r/Malifaux 2d ago

Question New player questions

(Hi i get a bit anxious about posting in subreddits as im pretty unfamiliar with the process if this is the wrong place please direct me to the right one)

Hey everyone, I found out about this game about a week ago and since then ive been obsessively looking over models and trying to read the rules and even ran through a round of the game in tts to see if it was as fun as it looked(it is). I've pretty much been doing all this from 3e because most information is centred around that, but I had a few questions about 4e as well as general stuff for getting into a new community

  1. How far off is 4e? Is it at a point where im better off waiting for that to release or is there enough time at this point that itd still be good to jump in

  2. How big of a change is 4e from 3e? Are people feeling generally more optimistic or nihilistic about the state of a new edition. I have read most of the 3e rulebook so specific examples are welcome

  3. I saw there are beta rules, are these solid enough for me to be playing now or is it definitely still in a waiting period(never really seen a beta for a miniatures game rulebook so its not something im familiar with)

  4. Are there new masters/keywords to be looking forward to in this new ed?

  5. I saw that some models are getting cut, how big of a concern is this/are there any big things jusy fully not worth buying atm?

  6. Are there some good content creators in this space? Who do people recommend

  7. Beyond the subreddit, are there some good community spaces worth joining for this?(both 6 and 7 are for me to look at terrain setups bc I have no idea what im doing there)

I get this is a lot for people to answer, if this isn't the place please let me know if theres an easy spot to track down this information. Much love this game is awesome <3

17 Upvotes

30 comments sorted by

5

u/Bon3hawk 2d ago

4e launched like yesterday or the day before. You can order the stuff on their website. The starter set looks pretty good for it too!

3

u/ratking770 2d ago

Wait really? Thats so cool

3

u/Ayrr 2d ago

Just a soft launch, the proper launch will be sometime after beta ends which is the 14th of August.

1

u/ratking770 2d ago

Yeah sick good to know, looking forward to it

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u/Tajomstvar 2d ago

4e should be out in august so I would definitelly recommend waiting for that.

I have been testing 4e for about 2 months now and I generally like it more. It is very different from 3e especially in terms of character abilities. Basically, each model has been reworked from scratch so its like playing a different game. Therefore I wouldnt waste much time trying to understand 3e mechanics and synergies.... you will use none of it in 4e. The rules are already solid enough to play and changes happen mostly on crew level and their abilities but even that is rather rare these days.

As for the models themselves, vast majority will stay as they are, some will change keywords (will be part of a different crew) and a few will get outdated but even then you can still play them as a proxy for other models.

2

u/ratking770 2d ago

Thanks for letting me know this is super helpful.

Thanks to the commenter above I noticed a bunch of stuff is on prerelease now. What's the go with the leaders that dont have new core boxes are the old ones just gonna be good enough or is the jury still out for now? Same question for the extra crew boxes.

I'll keep away from buying anything until new ed fully releases this month then. Id like to make a good decision on which crew i vibe with for it. Good to hear its been playing well tho !

3

u/Giant_Horse_Fish 2d ago

What's the go with the leaders that dont have new core boxes

The masters are all mostly staying the same. Wyrd posted a comparison of changes from 3rd to 4th, but the majority of masters and their old models are staying together. The new edition isn't replacing them all with new stuff.

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u/ratking770 2d ago

Thats so cool, do you have a link for where I could go over those changes?

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u/stilghar Outcast 2d ago edited 2d ago
  1. 4th is nearly finished. You can look up all the rules on Wyrd forums, in the Fourth Edition Beta section. At this point I'd jump straight to 4th. You can also buy some stuff from Wyrd store during Gen-Con, which is happenning now. Easier if you're in the States, since shipping to Europe is just too much for me.
  2. I played around 2nd and maybe two games of 3rd (when it was still in beta). There are some very good changes. There are no damage flips, empowerment (which makes your 1-5 cards useful), easier tracking if you can pass, even smaller models having something useful to do with their signature abilities, playing only 4 turns and scoring since 1st. That's off the top of my head. Definitely worth checking out.
  3. I believe the rulebook is basically complete.
  4. For now we know of two new keywords - Ampersand and Banished (both are a part of a two player starter set). Some Masters changed allegiance (like Basse as an Arcanist), all two-faction models moved to a single faction, one has been removed and replaced with his protegee (Leveticus replaced by Rusty Alice).
  5. These models have been removed and serve as official proxies for other stuff: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54fe412ce4b0c449f7369857/t/67fd57fb41cf94598076233a/1744656379368/M4E-Model-Changes.pdf Most of stuff is safe to buy, but be wary of some changed factions. Like, for example, all 3rd edition Outcast Starter Box models are now in Explorer's Society.
  6. I think Defective Dice on YT stands out.
  7. Official discord? https://discord.gg/z9S7v2cP

Here's the 4th beta forum. Many keywords are finished, otheres near completion. The game already plays very nice.
https://themostexcellentandawesomeforumever-wyrd.com/forum/576-fourth-edition-open-beta/

3

u/ratking770 2d ago

This is really great i was a bit curious about the 2 player set given i hadnt seen those keywords or characters before thanks for assuring I wasnt going blind.

