Tale of Malifaux Bloggers - Month 1

Now that I have my models I suppose I'm into month 1.
The Colette Crew turned up, and I managed without any issues to build the crew, and I found them a joy to build to be honest. They were quite challenging in a good way, requiring a bit of work for mould lines, and some trimming of very fine pieces to fit (looking at you, individual Mannequin blades...), but after a few hours I had the whole crew finished without any problems.

Unfortunately due to my decision to sculpt the bases in the end, I don't have any models glued to them to show off.
The bases were going to be cobblestone, made with greenstuff to reduce the issue I found with my Gremlins (overtime I wish to buy a box set, I then have to order new bases to go with them too), instead I would try my hand at sculpting, and with a low cost (just the greenstuff, which I managed to get 36" for £8 off eBay) I would be able to afford extra models.

These were the first cobblestones:

They turned out ok, although I felt that I would prefer round cobblestones, and the one I attempted didn't look very good, so back to the drawing board (or hobby station).

The second option was using balsa wood to create a wooden plank base:

This look ok too, but the process was really time consuming, and a bit soul destroying. Plus I felt that the look was a bit too rough for a theatre floor for the showgirls, and maybe better for Gremlins.

The third option was for larger flagstones:

The initial ones I made I was happy with, so have made the full crew worth now. I will still add another layer to the 50mm base once it dries, I think. Then I will look for something to embellish some of the character bases with, maybe some cards on the floor for Colette. 

Martin and I also managed our first game, which we decided to use the majority of our first month models and play 50ss. 

I chose: Colette (cache 4) Nothing Up Her Sleeve, Shell Game, Cabaret Choreography. Cassandra with Recharge Soulstone and Smoke and Mirrors. 2 Performers, 2 Mannequins, 2 Coryphee and 1 Mechanical Dove.

We played Extraction, from Gaining Grounds 2016, with a Scheme pool of: Convict Labour, Exhaust their Forces, Leave your Mark, Neutralise the Leader and Set Up.

I had chosen Exhaust Their Forces and Leave Your Mark, which due to Colette's ability to make (1) Interacts, a (0) action instead, were very achievable, with me Exhausting 3 models at one point to secure the 3/3 VP, I managed 3/3 for Leave Your Mark, unfortunately I hadn't been able to score a single VP for Extraction due to having quite a few Peons in the list and combining the Coryphee into a Duet early, reduced my numbers within the centre of the table. 

The game ended on turn 5, 6-6 on VP, with Lucius sneaking Convict Labour by stealing 3 of my Scheme Markers, which if I had remembered I could have attempted a Siren Call from my surviving Performer to move him out of range of all of them, but to be fair I though he had unveiled both Schemes by that point and had also forgot about the ability. 

There were quite a few learning points to consider: 

1. Although Prompt is awesome, there are other things Colette can do!
2. Shell Game paid for itself many times over with Surge trigger for Prompt, coupled with Nothing Up My Sleeve.
3. For 2ss, Cabaret Choreography is not worth it if you don't use it once in the game...
4. Condition Removal is key for facing Lawyers, with this in mind I may bring forward the purchase of the Arcane Effigy.
5. Always in Motion and Silk and Steel seem really good on the Coryphee.
6. Something heavier hitting is required as the Coryphee aren't the most dangerous on the attack, Miss Step will hopefully fill this void. 
7. Bluetacking unpainted models to blank bases does not look cool on the table regardless of how nice the sculpts are!

It was a tough game, but one I enjoyed, I think I had most of the luck, with great hands drawn consistently, and some mean defensive triggers that really negated a lot of Martin's abilities. I think he was getting quite frustrated by the shenanigans I was wheeling out (queue point 8, Seduction ruins Lucius' day!).


I will try to get a game in tomorrow too, unfortunately I won't have much more done, as I need to spray the crew first. Hopefully will have another update soon with some painting, and I will ponder the purchase for next month, this looks likely so far:

Month 2 (£15.81)
Angelica £6.38 (whom I already have picked up to bring it above the cost for Miss Step).
Arcane Effigy £6.38
Leaving £3.05 for the following month.

