My Teddy Wants To Tell You Something

 A 50ss game of Malifaux

Strategy: Standard Raid the Vaults

Schemes: Deliver a Message, Hold Up Their Forces, Death Beds, Espionage, Protected Territory

My list:

Molly with The Whisper & Necrotic Machine
Philip & Nanny
Rogue Necromancy
Keepside Strangers
Rabble Riser
Night Terror
Crooligan
Enslaved Spirit

Pool: 5
Schemes: Deliver a Message (Crooligan), Protected Territory

Opponent had:

Shenlong & 2x Aspiring Students
Sensei Yu
High River Monk
Thunder Archer
Fermented River Monk
2x Wandering River Monk
Low River Monk with Trained Ninja

Pool: 4
Schemes: Protected Territory, Espionage

Turn 1:

Monks started concentrating on their Chi, barely exiting their deployment zone. Except for that one Wandering River Monk that ended up less than five inches away from my deployment zone. Although Night Terror helped the guy a little. Presumably the flapping of bat wings inspire butterfly jumps. 

Early on Molly took a double walk to within 2" of center-left strategy marker and concentrated to spread some Lethe's Caress. I don't think anyone took the damage just yet, though, but at least it complicated Chi generation.

Monks had bunched up nicely. Stone pillar hides Shenlong himself and Aspiring Student from the picture. I was concerned about High River Monk and his ruthlessness, so that's where Keepside Strangers aimed their snakes at. Attack hit and dealt moderate damage, the blast splashing on Aspiring Student. 

I was tempted to try and finish off those two, but eventually walked Keepside Strangers away so that Thunder Archer would have to walk to get within range. And so it did, dealing two points through Shielded. 

It was probably Low River Monk that healed Aspiring Student so that it would not die to poison. Opponent was now wary of blasts, and moved Sensei Yu to contest top-right strategy marker instead of standing in the middle of everything.

And that was when Rogue Necromancy did Projectile Vomit on Yu, dealing three points to him and two blasts reached Low River Monk and Thunder Archer. 

For sure it was oppressive situation for Monks. Especially after Necrotic Machine went to heal the only damage Resurrectionists had taken. And High River Monk was at one health remaining, Sensei Yu had taken four, and some random points here and there. I also had a pass token.

Turn 2:

So I got the initiative easily enough. I had some options how to deal with High River Monk, and I decided to jam Rogue Necromancy in the middle of enemy crew. I figured I might lose Rogue Necromancy because of that, but at least it would considerably slow down Ten Thunders strategy options. 

Rogue ambushed, walked over the small wall section and charged High River Monk, using focus point. Stat 6, three cards, bonus to damage flips. Had a 13 in hand. Everything. 

Black Joker. Bad things happen, yeah.

Low River Monk did a double heal on High River Monk, healing it back up to five. 

Next Shenlong would have ample time to heal just about everyone, so Molly had to activate next and premonition her cards away. First she did two damage with Disturbing Story, and remaining three came from another Disturbing Story that needed a cheat. 

Shenlong probably healed Thunder Archer for a bit and switched his fighting style to that horrifying dragon kick thing. Two hits landed on Rogue Necromancy, some of which was healed by Necrotic Machine.

So, in the end, Rogue Necromancy died on turn two. But at least it took, uh, two actions from Shenlong, two actions from an insignificant totem and two actions from Fermented River Monk. Oh. Right. So nothing to write home about.

At least handful of snakes scored a big one again, damaging Thunder Archer and blasting Low River Monk dead. They even had time to place a scheme marker next to center-right strategy marker. 

Thunder Archer was no slouch either, removing Enslaved Spirit with a single shot and killing it again with target practice. 

A Wandering Monk leaped to bottom-left strategy marker and placed a scheme to my deployment. The other one did a scheme to centerline, too, so looked a bit like Espionage. Philip & Nanny was able to slow somebody with a question, and remove an enemy scheme marker, which by the time had been the one in Ten Thunders deployment zone. 

Rabble Riser redirected itself from centerline to attack the Monk that had jumped to bottom-left. I believe he missed his attack. 

However, Enslaved Spirit and Night Terror had procured Protected Territory for me, and Crooligan teleported to hand over a message to Shenlong. I was controlling at least one strategy marker, not sure about the one Yu is standing next to. 

That was a 3-1 lead to Resurrectionists.

Turn 3:

Aspiring Student started beating a kid in the face with the pointy end of a broom. That's how students aspire these days? Dragonfly kick even set her and her teddy bear on fire. She figured out her messages were not appreciated, teleported to Philip & Nanny and went to place a scheme marker and contest top-left strategy marker. One problem, though. She had Burning +2, one health remaining.

Necrotic Machine and Molly tied their best at taking down Sensei Yu. But damn those chi tokens. Not a single injector broke Yu's skin, and his mind was fazed only a little by Molly's disturbing stories. Juggernaut healed back whatever she managed to do. He was able to kill Keepside Strangers before they were able to activate.

Night Terror walked to assist Crooligan with her burning, but managed to smother only the teddy bear. Not the kid herself. It tried to take better cover with reposition from Negation Aura. 

However, Yu had given Fast to Thunder Archer. He walked back to Ten Thunders deployment and took two shots at the bat. One attack hit, and dealt weak damage, so Night Terror was down to two health remaining.

Philip & Nanny managed to kill an Aspiring Student that had charged them. As I didn't want Shenlong to come and engage top-left corner marker, they Pram-Rammed Shenlong.

That backfired, when Shenlong used four winds punch to push the prams away - and one of my scheme markers to centerline. Ten Thunders master gave an interact for Thunder Archer, andwalked to contest center-left marker instead. 

Rabble Riser didn't manage to finish off a Wandering River Monk. He needed a moderate for that. Didn't get. And instead, the duo kicked the Riser out of Rabble. 

Resurrectionists got a second strategy point, while Ten Thunders claimed their first. They also got Protected Territory, so they caught up a little, to 4-3 lead for Molly.

Turn 4:

Then, things went wrong for Resurrectionists. It took every damn action point I had on board to kill Yu. Finally it did happen, but I wasn't able to play for points... much.

