall is one of the biggest lessons we can learn. One of my favorite quotes on failure comes from Thomas Edison who said:

"I have not failed, I have simply found 10,000 ways that won't work."

another by Winston Churchill says:

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." 

So what does this mean for the beginning Malifaux player who is wanting to have fun but finds themselves frustrated by understanding the intricacies of the game?
Its not exhaustive but I have a list of things that I do to help me understand where a game went wrong.

1. Keep notes. I know it seems kind of excessive to take notes while you are playing a game that already requires a lot of concentration and space, but if you are in a position of losing a lot, bring a small note pad. Mark down the places where you saw the game begin to swing away from you.

2. Talk to your opponent. After the game, take a few minutes to talk about it. Get your opponent's perspective. Often what you will find is that they saw a weakness and exploited it. Never be afraid of saying, what could have gone better here. If you are playing with a veteran they can be a good starting to point to understanding how to up your game. If they aren't willing to help sum up a game, maybe you should play with other people.

This guy will burn your
house down.

3. When you fall to a model's tricks, remember them for later. Knowledge is power, the old adage stands as true in Malifaux as it does anywhere else. Knowing what your opponent's crew is capable of is often crucial to not getting blown away early on. Knowing that Sameal Hopkins can set terrain on fire might keep a model from being roasted. Knowing that Ophelia has squeal will save you from wasting AP and  a card on flurry. Remember that you are always allowed to see your opponent's cards.

4. Be aware of how many points you could have scored each turn.  Each game of Malifaux can be vastly different then the one before it thanks to the Strategies and Schemes in the pool.  Look and see where you could have scored a point. Did you spend too many AP shooting a tanky target when you could have killed something squishy for Reckoning? Did you go all in to take out an enforcer and forget to drop scheme tokens?

5. Conversely, be aware of where you could have prevented an opponent from scoring. Sometimes learning how to slow your opponent down is just as important as making sure you get your own VP, even if that is as simple as dropping a guy in engagement range to keep one of theirs from dropping a marker.

6. Don't get discouraged. Malifaux is a hard game to tackle. There are 39 masters that you need to at least know on a surface level to not be steam rolled by them and their tricks. That doesn't count the other enforcers, henchmen and minions that have their own shenanigans. There are 3 objectives each game to pay attention to, not counting your opponent's schemes. There are terrain rules and engagement rules and strategies. All of that adds up to a lot of things to learn before you can become proficient at the game. When you lose, and you will, take a deep breath and figure out where the train went off the tracks.

Conclusion
Losing is something we all hate to do, but its an essential part of the game and of life. Very few people start out with a firm grasp of the rules and most of us take a while to get up to steam. When I first learned to play Warmachine, Allen and Derek both warned me to expect to lose my first 10-15 games and they were right. Now, as we are all getting into Malifaux we are starting to realize there is a whole new burden of knowledge to grasp and that it may take us a few months to get our feet on firm ground. As for now, I'll keep taking my licks at the hands of Malifaux's Most Wanted and try to learn as much as I can from each experience.

Until next time, Keep Cheating Fate-- John Fox

New Writer joins the Ranks!

Just wanted to welcome Allen Baltezore (yes his last name sounds like a D&D monster) as the newest author to the blog!

The Dreaded Baltezore, devourer of villages and writer of blogs!

Allen is a veteran miniatures player and enjoys the hobby aspect of the game as much as playing it. He is also joining our ragtag band of players as we transition into Malifaux from the ground up. I look forward to his insights and especially his articles on the hobby aspects of the game!

As always, you keep reading and we'll keep posting!

-Derek

Building a Community Part 2

Hi Malifolks!

Our group meets several times a week to play various role-playing games and over the years we've managed to try just about every system on the market. In a recent horror one-shot using the Dread mechanics, we found ourselves groaning in frustration when several blocks were taken from the bottom of the Jenga tower and stacked neatly on top. Even though the tower was mostly intact, there were key pieces missing from the foundation and the fear that it would topple over at any moment was a very real possibility.

(Dread is an RPG that uses a Jenga tower to dictate the outcome of your actions in the game. Check it out! Dread RPG)

When building a foundation for a gaming community there are several important things you must consider. Many of these seem like common sense, but I find it surprising how often players can't seem to figure out why they don't have reliable and quality opponents on the other side of the table. Most of the time it is due to the lack of a healthy gaming community and poor communication.

1. Finding a Place to Call Home

For some people this is easier said than done. Not all players have the luxury of a decent local gaming store in their area while others are forced to drive considerable distances to meet up for a game night. While not every city boasts a LGS, most will have places where a gaming club could meet on a regular basis.

If you are fortunate enough to have a game store in your area, do your best to become a regular. Get to know the owners, the employees and your fellow gamers while striving to build a reputation of friendliness and integrity. It is important to have an open and working relationship with the place in which you want to build your gaming community. With the support and resources of your LGS, you will find it is much easier to promote your hobby of choice while generally drawing in the initial players you'll need to get a solid group started.

