Nick carries on his exploration of the various factions of Malifaux. This week he has unearthed some of the most terrifying individuals you might meet in this twisted world; the sinister and disturbing Resurrectionists.

So the Guild just didn’t do it for you no? Prefer to unleash the dark side lurking within. It’s time to open grab the shovels, conjure the dark magics and prepare for the undead woes of The Resurrectionists.

To allow for a nice and easy transition from the Guild, let’s start with a man who works for the Guild. As a matter of fact, he works in their morgue, preparing fresh cadavers for their journeys to the grave. Most never make it that far because he’s already stole their corpses for unholy reanimation though. I’m talking, of course, of Dr Douglas McMourning, the surgeon with the scalpel and a regular Dr Frankenstein in his own rite.

The good Dr is a fast, hard to kill melee monster who loves nothing more than tearing his enemies (and sometimes his friends) limb from limb and then re-combining them to form truly nightmarish creatures. Able to collect the pieces of the dead to create new models to aid him in battle, the Dr is happy to both allow his crew to deal out damage, while doing the same himself in equal measure.

While the good Dr is potent in the arts of reanimation, its not his strongest suit. This is saved for the lord of the zombie hoard himself, Nicodem the Undertaker.

A man of many skills, Nicodem likes nothing more than raising the dead to do his bidding, and casting potent enhancement spells on his minions to allow them to really open up the carnage on the opposition. Nicodem likes having his hoard do his dirty work for him as he is a fragile old man not really capable of any close combat damage himself, he prefers to allow his dead do the talking.

Nicodem maybe fragile but his skills do allow for some neat tricks using his undead to create a virtual “zombie shield” to help keep him alive. He has a couple of offensive spells which lend him to be more acute as a casting master in game than any other niche role. If you like overwhelming your opponent with swathes of walking dead then Nicodem is the master for you.

If you’re a history buff and would like a master who embodies a truly remarkable (if not crazy) man from 1888 Whitechapel, then Seamus, aka Jack the Ripper, is for you.

A master who doesn’t focus much on reviving the dead, but more attuned to tactically manipulating his opponents minions by luring them into traps or making them flee in horror. Seamus commands a crew of undead…. street-walkers? They prowl the streets of Malifaux in search of fresh prey for their master.

Seamus uses his Belles to draw in minions and then uses his stronger models to deal damage, or he just blows their heads off with his smoothbore hand cannon, one of the strongest ranged weapons in the game. A forgiving master, and a good place for budding new undead players, Seamus is very difficult to kill and allows for a wide range of actions in a single turn. If creating a “spiders' web” of ladies of the night to finish off your enemies is the way you want to roll in Malifaux, then Seamus is ready to work for you.

So if zombies aren’t your bag of bones, perhaps the ghostly spirits of the ancient world are more to your taste. The one of whom I speak is the master of all things haunted and sprightly, Kirai Ankoku, the Spirit Master.

Kirai is a spirit, as are most of her crew and all the undead she summons. Spirits are her business and she does it very well indeed. She doesn’t make use of body parts, or corpses but more the lost souls of the deceased to warp them into horrifying ghostly spirits to serve her dark purposes.

Preferring to us her own wounds to power her magics, Kirai creates, evolves and buffs her spirits to the point where they are able to run through any opposition that stands before them. In game, any spirit is a hard minion to deal with as they take half wounds from any non-magical source of damage. This is their built in survival tactic which lend them great survivability all round. Though not an ideal place for a new player, if you’re up to the challenge and like the look of this master, then Kirai is ready to offer your enemies up on her ghostly fingers.

Last, but certainly not least, is the newest entry to the faction and that is Yan-Lo, the enlightened one.

Using a crew comprised of models with the Ancestor characteristic, Yan-Lo is able to resurrect his dead Ancestor models should they ever fall in battle. Although, as models die all around him, he grows stronger and stronger as more blood is spilled. Unique to the game, Yan-Lo comes with a “chi tree” much like a tech tree. As you gain more chi, you level up a certain path from this tree which gives him permanent bonuses which could create a spell casting demon, or a melee monster.

Preferring to stick to models who are Ancestors, Yan-Lo does a very good job of staying around, and keeping his minions around long enough to make mincemeat of any who dare cross his path. Should you feel that a touch of the undead oriental is more suited to your tastes, then Yan-Lo is the master for you.

Another day, another faction. I hope this has given you some more insight into the Resurrectionists and their disturbing practices. Next time I’ll be covering the Arcanists and their spin on the true power of magic. Until next time, keep your eyes peeled for new coverage of Malifaux coming to the Beasts of War community and tell us what you’d like to see next.

Keep those cards hidden and remember,
Cheat Fate or Lose Your Soul!