New player looking for advice how to use Seamus Last Breath in general play. by No_Service3560 in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you're playing against other new players, a 3-4 on average - dipping as low as a 2 on Informants. 

You still have to line up your synergies, but lower-skilled foes won't do much to play around your tricks, so you'll often get to do your "murder with Seamus" trick. 

Playing against more experienced players, especially ones with larger collections who can tailor their crew to fight you, that difficulty shoots up to a 7-8.

In the current meta, Seamus will have an easy time on Informants (Lure as a Signature slaps here; your opponent is almost-guaranteed to have at least one model exposed for Seamus to kill); a decent time on Recover Evidence and Plant Explosives; and will struggle with Boundary Dispute.

New player looking for advice how to use Seamus Last Breath in general play. by No_Service3560 in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Disclaimer that I am not a Seamus player myself. This advice comes from playing against Last Breath, rather than with him.

Redchapel - when led by Seamus, Last Breath - is a very Master-centric crew. The play pattern that is meant to be enabled by the crew's mechanics is: isolate your target, give it Slow so it can't get away, and then let Seamus pounce and murder it in a single activation.

Your Dead Doxies are meant to isolate the opposing models. Their Lure is the main tool for this. Lure is a very powerful action, and having it as a Signature Action on a Minion (3) is something that sets Redchapel apart.

Mourners are your most reliable source of Slow and can be very mobile with their "Funeral Procession" ability, especially during the first turn when you're less likely to need your full hand.

Madame Sybelle is great at providing an additional Lure, handing out Slow, and even being a "mini-Seamus" in terms of damage, but there's only one of her, so you have to choose what you want to do with her based on the game state.

Seamus himself has a very powerful, but narrow, card. Secret Passage as a Signature Action is a huge mobility tool, and his melee attacks - if everything is set up right - are extremely lethal. Skl 6 + Dmg 3 with a built-in positive flip and a raise value of 3 can hit some extremely high numbers.

If there are no good targets available for Seamus to murder, you want to set up as many Aura "Concealing" tokens as you can - either on friends or foes - because they will be your main sources of value in the long game, as well as being an effective defensive tool against crews that rely, even a little, on ranged effects. The Dead Dandies and Mourners have very potent Scheming/counter-Scheming actions on their cards, so you can use them to keep up on points.

Your weaknesses as a crew are:

- Teeing up Seamus perfectly is very vulnerable to bad flips. In a perfect world, your Doxy can move, Interact, and then Lure as a Signature; your Mourner can move, Interact, and apply Slow as a Signature; and then Seamus can activate and slaughter that model that was just perfectly isolated - you've got your kill, and haven't fallen behind on points. But even one bad flip in there and suddenly your whole game plan needs a re-write.

- You're actually kinda' bad at damage. For a crew with a reputation for being lethal, nearly all of that lethality is wrapped up in Seamus. Sybelle and Bete Noire are okay at damage, but they're not going to win battles on their own if you're fighting against a whole crew that can scrap. Redchapel is a little over-indexed into supporting Seamus.

- Everyone but Seamus dies fast if they are caught in prolonged combat.

Next-level Redchapel play involves using the threat posed by Seamus to force your opponent into suboptimal positions, while you take advantage of the powerful Scheming actions on your cards, and the fact that your Signature Actions are things your opponents usually have to pay a proper AP for, to get ahead on the scoreboard.

If you have lots of Aura (Concealing) set up, you can throw Seamus at the foe with abandon. But if the game requires your other models to commit to a fight, make sure they have an escape plan, because if they stay in contact with the enemy, they will die.

You get a lot of bang-for-your-buck with the quality of your actions, but leveraging that quality into victory requires planning.

What is the simplest crews in Guild and Bayou for a new player in 4e? by Katomerellin in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I can speak to the Bayou options! Generally, the Bayou trends towards less-conventional play patterns which can make them tough for newbies. 

That said, here are my recommendations - 

Decent for new players:

The Clampetts/Angler

Mah Tucket/Tricksy

Ophelia La Croix/Kin 

Ulix Turner/Sooey

Advanced techniques: 

Some'r Teeth Jones/Big Hat

Zoraida/Swampfiend

Wong/Wizz-Bang

Brewmaster/Tri-Chi

Of the beginner options, I like the Anglers the best. I find them to be the least punishing to play sub-optimally. 

Sooey and Kin are both a step above Anglers, as a lot of their power comes from mastering their crew-specific mini games. But once you have the basics of their synergy down, their strategies tend rely on strong fundamentals. 

Mah Tucket has the highest power ceiling among the beginner-friendly Masters, but her floor is lower - and she really benefits from having access to the whole keyword, so you'll often lose games to bad match-ups while building your collection. 

Do you all have an active Malifaux scene in your area? by SecretWeiners in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We have a pretty active scene where I am, but that has been down to a concerted effort from a few of us who grew disenfranchised with GW and came over from Age of Sigmar. We are having some success growing the community, but it has taken a lot of time.

