So you want to start Malifaux?

Thinking about starting Malifaux but don't know where to begin? Confused by how to get hold of the rules/fluff? Want to know the hidden costs? All (okay, some of) the answers lie herein my friends.
At absolute bare-bones, playing Malifaux will cost you 1x crew kit, 1x rules manual, 1x tape measure, 1x card deck, 1x super glue = ~£50
But I promise you will want more!

[@tylerh2548]

It's worth noting you can now get the core rules (sans unit rules and fluff) for FREE as a pdf from Drivethru

[@geoffreyweller]

I really appreciate the time you took to put this together. Thank you for some great advice on how to get going.

[@dhxmg]

for colours you can also look at p3 (privateer press), Vallejo (both model colour and game colour), reaper, scale 75, and probably more that I forgot.

[@penderrin1637]

As someone with a big Lego collection, I have a giant amount of terrain

[@TainaUke]

Though I'm not your target audience (not English), I found your video quite instructive and not at all misleading. I find you explain very well and look forward to more instructional videos. Cheers!

[@Mo11usq]

Thanks +Taina Uke, kind of you to say.

[@ppops]

great video. very informative. it can be pretty daunting when starting something like this, especially when you don't know anyone else who collects it already. thanks for the info

[@Mo11usq]

+Peter Martin glad it was helpful :)

[@johnthompson4908]

What a fantastic video. Well narrated, intelligent, and packed with humour. A very enthusiastic, honest, and interesting introduction to this game. Cheers Big Ears, now hitting like and subscribe 😃

[@nylandria]

They have a 2 player starter set available now that includes the base rules, 2 starting crews (the guild and neverborn including their stat cards and fate decks), and 2 tape measures . I purchased mine online for 52 USD, not sure on the conversion to pounds sterling though. It is a very affordable way to get into the game. Oh it also has a promotional offer to get a free download of the full rulebook pdf.

[@joeythegoth]

Thanks for this I've see this game talked about a lot but didn't know what to do to get started but this kinda helped I should get one of the starter boxes cool cool

[@Mo11usq]

This video is a bit dated now, but generally still relevant. Malifaux is preparing to enter its 3rd edition. Rule changes shouldn't matter to new players, but there are a couple of important changes for newcomers: 1) Certain masters (Nicodem, Lilith, Collodi and others, check the Wyrd Games M3E web page) are 'dead mans hand'. That means they will have rules and can be played for fun, but won't be tournament legal (unless the tournament organiser allows it, which I expect many will if asked). 2) Theme (model keywords) is becoming more important to crew building. It will be less cost-efficient to hire out-of-theme models for your crew. I can't recommend buying models until the new rules are out. Malifaux is a great game, hope you enjoy it!

[@smartcookie79]

Ive been looking at it for the last hour and although i practically know nothing regarding the fluff im blown away by the models, the unborn seem to appeal a lot. I'm going to look at some gameplay videos next to decide if the actual game looks appealing but i appreciate your video from a beginners perspective. I think it would be cool to see you talk about your crew or go into some detail regarding the fluff...btw even chess players appreciate it to a small degree, thats why their pieces are named king, bishop, knight etc instead of diagonal movey thingy, jumpy l movey thingey, and one space thingy that you cant afford to lose...lol maybe not but whatever, fluff is cool, imagination, storytelling and narrative are what great board/tabletop games are all about.

[@morticiaadams]

On the subject of bases, the ones you can get from Soda Pop miniatures are pretty good. I'm not sure if they're still a ailabke but the Kingdom Death skull basses are quality too.

[@GuerrillaBlaster]

If my mom played GTA I would love her that much more. Great video !

[@DJCallidus]

Good video. Really interested in Malifaux. Prefer skirmish games over big armies and I'm interested in the card mechanic. Already have paints and all that jazz. Cheers for the advice.

[@christianb.2360]

Very ingormative! Thank you very much. I am looking for a card case like yours but can't findy any. Could you point me in the right direction? Can you flip your cards in the case?

[@Mo11usq]

+Christian B. I bought the 'card guard (black) - trick' from merchant of magic - link: www.magicshop.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=card+guard&osCsid=drkqgnj8ml40kkhfmij37e4pd1&x=0&y=0 Flip cards into the lid all day long. Love the thing. Had to chase up the delivery though, if memory serves.

[@christianb.2360]

+Mo11usq wow that was quick! Thanks for the link! So you unfold the box and can flip into the lid? the cards are easy to draw? I wish the shop hat a photo of the opened box ;)

[@christianb.2360]

I think i found it... magicdirect.com/card-guard-black-trick

[@Thaumatolgist]

I believe there will not be Wave 3 Arsenal Decks, as there will only be new releases from them. Wave 1 and 2 Arsenal Decks are to cover people still using metal minis. Great video!

[@Mo11usq]

+Nicholas Bollaert did not know that, thanks :)

[@MrLanzac]

Games work shop renamed the garden of more and have rereleased it as a warcry terrain set. (70 usd)

[@vincemincevince]

this is a great video i'm going to start buying models this payday. i will go to dark sphere to play some games

[@Mo11usq]

Great to hear! Don't forget to join the dark sphere facebook malifaux group if you aren't on it already.

