Crazy Train- Malifaux Mei Feng Tactica

The next in my Malifaux tacticas, this finishes off the Ten Thunders I have played in the last year with Mei Feng. I do now also own Yan Lo and am working my way through Shen Long, but they will come later (likely much later) because I want to play around with them a lot more before I write anything up. 

Keyword abilities-

Walking Forge- Very simple but very useful, the pure constructs in the crew (that is the ones that aren’t also living) drop scrap when they end their activation. Sets up a ton of things in the crew but especially Ride the Rails cause it gets out the network a lot easier

Ride the Rails- Your primary method of movement, this allows you to just teleport from scrap to scrap with your walk actions as long as they're within 12" of each other. There is a little bit of finessing to plan out exactly where you need markers, but with the amount of easy ways to drop scrap in the crew you will usually find yourself with more than enough options to get where you need to go, and moving 12" with your crew is insanely fast despite their terrible Mv stats almost across the board.

Armour/Hard to Kill- Not really a keyword thing but almost the whole keyword have some combination of Armour and Hard to Kill. It makes for bad matchups against anything that ignores these (McCabe especially is rough) but if they don't ignore it the keyword is really tough to kill.

Vent Steam- Really great both defensively and offensively, it gives a 3” aura of Hazardous for enemies and Concealment for everything at the cost of 1AP. It’s not always worth using it for your AP, and honestly more often than not won’t be, but when you have triggers to do it for free on things you wanted to do anyway it’s really great to have.

Magnetism- As a bonus action you should have uses for it fairly often, and it does quite a lot in keyword. 16” range is huge and it lets you move the models its on that little bit extra every turn to get things where they need to go. You can pretty reliably topdeck it as well which is nice

Keyword models-

Mei Feng- Mei as a master does a ton and she is really versatile with regards to what she can accomplish in any given game. Df6 and 12 wounds with Vent Steam and Armour 1 is great, especially with soulstones, while Wp5 is average, and Ride the Rails makes her decently fast. Breath of Fire gives her a ranged attack which is ok, and Condensation on it is the most important thing because it lets you get Vent Steam without losing damage efficiency. She has 2 unique abilities that function really nicely to keep her moving around and guaranteeing she does what she wants to, as she can reduce her duel totals by 2 to add free suits (especially good when you’re already winning duels or are above a TN anyway) and when she declares triggers she gets free 2” pushes. This is mainly to allow her Jackhammer Kick melee trigger to function as she pushes enemies away, then pushes towards them before getting extra attacks. Its best use is on her bonus action Freight Train though, because you can potentially get really high amounts of movement spread across 2 models if you target something else, or missile Mei across the table with enough scrap markers set up (and then because you declared a trigger you can drop a scrap again). The damage on Freight Train is somewhat incidental and mostly nice when it happens, but if it does happen (especially on the Golem) you are doing a good amount of damage. Her melee is pretty good if not low damage, and she relies mostly on rate of attacks over spiking damage (although she can spike with Blinded by Iron to go to 3/5/6 damage). In general Mei does a lot in game and in pools that play to her strengths (mostly scheming/survival based) she is a reliable choice if not always the best one

Forgeling- It’s a totem, it does the job. No damage from Burning, Armour 1 and Df5 are all decent, it also pulses out Burning 1 when it activates (which you need to be a bit careful of with your own models, but you can use it to your advantage). Its melee attack is nothing to write home about, but Remove Impurity is a good way to start a scrap engine early on because it needs just a 4 of Rams to get out scrap and can do it as soon as the game starts. For this I like to start with the Forgeling and give a single model Burning (easy enough to do with careful deployment), use the Ram trigger to remove that Burning and drop a scrap and then double walk as far up as possible to Walking Forge a second scrap onto the table. It’s simple but it works, and the Forgeling is also not Insignificant so can work to score points which is really important. 

Kang- Kang is a little bit support piece, more beater but unique in what he does in the Foundry keyword. Hard to Wound is his only defensive tech, which means he is a bit easier to land damage on than most things in the keyword, but Juggernaut gets around that a little bit if you can spare the card (and most of the time you should be able to). Hot Coals is a decent ranged attack to blast onto enemies, with Blaze it has a pretty good role too but isn’t his main job really because his Shovel is pretty great. 2/3/5 on a beater type henchman may not be great, but built in Critical Strike shores that up and Knock Aside is great for moving things around to deny or facilitate scoring when you need to. In terms of support, he can stop friendly models gaining Slow or Distracted which keeps you functioning, and can pulse Focus for pretty low cost (card or scrap marker, you should almost always have at least one spare). I like to take Kang more often than not, but he tends to be the thing I drop if I really want to fit something else in

