Journey to Malifaux UK Nationals 2024

Okay so as I did with the previous tournament a round by round breakdown of all the games I played would be a lot to write and a lot to read. So I am going to give lists, Schemes and strategies, any important moments that happened and final scores. It was 7 games over 2 days, 4 on the Saturday and 3 on the Sunday. All at 50 soulstones and mixed boards with fixed strategies and schemes each game.

Game 1

We got standard deployment in plant explosives with Deliver a message and protected territories for my schemes;

Von Schill – Iron Heart

Steam Trunk

2 x Freikorps Engineer

Freikorps librarian

Metallurgist

Hannah Lovelace 

Arik

Tunnel rats

5 soulstones

My opponents list was;

Leveticus

2 x Hollow Waifs

3 x Scavengers

Hard stop Herbert

Vee

Ashes & Dust

Bill Algren

6 Soulstones

My first games pretty much as I expected it to be, I was against a very experienced player with a master I hadn’t faced. I felt the pressure a little with time and player ability. We did manage to complete the game but I lost my master in a single activation so I knew it was going to be a brief game. I lost the game 8-2 which wasn’t too bad, but also not a great start.

Game 2

We got wedge deployment in Raid the Vaults with Information overload and protected terri for my schemes;

Von Schill – Ironheart

Steam Trunk

Arik

3 x Freikorps scout 

Hans 

Tunnel rats

Freikorps Librarian

1 soulstones

My opponents list was;

Jack Daw – Ensouled

Lady Ligeia

The Ferryman

2 x Hanged

Jaakuna 

Kari

Enslaved spirit

4 Soulstones

This was a tough game as I had picked a crew that didn’t match up against the crew I faced. Crucially I forgot to put a model from my crew out meaning I was at a massive disadvantage, but it was my error so I was fine with it. not  I wasn’t really familiar with Jack Daw but all I have heard is that he is horrible to face. To be honest it wasn’t atrocious, but I did lose most of my crew before the end of the game. It was quite a quick descent once the crew got into melee. But as I have said before it’s all data and now I know what to expect, I also know to double check my crew. I lost the game 8-3

Game 3

We got corner deployment in Stuff the Ballets with power ritual and espionage for my schemes;

Von Schill

Steam Trunk

Lazarus

Fumigator

2 x Drachen Trooper 

Tunnel rats

Freikorps Engineer

Freikorps Librarian

1 soulstones

My opponents list was;

Marcus – Alpha

Jackalope

Ferdinand Vogel

Cojo

Myranda

2 x Order initiate

Sabertooth Cerberus

Slate ridge Mauler

1 Soulstones

This is where I found my level and had a great game against someone who had played at around the same level as me. It was a really tight game and I was undone by a silly mistake where I may have been able to score 2 points to get a draw. I was too focused on killing things rather than hitting the strats and schemes like I should. Some fun moments were where Von Schill managed to survive a boxing match with Cojo and my Drachen troopers setting fire to the beast within and a slate ridge mauler. I lost the game 3 – 2.

Game 4

We got standard deployment in Raid the Vaults with power ritual and espionage for my schemes;

Von Schill

Steam Trunk

Hannah

3 x Freikorps scout 

Hans 

Tunnel rats

Freikorps Librarian

1 soulstones

My opponents list was;

English Ivan

Mr. Mordrake

Nocturne

Winston 

Lamplighter

Gibson

Brocken spectre

Operative

5 Soulstones

This was a really fun and close game. Again I was undone by a very simple mistake. I used a trigger to get a gap between me and the inspector, I pushed him too close to my scheme marker meaning I couldn’t have scored it. We only got to turn 2 and if we had played to turn 3 or 4 things may have been a little closer and I may have even eked out a draw or a very slim chance I could have got a win. Some great moments were where my scout managed to kill 2 models outright with some incredible flips. Also where my opponent managed to trap Von Schil in a shadow realm and teleport the marker he was trapped in miles away from where I could get to it. I lost the game 2-1.

There is a separate entry for the final 3 games in the day 2 section.

Here is a continuation of the game by game breakdown from the Nationals weekend.

Game 5

We got Corner deployment in Cloak and Dagger with in your face and take prisoner for my schemes;

Von Schill – Iron Heart

Steam Trunk

2 x Freikorps Engineer

Freikorps librarian

Metallurgist

Hannah Lovelace 

Arik

Tunnel rats

5 soulstones

My opponents list was;

Parker Barrows – Dead man walking

Doc Mitchell

Mad Dog

Hodgepodge Emissary

Ella Mae

Six armed Shooter

Sue

5 Soulstones

This was my highest scoring game all weekend and had things gone better in my duels this could have been higher, but that’s fate I guess. I Lost Hannah turn 2 to Mad dog after she was exposed and got the red joker flipped for his damage track ignoring armour she was dead in 2 shots. Later in the round my plan was to shred 2 very weak opponents and interact for another point in Cloak and Dagger, but even with 3 activations one remained on a single wound. Drastic action was needed as time was short and I desperately needed the points. So I pushed the steam trunk into severe terrain, took an action and then moved again to remove all wounds so that it would explode and remove the final points of damage needed to kill the model before the end of the turn. The game ended on a 7-4 loss.

