Loyal Hats with No Rats

A 50ss game of Malifaux.

Strategy:  Flank Carve a Path

Schemes: Breakthrough, Leave Your Mark, Sabotage, Public Demonstration, In Your Face

My list:

Hamelin & Stolen
Nix
Benny Wolcomb
Disease Containment Unit
Obedient Wretch
Rat Catcher
Catalan Rifleman
2x Malifaux Rat

Stones: 7

Schemes: Leave Your Mark, Public Demonstration (Wretch, Catcher, Rifleman)

Opponent had:

Asami & Amanjaku
Ama No Zako
Shadow Emissary
Wanyudo
Obsidian Oni
Yokai
Katashiro

Stones: 5

Schemes: Leave Your Mark, Breakthrough

Turn 1:

First round Ten Thunders came in aggressively kicking the path carvers - so much so that both were on my table side at the end of turn. 

This was bad news for the plague models that were figuring out scheme markers for Benny. In the end I messed up my plans and activation orders and got only two rats of of my scheme markers. I also didn't have time for crew rats to concentrate before forming Rat King because there was a threat of Wanyudo shooting rats.

As is customary for me, I had made a huge bottleneck of my models in the middle. I was also worrying a bit of Asami summoning Obsidian Oni, so to do at least something productive Hamelin walked to kick one strategy marker which Nix continued to push forward. 

At the end of turn one my positioning was terrible. Nix was far away from anything to offer his sweet auras, Catalan Rifleman was in the frontline and Stolen were on the other side of continent from Hamelin.

That Rat King better be worth it.

Turn 2:

Wanyudo charges in to further bottleneck my crew, blocking the easy advance of Benny, Rat Catcher and Rat King as well as dropping a Pyre marker. Consequences could have been disastrous but fortunately I was able to remove the wheel from the board.

Disease Containment Unit and Obedient Wretch were not enough of a resistance against Shadow Emissary and Katashiro, but at least there were no casualties other than Ten Thunders getting both of their strategy markers like 2" away from being on my deployment zone.

Catalan Rifleman went to place a scheme marker in the middle for Leave Your Mark, but Asami came to bully him by eating his scheme marker and then placing her own. She also summoned two Tengus whose dark bargains were put to good use.

Ama No Zako came to play football with my strategy marker that Hamelin and Nix had been pushing around. This forced Hamelin to get away from the central action (and Stolen, by the way) to score me strategy for this round.

Scores go 1-2 for Ten Thunders when opponent reveals Leave Your Mark of his own.

Turn 3:

Unfortunately I have missed taking a picture of turn three so details might be off. 

But what I do remember is that I got Nix and his Loose Bowels aura to a nasty position even after messing up his placement last round. This could have been super impactful, but Asami's hair couldn't bear the stench and pushed the dog some 12" away from everything and summoned more Tengus. 

Already weakened Obsidian Oni places scorches the earth around it so that Rat King, Rat Catcher, Benny and a couple of Malifaux Rats would be having painful activations if I wasn't able to destroy the Oni.

I don't remember what actually killed Obsidian Oni, but at least Catalan Rifleman was shooting it, bringing it down to one health remaining. That isn't so impressive as it only had two health remaining at that point. It was either Benny or vomiting Stolen.

Ama No Zako and Hamelin quarrel the entire round, which in itself was bad trade for Hamelin.

Rat King nibbled Asami away one tiny bite at a time, and both Obedient Wretch and Rat Catcher parked themselves in near vicinity of enemy master for Public Demonstration.

Disease Containment Unit and dragon were duking it out, and while the unit proved itself resilient, it didn't matter much when there was a Yokai jumping around trashing the place and bringing enemy strategy markers to my deployment zone.

A super accurate vomit made by one of the Stolen denies Ten Thunders what looked like trying to score Breakthrough.

But since Ama No Zako had tied up Hamelin and dragon made my other flank kind of busy, outcasts scored only Public Demonstration this round, while Ten Thunders easily got strategy, getting scores to 2-3.

Turn 4:

Fourth turn there is a plague onslaught.

Tengus start disappearing. Ama No Zako dies. Katashiro dies (or maybe that was last round?) Amanjaku dies. Even Asami dies. So it's easy game for Hamelin now, right? Right?

Well, at least scoring last point from Public Demonstration was now impossible, and I had already missed one strategy point.

Outcasts still can't get access to the important bits to limit opponent's points. Nothing I can do to enemy strategy markers, but at least finally both of my strategy markers are on the opponent's table side. Scheme marker in middle also secures me Leave Your Mark.

Outcasts get strategy and Leave Your Mark, getting to 4 points. But this doesn't even the score when Ten Thunders also get strategy and reveal Breakthrough.

4-5 it is.

Turn 5:

Nix gets one strategy marker to Ten Thunders deployment, and planting scheme markers near center point isn't problematic.

Yokai spams scheme markers to my deployment zone before disappearing. Tengu tries to give Slow to Obedient Wretch but fails to do so.

This made it possible for Wretch to walk to remove one scheme marker.

So it was a tough game, and illustrates one thing I particularly enjoy in Malifaux: last round opponent has one model remaining while I have more models on board than at the start of game. But that tells nothing of how the game was played or who won.