I graduated, and that means...

... Malifaux is back on the menu! I haven't been doing much related to gaming this past month or so. I have painted at least nine tiles from Tablescapes, so that's fun. My Black Friday order came in, though my Levi crew was missing Rusty Alyce's gun arm. :( Oh, well. I can still play with them, but I'll have to wait for the arm to fully commit to painting them. So, following along with Cheatfates Joe and Adam, I've committed in 2015 to playing less Resurrectionist games in lieu of another faction. They both chose to learn Neverborn, and while I love my Pandora, I had another faction that I had a bit more complete...

When I play for a competitive environment, I like limit my self to 2-3 masters from a faction at a time, because you really can't be in best practice mode unless you're concentrating and practicing a select set of masters. I'm also of the mind that if you can't find a solution for a particular scheme/strat combo from 2-3 masters, it's because you're not looking hard enough. So that being said, I'm looking at the following three Outcast masters as my start-up: My First Choice: Leviticus

Not a surprise here, considering the plastics just came out. The man who will not die is a huge monkey wrench to have to deal with, and he's also a summoner, a reliable damage source, and is just out and out flexible with his Pariah upgrades. If there's a crew you want to play, he can play it, and I have a ton of undead, constructs, and undead constructs to choose from. Yes, Joel Henry, including Mech Rider. :) My Second Choice: Von Schill

The man, the myth, the legend. The Hulkster himself. Von Schill's crew is tough, flexible, and able to get the job done. The Will Power bonus and the Not-Hard-to-Kill from a Legend to Live Up To make them so dependable. The Trapper gives them range, the Specialist gives them counter control, and the Librarian and Hanna bring the spells to the crew. You're going to be out activated, which is a shame, but give it a turn or two, and you'll likely turn than around. They shoot well, melee better, and are just all around murderous. Add the Strongarm Suit to that, and you have a ton of in theme options. And the immunity to blasts doesn't hurt. Choice Number Three: Tara

The ultimate schemer, now with scramble! Any master that has a possible six AP a turn is a one (un)person scheming crew. She's relatively crew agnostic, meaning you can take any model you need, give it fast, and then let it go. If a clutch model gets in trouble, give it fast and bury it. She's able to pull off some really unexpected stuff, and can surprise an opponent unfamiliar with her. I've purchased the smoke version of her, and I'm hoping to get her painted better.

Preparing for the Con Season to Start

So, I'm primarily a Resurrectionist player for Malifaux, and I feel like I've been missing some important support models from my stable of go-to models. Namely, Bête Noir, and Chiaki the Niece. Bête is the hidden punishment threat that make people reconsider who they want to kill and where, and Chiaki brings much needed condition removal and stable healing to the crew, plus (with a 1 pt upgrade) she's a source of slow for the opposing crew. AP management is king, and forcing a walk instead of a charge can mean the difference between life and death of a model. And I think you'll agree that Bête is also a fairly neat model. I wanted to limit the colors I used in the model to make it cleaner and more striking. I also used Privateer Press colors for the first time, though I didn't see any real difference between them and the Vallejo I usually use. Perhaps those who are better painters can point out the reason they're better.

Also, from the Sage Old Painters Advice Department: if you're not getting any thing to come from the dropper bottle of paint, clear the neck of the stopper. Do not do what I did, or else all your Vallejo Scorpion Green will explode onto your palette, your clothes, and everything else. That is not recommended.

Built a Rogue Necromancy the other day, and got it painted. I'm quite pleased with it, but it's huge. Like perhaps absurdly tall, even for a Height 3 model. I don't have a banana for scale, but perhaps these will do.

Trying to reel you in...

23 days til the @novaopen. 4 days of 'faux. Singles, Doubles, Story, Hardcore and Enforcer Brawl. @JustinLaloGibbs, too. Reg now!
— Matt Stanley (@Valhallan42nd) August 5, 2014

What that guy said.

Terrain Building for the NOVA Open

Scorching the pink foam for texture. DO IT IN AN OPEN SPACE. NEEDS PLENTY OF VENTING

Scatter terrain for narrative

Noms to keep up energy

A Flesh Construct and My Sorrows

Gotta get ready for Adepticon!

I need to prime and paint a metal one of these, and then get Sebastian painted as well.

I got these guys painted up, and the Poltergiest is almost done as well, though I might go with a Primordial Magic instead of the 'giest, because that's gonna save me 3 points. I still need to prime Lilith, and then figure out how she works in time. It looks like we're just shy of two months!

Malifaux at the Nova Open

Just a bit of news:

My friend, Maht Crestborn, and I are going to be event leads at the 2014 Nova Open.

We'll be running all the Malifaux events there, and I'm excited. We have at least two tournaments to plan, a few other events, and not a lot of time to do it. We're really looking forward to bringing a great series of events to one of the fastest growing conventions on the Eastern seaboard.

Add to that my prep work for Adepticon and Gencon, and I'm a busy bee. I really looking forward to this year's con season.

Just some Malifaux...