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Hey Dakka,

A friend of mine already has some Mailfaux models and I'm possibly wanting to jump in and start playing. With that in mind, what's the best (easiest) box set to start with?

I might not be asking the right question here so feel free to rant.

Thanks!

There are definitely both different difficulties and different power levels to starting sets, along with the factor of some that basically (or actually) require other purchases to work well.

Here's a pretty generally agreed upon list

The following Masters are recommended for players beginning Malifaux.They all have an easy to understand playstyle, need few additional models, and have an excellent selection of models in their Start Box:
Lady Justice
Perdita Ortega
Seamus
Rasputina
Lilith
Viktoria
Von Schill
Ophelia LaCroix

The following Masters are not recommended for players beginning Malifaux. They all either have a complex or difficult to use playstyles or require a lot of extra models beyond what's in the starter box or have extremely steep learning curves.
Nicodem
Marcus
Collete
Pandora
The Dreamer
Leveticus
So'mer Teeth Jones
Hamelin

(from pullmyfinger)
I pretty much agree with this list, with the exception that Lilith, while a good starter, notably requires another blister to really function (the box comes with steps 1 & 3 of growing models, meaning some rules aren't useable). I'd also add Kirai to the not recommended list, because she would probably not be a good way to learn the game.

I disagree with starting off with Ophelia or Von Schill. They're not full "Masters" in that they're unconventional henchmen. They operate like Masters, but they're not the best introduction to how the game works.

I do agree that they're both straightforward though.

Thanks for the information. All I need now is to convince someone else a our FLGS to join in.

as far as the easiest to get the hang of the game with, i would suggest either the viktorias or saemus. the viktorias crew consists of fairly strong models but little synergy, which makes them good for someone with a less than solid grip on the rules.

On the other hand saemus' crew is incredibly forgiving because everyone in his crew is incredibly resilient for their cost. Saemus himself will allow you to experience many different facets of the game, spellcasting (he makes everybody affear'd and has a wicked spell that hurts them and heals you at the same time), melee (auto-kill trigger ftw), and ranged (one of the most bamf attacks in the game)

androcles138 wrote:
as far as the easiest to get the hang of the game with, i would suggest either the viktorias or saemus. the viktorias crew consists of fairly strong models but little synergy, which makes them good for someone with a less than solid grip on the rules.

On the other hand saemus' crew is incredibly forgiving because everyone in his crew is incredibly resilient for their cost. Saemus himself will allow you to experience many different facets of the game, spellcasting (he makes everybody affear'd and has a wicked spell that hurts them and heals you at the same time), melee (auto-kill trigger ftw), and ranged (one of the most bamf attacks in the game)

I'd add to this that Lady Justice is also a good one to start with, for the same and opposite reasons as Seamus. Her box also offers various parts of the game (range, spells, melee etc) but with more of a focus on high damage than resilience. I tend to use her as one of my demo gangs when I'm running intro games at my local club, and I've seen that she can be a pretty easy to get the hang of crew box for a new player

Perditta is a great starting crew.

The henchmen used the following crews for our large demos at GenCon:

Sonnia vs. Rasputina (lots of the spell and ranged mechanic, blasts, also who doesn't like seeing things blow up?)

Viks vs. Ramos (For the reasons stated above, as well as both having a form of companion for activations).

Marcus vs. McMourning (I don't have much experience with these models, so I can't really comment on why these two were used)

S'omer Teeth vs. Seamus (seamus's resilience vs the shenanigans of the gremlins).

But when it comes down to it, the "easiest" list to look at (besides the many great suggestions in this thread) the Book 1 Masters... Because the game was generally simpler at that time, but you may want to cross reference it with the list that SpiralingCadaver's list... because there are some book 1 masters in the "not a good demo crew" list.

i'll agree that there are some that aren't hard to use, but if the question is easiest, i'll stick by my earlier statement of viks or saemus, but i will throw LJ in there as well.

I have to disagree with the ortegas though. Their high individual costs, and lack of defense (perdita aside) for their ss cost, leads to matches that are won or lost 2nd turn, and can be fairly unforgiving if you mess up even a little on deployment. Them I'd put in the "not hard to pick up, but not the easiest" catagory.

