Well, just Aladdin with the lamp I got my wish! Not once but 3 times...plus a demo game!
I went to my LGS to just have a game of perhaps 40k, My Little Pony and Malifaux... I know what you're thinking "In one day?! You one crazy dude!" Yeah, maybe but I do love a bit of friendly gaming!
One thing I have realized at the moment is that opponents I'm playing are either beginners who have picked the game up over the course of the last month and have built a crew and played a demo game or two or are players who have a collection of models which they've played a few times with but haven't worked out any combos with or worked out a specific order to use them in. Now, I'm not writing this to sound like I'm King of the Hill because if you've read recent posts you will discover I'm nowhere close but it does put me in a tricky position and one I have been actively trying to fix! What happens is that I'm playing players who are new to the game and when I'm either trying to pull of combos or do things which are a bit tricksy their eyes glaze over or they look with a mood of puzzling bewilderment as I start moving models or putting burning onto a Shlong (see, the smut has started already!). I'm really fortunate that I listen to and talk to a lot of experienced players, not just in Malifaux but in 40k too who know what they're doing so by watching what they do and trying to adjust my game to adapt to a play style it changes they way I'd build a crew or an army! The evidence of this is in the Malifaux Campaign at my LGS where I played the two closest rivals and beat them 8-5 and 8-4 in two very competitive but relatively straightforward games! Contrast this to Monday's game in Leicester when I took a crew which would have been okay in my store, instead it got dominated worse than Ukraine... too soon?
It's really made me think about the way I play and I still want to keep that fun thematic edge but have a bit of steel in there so figures don't roll over like Ronaldo in the penalty area! I've been down to a few clubs to play and I really need to get down there again but it's finding time to get down there and actually play a game! I'm hoping that I can pop down to one in Walsall soon and give a few players a game! Maybe try out Mei Feng, which I've been meaning to do or even look at Shlong/Misaki!
I went through my Shlong list in my last post with the upgrades etc and outlined basically what was going to happen! I was really lucky today to play 4 games, two of which were demo games and one of the two only had 3 models each but they were all pretty kick ass!
I'll start at the very beginning... Whilst in the shop kicking around doing just about fuck all, I managed to arrange a game against one of the regulars who plays Collette. Fortunately for me he didn't have Collette with him so he borrowed a Ramos crew which consisted of: Ramos, Jace, 3 Brass Spiders, that stupid looking spider person and a few other bits and bobs! Now, I know what you're thinking, what an awesome crew with other bits and bobs! He's an awesome character! And in response to these sarcastic remarks... Fuck you! :)
Anyway, I'm playing the same Shlong crew I've posted about before but this time... I've subbed out Izamu because... FUHATSU'S HERE!!! ARGH! I built Fu in lightning time and blu-tacked him to the base because I want to put him on a scenic base! In this game though, I never got to use Fu because...
My opponent wanted to really play board games, specifically Battlestar Galatica, Star Wars, War on Terror and Love Letter...which I REALLY need to order! When we arranged the game the people who were partaking in the board games were not in the store but just before we started... they arrived! This prompted my opponent to play a half-assed game of Faux which lasted 2 turns...
Basically, I had killed the spiders in the first turn through his sheer stupidity and he left Ramos out in the open so I took a pop shot with a focused Sniper, causing a few wounds. My first activation in the 2nd turn was the sniper again against a Ramos out in the open... I flip the Red Joker for damage... killing Ramos! Well, this was an idea opportunity for my opponent to throw a world class mini rage quit with the line: "Well you've killed Ramos, the rest of the crew is fucked! I give up. No point in playing, he's dead!" Hmmm... Okay! So it's taken me 2 turns, well not even that! 1 turn and 1 activation to cause someone to quit a game...now, I'm taking that as a win no matter how you want to wrap that up! A bit of a non-starter really because his heart wasn't in it and I was never going to get a decent game out of it despite him being a very capable player who would have actually of given me a game!
The guy I ran a demo for was actually a GW employee some years ago (Paul), so he wasn't new to wargames and was really intrigued by the card flipping mechanic! He was taken by Rasputina and her crew, so we played 3 models each. I took Seamus, Madame Sybelle and a Rotten Belle, whereas he took Raspy, Ice Gamin and Ice Golem! Well... it didn't end well for the prostitute killing resurrectionist! We went though the basic mechanics of the game, damage flips, walking, beating the shit out of undead hookers with no consequence, then we moved on to a bigger game! For this we used the Raspy box set which comes right to 25 SS (without upgrades) and I used Misaki with a Torakage, Ten Thunder Archer and Ototo... how kind am I?! We played a few more rules; Strat - Squatter's Rights, using Soulstones, casting spells through the bullshit Frozen Heart models and killing Ten Thunder models without much fuss! Paul really enjoyed it and we talked for a bit about all the different Masters in the Arcanists and different models he could use if he wanted to play. In the end he picked up a fate deck, Raspy crew box, Sabertooth and a Arsenal Box for his starting crew and his intention is to join in the Campaign and try to rule Malifaux! A really successful demo game I feel and another player to join the ranks of the Stourbridge Malifaux Community! Huzzah!
My final game of the night was against a Seamus crew (40SS - the boxed crew) which was being run by a lad called Luke, who had watched Malifaux for a few months being played by various people and wanted to give it a go! Now, to be fair to him he really knew his stuff and I didn't have to carry him like I thought I would and he got on with the game really well! Seamus' blunderbuss is just obscene! I didn't realize until I played it earlier how good it was! Well, when used against you it's even worse! Luke managed to raise the dead...over and over... he managed to kill Yamaziko, the Sniper, Peasants and even a Fermented Monk which looked suspiciously like a Oiran but when they're that fermented they don't really care what they dress like, they're just grateful for clothes and maybe a warm bed...although not with Seamus!
Alas, it wasn't enough! We played a basic Strat - Squatter's Rights with no schemes so he could get his head round playing a mission and using a crew!
I played Shlong (with all the upgrades stated in the last post) with:
Yama (with Smoke and Shadows)
Fuhatsu
2 Peasants
Fermented Monk
Sniper
The game ended with just Shlong, Fuhatsu and a Peasant. For Luke... 2 Belles! Absolute carnage! I came away with a 10-7 win! I've realized that Shlong shouldn't really be pumped forward into combat or near it! He should be kept somewhere safe with some nice cosy slippers!!!
Well that's all from me for tonight! Have a great Easter!
I'll see you soon!
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