Shenlong switches to the unpredictable river style, and, huh. YEAAH. Molly had graciously even gifted Shenlong Distracted beforehand so that she was pretty much doomed. After spending most of my soulstones, Molly was still standing with five health remaining. But another such barrage next turn... I didn't look forward to that.

Thunder Archer shot Night Terror dead, and Remaining monks just schemed as if their lives depended on it. 

Both players scored strategy, for a 5-4 lead for Resurrectionists.

Turn 5:

Thunder Archer's Target Practice was my biggest concern right now, so Necrotic Machine healed Molly for a couple of points and walked to charge Thunder Archer. The archer had one health remaining from all the Lethe's Caress procs. But that one health was too many - it might just disengage and shoot my scheme markers anyway.

Philip & Nanny was able to activate before Archer did and gave Slow for it. No damage though, since the damn thing had no melee range, so wasn't engaging anyone for the damage instance from One More Question.

Shenlong made a gambit and tried to hit Molly twice with four-winds punch to get my scheme marker away from where it should be. Second punch failed to connect - that style is far more predictable with Serene Countenance than the drunken swings Shenlong was doing earlier. 

Molly was able to spend pass tokens and wait until all the monks had done their things. She removed the only scheme marker opponent had on the centerline She was, however, both stunned and staggered, so she wasn't going to make it to top-right strategy marker with two actions even if she disengaged successfully.

Ten Thunders got third strategy point and Protected Territory.

Resurrectionists got either Deliver a Message or Protected Territory, but not both. So, it was a 6-6 draw.

Handshake Against Torment

 Two 50ss games of Malifaux. These were played over a week ago during my Kuhmo visit, so details are likely gone from my memory. Both players were slowly getting a tad tired of Gaining Grounds 4, so we shook things up a little by playing gg1 strategies.

Game 1:

Strategy: Corner Public Enemies

Schemes: Let Them Bleed, Research Mission, Breakthrough, Take Prisoner, Claim Jump

My list:

Kirai & Ikiryo
Kari Zotiko
Jaakuna Ubume
The Ferryman
Lost Love
2x Drowned
2x Seishin

Pool: 6
Schemes: Let Them Bleed, Breakthrough

Opponent had:

Charles Hoffman & Mechanical Attendant
Melissa K.
Peacekeeper
Guild Steward
Guardian
Hunter
Watcher

Pool: 5
Schemes: Take Prisoner (Ferryman), Claim Jump (Peacekeeper)

Turn 1:

Scenario was such a killy one, but corner deployment made the first round mostly about closing in. Early on Hoffman have Fast to Peacekeeper, which made me a cautious. I overdid my defenses, slapping Twisting Mist for Jaakuna Ubume. Concealed Serene Countenance model should survive most shooting opponent might have at me. 

Sure enough, round boiled down with Peacekeeper running so close to center point that I was kind of scared of next turn. Ferryman and Kari were near enough to charge.

Kirai tries to save the day by summoning a Goryo that manages to charge Peacekeeper and land Adversary on it. 

All of my crew was coming from bottom-left quarter except for Ikiryo, who was hiding behind a dwarven house to perhaps launch a Lost Love to enemy deployment zone next turn.

Entirety of Augmented pretty much mirrored my movements, too, when all but Hunter were closing in from top-right quarter, sans Hunter that was hiding from Ikiryo on the opposite side of dwarven house.

 

Turn 2:

Hoffman activates first, gives Fast to Peacekeeper and punches Goryo off the board while also getting bounty tokens. Perhaps Kirai would have to reconsider her summonings, as giving enemy free points like that hurts.

But something would have to hold up Fast Peacekeeper. Kirai summoned an Onryo for the job. However, she was dubious about a single five point minion holding up a buffed up 10 point enforcer, so Kirai went into hiding.

Fortunately Onryo gave hard time for Augmented. Melissa didn't land even a single hit, so Peacekeeper had to kill Onryo before moving suspiciously close to center point. 

One of the Drowned managed to distract and poison Peacekeeper a little, while the other charged at the thing. Would I have to rush my models against the thing piecemeal, one by one?  How about my bounty tokens?

Well, Jaakuna Ubume charged Hunter so that it wouldn't go to engage Ikiryo. She did the drowning aura. Hunter was in for some bad time, as every action it failed gave a point of damage, and every attack that actually hit would deal two. It nearly scrapped itself in trying to remove Jaakuna. It did well enough, so Kari had to heal Jaakuna with her entire activation.

And then Guardian came to swing the greatsword at Jaakuna. She survived, and had caused seven or eight points of damage via vengeance and drowning aura in total.

Desperately trying to get bounties to score, Ferryman tried to wreck the Hunter. Ferryman managed to claw only a couple of damage points, which left Hunter with two. Looked like Ikiryo would have to delay her proceedings to not lose points from this round.

Lost Love teleported to Ikiryo and gave her Fast with a trigger. He tried to heal the damage he had caused, but didn't get it quite right. 

Ikiryo projected voice over Hunter. She had Focus +1 from last turn, and used that to get through friendly fire - and scored a severe wound! Yay, two bounty tokens and two action points to get as far from the action as possible. 

Both players scored strategy, but no schemes were revealed. It was a 1-1 tie, but situation on board looked miserable from my point of view.

Turn 3:

Jaakuna was able to activate to put up her drowning aura. This combination continued to plink and plonk Guardian, until Guardian halved Jaakuna. Before opponent would bring in the heals, Kari charged Hoffman to get Peacekeeper and Guardian within no-heal aura. This was a high risk move so early in turn, but I might be able to score Let Them Bleed this way.

And surely enough, Kari spent most of my soulstones. Lost Love had to teleport in to double-heal Kari, and so did Kirai. Without the teleport, of course. But, in the end phase, Kari was all alive and well. Same could not be said about Guardian and Peacekeeper that had been hitting themselves for quite a while. 

As situation in the middle had devolved into a gigantic melee, Ikiryo was able to walk and plant a scheme for Breakthrough. Yay. Kari had survived to give me Let Them Bleed. But no robots were dismantled this turn, while opponent had plenty enough bounties. 

Opponent did no reveals, so Urami took the lead with 3-2.

Turn 4:

Ikiryo and Lost Love went to spam scheme markers to enemy corner, so they were out of action.

