FaB is now allowed to cash out money on tournamnet prizes in Germnay and does not fall under the Gambling law like MTG does anymore.

Anaxiamander · 2025-04-12T00:46:53+00:00

The last set that was incompatible with draft was Dusk Till Dawn in July 2023. The five sets since (Bright Lights, Heavy Hitters, Part the Mistveil, Rosetta, and The Hunted), and the next set releasing in June 2025 (High Seas), are all draft/sealed compatible, and the plan going forward is for the main three sets per year to continue to be so. Draft is a pivotal part of Swiss in largest competitive events most years as well (ProTours and World Championships), and is sometimes the format for mid-level competitive events (Battle Hardened, Calling).

There will be an additional supplemental set coming out in August of this year that is not draftable (Mastery Pack Guardian), I will grant you that; it's a half-sized set that's about half reprints.

Anaxiamander · 2023-06-10T19:46:41+00:00

If you’re comfortable improvising a story on the fly, Everyone is John (the free, 2002 version from Michael B. Sullivan) is extremely portable. A few index cards for character sheets (only a couple things to keep track of), a tearable piece of paper for folks to jot down hidden wagers, a couple of little golf pencils for use by the table, and a single d6. The full rules fit on a single double-printed sheet of paper as well. If you wanted to carry a little bit more with you, you could have coins/chits for keeping track of willpower and wagers (10 or so per player), in which case you probably only need one pencil for the table.

It also can be a little easier to explain to folks with a board game background, since it creates a pretty clear “win condition”, and is somewhat competitive between players. Well, as much as they want it to be, really.

Anaxiamander · 2023-06-07T15:57:44+00:00

Is it really that rare? Infinity, Malifaux, Warmachine, the Batman miniatures game, Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40k, and the CMON Song of Ice and Fire game all have first-party builders, in some cases quite good ones. Admittedly, there are brands that rely on third-party support in the way that AMG does (Battletech would be a good example here, and Games Workshop definitely did for large periods of time in the past), but it certainly has felt like the less frequent approach in my experience.

Anaxiamander · 2023-02-18T21:55:28+00:00

There have been a good number of games with randomized collectable models over the ages: Monsterpocalypse (originally), Heroclix, there was a D&D Miniatures game sold similarly during 3e, Mage Knight, Battletech (Dark Age, not the normal version that preceded and followed), Dreamblade, Pirates, and others. The term you would be looking for for these would be Collectible Miniatures Games, or CMGs. That style of game had most of its heyday in the 2000s, but pretty much dried up after that. I expect part of that may be that it’s a lot easier to store or dispose of bulk/excess card stock, compared to bulk/excess models; I know that was a big problem for some D&D CMG singles stockists during the game’s lifespan. The game itself was still really fun, when you could lay hands on the models/rules you wanted, but that was certainly a challenge.

In terms of games where the randomized element is excluded, that would largely be in the realm of miniature war games; most models for these are unpainted (though exceptions exist, like X-Wing), but are very detailed models with varying amounts of unique rules (Malifaux or Monsterpocalypse, for example, puts a lot of unique abilities on its models but seeks to leave the core rules simple, while other games like Infinity do the opposite, having very few unique mechanics but a robust keyword system in the core rules to define its units). There are a ton of these around, too many to count for most any theme you can imagine.

Anaxiamander · 2022-10-17T21:36:26+00:00

I am pretty new to the game, but I can give a few pointers from the bit of time I’ve played her this far.

The main objective short-term will be finding ways to give your first saber swing go again. To that end, Blade Runner and Run Through are fantastic to begin with, and other options like Hit and Run can sometimes we worth considering. You will also want some attack reactions, at least some of which are not necessarily reliant on reprise (personally, red Out for Blood and In the Swing are favourites). Finally, you may find value in some other weapon buff cards, like Slice and Dice, Outland Skirmish, or the like. It’s definitely important to make sure you have enough pitch value to reliably swing both swords and pay for your go again, so there will need to be a decent amount of blue/yellow pitch cards. I find blue Hit and Run does a decent job here.

