Truly Obscene Feasts

 Two 50ss games of Malifaux 4th edition.

First game:

Strategy: Standard Recover Evidence

Schemes: Leave Your Mark, Scout the Rooftops, Grave Robbing

My list:

Kirai Ankoku, Lady of Vengeance & Ikiryo
Kuchisake-Onna
Lost Love
Batsch & Amalie
Carrion Effigy
Goryo
Shikome
Gwisin
Enslaved Spirit

Pool: 4

Opponent had:

Jakob Lynch, Wild Card & Hungering Darkness
Kitty Dumont
Sen
Mr. Graves
Mr. Tannen
2x Illuminated
Beckoner

Pool: 4

Turn 1: Urami picks Scout the Rooftops, Honeypot Leaves Their Mark

Shikome went to pick up the initial strategy marker from far right, while an Illuminated did the same far left. 

Kitty, an Illuminated, Lynch and Hungering Darkness all kept spamming scheme markers near the center point as I was piling my own near it to bluff Leave Your Mark and Scout the Rooftops. 

Kuchisake-Onna summoned a seishin and made a Gaki near the centerpoint, which had Honeypot quite concerned. I think it was Lynch who killed the Gaki as soon as possible, which only prompted a second strategy marker for Honeypot. Bummer. High risk high reward did not pay out... yet.

Goryo had gone to place a scheme marker on top of a cliff near centerpoint. Batsch & Amalie copied it, so there were two. 

Carrion Effigy ran next to a bridge, and Lost Love stood by the effigy's side and went to drop a scheme marker on the terrain piece.

However, Kirai was just about the last model to activate. There were Seishins near the middle so she made an additional Gaki, feasting away the mark Honeypot left. Kirai also gave Ikiryo an action to drop a third scheme marker for Scout the Rooftops.

So, Urami scored two from schemes, but zero from strategy. Honeypot did vice versa, since they were able to pick up the extra point from strategy. Scores tied at 2-2.

Turn 2: Urami picks Detonate Charges, Honeypot stays with Leave Your Mark

The turn was defined by the action happening at the centerpoint. Urami began slapping scheme markers on top of the terrain for Detonate Charges - Scout the Rooftops lead to Leave Your Mark as well. And, well, Honeypot kept scribbling their initials to the hand best as they can.

One notable moment was when Ikiryo walked and charged someone, and then killed herself and blasted Adversary on the entire enemy crew, except for one Illuminated and Beckoner who were hanging around near the left edge of the table. 

Adversary proved to be deadly, as both Hungering Darkness and Kitty Dumont died without too much effort. And then to add an insult to injury, Kuchisake-Onna took a swing at Sen, and scored Red Joker, leaving Sen standing with just one hit point.

Gwisin, Goryo and Batsch & Amalie near each other proved to be a fortress. Attacks kept pouring at Goryo, but in the end phase it had only a few damage boxes marked in after Gwisin took a hit here and there, and the fungal duo did a little jig to cheer their spirit.

Honeypot managed to take a point from Leave Your Mark this time around, but Urami got two from Detonate Charges. Both got strategy, but Urami took the extra point as well for a 6-4 lead.

Turn 3: Urami picks Take the Highground, Honeypot chooses Make It Look Like an Accident

Sen who had just a single hit point left beckoned Gwisin from top of the terrain to score a point from Make It Look Like an Accident. Gwisin then did everything it could to run away, but Mr. Graves would have none of that and killed the target.

Enslaved Spirit died as well, although it first tried to go and claim the red roofed building for scheme. Illuminated in the middle died to Goryo and Kirai.

Shikome, Lost Love and Kuchisake-Onna did Take the Highground, but Kuchisake did summon Ikiryo as well. And as if there hadn't already been enough brutal attacks by Urami models, Ikiryo charged Mr. Tannen and killed him with a single action point. Ikiryo went off the board again, just in case.

Both crews took full points from schemes, but this time around Honeypot was left with no strategy points. This gave Urami a 9-6 lead.

Turn 4:

We didn't play fourth turn, as Honeypot at most might score a tie, and that would have required Urami models doing pretty much nothing.

Game 2:

Strategy: Corner Informants

Schemes: Detonate Charges, Scout the Rooftops, Search the Area

My list:

Hamelin, Plaguebringer & Obedient Wretch
Nix
Fumigator
Tunnel Rats
Tuco Ortega
Rat Catcher
2x Stolen

Pool: 6

Opponent had:

Lucas McCabe, Tomb Delver & 2x Cryptologist
Sidir Alchibal
Desper LaRaux
2x Rough Rider
2x Ruffian
Huckster
Hopeful Prospect

Pool: 3

Turn 1: Both crews pick... surprise surprise, Scout the Rooftops.