2. Play the Game

This one seems pretty self explanatory, but you'd be surprised how difficult it can be. Jobs, school, families and the general responsibilities of adulthood can keep you wrapped up and you may only see the tabletop once a month or worse. Hey, bad things happen!

See! Says it right there on the box

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying ignore real life to play games, but a crucial part of any successful community is commitment. Gather your players together and strive to meet up once a week or every other week. This will not only keep the momentum going, but nothing draws in new players like actually seeing the game in motion. Let the miniatures and terrain do the talking while you play and make sure to be approachable and friendly to curious onlookers who are drawn to the action. They might just be your next eager opponent.

3. Promote and Network

I find that this is the step that oftentimes gets brushed over and it is crucial to building a quality community. Promoting your game takes effort and it means you may be initially spending more time helping other people learn to play than actually playing yourself. Once you have a small player base it is important to keep the community engaged and excited for the next big thing. Work with your local Henchman (or become one!) to organize tournaments, events, boot camps, painting and terrain building sessions and free play nights. Try to read your community to find out how competitive or casual they want to be and plan accordingly.

Do your best to keep your community connected. With the advent of social media, you can generally communicate with a large group of people by using email, facebook and even the occasional blog post. At the very least, make sure you have a calendar available online or in your LGS to help players keep track of all those awesome events you've been organizing!

4. Have Fun and be a Good Sport

I won't spend too much time on this, but it is astonishing how many people play games and don't actually enjoy doing it. It is either the stress of losing, being overly competitive or simply coming across as a passive aggressive jerk, but if these players aren't having fun themselves you can be certain their opponent is having a miserable time as well. Play games. Have fun. Nuff said!

In that same vein, be a good sport. When you win, do so humbly and when you lose (and you will lose), shake your opponent's hand and discuss the game in an optimistic way. Every defeat is a new opportunity to learn something, or so the fortune cookies tell me, and the more you play the better you'll get. People don't often remember the individual games, but they always remember a good sport or a bad one. Be that player with integrity and a good attitude and you will soon become a local legend in your community and the person other player's look up to.

In Conclusion

Thank you for reading this wall of text. I certainly hope it sheds some light on the basics of building your own gaming community. In truth, these steps are only the foundation to a thriving group of players. However, like that swaying Jenga tower mentioned earlier, without a proper foundation the whole enterprise will come tumbling down. Until next time, keep reading and we'll keep posting!

-Derek

What's Already in the Box, or Things to Unlearn When Playing Malifaux

Introduction

"We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars." Jack Gilbert 

I am a gamer at heart. I've been playing game since the early 90s. For me it started with a board game called Hero Quest. My family would spend hours slaying orcs and skeletons on the board and creating new dungeons. From there I have never been able to stop getting excited when new games come out. I've played 5 versions of D&D and twice that in other RPG systems. I've played more card games than I can remember. Malifaux is my fourth miniature game.

The point is, I have a large file in my brain labeled "How to Play Mini Games." It is filled with bits and pieces from Warhammer, Mage Knight, Warmahordes and now Malifaux. Some things are essential no matter what game you are playing and rarely change. Important facts such as, "Know what your models are capable of", "Be careful of Line of Sight," or "Know Where to Make Trades" stay pertinent no matter what games you play. Knowledge is a very powerful tool when you are a miniature gamer and Malifaux is no exception.

Kill them all, let McMourning sort them out.

When you start a new game there is a whole lot of learning you have to take on. New models, new rules, new orders of activation.  However, the danger comes in sitting on things learned from other games and believing that you can win based on past experience alone. Malifaux is a game with a complex set of rules, that vary in many ways from other popular miniature games. The first several games that I played left me frustrated and confused at how I wasn't able to win with what was clearly a good strategy. I grabbed Seamus and his belles, and started slaughtering every model that got within range of his flintlock, and found that my opponent would win by dropping scheme markers that I completely ignored.

So in an effort to prevent new players from having to learn the hard way, I present a list of useful tips to help you get your brain in Malifaux mind set.

1. Schemes and Strategy are more important than board clearing. I've said it before, and at the expense of sounding like a broken record, I will probably repeat it often in this blog. Models have very limited AP in this game and each activation needs to be considered fully. Putting damage on a model over completing an objective will cost you the game. Sometimes killing is necessary. If your scheme/strategy calls for killing, if killing a model prevents a key model of yours from dying, or if removing that model stops your opponent from scoring then fire away. However, putting a few points of damage on a model when you could have dropped a scheme marker and Sprung the Trap instead.

2. Don't create rigid, set crew lists. I went over this last blog, so I'll be brief. Malifaux has a ton of moving parts and requires a lot of pre game thought at the start of every game. Don't come to the table knowing which master and which crew you are going to run before you see the table, scheme pool or the opponent's faction. Doing that will find you with a whole lot of slow melee facing Perdita's shooting gallery. While knowing that certain Masters want to take certain crews is a good idea, leave flexible spots in your lists to accomplish various goals.

