Malifaux

If you read through this blog you will notice I stopped posting Warhammer 40,000 battle reports.  I have really stopped playing Games Workshop games because I can't afford to keep up with the cost.  I still have my Flesh Tearers army and the last set of rules/codex for them but I probably won't continue to buy more for it.  The issue is mainly the price, I love miniature wargames and all the back story for the universe, in fact I still keep up to date with the lore and read novels and stories based on the universe.  I can't afford to spend a large amount of money buying miniatures, updated rules and re-writing army lists because new codex's make my current ones underpowered.

I recently started looking for alternatives.  I had the idea of a skirmish style wargame like Necromunda.  The idea of smaller forces and less models means it will be cheaper to play.  I was put off Necromunda because it isn't supported by GW any more so I looked at others.  One I found that really appeals to me is Malifaux 2nd Edition.
So to be clear I haven't played Malifaux yet, or read the rules, this is just what I think about the game and why I am looking at buying it.  Some of the information could be wrong, it is simple based on the research I've done on the game.

Backstory and Setting

One thing that put me off other games I looked at was either a poor setting or one that didn't appeal to me.  Some are too generic Sci-fi or Fantasy and others were too silly or underdeveloped for me.  Malifaux was one I found to have a lot of good fluff that I found appealing.

Again I haven't looked at everything regarding the backstory so might make mistakes here.

In the late 1700's magic on Earth was declining, so the magic users of the day opened a breach into another world.  When they crossed over they discovered a city completely empty.  In this city they found a resource not available on Earth, Soul Stones.  These allowed magic users on Earth more power and promised to save magic.  A booming trade was made transporting these Stones out of the Breach back Earthside.  Eventually the Breach started to grow weak and started to shrink.  Despite their best efforts the Breach eventually closed on itself and when it did all that was left Earthside was a corpse with the word "Ours" carved into it.

Without a source of Soul Stones magic on Earth was again at risk.  Wars were fought over the remaining supply of the stones.  Efforts were made to re-open the Breach to allow more Soul Stones to be brought to through.

A Century after the Breach closed it opened again without any warning. The Guild, who had previously been controlling the supply of Soul Stones on Earth were worried that whatever happened in Malifaux 100 years ago would now play out on Earth so guarded the Breach.  When nothing came through they went into and found a city empty again.  None of the Humans that had been in Malifaux when the Breach closed or their descendants were there.  There were signs of fighting in the city but no-one left.

They went back to exploring and the Guild kept a guard on the breach to maintain their monopoly on Soul Stones.  Other breaches were rumored to be opening that threatened this monopoly.  Other groups were able to gain power in Malifaux.  Worse the Neverborn, the inhabitants of Malifaux have surfaced.

The setting itself is very Victorian Steampunk with magic, nightmares and just a dose of Wild West.  It's a good combination that strangely seems to work.  There are wizards, gunslingers, miners unions and huge mechanical creatures.

The Factions
As is expected with most miniatures games you have multiple factions to pick from.  Malifaux has 7, each with their own set of Leaders.  The Leaders may lead different groups within a Faction and might completely change the playstyle from crew to crew.  Every Crew will have one Leader and the rest of the crew, picked from people available to that Faction, build around them.  Some Leaders are also members of multiple Factions.

The Guild

The Guild are law and order in Malifaux, but that isn't their primary function.  They main concern is controlling the supply of Soul Stones in Malifaux and Earthside.  They hunt down illegal magic users, basically anyone that isn't them or someone they supply Soul Stones to.  They also maintain the law in Malifaux and hunt down the Neverborn.

They tend to favour ranged attacks and are mostly humans with some constructs to back them up.  Tactically they are quite direct rather than relying on tricks.

Resurrectionists
The Resurrectionists are a group of Necromancers operating in Malifaux.  They are hated in Malifaux because some of the worst monsters can be the loved ones of those that live there.  They can re-animate the dead and control them.  They search for forbidden knowledge in Malifaux and control people, both living and dead for their own selfish needs.

They are primarily a melee faction mainly comprised of undead models.  Mostly it is the minions that do the damage while the Leaders and Henchmen back them up and buff them.  Because they can raise the dead some can make their own crew stronger as the other crew's models start to die.

Neverborn

The Neverborn are the creatures of Malifaux living outside the city walls.  Every nightmare or story told has a Neverborn counterpart.  They are in essence the very thing of Nightmares.  Their origins are unknown, but they hunt and kill the human inhabitants of Malifaux.  It is believed they were linked to the original Breach closing.

Play wise they are a bit of a glass cannon force.  They can be fast and fragile.  Some of their models could have high defence or the ability to heal themselves.  Most of their Leaders run crew based on a certain gimmick often relying on tricks to get them in range of their opponents.  It is cunning rather than brute force that helps them win.

Arcanists

The Arcanist are wizards and magic users that are not sanctioned by the guild.  They are hunted down by the Guilds witch hunters and have to hide.  To do this they use The Miners and Steamfitters Union.  The group normally looks out for the rights of those that mine Soul Stones in Malifaux but also acts as a hiding place and front for the Arcanist.  This means that their ranks can sometimes be filled with miners, engineers and the constructs they make.  Many people see the growing Arcanist strength as a way of regaining power from the Guild.