And in the middle... uh. Huh. 

Kari died, which put heals back on the menu for Augmented. I needed to hurry to get kills. Guardian went down easily enough, but unfortunately that meant that Hoffman and Tanuki doubled up on heals for Peacekeeper. 

Drowned kept putting dents into Peacekeeper, and another Drowned charged Melissa, who was also near the middle by now. 

Opponent needed four tokens for a victory point, which wasn't available. Kirai had managed to kill Guardian and Watcher, so that was the three bounties required for a point. Scores went 4-2 for Resurrectionists.

Turn 5:

Opponent had a chance for a difficult draw. We played until it became impossible to achieve.

And the only proper way to get at that was to punch some damage in to Tanuki after it had activated. Let Them Bleed was secured. Breakthrough was, too. 

Oh, but Guild can't have Tanuki's, you say? Okay, okay, Guild Steward, then. Anyway.

Opponent also got both of their scheme end conditions for a 6-4 victory for Kirai. 

Game 2:

Strategy: Wedge Symbols of Authority

Schemes: Sabotage, Spread Them Out, Vendetta, Take Prisoner, Runic Binding

My list:

Jack Daw & Lady Ligeia
Montresor
Ferryman
Malifaux Child
2x Hanged
2x Guilty

Pool: 5
Schemes: Spread Them Out, Runic Binding

Opponent had:

Jakob Lynch & Hungering Darkness
Kitty Dumont
Soul Battery
Mr. Graves
Mr. Tannen
Illuminated
Beckoner
Tanuki

Pool: 6
Schemes: Take Prisoner (Ferryman), Sabotage (Fallen arch in bottom-left quarter)

Turn 1:

We were playing Wedge from left to right. 

I had two strike teams of Guilty and Hanged attempting to flank. Oh, and Malifaux Child, too, was flanken' at the bottom. Oh yeah. All the kid did was to pull Kitty Dumont to center line. What's this? This is no McCabe? Surely Lynch would not take children as prisoners?

Montresor, Lady Ligeia and Jack Daw guard one symbol of authority near my wedge corner. Montresor gives Ferryman a walk, so it was able to either go charge Kitty Dumont, or place first marker for my schemes. It decided to interact while still able. 

I don't remember who or what shot a severe damage to Ferryman. It was probably Lynch with his derringer. Suddenly no access to Kari's heals... felt. 

Hungering Darkness went to harass my second Guilty/Hanged team on top, but there were no exchanges just yet. 

Turn 2:

Ferryman charged into the thick of Honeypot crew. It dropped a second scheme marker. However, that half of a boat had been adept with flipping ones, and had somehow ended up with at least five brilliance tokens. A couple of damage points here and there, and Ferryman was looking at a real possibility of developing a crippling drug habit.

And surely enough, Jakob Lynch offered the figurehead a free sample. The undead mermaid shook off the ropes, descended down from the front and started doing brilliance right there. Lynch had convinced her to become Honeypot's new Beckoner. 

Jack Daw goes to place a third scheme marker for Runic Binding, and charged Mr. Graves. As a move it was... less than ideal because of Black Blood. But I needed Jack to stand on top of the scheme marker so that the multitude of as of yet unactivated models would not just go and pick it up. 

Montresor was in range to perma-stagger Mr. Graves. Lady Ligeia made a shout at Mr. Tannen, bursting the little man's ears with a shriek. Shriek blasted a nearby Beckoner, staggering her too. 

Guilty and Hanged below tried to engage and hold up people near the wreckage of Ferryman.Before Soul Battery had activated, Hanged gave him the psychotic upgrade when opponent no longer had any cards in hand. That was a 3" push towards the triangle of Runic Binding.

Jack Daw's valiant sacrifice paid off, but he wasn't in a good shape at all. This lead to a weird move by me. Guilty on top had charged Hungering Darkness to tie it up. Hungering Darkness didn't do too much damage, so Hanged gave the Forbidden Knowledge for Guilty and teleported next to it. Then he hit Guilty with the noose and walked away, healing Jack Daw for one. 

Beckoner, Mr. Tannen and Jakob Lynch in close proximity are a terrible bubble for Jack to be in. 

But, at least I scored Runic Binding, while opponent got nothing. A 1-0 lead for Tormented.

Oh, Malifaux Child had disengaged from Kitty, hopefully activating soon enough next turn to drop a scheme marker, until Kitty comes to claim the prisoner.

Turn 3:

Shock! Taking kids as prisoners is McCabe's business indeed. Kitty just went to drop a scheme marker to sabotage target. Malifaux Child walked and dropped a scheme marker. 

Shock and awe! Illuminated kills Guilty, Hungering Darkness kills Guilty. I'm not sure if I have ever had eight card hand, but next turn I would.

Shock and horror! After draining pretty much every resource at my disposal, Lynch is able to give Jack Daw a firm handshake. I suppose that's what Jack Daw's tormented spirit was looking for, because he disappeared after the fact. 

Montresor and Lady Ligeia are able to finish off Mr. Graves. 

Hanged on top places a scheme and walks towards the unknown.

The ultimate shock!

At the end of turn three, scores were still 1-0. Has it ever been so before? Not going to check, but it must be about as rare as having scores of 4-4 at the end of second turn.

Turn 4:

Hungering Darkness goes to pick up first ever Symbol of Authority. 

Hanged on top and kid below continue to walk and drop schemes. 

Montresor could have dropped a scheme marker and charged on top of it, trying to kill Mr. Tannen. But instead I chose violence, trying to remove Mr. Tannen with two attacks. Reason was Hanged below that had managed to drop two scheme markers next to Illuminated with lucky triggers. 

Too bad that Lynch turned Hanged into another Beckoner. Thus, Illuminated had all the time in the world to remove both scheme markers with just one action.

What a mess. I didn't get a point this turn, but fortunately opponent wasn't going that strong either. Perhaps because they had already killed their chosen prisoner. But, Ten Thunders took the lead at 2-1, when they finally had enough markers for Sabotage.

Turn 5:

Hopeless turn. Hopeless game.

Somehow I had failed in my scheme marker placement in such a way that I had the capability to get Spread Them Out or a strategy marker, but not both.