3. Models have various purposes. Just because a model is a scheme runner doesn't mean he can't hold down various jobs on the table. Once he has dropped that marker, get him involved in the fracas. Scheme runners tend to be fragile but if they tie up a heavy hitter for a round, you've saved one of your important pieces. Necropunks are a fantastic example of this. With hard to kill, they are more resilient than they look, tying up 1 AP is good, forcing an opponent to waste their entire activation clearing it off is even better. In reverse, don't be afraid to have that bruiser model drop a scheme marker too.

4. Assassination runs do not end the game. One of the biggest Warmahordes lessons is to always be on the look out for the assassination attempt. In larger games it is hard to pull off, but it ended the game immediately. Malifaux changes that dramatically. Games can and are won without the Master on the table. Masters do tend to be the control center of the crew's strategy but they are not essential to winning or losing the game, especially if they are taken out on the last turn or two. (Ignore this piece of advice if Assassination is in the scheme pool. In my experience, if Assassination is available people will go for it most of the time. Probably comes from playing with Warmahordes players) If you lose your Master, don't panic, hopefully you have henchmen and enforcers that can still accomplish what you need. Look at the board state, take a deep breath and figure out how you can keep your opponent from stealing the game. Also, we had a hilarious moment the other week when I realized that Zoraida was a Swampfiend and my opponent's Viktoria was suddenly facing down a very angry Bad Juju.

If you don't hate this model,
you haven't played agaisnt
 Ressurectionists enough. 

As the aggressive player, sometimes taking out the enemy master is the right idea, but keep in mind most Masters are very resilient with plenty of wounds and defensive abilities. Often attempting to kill them is a
waste of AP, especially if they have any ways to heal themselves. ( I'm glaring at you Nurse).

5. Alpha strikes are harder to accomplish in Malifaux. The nature of the alternating activations of Malifaux makes it much harder to simply wipe out your opponent in one fell swoop. They get at least one activation to foil your plans and get out of the way before you can bring in the next part of your plan. It takes a while to get used to the mindset of how the turns work and learning to gauge which model your opponent will activate next. There are abilities that mitigate this fact somewhat, things like Pandora's Incite ability or Companion and Accomplice allow for multiple models to activate in a row. Be aware of them.

6. Models are more resilient in Malifaux. This game probably fields less models than nearly any other miniature game outside of Heroclix. Anyone who is used to larger army games knows that you can often wipe whole units of 1 hit models off the table in a given turn. That's not the same in Malifaux. Beyond defensive stats, most models have some sort of defense ability that means it might take multiple models to take even the smallest peons down. Henchmen and Masters double this resilience. Average wounds in Malifaux stands about 6. While average weak damage is 2, and trust me you will probably be hitting weak damage more than any other in the spread. So on average it will take 3 activations to remove 1 model.

7.  The cards in your hand are very important. Every game comes down to one simple factor. Resources. Learning to make the most use of your resources available is a topic for an entire blog post. I'll
sum up here by saying, make sure to use the cards in your hand at the correct moments. I've seen players start the turn with a big explosion of high cards in an attempt to take out a threatening model on the second turn, only to be thwarted by a high defense or a healing flip. The cards in your hand are vital to accomplishing the goals that you need to hit. Keep in mind that your opponent has their own resources between their own hand and their soulstones. Sometimes its best to find ways to force your opponent to use their resources before unleashing the Red Joker that you can't wait to slam down on the table. If you have a model that can heal, let that negative flip attack go through and heal the model up.

Conclusion

This is by no means an exhaustive list of tips for learning Malifaux, but its a good place to start unlearning habits that don't translate over well from other games. I've found the transition to Malifaux to be the most challenging so far of all the games I've played on the tabletop, and I remind myself of this list often as I square up against my opponents.
Until next time, Keep Cheating Fate-- John Fox.

Building a Community Part 1

Hi Malifolks!

Let's be honest. For many of us it all started with the humble Space Marine.

I began playing tabletop miniatures in 1998 when I was a freshman in high school. My small group of friends were already avid video gamers, role players and were assembling our first Magic the Gathering decks, but miniatures were foreign to us.

The first time I walked into the LGS and saw half a dozen tables showcasing mass warfare in the year 40k my mind was blown. I hovered around the table edges, crouching down so that I could get to eye level with the waves of Tyranid swarms, Eldar hover tanks and legions of Ultramarines with their bolters at the ready. It was a love affair that continues to this day. I was a miniatures player.

Pretty much the coolest thing from the 90s

In retrospect, I am somewhat surprised that I wasn't scowled at and encouraged to mind my own business. With all of my questions and curiosity, I'm sure I was making a real pest of myself. However, the community at that little hobby shop was amazing and they took the time to teach me the game and encourage my interest. Some of them even passed down old miniatures and hobby supplies, the models crusted with old paint or missing bits, so that I could hobble together my own little army. I was young and poor and those miniatures were some of my most prized possessions.

I've noticed a recent trend where gamers become annoyed if not outright belligerent if their hobby draws a crowd. I've witnessed stern glares and biting remarks that chase potential new players away and stifle any community growth. While this is a rarity, even a few bad seeds in your community can smother a hobby with staggering speed if their aren't those willing to balance the scales and welcome the curious and the interested alike. 