[@vincemincevince]

ok i will do.

[@Spacedraptor]

Love your video. i am indeed from England & looking to play this game. can't i just buy the starter pack for £42 & start playing from there? £200 scares me lol

[@Mo11usq]

The starter kit is a great buy if you and a friend want to get into the game (sharing the cost) and are pretty sure you are going to be sticking with it and expanding your collections - you can use the models with any faction, and can play low level games straight off, but you don't get master models which will be required for playing the game at the (recommended) 50 souls stone point level (which you will want to do). I would suggest the best (and cheapest) way to get into the game is to go straight to buying the Crew box of the master you like the look of best. Start playing with that, then gradually add a model here and there as budget allows. Cards and tape measures cost peanuts, so a crew box allows you to experience the game more fully for half the cost of the starter set.

[@Spacedraptor]

Still on the fence about Malifaux i'm a painter not a player. only ever played Hero Quest back in the late 80's. your video's have managed to put me off. Not that they are bad, but very informative. & you show the quality of the models & i saw straight away how poor they are for the money.

[@viktoreriksson5248]

Just thinking, the 2ed starter set, is it worth getting?

[@Mo11usq]

It sort of depends on where you are in the hobby and which factions you like. If you are getting into the game completely from scratch it gives you the rules, cards, measures, 2 henchman crews, everything you need to start playing (except markers) right off the bat. The models are all mercenaries and so can be used with any faction. However, assuming you like the game and want to play at 50ss, you are going to have to pick up a crew box (with a master) anyway. If you want to play Guild (Sonnia especially) or Neverborn (Lilith especially) then most of starter box models are likely to be useful. If you are interested in other factions I would probably skip the starter set. Angel Eyes is a brilliant henchman for any Neverborn crew (I kind of want the set just for her), and I hear Nurse Heartsbane and Dr Grimwell can be good, though i've not been too impressed when I've faced them. The orderlies and blood wretches are decent, nothing special, and I haven't seen the scion in action, he seems to have good abilities but at a high price.

[@viktoreriksson5248]

Thank you. :)

[@billdagrasshawking]

FYI NEWBS......i hate saying it but what ever you do dont order you models from wyrd. they tried to charge me $40 in shipping, almost as much to ship it as the models themselves. I was actually able to find the $45 doller set i wanted for $35 + $15 shipping an handling @ a third party store.....which seems odd to me' shouldnt the manufacturer be cheapest?

[@Jim-ho3eg]

As someone just starting Malifaux as an experience Wargamer, I can say you're making this way too complex. Firstly you don't need both rulebooks, not even close. Get M2E to understand the factions and pick your crew. Then buy your crew, fate deck and tape measure. Buy a bag of mixed lipped bases from Ebay and some of those little beads we all use as counters (put them on a base). Paint wise, grab an army painter primer in the base colour, an ink wash (lets say strong tone as it washes everything), and then your other 2 colours and what you need for flesh and metals. So £50 on models and rules. £10 primer, plus £2 for each colour you use (buy vallejo, sod GW's prices and lower quality). So lets be say you need 8 paints and include a metallic and flesh base and highlight. That puts us around £26 in paints. Tape measure, bases, glue (don't use cheap stuff, buy a decent brand like Loctite, it's worth it in the end) and we're looking at about £15. Sand and PVA glue works for basing which is simple enough. So the grand total is... about £100. Also your boxset SS number is off, most crews come in about 40 SS with all upgrades in the box. So you only need 1 more model for most to have a 50SS crew. I kind of destroyed your video.. but on the upside, your video was far too negative.

[@Mo11usq]

+Broken Colony Not at all, it depends on how someone wants to approach the game. However, I'm sure your comment will be helpful to many, thanks. For those interested in background as well as the game the two books are worth investing in. As I noted, one can spend a lot or nothing on accessories and terrain according to preference. Paint will depend on intended colour schemes, I intended to give an eclectic range, but I'll admit I went a bit overboard in terms of starting out. In terms of models, crew make up is a huge matter of preference (and willpower). One could buy Perdita (£27) and not want for much else, or one could buy lilith (£30) with the very natural addition of the nephilim set (£25), and things can happily spiral out of control from there. I have a low-end cost estimate in the video notes, treat the one at the end of the video as a high-end.

[@Jim-ho3eg]

+Mo11usq Adding the extra fluff is different though. I think you've set out the basics and then added the next step on top of it. If you're just starting out you don't want to buy the 2nd book or that expansion set for Lilith. If you turn out not to like the game you're way out.

[@Mo11usq]

+Broken Colony What people want to do when starting out is up to them. This video breaks down what I believe to be useful for the game and shares some ideas. My end of video estimate is based on a combination of all aspects discussed. It is not a prescription, others can pick and choose what is right for them. Wargaming does not have to be expensive, but in common experience it tends to be. I feel no obligation to mislead.

[@Jim-ho3eg]

+Mo11usq I don't think you were intending to mislead, I just think you're going to scare people by saying it's £200 to start the game. We may have both been better off just cutting all the crap and saying "you need the a book, a box and some tools" Painting can come later.

[@Mo11usq]

+Broken Colony I have added a note to the end of the video, hopefully it will clarify things for future viewers. Thanks for the discussion.