What Is Malifaux and Should You Play It?

[@CornerCase]

Chapters again here: 00:00 Start 00:32 Intro 01:13 What is it? 01:24 Malifaux As A Miniatures Game 03:56 World Of Malifaux 05:36 Faction Overview 06:40 Why Play Malifaux? Section 06:49 Because Price 07:20 Because Size 07:52 Because Community 08:05 Because Game Design 10:13 Because Game Balance 12:39 Because Malifaux is Cool How to Start Malifaux kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoDUXo2Nis-nmMk

[@DefectiveDice]

Some really great info here for new players. I think a lot of us take some of this stuff for granted if we have been into the game for a while, but breaking down what a skirmish game is, and how objectives effect the gameplay are really key ideas. Perfect resource for recruiting new members to our cul... hobby. To our hobby.

[@CornerCase]

One of us! One of us!

[@invictarussuzerain]

THANK YOU - I’ve been playing 40K for like 30k years, but have never been able to wrap my head around Malifaux. This helps a lot.

[@CornerCase]

Yes! Thanks Invictarus! Malifaux is a pretty unique game and world. I think existing wargamers may have difficulty transitioning into it from games like 40K, as it could feel like starting over. We’re working on making that easier, tho 😊

[@darbizzlebacon]

Awesome video, thank you! I’ve been listening to episodes of Third Floor Wars, and one guest said, “everything in Malifaux is broken, so since everything is broken, nothing is broken.” And I think that describes it pretty well.

[@CornerCase]

😂 it’s all shenanigans

[@grimgrothobbies5200]

2:33 Hey that's the fate deck I designed, great video. I really love Malifaux, and after all these years I think it is still my favourite system

[@CornerCase]

Haha omg that’s yours?! I love that one!!

[@grimgrothobbies5200]

@@CornerCase yeah designed it years ago as part of a Wyrd online competition. So glad it eventually went into production

[@haraldhenning897]

Stellar Video (as per usual) ... appreciate seeing, that you manage to get by with less jumpcuts ;)

[@CornerCase]

Haha thanks Harald! I’m good at feedback 😏. Actually I made the update to the way I script the videos. I film the videos now knowing how long I want each cut to be. Any extra cuts are because Curtis had to fix my performance haha.

[@nonchalantgarage]

Thanks for sharing the differences between what a skrimish and a war game are. This seems like the entry point to get into the hobby based on size and price. Also, love the fact that I can play and improve on skill vs rely solely on the luck of rolling dice. Cheers

[@SlytherpuffHouse]

While it's very easy for intro in terms of size and price, it should be noted that Malifaux isn't a quick game. The fact that each player has a lot of interaction points on each activation (do you cheat the attack, the defense, how important is this duel, what can you force out of your opponents hand, how valuable are your triggers relative the attack going through etc.....), and the schemes and scoring mechanisms have a TON of depth to them. It tends to play quite slowly, having 10 models on the board doesn't mean the game is done in 40 minutes, a 50 soulstone game of Malifaux will still take you around 3 or so hours to play, but you'll spent all that time engaged with the game instead of standing with your thumb up your arse while your opponent rolls dice.

[@insertname3977]

​@SlytherpuffHouse Honestly I feel like I have my thumb up my arse most of the time whenever my wife convinces me to play. I find that while yes, you technically have more to potentially engage with, it doesn't really matter if you're having to burn through your hand or just have to put up with a really bad hand.

[@hugsncuddles]

Thank you for creating this video! Very well introduced and explained; I very much appreciate the work you clearly applied to the video editing, the excellent layout and format, and your kind and approachable enthusiasm. Very well done indeed. 😊

[@tylerpeck9754]

Have always been intrigued by Malifaux. This video gave great insight! Thanks so much!!

[@CornerCase]

🙌

[@rykerm4249]

I've been thinking a lot about how miniature companies deal with and incorporate FOMO, and IMO Wyrd handles it in one of the best ways. The boxes are really all alternate sculpts or special versions, but there are game pieces still readily available (distribution cooperating) for cheaper that functoon the exact same way. Plus pretty much all are available again during sales like Easter and Black Friday.

[@CornerCase]

O yeah I LOVE the way Malifaux does effectively skins. I’m a collector 100%

[@Supreme-Mentalman]

I played this in 1st and 2nd edition. It was fun and a good game but I just felt like my Guild models were awful in comparison to what other factions could bring. And my faction was a punching bag in the story’s as well. I’m sure it’s better now, I hope to play again when I find the time.

