Welcome to a quick introduction. This series of articles is designed for those new to the game and looking for more information about the masters, keywords, and general advice on purchasing models to start a keyword off. As a quick disclaimer, many of the models are still unreleased in M3E form, but you can sometimes find the old M2E versions of the models and I’ll try to update the lists as new boxes are released. If you do plan on using old M2E models you will need to buy the faction’s arsenal deck for these model’s cards, since the box will contain the M2E (or M1E) version of the cards. That said, lets get started.
FACTION THEMES
- Non-human faction composed primarily of loud, annoying, and stupid gremlins.
- Pigs, Moonshine, Boomsticks, and Big Hats dominate this faction.
- The “comical” faction with jokes built into several of the ability names.
- Overall the faction tend to be mobile and hard hitting, but easy to kill and “hard to control” with things like mixed effect triggers that you must declare.
BIG HAT
Master: Som’er Teeth Jones
Themes:
- Drunken “Redneck” Gremlins with guns and a belief that the bigger the hat, the more important the gremlin.
Playstyle:
- Som’er supports his crew by allowing them to cheat from the top of the deck (aura), by summoning more of them (action), and by granting additional benefits when friendly models die (aura & bonus action).
- Big Hat models start with terrible stats, but these stats increase as more Big Hat models are near them.
- Big Hat models commonly have demise abilities, which are beneficial effects that trigger when the model is killed.
- The crew has a lot of guns and focuses on large volumes of attacks.
Complexity: High
- Must learn how to effectively use the different Big Hat models since their abilities are quite different from one another and few are straight forward.
- Must learn how to position models correctly to maximize all their auras while not having them too close when facing blasting/shockwaving enemies.
Beyond the Master Box
- (MUST) M3E Box – Deliverance: The Spit Hog is a good source of healing, but you’ll need the Bayou Gremlins since many of your other models transform (called replace) into them when they die (demise ability).
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – Hootenanny: While the banjonistas are a niche take, you’ll want Georgy & Olaf who have great stats and the best gun in keyword for Som’er to abuse.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – Listen Up!: The Gremlin Criers a great models for this crew since their obey action can temporarily make your Bayou Gremlins significant models and the suit needed for it is built in against them due to bully. The ability shouting orders from Old Cranky can really help increase a big hat crew’s damage output since you’ll tend to have lots of cards.
INFAMOUS
Master: Captain Zipp
Themes:
- A crew of Sky Pirates lead by the infamous Captain Zipp. They steal and harass the folk of Malifaux and drop pianos from their airship onto those who fight back.
Playstyle:
- Captain Zipp is a fast and tough denial master that excels at draining the opponents resources, moving enemy models into bad positions, and dropping pianos in their way.
- Like their captain, the infamous crew is highly mobile (lots of high move flying models) and good at denial due to the shared keyword bonus action which removes enemy scheme markers.
Complexity: Moderate
- Must learn how to disrupt the enemy with Zipp and his pianos without getting him killed too quickly.
- Must learn to balance denying the enemy from scoring with scoring your own points.
Beyond the Master Box
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – Off The Top Rope: You’ll want to have Mancha Roja as he is a great beater in any crew.
- (RECOMMENDED) M2E Solo Boxes: Both Burt Jebsen and Gracie are good options to include in your crews.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – When Pigs Fly: While Zipp would argue otherwise about his love interest Merris LaCroix, I think you can skip this box because the models don’t add anything to the crew that it can’t already do.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – A Hard Days Work: This Outcast box include Johan which is an infamous model, but he rarely makes the list unless you really need in keyword condition removal.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Solo Box – Bayou Smugglers: The smugglers are fine support models that manipulate scheme markers, but they are not essential pieces to an infamous crew.
KIN
Master: Ophelia LaCroix
Themes:
- Ophelia saw how effective Perdita and her family were at fighting, so the gremlin stole Perdita’s hat and had her own family mimic the gun slinging Ortega family.
Playstyle:
- Ophelia is ranged beater that continually attaches new weapons (upgrades) to herself and discards them to deal addition damage or reduce damage to her.
- The Kin crew are a ranged focused crew that improves in toughness and stats when fighting bigger and “better” models.
Complexity: Low
- Must learn which attack action to use against which target, since all of her upgrades provide new attack options.
- Must learn when to stop focusing on killing and start scheming depending on the strategy and schemes.
Beyond the Master Box
- Note: The M3E box for this crew isn’t available yet so you’ll have to hunt down the M2E box to play them and the LaCroix Raiders have no sculpt in existence yet.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – When Pigs Fly: I recommend picking up this box for Merris since the master box lacks a scheme runner as efficient as Merris LaCroix.
- (UNNECESSARY) M2E Solo Boxes: I think Sammy LaCroix is a good model, but an Ophelia crew can work fine without her.
SOOEY
Master: Ulix Turner
Themes:
- Ulix is a gremlin farmer that specialize in raising powerful pigs.
