Super Secret Meetup (It Just Had To Come vol IV)

 A 50ss game of Malifaux.

Strategy: Standard Guard the Stash

Schemes: In Your Face, Vendetta, Catch and Release, Secret Meetup, Set the Trap

My list:

Seamus & Copycat Killer
Madame Sybelle
Bete Noire
Carrion Effigy
Bone Pile with Grave Spirit Touch
Dead Doxy
Gravedigger
Dead Dandy

Pool: 5
Schemes: Set the Trap, Secret Meetup (Dead Doxy & Young Nephilim)

Opponent had:

New Broodmother Crew (Neverborn)

Size: 50 - Pool: 8

Leader:

 Nekima, Broodmother & Blood Hunter
Athorak
Serena Bowman
2x Young Nephilim
Black Blood Shaman with Ancient Pact
Terror Tot

Pool: 8
Schemes: Set the Trap, Secret Meetup (Madame Sybelle & Athorak)

Turn 1:

I deployed Dead Dandy, Gravedigger and Copycat Killer far to the right, Seamus and Dead Doxy close to bottom-left strategy marker and more or less everything else in the middle. 

Most of the Nephilim gathered in the middle, too, which was a lot of concentrated black blood right there. Once Gravedigger took a double walk and planted a corpse marker past center line far on the right, the blob was diluted a little when Young Nephilim walked and charged Gravedigger, dealing some damage in.

I only realized how well this sacrificial trick "worked" when Copycat Killer transported Seamus there, and he already had a corpse marker for Cause For Celebration. But, quotations were there for a reason. Terrorize to remove friendly fire penalty? Missed. Concentrated shot at the Young Nephilim? Missed. Even bonus action shot with a boost from soulstone missed. Great job, Seamus. 

Nephilim shenanigans had the Terror Tot to grow into a Lilitu, who then lured Bete Noire nearby.

Madame Sybelle had tried to use Beckoning Call on Bone Pile, but the numbskull just wouldn't take the hint. Later Dead Doxy tried to take Bone Pile by one of its four hands, which also failed. And when the Pile finally activated, Athorak had already blocked any line of sight. Oh well. At least Young Nephilim for my secret meetup was behind my required building.

Turn 2:

It was a big turn for sure. 

Gravedigger miraculously survives attacks by Young Nephilim, and even manages to drop a corpse for Seamus to celebrate Blood Hunter to eat. 

Bete Noire goes to tickle Lilitu for a bit, and Madame Sybelle charges in to tickle Lilitu a lot, killing her. Bete Noire takes too big of a beating and fades away as is to be expected. What was not expected, however, was the attacker to the Young Nephilim from left who was Doxy's planned secret meetup.

Athorak goes hangs around close to his secret meetup building, looking almost as aimless as Dead Doxy, because Madame Sybelle in the middle of every melee on the board. 

Carrion Effigy came to heal Madame Sybelle and failed to activate Aura of Decay. Nekima came and scrapped the useless puppet. 

Black Blood Shaman went to guard top-right marker. I had a difficult choice of taking a point from strategy or from Set the Trap, but not both. I chose Set the Trap by disengaging with Seamus, shooting Blood Hunter dead and transforming Lilitu's corpse to a scheme marker with Dead Dandy.

Bone Pile places another scheme close to Athorak, while Doxy meekly places a scheme marker for at least secret meetup end condition.

Neither player got strategy, while Resurrectionists had Set the Trap for 0-1 lead.

Turn 3:

 Unsung hero of the match proved to be Gravedigger. The reason for no songs was most likely that the only thing he did was to survive time after time attacks by Young Nephilim. He then moved away from melee by digging up a corpse and then going to contest top-right marker. But, in the end, Serena Bowman set the twisted reality where Gravedigger had already stayed alive for far too long right by shooting him. 

Madame Sybelle failed to kill Serena, but at least Undivided Attention was up and running. 

Nekima summoned a Terror Tot and healed models. Seamus was missing shots left and right again. However, his shots were at least tolling opponent's hand... but still it ain't fun missing that big cannon so many times in a game. At least he managed to terrorize Nekima away from strategy marker.

Athorak summons a corpse which grows Doxy's meetup Nephilim into a Mature. Bete Noire pops up in the middle of the melee and finally somebody does something and kills Serena Bowman.

Black Blood Shaman runs to contest center-right marker, so there was two eligible models within 2" of the marker from both sides. Athorak and Doxy were arm wrestling (well, they were not since Athorak didn't take into Doxy's hand when she tried to make him fall from top of pillar) the center-left , so it was up to Bone Pile to open Resurrectionists strategy scores. Neither side reveals additional schemes, so scores go 0-2 for Resurrectionists.

Turn 4:

Otherwise decent enough looking game for Resurrectionists falls apart this turn, when Bete Noire uses Poisoned Fate on Mature Nephilim and succeeds. And then, only after then she tries to disengage. Failing spectacularly at that. I hadn't considered that the damage from Poisoned Fate is damage from an action or ability, so she kind of spelled her own doom. 

"Nyeh nyeh nyeh, imma poison your fate, Nephilim! Noo, I poisoned my own fate!"

Because soon after, Mature Nephilim activates and starts cheating to its heart's content. Bete Noire had ended her activation with three health left, so that was kind of bad news. After it had done cheating, Bete was at one health and Madame Sybelle at six. 

Next, Mature Nephilim casually kills Madame Sybelle with a severe. I still had one soulstone so I could have tried to block damage, but I had a suspicion that Madame Sybelle could be Secret Meetup target, so I let her die.

And if it didn't look horrifying already, Athorak charges Dead Doxy, gets Red Joker on damage and kills her with second hit. So it was something like twisting a knife in wound, when Mature Nephilim had moved near enough that Dead Doxy could have taken it by the hand and scored Secret Meetup.

At least Seamus kills Black Blood Shaman, and Bone Pile scores damage in to Nekima. Copycat Killer tries to kill Nekima (he could have done it with Red Joker and opponent blocking only one damage... if only...!) before she charges Bone Pile. 

Terror Tot grows into Young Nephilim, and the Young Nephilim who had been flocking around Gravedigger took a full double walk and Fly With Me to bottom-right strategy marker.

This turn Resurrectionists score nothing, and opponent gets a strategy for 1-2 for Seamus.

Turn 5:

Neverborns seize most of the strategy markers. I only have Seamus and Bone Pile who were able to get strategy markers, so... 

While Athorak and a summoned Terror Tot manage to bring Seamus down to less than half health remaining, opponent doesn't have enough scheme markers to score both Secret Meetup end and Set the Trap end. This was thanks to Copycat Killer's magnificent performance at killing a Young Nephilim.

Heck, that alone was almost more impactful than anything Seamus did the entire game. Okay, I'm not being fair to Seamus but missing his shots that many times in a game with plentiful extra shots... sheesh... he doesn't deserve any fairness. 

Both players get Secret Meetup end, which is amusing since neither pair actually met in their designated places. 

Neverborn also gets second strategy point.

So...

Yeah. If we're looking strictly at points scored, this may have been the toughest game up-to-date.

I skimmed through the entirety of my Malifaux games on this blog, and out of games that were played in their entirety, ie, not conceded prematurely, with game size of 50 soul stones, I didn't find a single game of 3-3 points or less. Although I didn't read the write-ups where I had not clearly stated the end points, so I may have missed if there ever was one.