WarPuppy has recently added the popular Malifaux skirmish game to the store. Like a lot of miniature gamers I was first attracted by the fantastic range of miniatures produced by Wyrd Miniatures. I had seen these miniatures around for some time, but, never really had a use for them. Then along comes the Malifaux rule set.

I enjoy games that have a good story behind them and Malifaux has one of the best. Set in an alternate Earth it mixes gothic, steampunk, horror and the wild west as your crews battle to further their own agendas. What’s not to like in that mix!  Being a character driven game, the type of crew you can assemble is based on the master you choose. Each faction has several masters, so you can come up with a large number of crew combinations. Additionally, with each new rule book release the story is advanced and faction influence rise and fall. This all helps to give the game a lot of replayability.

Perhaps the biggest difference Malifaux has with other skirmish games is that it doesn’t use dice. All encounters are resolved using cards, or Fate decks. During the game you will also maintain a Control Hand. This control hand allows you to play extra cards at opportune times throughout the game to cheat fate and swing the encounter in your favour.

As a skirmish game the number of figures required to play the game is quite small. Even the biggest games of Malifaux only feature a dozen or so figures per side. The box sets are a great place to start and are centered on a specific master. I started out with the Lady Justice box set, as I not only liked the model, but The Guild is considered one of the easier starting factions. After a few games I was hooked and have since been swayed by the Ortegas. I started playing Malifaux with the intention of only collecting a few models but I can see my collection becoming quite large…..there’s just too many cool things I want to try out!

Everything about this game is quality. The miniatures range feature some of the best sculpts around. The rule set is fast paced, simple to learn and very elegant. The rulebooks are beautifully presented in full colour with high quality artwork and featuring loads of exceptionally painted miniatures. If you haven’t had a look at this game yet I certainly encourage you to give it a go.

Cheers,

Adam