[@dougbrecher5677]

great video!

[@CornerCase]

Thanks Doug!

[@kylerowan6011]

Excellent video. I might be biased, but I'd love to see more Malifaux content. :)

[@CornerCase]

Thanks Rowan! We’re working on it! 😊

[@kruxigore]

@Corner Case: Another great video! Great peak at the best questions that people ask.

[@CornerCase]

Thanks as always Krux!!

[@Boshea241]

When Chapter Approved first came out for 40k my immediate reaction was "This is just Gaining Grounds"

[@TheTobaccoman]

Thanks for all you do to spread these other systems around. Malifaux is a great game , loads of great feeling and really everyone should try it out. I’d say more but give it a try folks , so many different feelings for players and a flavor for anyone I’ve met.

[@CornerCase]

Lol thank you Kevin! You know when I started Malifaux 5-6 years ago, it was understandable if there wasn’t that much content. That was before 40K 8th, so there generally wasn’t that much content. Nowadays there is definitely an expectation that there’s more, but the big KZbinrs are the guys who want to do it full time, and they can’t be making non-40k content and still survive. I’m happy if we’re making a difference, albeit slowly. A lot of us are starting to step up, and I think the next 2 years should see a lot of change for it. Anyway thanks for supporting the channel 😊

[@TylerProvick]

Nice video

[@CornerCase]

We’ve passed our honeymoon phase. We don’t even joust anymore ☹️ LOL

[@TylerProvick]

@@CornerCase Yeah. Or I just don't have as much to say about Malifaux.

[@CornerCase]

Ouch. There it is.

[@KarlRoyale]

I've only been playing Malifaux for 6 months or so but a big reason I like the game so much is this. Which models you are playing is not nearly as important as how well you are playing those models. Most of the models are designed very carefully to work together to achieve goals. How well you use the models abilities to enhance each other is really like 80% of how well you do in a game.

[@insertname3977]

Admittedly my wife loves this while I'm just really indifferent on it. Doesnt help that we're about 15 games in and I still struggle to even put up much of a challenge.

[@CornerCase]

You’ve struck gold!!! It’s a really deep game! You’ll get the hang of it!!

[@PsycReaper]

I just bought my first Core pack I got Reva, she was what I was looking for a "good" Necromancer is my favorite thing to play I especially love that the dead that follow her do so of their own volition and the same with her living followers. I'm hoping to dive more into this I have no idea if I have anyone nearby who can also play but it'd be awesome if applicable!

[@prairietan]

Play Gamma Wolves? Looking to make my HG Gunpla into usable minis.

[@CornerCase]

Big fan of Ash Barker, but haven’t played his game. I’m super down. I have some gunpla, and I would enjoy playing with them

[@ProrokLebioda]

I'm really on the fence about playing Malifaux. On one hand I really like the models and card mechanic, on the other I don't have any LGS selling Malifaux or players playing it. Some day I might pull the trigger. In the meantime I'm enjoying content for it.

[@CornerCase]

It’s ok to have the Malifaux on the inside 😂

[@ProrokLebioda]

@@CornerCase I prefer it being... on The Other Side.

[@CornerCase]

🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@Hrogoff]

My friend ended up buying a whole bunch of teams just because he liked the models so much. He didn't actually play the game, he just though the models were the best on the market and just started buying them. Showing off all these models he thought it was a good idea to try the game. We gave it a shot a few years back, looked at the strategy and schemes for a while, then decided "Screw that!" And threw ourselves headlong at each other in a pitched battle to the death (with the two most sandtrappy unkilly teams in the game). It soured my experience on the game even though it was our own stupid fault we played it exactly how it wasn't intended to be. Then about a year ago he insisted we try it again. I refused. Then he had the ingenious idea of buying me a Jakob core box (as when we first looked into playing the game, I liked the idea of a poker player). It basically guilted me into putting the models together, painting then, and giving the game another shot. Best of all, you can sometimes find a core master box for 30-40 bucks online. It's a great, cheap, easy gift. Especially since all the rules are free and online. I cannot emphasize how much I didn't want to play again, but felt obligated to. We played another game, this time to the schemes and strategies we selected, and I ended up coming out on top of a foe my faction could never beat headlong in a straight up fight. Literally won the game off of the last activation of my last model in the last turn of the game. And it was glorious. And addicting. I am now going on 5 teams about a year later. It's like crack. It's cheap, easy to get into, and thought consuming (strategies are seriously fun to come up with in this game. You can do so much). A small gift was all it took for me to dive headlong into the game.

