Post by Fadril Adren on Jul 30, 2015 19:27:49 GMT -5
Interested in Malifaux but need more information? Want to get started but don't know where to start? This article will answer many questions including game play, factions, and how to start your own Malifaux Crew.
So, what IS Malifaux?
Based in an alternate Earth, Malifaux uses gothic, steampunk, and victorian horror with a dose of the wild west to inject fun and depth into the magical lawlessness of a world rife with monsters, necropunks, man-machine hybrids, gunslingers, and powerhungry politicos. Actively using character-driven stories to define the world of Malifaux, seek your fortune in this fast paced and brutal 32mm tabletop miniature skirmish game. Assemble your crew and stake your claim!
It is a very low model-count, high terrain, diversely tactical skirmish game. The most recent rules is version 2.0 (hereafter 2E for 2nd edition) which completely updates the rules of the game, adding strategic depth, clarity, and choices. New stories, new factions, and new characters continue to pull you through the Breach and leave you battling for opportunity and survival in the dangerous world of Malifaux.
The game was created by US miniatures company, Wyrd Miniatures in 2010 and what attracts people to the game is the style and design of the miniature characters you use in battle.
Malifaux Universe:
The fictional universe of Malifaux as presented in the rules books and the online Malifaux Record and Wyrd Cronicles is both a city-state and a world in a parallel dimension. This universe is also the setting for the role playing game Through the Breach. The first known breach (also called The Breach of The Great Boundary) to this world was created in 1787 after our own world was threatened by the decline of magic and magicians looking for a new source of magic discovered a world separated from ours by a thin barrier. The creation of the breach destroyed the city surrounding the ritual site ripping the life force from its inhabitants creating a new equilibrium between the two worlds. Beyond the breach was discovered the city of Malifaux, supprisingly similar to many of our own but devoid of inhabitants. The new world turned into a new frontier when crumbling mining towns surrounding the city were rebuilt into boom towns in the search and trade of soulstones, the source of magic. With exploration continuing during the following decade, hostile natives called Neverborn were encroached upon. Tombs were discovered and with them the magic of resurrection. Discovered too were intelligent machines powered by soulstone.
In 1797, the breach was destabilised by a blizzard collapsing while smoke and the sound of battle was heard Earthside. After turmoil the Guild was formed by those who had made the Breach in the first place, controlling the dwindling resource of soulstones left Earthside and preparing for its reopening. In 1897 the Breach spontaneously reopened. The Guild was ready and took control with the Breach and the reopened frontier fuelling a new boomtrade in Soulstone.
The present is 1901 Earthside. The Guild's control is precarious. Lesser, unstable breaches have appeared. A significant part of the workforce have organised themselves in the Miners and Steamfitters Union and smuggling is rife.
The city itself is walled. Reclamation is underway, but large segments are still uninhabited, quarantined and walled off to protect the human population. A railway runs through the breach and into Malifaux as well as to a few mining towns. The city is run by the Governor General appointed by the Guild. Around Malifaux human settlements are concentrated to boomtowns and pioneer towns.
Malifaux GamePlay:
You might have heard that Malifaux does not use dice. That’s right, you don’t have to roll a single die to play this game. You might be asking “How do you play a tabletop game without dice?” Well, you use a deck of cards instead. It’s a bit different than traditional tabletop games.
So how well does it work? I was a bit skeptical at first, but also somewhat excited at the idea of something new and different. Can a deck of cards really replace dice and still make a fun and interesting game? After playing a few games I can confidently say that yes, a tabletop game without dice can work (and work well)! Let me explain.
We all know how it goes in a traditional dice game. You just have those games where nothing goes your way. Your dice seem to be cursed and can’t stop rolling 1s. No matter how hard you try and no matter what your strategy is, you are prisoner to the roll of the die. It happens to the best of us, and it is just no fun when it happens.
Enter the cards. Malifaux uses essentially a standard deck of playing cards (with jokers). Instead of rolling dice you flip over the top card from the deck for your random number generation. On top of that, you have a hand of cards that you can use to “Cheat Fate” (replace one of the cards that you’ve drawn) and soulstones that can be used to flip additional cards.
Most actions in Malifaux require you to perform a duel which means flipping the top card from your deck and adding it to a stat in order to beat either a specific number or to beat your opponent who also flips the top card from their deck and adds it to a stats. For example, in a simple melee duel the attacker would flip the top card from his deck and add it to his Combat stat while the defender would flip the top card from his deck and add it to his Defense stat. Then from here either one can Cheat Fate or use soulstones to modify their totals in an attempt to win the duel. This simple setup is used for casting spells, melee combat, ranged combat and more.
The most obvious thing that is different here is that you have more control over what happens. In a typical dice game you are stuck with whatever you roll, there’s no changing that. In Malifaux you have a chance to fix a low flip. Of course, you have a limited hand of cards so there is an extra layer of strategy in deciding when to Cheat Fate or use soulstones (of which you have a limited number). Is this current attack that important or would you be better off saving that high card for something else?
Another (less obvious) effect of using the deck of cards is that you are guaranteed to have some high rolls. When rolling a die you could potentially roll a 1 over and over, there’s nothing preventing that from happening. With a deck of cards there are only so many low cards and so many high cards to go through. You are guaranteed to get high numbers at some point. It’s still random and there is still plenty of chance to what numbers you get and when (especially since you re-shuffle every turn) but the more actions that happen without re-shuffling the more likely you are to have received several high cards along the way.
