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So I'm looking to start Malifaux. Mostly because I like the look of the models. I have absolutely no clue on the rules or what factions are good or not, or what kind of tactics they use. I was looking at the boxes, and have it narrowed down to 4 based on pure aesthetics, and I was wondering if people here could give me a little bit more info on them to help me decide.

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/wyr20520.html

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/wyr20401.html

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/wyr20303.html

http://www.miniaturemarket.com/catalog/product/view/id/39745/s/wyr20602/

1) Tara steals action points and makes fun plays with the Nothing Beast by using burial to move things around. Nifty support Master. She can always outmanouvre because of her high AP.

2) Lilith is an incredibly fast master that gets up in your face and then smashes it in with more than viable melee combat.

3) you've gone into the Arcanists here. My hood. Rasputina uses her minions as a way to cast her own spells through. Playing her crew is all about smart positioning.

4) Gremlins. They're like Skaven mixed with Goblins. Insane characters that use very unreliable, but potentially devastating weaponry.

As a Gremlins player, I will try not to be biased...

But..

I can only really comment on that box. The kin is a really good starter crew in my opinion. She plays really quite straight forward, in that she's a shooty, up front pain dealer. she's got some little'ens that love to use her weapondry. You have the clint eastwood inspired henchman, who is lethal but a little squishy. The dude with the big gun, Rami, has got a long range weapon and can deal some serious damage, but usually this involves some self inflicted pain as well. Then a molotov throwing loon who will most likely explode in a ball of flames, but hurt others as well.

The gremlins are all about a reckless high risk reward playstyle. Most of them can damage themselves to get more actions, so they can do more. So you are constantly balancing that, with the healers the faction has access too (in the gremlins case, slop haulers) . Personally, they are great fun to play. Orphelia is the best way to learn the gremlins, as she's simple. You might struggle slightly depending on the missions you get, but for killing, and learning the game, shes ideal.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Purifier wrote:
1) Tara steals action points and makes fun plays with the Nothing Beast by using burial to move things around. Nifty support Master. She can always outmanouvre because of her high AP.

2) Lilith is an incredibly fast master that gets up in your face and then smashes it in with more than viable melee combat.

3) you've gone into the Arcanists here. My hood. Rasputina uses her minions as a way to cast her own spells through. Playing her crew is all about smart positioning.

4) Gremlins. They're like Skaven mixed with Goblins. Insane characters that use very unreliable, but potentially devastating weaponry.

I'm sure lilith isn't easily playable with just the crew box, is that right?

1) I would avoid Tara as a new player. Not only because you'll probably have to decide to expand into Outcasts or Ressurectionists, but she has some very complex abilities and her totem, Karina, requires a lot of additional models for her summons (which make Tara very strong).

2) Lillith is amazing and easy to learn. She can make models swap places with each other and hits like a freight train. You can run her with her Nephilim, which would make the other Nephilim box (the one with 2 Youngs and a Mature) your next buy, or Waldgheists (living trees that can make sight blocking forests, just like lillith). She can grow those Terror Tots into Young and Mature Nephilim by killing/letting them kill models. Her sister, Nekima, is also a very powerful and thematic piece.

3. Rasputina has the misfortune of missing half of her thematic models right now, so she's very slow. Once Silent Ones, Blessed of December, and her henchman, Snow Storm all come out, she'll be a lot better.

4. Ophelia is VERY powerful and can do a lot. Personally, I don't care for Gremlins because of all of the crazy stuff they can pull out (Ulix is one of the best masters in the game). They didn't get anywhere near as much playtest input and I feel that that shows.

Many Gremlins have the ability Reckless, which lets them take a point of damage for a free AP (another action). Then there are Slop Haulers (you'll want to buy these next), which on top of being cheap and fantastic in melee, can heal up to four gremlins/pigs every turn.

You'll also probably want Merris Lacroix (another family member) as she does a lot of damage and is great at schemes) and Som'er Teeth Jones's box, as Lenny is a major part of a strong Ophelia crew (you'll also get another strong master and Bayout Gremlins, which are cheap filler models).

I wouldn't recommend Merris till you've learned the game a little more.

Ophelia is powerful but not too much. I'd stick with the box, maybe look at someone like Burt Jebsen and Gracie, and some slop haulers.

Definitely get some models because they're a joy to paint. Seriously very good models.

Tara's set got a lot better/more immediately playable with her errata which will be in the newer sets. I'd also say that her emphasis is positioning and action multiplying: while she can deny actions or position, this is far less reliable therefore far less a part of her style. However, you're looking at buying models to summon to get any mileage out of her totem (the other woman, who's a very fun summoner). She's my favorite master in the game, and I've written a lot on her.

Can't comment on lilith.

Rasputina's got a really strong ranged game.

Gremlins play disposable and ranged. I've only played them a little, but love them using health as probably their main resource.

Lilith is a guerrilla fighter. She's fast, hits like a truck, creates cover to help her crew, moves them about for advantageous positioning, then melts away once she start taking damage.

She is not, however, a brawler. She's not overly tough, so if you can't cut her target to ribbons before taking retaliatory attack, you're better off waiting for a better target.

If you stick with her brood, they're much the same. Fast but fragile. However, as pointed out, they have the ability to upgrade some models mid game by Growing them. The Nephilim expansion box, Nekima box and Waldgeist box are great additions to a Lilith crew.

Lilith and raspy are both very easy to pick up and play. Lilith also works well with a lot of the neverborn faction whereas rasputina is very much about synergy with frozen heart models (anything with december in the title).

I'm on the same page, although my interest is in Outcasts, specifically the Viktorias. Their box, along with Vanessa, will probably keep me entertained for a while.

Their shtick seems simple enough. Get into melee and slice people up, and that's good because I'm very simple minded. Of course getting them there alive is where it gets tricky, and all the little tricks they're capable of are designed to achieve that.

I did pick up the Avatar of Slaughter model, even though it's no longer used. It still looks like a nice thing to paint.

You will have a chance to use the Avatar when book 3 arrives. While Avatars are changing to campaign only, generic larger bases for master models themed after the faction rather than the master, there's nothing to stop you using an Avatar model instead of the base insert.