It takes a lot to truly realise one's potential in the harsh scape of Malifaux. Many have used the magical benefits of this strange new world in twisted and dark ways, or have been uneducated in the mystic arts and use whatever comes naturally.

The true magic users of Malifaux are The Arcanists, a faction of fragile, but heavy damage spell casters who rely on their beasts and constructs to do the fighting, while they stand back and vaporize their enemies with elemental magics.

Where the Resurrectionists use the magics of Malifaux for unholy and dark purposes, the Arcanists are more pure, and harness the natural elements and no-one embodies that more than the ice witch, Rasputina.

A powerhouse of damaging spells, the slow but powerful Rasputina is a common sight at tournaments due to her overwhelming ranged damage. Possessing a very unique skill (not uncommon to warmachine player), she can cast her spells “through” her smaller minions to increase her range even further.

A great master for beginners, she is lenient to mistakes as well as being pretty easy to use. If you believe slow and steady wins the gang war, then take Rasputina and bring down the power of the avalanche upon the enemy.

While you could describe Rasputina as the offensive spell caster, Ramos is the Arcanists support caster.

Ramos is a summoner, much like the master of the Resurrectionists, but prefers to create small mechanical spiders, or floating, electrical squid monsters to hunt down his prey. The ice witch does what her title says, she freezes stuff. Ramos, on the other hand, is a tinkerer and prefers to electrify his enemies with a couple of gigawatts.

Harnessing electrical energy for spells as well as summoning, maintaining and controlling armies of mechanical spiders, Ramos is the definition of a support caster, really preferring his utility spells and models to help him win the day. Capable of whittling away the enemy’s defences one small spider limb at a time, if robots are your preferred medium, then Ramos is the man for the job.

Ice and Electricity, what comes next? Fire? Water? Wind? Try Beasts. Pleasured I am to introduce you to Marcus and his gang of wild beasts.

Tapping into the primal fury that lives within both man and beast alike, Marcus uses his manipulation of the creatures of the wild to take his enemies by tooth or nail. Taking a crew of beasts is Marcus’ forte and he rewards a tactical mind as well as forward thinking. Relying on planning and tactical thought, Marcus is a master not for the faint hearted. Although nothing feels more satisfying than to send your hungry Chimera or Rattler into a group of guild riflemen and watch them devour them, piece by piece.

Marcus can take a myriad of different models from all walks of the game so long as they hold the beast characteristic. This lend to a wonderfully diverse arrangement of choices you can take to vary your play style from game to game. So if you feel the need to get your fangs dirty, Marcus can bring the bacon.
Undead are ugly and rotten. Robots are cold and unfeeling. Beasts are wild and untrustworthy. Colelle Du bois prefers the luscious lips, and silky skin of the female form.

Colette is a true showgirl and controls a crew of fellow showgirls, animated mannequins and gear work doves. She is a master of deception and enjoys using a flash of powder or a flash of the thigh to draw in her enemies and crush them with gentle fingers and poisoned words. The crew is known for its mobility across the battlefield and its ability to take objectives quickly and to keep them.

At first glance, it would seem that the models in her crew don’t do much damage at all, or that her crew lacks any real offensive powers. That’s Colette playing her deception on you! She is a stronger master than she seems and rewards a special type of play style that few can master. However, if these fetching ladies are the ones for you, then let the curtains rise and the show begin.

Finally we have the hardest bunch of workers that the world of Malifaux has ever seen, led by the human freight train Mei Feng.

Feng commands the rail workers and the railways side of the M&SU under Ramos. Manipulating her rail worker minions to allow her to “leap frog” across the table, Feng uses her access to oodles of actions and triggers to deliver herself into the fray, wipe clean the enemy and remain safe among her men.

Mei is terribly potent at dealing damage, much like the Viktorias in some sense, and can hand out burning tokens to pile on even more damage. Her crew is rather specialised in that she only really uses what is in her starter box, as well as one or two other models to amplify her already destructive power. Mobile and strong, the rail crew has many tricks and tactics for the budding new player to really enjoy playing with.

Half way there ladies and gentlemen. I hope I've served you well thus far. More content to follow, as well as videos for all to enjoy. Tactics and strategy, crew building, how to play and much more. Coming soon, will be the true inhabitants of the dark world of Malifaux, The Neverborn.

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