Sometimes you have to Power Hug it out

While I have long since moved on from Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy, I continue to collect and play tabletop miniatures with a passion that was inspired nearly 17 years ago. In Part 2 of this article, I'll be going into the actual steps needed to build a positive gaming community and what elements are required to see it sustain itself once you decide to take a step back. In regards to Malifaux, our community is in the very earliest stages and I plan to archive each step of introducing the game to our LGS along the way. Keep reading and we'll keep posting!

-Derek

Malifaux Magic Act, or The Art of Picking A Crew

Introduction

When considering the differences between Malifaux and other miniature games I used to think that the biggest differences were the activation sequences or the hidden objectives or even the card flips. I've been playing on and off for over a year now and I've come to a different conclusion. The biggest difference in Malifaux and other games (specifically Warmahordes) is by far crew building.

Allow me to explain.

I am a very competitive player. No matter how hard I try to be casual about games, I always find myself
drawn into playing hard and playing to the absolute best of my ability. To put it simply, I hate losing. This proclivity has translated from Magic: The Gathering, Warhammer both 40k and Fantasy, Mage Knight, Dice Masters and Warmahordes. I'd spend hours at a time tinkering with a deck or a list, making a small change and then playing, then going back and changing again until what I brought to the table was as perfect as I could get it.

Truth is, while it makes you a better player, its exhausting and a bit consuming. Working a full time job and being a father doesn't leave much time for constant game playing. Also, I found that after a while you don't play for fun anymore, you are just playing to win. Every game is a tournament game or a practice game.

Then Malifaux came along.
In the movie, The Prestige,  it is explained that every magic act has 3 parts. Setting up for a game of Malifaux is no different. There are three pieces of the puzzle that you must consider before you begin. Unlike most games, where you come with a full set of lists ready to go, Malifaux requires some at the table decisions. Allow me to borrow the concepts of the magic act to explain the process.

The Pledge

In Malifaux you have options at every step of set up for the game. The first thing to consider is the faction you are going to play. As Malifaux doesn't reward sticking to a single faction the way that other games do, this could be a problem for you or it might not be. Personally, I have Neverborn and Ressers. I don't plan on buying any other faction Also, as this year I focus on Neverborn, the choice is pretty easy for me.

The second thing to do is consider your opponent's choice of Faction. Is he playing Arcanists? That could mean Rasputina or Marcus, probably a good idea to leave Pandora or Zoraida in the bag. Is she playing Guild? Beware Sonnia and her blasts or Perdita's ability to shoot you right off the board in open spaces. This part isn't much different from other games. Generally you have an idea what your opponent might play against you, especially in Warmachine where you are presented with 2-3 lists your opponent could be running.

The Turn

Here's where it gets a bit tricky. After factions are declared, Strategies and Schemes are revealed. Now you have to look at your pool of models and decide which ones will be strongest for the objectives you can pick. Once again, I'll look at things from a Neverborn perspective. Pandora enjoys Turf War, which allows her to play in tight groups and benefit from her Misery Aura. Jakob Lynch is a good choice for Reckoning, as any model that gets Brilliance on it can be gobbled up by Hungering Darkness. Zoraida is a great choice for Reconnoiter as she usually brings her leaping lizards to maneuver around the board and can often paralyze or slow down multiple models to keep them in check.

Scheme wise, what can you take? Break Through, Power Ritual and Outflank will require you to have models that can move effectively. Models with abilities like Leap are perfect for this kind of thing.

Protect Territory, A Line in the Sand, and Spring the Trap are great with models that can get extra AP (Lucius crew comes to mind for Neverborn). Of course, Murder Protege and Assassinate call for models that excel at killing.

The Prestige

So far, I've talked about the models you can take to help you win your objectives, but sometimes that's not enough. There is another part of the puzzle that you have to take into account: the person across the table from you. They have carefully planned out all of their models to win their objectives as well. They want those 10 VP as badly as you do and they have 50SS to make it happen.
The good news is, you know the Strategy and the 5 Schemes they have access to. You can put a few resources into foiling their plans.

The first answer is simple, remove their models. Models who are not on the table anymore, can't achieve objectives. While you shouldn't set your entire list to laying waste to your opponent's crew, a dedicated assassin isn't always a bad choice. Just the threat of a damage dealing model can control a side of the board and force your opponent to rethink their plans.

Tar pit models are another way to slow down your opponent's plan. These are models that are difficult to kill

with large engagement ranges that can force enemy models to waste AP and cards trying to move away. Waldgeists from Neverborn are a perfect example of this type of model. They can Germinate to lay down terrain and when they sit in it, they have a 4" engagement. This will force models to either go the long way around, wasting WK actions or try and slog past.