Tale of Malifaux Bloggers - Month 0, Continued

So after much deliberation, I have finally settled upon my crew, deciding upon Colette. This was for a few reasons, touched upon in the earlier post.
I wanted to push myself, I'm currently using Ophelia as my main Gremlins master, with a shooting crew, I felt that the crew I had planned for Von Schill had quite a few similarities to this, and maybe more of the same. Not to say thats bad, as I'm very fond of them, but as a challenge, this wasn't exactly pushing myself!
Secondly I felt I would rather paint the showgirls with the elaborate dresses and hopefully some detail to the faces, which was absent with the masked Freikorp.

So with this in mind I have ordered Month 1's models, Colette's Smoke & Mirrors boxed set, and the Coryphee Duet (I also ordered Angelica to bring above the $60 for Wyrd's Incentive scheme, to hopefully get Miss Step).

With any luck I should have the crew for next week, as with a rather large model count (11 in total: Colette, Cassandra, 3 Mechanical Doves, 2 Performers, 2 Mannequins and 2 Coryphee), I may be hard pressed to paint them by the end of the month!

So with the order in, I can turn my attention to the next decision, which bases to go for?

Here are a few potentials:

Option 1: Micro Art Studios Old Factory

These look really cool, and I feel would work well in a larger Arcanist force, particularly with Ironsides or Ramos.

Option 2: Micro Art Studios Pipework

Another set that would work well as a generic set for Arcanists, although the space for models may not be ideal.

Option 3: Micro Art Studios Cobblestones

These look cool, I think Martin was thinking of using these or the Secret Weapon ones, so it may tie in, and we could then look at a cobblestone board at some point.

Option 4: Micro Art Studios Mosaic

Probably the easiest so far in terms of fitting models on, they look really cool painted like this, but may look unusual without the weathering. I think I would need to paint these separately, then add the models to them.

Option 5: Fenris Games Nags Tavern

Quite a generic look, and one that I've seen done a lot with Colette, fits with her theme, although these don't look too difficult to make myself, in fact I found a good Dr Faust's Painting Clinic video with a guide to it. I could then add some decoration that would fit with a theatre to jazz them up a bit.

So thats the options I've been looking at, there are some Secret Weapon bases too, their Asian Garden bases would fit in with our board somewhat, but I haven't seen them painted, so I'm not sure about them.
The idea of doing a cobblestone crew and then getting a mat or cobblestone set to make a board out of is tempting. Fenris Games do the Innsmouth streets which you can get in resin, 2 sets would be enough for a 3' board...

Tale of Malifaux Bloggers - Month 0

After finishing the painting of my entire Gremlin collection (may sneak some pics on soon in an other post), there was a noticeable gap on the painting stand. With playing Malifaux exclusively I wasn't looking to branch out to a new game, so I had a few options, pick up the remaining models I don't currently own, (being Ulix's Hog Wild, the Bayou Gators and Gracie, which may not take me that long to build and paint, and thus be a short stay of execution) or look at a new crew and faction.

Always being a sucker for something new, I veered towards the latter. after looking for some inspiration on the Wyrd forums, I found some links to previous Tale of Malifaux Bloggers (or ToMB), a quick discussion with Martin (my brother and regular opponent) and we decided to take on the challenge.

After some discussion with members of the gaming club and some friends, we currently have 12 interested parties.
The guidelines we are using for our tale are as follows:

1. The tale will be set over 5 months, with an budget of £40 for month 1, and £15 for each subsequent months. This budget will be shop price not rrp, as we will be aiming to get most of our stuff through our local store ABZgames (http://abzgames.co.uk), they offer great service, with a nice discount and hopefully in turn we could help them out with our custom. As a slight side note, (being a sucker for sculpted bases) we decided hobby materials including bases would not be factored into the budget, and any Wyrd offers (free Miss Step on purchases over $60, or free bonus models included stickers etc) would be useable. 
2. Money not spent in a month can be carried over to the next month to allow for larger purchases.
3. Although Martin and I will be buying all new stuff, as some of the participants have Malifaux models that they haven't built or painted or played with, there is the option of substituting unused previous purchases in for the appropriate cost instead. 
4. We will aim to add at least one purchase per month, build and paint them within the month, and hopefully get in as many games as possible. 
5. We will aim to create blogs with our progress (hence this one), with also a Facebook page to keep motivated.
6. We will run an event at the end of the challenge, hopefully with prizes and the like.

