Interviewing the Flutist

 A 50ss Malifaux game on Vassal.

Strategy: Wedge Carve a Path

Schemes: Assassinate, Breakthrough, Hidden Martyrs, Leave Your Mark, Spread Them Out

My List:

Hamelin the Piper & 3x Stolen
Nix
Disease Containment Unit
Catalan Brawler
The Midnight Stalker with Soldier for Hire (kind of a mistake...)
Obedient Wretch
Prospector
Malifaux Rat

Stones: 4
Schemes: Hidden Martyrs (Brawler & Obedient Wretch), Assassinate

Opponent had:

Nellie, Voice of Disorder & Printing Press
Phiona Gage
Allison Dade
Auguste Hart
Guild Steward
2x False Witness
Field Reporter

Stones: 4
Schemes: Hidden Martyrs (Steward & One False Witness), Spread Them Out

Turn 1:

Well, since most of the enemy team would be able to control my Interacts, I thought best course of action would be to try and smuggle my strategy markers from toppest of tops and bottomost of bottoms. Midnight Stalker was tasked with tops, and team of Prospector, Disease Containment Unit and Obedient Wretch were dealing with bottom. They were joined by a Rat King that was created from one Stolen and Eyes in the Walls.

Nix, Catalan Brawler, Hamelin and a couple of Stolen were focusing on the middle. Nix, especially.

Especially Nix.

Phiona used "bring it" to move Nix way past center line relatively early in the game. I managed to save the dog by Obeying Phiona away from melee with the 2" push from trigger and attacking Guild Steward, then Obeying Nix into forest. Last action was the aforementioned Eyes in the Walls on a scheme Obedient Wretch had set up. 

Since opponent was still teasing Nix with odd damage points, Catalan Brawler walked and placed some condor security more than 8" away from enemy story chasers.

So, enemy had Phiona, Nellie, Steward, Allison and False Witness coming from the middle. A lone False Witness was punching the ball on top, and below were Auguste, Printing Press and Field Reporter.

Turn 2:

Midnight Stalker and False Witness on top are able to push their respective strategy markers to opponent's side. 

Nix charges in to the middle of enemy crew and heals to full by drinking some spirits. Opponent forced Nix to make an Interact, but there was no excluse interview close enough so it "only" spammed a ton of Focused +1 on journalists and gave a point of irreducible damage to my henchman.

But since there now was a scheme marker, Catalan Brawler came to offer his services.

Hamelin removed one enemy scheme marker and failed the rest of his activation, except for stunning Phiona. She was also Staggered from Brawler.

Opponent mauled Catalan Brawler down to three health remaining (picture shows two, but that was before we remembered that Cruel Disappointment had saved him one point of damage.)

I took too long to react on the bottom side of things - Auguste parked over my strategy marker below and with Exclusive Interview that was a nasty place to be. He also nearly killed Obedient Wretch, and had Disease Containment Unit engaged.

Prospector came and planted a scheme marker which Disease Containment Unit used as a rapid response target, pushing Obedient Wretch and self out of melee. Then she blasted Printing Press and Field Reporter once. Sadly not twice. 

Both players score strategy.

Turn 3:

Miraculously Hamelin wins initiative, and Catalan Brawler saves his butt with Juggernaut... at least for a while. He also tosses Nix into mud and makes a futile attempt at attacking Phiona.

It certainly takes a lot of work to remove Catalan Brawler, but eventually that just happens. Hastily Obedient Wretch takes a run towards my deployment because losing both Martyrs in one round would suck big time. 

One of the better moves for this round was when Midnight Stalker kicked enemy strategy marker back to their side and leaped to engage False Witness. Witness did manage to deal a couple points of damage to the honorable gentleman, but situation there was now locked. For both sides, though.

Nix is able to weather whatever is left of the middle storm.

Disease Containment Unit was still trying to fry the Printing Press and Field Reporter, but kept failing.

Auguste kicks my strategy marker back to my side a little, but this was a mistake - Hamelin was able to Obey Prospector to the marker, who interacted twice and got it past centerline. Hamelin also tried to kill one of those infuriating False Witnesses with Piper's Influence and Bleeding Disease, but failed at that.

Field Reporter parked close to Hamelin so that he'd have to start discarding come next activations.

This turn scores went to 1-3 for Outcasts as I was able to reveal Hidden Martyrs while denied opponent a strategy point.

Turn 4:

Up until fourth turn I had not been able to kill a thing, but that changed surely enough.

Nellie started to soften up Nix but failed to do much of a progress - and then Nix just healed the damage that had been inflicted.

Phiona was a bit more adept in killing Nix with three attacks. Hamelin then killed Phiona, who had eleven blight tokens at the time, with two Bleeding Diseases and used Obey to bring Prospector to my strategy marker.

Field Reporter managed to bring strategy marker to my deployment zone against all odds.

Rat King was able to chew Printing Press down.

False Witness in the middle placed a scheme and walked for a bit, and False Witness on top died for a bit after Midnight Stalker activated. Allison Dade slowed him down and even shot a couple of points off with derringer.

Obedient Wretch moved a bit and interacted a scheme.

Auguste was busy with rats but eventually managed to move out of melee, only to become slowed by Rat King that was pushed back into contact with Rapid Response by Disease Containment Unit who also healed my remaining martyr, Obedient Wretch, over half of her health remaining. 

A Stolen managed to shoot False Witness dead. Who was, by the way, opponent's Hidden Martyr. 

 Prospector pushed strategy marker around, and scores went to 2-3 for Outcasts, although at the time we thought it was 3-3 because we missed the insignificance of a Stolen.

Turn 5:

To deny opponent a point from Hidden Martyrs, Hamelin smashes Guild Steward and takes eight points of damage in the process, essentially scoring the point from Hidden Martyrs for opponent now. Great job.

Allison shoots Midnight Stalker, who is - yay - saved by his Hard-to-Kill from the purchased upgrade.

But then Midnight Stalker fails to leap, so he can't get to charge Nellie in a futile attempt to scrape assassination points.

Stolen manages to shoot dead Field Reporter, who went to place a scheme marker in my deployment zone.

Prospector had been obeyed by Hamelin, so she is able to double-interact the marker to enemy deployment zone.

Nellie manages to land third scheme marker 10" away from each other scheme marker, but is not able to teleport Auguste Hart away with False Reality, so Obedient Wretch is able to run to get engaged with Auguste, scoring me Hidden Martyrs end condition.

Scores in the end go 4-5 for Outcasts.