Pael wrote:
I am pumped for Misaki and Ivan's box now 2 shadow masters woot woot.

I do hope they aren't the soft plastic though. Not really a deal breaker just a personal preference

 ced1106 wrote:
Malifaux spotted in the Game Kastle discounts section.

 NAVARRO wrote:
Salute Wayland store had SO MUCH Wyrd stuff that I almost caved in. Extremely confused with packaging or editions and games since there was loads of different packaging for the minis.

By now, you have heard that Fourth Edition is coming. While there is a lot we are very excited to reveal about the rules, we know many of you will have questions about whether you can still use the models you already own, how you will get stat cards, and all sorts of other details about how the transition between editions will be handled. This article aims to answer as many of those questions as possible.

Crew Composition

With any new edition comes changes to crew composition. Some models may gain or lose a keyword or even change factions depending on how the story progresses. We will have more information on that next week, but to start, we wanted to say Fourth Edition will not see a continuation of Dead Man’s Hand.

There are a handful of models leaving the range, but we were far more selective than during DMH. There are no full keywords leaving the range, and the only master who will not have a stat card in Fourth Edition is Leveticus (for narrative reasons). All the rest of the Amalgam models are still playable in Fourth Edition, with Rusty Alyce as their new master. Any of the Leveticus models (of the appropriate base size, of course) can serve as legal proxies for Rusty Alice and her titles, allowing you to still use them.

Almost all other models losing stat cards are receiving a similar fate. These are either old second edition sculpts whose molds have seen better days and were causing the warehouse a headache (Cojo, we're looking at you), or they were incredibly similar in look and theme to existing models (for example, we didn’t feel we needed both Dead Doxies and Rotten Belles). Every model leaving the range will be usable as a legal proxy for a model still available in Fourth Edition. The list of models leaving is incredibly limited for an edition change, and you can find the full list here, along with what the models may now proxy for:


A Line in the Sand

A major story beat for Malifaux Fourth Edition is characters being forced to choose a side. As such, some dual keyword models are joining one of those keywords permanently. However, the vast majority of models from the most recent Ashes of Malifaux release kept both their keywords. As an example, this year’s Easter alts will receive the following changes:

Triconus - Staying in Sooey but becoming a totem for Ulix, Porkbelly Protector

Maid in the Mist - Becoming purely Tri-Chi

Mr. Invisible - Becoming purely DUA

The Eighth Mate - Becoming purely Infamous

He-namatsu - Becoming purely Ten Thunders and Qi and Gong

Rules Availability

Throughout Third Edition, Malifaux players have enjoyed a high-quality app and free online rules, and these will continue to be available in Fourth. We are currently planning and designing a new Fourth Edition app, which we hope will match or exceed the quality you have come to expect. The rules and cards will be available in all the same ways they were in Third (via our website, Dropbox, app, and Wargame Vault) and we’ll continue to explore other opportunities.

The rules will have two separate books available: the Core Rules and the Comprehensive Rules. The difference between these two is that the Core Rules will be a more streamlined version written in conversational language with story-based examples. The Comprehensive Rules will provide full timing breakdowns, explain things in detailed steps, and include many clear diagrams. In other words, one version exists to learn the game in a vacuum, and the other will serve as a detailed reference for veteran players when they have questions. If the two books ever appear to disagree, the Comprehensive Rules take precedence.

This approach allows us to offer a rulebook that new players can use to learn the game from scratch without external guidance while retaining the depth and precise language needed for more competitive play.

The Core Rules will be printed and sold in game stores, while the Comprehensive Rules will remain digital-only. You’ll be able to access them online for free, and if you prefer a physical copy, you can print them yourself or order one through print-on-demand. Keeping the Comprehensive Rules online allows us to update them more easily and incorporate errata.

Starters

In addition to all this, we will release a new two-player starter set! This set will come with everything two players need, including 14 preassembled models, two fate decks, tokens, markers, and a Quick Start guide that teaches new players through a series of introductory games that build upon each other. The two crews will be completely new to Malifaux, and we will have more information on them in the coming weeks!

