Stemming the Tide
People die in Malifaux, just as they die anywhere only here they don't stay dead. Nicodem doesn't let them; they are just his servants or they have something he wants, either way he brings them back and doesn't let anything get in his way. He heard rumours of an old tomb which held unread texts on the subject of the undead and always wanting to maintain his position he set out to obtain these texts. Unfortunately the tomb was a Neverborn nexus of power, the texts a mere window dressing in a working understood only by the Nephilim and their mistress Lilith. She could not let the foul zombie master disrupt her undertakings, she would not let this intrusion go unanswered.
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| Readying to take the Tomb |
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| Lilith and her Brood |
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| The Rolling Tide |
Tentative Opening Number
In the north, the Cherub and Western Beckoner follow the excited Terror Tots in an effort to keep them from straying too far from the support of their mistress. The Tots end up arrayed behind a wall, hissing excitedly as the magic in the air draws the violence in their blood out. In response, a Rotten Belle and Punk Zombie are directed to intercept the tiny terrors before they can begin to become a nuisance to Nicodem.
In the southern half, a Rotten Belle and her two Punk Zombie bodyguards begin to move out to the eastern edge while Mortimer grumbles about the poor state of the graveyard, muttering about lack of professional pride as he finds some remains for his master with little effort.
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| Following the Beckoner |
Barbaros and Lilith move to take the Tomb. Lilith realising that this is Nicodem's goal, she intends to fight the battle on her terms and to this end she begins to put down hampering terrain to force the undead to change their movements.
The Vulture moves to perch on a gravestone near the Tomb ready to do the bidding of the Master, who is raising a Crooked Man and using magic to repair some of the damage to the new minion. He directs the Crooked Man to move towards the Tomb, an early attempt to gain a foothold.
In the quiet eastern edge, a Beckoner is dutifully followed by a stalker towards a strong point Lilith wishes to take.
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| All part of the Dance |
The Second Act
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| The Tiny Terrors |
In the north, the Beckoner moves out from behind cover to reach into the dead mind of the Rotten Belle, pulling it forward to it leaving it exposed. The Cherub and Terror Tots moves round towards
the trees, waiting till the Belle is close enough to pounce upon, their hissing increasingly in volume as the undead approach.
The now exposed Rotten Belle is directed by Nicodem to use its abilities on the now visible Lilith. In a concerted effort the dead woman manages to entice the Neverborn towards it, the idea that this was yet another death coming to it not crossing its dimmed mind. Eager to deal with the undead threat Lilith swiftly cleaves the arm of the Belle before moving away from the waiting horde to her brood but straying from the Tomb. The Punk Zombie accompanying this Belle moves up to try to protect it from the approaching Terror Tots, the concept of combat the only thing clear in its undeath.
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| I See You |
To the south east, a range of tactics were employed by the adversaries, with the Sorrow and a Punk Zombie attempting to begin flank manoeuvres on the enemy as the Sorrow floating through wall lined up on the shambling Punk Zombie. A duel of the temptresses took place with the Beckoner failing to entice any of the undead towards it, their decayed senses unresponsive to the stimulation of Neverborn while the Beckoner getting caught unawares was drawn in by a Rotten Belle stranding her from her nearest support.
The Tomb became a focus of activity as Barbaros started to edge round the Tomb to spy his prey while the Crooked Man and a Punk Zombie moved in to try to secure the Tomb for Nicodem.
Mortimer slowly picked his way through the graveyard, disgusted at the lack of quality in the graves, their capstones decayed, the graves haphazardly dug as he pulled another set of remains to the surface for Nicodem.
The waiting Vulture surrended itself to Nicodem, who channelled his power through the Vulture to partially repair the damage inflicted on the Belle by Lilith as he crept towards his prize.
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| The Second Act Ends |
Dust and Feathers
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| Wading In |
Spying the Vulture and aware of how Nicodem could use it to channel his dark will, Lilith stalked forward to end the threat, her strike turning the scavenger into a burst of blood and feathers. Moving back to the Tomb, she had not realised the danger she placed herself in as Nicodem began to impose his will on proceedings, summoning a Rotten Belle and a Flesh Construct to protect his interests. The newly risen Belle managed to draw Lilith out forcing her to place herself in further danger and Mortimer poisoned her for afar. The Flesh Construct flailed at the Neverborn Queen but he only managed a glancing blow to stagger her.
On the eastern edge, the Sorrow moved to threaten the nearby Punk Zombie which had moved to mark a strongpoint in the field for Nicodem while the Beckoner attempts to influence the master of the dead, but couldn't break his concentration on his undead summonings. This effort caused the Beckoner to be vulnerable to a close Rotten Belle who lured her ever closer.
