From StuartL - Fake News! (36 points)

My entry this week is a crew for the game of Malifaux. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, Malifaux is a steampunk (with a touch of horror) skirmish game set in another dimension where magic wielding cowboys do battle with eldritch monsters, far eastern cults and undead hordes. Rather than use dice to determine the outcome of the game, playing cards are flipped from a players deck to make attacks, block and use special abilities. If you don't like the result, you have a hand of cards you can use to swap in for your flipped card, giving the players some control over their final scores.

Each crew in the game has a theme to it and belongs to one of several factions. The models here are from a faction known as the Guild, essentially the government of the world of Malifaux. The theme of the crew is The Pen Is Mightier and for the most part they are a bunch of reporters for the Guild newspaper/propaganda machine. Each crew has different ways to win in the game, as well as different ways to attack. The crew focuses on building up evidence against the enemy crew and using that to damage them, move them around and to remove enemy objective markers from the board.

The leader of the crew is Nellie Cochrane, an idealistic reporter who enthusiastically chases after the story. No exaggeration is too big, nor unprovable claim too outlandish, though she would never knowingly make up lies about someone. Accompanying her is her printing press, to make sure that she never misses a deadline.

The two henchmen that fit this crew are Phiona Gage (left) and Allison Dade (Right). Phiona is the crew's powerhouse and the only member really capable of melee combat. Allison is capable of manipulating enemy models and pushing them around the table on her own.

The Field Reporters are Malifaux's finest researchers, interviewers and journalists. Their role is to help Nellie collect evidence and to place objective markers where they are needed most. Overall, the crew aims to disrupt the enemy and take control of the board rather than dish out damage on any real scale. 

Malifaux's miniatures are all multi-part plastic and nicely detailed, though assembling them can sometimes be a bit of a bother. The game has a very eclectic mix of models and each crew has their own unique set of abilities. It can be quite complex, but once you learn how your crew plays, it can be a lot of fun. As you only ever need a basic crew box and a blister pack or two of models to play, it is a fairly cheap system to jump into. A third edition is on it's way and there is currently an open beta testing going on where the company are getting feedback from the players before printing anything. 

So, for 7x 28mm minis I believe I can score 35 points. This crew earns me another point towards my Squirrel total, and as an all female entry (I'm counting the printing press as being female as it is a feminine noun in French), I am entering it into the Sarah's Choice category as well.
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Lovely work, Stuart, this is the kind of hands-on journalism all too seldom seen these days; what a terrific crew!

These newshounds and their faithful printing press will net you 35 points, plus an extra point for promoting this all-women crew so close to International Women's Day. Well done!

And on the matter of the printing press and the French language, "L'imprimerie de ma tante est sur le table de mon oncle."

Ev