Well, it has happened! I’ve met my match and went back to
school! This time, over the holidays! I’m not entirely sure I get paid for that!
Must check my T&Cs.
I mentioned last time that I’d be travelling to Leicester to
play at the Leicester Squigs Gaming Club, home of UK Number 1: @Joel_Henry, as
well as some very good Malifaux players who are on the tournament scene. Some
were present that very evening and it was a pleasure to watch them play and
have a chat with them.
On my Malifaux travels I’ve noticed a few things, either by
it being pointed out to me or by me accidently bumping in to it! The first
thing, which was pointed out, was how receptive the Malifaux community are to
new players and to people in general. That’s not to say that when I play 40k I
turn into a complete cock…just a small cock…with a wide girth… What I’m trying
to say is, the people who are in and around the community are always welcoming
in new faces and there isn’t a divide of crew/army lists so games are tighter
and in some cases (not mine) more thought out! Yes, some crew’s synergises
better with models than another crew or individual models have a better ability
dependent on the scheme or the strategy but across all the crews it is evened
out. So that big beat-stick from Ten Thunders (the Ninja faction to people who
are new/have no idea) has a similar opponent in every other faction…generally!
Anyway, back to the main point…people are approachable, chatty and helpful; not
always like the 40k scene. Now, when I reference 40k scene I reference the
tournament scene and wider communities. I feel that the gaming club I belong to
(#WS10Gaming) is different because we have all manner of people who play and we
help each other out and I’m sure that happens all over the country but there
are often times with 40k that I feel if I want to try a list against someone
else at a different club or in a tournament it’s hard to gauge the mood/atmosphere
some times. My experience in Malifaux so far has been a pleasant one which I’m
hopeful will continue.
The second thing I’ve picked up on and talking to people and
when I’ve done some demoing with people either people at my club or down the
LGS is how incredibly simple the game is to communicate with people but how
difficult it is when you have no idea what is going on! I’d like to think that
when I’ve played people I’ve given an accurate description of what is going on
and what my characters are doing around the board but I realised after playing
on Monday that I haven’t even scratched the surface! When I come on to the
battle rep I’ll chat a bit more about this but I felt like Mickey Mouse in the
Sorcerer’s Apprentice in the middle of the room as things were flying around my
head! I have realised that if I am going to walk into a tournament scene that
this will happen more and more, just like it did with 40k so I am going to have
to adjust to still enjoy the game but give a competitive game!
Something else I’ve picked up on (OH NO! Not another
thing!... Yes, another thing!) is not really an observation which I hold much
ground on but it’s a question I just wonder about. Are Wave 2 Masters better than Wave 1? Now, like I’ve said, I don’t
hold much standing on this as I’ve not had much experience of all Masters in
the game but it appears to me at the moment (listening to podcasts and watching
others) that they are in the prime. Now this might be for a few reasons but I’m
going to take the one which I think is the main reason… Not played regularly!
The example I’m going to take is the one of Mike Marshall
(Host of the Malifools Podcast) and I only use this example because he’s talked
about it quite openly and I think he’s right. The fact that a Master is ‘unknown’
to a wide section of the community creates a panic when they are being faced.
Certainly when I played against Molly on Monday I didn’t have a clue what was
happening and for me, that was good because it was something new and exciting
and in a way kind of cool but a little unnerving at the same time because I
never knew what to expect next! Of course, I could have read the rules for
Molly and the Granny with the Pram that flies across the board but it’s cooler
to see what they do on the table…also, I can read something but it doesn’t
really mean anything to me because I haven’t had the game experience to apply
that knowledge into a situation. Whereas, if I read something in a 40k Codex I
would be able to have a rough idea how it would work in the game but here… no
bloody chance! It’s something which is coming, I’m reading Ten Thunder cards
and abilities I’m getting a better understanding of how things are working in
my head. What I really like about Malifaux is how factions are closely related
and Masters can tap into different factions but still fit a theme! Not like
TauDar or Marine/Tau! No names mentioned…
Right… On to the game!
Firstly... I want to just mention the boards at Squigs! Really impressed with the two 'proper' Malifaux boards they had (supplied I believe by BendyBoards.Co.Uk) and the rest of the scenery was very good too! Not a lot of LoS blocking terrain though, so things were out in the open early, which for me wasn't bad but had I wanted to play a shooting style crew I would require cover! For this game however, no problem with the board and actually the GW Garden of Expensive Pricing was very effective... I may have to look into getting one!
