Hiya Internet!
So here's a WIP I started yesterday, the almighty cheap Flesh Construct for Malifaux! A friend from the Montag's group graciously donated this model to me, as I really didn't want to buy the McMourning crew in order to have the differently-posed Construct. It was already painted, but seeing as how I like to paint my stuff I painted over it. I didn't strip it, as it didn't seem to be thick with paint, and made sure to lightly spray the primer on.
Over a black primer I sprayed Vallejo Air Grey in a zenithal pattern to create highlights quickly and provide a brighter undercoat for the next color. I then lightly sprayed Vallejo Game Color Dead Flesh in the same pattern. I debated if I should have gone with a dark olive for this step and highlight with Dead Flesh, but I wanted to keep it less green looking so I took the risk of skipping that step. To define the shallow details and create a different tint I washed it with GW Devlan Mud. I originally was going to wash it with green as I've done with my old GW Zombies, but upon testing this color it seemed to be too drastic of a change for what I wanted this model to look like - you can sort of see it on the base to the right of his foot. I then took Dead Flesh and glazed on highlights, then added white to it for the final highlights.
So far I'm very happy with how it turned out. Some parts on his shoulders and back are very shallow, so it proved difficult to highlight without making it turn out like obvious brush strokes. I'd say he's mostly done now, I've just got to pick out the metals, paint the braaaaains and base and I'd say he's complete enough to run on the tournament this Saturday.
I also got to run a demo game for Reuben. We played two 35ss games and he brought his beautifully painted Perdita crew. Check out those cacti!
I ran Von Schill, partly because I never get to use him but mostly because it's a good crew to run against a new player since he uses straightforward mechanics. Really though it gave me a good idea on how to use him, as I've only used him once and he got wiped off the table by Wong and his crew, which left me to believe that he will never be used again.
All in all we had a ton of fun, and he got the hang of it really fast. I've demoed this game to three other newbies before and it still proves to be an easy game to teach and understand, it's the strategy itself that proves difficult.
I also made sure to have plenty of terrain. I followed the rule of 1/3, where the terrain I got filled up 1/3 of the board and consisted of 3 parts different types of terrain. When I placed them it seemed really cluttered compared to what people usually place for terrain, but it's perfect for two shooting crews. I figure if he can find good ways to shoot in dense terrain then it only gets easier from there, plus you don't want to give a Perdita player the false security blanket of an empty field.
We used the Strats/Schemes from the rule book and the first pool turned out to be extremely killy. Reckoning, ALitS, Assassinate, Frame for Murder, Make them Suffer and Breakthrough popped up, which is a decent pool to try out his crew with as it doesn't force the interact schemes on him. I forgot the score for this one but he did a pretty good job, I think it was 5-3 in my favor.
The second game was similar in pool, with Reckoning, ALitS, Plant Evidence, Outflank, Assasinate, and Protect Territory came up. We both chose Plant Evidence and Protect Territory revealed. This game Reuben started to get the hang of his crew a bit more, and just piled on the damage from Perdita. He did suffer from Kill Syndrome, and seemed to forget the objectives and went after bodies so his score ran lower than the previous game and ended 5-1.
Overall he really liked the game and is excited to try out 50ss. With what he currently owns he can make some decent lists, but if he gets a purchase or two he can crank out a great list for most schemes. Perdita is just plain nasty on damage.
I also learned a bit more on Von Schill that gave me a bit more perspective on him than I've previously had in my analysis of Outcast Masters. Some observations still rang true, like how he's a toolbox model with dull tools, but some aspects of his character abilities were actually a blast to play.
First off, I accidentally left the Steam Trunk at home so I decided to use the Malifaux Child as his totem. I contemplated not using a totem at all to see how he works on his own, but decided that the option to "Finish the Cur" several times would be interesting. The potential is great and gave several options when faced against a Hard to Kill heavy crew like Perdita's. Coupled with Hannah you can have two extra attacks when needed, but then I realized that you can't use it since it's a (0) action so that went out the window. In the end he was used for healing, but then again you could use the Steam Trunk for that.
Hannah is a natural pairing for him, as she can copy his (0) abilities and gains his pseudo Hard to Kill from him. She can be tanky when needed and has a great melee attack that can stack Paralyze onto a model, with the occasional helpful blast which works against Perdita's high defense.
I also used a Freikorpsmann, Desperate Merc and Trapper but I didn't learn anything new that I hadn't seen before with other crews. I kept the Freikorps too far to benefit from his abilities as they were running schemes.
In regards to the Man himself he seems to have some good traits. I used The Shirt Comes Off and Survivalist on him to keep him around and used him as an attrition piece to get rid of non-masters. It works out fairly well, as his Augmented Jump allowed him to hop around the board pretty quickly and keep enemy models out of LOS. Against Perdita it's negated by her various pushes, but if she's forced to use them that's potentially less options for the opponent who has to react to your movements. I can't remember, but if Relocate is a (0) ability then you're choosing between ignoring cover/armor or using it which can help tremendously.
A nice situation I tried out was saving high cards or the Red Joker in hand for his attacks. If you have a 13 or RJ you can spend a stone for a crow (or a high crow) for your first melee attack to lower their defense permanently. Although not a new or even mind-blowing tactic it's still a good idea to have in your pocket. Against Perdita's DF7 I'd need a RJ to tie in attacks, so by throwing it out there you're almost guaranteed to lower their DF for future attacks. Throw out a 13 and you still have a good shot. When you hit 12s is where it can get iffy, but still worth risking. If their defense is any lower you have a fairly good chance at doing the damage anyway, depending on how you make your opponent spend their cards. He is able to risk going later in the turn if needed, as his armor, 12 wounds, damage prevention, and survivalist can mitigate instant kills. You need to calculate your damage intake well, so that you know you can survive long enough to use his Shirt when needed. Having several stones to prevent damage at 3 or higher helps out, usually he can take 2 or less easily enough depending on how many attacks you see coming his way before he activates. Having a 1" melee range blows though, and his 6 to hit is okay but easily avoided against valuable targets, which is why you need to treat him like Misaki and go after small targets.
When you need to pack on the damage his Critical Strike comes pretty handy. With a high ram and SS you can make what you target die fast enough.
His gun is handy enough, but I think I see his melee attacks as more formidable when you have the option of lowering their DF for the rest of the game. It makes it easier for him to chop them down, and if need be for other members to get their attacks through as well, which is important as his damage track won't be taking down most Henchmen or Masters in one go. Against Francisco he did well enough, but that isn't the norm as most Henchmen level defenses tend to match his melee stat.
While I still don't think he's competitive I now feel like I could field him and have fun, as opposed to Misaki. I'll continue to use him against Reuben to figure him out, but in a tournament I'm still locked into Leveticus who is much more versatile and consistent, with the Viks as a backup in case it looks like their Alpha Strike may come in handy. We'll see how the plan goes on Saturday!
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