Sparks- I've touched on Sparks a bit in my talk about the GG2 Errata because he changed quite a lot there, and while he is very different to what he was before he is still a really great choice for Foundry crews, and one I would take more often than not. Command Construct is amazing, although a 9 isn’t a low TN, it can trigger off almost anything in the keyword and is basically free AP. Analyse Weakness is a situationally useful action but when it does work you have a good amount of anti-Construct and synergises well with a lot of other models. He can heal friendlies with his melee attack, or otherwise it’s just a decent attack, while Now Yer A Robot is a great way to make your things even tankier with Shielded and can synergise with things the crew wouldn’t normally (making things Construct). Pack With Explosives doubles down on the “force bad decisions” playstyles of Foundry and when your defences work it also adds great ping damage on top of Vent Steam. Hostile Work Environment shuts down tons of support in enemy crews, and Scrapyard Mines makes the area around him a big Hazardous danger zone which is really nice because it works for making really nasty no-go zones. Sparks is tough because he is a support model, but at the same time needs to be on the front lines to get the most work out of him and needs to be protected a bit. 

Metal Golem- the big beater of the crew, the Metal Golem I really love and always take when I play Mei. Despite Mv4 it has deceptively high movement through Off the Rails, which also boosts his offensive capabilities through free attacks (this action you should really always take if you want to move or charge because of the value from it). Defensively Df/Wp5 is pretty average, but Armour 2 and Vent Steam help that and if it does die you get 2 free scrap markers from Excess Material which helps a bit. Walking Forge is always great to have, and being able to get Shielded +2 from scrap markers as a bonus action is really nice (and if you pair it with Sparks giving him bombs, even better). Stat 5 melee isn’t fantastic on a 10SS beater, but positive flips gets around that and 3/4/6 damage is also great. Condensation trigger is a must for its value, Defensive Reflexes for Shielded is also nice (and like I said, Sparks synergy) and Knock Aside plays into the keyword having a lot of ways to shove enemies out of position where it benefits you. In general I would always take the Golem if you’re playing Mei because it’s too much good value not to

Mechanised Porkchop- As far as your Walking Forges go, this is the quickest and 7SS is a very good cost for what it brings. It does have low wounds and is fragile to ignore Armour, but at the same time Armour 2 and Df5 with Vent Steam is decent enough. Its wounds are a resource with Reckless and you need to be very careful with that, likely alternating between Reckless and Tin Feast to keep it topped up (or use Sparks aggressively to heal it). Its melee is decent, although having to declare triggers and 0” melee are both slight downsides. Trigger on every suit is great to have though, and they’re all useful triggers if you play around them

Neil Henry- Neil is a bit cheaper than the other beater models in keyword, and 8SS is really competitively priced for him with looking at what he does. 2/4/5 isn’t super high damage, but Stat 6 is great and he has a few triggers that are all useful, Reckless and Flurry make his output really insanely high and he has 2 separate ways to give out Injured which only punishes the opponent more. I only recently picked up Neil and got him painted so haven’t really gotten much practice out of him, but I think he has huge value if he can do what he wants to do. He is a bit more fragile than most models though with no Armour and no Hard to Kill, relying only on Hard to Wound for defence so he can’t be overextended that much. He is similar defensively to Kang but without stones to help out, albeit priced cheaper. Neil is also not a Construct so lacks more of the synergy with the crew that others have

Willie- While he has a niche, I don’t really rate it too highly in the keyword because he doesn’t really do enough that affects how the keyword plays. While I think it is probably a worthwhile model if he was in M&SU with what his actions do for them synergy-wise, the help for gun-based crews and more shockwaves isn’t something I rate very highly for Foundry

Rail Worker- For 5SS their weaknesses are moderately easy to work around (or just acceptable, Wp4 really) and they do a lot for the crew. Armour 1 and Hard to Kill is great, Ride the Rails as standard and Creative Salvage can be ok but you don’t really tend to kill much with them to make use out of it. They have ways to reduce Burning from other models (really amazing offensively against things like Kaeris because it also gives Stunned) and the action also lets you generate scrap markers on a Ram trigger. Rail Driver is an ok attack for a 5SS minion, but Pneumatic Toss is their best offensive action because it has so many applications when compared to schemes. One Rail Worker is something I always hire, and I usually end up taking 2 because they all give value

Survivor- Slightly faster than Rail Workers as normal, and much higher Willpower but otherwise fairly similar. They bring Magnetism and the excellent trigger to instead move the target which you can use to rearrange your scrap network or help your crew reposition. They have pretty low damage, and their ranged weapons hurt them if they use any triggers at all, but both triggers are pretty good (ranged scrap generation is always useful). In general I think they have a niche, but of the 3 faction minions I think they’re the least useful.

