I am writing this on the official wrap-up day of our summer Slow-Grow League. Things actually wrapped up a few days ago, as once again everyone was extremely punctual in getting their games in, but today was the day that I had originally planned as the finale. By all metrics, I would count the event as a success. Once we got started, no one dropped out, and we only had 2 of 36 scheduled games called off due to extenuating circumstances.
I am extremely satisfied with how everything went. I wouldn’t have hated a few more players, but as far as the actual execution of the league, I have no complaints. I didn’t have to defuse any conflicts between players, and everyone seemed to have a great time with each of their opponents. I have already started to brew up a plan for a slightly shorter Fall League, since everyone seems to be ready to dive right back in.
But, let’s rewind to about a month ago when the 50 Soulstone portion of the Slow Grow kicked off. Rounds 5 and 6 had some interesting results, contributing to a conclusion that I don’t think anyone could have predicted at the start of the League.
Round 5
Keeping with my established rhythm of Neverborn Masters - Euripides, Hierophant was returning to the table. I was excited to bring Savage to a full-sized game for the first time in 4th Edition. Even in smaller games, I was having a great time with the Keyword, but this was the chance to start getting a feel for lists I might bring to a proper tournament.
For this round, I chose to keep things in-keyword. I brought: Euripides, Hierophant with the Primordial Magic; Thoon (for the first time this edition); one Geryon; and then two of each of Cyclopses and Gigants.
My opponent for this round was Yuri. Yuri had been trying for the variety prize, bringing a different Master for each round. This time, he was going to be fielding Nekima, Nephilim Queen for the first time (ever). This awarded me the achievement of being the only person to play against the same Master being used by two different pilots over the course of the league.
Yuri’s list was: Nekima and her Blood Hunter; Hayreddin; Hildegard; and then two of each for Black Blood Shamans, Young Nephilim, and Terror Tots. We chose opposite extremes when it came to Soulstones, with Yuri having 6, and me only having 1.
The scenario was Recover Evidence with Wedge deployment, featuring Detonate Charges, Frame Job, and Make it Look Like an Accident as the opening Schemes. When the scenario was released, everyone was predicting a blood bath, as Recover Evidence is always the murder strategy and Wedge is renowned for being the murder deployment.
Given my awareness of this expectation, my strategy going into the match was to try and turn the presumption of violence on its head. I was planning to play a cagey, defensive game. Savage boasts huge health pools and a ton of healing; I intended to weather the wave of Brood crashing against the meaty shore of my giants, and grind out a low-scoring victory through being an absolute pain-in-the-ass.
Yuri and I only had the time to play two full Turns before we had to wrap it early due to adult responsibilities, but even that short time was enough for me to declare my strategy a success. Despite Nekima retaining her status as a fearsome beater (base damage 4 coming off Skl 6, with a trigger for a multi-attack), and two Mature Nephilim making their way onto the field, I would only lose one Gigant - and that loss was the result of a calculated gamble to score me three points during the second Turn of the game.
Despite this game only being two Turns, it had time to give me a real “Feast or Famine” of luck. On the “Feast” side: I drew the Red Joker and the Black Joker into my hand during both Turns; on the “Famine” side: during his Turn 2 activation, Euripides managed to flip 1 - 3 - 2 for the healing ability that I needed to go off. It finally did, but only because I Empowered the 4th attempt. Spending an entire activation trying to hit one TN 7 with your Master is not a good feeling.
The two Turns of the game were a very tight back-and-forth. Given the board set-up, it was trivial for both of us to score the bonus point for Recover Evidence from the jump. I had an especially easy time thanks to the Cyclops’ “Frozen Runes” ability still being amazing. Thanks to the Ranged attacks of the Cyclopses and Gigants - along with Numb tokens allowing me to interact without interference - I managed to claim the vulnerable Terror Tots for Recover Evidence, locking Yuri out of Strategy during Turn 1. Meanwhile, he scored a one–point Scheme and I didn’t (because I was planning on discarding my Frame Job for Public Demonstration - the easiest two-point layup for Savage).
Turn 2 was big for both of us. I harvested my easy two-point Public Demonstration, and - thanks to killing the Blood Hunter - stayed in the game on Strategy. Yuri also double-scored his own scheme and got on the board for Recover. When we called it, the game was a 5-5 draw, a result we were both happy with.
