070 - Post GenCon

So GenCon has come and gone and the dust has started to settle. People lucky enough to live on the right continent (or lucky enough to be able to afford a plane ticket!) look to have walked away with more new Malifaux goodies than any person could wish for. Unfortunately my geographical and financial situations meant that I wasn't one of these people, and so like many others my GenCon has once again been one of closely monitoring my Twitter feed for spoilers - biding my time until I can get my hands on the shiny stuff later on.

I didn't even put in a GenCon order this year - I found the Nightmare Hanging Tree to be not nearly as inspiring as last year's limited edition Teddy and Lady Justice (not to mention 60% more expensive!). Although it's definitely an impressive model, and I can't wait to see one properly painted, I couldn't see it getting all that much table time. The smaller trees, intended to be used as alternative Hanged models are, in my opinion, way too big to be used as 30mm base minions, and would look ridiculous next to normal sized models on normal bases. So that was out.

I suppose I could have ordered some of the new models (all three boxed crews are VERY appealing to me), but I already have a giant backlog of models to finish painting, and there'd be no benefit to me in paying the additional cost of international postage just to have them a couple of months earlier, if they weren't going to get used immediately. So no new crew (and no Wyrd plastics) for me just yet.

At GenCon time, I'm basically only interested in the limited edition stuff that I can't get elsewhere, so my only disappointment is that I didn't get myself a Miss Terious. I'm not too worried, however, since I'm confident that in a couple of weeks eBay will be flooded with them. However I fear Santana Ortega, though lovely beyond belief, is going to remain forever out of my price range.

The one compulsory purchase, come it's September release, will be the Storm of Shadows book. Those of us without the book have only seen a few glimpses of the rules for the new models, but all of the art has been shown on Twitter and on the forums (thanks to @sassylady1970 of course!) and so we can see what/who the new masters and minions are.

Here's a brief rundown of the new guys on the scene. Once I get a book in hand next month I'll post some more detailed thoughts.

Guild
Lucas McCabe (Master)
Luna (Totem)
Wastrels (Minion)
Guild Riflemen (Minion)
Clockwork Trap (Minion)
Sidir Alchibal (Minion)
Guild Pathfinder (Minion)

Ressurectionists
Yan Lo (Master)
Soul Porter (Totem)
Ashigaru (Minion)
Toshiro, The Daimyo (Minion)
Yin, The Penangalan (Minion)
Izamu, The Armour (Minion)
Chiaki, The Niece (Minion)

Arcanists
Mei Feng (Master)
Emberling (Totem)
Kang (Minion)
Willie the Demolitionist (Minion)
Rail Golem (Minion)
Rail Worker (Minion)
Metal Gamin (Minion)

Neverborn
Jakob Lynch (Master)
Hungering Darkness (Totem)
Illuminated (Minion)
Beckoners (Minion)
Mr Graves (Minion)
Mr Tannen (Minion)
The Depleted (Minion)

Outcasts
Burt (Minion)
Gracie (Minion)
Wong (Minion)
Friekorps Strongarm Suit (Minion)
Vanessa, Treasure Hunter (Minion)
Oiran (Minion)
Ama No Zako (Minion)

Ten Thunders
Misaki (Master)
Shang (Totem)
Ototo (Minion)
Torakage (Minion)
Yamaziko (Minion)
Ten Thunders Archers (Minion)

From what I've heard about these characters so far, I'm really excited to see them on the tabletop. It's going to be an interesting year for Malifaux!