The old Third Edition starters will still exist with all their previous contents; they will simply be repackaged as “Versatile Packs” to avoid confusion with the new Two-Player Starter. The only exception is the Outcast starter, as those models have permanently joined the Syndicate. But do not fear, Outcasts! Angel Eyes and the Half-Bloods will be joining Outcasts to form their new Versatile Pack (which will complement Dr. Silas when he becomes a master after the launch of Fourth Edition, but that's a topic for another day).
Packaging

We will also be doing some repackaging. All titled Masters from the Malifaux Burns release that were packaged together will be repackaged into their own core boxes. These will be created using smaller boxes from the keyword. This will make the game easier to pick up for new players while reducing the number of SKUs stores must handle. For example, in Fourth Edition, Nightmare will have two core boxes:

The original core box contains:

The Dreamer

Lord Chompy Bits

Coppelius

3 x Alps

And the new core box contains:

The Dreamer, Insomniac

Lord Chompy Bits, Restless

3 x Daydream

3 x Stitched Together


You can see that we combined the Deep Sleep box, which contained Alps and Stitched Together, into the new core box, cutting down SKUs and making it much easier for a new player to start playing Nightmare. This box also includes a new Lord Chompy Bits title with its own sculpt and rules. Of course, not every keyword will have a different title for the totem. Some will be older models the master has taken under their wing, and others will be entirely new models. Regardless, each title 2 master will have their own totem, making them even more distinct from the original title.

Doo-Dads

Playing Malifaux involves more than just models and cards. You may also have tape measures, card sleeves, game mats, and more. All of these should carry over to Fourth Edition without issue. Deployment zones are not changing, so game mats with Third Edition markings will still work. Stat cards are also staying the same size, so your sleeves will continue to fit. The only potential changes are with tokens and markers you may have made, but even most of those will still be usable. Effects like Poison and Burning are still part of the game.

Things To Ease the Change

Now, you may be saying: “but I have the rest of the models in that box; I just want the new totem.” We hear you, and we agree. So, for one year after the box with the totem comes out, you will be able to order the totem individually from us directly without buying the entire box. This will also apply to any new non-totem models packaged this way.

Additionally, with the release of Malifaux Fourth Edition, we will offer “Faction Packs” containing all of the Fourth Edition stat cards, upgrades, and crew cards for a single faction. This way, you can update all your cards for your favorite faction at once.

Alright, that was a lot of information, but we hope it clarifies how things will work. At the end of the day, Malifaux and Wyrd exist because of you. We hope the details above will make this edition change as easy as possible so you can focus on playing this amazing game!

Terrain has always been a vital part of miniature games. It is more than just scenery; it is the stage where every dramatic leap, tactical retreat, and rooftop duel plays out. In Malifaux Fourth Edition, we have taken steps to ensure terrain feels just as alive and interactive as the models moving through it.

Our goal was to make the game environment feel like a true extension of the strategy and storytelling. Whether it is vaulting over a fence, scaling a crumbling wall, or shoving an enemy into the mist below, terrain now plays a more active role in gameplay. It is not just something to navigate around; it is something to engage with.

To bring this vision to life, we refined rules, clarified interactions, and emphasized dynamic movement across the table. This new approach encourages players to think vertically, embrace creativity, and see the environment not as a limitation but as an opportunity.

Simplicity

One of our first goals in Fourth Edition was to make terrain more accessible during play. That starts by making it easier for models to interact with it.

When a model takes the Walk action, if it ends in base contact with climbable terrain, it may move to the top of that terrain for free. This change allows models to reach areas that were previously out of range due to vertical distance. It also makes lower terrain features easier and more rewarding to use.

We also introduced clearer rules for jumping gaps. If a model has enough movement to cross from one piece of terrain to another without falling, it can jump the gap. There are some limitations—like only being able to jump to the same elevation or slightly lower—but the key takeaway is that movement across terrain feels smoother and more natural without needing complex measurements or constant fall checks.

These updates give players more tactical options and let their models move through the environment in dramatic and intuitive ways, like jumping from rooftop to rooftop over the darkened streets of Malifaux.

As the hobby grows, so do the ways players build their tables. Whether you're using official kits, repurposing terrain from other games, or crafting your own with 3D printing, these new rules are designed to support a wide variety of setups and help make every board feel just as exciting as the crews that battle across it.

Usability

Now that models can easily get onto and interact with terrain, the next step was to make sure there are real tactical reasons to do so. We wanted terrain to feel meaningful, not just cinematic. That meant giving players incentives to seek the high ground and use their environment to their advantage.