Two points for me throughout the game. Woohoo.

Kitty was able to pick up a strategy marker, and also go to place the required scheme marker for sabotage end condition.

A clear 4-2 victory for Jakob Lynch. And let me say, he deserved it. He killed Ferryman, Jack Daw and Hanged, plus managed to summon ten stones worth of extra models.

Jakob Lynch 1 is my #1 opponent in play count, and out of all of my masters that has played a game against him, Jack Daw1 is the only one that hasn't scored even a single victory. And this was third such game. 

But I guess black blood and all those cheat auras count for something if I have to park Jack Daw in the range of every one of them.

Y

Three rounds of two-player Yatzy during visit to my parents.

We rolled some dice. Points were scored. I won one round, lost two. Wheee..

Update: And another three round session of Yatzy with three players.

Tanuki On A Stick

 A 50ss game of Malifaux on Vassal.

Strategy: Corner Cloak and Dagger

Schemes: Let Them Bleed, Power Ritual, Ensnare, Espionage, Hold Up Their Forces

My list:

McMourning & Zombie Chihuahua
Sebastian
Rogue Necromancy
Corpse Curator
Kentauroi
Nurse
Gravedigger
Canine Remains

Pool: 3
Schemes: Ensnare, Hold Up Their Forces

Opponent had:

Hungering Darkness & Dark Bet
Gwyneth Maddox
Koji
Kara
Illuminated
2x Beckoner
Tanuki

Pool: 4

Schemes: Ensnare, Hold Up Their Forces

Turn 1:

Well, scheme pool... was. There was little sense in picking other than Ensnare and Hold Up. Both Power Ritual and Espionage required interacting in enemy deployment zone, and our crews weren't really specialized in getting there. Let Them Bleed wasn't appealing option either. Super-healing Rogue Necromancy was annoying for reveal, and not a bloody chance I would try to get Gwyneth down to half of her health remaining.

It's been a while since this game was played, so I'll have to be brief.

Resurrectionists had a nasty bottleneck right out of their deployment zone. McMourning was able to summon a Flesh Construct, and Sebastian did a Canine Remains, but there was a staggering blob of models in close proximity to each other in confined spaces. And Hungering Darkness had ran to center line, and I was worried that it might just walk and charge next turn to engage, like, Rogue Necromancy, Sebastian, Corpse Curator, McMourning, Nurse and two Canine Remains. 

So, summoned Flesh Construct went to engage and buy some time for the gathering to dissolve. 

Ten Thunders were spread out a little better, with Gwyneth and Illuminated going to top strategy marker, and Beckoner plus Hungering Darkness were near middle. Remainder of Honeypot was going  towards bottom-right quarter.

Turn 2:

Kentauroi picked up a Canine Remains, picked up an intel and backed off. Canine Remains was to pick up even more intel, but then Illuminated charged the dog. Although attacks missed, interacting was out of the question.

Flesh Construct did astonishing job at surviving - it ate up the entirety of activation of both Honeypot masters. Wow. I thought this opened up the game for McMourning to dominate the northern part of map by charging Illuminated. First attack hit and dealt respectable damage. However, next two attacks didn't pass Terrifying (10), and by then I no longer had cards in hand.

Too late I realized my mistake by disengaging Illuminated with Canine Remains - after all I had Hold Up Their Forces as one of my schemes!

Rogue Necromancy went to charge a Beckoner that was hanging around with Koji in between two strategy markers. Attacks did nothing, but Koji did a suspicious scheme marker next to Rogue Necromancy. 

Sebastian, Corpse Curator and summoned Canine Remains were holding back in the middle, unsure what to do. 

Kara had walked and charged Gravedigger, but not before she had done shenanigans to get an intel. 

Both players received strategy point, but Ten Thunders also got Hold Up Their Forces for a 2-1 lead.

Turn 3:

McMourning managed to butcher up Illuminated this turn, as well as engaging Gwyneth. He had received a couple of brilliance tokens from cheating. Gwyneth and Beckoner drained most of Resurrectionists' soulstones by attacking McMourning. Nurse patched him up as well as she could and positioned herself for Bedside Manner as I was afraid Hungering Darkness would try to take out McMourning. 

However, my fears were unfounded when Hungering Darkness went to pick up intel from Kentauroi.

Kentauroi disengaged from Hungering Darkness, and failed its Ride With Me, so I could not bring it to engage Lynch. 

However, summoned Canine Remains and Corpse Curator were able to score Ensnare for me from Lynch. Jakob tried to murder Corpse Curator, which failed. He deliriously moved away from Corpse Curators melee range, which made Hold Up Their Forces hard to accomplish this turn. Sebastian still tried by using Blood Poisoning on Jakob Lynch, even buying the trigger with a soulstone to move Canine Remains into contact with Lynch. Failed.

Koji was able to pull of Ensnare before Rogue Necromancy activated. When it did, it failed to kill Beckoner, bringing her down to one health remaining. Beckoner disengaged before Zombie Chihuahua was able to stink her dead. 

Gravedigger wasn't able to shoo the big cat away with a shovel. In response, Kara brought Gravedigger down to two health remaining.

Resurrectionists scored strategy, and both players got their Ensnare for a 3-3 tie.

Turn 4:

Hungering Darkness finally turned its attention to McMourning, and so did Beckoner and Gwyneth. The good doctor was out of soulstones now, but still alive and kicking. Nurse healed Resurrectionists master for a bit and went to engage Hungering Darkness. Canine Remains picked up intel and went to engage Gwyneth, which was finally enough for Hold Up Their Forces.

Situation looked grim, but then Kentauroi stampeded Tanuki and skewered the little crap with filthy spear. Situation was all bright and sunshines after that. 

In the middle Lynch killed Corpse Curator and Canine Remains, and even had the action points to go and sit on a strategy marker that had been moved after Sebastian picked up intel. 

Rogue Necromancy went to kill the escaping Beckoner and the Chihuahua challenged Koji. Because that's what Chihuahua's do. 

Kara turned Gravedigger into a corpse marker, and it was time to tally the points.

Resurrectionists got their second scheme, but no other points were scored this turn. It was a 4-3 lead for McMourning..