With this in mind I now have to decide on a Master (and Faction)....

I managed to narrow factions down quite quickly, I don't want to use a master or faction that I have owned previously ruling out Gremlins and Guild. I didn't want to use a faction or master that my regular opponents owned, ruling out Ten Thunders and Resurrectionists. 

This left me with Neverborn, Arcanists and Outcasts...

Having spent the last week pouring over the PullmyFinger pages and listening to the Master Spotlights on Schemes and Stones I have narrowed it down to two options...

...drum roll please...

Option 1: Arcanists, Colette Du Bois

There is a lot to like about option 1, the models are fantastic, she looks to be a great challenge to built, paint and play with. The tricks she can do to get the most out of her crew seem really fun, and by the looks of it every game will be different (well other than casting Prompt a lot!).

The plan would be something like this:

Month 1 (£40, prices from ABZ)
Colette Du Bois, Smoke and Mirrors - £28.89
Coryphee £10.20
Hopefully plus Miss Step (April FLGS incentive from Wyrd if spend $60, so I'd have to buy something extra, but I need a new fate deck and could be tempted with some Gators).

Month 2 (£15.81)
Angelica £6.38
Arcane Effigy £6.38

Month 3 (£18.05)
Silent Ones £10.20

Month 4 (£22.85)

Month 5 (£37.85)

Month 4 & 5 are a bit of a tough choice, possibly the Emissary would be out, failing that I could go for the Mechanical Rider (£20.40) and something to summon, possibly another Performer & Mannequin boxed set (£13.60), leaving a few pounds spare.
Alternatively I could buy the Ramos Boxed (£28.89) set if I didn't get Miss Step, plus I would get Joss, always a good option in an Arcanist collection. This would leave £8.96, which could buy Willie (£8.50), not sure if he'd be a good addition, but can't see much else that would fit in for the cost.

There are a few other models that should come out soon that could be worth considering, the Malifaux Raptors in May, Large Arachnid in April, and Soulstone Miners (not sure when).

Option 2: Outcasts, Von Schill.

Von Schill is by my reading a more straightforward master than Colette, this has advantages and disadvantages. I would like the challenge from Colette, but my concern is that ifI find she isn't to my tastes or I can't get to grips with her, it may be a struggle of 5 months.... With this in mind a Master that is a good combat and ranged brawler may be a safer option.
The disadvantage with this is that it maybe playing it safe, the models are lovely, but may not be as big a challenge as those of the Showgirls, the rules may be the same.

However, there are some big plus points. First, and maybe the biggest of them all (Ht 3!) is Hannah, this model is my favourite from all of Malifaux, love the suit, I prefer the standard version than Through the Breach, so won't be tempted to splash the cash for that one (ahem...looking at you Santana!). I know as she is a Merc that I can take her in any crew, be she looks to be far stronger within a Friekorps led crew, (Make a New Entry).
The second is both a boon and a curse, the paint scheme. The Freikorps, have the uniform look that doesn't really exist in Malifaux (with the exception of the Guild possibly), and the suits look awesome, but it is maybe back towards the style of game miniatures that I grew tired of (Regiments of soldiers: Imperial Guard and the like).

The plan would be along these lines:

Month 1 (£40)
Von Schill, Hired Guns £28.89

Month 2 (£26.11)
Hannah £19.55

Month 3 (£21.56)
Lazarus £10.20
Freikorps Strongarm £9.34

Month 4 (£17.02)
Convict Gunslingers £9.34
Hans or Bishop? £6.38

Month 5 (£16.30)

Month 5 is a bit of mystery here, possibly Killjoy (£10.20), but I don't know how he would suit, possible some extra Freikorps (£8.50), or the Emissary? or even some Ronin (£11.89).
The other option is dropping the Hans/Bishop selection from Month 4 and adding another Crew Box, either The Viktoria's Hired Swords (£25.49), giving me access to Taelor and the Ronin (plus the Student of Conflict if I wanted an option instead of the Steam Trunk) or a second Hired Guns box to give me the Freikorps Specialist, the Freikorpsmen, the Trapper and the Librarian. All of which I could use extra, not sure how beneficial doubling some of them up would be, but I have heard the dual Trapper is a bit dirty...

These are the options at the moment, it will be one of the two, now the agonising begins!