Clean up models are my term for anything that removes Scheme Markers. Anyone who has played against
Ramos and his mechanical spiders knows the pain of trying to score A Line In the Sand with those annoying buggers on the table. Using a single AP to remove their score is very strong, this can be the trickiest strategy to use though, as you are spending your model's AP as well. AP that could be used to score your own points. Make sure the timing is right. Early game removal of a marker could just result in another marker being dropped and you play tag for the rest of the game. Getting those markers out of the way on Turn 4 is a lot harder to counter.

Putting It All Together

You have decided your faction, objectives, and crew for the game. You've pulled the pieces for your bag or tray, however you carry your models. The stage is set, the board is full of tiny houses, trees and fences. Your opponent has 2 Schemes (probably hidden) on his side of the board and the opening whistle of the dueling music from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is playing in your head. Its time to play a game of Malifaux.

Here are the last pieces of advice that I have learned from my short time playing the game:
 Focus on winning VP first, and denying VP second. Remember each model has a limited amount of AP each game, use them wisely. Sometimes dropping a scheme marker is more important than getting the last two damage on an enemy.
Have a plan, spend sometime before you begin to decide where you are going and what you are going to do when you get there.
 Learn from mistakes you make, don't get frustrated. Instead, figure out what you could have done better and remember it for next time.
Lastly, have fun! This game has a lot of moving parts and can get complicated, but never forget to enjoy yourselves.

Until next time, keep Cheating Fate-- John Fox

Showdown!

Battle Report- Ophelia vs Pandora 40ss

Reconnitor

Pandora
   Fugue State
   The Box Opens

Candy
   Fear Given Form
 Baby Kade
Sorrow
Silurid
Beckoner

Ophelia
   Jug Rocket
   My Big Gun
Pere Ravage
Francois
Rami
Rapheal
3 x Young Lacriox


"Get out there and find that soulstone cache!" Ophelia hollered pointing in two different directions and watching her kin scatter. Lenny had told her he hid it in one of the abandoned buildings on the

edge of the city, but he hadn't told her exactly where. The boys scrambled out, Rami headed to the nearby tower to scope out a better vantage point. Rapheal moved forward then stopped cold. Ophelia, nudged him with the handle of her pistol.
"What ya see out there?"
"Maybe it was nothin' boss, but I thought I saw a woman out there, she was awful pretty." Rapheal stammered. Ophelia scratched her head as he began walking forward, almost in a trance.
"Rapheal get yer green butt back here!" Ophelia snapped, but it seemed to be no use. "Pere, go up there and slap some sense into that boy!"
Pere Ravage tottered up towards the wandering gremlin and gasped. "Boss! We got company! I see a lil baby and a a girl! Shouldn't be too much to worry about!"
"You idiot!" Ophelia snapped. "Those aren't really real kids, those are monsters." She moved up towards the tower to get a good vantage point and fired twice at Candy, who simply faded into mist (2 points for Murder Protege).

From behind a building Pandora hissed in frustration. It would take Candy a long time to reappear after that blast. She moved up from her vantage point and whispered to the female gremlin, reminding her of how terrible and pointless life really was. The gremlin cocked her pistol and fired, putting a bullet right into her mid section.

A young lacroix scooted up to give Ophelia back her Jug Rocket while another tried to take a shot at Pandora and missed. Rapheal was so enchanted by the beckoner that he didn't see Baby Kade slip up and stab him in the back.

Pere Ravage tossed a dynamite at Baby Kade and Ophelia finished the woe off. Pandora's forces were looking a bit lighter, but the gremlins couldn't seem to get a good angle to shoot the slippery Neverborn. Francois was surprised by a silurid that leapt out of nowhere to swipe at him angrily. THe creature missed both times, managing only to knock Francois' hat off. The wily gunfighter sprinted away and tried a shot at Pandora, missing again and causing the Neverborn to vanish around a building.

Finally into position in his tower, Rami called out, "I got her boss!" and fired twice at Pandora. The woman vanished in a puff of mist. (3 points to my opponent for Assassinate) Pere Ravage moved up to investigate only to be gutted by the Silurid, who died in the explosion that followed. (2 points to me for Murder Protege) The beckoner  caught Ophelia's fancy and the gremlin never knew what hit her as the nearby Sorrow drained her last bit of willpower.
"Get out of here!" Where the last words on Ophelia's lips as she fell to the ground, completely wiped out. (2 points to me for Assassinate, plus I had a point for Reconnoiter second turn)
Francois growled as his boss was laid out and took a shot at the woman on the balcony. He was pretty

sure he hit, but she didn't go down. "Get her Rami!" He yelled.
The beckoner tossed out her magic one more time, luring Rami straight off his tower and nearly killing him in the process. Rami shook off the charm, took aim and fired. "That'll get ya, you nasty wench." He muttered as his shot rang true and she collapsed.
He and Francois surveyed the battlefield. Dead gremlins and the corpse of a lizard where all that remained. They grabbed the unconscious Ophelia and dragged her off before any more monsters came out of the night.

