Exe For an Exe

 A 50ss game of Malifaux on Vassal.

Strategy: Flank Carve a Path

Schemes: Assassinate, Catch & Release, Secret Meetup, Leave Your Mark, Hidden Martyrs

My list:

Jack Daw & Lady Ligeia
Montresor
Yannic Waller
Jaakuna Ubume
Auguste Hart
Hanged
Dead Outlaw

Stones: 5
Schemes: Leave Your Mark, Hidden Martyrs (Yannic & Dead Outlaw)

Opponent had:

Lucius Mattheson & The Scribe
Agent 46 with Lead Linen Coat
Death Marshal Recruiter
Guild Mage
Doppleganger
2x Guild Lawyer

Stones: 3
Schemes: Leave Your Mark, Hidden Martyrs (Recruiter & a Lawyer... whoops!)

Turn 1:

I deployed kind of horribly. I sent Auguste and Hanged to deliver a strategy marker from bottom that had a great dividing terrain piece, meaning Auguste would be out of action at least for a few turns. 

Of course I didn't know it when I deployed that Guild would start pushing both their markers from the middle. But that 2" aura of interact control sure would have come handy...

Everything else I got was in the middle, as were Guild's models. Jack Daw managed to land Curse of Injustice on Agent 46, which felt important. Even Dead Outlaw managed to land severe damage and slow on Death Marshal Recruiter, which also felt like a boon. 

Yeah. Should I trust my feelings?

Turn 2:

Jack Daw is able to land Curse of Injustice also on Death Marshal Recruiter. And then horror began.

Agent 46 mimics Death Marshal's pine box attack. That's one insane combo, as Doppelganger and Agent retain their own stat on a stat 3 attack that is resisted with size. Agent 46 must be quite the tetris player when it was able to fit both Montresor and Jack Daw inside a pine box in the same activation.

Fortunately Montresor had not activated yet, so at least he came back to have his auras around.

The horror changed into terror when the full extent of aura hell of Guild Mage, Recruiter, Guild Lawyers and even Scribe dawned on me. 

Lawyers healed stuff just by activating and doing their thing with zero cost whatsoever. Or, more accurately, Guild Mage did while Lawyers were discarding. Lawyers spammed Shielded around, making a joke out of Montresor's stagger aura. So, Death Marshal Recruiter kept slowly healing. 

Try to attack Guild Lawyers? They can discard and heal. Mind you, no cheating because Scribe makes you discard if you cheat. And if you somehow manage to chew one of them dead, well, it just turns into a Death Marshal and something heals again from the very act of summoning a Death Marshal...

Seemed to me like the only real option was to kill Death Marshal Recruiter while it just keeps healing before it would be of any use to attack the softer targets. Guild Mage was positioned in such a way that I couldn't get to him.

I poured everything I had on the Recruiter. Jaakuna, Montersor and even Lady Ligeia did their best effort in removing the Marshal. Surprisingly Lady Ligeia was the single most effective source of damage, scoring moderate injury with triple negatives, blasting two points over to Guild Lawyer, too.

But still the Marshal was left alive with three wounds remaining.

Doppleganger had come to deliver a strategy marker to my deployment zone and tease Yannic Waller a bit. Yannic manages to daze her. 

Dead Outlaw had removed enemy scheme marker from middle and placed his own within 1" of center point. But then activated Guild Mage, who used rule of law to turn it into guild scheme. 

Auguste pushes strategy marker closer to enemy deployment, and Hanged tries to come a little closer to action. I really shouldn't have sent Hanged with Auguste Hart... that heal reducing aura could have been the counter for Guild Mage that I needed.

Oh well, anyway, scores go 2-1 for Guild when both get strategy and Guild gets Leave Your Mark.

Turn 3:

Jaakuna charges Recruiter and has him in her hazardous aura. Yannic disengages from Doppleganger and charges Recruiter. Montresor charges Recruiter through hazardous terrain. Hanged tries to score On Your Heels and enter the middle, but no such luck.

Somewhat frustrating, I must admit. So in the end, Jack Daw had to emerge from Agent 46's pine box and shoot the damnable Recruiter finally dead. He gets rid of distracted by attacking Recruiter with Drawn to Betrayal.

Too bad I had spent all of my soulstones while trying to kill Recruiter.

And Jack Daw uses last card from my hand, and really needed that last card.

I knew I took a risk since Agent 46 had not yet activated and was ready to lose Jack or have him down to two or so damage remaining. But I had not read Agent's card that thoroughly.

Jack Daw - executed. 

Well, at least Lady Ligeia continued to scream effectively, nearly killing Doppleganger. 

Auguste kicks strategy marker to enemy deployment zone.

Scores go 4-2 when both get strategy and Guild reveals illegal Hidden Martyrs. I noticed that only now. 

Turn 4:

Jaakuna puts up Drowning Aura and Guild easily navigates through it with Guild Lawyers' Shielded spam. Agent 46 escapes from the middle where Auguste is able to charge him and not do much of anything. 

Opponent spends his entire hand to obeys and mitigating my attempts to deal damage. Lucius had used misinformation and removed a twelve from my hand. In it's place I had received Red Joker. Opponent had also spent all soulstones. 

To avenge Jack Daw, Montresor activated, walked and charged Guild Mage through tiniest of openings and - hell yeah - cheated Red Joker on melee attack. This had me discard from Scribe and also to discard to Counterspell. Unfortunately my cards were moderates, so opponent got to heal. But damn was it a relief to execute Guild Mage!

Dead Outlaw had shown some exceptional resilience, but had fallen to Agent 46 before it ran off to meet with Auguste.

Yannic had to go to kick a strategy marker past centerline. Hanged creeps towards enemy strategy marker in my deployment zone. 

Doppleganger manages to stagger Lady Ligeia, and then it was end of turn.

Scores go 5-4 for Guild when both score strategy and Outcasts get Hidden Martyrs.

Turn 5:

Yannic goes to push my last strategy marker to enemy deployment zone. 

I try to lock Lucius in place so that I'd get second point of Hidden Martyrs by luring Yannic to engage someone. But then I realize Jaakuna has no line of sight to Yannic, so Montresor is cursed to watch as Jaakuna disengages to a better position next to Agent 46 who had already activated.

Both Guild Lawyers had also activated, so when it was time to activate Jaakuna, she needed to hit a 5 twice, since I had no cards in hand. Montresor had spent them when he failed to watch Jaakuna's disengagement. 

But no fives came. With second lure I tried to get at least Montresor away from Guild Lawyer who was Hidden Martyr, but even that lure was a failure.

Hanged tried to deny point by getting strategy marker out of my deployment, but Lucius did some Lucius shenanigans and even that plan was foiled.

So the game ended 8-5 for Guild.