Metal Gamin- Cost 5, 4s in every stat but they exist to just fuel the rest of the crew. Armour 2 keeps them alive longer, and what you want them for is Walking Forge and Excess Material to guarantee you’re getting out heaps of scrap markers reliably. They can give any model in 3” Shielded +1 for a 5 of Tomes, or just a 5 if targeting a Construct (most things in keyword). Their attack is pretty meh honestly, but its there if you need it, and they have Magnetism only needing a 3 which is really great for mobility. In general I’d take 1 in most crews just for the support they bring along, but not always. 

10T OOK/Versatile models-

My usual go-to when it comes to Versatile models, the Terracotta Warrior, I would not suggest here because it's only 1 stone less than your minion options, and I'd just go for an extra one of any of them and play a stone less. I really honestly don't think anything massively grabs me OOK any more, although I have played around with Minako Rei for Katashiro summons and McCabe for janky interactions with the scrap, but they don't do all that much for me personally

Upgrades-

Masked Agent-I really like this on Mei Feng, because it tunes her up quite a lot. Ignoring Resistance Triggers is the biggest part, but being able to bring along something else when she charges too is really nice as well because it lets you set up extra movement you might not have had access to otherwise

Trained Ninja- This upgrade used to be worth taking on Sparks to keep him safer, but since the GG2 errata it doesn't really have a place in Foundry I feel. Unimpeded is ok but Ride the Rails is better, and otherwise you don't really have a need for anything the upgrade gives. 

Silent Protector- You can get almost all the benefit of this upgrade across different things in keyword, so I would really give it a miss. If you really need Hard to Kill on something then maybe, but even then it's really only going to be on Sparks or Neil who I think are mostly fine without it. 

Arcanist OOK/Versatile models-

Most people would note the Soulstone Miner here, and Steam Arachnid Swarms were popular for quite a while, but I honestly feel like they aren't super necessary any more and the keyword can do what it wants to do without really dipping OOK that much. The constructs Mei does want are the ones that can create scrap to feed to the crew, and her keyword models do it easier than most. 

Mechanical Rider- This however is where I accept that going Versatile is an excellent option. Natively very quick, Ruthless, great defensively and supports the crew in really great ways. Revel in Creation fuels your Ride the Rails with Scrap drops (or you can drop other markers to score if you need to) but Revelation does a lot of work in Foundry (as if it wouldn’t anywhere). Revel is really why you take the Rider, but it is all around a really great, if expensive, model. 

Upgrades-

Magical Training- It goes on minions because Arcane Reservoir is so good, and really you probably want it on a Rail Worker or Metal Gamin depending on taste. Definitely take one

Diesel Engine- Almost the entire keyword are Constructs, so they all work nicely with it, but it goes best on a few specific models. Sputtering Exhaust is mostly a slightly worse Vent Steam effect, but always on and with no cost, and Charge Through means you will mostly want it on your beaters which means you lose out on On the Move. Putting it on Rail Workers is probably the best option, but even then I would probably take the other upgrades because of how great they are.

Soulstone Cache- The minion benefit isn’t huge, and it is so good on your beater Enforcers. This is the way you upgrade your Golem or Neil Henry 

Deployments-

With a good rail network setup, deployment doesn't matter a huge amount. Wedge is the most awkward, but its easy to set up all the time anyway. 

Strategies-

Reckoning- you’ll see things ignoring all your defenses in this strat and with that considered you’ll fold pretty easily. Some of your beaters are good enough to hit very hard by themselves, but not enough that you can carry the strat on them alone

Turf War- Mobility and tankiness together is pretty good here, as is Hazardous auras for creating bubbles where you can hurt your opponent for coming near you (excellent near the centre of the board and that all-important middle marker) but it’s likely the opponent will tech against your Armour and try and negate as much of your defensive tech as possible

Corrupted Idols- Like a lot of high-armour crews Foundry have lower wounds to compensate, and with virtually no healing in keyword and your wounds already being a resource to spend on some models you don’t want to have another reason to hurt your own models. Mei can do it decently herself, but you’re then hurting your Master to score which isn’t often great

Plant Explosives- Foundry can get in really great spots for this quite easily, and with them being moderately tanky if not teched to you should be better able to score this than some other strats (assuming the opponent will also be playing more scheme-focused)

Schemes-

Detonate Charges- Not bad, but not great either because you have no ways to put down markers outside of Interacts so it needs effort or hiring OOK. Mech Rider in Arcanists, Hucksters in Thunders both do it but I wouldn’t really be going for it as a first or even second choice

Breakthrough- Somewhat easy to score, but the end point needs a bit more work and a hard push into the enemy deployment. Depends entirely on the deployment zones for me (Corner I’d never do it, Wedge and Flank are things to consider heavily)

