The one where I become a #ToMB member

So some of you will look at this post and think 'What the fuck?!' and you probably have good cause to look at this and wonder what #ToMB stands for and what is involved. No, I haven't joined a secret sect of the Freemasons who are hellbent on world domination; they're called the ToME and I'll be covering them next time!
#ToMB stands for: Tale of Malifaux Bloggers - TA DA! Simple now I said it!

As you know, I like a little bit of Malifaux sprinkled over the top of the crunchy meta nut 40k brand that I have in the mornings! As of yet, I am still waiting on the return of all of my Ten Thunders, though I have some back in dribs and drabs as and when Nige (@NigelSBartlett) can finish them! Soon, I will have them all back and it's going to be absolute hell to pay for the first person I meet at a tourney! I'll be all over it! The good news is that yesterday I collected some of my minis from Nige and they look awesome! There are some fantastic models there and he has done them proud here! I must tell you that I have been purchasing more TT related stuff (even though I'm not meant to be but... my embargo has been lifted until April now! YAY!) and I've asked him to do a paint job on those for me after he has finished other jobs! Yep, I need to get to the back of the que again!

I'm really quite excited by the new releases that are coming out soon - Gremlins (3 crews), Fuhatsu and Teddy to name but a few and I know people are gearing up for the Gremlin invasion but I'm really looking forward to Fuhatsu! When that machine gun wielding, unstable S.O.B hits the battlefield it's going to be game over for a fair few crews! Especially if it's played right! I've made the decision to try him out with the Wrastels and Lynch... More on that in another post!

MEANWHILE... I said that I needed to glue some stuff together and paint some more bits and bobs to do with a crew and I've done a little bit but not as much as I would have liked to have done! I think it's safe to say that Neverborn will be safe as I won't even get to finish painting the models, so they'll never hit the table! Well...not for a few months anyway!

Right... I suppose I better get on with it hadn't I?!

Tale of Malifaux Bloggers is an excellent idea which basically involves British Malifaux players using higher level maths skills to convert $ to £, which hurts my brain, in purchasing Malifaux related goodness. The idea is that you start a crew and gradually add to it each month but under monetary restrictions. The idea was a conceived by a gentleman called Chris King (@Lemonconstruct) and a more in depth version of what I'm about to tell you, and other blogs relating to this can be found here: http://wyrd-games.net/community/topic/98442-tale-of-malifaux-bloggers-tomb/.

In essence these are the rules:
Month 1: You have $60 to spend on starting up a crew
Every other month you receive $25 (virtual cash)
Money can be carried over from month to month if you don't spend it
You can choose to run multiple masters if you so wish which can come from the same pool of $60 or you can run two separate pools of cash!
The month stretches from the 17th of one month to the 16th of another! (Which means I've not got a lot of time to show you my first month's post as it is now the 15th!!!)

So, I have thought long and hard about this and I've got my mass of Ten Thunders stuff and to be honest, I fell in love with Misaki when I first saw the box on the wall at Titan Games (@TitanGamesLtd) - No, I'm not on commission! But I had another love... and like a cheap hooker roaming the mean streets of Bridgnorth I had a lust for the dark side! Now I've listened to a lot of talk about Neverborn from Joel (@Joel_Henry) and he talks about Lilith and all her little gremlin nephilms and that's okay if you like little devils running round the board and then a massive winged daemon prince like character from 40k pulling up the rear smashing stuff up! And believe me, it does appeal but I went for someone a bit for sophisticated. I like the idea of Neverborn and with the ties I have between Lynch and Neverborn I think I have the scope to use some of them in certain games, but I like the idea of monsters just appearing and kicking the living daylights out of you before you even have chance to blink!
Therefore, my #ToMB will be ... (DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The Dreamer and Pandora! TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Quite a task, however, I do love the idea of a small child in a bed robe summoning a four armed flesh devouring monster and as for Pandora, well... I've got two words for ya... Candy Kane! Just awesome!

My task then is fairly simple but a challenge at the same time. The question is "How do I buy two crews for $60?" Easy... na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-eBay! Over I went to the bay that sells e...not that type of 'e' I hasten to add but the good type...Okay, I'll stop now! Anyway, I went to eBay and found some sweet deals! I managed to pick up a men's lacrosse stick for £25! Bargin! Oh, right, Malifaux... yeah...

I'm going to give you a run down of what the cost would be had I of bought these items new:

Pandora Crew Box: $45
Dreamer Crew Box: $41
Teddy: (Can't find the 1st Ed price due to new plastic!)
Alps (pack of 3): $15

A grand total of: $101 (plus Teddy). So, a little bit over the budget set for this project hmm...
But I have a plan because eBay will mostly be cheaper!
Current conversion rates put $60 at £36.08 which isn't really that much if you look at it but never fear!
I made two purchases from eBay: 1. Pandora's crew with an added Teddy model thrown in. 2. Dreamer's crew with 3 Alps put in for good measure.

Pandora (with cuddly extras) cost me £18! (Rounded up)
Dreamer (with mountainous extras) cost £15! (Rounded up)
BOOM! Bargain city! This brought me to a total of £34 which means I have £2.08 to spend on something...what could I possibly spend it on... nothing! You're right! So, I'm going to save it in my piggy bank for another month! Now next month I have $25, which equates to £15.03. I bet you're wondering why I'm being so pedantic over the pence... my mother always told me: "Save your pennies, they soon add up!" So, that's what I'm doing! Next month I will have: £17.11 to spend! See! Already a massive saving!

I know little to nothing about Pandora (except she's a bird with a box!) or Dreamer's crew / game play, so I'm going to be trying them out in a few practice games at my LGS (Titan Games if anyone hasn't caught this before) and see how they fare. I love the idea of Pandora just dealing damage every time someone fails WP duels and Dreamer being able to just walk around going "Hmmm...Wouldn't if be cool if a MASSIVE MONSTER came from under the floor and killed Lady J?!"

There is, undoubtedly, a lot to find out about Pandora and her crew, as well as the Dreamer but this will come in time! I'm thinking about next month and perhaps a Doppelganger because I've heard they are just too cool!

Meanwhile, I'm sure you've seen on Twitter but have a look at some pics of my TT crew! Coming along nicely! Can't wait until they're all finished and I can use them on the table! I apologize for the photos but I couldn't be assed to find my light this early in the morning! Better ones will appear at some point!

I will keep you updated with how I get on with #ToMB and I will post again about this! Hopefully, I can get a post up in the next few days which sounds out a few ideas for an escalation style Malifaux campaign at my LGS (Titan Games if you didn't catch that!).

*Just a side note... I said in my last post about my Heldrake... here you go! I'm hoping that I can finish the top tonight and then make a start on the bottom tomorrow!*

Thanks for reading!
I'll see you soon!