Soulstone Cost: 50
Scheme: Reckoning
Strats: Line in the Sand, Cursed Object, Vendetta, Protect
Territory, something else that I can’t remember and neither of us took!
Opponent: Ben Halford (@Ben_halford)
Opponent’s Crew: If you didn’t know already: Molly
Squidgepidge (teehee), Ressers!
Now I’d love to tell you what was in Ben’s crew but as we’ve
just discovered I haven’t got a clue about any other faction apart from my own!
What I can tell you is that they were painted like the dogs bollocks! Really
nice minis and a shame to remove 3 of them from the table! I do know that he
had Molly (good start), a Hanged, Dead Doxy, 3 Crooligans (fucking crooligan
bastards), Necrotic Machine (summoned), Punk Zombie (summoned), Some dude with
a messed up face and a big hammer (see, I told you I didn’t know what I was
doing!) and that Nanny fucker with a flying baby in a pram or something along
those lines, either way… it’s dead and it fucking hurts!
Ben took Cursed Object and Protect Territory.
So, we're on the Garden of the Dead board... Ironic really! Before the game Ben asked me what I'd like to play against and my reply was something like; "I'm not bothered, whatever you want!" when really my reply should have been: "30 Soulstones"!
My crew: Lynch, Huggy, 2 Wastrels, 2 Torekage, Oiran, Yamaziko, Archer and a Rail Worker. With this; Smoke and Shadows on Yama, Recalled Training on Huggy and the rest went into the SS pool!
What was I doing? Well... I thought that I could hammer Yama and the 'kage forward with smoke and shadows, use the Archer to mop up after the hitters go in and get Huggy on the big stuff. Finally, the Rail Worker and Lynch could stand at the back...roughly 6" out of my deployment zone just dropping markers! I took Vendetta with Yama against The Hanged and Protect Territory.
Well the first turn saw both 'kage disappear ready to re-emerge next to Huggy who had bombed forward after the Oiran lured him halfway up the board! Yama used her speed to get 12" up the board with the Archer providing cover! Molly got straight in the mix summoning a Zombie and a Machine right next to my Oiran and Wastrels who were already making inroads up the board! This provided a bit of a speed bump to be perfectly honest but the Punk Zombies are fairly resilient, something I'll be looking for later in another crew, but in this game it took me a turn to shift him! The same goes for the machine!
In this game, my main mission was to do 2 things: 1; drop a shed load of markers anywhere where I can fit them in and 2; Hit the Hanged with Yama and possibly kill him/take significant wounds off so I could mop up later and gain points in that way.
Every game I seem to play which involves miniatures I always want to just go and kick the shit out of stuff! Playing the mission is an interesting scenario and very tactical but those of you reading who have played me will know that I am tactically inept! So I just go for pure smashyness to avoid any confusion over what I should be doing! Death first, mission later!
It was clear that Ben really knew his stuff, and the way his crew gelled together with everything feeding off each other made me really think about my crew and the way it worked. Yes, Lynch is a
good and yes, some of the combos he can come out with are filth but the way I've been playing him recently, it doesn't really work for me! I've only been using him because I'm afraid of using Mei Feng and I didn't have Misaki back! But now I have her... the world is my Oyster...or Chinese Takeaway whatever is closest! I'm going to take a long look at the Wave 2 stuff and see if any of that could be used in my crews! I know it's a bit late to change my 100 SS list for Pubfaux but for after, that would be good!
I digress, back to the game! Molly seemed to be the focal point of the crew, as any master is, but he ability to give reactivations to models and summon, as well as influence others was frightening! Something had to be done... Huggy would be enough...right? Okay, maybe not but with 2 'kage too that surely will be enough... and an Archer picking away? Hmm... It took me 3 turns to send Molly back to the hole she crawled out of, but by that time the 2 'kage were gone and Huggy was on some serious damage! I'd concentrated all my efforts onto killing that banshee that I didn't really look around me and play the game! I'd reacted too late... at least that's my excuse! In truth, Ben had really played a perfect game with Molly as the distraction those little bastard Crooligans bounced away from any form of damage and gave the Cursed Object to my crew members who were in melee, thus not being able to get rid of it, therefore giving him VP every turn! A wise idea!!! Very tricksey!
Eventually, I got Yama into melee with the Hanged, 1 VP but what I didn't bet on was another member of his crew turning round and teaming up on her!
My other Wastrel is just dropping markers like diarrhea all over the board and starts playing hide and seek with Crooligans!
