Learning Malifaux - Game A

I wanted to spend some time exploring  how I introduce players to Malifaux. 
When I run demonstrations, I like to run three games of growing complexity which I will refer to as:  Game A, Game B, and Game C.  I have found this method is ideal for all skill levels and comfort with miniatures games. 

Ideally, I will have the opportunity to play all three games with the new player either in one day or over the course of several meet-ups.  Sometimes,  you get only one game to hook them (or lose them) and you choose the game that best fits where they are in skill and comfort with miniature games.  Game A is best for those that never played Malifaux;  Game B is for those who have played Malifaux, remember some of the rules, but it has been awhile or played prior to 2e ; Game C is for those who have played 1 or more Henchmen games in 2e and want to advance to larger, more complex games.  Game B may even be for some advance wargamers who do not mind the complexity and challenge of learning a lot of new rules at once, but I do not recommend higher than Game B for the first play-through.


In this entry I will talk a little more about what GAME A looks like and the purpose of the game.

Crew:

No Masters; Henchmen as Leaders.

Minions only; no Enforcers, Peons, or Totems.
15 Soulstone crew size
No Upgrades 

Terrain:         

I want enough terrain to cover 1/4 - 1/3 of the 3'x3' table.  Malifaux thrives on terrain but I do not want too much for the first game because I want lots of movement and interactions.  I want to place terrain features that will demonstrate Severe, Blocking (Ht 1 and Ht2), Dense Hard Cover, Soft Cover, Hazardous, and Climbable.  To meet these demands, my table usually consists of: 1-2 buildings, 1-2 forest, 1-2 rocky hills, 1-3 walls, water feature or rocky patch of earth, and 1-4 rock outcrops/statues/pillars/pile that are Ht1 and/or Ht2.  Eventually you will want terrain that looks somewhat natural, but proxy whatever you can if you do not have scale terrain built.  Soda cans can be wrapped in foil to create rock columns, felt or construction paper can simulate forests and water features, books can stand in for rocky hills that can be climbed. 

Who to Use:                       

I recommend Samael Hopkins and 3 Witchling Stalkers for one of the crews.  There are enough Conditions and Triggers in this crew as well as synergy present in this line-up without being overly complicated.  Also, Samael ignores Severe Terrain while the Witchlings do not - this will allow the new player to acclimate to the terrain rules in Malifaux and see the advantages that Abilities like Unimpeded bestow.  Other good Henchmen/Minion crews I currently consider:

The Judge w/ 2 Guild Marshals

Barbaros w/ 3 Terror Tots
Viktoria of Blood w/ 2 Ronin

For the second crew, I select a crew that has Terrifying in it so the new player can see how Horror duels work and how they affect the game.  This may be Bad Juju or Madame Sybelle as the Henchmen.  I do like Madame Sybelle for demos because she introduces the  Terrifying and Hard to Wound abilities, auras, Blasts, and (0) Actions.  This is match-up is great because the other crew will likely not have some of these Abilities and Actions so the new player gets a taste of many different Abilities and Actions without being responsible of keeping track of every one.
  Henchmen/Minion crews suggestions for the second crew:
Madame Sybelle w/ 3 Rotten Belles
Bad Juju w/ 2 Silurid
Valedictorian w/ 3 Crooked Men
Hungering Darkness w/ 2 Illuminated

These suggestion only consider currently available models.  I look forward to future releases that will make models like the Spawn Mother and Gupps available which will be a great way to introduce summoning in Game A without being over-powering.  The goal is to ideally create an even match with contrasting abilities.

Goals & Length:

By the end of Game A, the initiate should be comfortable with reading the stat cards and knowing what everything means or at least knowing where to look in the rulebook for it.  They will have plenty of practice moving their models, using AP, flipping duels, and keeping track of VP.  You will also review Conditions, Negative/Positive Flips, and using Soulstones.  To keep things simple, but still exciting, I go with this game set-up:

Strategy: Turf War
Schemes: None
Turns: 5 - Locked

The game will last only 5 turns, but I include an explanation of how additional turns could result with the card flip at the end of the 5th turn.  I will also discuss schemes at the end of the game and show examples of how the game would have played differently if schemes were involved.
The strategy Turf War is great because it is a simple Strategy to grasp that does not emphasize  just killing other models; also,  it forces the models to the center of the table.  Forcing the models to the center of the table will allow plenty of  terrain interaction. A Strategy not emphasizing killing will still allow plenty combat and engagement but will allow me to demonstrate the importance of using AP towards earning Victory Points over risking models to get a kill.  This also allows discussion of models' strengths,  for example: Bad Juju is great in combat, but the Silurid are too expensive for combat and serve better earning VP's. It is the job of the demonstrator to keep the game going for as long of the 5 turns as possible; bad decisions should be discussed but not exploited. 



In our next installment we will discuss Game B.  Let me know if you have any questions about Game A or if there is anything you wish included in my discussion of Game B.


Happy Days Gaming!