Turn 5:

It was a meticulous turn for sure. 

Gwyneth tried to kill Canine Remains that had intel, but thankfully didn't succeed. I don't remember what Hungering Darkness did, likely attacked McMourning. But that situation was locked there now, as McMourning had to stay in place to block Beckoner's way to get to Canine Remains.

Lynch and Kentauroi weren't even activated before the remainder of turn was metaplayed.

Sebastian stole intel from Koji, who in turn had to escape from two ill-placed böryokudan scheme markers. 

Rogue Necromancy picked up intel and made a gambit to kill Kara with a single strike. It did not kill Kara with a single strike. Instead, the monstrosity offered itself as a force to be held up for Ten Thunders.

Resurrectionists were able to get their third strategy point, but neither end scheme got scored. Ten Thunders also got their second strategy point, but also managed to get Hold Up Their Forces for a 5-5 draw.

Blessed Audition

 A 50ss game of Malifaux

Strategy: Standard Cloak and Dagger

Schemes: Deliver a Message, Outflank, Espionage, Power Ritual, Take Prisoner

My list:

Seamus Baker with The Whisper & Copycat Killer
Strange Lady with Grave Spirit Touch
Bete Noire
White Rabbit Co.
Dead Doxy
Bone Pile
Dead Dandy

Pool: 5
Schemes: Outflank, Espionage

Opponent had:

Rasputina & Wendigo
Snow Storm
Blessed of December with Soulstone Cache
December Acolyte
2x Silent One
Ice Dancer
Hoarcat

Pool: 1
Schemes: Outflank, Deliver a Message (Blessed of December)

Turn 1:

Let's go from left to right. 

Dead Dandy places a scheme marker for Espionage, also bluffing Power Ritual. Since there was only a tiny bottleneck for Bone Pile and Dead Dandy to get through to strategy marker, Silent One blocked that passage with an ice pillar. Bone Pile had to use its second action to remove the thing.

Silent One was accompanied by a Hoarcat, but both were still far away from strategy markers. 

Acolyte of December was deployed on top of a building, where it took a shot at Strange Lady, damaging it a little. Strange Lady did not approve, and Obeyed the thing off the building, dealing a couple of damage points from the fall. Which was somewhat impressive, as Strange Lady was still distracted from Seamus amputating a Mourner off of her. 

Blessed of December walked and leaped to strike at Strange Lady, not doing much.

Rasputina and Wendigo blasts Bete Noire off the board before White Rabbit had the time to craft a hat. Off the board obviously meaning Fade Away in this context. Ice Dancer was there with Rasputina and her totem, dominating center. However, Mourner took up the challenge - or at least peeked in their general direction from behind some barrels. 

As my last activation Bete Noire popped up in my deployment zone and ran just past centerline, inside the building on right.

Snow Storm was feeling confident enough to take on Dead Doxy (with a hat), Copycat Killer and White Rabbit Company, which were slowly creeping towards outflank zone and a strategy marker there. Top right quadrant also hides a Silent One, somewhere, somehow.

Four ice pillars had risen up already, although one of them had been removed. 

Turn 2:

Again from left to right, Bone Pile and Hoarcat toss an informant between them, both gaining an intel point. Dead Dandy positions right behind the strategy marker after Hoarcat had tossed it back. Dandy placed a scheme marker in outflank zone.

Blessed of December is mauled pretty badly by Strange Lady and Seamus, but Silent One patches up the beast a little. Acolyte, Rasputina and Blessed of December all get fixated with attacking Strange Lady, and surely enough it takes three stones to keep her going. Not a single damage block was below two, though, so I had some luck in there. 

Mourner tries to go to interact with a strategy marker until she realizes she was a summoned model. Instead, she dropped a scheme marker touching the centerline. 

Either Rasputina or Silent One blocked Bete Noire's advance with an Ice Pillar, and after White Rabbit gave her a nice hat, she was forced to spend one action point to take a walk towards enemy deployment zone for Espionage. Then either Rasputina or Silent One blocked her advance again with an ice pillar. 

Ice Dancer, however, was able to get perfect line to get past Bete Noire and White Rabbit Company... three times, no less. This drained my hand, but I was able to keep Bete Noire fairly intact. 

Snow Storm got frustrated over my Disguised models, and went to charge White Rabbit Company instead. Future sales of haberdashery plummeted, as the duo was left with two health remaining. 

Dead Doxy went to outflank zone on right, and Copycat Killer came to wreck an ice pillar that had risen right next to Dead Doxy after she had activated. 

Both players scored strategy, but Resurrectionists got a 2-1 lead thanks to claiming Outflank.

Resurrectionists managed to maintain a healthy population of only four ice pillars with a cost of two action points.

Turn 3:

Hoarcat and Bone Pile start a duel in the outflank zone, while Dead Dandy claims an intel and goes into hiding behind a building. 

Ice Dancer provided Hoarcat with an emotional support ice pillar, and perhaps it was this turn when she healed Blessing of December instead? I forget. Anyway, Blessed of December leaps to Seamus and delivers a message to him. 

Seamus spends his entire activation delivering a heart-warming message to Blessed of December, too, and Seamus compliments Blessed's uncanny ability to play dead after he greeted the aspiring talent with bladed bouquet. He even had time to compliment an ice pillar's majestic stature with a slam action.

Bete Noire had faded away again, and popped up from Blessed of December's corpse. She and Strange Lady charged the already damaged Acolyte of December and killed him. 

Wendigo went to pick up an intel, and summoned Mourner went to take it from its cold, living hands. She even took half of the totem's health away. 

I think it was Rasputina who made Bete Noire fade away after Ice Dancer had tormented her with endless pirouettes. 

I wanted to keep the option to move Seamus right to get outflank on turn five, so White Rabbit Company took a grim, determined expression and crafted a hat for themselves. They walked within 0" of Snow Storm and poked it with needle and thread. Their bravery shall be remembered. 

Unfortunately, though, that's all that will be remembered as Snow Storm slapped them dead even through the hat. However, Copycat Killer survived at two health remaining.

My first activation had been to run Dead Doxy to enemy deployment zone. Thus, Espionage was complete. Resurrectionists also got a strategy point, while Arcanists got Deliver a Message for a 4-2 lead for Resurrectionists.