On the western edge, a Terror Tot moved to claim another strongpoint for Lilith before moving to support its Cherub companion. The Cherub popped out from behind the tree to let an arrow fly at the opposing Punk Zombie, skewering the hapless creature through the eye, shattering the rear portion of its skull before the Zombie was blown towards the Terror Tots. One of which was pulled forward to the ruined Zombie by the accompanying Belle in hopes the Punk could inflict some damage before it lost cohesion. Before the Zombie could act, another Tot burst out from cover to crush the remnants of its head in tiny claws. The last Tot saw its mistress in trouble and tried to get close enough to help by couldn't cover the whole distance.
On the southern edge of the Tomb, the Crooked Man marked the ground with the sigil of Nicodem starting to claim the Tomb. Weary of the threat posed by Barbaros, Nicodem dispatched a Punk Zombie to try to hold him up. The Punk Zombie charged the deadly Nephilim, with both swords rending flesh from bone as the surprised Barbaros fell to the shock and strength of the attack.
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| The Undead take their Toll |
Northern Success at a Price
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| The Terror Success |
Trying to bolster the power Lilith could draw from the area, the southern Beckoner carved her mark into the ground while hiding in the illusions of Lilith. The act helped as Lilith eludes the ponderous attacks of the Flesh Construct. A Terror Tot charged the Construct, ripping away one of its hands, as the Tot defended Lilith. Lilith struck back at the Construct tumbling the monstrosity with efficient blade before slicing large gashes in the nearby Rotten Belle which threatened her. The Belle barely surviving claws at Lilith but she vanishes from its sight causing the Belle to stumble. The Crooked Man struck out at the closest Terror Tot but the nimble creature was too fast to be struck.
Quietly Mortimer found some more remains for Nicodem which sheltering near the Tomb who in turn resurrected another Flesh Construct and pushed the Punk Zombie to the limits of its capabilities. The Construct managed to place a glancing blow on Lilith but it did little to drive off the violent nightmare. The Punk Zombie under the influence of Nicodem moved with purpose and hacked away at the Mother of Monsters but could not land a killing blow but staggered her nonetheless.
On the eastern edge, the Punk Zombie hacked and slashed at the Sorrow dissipating the energies of the rotten spirit while its charge, the Rotten Belle, laid down another sigil of Nicodem.
In the north-west corner, the Neverborn eliminated the last of the undead in that area, a success in the current battle where the tide seemed never-ending. The Beckoner luring the lone Rotten Belle towards the waiting Cherub and Tots. The Cherub pierced the shoulder of the Belle before it was pounced upon by the lead Tot as it fell into it. The Belle doggedly tried to defend itself, a long forgotten instinct flickering somewhere in the shadows of its mind as the Tot ripped it apart in a temper tantrum as the last Tot raced forwards.
Last Battle at the Tomb
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| The Dead get Home |
Both sides realised that the Tomb was almost in the grasp of Nicodem, only Lilith could stop the horde but the Punk Zombie furiously hacked away at the Nephilim Queen, its blades a blur as it apparently cut her down. Though Nicodem knows that she will be back eventually, Lilith is hard to kill permanently much as one may try.
Howling in defiance, the Terror Tot tries to avenge its mistress but fails to do much before the Flesh Construct squashes the Tot like a bug.
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| A Safe Extraction? |
The Crooked Man carves a final sigil into the ground as in the east, the Beckoner is cut down by the charging Punk Zombie.
While the battle begins to settle down, Mortimer slouches against the Tomb lighting up a cigar and Nicodem quietly observes the remaining Neverborn advancing quickly to the West. He mused that their mistress must have told them where to go to await her and out of fear or loyalty they dared not disobey.
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| A Tomb Taken |
Who won?
Nicodem seized the Tomb while Lilith was banished for the moment. However the victory was tainted as the marks of Lilith and Neverborn laid down in the vicinity of the Tomb reinforced their hold over it. While the Neverborn took heavy losses, Nicodem will have to consume considerable resources and time to gain access to what he desires while under the threat of discovery by both the Neverborn and the Guild.
Final Score: Resurrectionists 6, Neverborn 4
Score breakdown:
- Resurrectionists
- Strategy 4 VP
- Scheme Line in the Sand 2 VP
- Scheme Breakthrough 0 VP
- Neverborn
- Strategy 2 VP
- Scheme Line in the Sand 2 VP
- Scheme Breakthrough 0 VP
Review
The game started well for both sides with some good exchanges - the Cherub crippling a Punk Zombie with a shot in the head before the Tots ripped it apart meant that Dave could hold part of the field with little interference. The rising dead eventually overwhelmed the centre where Lilith couldn't cut them down fast enough and the shock death of Barbaros hampered any plans Dave could form. I think the Resurrectionists got a little lucky with Crows and Reanimator allowing lots of summoning of dead things. It was yet another game where my opponent gained initiative in almost every turn.
Malifaux is a little bit different to various other games, for example our previous game was Dystopian Wars, and hopefully Dave had enough fun to consider a rematch in the future. We could see if it was just luck for the Resurrectionists.