Playstyle:
- Ulix treats all models with the pig keyword as versatile.
- Ulix is a support master who can command pigs to take actions, heal his pigs, and can “grow” weak pigs into more powerful ones using the replace mechanics.
- Sooey is a melee focused crew that has a common theme of damaging themselves for additional effects (extra actions, more damage, etc.). Thankfully the crew also includes several efficient ways to heal themselves and each other.
Complexity: Moderate
- Must learn how to replace mechanic works in M3E since you’ll be using it a lot.
- Must learn when models should hurt themselves for additional benefits and when they should avoid the extra damage in favor of staying alive.
Beyond the Master Box
- (MUST) M3E Box – Makin’ Bacon: You will need this box for the piglets because you will commonly want to “grow” a couple of these in the the bigger pigs at the start of a game. The Sow is also a useful model if you want to summon in piglets instead of hiring them.
- (MUST) M3E Solo Box – War Pigs: You will want to pick up this box once it is out because the War Pigs are a key model you’ll be “growing” your other models into.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – Mudlight Whispers: The Slop Haulers are the key model you’ll want from this box, since they do the majority of healing for the Sooey crew.
- (RECOMMENDED) M2E Solo Box: Gracie is a fantastic addition to the crew and a good versatile model for any Bayou crew.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Solo Box – Squealers: They Squealers gives you another “grow” option and a ranged attacker, but I don’t think they are a necessary piece to the crew.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Solo Box – Swine-Cursed: The Swine-Cursed are a better fit for the Wizz-bang crew and are not nearly as good in this keyword.
- Note: Both Stuffed piglets and Flying piglets are NOT considered pigs and have little synergy with this crew.
SWAMPFIEND
Master: Zoraida
Themes:
- A witch living in her hut in the swamp (think baba yaga) who gleams at the fate of others by reading her tarot cards.
Playstyle:
- Zoraida is a support master who excels at controlling both friend and foe’s actions.
- Zoraida manipulates her opponent’s deck and hand, as well as her own.
- The Swampfiend crew consists of swamp dwellers and amphibious monsters. Overall the crew is quick and relies on stealth (can’t be targeted unless enemy is within 6″) instead of toughness to survive.
Complexity: High
- Must understand how to engage and eliminate targets quickly because most swampfiends won’t survive a prolonged fight.
- Must learn when to obey your own models to maximize their effectiveness and when to obey enemy models to minimize their impact on the game.
Beyond the Master Box
- Note: The M3E box for this crew isn’t available yet so you’ll have to hunt down the M2E box to play them.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Crew Box – Zipp: The Zipp crew box is a bit expensive just for the First Mate, but I do highly recommend the model as it is a great model.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Solo Box – Gautraeux Bokor: Many Zoraida players swear by the Gautraeux Bokors as another source of obeys and a solid healer.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Solo Box – Grootslang: The Grootslang has the ability to jump around the table to really extend Zoraida’s obey range and for that reason, he is highly recommended.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – See Ya Later: The Bayou Gators are solid mid-costed models to include in the crew. McTavish is also fine, but I think he is eclipsed by the other expensive swampfiends.
- (UNNECESSARY) M2E Box – Amphibious Assault: The Spawn Mother and her Gupps are ok, but you have models that do the job more efficiently.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – A Light In The Dark: The Will’o the Wisp are cheap models that help extend Zoraida’s obey range, but they are easy to kill. The Adze are likely the better option of the two, but neither are needed in the crew.
- (UNNECESSARY) M2E Solo Box – Waldgeist: The Waldgiest are cheap and tough swampfiend models, but they are not common takes in most Zoraida lists which favor more expensive models.
TRI-CHI
Master: The Brewmaster
Themes:
- Gremlins who get themselves and their enemies drunk on moonshine.
Playstyle:
- The Tri-Chi crew wants to stack poison on all the models on the table because they can use both the poison on themselves and on enemies to great effect.
- The Brewmaster is primarily focused on dealing damage to models with poison on them, but he has some utility with his ability to move other models with his lure.
Complexity: Moderate
- Must learn how to control your engagements because your crew deals less damage and takes more damage from non-poisoned models.
- Must learn how to deal with condition removal.
- Must learn how to play while drunk to help get you in the mindset….er ignore this….
Beyond the Master Box
- (RECOMMENDED) M2E Box – Backdraft: You should make friends with an arcanist player because this split faction box is the only place you can find Cooper Jones, his Whiskey Gamin, and to a lesser extent Popcorn Turner.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Solo Boxes: You’ll want to pick up the Whiskey Golem (solid beater), the Akaname (good utility), and the Fermented River Monks (damage and tanking) for your tri-chi crew.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Solo Boxes: The Tanuki have some neat tricks, but they are not needed for an efficient tri-chi crew.
TRICKSY
Master: Mah Tucket
Themes:
- The Tucket family are gremlin bandits led by the giant spoon wielding Mah Tucket.