Final total was a tie of 5-5. He would have gotten 6 points if my opponent hadn't gotten kill happy and allowed me to drag Rami off the tower and too close to the middle. All in all it was a fun game and I was surprised just how much damage gremlins can do. Candy and Baby Kade got blown off the map in no time. 
Until next time, keep Cheating Fate! - John Fox

Misery loves Company

Introduction

So we know a lot about Pandora now, the question becomes who does she like to hang out with her? Neverborn have lots of options and to be fair, I've played with very few of them, especially the Wave 2 options. I'll offer my best opinions though and what has worked well for me.

Totem

Pandora can bring two totems, the Poltergeist or the Primordial Magic. Poltergeist is on a 50mm base, 5 points, 5 wounds and wants to play up front and personal. He gives a negative flip to the WP of all models within a 2 inch aura, can slow with his attack and can cast anything Pandora can at -3CA.

Here's the problem that I see with the Poltergeist, he's expensive for an expendable totem and he does best when he's on the front lines. All of this makes him an easy target. Incorporeal offers him a bit of protection, but its not something to rely on. He will get mowed down in no time.

Primordial magic, or the Puking Worm as I like to call it, is much cheaper, has less wounds, is insignificant and on a smaller base. It allows you to draw and discard a card at the start of your turn and can hand out insignificant at range with a decent CA. The difference between Poltergeist and Pandora is that the Magic likes to play back a bit and doesn't rely on being at the battle lines. It also may count as a scheme marker before or after the game, which means you can spent the last turn double walking it to the location of your choice and score that last pesky line in the sand or protect territory or set up a Spring the Trap that your opponent that your opponent doesn't expect.

All in all, for Pandora I feel like Primordial offers more utility than Poltergeist. Just the ability to drop a low card and draw a new one is fantastic, not to mention the surprise scheme marker.


Henchmen

The henchman I love the most with Pandora is Candy. I could write an entire blog on this little girl and I very well might one day. Suffice it to say, if I'm playing Neverborn I'll try to fit Candy in the list somewhere. Her Sweet and Sour ability can control who your opponent activates each turn, if you give her Fears Given Form on her and put her in a key position you can control a point on the board. She offers rare healing for a Neverborn crew if you choose to play her back a bit and her personal upgrade Best Behavior can remove her from danger.

Bad Juju is another fun choice for Pandora, especially in a kill focused game. He is a bit slow, but his Landslide (0) action triggers those WP duels that Pandora loves, and he hits like a Mac truck. If you take his eternal fiend upgrade and bring along a couple swampfiends, he's obnoxiously unkillable.

Barbaros is a tanky option for Pandora as well with lots of killing power. Send him up against to create a killing field around your opponent's henchmen. Giving him obsidian talons allows him to cheat on negative damage flips, which is awesome.

Enforcers

Who doesn't love this adorable combo

There's an enforcer tag team out there that makes me smile everytime I deliver the one two punch combo. I'm talking about Baby Kade and Teddy. These two can zip through the battlefield and leave a trail of corpse markers in their wake. Baby Kade can pull himself to Teddy, which is good as his attacks are pretty weak unless he's attacking with a partner, but he also has Lure, which is a "never hit the field without it" sort of ability. Teddy is a monster as well, gobbling up targets to heal himself after a battle.

I really want to try out Coppelius when I pick up the Hide and Seek box later this year as well. His eyeball plucking cause horror duels and being able to summon alps to tie up my opponent's side of the board seems fantastic as well.

Minions, or Counting Your Sorrows

So you have your heavy hitters, your support and control henchmen and a totem, what comes next?
Neverborn have two of the best scheme runners in the game, Terror Tots and Silurids.  Terror Tots come in cheaper but are easier to take down. Silurids are slightly more resilient with camouflage and work in conjunction with Bad Juju if you have borrowed him from Zoraida. Either way, Leap is a fantastic way to move across the board and drop scheme markers the entire game.

Beckoners are another high priority on the Neverborn support model list. Lure with a decent CA, and a trigger that basically becomes a Wk action for the Beckoner for a reasonable amount of points means you probably want at least one in your crew.

Waldgeists can jam up a 4 inch side of the table, park them in a major traffic zone and watch your opponent waste a few AP getting past them.

Sorrows, so the starting box for Pandora comes with 3 of these guys, they are 5 points, they have Misery and the can possibly paralyze. They also have 4 wounds and only Incorporeal to save them. Ask any two Pandora players and they will differing opinions on how many Sorrows to bring. The answer is generally 0-2 of them. When you can set it up correctly, the misery chain will tear through models like butter, that's assuming the sorrows live long enough to get into position.

(Tip: Do not bring Sorrows for Reckoning scenarios or against a blast heavy crew. Its like paying 5 points to give your opponent VPs) 

Insidious Madness are the other go to minions for Pandora. They have a huge walk, can move through terrain, cause WP duels and can be used as to support Pandora or run schemes. I haven't gotten to use one personally, but on paper they look perfect for Pandora. 

 Conclusion

This is not an exhaustive list of models Pandora can bring, just the ones I've played with or had my eyes on. Admittedly Graves and Tannen are solid choices as well and as I gather them, I'll have more to say. From my experience, these models give you plenty of options to strike despair into the hearts or your enemies. Feel free to leave comments on models that have worked well for you that I haven't mentioned yet.