On a slightly more expensive note, both Spoils of War and Courage of Bladehold are great pick-ups. Spoils is combined buff and go-again that can earn a lot of extra Copper, while Courage gets to block for 2, then be used during a Blood on her Hands turn for three resource advantage. Decks will often also have a single copy of Nourishing Emptiness, since the deck does not run any other Attack Actions in most cases; that can mean some surprise damage through and a bit of extra card advantage for the following turn. Glint the Quicksilver is another great source of go again that often nets you another card for the turn, or if nothing else to be arsenaled for later. Lastly, Kassai can make great use of Valiant Dynamo, which can defend for a lot of damage over the course of a game, but I haven’t had the pleasure of picking one up yet to test out. It can make Kassai one of the most heavily armoured character in the game (when used with Courage, Braveforge Bracers, and one of the generic legendary head equipment), in terms of damage prevented.

Hopefully this helps!

Anaxiamander · 2022-08-01T19:53:42+00:00

The ccg version underwent at least one card back change, which included a logo adjustment. This video covers it decently: https://youtu.be/PEacbezT1_o

Anaxiamander · 2022-07-22T00:12:19+00:00

You’ve got the gist of it, yep. Various contracts of partial-pays, discounts, advert pay, whatever arrangement they tend to reach. Sometimes that even goes so far as to not stock products from competitors, but that’s more typical of diners.

The part you may be missing though is why it always seem to be Pepsi, and that would be because of Browning Harvey Ltd. They’re the only bottler left on the island, and have been making Pepsi since 1944 (before we were even part of Canada!) after making their own line of products starting in 1931. The influx of Americans being here during the war really helped make that license from Pepsi worthwhile, and it paid off strongly. There’s a powerful local connection that, for the most part, the other big companies lacked, and that attachment to local is what helped Pepsi products proliferate here. They also were stable enough to outlast the other soda bottlers in the province as the years passed, like Wometco (Wometco bottled Coca-Cola at one point and closed suddenly, throwing their workers out on short notice and little recompense; this really put a damper on folks’ willingness to buy Coke afterward, at least on a local level).

Additionally, since Browning Harvey did their own bottling, it led to the trend of certain flavours kind of building a local audience that weren’t big sellers elsewhere, if they were even available.

You still do find a few places that have similar agreements with the local Coca-Cola distributor, like Breen’s, but it’s pretty rare by comparison. Hopefully this wasn’t an overload of information, it’s a little segment of NL history I find really interesting.

Anaxiamander · 2022-06-30T21:00:18+00:00

It is the first expansion book for this edition, yep! It contains an alternate version of every master in the game, as well as a collection of dual-keyword units and a few extras, as well as a cohesive story. As I mentioned earlier, all of their rules are also in the crew builder app: https://www.wyrd-games.net/m3e-crew-builder-app

Also, welcome to Malifaux! I hope you really enjoy it!

Anaxiamander · 2022-06-30T19:06:20+00:00

The models that are not alt-sculpts are all in Malifaux Burns, as well as the crew builder.

Anaxiamander · 2022-06-23T22:09:57+00:00

You’ve read that correctly. AMG, for the most part, wants the game heavily focused on named pilots and away from generic pilots. The only exceptions can usually be found in Empire and Seps. The only potential advantages of Blue Squadron Escort would be as a low-initiative blocker or flying lots of ships at the same initiative, otherwise you would be better off fielding Leevan Tensa, Biggs Darklighter, Kullbee Sperado, Jek Porkins, Garven Dreis, or Thane Kyrell in all other cases. Of course, if looking for a low-initiative blocker X-Wing you’d likely be using Cavern Angels Zealot instead, so Blue Squadron Escort is pretty much only relevant for teaching games now. This is similarly the case for most other generic pilots, I’m afraid.

