Casual Eighteen

A friend visited my place for a few days. It's been a few days since these games were played so details have been lost from memory.

 A 50ss game of Malifaux.

Strategy: Standard Carve a Path

Scheme pool: Spread them out, Set the trap, Breakthrough, Public demonstration, Hidden martyrs

My list:

Jack Daw & Lady Ligeia
Montresor
Jaakuna Ubume
Hanged with Servant of Dark Powers
Crooked Man
Dead Outlaw
Guilty

Stones: 5
Schemes:

Opponent had:

Jakob Lynch & Hungering Darkness
Kitty Dumont
Mr. Graves
Mr. Tannen
2x Illuminated
2x Tanuki

Stones: 3
Schemes: Hidden Martyrs, Breakthrough

Turn 1:

For some reason I placed Hanged way top behind a large factory building to push a strategy marker. Well, there was a reason, though... I wanted to make staggering machine as efficient as possible and the only model I could part seemed to me to be Hanged. I also wanted both martyrs as far from each other as possible.

In the middle two bubbles were nearing each other with Jaakuna Ubume in the front of Jack Daw's side. Mr. Graves attempted to punish Jaakuna for being almost at the center point, but succeeded only in dealing damage to himself via hazardous terrain.

Turn 2:

Outcasts win initiative, and Jaakuna punts a marker even further and puts up drowning aura and lures an Illuminated into it. 

Mr. Graves then hits Jaakuna twice and she dies, just like that. I had hoped for a little more value out of her. At least Jack Daw managed to land Curse of Injustice on a few models, most notably Hungering Darkness.

Hanged continues to push one of my strategy markers far up while Kitty does the same in the middle. Hanged also managed to land its curse on her.

An Illuminated kills Guilty, thus giving me a point from Hidden Martyrs.

Hungering Darkness and a few other models try to break Jack Daw, but don't really do much with actual attacks. The real damage was this pulse that gave slow for Jack and Montresor.

Dead Outlaw gives fast for Crooked Man from a scheme marker I had planted last turn for movement shenanigans. As a last model to activate, he took a double walk and put a scheme marker close to Mr. Graves and Illuminated, while one of the earlier schemes was still close enough to Hungering Darkness.

Jack Daw reveals both schemes, and both players get strategy for a total of 1-3 for Outcasts.

Turn 3:

Well it was an intense turn.

Montresor opens by making a devastating activation, blasting two points of damage for a Tanuki, Illuminated, Mr. Graves and Hungering Darkness - and then a little more for Tanuki and Illuminated (and himself) from black blood. Attack with noose brought Mr. Graves and Tanuki down to one health remaining. 

It was certainly not to be, because then Tanuki just healed him back over hard-to-kill threshold.

Opponent really puts everything to killing Montresor - and, for the first game ever, Montresor actually dies even after triggering his demise. But at least Mr. Graves and Tanuki behind him finally die when Crooked Man makes a proper earthquake. Or, well, Mr. Graves doesn't die just yet - it takes Dead Outlaw to finalize him. 

Hanged and Kitty do their thing with strategy markers. Crooked Man also kicked one of my markers to opponent's deployment area. A Tanuki struggles with one of the Ten Thunders strategies, but unfortunately I don't have the model count to intervene.

Both players score strategy, and opponent reveals Hidden Martyrs on a Tanuki and an Illuminated. Scores go 3-4 for Outcasts.

Turn 4:

Hanged kick strategy to enemy deployment and lands in the thick of action with On Your Heels. Crooked Man and Dead Outlaw manage to kill Mr. Tannen and the Illuminated for enemy Hidden Martyrs, and killing that Illuminated brought back Guilty.

Jack Daw charges Tanuki that was delivering strategy marker, but fails to do anything important.

Then, to my horror Kitty starts spamming scheme markers on my deployment zone and thus Ten Thunders is able to reveal Breakthrough.

Scores go even 5-5. 

Turn 5:

Jack Daw gets a second try at Tanuki, but the furry little bugger just doesn't die or even get staggered. It manages to disengage, and Hungering Darkness obeys it to push last Ten Thunders strategy marker to my deployment zone. 

