Malifaux 2025

[Balloonacorn]

I have now read all the 'beta' rules. They are definitely much simple and easier to understand. Malifaux University made a good video explaining all the rule changes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1srrwwaKkk

One thing I am tracking is which masters are staying in which factions. Wyrd has said no more dual faction models except for Ashes models so masters must choose a single faction. If the pictures in the rule book are to be believed, Neverborn is loosing Zoraida, Marcus, and Lucius. I would guess that Kastore is going to Ressers, but I could also see him staying. With the elimination of the Puppet keyword NB has lost half of their masters, potentially, in addition to some of the best versitiles (Angel Eyes & Hinamatsu) and the Kurgan who is Jedza's new totem. I can see it fluff-wise as the masters leaving are more human-ish. Maybe the new masters will be more like Tiri or Nephilim.

Does that mean new masters are coming in or will there be less that 9 masters per faction now?

They said the only master hopping factions is Basse who is abandoning both Guild and Explorers for Arcanists?

The new cards will be revealed Monday ( Tuesday morning here) as beta play testing is starting on the same day.

[The Underdweller]

I am going to wait until we stop playing Mark III before I mix up my brain with new rules.

@MIJ Proxying Mannequins as birds does sound less than ideal! My dogs are now "little rotters" which isn't too far off, I think.

[me_in_japan]

eh, since i have birds anyway, it's no biggie. I would use the mannequins as markers of some kind, but at least in 3e, showgirls poop out markers so fast i'd soon run out of mannequins.

I started reading the new rules over the weekend but havent gotten so far as to properly grok em yet. I'll give that mali uni video a listen on the way home from work today. Cheers for pointing it out

[Balloonacorn]

Boy was I wrong!

We know know the keywords for all the factions. There are only 2 new. Ampersand for Outcast, which must be Dr Silas keyword, and Banished for Neverborn. Wyrd said the new starter box will contain two new masters so these must be them???

Neverborn kept Marcus and Kastore. Who could have guessed.

Marcus's choice is explained as, "he no longer considers himself fully human, Marcus embraces what he sees as the next chapter in his evolution. His abilities have also grown significantly, making the chimeric man as deadly as he is useful."

Neverborn is definitely a non-human faction.

I like that.

[me_in_japan]

Here's a non-gaming Mali question...

I really enjoy the ongoing Malifaux story, but I feel like I'm missing a whole heap of it somewhere along the way. Is it expected for players to read all the faction books to keep up with the story? I've got all the "base" rulebooks, as well as my own faction books (ten thunders and arcanist) but I feel like there's a lot going on elsewhere. Where might I find such stuff?

*edit* ah, never mind. Found the books on the high seas. (fwiw, Malifaux is by far the game I buy books for the most. In fact, it's the only game I buy books for these days, as otherwise I just play OPR, Space Weirdos and stuff like that. It's also pretty much the only game I buy minis for just because they're available, and as a result I have a bunch of Mali minis that I've never actually used. I don't mind that, though - they're nice minis and Wyrd make it easy to get rules and things, just not story stuff, for some reason.)

[Grantholomeu]

I read the draft 4e rules. Figured I'd drop my notes here to potentially save some of you some time. (Sorry for some reason it shrinks here.)

[Balloonacorn]

The two new crews in Malifaux:





First impressions?

[me_in_japan]

Huh.

Ampersand looks to be more at the whimsical side of Malifaux, which is fine. Robots and stuff, I guess? Some podcast mentioned there's a robo Freetown somewhere near Mali city, so I guess that's where we're at.

Banished are much more interesting to me. I like me some weirdy undersea lookin' things, and I suspect the minis will be a bit more menacing than the artwork. I'm keen to see em in plastic.

[Balloonacorn]

I keep looking at the Ampersan's picture and asking my self, "Is that a shoe buffer? Is he a BUFFER?"

Oh Wyrd puns.

[Balloonacorn]

I finally had some little time to look at 4th Ed and listen to a few Youtubers and Podcasters to get a sense of the game.

Most agree that:
1) It is VERY FAST with scoring in the first turn and most models having improved movement.
2) It is still essentially Malifaux with Malifaux flavour. Although they are still making major changes while in Beta.
3) There are big changes in board set up needed to play 4th.

I have to say I am happy the boards need to change. We have been playing with too little terrain and not enough varied terrain. I have heard several commentators say the 4th Ed boards need around 50% terrain and around 8 level-2 pieces as some of the new stats/schemes require interaction with terrain.

I think this signals the end of choosing crews before seeing the board layout (as much as I really need the time for theory crafting.) As there is more terrain and schemes dependant on it, I will really need to see where things are before I choose who to put on the board.

I welcome this new challenge to the game.