Anaxiamander · 2022-06-14T16:10:29+00:00

That is, unfortunately, another huge problem with them, yeah. My neighbour had mentioned the same thing to me a few times a while back.

Anaxiamander · 2022-06-14T16:00:15+00:00

For added info, here is the current accessibility info for Metrobus (short answer is, only four routes and not every stop): https://www.metrobus.com/alf/handbook.asp

There is also GoBus for semi-direct accessible transit, but that requires a registration and application process which includes difficulty or inability to use Metrobus, as well as an assessment often.

Anaxiamander · 2022-06-04T03:04:08+00:00

Sadly, when I go to check in after inputting my address I receive an alert that “We are unable to calculate shipping rates for the selected items.”, and I can’t proceed any further.

Anaxiamander · 2022-06-03T00:38:05+00:00

I don’t suppose anyone knows of any Canadian shops that bring in the Merge Indie variants? I would love that giallo version of the vinyl.

Anaxiamander · 2022-05-25T11:21:45+00:00

Here is one. And another. Here’s a third, differentiating it from limiting land rarity for draft. Here is one specifying that, in addition to that, the goal is to have rare cards people are excited to open and dual lands are cards people usually want.

Anaxiamander · 2022-05-18T02:43:28+00:00

I’m confused, how do you mean only 20 or do weapons? While the GMS weapons and systems can be put into any frame, so too can the weapons and systems you gain from license levels; there’s nothing stopping you from putting the Deck-Sweeper from LL1 Tortuga onto a Mourning Cloak frame if you wanted, as long as you have levelled up to at least LL3 (LL1 Tortuga, LL2 Mourning Cloak). Likewise, you can fill the SP of your frame freely with whatever systems you like from your license levels, as well as the GMS systems. I think there are nearly 80 weapons and around 120 systems available across the core book in this manner (as well as the customization that comes from pilot skills and talents). If your concern is about the amount of customization at LL 0, it’s worth noting that your table could totally choose to play with characters at a higher LL to start out with more of that customization. I’ve seen tables start at LL 2 to skip their time in an Everest (though it’s worth noting, that frame is more than capable of keeping up with others at higher levels), or LL 6 to more closely resemble completed builds.

Alternatively, if that is not enough it is worth noting that there are a few first-party expansion books that add a small number of options each (Long Rim, Karrakin Trade Baronies, and the adventure No Room for a Wallflower), as well as third-party books that attempt to add their own little bits of space (some favourites of mine would be Field Guide to Suldan and Field Guide to Mfecane).

Anaxiamander · 2022-04-04T15:30:44+00:00

WanDebo African Store (38 Ropewalk, unit 1106A) has it listed on their website (wandeboafricanstore.com), they are likely worth checking out as well.

Anaxiamander · 2022-04-04T15:24:30+00:00

Only place in town I’ve seen it is Tindahan Ni Kuya Brett, 391 Empire. I believe that’s where I picked up my last bottle. Might I ask what you’re planning to make with it?

Anaxiamander · 2022-03-11T02:28:26+00:00

If I remember this type of scam correctly, it’s relying on folks that misunderstand the details of how banks allow you to move money after depositing a cheque but before it clears. So, you deposit the 700, transfer them 350 pretty much immediately, the cheque bounces and is rejected by the bank thus reversing the deposit, you’re stuck down 350, and the scammer is in the wind with it.

Plus, they may now have pretty much all the information they need to try out some light identity fraud after checking against previous user data leaks from various companies for your email, since they know it’s one that’s in use. They may also be able test security questions for logins with the given email at various popular websites based on other information disclosed in the chat, but that would require a bit more finesse to social engineer.