Turn 4:

Duel between Bone Pile and Hoarcat continued without much of a progress for either side. I don't actually remember what Dead Dandy did, but looks like he was busy setting up new scheme markers for Outflank end condition. 

Silent One got an intel I think, and so did Bete Noire. Noire dropped a scheme marker for Espionage end condition as well. Strange Lady that had suffered from Slow starting from turn two had attempted to Obey Bete Noire to interact, but Bete Noire takes orders from no-one. 

Seamus walks and charges Wendigo that had moved below bell tower. He strikes the totem down and walks into contact with strategy marker. 

I'm not sure what Mourner did, probably just mourned how she couldn't land a hit against Wendigo. 

Rasputina was shooting Winter Strikes against Bete Noire and Strange Lady, securing Slow for Strange Lady four turns in a row. 

After getting intel, Ice Dancer and Silent One on the right tease Dead Doxy, and she is a little bummed by their harsh words. She is slowed, so she couldn't reposition to a better place to drop a scheme marker. 

Snow Storm makes Copycat Killer go splat, thus robbing me outflank end condition. The bestial henchman still had an action point left to interact a scheme for Arcanists' own flanking maneuvers. 

Resurrectionists scored no points this turn. Arcanists finally got their Outflank, as well as second strategy point. Scores tied at 4-4. 

Turn 5:

We did not play the last turn to the very end. Silent One to the left went to place an Outflank scheme marker, and Snow Storm did the same on right, so that was Outflank end condition for Arcanists.

Ice Dancer skated nearer to remove Dead Doxy's scheme marker with Don't Mind Me, but Doxy was able to lead Ice Dancer away fir Take by the Hand. She was then able to drop a scheme marker for Espionage end condition.

Arcanists missed on Deliver a Message, while Resurrectionists didn't get their Outflank.

After collecting intel points for two turns, Resurrectionists were able to carve a 6-5 victory with a third strategy point.

Go back home, Richard!

 A 50ss game of Malifaux

Strategy: Standard Corrupted Idols

Schemes: Vendetta, Breakthrough, Outflank, Dig Their Graves, Hold Up Their Forces

My list:

Molly, Chaotic Conductor & Necrotic Machine
Philip & Nanny
Noxious Nephilim with Grave Spirit Touch
2x Rabble Riser
2x Night Terror
Crooligan

Pool: 5
Schemes: Dig Their Graves, Breakthrough

Opponent had:

Clampetts, Fisherfolk & Bruce
Aunty Mel
Uncle Bogg
Sir Vantes
Buckaroo
Hermits
Skulker Skin

Pool: 6
Schemes: Outflank, Breakthrough

Turn 1:

Molly was the defender during deployment, and for once there was a conscious choice on my part which half Bayou would have to deploy first - whatever side Aunty Mel was on. That aunt terrified Noxious Nephilim to no end.

So, Nephilim deployed to far left. Molly made it parade forward for a bit to interact a scheme, and later in turn the beast puked a corpse next to the scheme marker.

The beast also slapped three points of damage to Clampetts after the Angler master had launched itself to remove my poor Night Terror that had recklessly flown to toss corrupted idols around.

Uncle Bogg had pushed Sir Vantes forward, and the foul knight - along with Clampetts - tossed an even fouler idol twice, at least 3" into my table side. The thing was guarded by the 2" reach of the filthy spear of Sir Vantes.

Rabble Riser went to charge Sir Vantes, but that Armor +2 is a thing against a damage track of 2/3/4

I think it was the Hermits that shot a few points of damage in to Philip & Nanny that Necrotic Machine tried to heal. Aunty Mel was with the Hermits, there in the lower left quarter of the top right quarter. (Wasn't that clear?)

Crooligan had emerged From Shadows to claim Breakthrough, but a Skulker Skin seemed to have other ideas when it ran towards rightmost Outflank area. Remaining Night Terror took a flying double walk towards the Crooligan to perhaps support the kid one day.

Since there was now Clampetts, Sir Vantes, Hermits and Aunty Mel in a relative proximity of the center, another Rabble Riser sticked around near Philip & Nanny and Necrotic Machine to do some damage next turn.

Far to the left Buckaroo took a full 18" walk towards my table edge. 

Turn 2:

Second strategy marker appeared in the center. Hermits, Sir Vantes and even Clampetts ensured that it was on my side of the table and out of my reach.

However, Molly and her endless parading also put one Idol on the enemy side, and Noxious Nephilim charged Clampetts, flew past them and took the idol within its 2" melee range. 

Clampetts, Bruce and what else had damaged Noxious Nephilim for a few points of damage. That wasn't too dangerous in itself, but Aunty Mel relocated to the second floow of building in the middle. Necrotic Machine had to run to heal the Nephilim, but failed its heal thanks to me trying to fish card from Molly's bonus action. Oh well.

Philip & Nanny was able to slow both Sir Vantes and Clampetts, and by now Sir Vantes was looking seriously damaged. Instead of doing damage, Rabble Riser to the right went to place a scheme marker near the Angler enforcer. The other Rabble Riser had suffered damage from various effects - mostly from Clampetts dynamites - and went to place a scheme marker near the corrupted idol that Noxious Nephilim was guarding, next to Uncle Bogg. Then it charged past Sir Vantes, and that point was the only one it managed to do this turn.

Night Terror scraped some damage in to Skulker Skin, but wasn't going to stay and challenge it any longer than necessary. Skulker removed itself from melee with On The Move and took a couple of shots at Night Terror, bringing it down to two health remaining after poisons.

Crooligan went to place a scheme for Breakthrough, and Buckaroo did the same in the opposite corner of the board.

Both players scored strategy and Breakthrough for a 2-2 tie.

Turn 3:

What a rollercoaster of a turn, but that is kind of fitting for the chaotic conductor. First, Aunty Mel starts shooting her adversary target, Noxious Nephilim. First attack - Red Joker on damage. Second attack - Black Joker on damage. It might be that she managed to score a weak hit with trigger from her bonus action. All in all the beast survived, albeit down to around one or two health remaining. 

