Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I recently became interested in Malifaux. I played a demo game and I have to say it looks kind of awesome. I was considering a few crews simply on looks. I was wondering what the play styles and learning curves for these crews are:
The Viktorias
Rasputina
Ramos
Von Schill
Lucius
C. Hoffman
Marcus
Also how are these crews ranked competetively?
Thanks! All comments are appreciated.

Are we talking Malifaux 1.5 or Malifaux 2nd edition?

Here is my Mafliaux 1.5 response...
Viktorias are by far the most competitive and probably the easiest to you use. They are a one trick pony (Sister in Spirit launch and kill whatever you end near) and placed well in Masters this year.

The rest are all kinda low end. Raspy can be powered up but required combos, and like in any game you are requiring combos, it can be picked apart. The rest are either Henchmen or low end master.

Here is my Malifaux 2nd (M2E) response...

Lucius and C. Hoffman aren't out yet. Give them a month or two.

The others are all Masters and M2E is being internally balanced Master to Master. So none are currently more competitive than the others by any great degree.

As for the easiest, Von Schill is very upfront in what he does, Ramos as well, with a few more working parts. Raspy and Marcus require more crew synergy. The Viks are probably the most intense in M2E, but not so confusing as to be limiting.

As a guy who plays a Collette Crew, I can tell you Viktorias hurt a lot (as the Viks are my wife's first crew)

Personally, I wouldn't limit yourself to one crew. They are generally cheap enough that you can try a couple. It seems you have more in the Arcanists on your list, so perhaps check them out? This way, if you flip for a game that isn't favorable to one Master, you have another that you can turn to. (unless that's all changed with M2E)

I agree with Ensis -- don't limit yourself. For the price of a Space Marine Tac Squad, you can grab an entire crew, NIB, on eBay. Malifaux is easily one of the cheapest tabletop games going, right now.

I've only played M2E, and only a few crews, so I'm not much help in suggesting them. One thing to look for, though, if you're looking to do multiple crews is play style and compatibility -- for instance, grabbing both the Lady Justice and Ortegas boxes would allow you to mix and match, and both crews play differently.

For quick suggestions, check out this site: http://ordosylvanus.com/socalmalifaux.com/index.php/intros?start=5