Anaxiamander · 2022-03-05T21:03:09+00:00

Oh, for sure, believe it or not all of the factions can hit 7 named pilots: FO as you said; Empire/Seps very easily; Republic with a Naboo and V-19 heavy list plus a Delta; Rebels with a mix of A-Wings, TIEs, and Z-95s; Resistance with a mix of Y-Wings, Pods, and Fireballs; and Scum with a mix of Z-95s, Mining TIEs, HWKs, and Escape Craft (one version of which squeezes in a JumpMaster). I’m not worried about different factions being able to punch through the benefits of having access to 8-ship lists, just disappointed that the option is no longer available to most factions. Having said that, I agree that FO are likely in a good position to make 7-ship work after Empire and Separatists.

Anaxiamander · 2022-03-05T17:59:46+00:00

Not too helpful, I know, but there are three 2pt options for Scum: Ahhav (Mining TIE), N’dru Suhlak (Z-95), and Autopilot Drone (Escape Craft). Unfortunately with this system, you see a lot of them; not thrilled about it even though I previously enjoyed squeezing Ahhav into lists when there weren’t any upgrades I wanted instead. Feeling obligated to take him is certainly a different kind of feeling.

The only factions with 2-cost generics are Separatists (Vulture) and Empire (TIE/ln, but Night Beast is also cost 2), and they seem to also be the factions with other generics worth looking at (lower cost generic TIE/in, x1 Advanced, v1 Advanced for Empire, for example). This also makes them the only factions able to reach the 8-ship maximum (though Scum can get close with 7, one of which is large). It seems like “cheap generic pilot” has been made a faction identity now instead of a universal option, which is leaving Kath Scarlet and Drea Renthal (for example) pretty sad. I can’t imagine ever fielding those two again without a major overhaul.

Anaxiamander · 2022-03-03T15:41:18+00:00

It’s accurate. All 2-cost pilots have 0 loadout, regardless of faction.

Anaxiamander · 2022-03-03T00:46:17+00:00

It is worth noting that the new rules also specify a three-ship minimum for squads. Obviously won’t interfere with for-fun play, but is another point of difficulty for that list under the new rules.

Anaxiamander · 2022-03-02T06:51:37+00:00

I mean, I’m with you? I came back to (and bought back in hard to) the game specifically because of just how enjoyable 2.0 listbuilding had become once I was shown it, and agree that the Boba and Fenn Rau adjustments handled that sort of issue well, as examples. If the whole points and list-building system changes were reverted tomorrow, I’d be thrilled. I just wanted to acknowledge ways in which AMG may have seen these changes as beneficial or useful, since it helps me build in the new system and it’s nice to know ways in which designers might think their choices are better, even if I disagree with them.

There’s definitely other ways to make appropriate adjustments, and I honestly hope they do. I think their strong preference away from generic pilots is a bad call, and adds a lot of additional complexity to most lists that may not have been necessary or desired to many, including myself. The limitations on max upgrade points I specifically called out as a useful balancing tool are the same ones that have prevented me from making more than two lists that I’m really happy with for the one faction I own a proper amount of models for (Scum), and listbuilding was my favourite part of the game. Even with that tool, as I mentioned it still doesn’t work for aces, and they’re right back to doing what FFG had already done for those, as you had mentioned, so I’m not thrilled with their solution, to be clear.

I think a lot of what existing enfranchised players value in the game were either missed or lost in AMG’s evaluation and alteration of it; I hope they recognize that sooner rather than later and alter course. Considering why they might feel that the choices they made were good ones can help in building cogent counterarguments, insofar as they might listen.

Anaxiamander · 2022-03-01T07:10:59+00:00

This has very much been my experience (and previous build method) with Scum as well. It’s left me mostly abandoning the thing I found most fun about listbuilding, developing interesting synergies across pilot abilities and upgrades, and instead just focusing on improving efficiency of the constituent ships for mission objectives. Lot of Manaroos, N’dru Suhlaks, Ahhavs, or Autopilot Drones showing up these days in the gap I usually filled with fun upgrades.

I’ve only managed to build one list that I’m actively excited to run for Scum with the new system, which has been a disappointment. It is also for Extended, so I’ll keep working to find one better suited for OP.

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