I remain very bullish on Savage in 4th Edition. They seem to have the tools for every job and can just dogwalk Informants thanks to “The Land Yields”. Despite seeing several rounds of revisions since I first brought them to the table back in early June, their vibe is still immaculate. They feel like big, menacing, giants that can hold their own in a scrap. Just like in 3rd, it’s going to be a challenge for me to not bring them to every fight and give my other models a chance to see the table.
Across the rest of the League, things were weird. A full half of the matches this Round ended in draws, including our “top table”, which meant that the standings going into the final round were a mess:
Toni Ironsides, Troubleshooter fought Kaeris, Reborn to a 10-10 draw
Perdita Ortega, La Diabla tied with Dreamer, Fast Asleep 9-9
Dashel Barker, the Butcher defeated Professor Von Schtook, Admissions Executive 7-4
Nekima, Nephilim Queen (a different one) defeated Captain Zipp, Cloudchaser 10-9
Nexus, Heart of the Hive defeated Yan Lo, Pathseeker 7-5
Round 6
It took me a while to get the pairings sorted for Round 6. I was trying to thread the needle between appropriate matches given the standings and making sure everyone played against someone they hadn’t yet battled. In the end, I was able to make everything jive, and I found myself paired against our perennial first place - Peter.
My record at this point was 2-1-2 compared to Peter’s 4-0-1, and he had just taken my Foundry list to school with Bandits when we matched up at the last local tournament. It was pretty clear who the favourite was going into the match.
Peter was chasing the “new Master every match” award and was bringing Frontier. Continuing my alternating approach, it would once again be Marcus, Alpha and Chimera on my side of the table.
The scenario for this Round was Boundary Dispute on Standard deployment with Runic Binding, Harness the Leyline, and Scout the Rooftops as the opening scheme pool.
I brought: Marcus, Alpha and his pet Razorspine Rattler; Cojo (my boi); Sabretooth Cerberus; Ceddra; Myranda; 1x Order Initiate; Klaus Norwood; and a Red Cap.
On Peter’s side were: Cornelius Basse, Lone Verdict and Bernadette Basse, Furtive; 3x Frontiersmen; 2x Austringers; the Sandworm; and Jonathan Reichart.
As Peter and I are both Samsung enjoyers, we also got to be enjoyers of the new Malifaux 4th Edition App . I can say with satisfaction that it is just as good as the 3rd Edition app. Malifaux continues to set the gold standard for support app in the hobby of tabletop wargaming.
At the centre of our board, there was a massive, multi-level fortress structure. Considering most of the terrain we use at the ol’ local game store is meant for Warhammer, the assorted nooks and crannies that festooned the castle were likely meant as set dressing. However - this being Malifaux - they ended up becoming an integral part of the game, as our crews crawled over every inch jockeying for “Leave Your Mark” over the course of Turns 2 and 3.
Marcus got the chance to throw Bernadette from the top of the tower; the Austringers were able to make proper use of “Expert Climber”; I got to double-score Make it Look Like an Accident thanks to fall damage, it was great.
Of my three matches with Marcus, Alpha over the course of the league, this is the one where things really clicked. My victory over Duncan in Round 4 had been down to one big play being successful. During this match, I felt like I was getting much better at maneuvering to take advantage of the Mutation Upgrade shell game that Alpha’s crew card enables. This improvement at the shell game meant I was able to use the “Adapt and Overcome” ability on the Mutations as the resource it’s intended to be - securing clutch “Draw Out Secrets” triggers on Cojo’s iconic Toss.
Both Peter and I had pegged Frontier as a tough-as-nails crew. Between their Hidden tokens and the widespread “Favourable Terrain” ability (granting Cover as long as you have Concealment, and vice-versa); and the Badge tokens that essentially act as a weaker “Demise (Eternal)”, we were expecting the Frontier crew to stand up to some severe punishment.
However, as it was his first game with the crew, Peter misjudged how valuable the two token types were. He weighted Badges too heavily, and Hidden not heavily enough. This skew meant that when fights broke out, they tended to go my way, with melee monsters like Marcus and the Sabretooth punching right through Badges. Meanwhile, Klaus was able to use his aptitude for Schemes to make sure that I didn’t fall behind on the non-violent elements of the competition.
It still ended up being a super-close game, but I was able to pull out a 9-8 Win.