One of the biggest changes is the removal of the Shadow rule. It was often unclear, clunky in practice, and discouraged active use of terrain. In its place, we have introduced visual diagrams in the new rulebook that make line of sight much easier to determine. Measurement is now done purely horizontally, which simplifies things considerably. A sniper on a rooftop does not suffer a penalty to range for being above their target. (And no, melee attacks do not reach through ceilings or up buildings. We accounted for that.) Falling is also less punishing, always causing 1 damage regardless of distance. You will likely be falling more often now that models are moving vertically more frequently.

A model attacking from a lower elevation is at a disadvantage when targeting an opponent positioned higher. That elevated model is not just standing still. It is crouching behind chimneys, lying low, and making use of the environment. To reflect this, when a model at a lower elevation attacks a model at a higher elevation, the defender gains cover.

Let’s talk about cover and concealment. Concealment still applies a negative flip to attacks when it is in effect. Cover now reduces all incoming damage by 1, giving it a more predictable and consistent impact. These effects now apply across all attack types—melee, missile, and magical—making terrain feel more intuitive in use. After all, swinging a sword in a fog bank or around a corner definitely changes your ability to hit.

These changes come together to reward smart positioning and encourage players to engage with terrain more actively. Whether you are storming a rooftop or hiding in the mist, the environment now plays a greater role in every action you take.

Incentive

Okay, terrain can help keep models alive, but so what? Who cares if your crew survives as long as you win? We hear you.

To further incentivize terrain use, several new schemes actively encourage interacting with it. You might find yourself scouting rooftops, holding the high ground, or tossing enemy models off buildings to "look like an accident." Not every scheme involves terrain, but a meaningful handful were designed with vertical play in mind, giving players more reasons to use the full depth of the table. A few of these terrain-focused schemes will be highlighted in an upcoming article, and the full list will be available during the open beta playtest.

All of these changes come together to create a dynamic, three-dimensional play experience. Climb walls, shoot from rooftops, and throw your enemies to the streets below. Malifaux Fourth Edition encourages you to make the most of the table and play with style.

To support this, we are expanding terrain options in a few key ways. We're developing a range of physical terrain kits for sale, along with 3D-printable files for players who prefer to build at home. Whether you're crafting your own setup or picking up something ready-made, you'll have a variety of options to bring your board to life.

Schemes: Evolving Encounters

One of the biggest and most exciting changes in Fourth Edition is how schemes have been reimagined. But first, a quick Malifaux history lesson:

In Second Edition, all schemes were kept secret. This was fun, but it also led to issues. Players revealed their schemes when they scored them, which allowed them to lock up all their points early and sometimes win by turn two or three. That wasn’t ideal.

Third Edition fixed that by requiring one objective to be scored when a scheme was revealed, and another at the end of the game. This stretched scoring across the full match and kept players engaged longer. However, the tradeoff was complexity. Each player had two schemes, each with two separate objectives, on top of the strategy. For new or casual players, it could feel overwhelming. Plus, because the second point came at the end of the game, players often defaulted to wiping out their opponent to remove any obstacles to scoring.

Fourth Edition aims to solve both problems: it keeps players engaged throughout the game, discourages early scheme lockouts, and reduces confusion for new players.

To accomplish this, we’ve introduced the Evolving Encounter style of schemes.

There are twelve schemes in Gaining Grounds 0. When a game begins, three are randomly selected to form the scheme pool. Each player secretly chooses one of those three schemes. That scheme has a single objective, with the option to earn a second point by going above and beyond. No multiple objectives to track — just one focus at a time.

Once a player completes their scheme, they reveal it and score any earned points. Then, at the end of that turn, they select a new scheme from the list of “Next Available Schemes” on their completed card. That becomes their new goal moving forward.

Example: After completing Scout the Rooftops, you’ll choose your next scheme from Light the Beacons, Assassinate, or Breakthrough.

If a scheme turns out to be unworkable, a player can also choose to abandon it at the end of the turn. They reveal it, score nothing, discard it, and choose a new one from the “Next Available” list. This gives players the flexibility to adjust plans on the fly.

There’s no cap on how many schemes a player can reveal during the game, but there is a cap on how many points they can score from them. Each player can earn a maximum of five victory points from schemes and cannot choose the same scheme more than once. This gives you flexibility to adapt without letting you run up the score too quickly.

