Malifaux (3rd ed.) - Crew Building

[me_in_japan]

cheers, Stuart. I'm dithering over getting Malifaux Burns. I'll probably pick it up at some point, but in the interim I got the 10bucks package for all the 2e stuff. I have 3 out of the 5 books in physical book, but hey ho, 5 bucks a pop for the two remaining books is still fine. I just want to catch up on the fluff, is all. Many thanks for the info

btw, I've been wondering: since all the factions now have their own books, what's the deal with the story vis a vis access? We can't reasonably be expected to buy all the faction books. Wyrd have been pretty good about moving the story on and keeping players up to date with it. How's that going to work if it's spread over half a dozen or more faction books? Likewise TOS stuff, which seems to crossover with the Malifaux story pretty heavily.

[Primarch]

With the caveat that I'm not exactly sure, I haven't seen or heard anything about Wyrd's plans...

Each faction book contains stories unique to that faction, with maybe a little info on related goings on. Each character gets their own piece of fluff in their entry and maybe a mention in a story, though not always in their faction's book. For example, Lynch's story* is in the Neverborn book and explains why he is no longer in that faction. The books largely set up what happened between the final 2nd ed book and Malifaux Burns, if anything. They only really matter to your chosen Master(s).

We are unlikely to see any new faction books though, short of getting a new faction. If Wyrd stay true to form, there will be one book per year around GenCon time. Said book will contain the next part of the story along with new models and rules. Malifaux Burns is the first setting wide story book in 3rd. The core book is more of a recap of the important stuff than anything new.

The story so far is also all available for free on The Breachside Broadcast on Youtube, though I'm not sure how much of 3rd ed they've covered so far. Everything will eventually be added to it.

The Other Side gets a quick mention in the 3rd ed Core book I think. It's not that relevant to much of Malifaux and vice versa. The RPG, Through the Breach and some of its expansions contain a lot more background on the history of Malifaux and the various factions. As it is an RPG rather than a tabletop game, players are expected to have more of a hand in shaping the world, so it doesn't seem as up-to-date as Malifaux itself. It's good for a read if you want to know how the Guild is organized, but not for what any given character is currently up to.

Finally, Wyrd do (or at least they did) publish short stories in an online magazine, available on DrivethruRPG.

Tl;dr - The yearly books will contain all the key parts of the background. If you want to keep up with the fluff, they should be all you need.

*It's primarily a story about Nekima and the various Nephilim that just happens to include Lynch.

[The Underdweller]

Looking over my options for next Sunday, I have a question about an ability some of my cards have:

"Necromantic Font: When hiring, this model is treated as having the Zombie keyword." I have this on at least one master and two henchmen.

Does this mean that when the model with Necromantic Font is a leader, they can hire zombies, or does it mean that when a different model that has the zombie keyword is the leader, that leader can hire the Necromantic Font model? Or both?

Edit: I just noticed that the two Henchmen both have Versatile, which means anyone can hire them - so Necromantic Font probably means when the NF Model is hiring a crew. I will also assume that the Zombie keyword is only attached to them during the actual hiring, not for the whole game where they are the hiring model.

[Primarch]

Does this mean that when the model with Necromantic Font is a leader, they can hire zombies, or does it mean that when a different model that has the zombie keyword is the leader, that leader can hire the Necromantic Font model? Or both?

Both. For all intents and purposes, the model has the Zombie keyword during the hiring step.

I will also assume that the Zombie keyword is only attached to them during the actual hiring, not for the whole game where they are the hiring model.

Yes, the Necromantic Font only applies during the crew building part of the game. The models don't have the Zombie keyword once they are actually on the table.

[me_in_japan]

Huzzah! Got an email today from Yuuta-san at ringtail letting me know they (finally!) have the core rulebook back in stock. So that'll hopefully get to me before the game on the 29th. I also went and ordered Malifaux Burns, as I do find myself coming back to Mali books just to read the story. I figure it's worth it. I gotta stop spending money now, though. Been a bit splurgy recently (damn yer eyes, christmas! You blind me to regular expenses!)