The Turn:
Enough about the cards, what about the rest of the game? Well, one thing that I particularly like about the game is the way turns work. You and your opponent alternate activating a single model instead of getting to move your entire crews (though some special abilities allow you to alter turn orders and activate multiple models at once). I prefer this as it allows you to react to each individual move from your opponent (or cause your opponent to react to yours).
Each character has a full set of abilities that they can use, some standard ones such as attack and some unique abilities. When you purchase a model from Wyrd it comes with a character card that has that character’s full stats on it. This is a great help when playing the game as it puts all of their abilities right in front of you, with full descriptions. Characters receive 2 actions per turn (with some exceptions increasing or decreasing that) and each ability or spell costs a specific number of actions.
In addition to normal actions characters can also have triggers. As the name might imply, a trigger is something that is “triggered” off of another action. You might have a trigger that can be activated after you attack, assuming you meet the requirements for it (which comes in the form of necessary suits from flipped cards). These triggers add yet another layer of strategy as only one can be used at a time, and they can alter an action in various ways. Trigger effects range from something as simple as a bonus to damage after an attack to more complicated things such as immediately killing a model unless your opponent can prevent it through discarding cards or soulstones. This is one of my favorite aspects of Malifaux. They are so simple, but that extra little trigger can change the game in so many ways.
Strategies and Shemes:
There is one last thing that Malifaux does that I find incredibly interesting, Strategies and Schemes. The way that you win a game is by earning “Victory Points”. At the beginning of the game each player flips a card to randomly determine what their Strategy for the game will be… things such as assassinate the opposing team’s leader, eliminating all of the opposing teams models or controlling portions of the board. In addition to this, each player may optionally take up to 2 or 3 (depending on game size) Schemes, which are additional goals that the player can keep hidden from others. Schemes might include breaking through to the other side of the board, keeping a specific model of yours alive, or capturing a specific piece of terrain on the board. At the end of the game each team earns Victory Points based on their completed Strategies and Schemes, and the winner is the one with the most points.
GETTING STARTED:
Ok. Let's say you're REALLY interested in Malifaux and want to get started! Where do you begin? You'll need to pick a faction and then one of the 7 different Master's of that faction first. You can only have 1 Master in a game!
For more In-Depth Information, Faction Tactics, Master's and their specific tacticas, I've created another thread just for that! MALIFAUX FACTIONS and MASTERS INFORMATION
But for now, here's an overview:
Malifaux features seven different factions and associated miniatures for use in their game:
The Guild
The Guild is the law in Malifaux. They exert a fascist control over the city and are more concerned with the production of soulstone, a substance which allows for wielders to perform supernatural feats, than they are with the safety of its inhabitants. The Guild offers a mix of ranged and melee combat and aesthetically possesses a number of Wild West motifs.
The Arcanists
The Arcanists are individuals who practice magic. The Miners and Steamfitters Union is run by one of Malifaux' prominent Arcanists, Ramos. The M & SU is an organization that represents the labor class in the city. The Arcanists are actually made up from different groups that range from the Order of the Chimera to the show girls of Collette. Their primary strength is in the wide variety of spells they can cast and they also boast a number of mechanical and elemental constructs as well as beast minions.
The Resurrectionists
The Resurrectionists are necromancers who command forces of the undead. Where the other factions are concerned with collecting soulstones, the Resurrectionists loot the ruins of Malifaux for magical devices and tomes of knowledge. They are very resilient characters in play, with the ability to absorb a lot of damage and to raise dead models as additional combatants.
The Neverborn
The Neverborn are the native inhabitants of the world of Malifaux. They are nightmarish monsters that terrorize the human settlers in Malifaux. Their existence is linked with a calamity that occurred in the world's ancient past. They are known for their speed and abilities that confound their enemies. They possess few ranged attacks but are very deadly in melee combat.
The Outcasts
The Outcasts are a group of smaller interests unassociated with the major factions in Malifaux. A number of Outcasts are also mercenaries that may be hired by the other factions for use in their crews.
Ten Thunders
Released at Gen Con in 2012, the Ten Thunders is a shadowy faction, their masters associated with the other factions as well as their own. Inspired by the Triads and Yakuza, the faction springs from the Three Kingdoms earthside (an unified Japan, China and Vietnam) and is currently led by the Katanaka clan. Their means of transport is through a lesser breach within the Three Kingdoms unknown by the Guild.
The Gremlins
Originally included as part of the Outcasts faction, it was announced as part of the update to Malifaux Second Edition that the Gremlins will now be a faction of their own. Natives to the lands around Malifaux, the Gremlins are a wild and rambunctious group. Their playstyle is characterized by often random acts that can at times injure their own fellows as easily as their enemies. They lean towards a ranged focus although this might change with new minis being released in the future.
So, what do you do after you pick a faction and master? Next you'll also need the rule book, a ruler/tape measure, a deck of cards or use Wyrd's Fate Deck, MODELS, some type of objective tokens (plain poker chips work great to start out with) and terrain large enough for a 3x3 square foot table. Also.. there is a FREE APP that you can download which helps you build your own Crew and select Objectives and Schemes - Android and Apple!
Terrain and Game Boards:
There are several different manufacturers that make terrain that works with Malifaux's 28mm models. Terraclips is generally a popular choice for those who do not want to paint terrain. Games Workshop has some terrain pieces that works well too. Dwarven Forge has recently completed a kickstarter for their new module City Builder . You can also make your own as well! This is a game that works best with multiple heights of terrain and places that can block line of sight. Buildings with removable roofs, trees, boxes, bridges etc. all work very well.
So.. there you go! I'll add more to this article as pertinent information comes to my attention. Hope this helps and WELCOME TO MALIFAUX!
- Fadril