While designing the system was complex, it’s easy to use in practice. You always have just one scheme in front of you. That simplicity makes it approachable for new players. When it’s time to pick a new one, look at your three choices and choose whichever fits the evolving story of the game in front of you.

At the same time, more experienced players can map out their scheme path early or anticipate their opponent’s likely moves, allowing for deep strategy and rewarding skillful play.

This structure also removes the incentive to table your opponent just to guarantee points. You can’t score all five scheme points in the early game like in Second Edition since you can only score one scheme per turn, and you can't reliably score at the end of the game by wiping out your opponent like in Third. The best path to victory now involves staying engaged with your evolving schemes all game long.

And it’s not just functional — it’s fun. The system creates opportunities for bluffing, misdirection, and storytelling. If your opponent just completed Breakthrough, you know the list of possible schemes they might choose next. So when they start dropping markers in your deployment zone, do they want your models near them or far away? Are those markers for their current scheme, or a setup for what’s coming?

The Evolving Encounter structure also strengthens narrative immersion. Maybe your crew starts by scouting rooftops, then lights the beacons to signal it's time to assassinate a key enemy. Or maybe you begin with a frame job and then rig an explosion to make it “look like an accident.” Malifaux has always thrived on its story-driven nature, and this new approach to schemes is designed to turn every game into a shared, evolving tale.

There are few things more iconic to Malifaux than cards and Soulstones, so it’s worth talking about how both are changing in Fourth Edition.

Empower

Cheating Fate and influencing the outcome of duels is one of Malifaux’s defining mechanics. But what happens when your opening hand is full of 2s and 3s? That’s never been a great feeling.

In Fourth Edition, we wanted every card in your hand to matter. Not just the high ones. That led to the introduction of a new mechanic: Empower.

Before a duel, you can empower it by discarding a card with a value of 5 or lower. Doing so gives you a positive flip and adds the suit of the discarded card to your duel total. This uses the same timing as spending a Soulstone for a positive flip or a suit in Third Edition. Empower gives low cards a real role in your hand. Instead of tossing them away as discard fodder, you’ll be thinking carefully about where they’ll have the most impact. A 2 of Rams is not the same as a 2 of Crows anymore.

Empower also opens up new tactical options. It helps offset negative flips, gives minions more reliable access to triggers, and generally puts more choices in your hands — always a good thing.

Soulstones

Soulstones have always been a big part of Malifaux, both in lore and on the table. They power spells, fuel resurrection, heal wounds, and more. But in Third Edition, they mostly functioned the same way across every crew, which created a disconnect between the game’s mechanics and its narrative.

In Fourth Edition, that’s changing.

Soulstones no longer have a list of generic uses in the core rules. Instead, they fuel unique, game-changing actions, abilities, and triggers that are specific to the crew or model using them.

In the past, Soulstones provided positives to duels or added suits. While convenient, this made it less exciting to actually draw the right suit in your hand. Those elements now live in the card deck through Empower. Soulstone-based damage prevention also acted as a kind of extra health pool, but it often slowed the game down and reduced the incentive to use cover or positioning.

We’ve moved those mechanical functions into more engaging places. Terrain plays a bigger role in damage reduction. Cards are now the source of your suits. And soulstones? They’re the source of your most powerful, thematic abilities — just like they are in the lore.

So What Do SoulStones Do Now?

Most crew cards give your models a unique way to use Soulstones. Currently, Marshals can spend them to avoid death. Mercenaries use them to reposition in the middle of a fight. Masters and high-cost models also gain new Soulstone-fueled actions and triggers that feel big and impactful.

This means that Soulstones power magic and special abilities in ways that are different for every character, just like in the stories.



Kirai’s crew gains access to Vengeance, a Soulstone ability. The ability text explains when to drain (discard) a Soulstone to use it. Meanwhile, the Soulstone icon in front of the Kirai’s Blessing action tells you that draining a Soulstone is a cost to use the action.

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On Lady Justice, the Soulstone icon in front of the Send Them Back to Hell trigger means she must spend a Soulstone to declare that trigger, no suit required.

As a final piece, Fourth Edition also introduces a new catch-up mechanic. When a friendly model dies, your crew gains a Soulstone. This keeps those big, dramatic plays fueled throughout the match and ties directly into how Soulstones recharge in the lore. The more chaos unfolds, the more power is up for grabs.

