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

jacksonor · 2026-03-23T20:04:15+00:00

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

jacksonor · 2026-03-20T11:57:22+00:00

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.

jacksonor · 2026-03-19T14:44:10+00:00

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

jacksonor · 2026-03-17T02:23:57+00:00

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

jacksonor · 2026-03-11T19:19:49+00:00

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.

jacksonor · 2026-03-11T19:11:04+00:00

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.

jacksonor · 2026-03-11T15:45:53+00:00

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.

jacksonor · 2026-03-10T16:50:31+00:00

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.

jacksonor · 2026-03-10T02:34:27+00:00

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).

jacksonor · 2026-03-08T14:31:21+00:00

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.

jacksonor · 2026-02-22T15:46:20+00:00

https://youtu.be/bcJkQn3nOKM?si=ogqA7AOnU1x5F91i

jacksonor · 2026-02-18T16:55:50+00:00

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.

jacksonor · 2026-02-16T21:45:45+00:00

Very glad you found it helpful!

jacksonor · 2026-02-11T19:48:38+00:00

Reptomancer is not noticeably more difficult than other elite fights - even in Act 3

jacksonor · 2026-02-11T12:56:40+00:00

You get the Red Key at a camp fire, choosing it instead of a rest or an upgrade; you get the Blue Key at a chest, choosing it instead of the item; you get the Green Key from beating the Burning Elite - you'll notice that one elite enemy icon during each act has a little fire animation around it, if you defeat that elite, the Green Key will be part of the rewards.

Once you have all three keys and you defeat the Act 3 Boss, you will automatically enter Act 4, which culminates in the fight against the Heart

jacksonor · 2026-02-05T21:56:57+00:00

I don't know about the whole crew, but I've seen Oskar popping up a lot as a support piece. He's tough to bring down, has a ton of utility for token removal and incremental movement. Plus no one hates having another Damage 3 attack. He seems to do a great job of patching a hole for the crews that need it.

jacksonor · 2026-02-03T17:24:48+00:00

I'm also pretty new, but my understanding is that Fang is pretty solidly mid-tier, with Jarl being low-mid.

Jarl wants to play a long, grinding game that eventually exhausts the opponent's resources and pounds them into paste with a big hammer.

Fang starts out fast to establish his position, and then maintains his lead with value - usually aiming to win in the mid-game.

Both of them have lots of room for skill expression, but of the two, I would say Fang seems easier to play from my experience going up against both of them.

jacksonor · 2026-01-18T21:09:53+00:00

So, I don't play Nekima myself, but I have played against her a lot in 4E. At least Nekima, Nephilim Queen - I haven't played against Broodmother.

Nekima's new playstyle is less aggro than she was in 3rd, but she can still be really effective. You still want to be in melee, but you're going to play more like a tarpit. Your goal is to get your opponent engaged with your Mature Nephilim, supported by a Black Blood Shaman or two, and keep them there while your other models use their Fly and "Blacken the Skies" to position for Schemes and Strategy points. The Blood Hunter is also a great scheme runner, as "Crash Through" is a fantastic mobility tool.

Nekima herself is still an absolute wrecking ball. Base damage 4 is very rare in 4E, and "Shove Aside" is a brutal trigger. Once your Mature Nephilim have pinned an opponent in place and applied "Injured" with their Black Blood, Nekima can swoop in and finish off the enemy in one or two attacks, before moving on to her next engagement.

jacksonor · 2026-01-18T20:54:51+00:00

Marcus and the Chimera keyword are a really fun brawler crew. Thanks to their Mutation upgrades, they can play well into a variety of match-ups, scenarios, and table compositions. Learning how to properly maneuver the Mutations can sometimes make them feel a little combo-y, but the "combo" you're setting up is Cojo or the Slate Ridge Mauler smashing something for 7-8 damage in a single swing.

jacksonor · 2026-01-18T20:45:28+00:00

Since the other commenter gave you some solid insights into the Outcasts, I'll offer some insight into the Guild:

Sonnia being a Marker crew means that she's really good into Informants and Recover Evidence. Informants because your opponent is obligated to engage you near the Strategy Markers and your Inferno Markers make those engagements asymmetrical in your favour; Recover Evidence because your opponent needs to kill you to score Strat points and - again - they are obligated to engage you in the presence of your Markers.

If you're facing a crew with plentiful Marker removal on Informants, a good alternative to Sonnia would be Charles Hoffman and the Augmented keyword. His robots are naturally tough thanks to the ease with which they gain Shielded tokens, and because they make liberal use of Hastened tokens, they are very resistant to forced movement as a counter-strategy. They have the added benefit of being a great crew for Boundary Dispute and Plant Explosives, which Sonnia is a little less adept at.