In the middle my useless minions fail at trying to injure Lynch enough to make Set the Trap end condition a possibility, and even worse - Hanged dies, too. I'm left with just strategy points, while Ten Thunders get their Breakthrough for a score of 7-6 for Ten Thunders.

Game 2:

Strategy: Flank Guard the Stash

Schemes: Load 'Em Up, Secret Meetup, In Your Face, Vendetta, Catch & Release

My list:

Kirai & Ikiryo
Datsue Ba
Grave Golem
Noxious Nephilim
Lost Love
Shikome
Seishin

Stones: 7
Schemes: In Your Face, Secret Meetup (3x3 building, Noxious Nephilim and Gwyneth)

Opponent had:

Jakob Lynch & Hungering Darkness
Gwyneth Maddox
Kitty Dumont
Mr. Graves
Mr. Tannen
Illuminated
2x Tanuki

Stones: 1
Schemes: In Your Face, Load 'Em Up (scheme)

Turn 1:

Well, look at that pretty picture. From my side you can see Grave Golem, some swirly parts of a Goryo and half of Noxious Nephilim!

Well, that's because Kirai is hiding under the rectangular red roofed building, and most of my other models (Ikiryo, Datsue Ba, even Lost Love) were behind the stone wall, just behind the building.

Shikome could have been seen on the roof with Hungering Darkness if that thing didn't kill it with one hit!

Opponent knew I had blast, but apparently he did not consider it much of a threat. Truth be told - neither did I. I haven't had much of a success with blasts earlier. But I wanted to still threaten opponent a bit, give him a lesson not to bunch up like that.

Ikiryo, who had been walked into position with either Datsue Ba or Seishin, concentrated and projected her voice at Mr. Graves who was in cover. Hits. Red Joker comes up for damage. 

Ouchie. Losing Shikome to one hit suddenly didn't bother that much when that attack dealt in total eighteen points of damage if we count the two points from Mr. Graves' black blood ability! Eighteen!

Yeah, nobody died and opponent had quite a bit of healing available but still...

Turn 2:

Ten Thunders wins initiative, and goes straight into trying to save Mr. Graves with foul-mouthed motivation. First model I activate is however Goryo, who lands Mark of Vengeance on Mr. Graves. Goryo then walks and charges into the fray and promptly dies there, splashing adversary all over the place. Goryo died within 3" of Lynch, so it was In Your Face for Ten Thunders.

Another aimed blast from Kirai kills Mr. Graves and Tanuki and has Mr. Tannen reeling with one health and Jakob with not enough. Mr. Graves, however, was within 3" of Jakob Lynch, so it was In Your Face for Resurrectionists.

Situation could have been utterly hopeless for Ten Thunders if it wasn't for Hungering Darkness who harassed Kirai and tied her resources. She had tried to summon a Drowned for a bodyguard but that bodyguard wasn't very impressive. Keeping Kirai alive took just about every resource I had at my disposal.

When Noxious Nephilim went to the secret meetup building to contest the strategy marker from opponent, it was no strategy points for Ten Thunders and one for Resurrectionists. Scores went 1-2 for Kirai.

Turn 3:

Illuminated and Tanuki try to wrangle a strategy marker from Noxious Nephilim, but the beast is able to even the model count by smashing Tanuki into bits. 

Datsue Ba just endures and endures, although it takes all of my remaining soulstones and forces Lost Love to tellyport next to the granny for some spiritual healing. I was also planning to use Lost Love to plant some schemes to the secret meetup building because Gwyneth didn't seem too keen on coming there.

Even Grave Golem tried to heal Datsue Ba, but failed the bonus action with black joker. But now it was in position to run to enemy deployment for end condition of In Your Face.

My melee capabilities in the middle were also a bit of a farce, although something seems to have killed Mr. Tannen - I just don't remember what. It may have been Kirai who disengaged from Hungering Darkness after being mauled by the monstrosity. 

Drowned manages to stun-slam Hungering Darkness and took a flight to aid in the Nephilim's fight against Illuminated. Curiously enough this turn nobody scored additional points. Because of this we decided to continue play since there was a chance for draw for Ten Thunders.

Turn 4:

Well, that chance went soon down the drain when Datsue Ba continued to defy death and Noxious Nephilim finally killed the Illuminated.

What a weird game, but a victory for Kirai.