During the final round:
Toni Ironsides, Troubleshooter defeated Lucius Matheson, In Plain Sight 11-5
Nekima, Nephilim Queen defeated Perdita Ortega, La Diabla 9-5
Wrath of the Crossroads Seven defeated Professor Von Schtook, Admissions Executive 11-5
Captain Zipp, Cloudchaser defeated Yan Lo, Pathseeker 11-5
Lastly, Nexus, Heart of the Hive and Lucius Matheson, Dishonourable were set to duke it out, but they had to cancel last-minute without a backup plan. The League’s system for resolving scheduling issues resulted in a 1-0 technical victory for Nexus.
The Final Standings
In the end, with Peter’s upset loss in the final round, he would be knocked from first place. Quinn - the newest player in the league - would go on to finish with the best record. Featuring zero defeats, his 4-0-2 using only Toni Ironsides, Troubleshooter would see him finish first.
Peter would finish second overall with a 4-1-1 record and tying with Quinn on total points scored over the course of his games. As he managed to achieve this record while using a different Master each round, he would get the variety prize.
Lastly, our prize for dedication to a single Title of a single Master (Quinn was ineligible because each player could only win a single prize) would go to Brad - the second-newest player in the league. Brad also finished 4-1-1 (only losing to Quinn), while staying monogamous with Nekima, Nephilim Queen.
Despite me envisioning the variety and loyalty prizes as a way to have more than just a standard “Top 3” - the prizes ended up going to our Top 3 finishes anyways.
Departing Thoughts and Tips for Would-Be Organizers
While I was tempted to try and analyze our final results as a way to give you a glimpse into what the new meta of 4th might look like, I have come to the conclusion that doing so would be of limited value.
This league was distinctly casual, from a playgroup just starting to come to grips with the overhauled rules. I think the most valuable takeaway if you’re reading this is that the new edition has the pep in its step to sustain a 12-week, decentralized league. Everyone who participated was highly motivated to keep scheduling their games and I heard nothing but positivity, even after the games that turned out to be decidedly one-sided. Again, this is coming from a community that plays at the casual level, so if you’re aiming to play at a highly competitive level, your experience might differ; but after many, many games of 4th - and trying to remain skeptical throughout - I just keep having fun.
I wanted to end this little series with some tips for those out there who might be interested in trying to run a league of their own.
You Need a Concrete Plan for the Following:
Determining each round’s match-ups. And it needs to be deeper than “two players with the same win/loss record play each other”. For this league, my rubric was: new opponent > win/loss record > points differential > strength of schedule. While Round 6 took me a bit of figurin’ - that was due to the bizarre win/loss records that most people were stacking up. I suspect that most leagues, especially as 4th develops, will have more normal results.
What to do if two players can’t schedule a game.
How do you resolve rules disputes when the rulebook won’t get the job done.
“Take Backs” - It’s very easy to forget rules in Malifaux and the 4th Edition ruleset is still very fresh. I came up with an official policy around take backs and it ended up being one of the most helpful things when it came to defusing potentially contentious moments on the table.
Have a Detailed Player Pack
Having a written document you can point to as an authoritative source for all things related to your league is invaluable.
Assume No One Has Read Your Detailed Player Pack
Mentally prepare yourself to answer a lot of questions that could be answered if people read your player pack.
Figure Out Your Communications
With a one-or-two-day tournament, it’s relatively easy to have everyone get on the Best Coast Pairings app and deliver your instructions while they are a captive audience at your local game store/community center/Legion. On the other hand, if you are coordinating a tournament-sized group while allowing everyone to pick up games on their own schedule over a longer period, you need to make sure that everyone can talk to each other. It can be as simple as setting up a Discord server, or as complicated as figuring out the various platforms everyone is on and passing contact details back and forth as opponents are determined each round.
My experience was the latter. Our community in Winnipeg is small, but burgeoning, and I didn’t want anyone who wanted to play to feel alienated if we chose a communication platform they weren’t comfortable using. However, I also only had 12 participants to manage. If you are in a city or town with a bustling Malifaux scene, I don’t think micromanaging communications would be a feasible approach.
Get Yourself a Spreadsheet
Whether you’re like me and use Google Sheets, or you’re Excel-pilled, or you use an organization software that I’m too basic to be aware of, you’re going to want some tabs to track match-ups each round and probably standings as well.
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I’ll be back again in a month or two once our fall league gets going (probably earlier with a tourney report or two). For now I’ll leave you with one last note of encouragement when it comes to trying to organize something for your own community. While maintaining the momentum does take some effort, as long as you cultivate a positive environment that keeps participation fun, a lot of the finer details seem to sort themselves out.
So if you’re considering putting together a league, you should absolutely do it.
Awesome write up, I read the players pack at least once!