I finally got to try out Malifaux, a game set in a sort of victorian/steam punk/wild west setting. If you have ever played the rpg/cc/ttg of Deadlands it is very similiar in many aspects. The story line is there is a mining town of Malifaux that is between the rift of different dimensions. This tear in reality has caused many a curious adventurer to settle the town and mine for riches. What they mine are called "soul stones" which help fuel/bolster the magical essences of magic practioners.
There are five factions in Malifaux:
"Guild" which is the company that regulates and oversees the mining operations in Malifaux. They could be seen as the "good guys" but in reality they are watching over their interests first any citizens second.
"Arcanists" run under the guise of a "Steamfitter's Union" which is a cover for their crime syndicate, this faction is made up of powerful unlicensed magic users.
"Neverborn" are for lack of a better word demons that were former residents of Malifaux before the humans decided to come in and populate the town. They are the things of nightmares and fairy tales that humans have dreamt up come to haunt them.
"Resurrectionists" those that experiment and raise the dead, this faction is made up of necromancers, gravediggers and mad surgeons leading an army of undead. They do not live in the town of Malifaux themselves they live on the outskirts or closed off sections of Malifaux as the Guild is relentlessly hunting them down.
"Outcasts" made up of clones, gremlins, martial artists and other guns for hire. This group is made up of individuals each with their own agendas to complete, some of them are for hire and others only exclusively work for their own faction.
Each faction currently has three sub-factions or "Masters", you can mix and match your minions to suit your playstyle. That makes for 15 different "armies" in the game and I think that's quite good for the first printing of a rulebook.
The things I like about this game:
-Alternating Activation
-Each model has many different rules and abilities down to the lowest costing model, there is so much each model can do
-Deadlands-ish setting, till now I haven't seen many games in this type of genre especially seeing such a positive reaction in such a short amount of time.
-Skirmish level. The starter boxes bring you 4-5 miniatures which actually makes for a full and enjoyable game. Some people have run "starter box" tournaments which has quite some appeal that you are ready to game right away.
-Use of cards, you can use regular playing cards or the custom cards to play Malifaux. There are no dice instead you use cards to determine everything, it is actually quite refreshing. You feel like you have more control because you can "cheat fate", if you don't like what you flipped you can use a card in your hand! It gives the player more control over whats happening, but watch out use all your high cards early on in a turn and you may not have anything for when a nasty surprise comes later in the game.
With that said I am really a big fan of the game already and I am quickly seeing how it's popularity is spreading. In our group we have 3 other players besides myself and we have a few guys that also might interested. Hopefully in my next update I can show you some pictures of my painted crew or at the very least battle report. Stay tuned..
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