Until next time, keep cheating Fate!  - John Fox

All the Things in Pandora's Box

Introduction

One of the most intricate things about Malifaux is deciding which upgrades you should take on your Master and crew. These upgrades have the ability to change how a character plays entirely, and Pandora is no exception. Since my focus is on Neverborn this year, lets talk Pandora upgrades.


Limited
Pandora has two limited upgrades, Voices and The Box Opens. One makes her more control oriented and the other gives her the durability to hang out close to the action.

The Box Opens give Pandora Terrifying (All) at a pretty high number. This is fantastic because at the very

least it forces a flip and the loss of a good card or a card out of your opponent's hand. If you are using Incite correctly, you can control who goes next, to give you time to put another threat in the way as well.

Mini Game Wisdom: Anytime your opponent makes a choice you want it to be the best out of two bad options. So force your opponent to either go after Pandora or another threat like Baby Kade or Candy. Either way they will probably get mulched afterwards. Sometimes its worth it to offer a trade of models. Stick Candy in the way to make use of Fears Given Form (I love this upgrade on her) and her Sweet and Sour abilities. Sure it might be sacrificing her but you could set up for a turn where you take 2 models at the price or your one. 

The Box Opens offers another trick as well, giving friendly Woes (Pandora, Sorrows, Candy, Iggy and Baby Kade) another attack called Melancholy. It doesn't do a whole lot of damage but its a rare df duel for Pandora's crew and it has two very good triggers.

Voices is the second limited upgrade for Pandora, and its best trick is adding a trigger to her two attacks, Self Harm and Self Loathing, which hands out Paralyzed condition with a Crow trigger. If you have played Malifaux at all Paralyzed is one of the most fantastic and infuriating conditions in the game. Unlike most other conditions, it only goes away after the model's next activation. Meaning, you could very well get two activations in a row, especially with Incite. A good trick is to Self Loathing on a model for the Paralyze, then Incite the same model so that you force them to go first. They simply activate and do nothing, and you get to go again. (Another good tip: If you have a model with fears given form near the paralyzed model, they still have to make the Df duel at the start of their activation)

Making the Decision
Both of these upgrades are awesome, but you can only take one. So which one do you take? When building crews, upgrades are the most harrowing of decisions. The golden rule is, look at your schemes and scenarios. What did you want to do this game? Is the scenario Reckoning or Turf War? Bring The Box Opens. Pandora can get up close and personal and between being Terrifying and Fading Memory she should be pretty safe in the thick of things. Pandora is a slippery model to catch.
Are your scenario and schemes more objective based? Bring Voices to Paralyze models and keep them from disrupting your plans. If you have an idea your opponent is going for objective based schemes, use Paralyze and Incite to your advantage. Remember AP is limited, and if you take away the activation of a model, that's 2 AP they don't get back, 3 if you manage to get a lucky hit on their Master.

Fugue State
Pandora has another non limited upgrade that I would be crazy to not talk about: Fugue State. Fugue State
gives Pandora another WP casting attack that hands out Insignificant and an 8 inch aura that forces an enemy to make a WP duel at a pretty high value or take 1 damage when they use an interact action
(Keep in mind, if they are near any Sorrows or close enough to Pandora, a lost WP duel is more than 1 damage thanks to Misery)

Cry For Me

Cry For Me is another Pandora only upgrade that gives her another attack based on WP and hands out negatives on all duels to the model hit. With a Double mask trigger it can drop a blast that puts negative flips on all models that are close hit. This is very good when you know models will be clumped up. Expect your opponent to take Hoffman or Collodi? Hit them up with a blast that trips most of their team up.

When you look at your scheme pool and see lots of interaction related schemes, this upgrade is invaluable. Shut down those pesky mole men and necropunks before they even start. Insignificant from Nullify attack lasts until Pandora is killed, and considering how slippery she is, that could be hard for your opponent to pull off.

As for other Upgrades, Pandora can make use of Fears Given Form, it forces a DF duel if a model activates within 3 inches of her and does 3 damage. Its another layer on the defensive pool, especially if you know you will be in tight quarters like Turf War or Reckoning.
Depression is an interesting upgrade that hands out the condition Nobody Likes Me, which forces a model to go last as long as it has the condition. Remember that Depression is a Woe specific upgrade so Candy or Baby Kade can make use of it as well.

Conclusion
These aren't all of Pandora's upgrade choices but they are the ones that have made the biggest impact on the games I've played with her. As I play more games, these choices might change or I will have new insights on them. In the next post I'll talk Pandora's best crew choices, then its on to the Terror of the Swamp. (Hopefully I'll have a few more games with her) Until then, keep cheating Fate!