Game 6

We got flank deployment in Raid the Vaults with information overload and ensnare for my schemes;

Von Schill

Steam Trunk

Lazarus

Fumigator

2 x Drachen Trooper 

Tunnel rats

Freikorps Engineer

Freikorps Librarian

1 soulstones

My opponents list was;

Captain Zipp

Earl Burns

2 x Iron Skeeters

The First Mate

Beau Fishbocker

Merris LaCroix

Mancha Roja

2 Soulstones

This was a game I was destined to lose from the beginning. Two of the schemes highly favoured my opponent and the models he could bring. There was also an issue where the QR code for the game had put the wrong strategy and 2 schemes in the game which ironically I had picked but we decided to play through nonetheless. I chose a list that was all about scheme removal to avoid all the Piano drops Zipp can do. This did help, but there was a bit of a blockade in the centre and we only got to turn 3. I think if we had gotten another turn in I could have maybe scored another point for the strategy. I also think My opponent would have scored another for the Strategy and another for his scheme as well. The game ended on a 5-2 loss.

Game 7

We got wedge deployment in Raid the Vaults with power ritual and espionage for my schemes;

Von Schill – Ironheart

Steam Trunk

Arik

3 x Freikorps scout 

Hans 

Tunnel rats

Freikorps Librarian

1 soulstones

My opponents list was;

Nekima

Blood Hunter

Lelu

2 x Young Nephilim

2 x Mature Nephilim

5 Soulstones

So game 7 I played a young lad who was in the same position as me. He hadn’t won a game all weekend. So I decided I wouldn’t go too hard on him and give him the win but not make it too obvious. So I went easy on him, he did not go easy on me however. I lost 5-0 as we called the game because he basically ate my entire crew. However his dad approached me after and thanked me for not going too hard on him which was kind of him.

At the end of the tournament I came dead last, which is absolutely where I expected to finish. I won’t go into too much detail here, but I at least met my goal of not feeling like I hadn’t learned anything from where I started to this weekend. Most games were fairly close and a couple of dumb mistakes cost me a draw or maybe even a win in one or 2 cases. Like I said I will be doing another entry about the whole journey and what’s next.

When I set out on this journey, my intention was pretty simple: relearn the Malifaux rules, pick a crew, figure out how they work, and try not to be a complete embarrassment in the tournament. Over the course of this year, I can honestly say I managed all but one of those goals. The one I didn’t achieve actually surprised me: I didn’t so much “pick” a crew as “settle” for one due to time constraints.

That said, despite not yet winning a game after 22 attempts, I was never embarrassed by my efforts. Success means different things to different people. For some, it’s placing in the top 10 or even the top 3. For others, it’s winning an award for cosplay or painting. Maybe it’s simply hanging out with friends for a weekend and playing a game you all enjoy. For me, success was playing against new people, encountering crews I’d never faced, chatting about all sorts of things, and just having fun. By that measure, it was a roaring success.

So what’s next? Let’s answer some questions:

Will you keep playing Malifaux?

Absolutely. Malifaux is a duplicitous game. Its core rules are streamlined and ideal for competitive play, yet it’s filled with characters steeped in lore whose abilities bend those rules almost to the breaking point. That’s why I love it—there’s no wrong way to play Malifaux.

If you want to find clever loopholes and pit your crew against others doing the same, the game supports that. If you want to reenact a dramatic rivalry from the lore, you can. Or, if you want to create a narrative game based on your own ideas, it’s there for you. You can meticulously plan your crew in the app ahead of time or hit “random” and challenge yourself to adapt on the fly.

While Malifaux has many moving parts, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Formats like Henchman Hardcore offer smaller crews and specific strategies, making it perfect for quick games. I’ll definitely keep playing whenever I can and hope to join as many regular meetups with the Midlands group as possible.

Will you be going back to Nationals in 2025?

After some thought, the answer is no—for now. I’ll keep playing Malifaux, but mostly for fun rather than competition. That’s not to say I’ll never return. These past seven months have involved a lot of planning, painting, and preparation, and I’m ready to take a step back and just enjoy the game.

Who knows, though? Someone might give me a good reason to return, or I might get the itch closer to the event. I’m also open to one-day events if I have the time and feel like running a specific crew for fun.

Will you stick with the same crew and faction?

Nope! Nothing against Von Schill—I’ve enjoyed playing him—but there are so many masters in other factions I’m curious about. For example, I have a Nekima crew that’s half-painted and waiting for attention after being abandoned due to time constraints. And within days of finishing Nationals, I started assembling the core boxes for Misaki and Reva. I’ve even added Tiri to my Christmas wish list, so I’ll have plenty of options for the coming year.

Final Thanks

Last but not least, I’d like to thank everyone who helped me along the way. From demo games to regular matches, crew suggestions, tactical advice, and even rides to tournaments—you all made this project possible. I’m deeply grateful. Thanks also to everyone who followed the project, left comments, and voted it up. Your support means the world to me.

So, that’s it for this project. Would anyone be interested in another Malifaux project from myself? If so, what would you like to see?