The question is... How do you solve a problem like a Molly? Well... Lynch... BANG! YES! FINALLY!
Turn 5... I've got 3 models left on the board but a shit load of scheme markers and the best hand you've ever seen...
Very good early game when I needed Lynch and the Wastrels to do something half decent but not now! With Crooligans running riot and a Dead Doxy still stalking the streets, it came down to how many markers I could drop to rack up points! What I didn't realize is that the Nanny/Pram/Possessed Baby can do 2 things: 1. Bin scheme markers within a certain distance and draw 2 cards / discard 1. 2. Bin scheme markers which I've put down and make them into corpse counters... HOLY SHIT! Well the 2 additional scheme markers (which would have tied the game) were gone! Disapperated into thin air and replaced with the rotting stench of dead hooker and STD.
The game ends and after totting up the points I've taken an 8-6 loss. Now I'm really over the moon with this because at every turn Ben had an answer for me and then posed more questions that I could solve! A fantastic player and an awesome crew! Really enjoyed the game and can't wait to go down to the Squigs again when I've got another holiday!
During my time at the Squigs, I was chatting to Joel, Ben and a few others about Yan Lo and my desire to run him as a viable TT crew. I couldn't find the rules for the skellies (whose name now escapes me as I'm in bed writing this!) but finally found them under the Ressers section of W2 we realized that they were actually fairly handy! Now their ability to brace (4 damage to anyone who charges within 3) coupled with Yamaziko's same ability would be it would be a WORLD of pain for anyone who tried to smash in! I wanted to give them a go and see how good they'd be at 50SS. So I played a little tester game with them to see how they panned out. As it happens... pretty fucking well!
My practice games don't involve any schemes but will involve a strat. This one, Reckoning! Perfect for 2 reasons; 1. I've already played it with Ben so I know what I'm looking for. 2. It's the next Battle for Malifaux Campaign day strat! Some good practice!
With Yan Lo, I've played: Izamu, Toshiro, Yamaziko, 3 Skellies, TT Sniper guy (another complex name!).
Luckily for me, the cards were in my favour and I made sure J either was on neg flips or not damaging! With the skellies' attacks I managed to push J back far enough so that Izamu could get in. Now... Izamu... I've seen him before, I love the model but I never really knew what he could do... fuck me... AMAZING! It's like a smash and grab! He took 11 wounds of Lady J in the 1st round of combat! By the time J reactivated in the next turn she was down to 1 wound, fluffed the Juggernaught flip with a 1 and then it was left to Izamu (and the Red Joker in my hand) to mop up! This just left on the table Death Marshall, Nino and a Witchling stalker! Whereas, I still had my full crew alive in some description on the table!
A note on the sniper, I kept going for focus and trying to hit Nino who was on the top of a pillar (sneaky!), with the focus he did very well! I really like his ability and damage output! I think that it's not an answer to Guild Riflemen but it's very much a start! An output of 2/3/5 isn't something to be sniffed at, and with a ram it gives +1 to damage resolution! Range of 28 with focus... yeah, not bad at all! Would be interesting to try one and an archer in a game! Maybe with Misaki!I've certainly been given a lot to think about over the coming weeks, especially gearing up for Pubfaux! I need to seriously look at the masters I use and ask 'do they suit my play style?' with the answer for a few of them a definate 'no' but because they're TT, I'll still have the minis anyway! I like the idea of Yan Lo and I like the big buff wall which can just move around. I also like the Misaki death run! What I do need to do is go back to the cards and especially look through W2 stuff and think; does it suit my play style? Can it fit in with a Master I have? Could it be used in combo with anything else? The answer for those questions is for another day, but it's certainly, for me, a question to help me along my merry way in understanding the game and the faction better!
Well, that's it from me... for now! I'm hoping to pick up a game today or tomorrow (after I've read some more cards!) and I will see where it takes me! I'll of course report back and share my experience. I'll be looking towards list building for 40k too as War of the Rose fast approaches and I need to settle on a list and play it!
I've had an awesome time with the Leicester Squigs; Ben was a fantastic guy to play against and really gave me a lot to think about! The rest of the guys there were all really friendly and helpful with my Malifaux quest! If you are in the Leicester area and want a game of Malifaux on a Monday night, I strongly recommend you check them out! Get in contact with with Joel (@Joel_Henry) or have a browse on their website (Leicester Squigs in google!).
Thanks for reading!
I'll see you soon!
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