Playstyle:
- Mah Tucket is primarily a mobile beater, but don’t let that fool you. She is also quite good at controlling the battlefield by pushing enemy and friendly models around and limiting the opponents positioning with pit trap markers.
- The Tricksey crew is a highly mobile crew with lots of movement tricks.
- The Tricksey crew is most famously known for hitting the opponent hard and fast with focused shots from their 14″ guns.
Complexity: Low
- Must learn where to position your alpha striking models (Bushwackers and Rooster Riders) to avoid getting them killed before they are ready to hit the opponent.
- Must learn to remember that most of your crew gets free pushes when an enemy near them cheats any flip.
Beyond the Master Box
- (MUST) M3E Box – Crack The Foundation: The Tricksey crew shows you how clever gremlins can be when they stole the “overpowered” Soulstone Miners from the arcanists.
- (MUST) M3E Solo Box – Rooster Riders: The Tricksey crew wants to hit hard and fast, which is exactly what Rooster Riders do.
- (MUST) M2E Solo Boxes: Speaking of clever gremlins, there is no way you want to miss out on Big Brain Brin‘s deck stacking and ability to tie up enemies.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – Bayou Engineering: While you have Sparks LaBlanc to thank for the stolen miners, he and his creations (Mechanical Porkchop and Survivors) are not as necessary to how the crew functions. That said, they are all good models to eventually pick up.
- Note: The Test Subjects have no current sculpt yet, but be ready to pick them up as soon as they hit shelves, trust me on this one.
WIZZ-BANG
Master: Wong
Themes:
- Wong is a stage magician that can now perform real magic thanks to the three demon bag he stole from the Ten Thunders.
Playstyle:
- Wong is a ranged shockwave master (ranged pulse attacks) who wants to hit both friendy and enemy models with his attacks because the attacks stack glowy tokens on all models effected by the attacks.
- All models in the wizz-bang crew can empower their own abilities by discarding glowy tokens on themselves or, in some cases, on enemies.
Complexity: Moderate
- Must learn how to maximize the effects of your shockwaves on both your crew and the enemy crew.
- Must learn when models should hurt allies for glowy token generation and when they should avoid dealing the extra damage in favor of keeping those models alive.
Beyond the Master Box
- The M3E box for this crew isn’t available yet so you’ll have to hunt down the M2E box to play them. Additionally, Mancha is also no longer a part of this keyword despite being in the M2E box (though he is still a good model at +1ss).
- (MUST) M2E Solo Box: You’ll want to grab Sammy LaCroix because of the sheer amount of card draw she will generate for this crew.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – Creative Taxidermy: The Taxidermist are high impact models that can continually explode and resummon the Stuffed Piglets from this box to either drain the opponents hand or deal significant damage.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Solo Boxes: You want to pickup the Pigapult for the crazy movement it can provide the crew and few models are better to throw into the opponent’s backlines then the Swine-Cursed.
- (RECOMMENDED) M2E Solo Box: With a potential four actions a turn, Burt Jebsen is a great pickup for the wizz-bang crew.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – When Pigs Fly: If you want to have all your summoning options on hand, then go ahead and pick this box up for the Flying Piglets, but they aren’t a required model for the crew.
- Note: The henchman Alphonse LeBlanc does not have a model available at this time, so you’ll have to proxy him until the new Wong box comes out.
- Note: If you plan on using Swine-Cursed, you’ll need to pick up the Deliverance box for Bayou Gremlins or the Makin’ Bacon box for Piglets because the demise ability on the Swine-Cursed.
VERSATILE MODELS
Bayou have some good versatile models that you should consider for your crews.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Box – Lucky Fate: The Lucky Effigy has one of the best effigy bonus actions and this carries into the Lucky Emissary which is a great mobile beater for any bayou crew that has room.
- (RECOMMENDED) M3E Solo Box: The Pigapult is a great model for any bayou crew because of the crazy movement tricks you can pull off with it.
- (RECOMMENDED) M2E Solo Boxes: Both Burt Jebsen and Gracie are great versatile models to add to any bayou crew.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – Bayou Engineering: The Mechanical Porkchop is a good model, but he is easily replaceable by other models.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – Deliverance: Unless your playing Big Hat or are using models that demise into Bayou Gremlins, your unlikely to use these models.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Box – See You Later: The Bayou Gators a good mid-range models, but since bayou have the inferiority complex upgrade, they don’t need to rely on the gators for ruthless. In the same box, McTavish is a fine model, but he is outdone by other similarly costed models in the faction.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E – The Crossroads Seven: If you plan on playing these guys as a crew then go ahead and pick up this box, but Gluttony is one of the less used crossroads due to the niche nature of his abilities.
- (UNNECESSARY) M3E Solo Box: The Bayou Smugglers are fine models, but they don’t provide a unique benefits that can’t be found elsewhere.
Alright, well that is my breakdown on all the Bayou models. So let me know what you think about this article and if you disagree with any of my thoughts.
Schemes & Stones 