Malifaux: Race to the Finish Vorschau

Wyrd präsentieren eine Vorschau für Malifaux: Race to the Finish Box – Bayou Versatile.

Waldo’s Weekly – I can’t drive Fifty Five

Hey Wyrdos!

This week, Waldo got himself a box and a marker. In only a few short hours, he’d transformed the dull cardboard into the shimmering metal body of a racecar. We still aren’t sure how he managed to do that… While Waldo’s doing donuts in the parking lot, let’s take a look at four new Versatile Jockeys heading into the Bayou!

First up is Barrelby, a Whiskey Gamin manned by Chutes Leong. Both have a tendency to dip into the drink a bit during races, but those drunken meanderings have won them a few trophies.

Barrelby is an exciting addition to the Tri-Chi keyword. Sharing similarities with other Tri-Chi constructs, Barrelby can take a beating with a combination of Armor and Hide in the Barrel. On the offensive side, Staggering Punch with the Accidental Roll Over Trigger is a great way to Stagger an opponent and give out Poison for Brewmaster to make use of later.

What separates Barrelby from the other Tri-Chi constructs are Barrel Blast and Asleep at the Wheel. Barrel Blast is especially great as it ignores Friendly Fire, does solid damage and moves models around. Hiring both Barrelby and Cooper Jones allows a Tri-Chi Crew to have a surprising amount of ranged threat.

Speaking of Cooper Jones, Asleep at the Wheel really lets her shine. With the Tri-Chi Errata Cooper Jones’ Moonshine and a Barrel Action became easier to get off alone, but it still benefits from easy access to Scrap Markers, and Asleep at the Wheel both moves Barrelby and Drops a Scrap Marker.

Second is Drumstick, a reanimated bird piloted by a daredevil Gremlin named Ace. You’d think a winged creature equipped with jet packs could go fast, and you’d be right! Now only if Drumstick could go in the right direction…

Drumstick adds some much-needed air support for the mostly grounded Big Hat Keyword while keeping the Big Hat theme. Drumstick continues to do what Big Had is best known for: Summoning Bayou Gremlins. Drumstick’s Fan on the Track Action allows him to damage himself to Summon a Bayou Gremlin. The Burnt to a Crisp Trigger is always useful for its ability to remove Scheme Markers, but when combined with Som’er Teeth Jones, Loot Monger’s Spot the Goods Ability it becomes another Bayou Gremlin Summoning vector.

Outside of being a Summoning machine, Drumstick is a solid support model. Drumstick is the only significant model in Big Hat with Flight, so he is able to access areas of the map that are otherwise out of reach for the Keyword. Beyond Flight, Drumstick’s Falling SkiesShockwave is a great utility Action. Being able to Push friendly models forward Turn 1, then switch to Summoning is a great way to spread a Big Hat Crew across the table.

 

Third (and third-and-a-half?) are Squish and Squash, two toads (or frogs, they can’t really decide). The Gremlin who gets to wear them isn’t as beloved, but simply being near the pair’s warty presence is considered a high honor.

Kin is a Keyword of unique models with specialized roles and it is no surprise that Squish and Squash continue this trend. For Squish and Squash that niche is ‘everything frog related’. Between their Kissed by a Prince Trigger, Menacing Croak, and their Bonus Action Leap Frog, they make the most out all things frog.

This doesn’t mean that Squish and Squash aren’t useful. They have a lot of utility tied up in their amusingly named Actions. Lickity-Split does damage and moves either this model or the target, which means that Squish and Squash can either use it to disrupt enemy plans, or move themselves into position to score. Kissed by a Prince is noteworthy as it means they can switch into a healing role for Kin. This is made even easier by Ramming Speed allowing them to build in the Trigger if they Charge a friendly model.

Finally, if Squish and Squash tire of Charging and healing they can use Leap Frog to jump into the action and use Menacing Croak. Thanks to Swift Action, it is very difficult for enemies to resist gaining Distracted when Squish and Squash are around.

Fourth but certainly not last is Toast, a mishmash of tires, terror, and some turtle. Commanded by the rogue Taxidermist Ricktus, this ferocious four-wheeler doesn’t go around obstacles; she goes straight through.

Toast is a great example of a model that doesn’t seem to fit a Keywords mold until you see it on the table. Looking at Toast, one can be forgiven in being confused why a Mv 3 Turtle is in a crew known for their speedy flying models. Reviewing her card it becomes more obvious why she’s in Infamous as she’s a sturdy model built around Scheme Markers and the Interact Action.

On the Interact side of things she has You Take the Wheel which is an amazing Ability that allows her to take the Interact Action after resolving a Walk. This means that even if she can only move 3”, she’s getting two Actions for the price of a discarded card.

Working along with the extra Scheme Markers on the board is her Catch in the Treads Action, which Places Toast and gives out Injured, but what is truly exciting are the Triggers. Slander gives out Distracted and can punish opponents for Dropping Scheme Markers. Slingshot Slobberknocker is a fun Trigger that doesn’t see enough play as it is hard to guarantee. With Ramming Speed’s ability to build in suits, I expect to see Infamous models zooming around the board more often.

Finally, to round out the package, Toast has several ways to boost her movement options. To start with she’s Sz 2, which means that Iron Skeeters can pick her up with Fly With Me. If she’s too far for that to be effective, the All-Terrain Turtle Action fills the gap. All-Terrain Turtle Pushes Toast 6” ignoring models and Severe Terrain while damaging anything she moves through. If neither of these options prove effective, she can unload at range with her 10” range Flamethrower.

Can’t get enough Gremlin-fueled carnage? These racers can also be used in Hog Wild, an expansion for the Bayou Bash board game and its original four Jockeys. If you haven’t had the chance to pit each Jockey against the other, there’s no way that’s more fun, frantic, and friendship-destroying than this!

That’s all for this week, Wyrdos! Which of these Bayou racers is your favorite? They’ll be available on the Wyrd webstore and your local game store shortly. In the meantime, make sure you get the other four Jockeys ready to go… everybody knows painted miniatures win more games.

Quelle: Wyrd Games