Harness the Ley Line- Pretty easy to score, just pop markers down on the centreline. There’s really nothing else to be said cause almost any crew can do this without even thinking

Search the Ruins- I’m a big fan of this just because I like a lot of marker-based schemes, and Mei can do it pretty well all things considered

Dig Their Graves- Use scrap to set up kill zones, then kill near there. It's easy to pull off

Hold Up Their Forces- You have very good tanky 5SS models in 3 different varieties. This is a huge strength for the keyword, and you can do it fairly well when you want to

Take Prisoner- Using Rail Workers to chuck things away from enemies is a decent way to score, but its also a bit of work and I don’t really find it super fantastic myself

Power Ritual- Depends on the deployment, but in Corner and Flank it isn’t terrible to take just a bit bland

Outflank- You can do it, just isn't the best option to take. Almost always you'll have 2 schemes you'll want to take more but it isn't difficult to score. It does pair amazingly well with Power Ritual in Flank and Corner, but no better for Foundry than anyone else

Assassinate- Mei herself isn’t too fragile and can survive pretty well, plus with Vent Steam she can make sure the opponent has to make bad decisions if they want to take her out. You can also threaten enemy Leaders in a lot of different ways with the crew, and late game there is little escape from you. 

Deliver a Message- With rail networks, you can get in and deliver pretty easily, and the 2nd point isn't too hard either

Claim Jump- Get in the middle and make a no-go zone, set up your hazardous and try and keep enemies out. You can use a few things to get movement in janky ways as well if you need to

Vendetta- If you are taking this, it’s the place to take Neil Henry. His mass amount of attacks and cost 8 means he has a good array of targets to choose from and he can take them down fairly easily. There are a few decent takes for it in-keyword but I would go for Neil myself. 

GG1

Strategies- 

Symbols of Authority- with your mobility on Mei and with Ride the Rails, you can get to symbols fairly easily and score points where you need to. You also have some great defensive models to protect your own symbols for fairly cheaply

Recover Evidence- not terrible, but not great either. It’s something you won’t struggle at, but there are a lot better options in both factions to make scoring easier

Corrupted Ley Lines- Mei can do this almost by herself fairly easily, but it’s also at the expense of not being able to use Ride the Rails in any model with the lodestone which affects your mobility a bit on its own

Public Enemies- I don’t really rate this for Foundry because as soon as someone sees Mei is declared in this strat, they’ll always pack as much armour ignore as possible to guarantee your main defence is gone. 

Schemes-

Breakthrough, Take Prisoner, Vendetta, Assassinate, Claim Jump- Nothing changed here, so my points from above are still my opinion on them.

Hidden Martyrs- There are a lot of very valuable combinations here to choose from (basically any 2 models in keyword that aren't Kang or the Golem) and you have the potential to keep it on your terms 

Sabotage- This one is a bit too deep in the enemy zone for me to rate highly, because its a lot of work to get into the enemy deployment enough to make it worthwhile

Catch and Release- Being able to pop in minions that are very tanky for their cost, score the point and then Ride the Rails all the way back where you can't be touched makes it very easy to score if you play to your strengths

Let Them Bleed- While they can fight, I don't think that the crew can hit hard enough to guarantee you'll be scoring this. Also consider the likelihood that with damage-based pools you're likely to see a lot of armour ignoring against your stuff. 

Leave Your Mark- Claim Jump for scheme markers, but unlike Claim Jump you just don't have the kit to make it worthwhile. I wouldn't take it

Research Mission- This one is really easy for Mei as long as you can survive, so I'd definitely recommend it

Spread Them Out- Because its only in the enemy table half, you can dance your way in with scrap pretty easily (or just your other movement tricks) and get markers where you need them to be. Both points are as easy as each other, so I would say this is a decent take with a lot of the keyword models you have. 

Runic Binding- Not bad, but it takes a lot of work in a keyword where you don't have any ways to cheat in schemes outside of Interacts so I wouldn't take it

GG2

Strategies

Symbols of Authority, Corrupted Ley Lines- Same as in GG1, my thoughts are the same.

Turf War- Same as it used to be, same opinion as before

Break the Line- Once you have a decent rail network set up Mei isn't bad at seriously pushing up 2-3 markers and going deep with it, but it's not her best strat I don't think. She is best at counterplay as the crew can jump around where needed and shove models out of position or get in their way in really annoying ways

 

Schemes

Breakthrough, Vendetta, Assassinate, Hidden Martyrs, Research Mission, Let Them Bleed, Catch and Release, Spread Them Out- These are all very much the same as before and I wouldn't change how I play them now.

Detonate Charges, Claim Jump- They’re the same as GG0, same as my thoughts there.

Death Beds- Not bad to do with Foundry, because you can very easily drop scrap markers by doing literally nothing with a lot of your crew