ToMB - March - Steel and Blood

Last month, I forgot to give you what I spent in my budget. So if you go back to my previous post, you can see what I spent in the month of February.

However, we're in March now and some fun stuff has happened since my last update. Adam ran a wonderful 35ss fixed list tournament (Fixed list, by the way, means that you show up with one list that is predetermined before the tournament; contrary to the Malifaux rules that state crews are determined before each game). My list for the tournament included:

• Viktoria of Ashes
• Upgrades: Sisters in Spirit
• I chose this to give the wonderful teleport ability that the Viktorias are so famous for.
• Viktoria of Blood
• Upgrades: Oathkeeper
• My main idea for this was to give her an extra AP when it counted, however that ended up being a waste of soulstones.
• Taelor
• Upgrades: Scramble
• I'm not sure why you would take anything other than this on Taelor. The stat bonuses it provides on top of making her unimpeded seems to be a prime tool to help her slay summoned beasts.
• Ronin x 2
• Student of Conflict
• 6 ss cache

Now, I have really only dabbled in Malifaux before this tournament. Adam showed my fiance and I a few games at TempleCon, but this was my first experience playing Malifaux with people who.. play a lot of Malifaux. My apologizes for the lack of photos here, I was so focused on the games I kind of forgot to take photos. Also because I'm a terrible slacker and should have posted this back in February, I don't remember every single detail of these matches.

ROUND ONE: Viktoria vs Lilith

This game was certainly a learning experience, as I believe we were the first game to finish. The Strategy was Turf War with Close deployment. The schemes I ended up choosing were Bodyguard (Taelor as the model needing protecting) and Outflank

Lesson Learned: If you don't know how your opponent's crew plays, the easiest thing is to run up and stick a sword in them

I would have done so much better this game if I had taken that approach. However, I play a lot of games like League of Legends where if you don't know what your opponent can do it's better to just avoid them and focus on farming. This mindset does not work in Malifaux.

I quickly learned that Nekima is a tough cookie. My opponent immediately rushed Taelor knowing that she can put a hurt on things and pretty much killed her turn 1. The Viks proceeded to march up the center to get into position with the Ronin to work the strategy since Taelor was now a victim of Black Blood. The next few turns resulted in some Ronin dying to Nekima and Terror tots and the Viks netting me 1 victory point for being near the center. My opponent ended up taking the game 6 to 1 when we finished.

ROUND TWO: Viktoria vs Perdita 

This game was a lot of work for the win I ended up getting. The strategy here was Reconnoiter with Flank Deployment. My schemes ended up being Line in the Sand (revealed) and Spring the Trap. 

Lesson Learned: Remember your schemes.

This game was nerve wracking a bit. Everything I've read about the Viks is to play smart around ranged crews. However, taking my lesson from the previous game; the best plan was to run up and stab some members of the Guild.

I did my best to keep to my schemes. Knowing that Line in the Sand would net me the most points; I tried to step my crew in the best possible places for scheme markers. Perdita thought it best to compel the Ronin and keep picking up my scheme markers. The game wasn't too bloody (In the end I think Papa Loco and a single Ronin were among the dead). We also made a few mistakes (They're detailed here.), but in the end the Viktorias were uh.. victorious? I ended up successfully pulling off line in the sand by removing Papa Loco and getting Vik of Ashes on the center line; completing that scheme.

Where I failed with the schemes involved one of my Ronin engaging Perdita. I could have used her to finish Spring the trap, however I failed to do it. In the end, I won with 3 victory points.

ROUND THREE: Viktoria vs Lady Justice

I think this game I felt the most comfortable. That could have had a lot to do with my opponent being a close friend, but I also felt I was getting more comfortable with the game itself. The strategy was Stake a Claim with Standard deployment. My schemes were Line in the Sand and Plant Explosives.

Lesson Learned: Make sure you understand the Strategy

Lady J took some early ground to try to distract me from the strategy. It worked, since I spent pretty much my first turn killing her. This allowed her crew to get some early Claim markers out without any sort of disruption. We later learned that Claim markers cannot be within 6" of another claim marker, so I would have spent more time trying to take ground from him. I was able to nab 2 victory points by completing Plant Explosives and eventually a 3rd from the scheme. However, Lady J's crew had already gained too much ground on me and I wasn't able to close the gap.

It was ultimately a great time and I learned a lot! Thank you again Adam for putting this on.

I did play another team game recently, but let's save that for another post ;)

Hobby Time:

Well I haven't finished painted my crew. So much has been going on in my personal life that I have not had much time for painting. I did finish one of my Ronin however. I'll get a picture up of her on my next post. 

Total Cost:

So for March, I only added one model. This model is pretty much THE model to get for the Viktorias. Say hello to Viktoria of Ashes' real sister: Vanessa!

Vanessa seems to shore up a weak point in the Hired Sword Box; their lack of healing. I'll have her put together this month and we'll have a picture as well.

The Running Tally:
Hired Swords Malifaux Second Edition box Set: $45.00
Vanessa, Treasure Hunter: $11.00

This leaves me with $44.00 at this point in March with the new 25 dollars for the month of march and the left overs from February.
I recently made another purchase, but I thought about saving it for April. Guess we'll have to see ;).

As usual, I'd love to hear any feedback anyone would like to provide! Be safe in Malifaux!