And I'm done.

I just had the misfortune to stumble accross what was - in my opinion - the last straw. Once again the Malifia decide to jump on someone daring to say negative things about M2e.

I have no desire to be part of a "community" that since the change was announced has demonstrated such blinkered attitudes that border on bullying.

Especially for a game that seems to have caused as many new problems, if not more, as it fixed.

And I'm back

It's been a lean couple of weeks gaming wise thanks to work and real life.

Still...a couple of recent thoughts.

1) Games Workshop - the evil empire and Daddy of 'em all had their Games day UK event a couple of weeks back. I went to Games day once upon a time (better part of 20 years ago...ouch) and enjoyed it. Apparently this year GW decided...no actual games. Just when you think you've seen it all from them...

2) As my interest in Malifaux has been pretty much killed off by Wyrd's antics - the latest being one of the designers admitting they'd made a stupid mistake because noone had pointed it out in the Beta (except they did...I know because it was me that did so) - I picked up Bushido. It looks cool and I started getting paint on metal (yay pewter!) over the weekend. Can't wait to get them on the table.

3) I periodically - every few years - get bit by the Magic bug. I've picked up a few cards with the aim of having a half decent deck or two and maybe drafting on occasion if I get the chance...nothing serious. Also, it may be a good father-son game and it's strong at my flgs. However, I found myself watching the webcast of their latest Pro event over the weekend and I bet when the designers get to work today they'll be a bit worried that the entire tournament was dominated by a new mechanic that is maybe a bit too good. Sounds horribly familiar as it happened last time I got bit too...

4) on MtG...i will always love their player classification system. I'm a shameless Johnny in nearly every system fwiw.

Latest paint

Just put the finishing touches on two heroes of the Troll kriels (apart from their bases. I appear to be out of sand.)

Looking forward to getting eGrissel on the table with my next project - a unit of Warders.

Somebody stop me

I've always liked the GAME of Magic: the Gathering.
It's a good, simple, straightforward game that grew way beyond what its creator anticipated.
I've been in and out of the game about three times. Last time I sold of the vast majority of my cards for a pittance just to make space for other stuff.

Now I found out thanks to the "Geek and Sundry" youtube channel that there's a tablet app. Free. Which I downloaded.

Now I kinda want to pick up some cards again.

I don't want to dive in to a competetive environment. That's what pisses me off about the game - the fact that if you want to win events you need a deck full of expensive rares.
At my LGS when I last played the bulk of players had tuned to heck decks, often with some of the older stupidpowerfulbroken cards, that annihilated the stuff I put together because I kinda liked the cards and there was a chance they'd do something fun. But it looks like it should be fairly straightforward and inexpensive to be able to throw together a deck like the one you start with in the app (big stompy monogreen - an archetype I've always enjoyed) by buying a couple of the precon decks, mashing them together and picking up a handful of other cards.

Wherever you go, if there is a game store there are likely MtG players, and it's a damn sight easier to stash a Magic deck in your pocket than it is a Warmachine army.

Hum.

A worrying trend

Just a short thought:

Despite my apathy to Malifaux 2e I still drop by the forums occasionally.

One trend I have noticed is that the levels of rose-tinted fanboyism there seem to be pretty high. There is a tone that any criticism will be shouted down as simply being bitterness over the changes from M1.5 .

This makes me wonder...will the critical voices be heard in the wave 2 test? Will there be a significant signsl to noise ratio to provide feedback that will be powerful enough to make necessary changes?

Twitter provides me with some reassurance as there are still some level heads out there, but I fear this playtest will be less effective than the last, and as I mentioned previously I think we're seeing already that that process was maybe less sucessful than Wyrd think it was.

Time will tell.

On a happier note

So. That last post was rather negative, so here's a more positive post.

With Malifaux on the backburner I've been playing Warmahordes. Another system I discovered very early - the rulebook was still black and white at the time - and have therefore been playing for 10 years now, near enough. Actually, I took a break soon after the edition change after burning out onbthe game. Gives me hope that I'll get back to Malifaux at some pount.

I'm a big fan of the Rhullic (dwarf) army, and have almost everything there is for that force, in addition to my original Khador army (which I plan on being my son's first army when he's old enough to play) and Circle Orboros armies. However, lately I've been all about my Troll army. I am an absolutely awful player but they're a blast to play and I've loved the miniatures since they came out. I have amassed a fairly good collection over the years. I even lugged most of  them over to Gencon with me.