Although not much else happened other than troops closing in, it was apparent that Wastrels were not practicing enough social distancing. Rat Catcher summoned a couple rats, one of which went to drop blight on a Ruffian, from which it spread to a Rough Rider and a Cryptologist.

McCabe went to contest the marker in the center, and a Stolen ran to gave him pox after the kid had been lured by Hamelin and disoriented by fogs from Fumigator.

Five Wastrels were coming from the right, three of whom had bunched up. Nix was able to blast one Blight in there, from where it spread to Sidir, a Ruffian and the Hopeful Prospect.

Tunnel Rats was saved for the last activation, and dropped a scheme for Scout the Rooftops, and then used Secret Passage to deliver another marker to Wastrel side of the board, getting two points from scheme. Wastrels didn't have such a trick up their sleeve, and instead had to do with one. 

I gave strategy to Wastrels to move the markers around. I didn't know if that would pay off, but in my last Informants game I was at the receiving end of this, so I wanted to try it out.

So, a 2-2 tie again.

Turn 2: Both crews pick... surprise surprise, Detonate Charges

First activation was Rough Rider trying to shoot Tunnel Rats dead from a vantage point. But thanks to rotten luck and some cards from hand, stat five with a plus fate was not able to cut through def four. This had major repercussions, since Tunnel Rats was later able to walk on top of tall tower and contest the strategy marker on the Wastrel side, plus drop a scheme marker near enemy models with Biting Insult. Opponent was able to claim the marker back, but that required two models instead of one.

And whose a good boy? Nix is! And by good I mean of course super annoying. Good to see that the piece is conditionally as infuriating as ever.

Nix charged near Ruffian, Hopeful Prospect and Sidir. Would this trick pay off as well? He bit Sidir, who used his Tarnished Mirror to slap four damage back to Nix. Ouch. Bonus action was promptly the heal instead of revelers dropping. 

Welll, in the end Nix made took 50% off of Hopeful Prospect's activation, but he was able to remove blight from Sidir. My hand was relatively poor, just one ten, five empowers and... the Red Joker. I had difficult choice to make. A full-activation Sidir would mean horrible news to Nix, so a Stolen took double walk near the bunch and used Onward. No Tomes to empowers, and no Tomes from flip. So, Red Joker it was, to get off that bonus walk and re-apply blight to Sidir and Hopeful Prospect, and Desper LaRaux as a bonus as well. 

Ruffian beat the snot out of that Stolen, and Desper leaped out of Nix cancellation aura and charged the Stolen, killing them. 

Sidir walked and scaled on terrain, tried to shoot Nix but was canceled. He did a mortar strike and used soulstone to shoot Nix anyway, and managed to land in a couple of damage points.

New edition made it look like McCabe was sort of behaving better, but he relapsed into whipping a kid to death at the center. To his defense, the kid had already given him two poxes. 

A Rough Rider to the right climbed on the industrial platform and started shooting at Obedient Wretch, and brought her down to one health remaining. She thought since she'd die soon anyway, she went to at least take Hopeful Prospect with her. And didn't even die.

Tuco disillusioned Rough Rider away from contesting a strategy marker, and went to drop a scheme near the horse.

Plague had been able to dodge any too serious consequences for their actions... but then, something happened. No, that trend did continue, but it continued in such a way that it started to feel bad. Rat Catcher summoned a couple rats more, which eventually formed into a Rat King. With the remaining bonus and a single action point Rat King was able to kill an uninjured Rough Rider!

Somehow Wastrels had failed to plant any charges, and Plague lucked out full two points thanks to Tunnel Rats.

Both scored strategy, but Plague still had less points so they were able to move the markers for a 5-3 lead.

Turn 3: Plague picks Runic Binding, Wastrel stays with Detonate Charges

Now un-blighted Sidir was able to shoot Nix off the board. That could have been the beginning of a turning point for Wastrels, but then the Rat King ate Ruffian who had taken just one point of damage. Again with one action point and bonus. What is happening in here?! First summoned Gaki's eats all the schemes, now summoned rats do the same for models.

Plague did play a little too obvious Runic Binding, so Wastrels were able to wriggle out of maximum points, so Hamelin had to suffice with one. Tunnel Rats died in the process. 

Wastrels were pushing for the Detonate Charges this time a little more insistently, but Tuco was able to shoot off one of the markers, so Wastrels took zero once more. Plague also received strategy while Wastrels did not, so the situation looked grim after Hamelin was leading 7-3. 

Turn 4: 

Situation did in fact look too grim for McCabe, and we did not play the fourth round.