Malifaux from Mars: Factions

     Hi guys, welcome back to another Malifaux from Mars post! I hope you had enough time to digest the "How to Play Malifaux" post I did a few weeks back. As promised, I will go through all the available factions in Malifaux including their newest factions the "Ten Thunders". Hit the jump to get to know them.

In Malifaux there are 6 factions that you can serve your allegiance to:

Guild

In Malifaux, there is no law above Guild Law. Although these laws do bring some protection to the citizens, order is prized above mercy; because ultimately it is order that keeps the gears of the soulstone trade turning. A world without order is a world without profit, and The Guild always turn a profit.

     The Guild favor an "in-your-face" approach and direct physical damage (whether from melee or range). They are one of the easiest faction to use to learn Malifaux as most of their Masters are very straight forward to use. They also prefer to buff their own crew and work in smaller number (quality vs. quantity). Their minions are usually in the higher soulstone cost and can be considered as the slowest faction. They compensate this by stronger firepower and higher defense.  (Note: I started with this faction with Lady Justice who is an awesome melee type Master)

Their symbol is the Ram and their color is mainly Red (Burgundy) 

Some samples of the Guild models from my personal collection

Arcanists

The boiling contents of the Guild's pressure cooker. The people always have a voice, and the harsher the means to eradicate it, the louder it speaks. A rag-tag collection of spellcasters and deviants, the Arcanists seek to undermine and defy the Guild. But it is always a matter of time before the oppressed rise up to become the oppressors, and those voices who speak loudest for the people are also speaking the loudest for themselves.

     The Arcanists are the rebels and they are in constant battle with the Guild. They consists of fragile spell casters and mechanical constructs. Most of their attacks are magical attacks and they have a wide variety of elemental spells launched from a good distance. Their mechanical constructs serve as backup that provides them with the resilience and melee damage they needed. Beasts are also commonly found in this faction.

Their symbol is the Tomes and their color is mainly Blue

Arcanists Ramos Crew done by Bunnyfist on CoolMiniOrNot

Resurrectionists

There is a certain poetry in death that few can read, but for those with the ability and the willingness, eternity is the reward. Eternity and perhaps their own personal bodyguard of undead slaves; but what good could those temporary husks of life have been to their owners anyway, if they did not have the vision to embrace the grave?

The Resurrectionists are the undead faction of Malifaux, favoring summoning new models and using spells to cause damage or debuff their opponents. Their summoning abilities, damage-mitigating abilities, and models with high wound count combined makes them very resilient.

Their symbol is the Crow (feathers) and their color is mainly Green

Resurrectionists McMourning Crew done by Max Von Deadlock

Neverborn

You fear the dark, and we will give you cause. We are the shadows of Malifaux, its children, its master. You have taught us hate, and we will teach you fear. Tread lightly, human, for this is not your domain; it is, forever, Ours...

     The Neverborn are the native of Malifaux. They are mainly consists of inhuman looking models and they are doing whatever they can to push back the invaders of Malifaux. Their main traits are speed, deception, and will power-based abilities. Most of their models are glass cannons (hits really hard but not that resilient). One of the tougher factions to master but when you do master them, the look on your opponent's face is priceless.

Their symbol is the Mask and their color is mainly Purple

Neverborn Dreamer Crew done by Balefire_storm on DakkaDakka

Outcasts

In a world of desperate convicts, power mad sorcerers, and blood-thirsty Neverborn, these are the outsiders. The misfits of misfits, they are the shady characters waiting in the back of the bar to be offered a job from a non-descript man in a black cloak. They are the cutthroats and mercenaries, loners and forgotten. They are the Outcasts.

     The Outcasts are the mercenaries of Malifaux. Each Masters have their own distinct play style and there's almost no overlap in the available minions in between the Outcast Masters. Many of the Outcasts models have the "Mercenary" traits which means they can be hired by other factions at an additional soulstone cost.

Their symbol is the Dagger and their color is mainly Yellow (Gold) - Symbol isn't part of the deck of cards

Outcasts Gremlins done by Miniature Musing of a Bear

Ten Thunders

Having extended its reach across the Breach, the Katakana Clan is no longer content to skulk in the shadows as it did in the Three Kingdoms. It craves power, the kind of real power that has eluded the Clan since its dishonor hundreds of years ago. As the shadows gather, the Ten Thunders has its agents in places of power and influence throughout Malifaux.

     They are the newest faction and they are predominantly Asian themed. With the exception of Misaki, the rest of Ten Thunders' Masters are dual-faction (more details in other post). Each Masters have their own distinct abilities that reflect the same traits with their secondary factions. For example Mei Feng is a dual-faction Ten Thunders/Arcanists Master and she's a melee casters with access to some mechanical constructs of her own. The Ten Thunder Masters can hire crews from the Ten Thunders list or from their secondary faction.

Their symbol is the Eye and their color is mainly Orange (with a combination of their secondary factions, eg. Yan Lo's card would be Orange - Green gradient since he's a Ten Thunders/Resurrectionists Master)

Ten Thunder Misaki Crew by DeadTau

     There you have it guys! I hope I can give some ideas for you to start thinking which faction you want to start with. As a reminder, you only need roughly around $50 to start Malifaux (1 Crew set - ~$30 on ebay, 1 FateDeck - ~$7 on ebay or you can use a regular deck of 54 cards , 1 Rules Manual - ~$15 on ebay unless you wanted to get the rulebook with the fluffs). Also worth mentioning, the Malifaux community has been one of the best community I've been in (at least in California - shoutout to SoCal Malifaux!). All the Henchmen (promoters of Malifaux) have been very helpful and their demo games have always entertained me.

     Next posts, I will go into more details on the Masters of each factions starting with Guild first. Look forward for more Malifaux from Mars! Mars out!

Source: http://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/