Noxious Nephilim activated to regenerate four. It tried to remove Bruce before it would be able to heal Sir Vantes or the Hermits, but only landed a weak hit with last attack. Fortunately it had rams, so it received a little bit of healing. 

Molly managed to score Dig Their Graves by parading Hermits through the scheme marker right to it's grave. 

Idols near the center were being thrown around like ragdolls. Molly's built in trigger to interact with Parade Route was put to heavy use, but that wasn't helping much against teamwork by Uncle Bogg and Clampetts.

Both Rabble Risers went down this turn, one of them being eaten by Bruce. Crooligan and Night Terror spammed scheme markers in enemy deployment zone.

Opponent had Skulker Skin at the outflank zone on right, and Buckaroo did a quick retreat to the zone on left. Two out of three strategy markers were on my side of table now, and Sir Vantes was harassing Philip & Nanny, who were the last model to activate for me. I had three soulstones remaining, but I managed to pull off a nice combo with accidental roll-over with two soulstones. The pram rammed through Sir Vantes right next to corrupted idol, and scores went 3-3 as Resurrectionists got Dig Their Graves, and Bayou got Outflank.

Turn 4:

A third idol appeared on the center point, which complicated things, as soon enough it was apparent that I was losing the attrition game hard. Aunty Mel had no trouble killing Noxious Nephilim, and eventually even Philip & Nanny had to go. They spent my last soulstone trying to get a moderate block, but failed to do so.

However, Molly's parades and whatnot launched one idol way past centerline, and again I somehow managed to wriggle out of a desperate situation by using obscure actions. Strange Behavior by Necrotic Machine was able to dislodge it from melee with Uncle Bogg, free now to interact. Two idols secured for me.

Skulker Skin stopped outflanking and instead went to throw an idol that had spawned on the third turn to my side, and i had ran out of action points to do anything to the environmental threat that was corrupted idol next to riverbank.

Buckaroo also stopped to outflank and went into position to scheme next turn for Breakthrough.

Clampetts also leaped closer to my deployment zone. I think they were the culprits in removing Philip & Nanny this turn, though.

Scores continued with hard-fought 4-4 tie.

Turn 5:

Bayou got to choose which table edge the idol would appear. Strangely enough, I think Skulker Skin was Bayou's MVP, scoring two strategy points and two halves of scheme points all by itself for a total of three.

Crooligan teleported to center and planted a scheme for Dig Their Graves, and tossed the idol on centerline. Aunty Mel, however, went to toss it right back in a dynamite tennis fashion.

Before all that happened I was still aiming for three strategy points, so Molly went to throw an idol far enough that Aunty Mel would not be able to throw that one back. Looking back now, it would have been way more beneficial to try to drop schemes for Dig Their Graves end condition.

Buckaroo and Clampetts secured Breakthrough for Bayou, and the first one mentioned didn't Black Joker it's bonus walk either. So Bayou was able to score seven points out of eight.

Resurrectionists could only get their Breakthrough for a total of five. A 7-5 victory for Clampetts.

Well that escalated quickly

 A 50 point game of Warmachine on War Table.

My list:

Cryx Blackfleet
Captain Aiakos
-Reaper
-Slayer
-Deathripper
Satyxis Raiders + Sea Witch
Ogrun Party Pirates
Ogrun Ironmongers
Satyxis Blood Witch

Opponent had:

Cryx Unlimited

Iron Lich Asphyxious
-2x Desecrator
-2x Deathripper
2x Bane Warriors
Pistol Wraith

Well, this just might be shortest Warmachine game post in a while.

There wasn't much nuance to the fight - Asphyxious misjudged 9" walk from Reaper + 10" range. Only a single Bane Warrior had to be cleared from between the lane Reaper with Careful Reconnaissance and enemy warcaster that had zero focus. Turn 2 caster kill.

Hopeless Prospect

 A 50ss game of Malifaux on Vassal.

Strategy: Standard Plant Explosives

Schemes: In Your Face, Deliver a Message, Espionage, Protected Territory, Take Prisoner

My list:

Leveticus & 2x Hollow Waif
Rusty Alyce
Ashes and Dust
Marlena Webster
Desolation Engine
Scavenger
Abomination

Pool: 4
Schemes: Take Prisoner (Huckster), Protected Territory

Opponent had:

Lucas McCabe2 & Luna
Sidir Alchibal
Desper LaRaux
Mr. Ngaatoro
Rough Rider
Huckster
Hopeful Prospect

Pool: 7
Schemes: Take Prisoner (Scavenger), Espionage

Turn 1:

Right during the deployment I had a dilemma: Sidir was in the middle, so should I deploy my Def 3 chunk of desolated flesh to middle, where it might do something, or to board edges where it might be a bit safer?

Because of the building in the middle, I chose to deploy it quite deep in my deployment zone to rush it to building that offered LoS block for the thing. Wastrels got the initiative and Luna dug up a Timeworn Blade for McCabe. 

After taking cover in the center, my other models stalled as much as they could, with Hollow Waifs just shuffling around and concentrating. Eventually Outcasts had to move a bit more forward, and Scavenger activated to push Ashes and Dust for a bit. 

But that was after McCabe had taken a double walk and concentrated for a bit near center line. Rusty Alice brought her gun to bear, dealing .. two points of damage, despite hitting twice. Well, at least she shot two soulstones off the Wastrel cache!

Sidir took a double walk and started shooting Rusty Alyce, getting two points of damage through Alyce's armor. 

Leveticus placed a scheme marker to bluff Espionage, and walked behind some barrels to try to unmake Hopeful Prospect. 

Marlena Webster took position to tether both Rusty Alyce and Leveticus. By then Mr. Ngaatoro and Hopeful Prospect had paired up, approaching center line from bottom of the map. Huckster concentrated, and rather unfortunately managed to Black Joker the Secret Passage. 

In the center, McCabe and Sidir were holding the center point against Rusty Alyce and Desolation Engine. Just a little further up, Desper had crossed the centerline and was stalked by Abomination. 

Top of map had Rough Rider to take a shot at Ashes and Dust, which missed and then the tasmanian devil took a full 14" walk next to Rough Rider.