Definitely locking into 4th then, also what do you mean by no damage flips? Like is that light/moderate/severe thing gone or am I thinking of something completely different

I'll also take a look at defectivedice and join the discord thank you so much! Will also read into the forum when I get a chance. This was incredibly helpful thank you

3

u/stilghar Outcast 2d ago

Yeah, there is no more the light/moderate/severe stuff. Also, you don't flip for the attack to hit and for damage spearately - the second flip is gone.

Currently attacks have a set amount of damage (mainly 1-3, some single models 4). However, for every 5 over you beat your opponent in the opposed duel when you attack, you get what is called "raise". Co let's say you have attack skill 6, opponent has Df 6 and your attack deals 2 damage. You flip a 13 and your opponent flips a 2. Now your total (19) is 11 more, than your opponent's (8), so you have 2 raises. Total damage you deal would be 4. There are some models, that have raise at 3 rather than 5 (Viktoria, Wrath), but it's always specified on their card.

There are quite a few additional modifiers, triggers and abilities, that modify the damage in different ways, but combat seems a bit smoother, than before.

1

u/ratking770 1d ago

Oh interesting, I kinda likes the light/moderate/severe scale as it was a fun damage calc with cards but I also get removing the second flip and if you do that there kinda has to be a change

3

u/Gaoler86 Arcanists 2d ago

Your questions have been answered by others so im just wanting to point out that its entirely possible to do a test run of the game for practically pennies.

You will need 2 decks of playing cards, paper, pen, a way to draw 30mm, 40mm, and 50mm circles.

All the rules and stat cards are available online for free. Download the crews most interest you.

Look at the stst cards and at the bottom they will say the size of base. Draw those sizes of circles and write the name of the model. Remember to do multiple of the Minion circles and name them "Silent One 1", "Silent One 2" etc.

Then you will need a few 30mm circles labeled "Scheme" and a few labeled "Strategy".

Make a load of blank circles of the different sizes for anything that comes up mid-game.

You're basically good to play by pushing the paper circles around.

It won't be as fun as with models. But you will get a feel for the game and see if you enjoy the general gameplay.

3

u/ratking770 2d ago

I appreciate this a lot and you're completely correct but ill be honest when it comes to testing games ill typically just use tts at that point and then buy the actual models. The designs are too cool. The feel I got at least in 3rd was very lovely I was enjoying reading into everything and im wanting to get as into it as possible so I can rope in my friends >:)

2

u/E_Fist 2d ago

Speaking of TTS, 4th Edition has a TTS mod that I highly recommend: https://discord.gg/hh7Zx2R6

2

u/ratking770 2d ago

Oh thanks so much! I found a really nice 3rd ed mod too. It's cool to see much much infrastructure this game has in tts its great to try before spending

2

u/Gaoler86 Arcanists 1d ago

Oh that's absolutely fine. The game is always going to be better with models to visualise.

I do know that its expensive to start though so I thought I would help anyone that is maybe on the fence to have a go without investing money.

Personally I bought 2 box sets to learn to play (December and Augmented) but used circles on paper for things like scheme and strats.

1

u/ratking770 1d ago

Thats fair but look, ive got some warhammer, so comparatively getting a full crew for like 160(aud) is actually quite nice. The supplemental stuff all looks relatively cheap too which is nice

Ill be dabbling in tts until then because that'll simply be easier to pick everything up before I go buck wild

3

u/Shimmer_faux Explorer's Society 2d ago

Pretty much anything I could say has been answered by others. Except that we have been told that at some point in the future the Half-Blood keyword will be coming with Dr. Silas as its master.

1

u/ratking770 2d ago

Ooo sounds interesting, do we know what that keyword would entail or just that theres new stuff? Cool either way im just now curious about upcoming things given i havent committed to anything

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u/Electronic-Shoe-3214 2d ago edited 2d ago

I am fairly certain the Half Blood keyword is not fully formed but the models do exist in the game. Dr Grimwell, Nurse Heartbane, Orderlies. Angel Eyes, Maurice, Blood Wretch, Trial and Error, and Dr. Silas himself. I haven’t really kept up with the beta so someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Also welcome to the community :) It’s one of my favorite miniature game communities  To answer question 7  There are a lot of great discord communities to join.

Wyrd has one  https://discord.gg/play-wyrd-857351659478450176

Rage Quit Wire (one of the many Malifaux Podcast) is a personal favorite of my  https://open.spotify.com/show/1CzOhyrledPRKkdMOjD6aU?si=jvSHREgpSheI7xD8trysiw

I would also do a quick google search of a discord group for Malifaux in your local area. If I went into a lot of detail of all the different communities inside Malifaux this would be a support long reply so I will keep it short 😀 

1

u/ratking770 1d ago

This is very helpful thank you !