Privateer press' Warroom app has rightly been given a lot of criticism lately, but now it mostly works (though it still has flaws that make me miss the old iBodger app) its great being able to fiddle with list ideas on my phone and tablet. Until recently I'd been using the Highwayman Jarl Skuld as my warlock, but felt I needed a change and so I've gone back to an old favourite from the first edition of the game and have been playing with ideas for Grim Angus, the Troll bounty hunter.

The game is really absorbing me at the minute,  huge fun even though I'm crap at it. I also want to get back to role playing in the setting, as I bought this great big tome at Gencon.

I have no idea if this was going anywhere...I just wanted a bit of positivity to balance out my last post

Spleen vent number 1

So I decided to start a new Blog. I had one before, which was meant to detail a project which stalled.
I do this solely because occasionally a man needs an independent place to rant about the things that bother him.
I have no idea how regular entries will be, because that depends entirely on when I feel the need to wax lyrical on some subject matter.
The primary subject matter will be tabletop gaming, mostly of the sort that involves lots of small metal or plastic figures and dice. There will be occasional other stuff I'm sure. Some of it will involve loud music.

Subject matter the first then.

Malifaux. The Steamhorrorvictorianwesternpunk game made by Wyrd Miniatures.

I first discovered the game several years ago, not long after it was first released. 2010 or so. I thought the miniatures looked pretty cool and so, as a game store I was in contact with was having a sale, I bought in. Then I realised I knew noone else who played, and the rulebook confused me. So the minis were put aside for a while.

Then I went to my first Gencon and got a demo. I worked it out. I even found a couple of locals who were interested when I got home. I started playing semiregularly and losing a lot. I was enjoying it a lot. Book two was cool, though it turned out had power level issues, a year later book three came out at Gencon and I liked that too. The minis continued to be cool, and the atmosphere of the game was fun. Last year they released book 4 and - while it was probably the best balanced of the releases it felt kinda boring. None of the new entries for my chosen faction - the Guild - excited me at all. Oh, and the minis were going to be plastic from then on. I don't like plastic minis, and frankly the ones I got my hands on were pretty poor. Detail was blobby and they felt fragile. Still...I kept on keeping on because the game was really taking off. We had a Henchman locally and one of the two LGSs had started selling the game.

Fast forward nine months. A second edition is announced. This I was fine with. The game had some glaring balance issues and some other problems that needed resolving. This seemed like a natural thing. I'd previously seen how Privateer Press handled a new edition, and while I had issues with THEIR timing, Warmachine/Hordes 2nd edition turned out to be pretty good. The same game, but polished, cleaned up and generally improved. I had high hopes for Malifaux.

Oh. Dear.

The art started to appear online...and it was terrible. Nearly all the characters I'd invested in changed, in some cases drastically. Some of the art was plain and simple ridiculous, with bad poses and concept shifts that defied belief. I was suddenly very wary.

Around the same time rumblings started in the online community. There was a lot of drama and it felt like there were some pretty rotten goings on with the company themselves.

Then the rules hit, and I was utterly underwhelmed. There are so many changes that I just don't get the point of. So many complications and - in my opinion - poor design choices that I plain don't like. Where there was need of shaping, sanding and polishing, the tools used more resemble sledgehammers and welding irons. Where tweaks were required, full scale demolition and reconstruction had occurred. The game has been torn aprt and bodged back together and while it is the same game I feel like the charm has vanished, leaving a poor facsimile of what was there before. To add insult to injury, it also feels like it's been very badly rushed and the more time people spend with it the more they will find all the inconsistencies, glitches and mistakes that should have been caught had things been done right.

Now, I haven't actually PLAYED the game...and therein lies my problem. As things stand I find myself looking at a system that really holds little to no appeal to me. I know I should actually put minis on the table and try the game, but when my gaming time is limited already by family and work commitments, and I'm having a great time playing Warmachine/Hordes I just...can't be bothered.
On top of that general apathy, things I have seen and things I have heard make me very doubtful indeed about wanting to support Wyrd miniatures at this time. Much is heresay, but there is enough smoke to indicate an inferno rather than a fire, and the rest...well. I have serious misgivings about some of the people in the company. Let's leave it at that.

In short - I want to like Malifaux 2e. I really do. It's a shame that every instinct tells me to keep the hell away from it.