We’ve spent a lot of time highlighting the big, exciting changes coming in Malifaux Fourth Edition, but there are still several important updates worth mentioning. Here’s a quick overview of some of the other notable shifts.

Removal of Damage Flips

Damage flips are no longer part of the game in Fourth Edition. Instead, each damaging attack has a stat called Damage (Dmg) that shows how much damage it deals. To add a layer of variability and excitement, the damage increases by +1 for every full 5 points by which you win the duel. These 5-point increments are called raises.

For example, if Lady Justice attacks Seamus and wins the duel 15 to 10, that’s one raise, and the attack deals +1 damage. If the duel is tied, the attacker still wins, but any damage they would deal is reduced by 1. This gives the defender some breathing room and adds more nuance to damage outcomes without needing a flip.

While this may seem like a major change, the average results aren’t too far off from what already existed. Many damage tracks, such as 2/3/4, were functionally tied to margin of success due to flip mechanics. This new system simply streamlines that interaction.

Removing damage flips speeds up gameplay and makes combat feel more consistent. It also eliminates one of the more confusing steps for new players. By simplifying the process, we hope to improve first impressions and make the game easier to learn.

There is also new design flexibility here. Some models may modify how raises work, such as requiring a smaller margin to trigger one or increasing the bonus damage per raise.

Engagement

Engagement and disengaging were overdue for simplification. In Third Edition, disengaging could be awkward and many models ignored the penalties entirely.

In Fourth Edition, every model has an engagement range of 1", regardless of its melee range. Models can leave engagement freely, but if they do so using a Walk action, their movement is halved and they cannot Interact during that activation. While engaged, models are still prevented from Interacting, but friendly fire penalties no longer apply.

This change also opens up new design possibilities. In Third Edition, ranged or support models needed melee attacks just to have an engagement range and prevent enemy interact actions. Now, a sniper can remain a sniper, and a mage can focus on casting spells, without needing a sword for balance reasons.

Crew Cards

Every Master adds a crew card to their crew. This card provides new abilities and actions, including one or two soulstone-related options that are unique to that crew. You’ve already seen a preview of this with the Oni rework and in our recent article on soulstones.

Each title interacts with its models differently, encouraging synergy within the keyword and helping define each crew’s identity. The back of the crew card also lists all tokens and markers any model in the crew can generate (excluding Schemes, Remains, and Strategy markers). This is a helpful quality-of-life feature for players to quickly see what effects might be in play. If you hire out-of-keyword models, those units may bring in other tokens not listed on the card.

Bury

The Bury mechanic has been removed. While flavorful, it created confusion and often led to unfun experiences. Bury-focused crews either filled the board with their own models or sidelined enemy units in ways that slowed the game and frustrated opponents.

The removal of Bury clears the way for more engaging alternatives. The models that used to rely on this mechanic still exist, just with updated abilities that focus on new interactions and playstyles.

Tokens

Anything that temporarily alters a model’s status — and is not damage or movement — is now a token. This includes effects like Vent Steam, Boring Conversation, and Poison. Models may only have one of each token type at a time. No more stacking Poison +8.

Tokens are friendly to the crew that applied them and hostile to all others. For example, if a Concealment token creates cover within 2" of a model, only enemies of the applying crew treat that area as concealing.

This change eliminates the old problem of “non-condition conditions.” Previously, effects like Vent Steam acted like conditions but could not be removed by standard means. Now, all status effects are handled through a consistent token system and can be removed by abilities that interact with tokens.

Tokens are listed on the back of each crew card, which helps players track them more easily. This change also pushed us, during development, to reduce status effect bloat and gave us room to build more interesting synergies around those effects.

It also opens up new design space. The same Unsettling token applied by Boring Conversation can now be passed along with an attack, affecting enemies in new and creative ways.

There is still plenty more to explore in Malifaux Fourth Edition. With the open beta just around the corner, we invite you to jump in, try the new rules, and experience all the changes firsthand.

 Siygess wrote:
If Wyrd are smart, they will capitalise on the fact that Malifaux is, thematically and visually, about as close to an Arcane miniatures game as you can get. Post season 2, the hype train has naturally petered out but there's still enough interest and enthusiasm that the right models in the 2 player starter would really help springboard the M4E launch.