@alfndrate Most of those make sense, with the exception of S'omer. I think they probably included him more for the coolness and humor of it and less for ease of play. The gremlins can be unforgiving for a new player.

As a henchman, I fully understand that... In fact I had bought literally all the gremlins based on the cool factor. Loved them to death, but could not win a game with them.

I ended up trading them to my buddy for his neverborn and viks crew... Was not the fairest of trades, but he wanted to get the gremlins but did not have the cash for them...

I think we're both happy, I love me some Pandora, Chompy and now Jacob Lynch, and he gets to laugh his arse off as he makes swamp gas with S'omer's avatar lol

who's jacob lynch?

The newest* Neverborn master (out with book 4).

*only convention release, so, technically not out yet...

Oh yes, forgot about that... Jacob Lynch is from Book 4 it didn't occur to me that he wasn't available on public release. Though tbh I did buy Lynch at GenCon, but my buddy's Pandora and Chompy were the ones that got me into neverborn

Once she releases (due at the end of September), I would add Misaki's box set to the list of recommended easiest new masters. Misaki and the pure 10 Thunders crew from the new book are a very well balanced and easy to learn crew that provides some great benefits to the player. Some of these include being able to "try out" other factions while staying within the 10 Thunders faction, along with being able to expand very easily with the new 10 Thunders rules. Misaki herself is fairly straight forward to play as well.

I didn't have any intention on owning Misaki until you came in to this thread... As an easy to learn master, how do you feel about using her as a demo crew?

I think Misaki's crew will work very well as a demo crew along with a great starter crew. She is fairly resonably priced and the pure 10 Thunders models do well across all sections and mechanics of the game.

From a Demo perspective, Misaki works well as a straight forward demonstration of movement and melee, then has some very good abilities to demonstrate triggers and special abilities. Misaki also has Reckless and Melee Expert, demonstrating both Extra AP and specific AP nicely. Ototo is a very tough beater model that demonstrates melee, and the Torekage have both shooting and melee, along with a couple excellent spells to demonstrate casting. Adding in a box of Archers really drills home on the ranged side of the house.

All of these models plus Yamaziko round out a solid crew for anything from 25 - 40 SS of play. Misaki and her crew are competitive enough out of the box that a new player will not get stomped, while still being fairly easy to learn. She and her crew are still complicate enough that a new player will not get bored and can learn plenty of tricks with her. Once they have mastered a pure 10T crew, its very easy to expand into the other 10T masters and models, both with Misaki leading the crew and by picking up one of the dual-faction masters.

You mention Colette's box set is not a great one to start out with, is this due to the rules not being the easiest to start off with, or due to extra cash layout needed?

I forget what she starts with, but I imagine it's referring to her steep learning curve.

Vermillion wrote:
You mention Colette's box set is not a great one to start out with, is this due to the rules not being the easiest to start off with, or due to extra cash layout needed?

haha BOTH!

You'll absolutely need both her Totems and the Coryphee Duet models to make her crew function and they cost nearly as much as the starter box (off the top of my head I think)

Rules wise - she is amazing at what she does, but the player must be very aware of both the amount of ss available, and whether her crew are within 18" of either her or another showgirl as the crews mechanic is that they can swap places (through colette) and tag team opponents into submission before disappearing before a counter-attack. If you are a new player I would not recommend her to start out. If you did, be prepared to struggle as damage output per model is pathetically low so you will find it difficult to kill someone in one activation, and there staying power is not much. You cant mix in other Arcanist well either as the Showgirl crew rely heavily on the fact that they are showgirls (Mannequins companion all showgirls, Colettes tricks require showgirl characteristic) however you will find at certain missions and schemes (Arcanists' sabotage being KEY here) very easy to complete.

Ok thanks, might just use them as incentive to get better at painting then. Any chance you could give an opinion on the zombie nurse gang too? Yes, the b movie appeal is pulling me in that direction as the burlesque idea doesn't seem a good idea to start off playing with :(

Re: nurses-- I learned on McMourning, and, he's definitely not an easy button, but I'd recommend him for a starter. He's very solid, and has a pretty nice crew. He plays surprisingly fast, and has a lot of character. I've gotten more games in with him than any other master.