[Balloonacorn]

Why aren't there any vampires in Malifaux?

It is Victorian horror complete with were-wolves, witches, ghosts, flesh golem/ Frankenstein-type creatures, and Marcus's lawyer is definitely a Dr Jekyll / Mr Hyde clone. So why no Dracula or Nosferatu types? Did I miss them?

[me_in_japan]

That's...a bloody good question.

On a side note, I bought the shadow emissary yesterday. I have no idea how it'll play, but I fancy painting it. I have An Idea...

[Grantholomeu]

I got a bunch of Cadmus models for my birthday. They seem like a hard to play but powerful once you get used to them kind of crew.

The thing that's most striking about them to me is the number of models you can take. With the burn (am I using that word correctly?) you can take Nexus as she is, or as a split 3-person master. On top of that she has two totems. And on top of that, Eyes and Ears, which are her bread and butter servants are 2pts a piece. So you can take 3x Nexus One of Many for free, 2x Shambling Nests (totem) also for free, and 5x Eyes and Ears for a total of 10 models and 10 points. Obviously it'd scale up from there by taking henchmen, enforcers, or more expensive minions, but still the fact that you can basically start your baseline at 10 models is pretty crazy.

Also, they do a good job trying to upsell you on the burn boxes. In the one I got, you get the three Nexus, One of Many models with the Cadmus keyword, Lucius Mattheson, Dishonorable, who is another master but with the Elite and Mimic keywords, and Cavatica, an enforcer with both the Cadmus and Mimic keywords. So now I feel like, "Hmm, maybe I need to pick up mimic models I can play with Lucius since I already have him and Cavatica who is playable in that crew."

[Primarch]

That is a lot of minis. The E&E's look fairly squishy though.

Wyrd just updated the Malifaux errata. Basic Nexus and the Archivist both got nerfed, as Nexus was considered the best master (and a negative player experience) in the game. Non of the Burn models have been errata'd yet. Wyrd seem to base everything around player feedback/tournament results and usually wait one year. We'll probably see any nerfs/buffs this time next year.

And yes, the two masters per box is an upsell. There were also logistics reasons for it too, but...
If you don't want Lucius, maybe someone can take him off your hands?

[Balloonacorn]

I got a bunch of Cadmus models for my birthday. They seem like a hard to play but powerful once you get used to them kind of crew.

The thing that's most striking about them to me is the number of models you can take. With the burn (am I using that word correctly?) you can take Nexus as she is, or as a split 3-person master. On top of that she has two totems. And on top of that, Eyes and Ears, which are her bread and butter servants are 2pts a piece. So you can take 3x Nexus One of Many for free, 2x Shambling Nests (totem) also for free, and 5x Eyes and Ears for a total of 10 models and 10 points. Obviously it'd scale up from there by taking henchmen, enforcers, or more expensive minions, but still the fact that you can basically start your baseline at 10 models is pretty crazy.

Also, they do a good job trying to upsell you on the burn boxes. In the one I got, you get the three Nexus, One of Many models with the Cadmus keyword, Lucius Mattheson, Dishonorable, who is another master but with the Elite and Mimic keywords, and Cavatica, an enforcer with both the Cadmus and Mimic keywords. So now I feel like, "Hmm, maybe I need to pick up mimic models I can play with Lucius since I already have him and Cavatica who is playable in that crew."

Happy Birthday

I like him too. The Lucius Burns box was on sale on Miniature Market for $12 so I ordered him and the Mimic crew as my second Neverborn Master, I needed the Doppelganger anyway. There is another Mimic/Versatile coming in the Neverborn Starter in March (Probably May) by the name of Klaus Norwood. I think a lot of the Burns models are going to be nerfed as they are reportedly destroying other crews and masters.