[@shauku77]

Has anyone covered battle mats, terrains and buildings for Malifaux? How does the world looks like on the tabletop?

[@CornerCase]

That’s a great idea! I’m actually working on 2 boards Malifaux’ish rn-the graveyard and the bayou docks

[@shauku77]

looking forward to it!

[@CornerCase]

Pressure 😂

[@SlytherpuffHouse]

Thematically, think yharnam from Bloodborne meets the Old West. Warcradle Scenics makes some really great Malifaux appropriate MDF terrain kits that go together really nice and they use the excess sprue space on the MDF to give you a bunch of extra crates and scatter terrain.

[@shauku77]

@@SlytherpuffHouse oh, I've not heard of Warcradle Scenic before. Thank you

[@greyjedi4794]

Dude... Just found your channel. Love your vids. Btw... What company are the minis from on your home page banner?? Are they Malifaux? I'm still new to this game, though I have bought some minis and joined the Malifaux discord

[@qspec2002]

Great video - I honestly wasn't sure if Malifaux survived the move to 3e, COVID, and The Other Side. I haven't followed the game like I used to, but news of it seems to be more quiet than it used to be circa pre-2020. Glad to see it is kicking around. I might buy in! Also, what in the hell is the situation with The Other Side? I haven't heard anything about it since its Kickstarter...

[@CornerCase]

Thanks Spence! Yeah, I was a 2E fanatic. Most local groups dried up, and it’s more of a Secret Kitchen Table Gamers situation now I think. Vassal is the best way for me rn, along with a few players I can hit up for a game, but it’s like I can hit tournaments every month like I can for infinity. TOS seems to be getting more love, albeit slowly. I have a secret Abyssinia army. I guess it’s not a secret now 😂

[@qspec2002]

@@CornerCase how is it on Vassal and/or TTS? I'd really like to get some games in, but I can't see myself getting out to a FLGS all that often. Keep meaning to go out to generate interest in Conquest too, but I haven't done that yet either...

[@Metallaio]

yhea, you want to tell me that Malifaux as no bad sides? IDK match length, badly written rules?

[@CornerCase]

Haha, ok, ok- Malifaux Cons Collectible. They make a lot of limited stuff, and it’s easy to want to collect everything. Not necessarily a beer and pretzels situation. The flavor of the game can be really wild and fun, but the actual game play can pretty cerebral. It’s a lot of resource management and re-calculating your strategy at every activation. If you just want something random and fun to happen, play OPR. I think Malifaux is a gamer’s game. Match length, early on, is not necessarily shorter than an army game. Because of alternating activations and between round cleanup, and the amount of strategy, in my experience it takes the same amount of time as Star Wars Legion. It’s not the longest tho, as I think Infinity is probably the longest from my experience.

[@SlytherpuffHouse]

@@CornerCase Strong disagree, as somebody who's played both for several years, Infinity is a much faster game than Malifaux provided both you and your opponent are willing to communicate and play as a collaborative experience. Infinity bogs down when the person you're playing against is an arsehole trying to play gotcha games by hiding open information and forcing you to play the game as an interrogation, two experienced players can basically play communicating in shorthand and it's one of the fastest competitive wargames. The depth and complexity of well played Malifaux is much slower, because the time pressure in Malifaux comes from the depth and complexity of the decision trees that both players having a hand of cards and input into every duel brings to the game.

[@Hrogoff]

I'd like to thank you for your civic duty of trying to smuggle people into Malifaux. The mines are understaffed, and are in dire need of new... recruits.

[@CornerCase]

Thanks Hrogoff- the Arcanist Ressur master we’ve been waiting for

[@definitelyNotGreg]

Did not get hit by a giant hammer after being welcomed to Malifaux 0/10.

[@CornerCase]

LOL I knew I shoulda made day left turn at Albuquerque!

[@dannylavoie8348]

Malifaux description: Steampunk/Horror/Black Humor.

[@acutler4745]

This is definitely a bias video that I listened to for 10mim and barely knew anything about the game. Legit, lost interest.

[@jc7997aj]

Sir that terrain does not look to scale ... -3 points.

[@ringotomb]

you had a thumbs up until u went on the ism rant bs

[@CornerCase]

Thanks for the comment, ringo! Orientalism isn’t bs 😂