Turn 2:

Going from top to bottom, Rough Rider and Ashes and Dust just looked at each other, shrugged and carried on with their own stuff. Ashes and Dust dropped strategy marker and scheme marker, while Rough Rider just rode past the thing, walked for a bit and dropped strategy.

Scavenger was not able to move past gravestones, so it just took a walk and shot Desper LaRaux with shotgun, doing a bit of damage. Abomination also charged Desper, but only managed to give Desper a free 3" leap. Oh well. Desper leaped a little to place a strategy marker just past Abomination's walk range and went to engage Scavenger. This was one of the last activations of the round, and certainly raised suspicion that Explorer Society had just tagged their prisoner.

Hollow Waifs kept shuffling about, the one in top-right quarter walking to catch Desper under entropy aura, where he already was anyway. 

And then the middle, wow, what a mess. Lucas managed to stun Rusty Alyce, and we misplayed one thing a little and gave Sidir one Fast too many. Well, at least Lucas forgot about his own Fast the turn before. 

Sidir and Lucas shot Alyce down to four health remaining. She activated and decided to heal a couple of point instead of shooting. Which she also tried, twice, without much of an effect this time around. However, Desolation Engine was now free to activate and it charged Sidir. The ten point amalgamation of living flesh and machine only managed to take a parry to the face. 

Marlena Webster walked on top of size 2 pipe to cover more area with her tethering aura. She also tried to take a shot at Hopeful Prospect, and that prospect certainly had reason to be hopeful, as this attack also missed. Leveticus took a double walk and placed strategy marker before Hopeful Prospect and Mr. Ngaatoro tried to hack him up. That was five points of damage caused by Leveticus without him doing anything. 

Huckster was able to teleport a little closer, but failed the second Secret Passage - much to my frustration, too, as Huckster was my prisoner target!

Both players scored strategy, and Explorer's Society also tagged their prisoner for a 2-1 lead.

Turn 3:

Going from top to bottom, Ashes and Dust waited until Rough Rider activated to go and place a scheme marker for Protected Territory. Eventually Scavenger did the same. Rough Rider was able to shoot one Hollow Waif dead and heal Desper a little.

Desper failed to leap, so he had to walk to place a scheme marker on my deployment zone. 

In the center things were heating up. Abomination walked to deny healing for McCabe and Sidir while Wastrels were busy setting up their Fast-train. Fast Sidir hacked Desolation Engine into an Abomination, who actually did, like one or two points of damage or so. Entropy and built-in tome trigger caused more damage to Sidir than all the combined attacks of my crew. 

Rusty Alyce was able to chip four points of health off from McCabe. Fast Huckster failed to use Secret Passage, so she just walked to place a scheme marker on center line, before she noticed an enormous teddy bear towering over her, just wanting to give a hug. Marlena Webster had walked to engage the prisoner. 

Mr. Ngaatoro, Leveticus and Hopeful Prospect were locked up in a weird brawl that didn't seem to be going anywhere. But unfortunately last attack from Mr. Ngaatoro hit and scored two points of poison, meaning neurotoxins would be active next turn, too. 

Both players scored strategy, Outcasts got their territory protected and prisoner tagged, and Explorers got Espionage. This was when opponent realized he had completely forgotten about the scheme marker required in his own deployment zone for the End condition.

What sort of 4D chess was this Huckster playing?! First she Black Jokered Secret Passage after concentrating, and now there was important reason for her to go back to Explorer Society deployment zone.

Scores balanced out at 4-4.

Turn 4:

Wow. Just wow. 

I don't think I have seen such carnage in Malifaux before - or at least, only few times. 

Fast Lucas McCabe brandished his lash, and he started striking at the tormented and miserable amalgamations of undead flesh and machine, killing both of them with two strikes. No-heal auras were thus long gone, so Marlena had to try and kill Sidir that only had like three health left. Marlena healed with a severe in an attempt to endure until next turn and took her swing - and took two points of damage from parry. Oh joy.

Nope, she didn't. Sidir butchered her and her teddy with two attacks, and started to shoot with his machine gun just for giggles - and look at that, Red Joker on damage against last remaining Hollow Waif. 

Brutal.

Huckster placed an explosive now that center only had Rusty Alice nearby and took a walk towards own deployment zone. Apparently Alice was a wee bit shaken, watching the carnage unfold, and pretty much missed all of her attacks.

On top side, Rough Rider went to protect one strategy marker Wastrels had planted after Ashes and Dust dropped an explosive to woods and flew to protect the marker it had dropped earlier. 

Scavenger also dropped a strategy marker and shot a severe damage against Rough Rider. 

Desper failed his jump again and had to walk to place strategy marker. 

Below, Leveticus and Mr. Ngaatoro continued their deathmatch, which looked a whole lot more threatening now that all Waifs were gone. 

Despite me putting all the effort into killing Mr. Ngaatoro early in turn, Leveticus only managed to score a weak damage against the henchman. In response, Mr. Ngaatoro beat the old man down to two health remaining. When did they start this game of chicken? Turn two?

Anyway, an honorable mention goes to Hopeful Prospect. He took one shot at Leveticus that missed, and got damaged because of it. And he lost his remaining three health points just because of activating. Poor guy.

Scores continued with a 5-5 tie.

Turn 5:

Leveticus finally scored his kill, and still had action points to place a scheme marker for Protected Territory. 

Rusty Alyce tried to attack McCabe twice, but neither shot hit home. Using the rapid fire felt a bit useless as Sidir still had five health remaining, but I still decided to go for it. And a severe it was. Way too late, but at least I got another kill. 

Rough Rider starts shooting at Scavenger, who bids his time to figure out what to do. For sure he'd not stay in enemy table side, though. Except... he did. Just not in a way I expected.

Lucas McCabe activated and placed a scheme marker on centerline, and started shooting the Scavenger. Double moderates on both attacks were enough to score a kill.

So, now we can add summary execution of prisoners to the long line of Lucas McCabe's heroic actions. In our games that guy has been so beyond abhorred in his moral choices that I should compile an actual list. 

Anyway, we ended game there because Scavenger was the last part able to affect game state in any meaningful way. 

It was a hard fought 7-7 draw when both crews scored full points from strategy, and everything else but end condition of Take Prisoner.