Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Ian plays Malifaux and few more times

Well I have played through the Malifaux starter set three times now. What have I learned?

Image result for malifaux starter set

Well first my luck with cards is no better than rolling dice. It is awesome to roll moderate too bad with dice and not much better with drawing cards. Hmmmm….luck is rarely on my side when it comes to the randomness of dice and cards in games. At least I’m consistent.

Next I love the model activation system. The, You go/I go, system is damn descent. It makes it feel a lot more tactical and keeps you focused on the game. It also has a not chess, but kind of free form fantasy chess. 

The combat, so far, moves quickly.

I still love the concept for this world and game. It is like a tweaked and steampunk, fantasy, cowboy version of Mordheim. I loved that game world and the craziness that surrounded it! Malifaux is even crazier than that!




I have played the Neverborn in the set all my games. I kind of like them. Angel Eyes the leader with her rifle is cool. The Bloodwretch minions are alright with their bonus on charges and their ability to get all angry for melee bonus damage. The big guy the Scion of Black Blood is disappointing. He looks tanky as Hell. However, he always seems to take better than he gives. He is pretty easy to hit, at least in the games I’ve played. You want him in melee, but he hasn’t lasted very long when I’ve gotten him there.


The other side is the crazy hospital crew with the Doctor, his head nurse and a pair of orderlies. They have a small amount of movement shenanigans and some healing that can be irritating. Plus the god Dr. Grimwell has a weapon called the lobotomizer that does a damn good amount of damage too!

So far, in straight up fights, I have only won one contest. They have all been close games and at least that is somewhat more acceptable. We are looking to try the whole scenario and scheme stuff next game. I have no idea how that will change the way these armies, sorry, crews (as they call them) play.

I’m not sure I want to dive full in to this game. First, it is another miniature game financial investment. Second, I have way too much Hordes and Warmachine to paint to take on more models to paint.  Third, the summer is approaching and tabletop time will be dying off (which always kills me a little) for outdoor activities. Third, we’ll need the big rulebook for answers for the miscellaneous rules issues and general gameplay definitions and such. Then there is what point value to play and the whole Master/Henchman issue. Eeesh. Looking like more cons than pros at this minute.

I really like this game. I really like a lot of the models. I just am not ready to dive in to Malifaux fully. A best case if we did grab crews to play. I might…..I might….ugh….errmm…..might put them together and not…..and not….. (losing breath)…not paint them.  I just said that out loud. I have always had an strict “I play painted models only” policy. If I justify this, in my silly brain, as just a board game with many pieces, then I can probably live with unpainted models. Looking at the multi-piece games we have (Last Night, Shadows Brimstone, Adventurers, Invasion from Space, etc.) I don’t paint those models and am totally fine with it. This is a real stretch to go here for me. Like Rainman-ish level panic attack for me to field an unpainted army.

No idea what the future of Malifaux is in our house, but I know I’ll continue to run the starter set for the near future.

Fun game.

Great look.

Ridiculous world setting.

Big fan.

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