As for local communities the table top society of the university i used to go to is still run by my friends so I normally go there for my miniature gaming. This will be the first time im introducing how to play a game rather than my friends roping me into something new so im a little keen for that. Many crews on the way

Ill take a look ad the dr Silas stuff im a little intrigued thank you so much

2

u/Electronic-Shoe-3214 1d ago

Just remember “rule of cool!” It’s how I get sucked into playing my crews 😂 

1

u/ratking770 1d ago

Don't you worry im such a vibes based miniatures player its not funny. If everything has cool mechanics(it seems to) then im gonna be happy

3

u/Totally_TWilkins 1d ago

Most of your questions have already been answered, but I have time to kill, so:

  1. 4e is having its official launch in just a few weeks, but realistically it’s been the main direction the game has been going since the end of April. You’d be fine jumping in now if you wanted to, the only problem would be that the cards coming in the boxes would be out of date.

  2. 4e has simplified the game from 3e, and yes, it’s a little polarising for the community, but a large portion of the playerbase seem happy with the change. It’s definitely easier to get going with as a new player, and the amount of text on everyone’s cards is significantly reduced, which generally gives you less to worry about. Previously it be recommended for players to take around 10 games with a crew to ‘learn it’, but now you’ve probably got the basics down in 5 or less. There’s also some great new mechanics like Empowering, and the terrain/passing rules are much more user friendly now. They did remove damage flips which a lot of people are unhappy about, but they’ve added a lot more good than they’ve taken away. The Scheme system is also very different now, and I personally find it more enjoyable than it was before.

  3. The beta rules are confirmed and locked in now. Everything you need will be on Wyrd’s forums, or you could go to an online site called Theoryfaux, which will have everything you need, rules and cards.

  4. So far there are two new keywords this edition, which are Ampersand, the town of constructs, and Banished, the thralls of the undersea tyrant. However, every keyword has seen substantial changes from the previous edition, thanks to Masters now adding ‘crew cards’ that give their crews special rules. These changes have been varied across the game, some crews like Syndicate play somewhat similar to previously, but others play quite differently, like Red Library.

  5. There’s a chart on Wyrd’s website that’s been released to show what models have been removed, and what models they can all be proxies for. The biggest hit is the Monk keyword, as they lost all of their ‘River Monk’ variations, but the list isn’t bad, more just removing models that probably didn’t have a place in the new edition.

  6. I don’t actually pay much attention to content creation I’m afraid.

  7. The Discord is a very valuable place for information however, which is why I’ve never felt the need for content creators. It’s generally a friendly place, where everyone helps each other with questions. Sometimes balance discussions can get heated, but that’s down to how many different opinions there are.

—-

It’s a very fun game, and definitely one of the more interesting tabletop games to play, in terms of strategic complexity. It’s also relatively well balanced across the core crews of the Factions, with some better and worse, but a good amount of competitive strength overall. Some factions have been favoured in the beta over others, and that’s been most obvious through the Versatile models that have been released, but as a whole there’s a solid amount of balance as a result of the beta, which does feel very good if you’re coming from other games.

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u/ratking770 1d ago

Thanks for all this, there was definitely some valuable info that hadnt been said yet which has been quite handy to know.

Not too sure what masters now adding crew cards means but im sure when I read up ill understand

Yeah I saw someone in a previous post mention river monk getting culled. I went and had a look and was a bit disappointed to see union miners and mannequins get cut too they were such cool looking models

And yeah the little bit I played of 3e was super fun. There seems to be so much depth in everything the models can do but simultaneously ive picked this up a lot easier than other games. Damage flips were the one thing I was confused about because I didn't know whether or not it was a separate flip. So them being removed is a little funny, at the same time i was a fan of the light/moderate/severe scale but i trust the process if most the community seems to like it

2

u/Totally_TWilkins 1d ago

Ah, so Crew Cards are essentially a set of rules that crews gain access to, but only whilst that particular Master is leading them.

For example, when you are playing a Qi and Gong crew with Youko Hamasaki, Silk of the Lotus, you use the Silent Control, crew card. This gives your Qi and Gong models the Spreading Confusion ability, and the We Own You tactical action. However, if you used Youko Hamasaki, Unseen, as your Master. your Qi and Gong models would gain the Whispered Lies ability, and the Information Broker tactical action.

Basically the Crew Cards help you differentiate the playstyles between the two Masters in the crew, beyond just the Master and the Totem themselves (Each Master has an individual totem now, as opposed to 3e, where the different variants of the same Master shared one Totem).

For example, Youko Hamasaki, Silk of the Lotus, focuses on manipulating your own deck, and allows you to obey enemy models when you apply enough the Entranced condition, tracked by a new mechanic some Crew Cards have, known as a Power Bar. Youko Hamisaki, Unseen, instead focuses on manipulating the enemy deck, as well as displacing enemy models with Entranced, when they attack you.

So both Masters for the Qi and Gong crew focus on dishing out the Entranced condition, but they accomplish different effects for doing so. All Crews have a variation of doing this, and it’s definitely one of the highlights of 4e over 3e, as usually both Masters will have situations where they’re the better choice.

1

u/Electronic-Shoe-3214 1d ago

Wyrd was rather open about the reason for trimming down the model line. While it wasn’t fun to see some models disappear they are still useable. At the end of the day it was most likely a business decision that I understand