Perdita vs. Ramos - Part 1

I got the chance to play an actual game of Malifaux on Monday at Battleground Games.  
Rather than a play-by-play, I wanted to take a look at the effect decisions made during the Set-up had on the following 5 turns of the game.  Part 1 will have Steps 1-5; part 2 will have steps 6-8.

Standard Set-up

1.  Define & Place Terrain:  The table was a desert outpost. There were three small buildings, 1 medium building, one forest, Ht 1, Climbable stone walls that provide Hard Cover,  1 large Severe Terrain patch at the center of the table with 3 cacti that are Hazardous but also give Soft Cover.  From the Deployemnt area to the center of the table there are lots of Ht 2 Blocking, Impassable Rock Outcrops that also provide Hard Cover. Shooting can be really dangerous in Malifaux, so lots of cover and Blocking terrain is essential to keep the game fun for both sides.

2.  Determine Encounter size:  35 Soulstones.  Not really ready for 50 Soulstone games at this point.

3.  Announce Factions:  I declared Guild.  I had brought Seamus, Perdita, Lady Justice, and Sonnia, so I had the most choice with Masters under Guild.  Daniel declared Arcanists.  I am glad I did not pick Seamus who has limited influence on Rasputina and Ramos crews, one of which was certain to appear on the other side of the table.

4.  Determine Deployment: Daniel flipped for Deployment zone and he seems to always flip Flank.  This is definitely the hardest deployment for some reason.  Even with Nino having From The Shadows, I still felt like my Deployment was not going to be advantageous.  The L-shaped deployment always makes me feel like I am going to get crowded too fast.  I had initially thought I was going with Sonnia, but my fear of getting jammed moved her to 3rd place with Lady Justice moving to the top spot. 

5.  Determine Strategy & Scheme:  Squatter's Rights was the Strategy flipped.  Lady Justice still on top, but uncertain of the crew I would take with her that could hold the center well.
The Schemes flipped were Breakthrough, Distract, Murder Protégé, Power Ritual, and the ubiquitous Line in the Sand.  The Arcanists also had their Faction-specific Scheme, Gathering Power.  I would have like the Guild Scheme, Roundup, but I had left my card at home.  So, now we have only one combat-based scheme and the rest are all about getting to the Center or beyond and holding territory.  Guild Hounds?  Brutal Effigy?  Francisco and Santiago tag-team?  This looks like the heart of my team because those 5 models could handle any of those schemes. Even if I chose my Master poorly, this crew could still pull it off themselves.  I am starting to consider Perdita .......

To be continued......