Malifaux+Child

==
 * Malifaux Child, Outcast Totem**

=__Overview__=

toc Unfortunately, the Malifaux Child is a difficult model to justify using. As an out of faction Totem, most Masters will have better Totems to use for the same cost or cheaper.

When hired in faction by Von Schill or the Viktorias, the Malifaux Child is competing with the Student of Conflict, which, while being more expensive, generally has much better utility with some great abilities to offer its Master. Furthermore, for the same cost a crew can instead hire a Desperate Mercenary that is faster, more resilient and has a better damage output than the Malifaux Child.

Basically, the Malifaux Child is not a competitive choice for any crew. That said, the model is cool and if you like the idea of taking small children to the battlefield, there are certainly ways to ensure the Malifaux Child isn't a complete waste of Soulstones.

=__Mobility__= With a Wk of 3 and no Cg, the Malifaux Child has very little in the way of mobility. However his main spell //Misplaced Sympathy// is a (0) action, leaving you free to double Wk the Malifaux Child to help keep up with the rest of your Crew or otherwise get him to where he wants to be.

=__Offense__=

Melee
With Paired Daggers and an okay Cb, the Malifaux Child is actually quite capable of hitting enemy models. While his damage output is pitiful, he can at least make a decent disengaging strike against an enemy model trying to get around it to target a more juicy model.

Misplaced Sympathy
//Misplaced Sympathy// is a tricky spell to get any use out of. Casting it on your opponent means he'll either be picking up a card he discarded before drawing a new hand at the beginning of the turn, or if he didn't discard, his initiative flip. Obviously, it pays to remember the bottom card of the discard pile, but most of the time your opponent will be picking up a card that is as bad or hopefully worse than what he chose to discard.

You'll get the most use out of //Misplaced Sympathy// if you use it late in the turn, when your opponent is running low on cards and he'll be forced to discard one of his remaining good cards for a much worse one. This can be helped a lot if you're also using models with other card discarding abilities, like Hans' //Headshot// and the Convict Gunslinger's //Suppressive Fire//.

//Misplaced Sympathy// can also be cast on your own models, so if you didn't discard any cards during the Draw Phase and flipped a good card for initative, then it might be worth pulling that card into your hands with this spell.

The main problem with //Misplaced Sympathy// is that you need at least a 7 of Masks to cast it. So most (a little under 7/8ths) of the time you'll need to Cheat in a card to successfully cast the spell. So, if you are going to Cheat the required card down, you need to be sure that the payoff will be worthwhile. This also makes the spell much less useful if the rest of your crew wants those high Masks for their own spells or Triggers.

=__Magical Extension__= Magical Extension is generally not going to be useful on the Malifaux Child. With a low Ca and no suit, there are very few Master spells he can easilly cast, and those Masters generally have a Totem that's better at casting it anyway. However, if there is a spell you'd like to cast with the Malifaux Child, make sure you (2) Channel it to maximize your chances of making the cast without having to Cheat.

=__Resilience__= The only positive aspect of being so useless is that the Malifaux Child will be at the bottom of your opponent's priority list. This is basically his only protection from being killed. His low Df, low Wp, low Wounds and no other means of protection beyond //Harmless// means the Malifaux Child probably won't survive the first hit from an enemy model, assuming they choose to attack him.

Otherwise, you can probably be relatively confident that the Malifaux Child will be effectively ignored for most of the game until he either gets in someone's way or there's nothing better for your opponent to do. The exception are Crews that get an advantage out of killing the Child, specifically the Resurrectionists for his Corpse Counter/free Seishin and Lilith/Coppelius for the Blood or Eye Counter.

One thing you should definitely remember is that the Malifaux Child has //Harmless//. It's unlikley to keep him safe against a determined opponent, but at the very least it might force your opponent to Cheat a card to make the strike.

=__Tips and Tricks__= Before going on, it needs to be pointed out that for the next few tips, the Desperate Mercenary is generally better at these tactics than the Malifaux Child. For the same cost or one Soulstone less (if hired out of faction), the Desperate Merc is faster, more resilient, has better offense and doesn't prevent you taking other Totems. That said, the Desperate Mercenary is an adult, not a cute, innocent little child...

Killing Children to Summon Demons
The Malifaux child is an inexpensive sacrifice option for bringing out Killjoy. The Child's low mobility might make it difficult to get close to your opponent's crew, however this can be negated if you can get him to a position where your opponent will probably want to be (//e.g.// an objective). Summoning Killjoy out of a child has numerous advantages. For instance, the blood of children makes him luckier, so he'll be more able to flip those high cards on his attack duels or resist damage from enemy models. A monster soaked in the blood of children is a happier one too, and will be less likely to fall off the table accidentally or chip its paint job.

Torturing the Malifaux Child for Fun and Profit
Children have numerous uses beyond their standard talents and spells, and the Malifaux Child is an excellent potential source of useful Blood Counters, Body Parts, Corpse Counters and Eye Counters. The Resurrectionists will find numerous uses for the Malifaux Child's corpse, while Blood Shamans can help Lilith's crew claim extra Blood Counters just by being nearby when another Nephilim kills it. The Child is not hard to kill either, so less Cheating is needed to get the right damage flip when compared with other potential sacrifices. Its low movement also makes it less capable of running away, meaning Coppelius has more chances to cast //Hallucinate// on the little fellow before he starts claiming eyes with his melee strikes.

Malifaux Child: the Objective
Being on a 30mm base, the Malifaux child makes a fine objective marker. Treasure Hunt, Claim Jump would both represent crews seeking to abduct the child (most probably for torture or summoning, as above), and if you happen to have 5 Malifaux Children you could use them for Line in the Sand - with exploding children being the objective.

=__Playing against the Malifaux Child__= If your opponent has a Malifaux Child in his crew, feel free to give him a big hug. At worst, the child might be used to bring out Killjoy or get some extra counters. But other than that, its biggest effect on the game might be to hold models in combat with disengaging strikes for a turn or physically get in the way of potential charges. They might force you to swap a card from your hand now and again, but honestly, it's nothing to be too concerned about.

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