The only caveat I'd make is, the boxed set is (slightly) poorly designed: both Nurses and McMourning run best with disposable pieces, so I wish that they had included 2 canine remains instead of the second nurse in his starter box (and would highly recommend doing this when starting). That one change makes a somewhat frustrating starter into a well-balanced one.

Thanks, aside from canine remains are there any other useful blisters to pad it out for a little variety? When I was looking at Collette seemed the starter and two blister were the way to go (doves and corphyee i think the spelling there is) so don't mind shelling out the £45 for starter and 2 blisters for a start up if I can manage to get a demo game or two at my FLGS.

Hi, glad I could help!

-The Zombie Chihuahua will definitely be worth it for you. You may not use it every game (though some people might...), but it's great, especially when learning McM, and cheap ($/points).

-Eventually you'll want a Rogue Necromancy (McM able to summon), but you can (mostly) only ever field one at once, and it comes in Molly's box, so you might want to wait to see if you want to go seriously into Ressers, or just McMourning. I wouldn't recommend starting with it because:
-it requires a lot of body parts, so it might mess with your priorities when summoning
-it's very powerful (probably undercosted), so could become a bit of a crutch-- you should learn on his boxed set zombie (forgetting its name), as it has a lot of uses, even at higher levels of play

-I find merc firepower extremely useful, for versatility (Ressers have very little useful native firepower) and will often take a Desperate Merc (disposable, and, I find, particularly good synergy with both Nurses and McM) and/or a Convict Gunslinger (tough, high fire output)... others swear by Von Schill, but I haven't used him yet

-Night Terrors have no particular synergy, but are tough and fast, making them great harassers and objective grabbers

-The Dead Rider is similar, but more expensive, and his regeneration works well with McM's abilities that work on damaging (friendlies included)

If I had to pick 2 blisters, Zombie Chihuahua and Canine remains are thematically good and fit his play style. Then I'd pick another after a couple games, based on what felt lacking (though I'd lean towards one of the mercs).


I wrote this up a while ago, but it should still be pretty useful, if you want more info: http://spiralingcadaver.blogspot.com/2012/04/slaughter-house.html

Lol, so glad you've got Ressers down SC, I have Nicodem's box, but I've never played it.

There is an interest strategy using Nicodem and Rafkin involving 6 or 7 dogs and getting a bunch of mindless zombies and canine remains...

One of the rules wranglers on Wyrd's site was talking about it.

I could find it and post it if you wanted a bit of an "advanced/may not always work" tactic lol. I hear its really cool when it gets off.

Haha, I guess you could say I play Ressers, but mostly it's just McMourning that I have exp. with.

I definitely appreciate the note on strategy, but I'm trying to never suggest strategies that I haven't tested out, myself-- for.

For instance, there are definitely a few models I really want to write up for McM (mostly his avatar and Rafkin), unfortunately, though, since starting Malifaux, work has been first so I haven't gotten as much gaming as I was hoping for, and haven't played them yet...

I've only played with McM and Seamus so far (as ressers, I've also dabbled in other factions), though, but I think Ressers really are going to continue as my faves.

Most of my experiences are with the Viks, Pandora, and Jakob Lynch... I need to get the rest of my Dreamer crew painted up, and start to learn him. I need to also get Lilth and Zoraidra

Edit: I also updated my last post to include masters from the factions...

Although the nurses may fit thematically with mcmourning, i've found that they really haven't been all that effective for me in play. McMourning already has speed out the wazoo, and between his melee capability, his ability to hack his own models into golems, his dogs, etc. i think he has enough things to spend SS on that more often than not the nurses are better left on the shelf.

A McMourning crew i've had some luck with looks something like:
McMourning
Lab Assistant (forget the dudes name)
3x canine remains
chihuahua
2x Rotten Belles (I know that they're normally Saemus' girls, but they are such a good value for their ss cost that more and more I find them to be almost Auto-includes in non-kirai Resser crews)

With McMourning, it's usually best to pay to start him with a body part so that he can get fast first turn, then just slice up your dogs into flesh golems

I was going ro suggest, if just two more blisters to stary with, canine remains, and another flesh construct, preferably the alt sculpt