-John Fox

Neverborn for 2015

Introduction

I will be starting off this year as I begin to explore the Neverborn faction. When I started my journey into Malifaux in late 2013, I grabbed all the discounted metal boxes they had at Cape Fear Games. I got all the Wave 1 Rezzer masters, Pandora and Zoraida. As it's hard to resist the lure of zombie streetwalkers (See what I did there?) I put the Neverborn in their box and focused on the Resurrectionists. Now it's 2015 and with interest in Malifaux being renewed, I've decided to try a new faction. Lucky for me, Pandora and Zoraida were staring me right in the face. So far I have 2 games with Zoraida and 5 with Pandora under my belt.

What have I learned?
Neverborn is a tricky faction to grasp. While Nico, McMourning and Seamus play fairly straight forward and are easy to figure out just by looking at their cards, Zorida and Pandora are a bit trickier to master. Pandora can dish out some serious damage to anyone with a big attack and low WP, but most minions aren't really packing a lot of firepower. She tends to stall out versus anyone who doesn't hit hard UNLESS she's surrounded by the Sorrow Posse. These guys when clumped up can really toss out some damage when WP duels are lost. When she's in trouble, Pandora's ability to push 4" on a failed WP duel can be a life saver, especially considering that she can choose all DF duels to be WP duels. Meaning a failed attempt to attack her can get her out of melee range for most models.

 Candy is so far an important part of my strategy as well. Her Manipulative ability can force cards out of my opponent's hand and her Sweet and Sour abilities along with Pandora's Incite gives me some control over how my opponent activates their models.

 These things alone are not enough to win a game of Malifaux. Coming from a background of Miniature games that reward model trading and removing as many pieces from the board as possible, it took me a while to start to understand the nuances of Malifaux. Actions are limited, most models will get 2 each round and masters will get 3. Depending on your schemes and the scenario AP spent putting some damage on a model rather than getting closer to achieving your objectives is possibly wasted opportunity. This is by far the most important lesson I've learned. While playing Ressers, especially Nicodem, it is easy to out AP your opponent by summoning more models than they can deal with. Each model you remove from the table is a possible extra model for you, and each model they remove from the table can come back to haunt them. This isn't so with most Neverborn masters. I have realized that summoning was something of a crutch I had to shake off when I switched factions. Each model's actions count doubly when you don't have waves of undead at your command.

  Conclusion
For the next month I'll be focusing exclusively on Pandora and Zoraida, finding out what makes them work, where they balance best and I'll be recording it here at least once a week. I'll add to it some battle reports with pictures and post my thoughts on what worked and what didn't. After I feel like I have the two of them pretty well discovered, I plan on moving to Lilith, Dreamer or Lucius. Wish me luck!

-John Fox

What does the Fox say?

Hi Malifolks!

Friendly neighborhood Malifaux player and game designer, John Fox, will be joining this little ragtag blog and will be posting his own miniature related musings!

John is a local player and will often be appearing in battle reports and tournament coverage that will be taking place in the future. I'm also hoping to get a few other friends and hobby enthusiast to join this growing blog community (blogmmunity?) so that there will be plenty of content and some diverse perspectives.

Keep reading and we'll keep posting!

- Derek

Taking Inventory

Hi Malifolks!

It started out innocently enough. Just a single crew box, Mr Jacob Lynch to be precise, and it was supposed to be a small affair. Like the addictive brilliance that Lynch peddles in his own infamous establishment, I felt that I simply wanted a little more.

The new plastics and rules were what really lured me in. As a long time Warmachine/Hordes collector and player, I'm naturally drawn to the steampunk aesthetic and the new direction Wyrd was taking with the game was pretty enticing to me. I picked up a few more support pieces for Lynch and delved into the lore.

For anyone who knows me at the LGS, I have a reputation for being a bit of a hoarder when it comes to miniatures. I'd rather gather my beautiful pieces and display them than set realistic expectations on actually learning every model on the tabletop. I've assembled some miniatures that have never seen a single game before. If I could pile them high and rest in a mountain of them like Smaug the Dragon, I would, if there weren't so many spiky bits.

I picked up a few more crews. The Hungering Darkness had me completely.

As it stands, my Malifaux collection is a little out of hand. I have pieces from multiple factions and there are more on the way. I would like to set some personal goals on not only getting these models painted, but also making sure they get some play time. I recently picked up the Through the Breach RPG books and I plan to use all if these miniatures in that game if nothing else.

So here's to a year where models get painted and hopefully played! And maybe just one more Crew to add to the collection...

- Derek

Good Things Happen!

Hi Malifolks!

It is a brand new year and I've found myself drawn into a new world. I've officially left Earthside, stepped through that swirling portal to uncertainty and truly thrown my lot into Wyrd's uncanny realm of Malifaux!

As a long time miniatures player, but a staggering newbie to Malifaux, I feel I can offer an interesting perspective for new players who are also tempted to step in and learn the ropes. I also hope to offer some insightful, or at least entertaining, posts to the veterans of the game.

It is my goal to have this blog archive my journey into all things Malifaux by posting hobby projects, battle reports, theorycraft, Through the Breach RPG session recaps and the occasional fiction. I'm also planning to apply to become our location's Henchmen and will be posting on what that process will be like.

So feel free to join me, you heroes and heretics, and let's see just what this new year has in store for us!

- Derek