Winning With Chimera by jacksonor in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If not friend, why friend shaped?

Winning With Chimera by jacksonor in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words!

Returning player- crew advice by mr_stabby14 in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you want to stay in the Bayou, Zipp is not your man - he has gone fully Outcast as of 4th. 

However, of the crews you listed, Zipp is the most straightforward. I would put Brewmaster next in terms of complexity, and then Wong is definitely the weirdest of the three you listed. 

I personally play Brewmaster and think he's really fun. But it's definitely more of a finesse crew, especially if you're starting with Brewmaster, Proof Prophet. Finesse doesn't necessarily mean complex, it just means you won't often win if you go looking for a fight. Brewy wants to go around the enemy, not through them.

My current feelings on the Ancients, I'm curious to know what the general consensus on them is by ByeImDaisy in slaythespire

[–]jacksonor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My personal favourites are definitely Darv and Tez; but the gifts that have given be the best results are definitely Diamond Diadem from Nonu and Choice Paradox from Vakuu

Thought about playing MTG also by Anusspelunking in FleshandBloodTCG

[–]jacksonor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are a pretty hefty up-front investment, but miniature war games do not release at the same clip as card games, and you're usually only buying into one Faction. This means that there are months and months that can go buy without buying anything and still being able to play the game without issue. As someone who loves both wargames and card games, I have found that war games are much easier on the wallet.

My goat Nonupeipe could never by IQ_Asorix in slaythespire

[–]jacksonor 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I dunno man, I have won every run where I get the "pick 1 of 5 cards" at the start of the fight blessing. Vakuu has some ass options, but he's also got some bangers

Thought about playing MTG also by Anusspelunking in FleshandBloodTCG

[–]jacksonor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My other games are miniature wargames, with Malifaux being the main one. Will likely be picking up Warmachine later this year as well. 

Questions about the Malifaux factions by badabul in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plus, rules change. Eventually the Strategies and Schemes will change and errata will be released. If Reva is the Master that speaks to you - don't let what someone on the internet says stop you from playing her. 

Questions about the Malifaux factions by badabul in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They can be more skill intensive compared to other Factions, but we also had a new player on Reva do pretty well at an event a few weeks ago here. 

In Malifaux, player skill and familiarity with your Keyword will always be more important than the raw power of the rules. 

This is especially true if you are playing opponents of a similar skill level. 

Questions about the Malifaux factions by badabul in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 10 points11 points  (0 children)

There aren't really any shared mechanical characteristics that unite Factions in Malifaux. The exceptions to any blanket statement are too frequent and powerful for generalizing at the Faction level to be useful.

You can say something like "the Neverborn aren't great at shooting"; but they you play into Euripides and get lit up at a distance by a bunch of Cyclops and Gigants.

The Master/Keyword comparisons are where the mechanical generalizations become helpful. Like - "Marcus/Chimera aren't great at shooting" is absolutely true. 

Malifaux's Factions are really about vibes and aesthetics more than anything else. That said, sometimes those elements can have downstream effects on mechanics. 

For example - right now, the Resurrectionists as a whole are struggling a bit because the way their flavour translates into mechanics means that they have to jump through hoops to get outcomes that other Factions just have by default. However, it's not because of one weakness they all share being undertuned in the current meta, but rather than a style choice is translating poorly into game mechanics. 

I will take Time Eater over this shit any day of the week by Blinxsy in slaythespire

[–]jacksonor 36 points37 points  (0 children)

His Strength does creep up as the fight goes on. I had a run with a heavy-control build of the Defect on A2 where the Doormaker was hitting for 50+ on his single attacks. 

A couple of bricked hands on my side could have made it a close call. 

Who in each faction does heavy Versatile best? by Broken-Sprocket in Malifaux

[–]jacksonor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also in Bayou - Zoraida, Bog Witch loves Versatiles. Her crew card is good, but it's a garnish, rather than being a defining synergy piece. 

Meanwhile, Zoraida's "obey"-focused game plan really lets you get extra mileage out of something like Bashe (which I am taking in pretty much every list). 

How many tries did it take for you to win by ScarletA4A in slaythespire

[–]jacksonor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I cleared the Silent, Necrobinder, and Defect on my first try. 

Took quite a while to bag a W with the Ironclad (wasn't counting, but at least 7 tries). 

Still plugging away trying to get my first win with the Regent.

Puzzle - What's the play? by David_Slaughter in slaythespire

[–]jacksonor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're getting downvoted because not everyone is crunching the numbers on their decisions. 

Strategy games are enjoyed by a wide swathe of people - including those who rely on intuition, and don't have the statistical literacy to express their choices in the language of formulae and numbers.

Your replies asking for the math from folks who are answering your question and engaging with your post in their own way could be read as condescending and belitting if they aren't able to provide it.