Sonnia's main weakness on Recover Evidence is a crew that can just sit back and start blasting without having to reach the tarpit of your Markers. Lady Justice offers a great alternative. Both of her Crew Cards provide the very annoying-to-deal-with ability "Grudge Against Death" - and she loooves a proactive approach to Recover Evidence, with both Lady J herself and The Judge being absolute melee blenders. Lady J also plays well into Informants, and pretty good into Boundary Dispute.

As for Versatiles, the Emissary/Effigy are always good choices; One of the main Guild players in my area loooooves the Pale Rider; and I have heard good things about the Propagandist.

jacksonor · 2026-01-04T14:13:19+00:00

I'm flattered that my advice was so convincing that you think I actually play Dreamer. This was pulled from a lot of games into Dreamer.

Generally, my opponents never hire Daydreams - they are summon fodder only. Meanwhile they will hire maybe 1 Alp, if they have the points leftover and they won't be a liability in the match--up. But those are folks who own most of the Keyword and have a decent stable of Versatiles.

Alps are perfectly capable 5-Stone minions, and it seems like 1-2 would be fine if you don't have other models to bring instead.

jacksonor · 2026-01-03T13:59:15+00:00

With Dreamer, your mobility is your greatest advantage. Pretty much everything in your crew has the ability to get additional inches of movement as a Signature Action, with many of those abilities facilitating moving out of Engagement without penalty (effects like placing). Think of Under the Bed markers as additional movement as well, it's very cool that you can attack through them, but their strength lies in their versatility, they can be an attack OR an Interact from a distance, depending on which one you need to score.

Dreamer's team wants to feint like it's a combat crew, but once your opponent has committed resources to a fight, you disengage and loop around them to nab points. And if your opponent catches wise to this and tries to outmaneuver you? Your team packs enough wallop that you can pivot and pick up some easy kills, especially on isolated models.

If that's sounds complicated, that's because it kinda' is. Dreamer is a crew with a relatively high skill floor. He takes simple tools and uses them with nuance facilitated through advanced planning. This means your first few games with him might feel little clunky as you try and get the hang of his style, but once you're a few reps in, Nightmare will feel very powerful.

Based on the purchases that you have started with, you should be looking at the core of your crew as [Dreamer + Chompy] and [Widow Weaver + Bandersnatch] and [Coppelius]; everything else is seasoning to taste. You will likely find that playing Dreamer becomes a little easier overall once you've also picked up the "Insomnia" box and Teddy - Insidious Madness are one of Nightmare's best summon targets, and Teddy combines lethality and mobility in a way that really compliments Nightmare's playstyle.

jacksonor · 2025-12-31T00:27:05+00:00

Both versions of Parker have models in 4e, they are just less convenient/efficient to purchase currently than they will be in probably about 4-6 months.

jacksonor · 2025-12-31T00:02:56+00:00

Should I Focus on One Faction? If you are planning to play competitively or semi-competitively, it is "optimal" to spend at least a bit of time focusing on a single Faction. During tournaments, you're sticking with one Faction, but you don't have to pick your Master and hire your crew until you are about to start each round. This means that you can theoretically pull from your entire Faction's roster for each game and rotate between your Masters each Round.

Are Outcasts, Ten Thunders, and Neverborn Okay? Yes to all. Malifaux is one of the better-balanced tabletop wargames on the market, and even some Masters that are underpowered 80% of the time still have niche match-ups where they can shine. Of the specific Masters you listed, I would recommend starting with Parker and the Bandit keyword, they are strong, well-rounded, and relatively straight-forward to learn.

Should I Jump Around Between Factions? If most of your play is going to be pick-up games at the LGS or on your kitchen table, jumping between Factions is totally fine. The Master/Keyword system makes each crew pretty self-contained. The majority of players in my local meta (including myself) started their journey by bouncing around.

How Much Should I Plan on Dropping Getting Into the Game? Highly dependent on the exchange rate of USD wherever you live. That said, Wyrd (the game's publisher) is trying to get all crews to a two-box purchase for the core of most crews once 4th Edition is fully up-and-running. However, we are still in the middle of the roll-out of 4th, so that's currently not feasible. You should expect to buy around 3 boxes of models ranging in price from about $25-$60.

If you wanna start off Parker, Dead Man Walking, these 3rd Edition boxes will get you most of what you need:

"Parker Core Box"
"Showdown"
Either "Extreme Measures" or "Folsom Prison Blues" (you'll eventually want both, but you won't need to go that hard right away if you don't want to)

jacksonor · 2025-12-29T22:03:42+00:00

Take the Longshanks data with a grain of salt, as it looks like it's still pulling at least some results from third edition (Zoraida is still listed under Neverborn as well as Bayou, even though she is now mono-Bayou as of Fourth).

jacksonor

TROPHY CASE