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.

It just had to come, vol II

 Had another game of Malifaux on Vassal.

Strategy: Symbols of Authority with Corner deployment. Scheme pool: Let Them Bleed, Spread Them Out, Bait and Switch, Research Mission, Death Beds

My list was:

Kirai & Ikiryo
Datsue Ba with Grave Spirit Touch
Lost Love
2x Shikome
Crooligan
3x Seishin
Mindless Zombie

Stones: 7

Schemes: Let Them Bleed, Spread Them Out

Opponent had:

Lucius Mattheson & Scribe
Agent 46 with Inhuman Reflexes
Hooded Rider
Investigator
False Witness
Guild Lawyer
Changeling

Stones: 6

Schemes: Bait and Switch, Spread Them Out

Turn 1:

I had originally planned to play Seamus, but the map looked terrific for some incorporeal action.

Datsue Ba turns Mindless Zombie into Focused +1 for everyone but herself, walks once and concentrates herself. 

I get completely lost in who activates when in the enemy team, since everyone is using Obey (or the equivalent) on everyone. Hooded Rider rides with Agent 46 and arrives in middle-north of the board, and takes a walk nearer middle. 

Investigator and False Witness had been walked to the middle, too, and since I didn't know what to expect I charged a summoned Goryo into those two. Ikiryo charges Hooded Rider after being moved around by Seishin. Neither Goryo or Ikiryo score any damage.

Investigator and False Witness are freed from Goryo with some scheme shenanigans, and Investigator charges Ikiryo and garrotes her down to one wound remaining. 

Both Shikomes were guided by Seishins. One went west, ending up past middle line. The other Shikome managed to interact a scheme marker on to enemy table side. However, that brought her within charge range of Agent 46, and as a result she was brought down to three remaining.

Turn 2:

Ikiryo activates first because I supposed she'd disappear next. But killing her didn't interest Investigator or Hooded Rider (who failed his Ride With Me)

Kirai summoned another Goryo, and together the goryos brough Investigator, False Witness, Changeling and Guild Lawyer to one or two hit points remaining. Most of their attacks certainly missed, but Violent Ghosts didn't need to hit in the first place.

Crooligan in south-west did a scheme marker, and Shikome that was flapping around in there too dropped another marker and charged False Witness that had strayed to middle line.

Agent 46 kills my Shikome and removes the scheme marker she put up. Datsue Ba is guided by Seishins to charge Agent 46, and then I need to make a decision to either score strategy or Spread Them Out this turn. I choose strategy, and Lost Love teleports to Datsue Ba, walks and interacts an enemy strategy marker. 

Then it becomes apparent why Ikiryo had been spared. Neverborn reveals Bait and Switch. Resurrectionists take a point of strategy for 1-1 scores.

Turn 3:

Enemy is busy removing Goryos, and one of them is indeed removed by the blob of Lucius, Hooded Rider, Lawyers and whatnot, while the other one remained. But the other one... well, I suppose this day had to come eventually. I'm sure opponent could have killed the Goryo later in turn, but it would have taken additional resources if not for one black joker. Or two black jokers, to be precise. We both flip black joker, and as enemy had higher stat than my defense... it was a definite loss for Goryo.

I didn't have high enough card in my hand to re-summon another, so I had to take Drowned instead to deal with an escaped Investigator. Kirai also uses Spirit Barrage on False Witness, killing her. 

Moonlight charge killed Ikiryo and put my remaining Shikome down to one hit point remaining, but this didn't stop it from scoring another point of Symbols of Authority, with the aid of Seishins. 

Datsue Ba and Agent 47 duke it out, with Datsue gaining the upper hand by leaving the enemy henchman with three hit points. This had cost me plenty of soulstones, though, as I needed to spam Ram suit to prevent Agent from blocking damage with soulstones.

Lost Love drops a scheme and walks nearer another enemy Symbol. But it was a long way for Mv4 model.

However... Resurrectionists got another point of strategy, Spread Them Out and even Let Them Bleed in one fell go. Scores were now 4-1 for Resurrectionists. 

Turn 4:

To try to deny opponent from scoring Bait & Switch, Shikome charged a Guild Lawyer that had been sitting in enemy deployment zone with one hit point remaining. Didn't succeed, though. Hooded Rider fails to kill my contesting minion, but manages to ruin Lost Love's plans to score third point from strategy.

Changeling finishes Shikome with Shikome's own menacing talons. 

Agent 46 places a scheme marker on my side of the board and charges Datsue Ba. Without a soulstone Datsue lucks out with a ram suit and kills Agent 46. Lost Love teleports to Datsue, walks and interacts a marker.

The Scribe removes my last remaining Goryo, so it was time to summon a new one to tie up Lucius. Additionally Kirai put a scheme marker on the middle line.

Drowned fails to kill Investigator, but a random charging Seishin did not. What's this? Scribes and Seishins doing the heavy lifting?

No points were scored on turn four.

Turn 5:

I secured enough strategy markers on board to make Spread Them Out end condition infallible. We didn't play all the activations as the situation was clear. Neverborn scored another point of Bait and Switch, while Resurrectionists got both Let Them Bleed and Spread Them Out.

Game ended 6-4 for Resurrectionists.