Arcanist crew will mainly be themed around Magic or Constructs.  They have plenty of abilities to allow them to draw cards and can employ extremely strong and damaging constructs.  Their Leaders tend to be very different from each other so work better with their themed crews.

Outcasts

Outcasts are people who for one reason or another belong to no faction.  They have chosen their own path in Malifaux and many could be considered rogues, criminals or mercenaries.  They can have their own goals which will vary from Leader to Leader.

The Outcast faction is mainly people that don't fit into other factions so each crew can be drastically different from another.  Mostly they will be living models but some can raise the undead so could have undead models as well.  The skills and abilities of each Leader mean that they can be suited for any play style depending on who leads the crew.  They are pretty well balanced between ranged and melee fighters.  Many of their units have the mercenary special rule which means they can buy hired by any Faction for a slight price increase.

Ten Thunders

Ten Thunders are a crime syndicate from the Three Kingdoms (China, Japan and Vietnam).  They found a minor breach in the Three Kingdoms that allowed them access to Malifaux without the Guilds knowledge.  They waged a turf war against the other gangs in the city and have planted spies in key positions in other organisations.  From there they run their criminal empire much as they did Earthside.

Ten Thunders are a wildcard faction.  They have no real focus and most of their Leaders are dual faction allowing them to bring models to a battle that belong to that faction as well.  This lets them open the tactics of those factions or mix them with their own.  This can make it hard to predict what a Ten Thunders crew will have or to plan for a fight against them.  Those Leaders that are only loyal to the Ten Thunders tend to be well balanced between range and melee.

Gremlins

The Gremlins are a little like the Orks in Warhammer 40,000, a slight bit of comic relief.  They are inhabitants of the areas around Malifaux city.  They were helpful to the first humans than came through the Breach and soon learnt to copy and learn from the humans.  They used to hunt and be hunted by the pigs that live around the Bayou they live in, since they learnt about farming from humans they have started to domesticate the pigs and use them in battle.

They are a chaotic faction that has some completely uncontrollable models making a well laid plan hard to follow.  They have abilities to kill or injure their own crew to provide buffs and special abilities to the remaining crewmembers.  They have larger numbers than most gangs and can use pigs in battle which tend to be stronger and faster but uncontrollable if left unsupervised.

Gameplay
Unlike Warhammer where one player takes their whole turn then the next Malifaux plays as a "you go, I go" system, each player gets to activate one of their models then the other players and so on.  Each model has a number of action points they can use.

On top of this another big difference from your typical miniatures wargame is that it doesn't use dice.  Instead it uses a deck of playing cards called a fate deck.  Cards are flipped from this to determine the outcome of actions but players can have a hand of cards that let them "Cheat Fate" if the situation allows.

As I said I haven't seen all the rules but they seem pretty streamlined and different enough from the wargames to make it interesting.  I like the idea of not playing a whole turn forcing you to react as you play rather than at the end of a turn and reducing downtime between actions.

It is also different in how you start a game.  In most wargames you bring your crew list, then pick a scenario.   In Malifaux you pick the scenario then pick your crew.  This lets you pick a crew perfectly suited to the scenario you are playing.  You only need to declare what Faction you are playing before the scenario is picked.  If you need to get to collect objectives fast you can pick a crew built on speed, kill one of your opponent's models pick a high damage crew or hold a location you can pick a high toughness team.

Models
Lets face it the models in a miniatures game are one of the most important things.  If they are good they can make or break a game for some people and the cost of them can affect whether or not people will get involved.

The models are really nice for this game.  They are detailed and well posed and easily up to the standard of Game Workshop.  Most are plastic or resin but the first editions were metal if you get those.

As for price they seem very reasonable.  You can get a crew box which will contain a Leader and a crew of Henchmen and Minions themed around them.

These boxes contain around 6-9 models and give you a good core of a crew.  They come in about £20-£30 in the UK depending on the number of models etc in the box.  This is about normal for miniatures and given they include Leaders which are special characters would be slightly cheaper than a GW set with special character and troops.  Most crews will be around 10-15 models so you may want to add a few extras to fill the ranks.

 These boxes can be a number of minions or henchmen that can fill the ranks of your crew.  The sell for around £10-£15 in the UK again depending on what is in them.  With these you can fill out the ranks of your crew.  You can play without them and play a lower points value battle with just the crew box but these add more for you to play with.

Importantly these boxes not only contain the models you need but also all the stats and rules for using them so you don't need to buy codex's or crew books.  All the stats and rules are included on either the crew arsenal cards or in the larger rule books if you wanted them but it is possible to play without them and just with the basic rule book which is around £10 making it a lot cheaper and easier to get into than other wargames.  With a few of these boxes and a cheap rulebook you can play a high point's value game with just a normal set of playing cards and tape measure.


So like I said I haven't picked this up yet and it is something I am looking to get to scratch the itch left by Warhammer 40,000.  I am looking at picking up the starter set, it is again very well priced, includes a few models for 2 factions, basic rules, 2 themed fate decks and two tape measures.  If it goes well then I would look to boost one or more of those factions and get the full rules.  I am thinking about using two factions so I can lend one set to friends if they want to play but don't have there own.  I am hoping that maybe a few of my wargaming friends I now board game with like the idea and get a crew of there own as well as maybe some of my board gaming friends.