Today I chatted with Matt Overton who will be running the Malifaux event at Southern Hemisphere Open. This is the first of my ‘interviews’ with the TOs and EOs for Southern Hemisphere Open.
Tell me a bit about yourself
I’m a full-time law student at UWA but my extra time is spent hobbying and gaming.
What is your gaming history?
I have been miniature wargaming since I was 13. I played many editions of Warhammer Fantasy and 40k before moving to skirmish systems like Mordheim, Warmachine and Hordes and Infinity. I have played Malifaux for the past few years and now it’s the only game I play.
Tell me about this system, stretch your imagination and pretend I’ve never played this system, explain it to me, why do you play it, why do others play it? Who would enjoy it?
Malifaux is bursting with character! A blend of Fantasy, Horror, Steam-Punk and Victorian, its difficult for a gamer not to find something they love. The game is a skirmish system played over a 3×3 board with a small crew usually consisting of about 6-10 figures lead by a Master. The core rules are free and all models come with any additional special rules you may need. The rules are easy to pick up but the game also has plenty of crunch for those who want the extra challenge. The miniatures are beautifully dynamic hard plastics which lend themselves well to hobbyists and gamers alike. The company who makes the game, Wyrd, are in-tune with their player base, they engage on social-media, they update their tournament pack yearly, they appoint players world-wide for beta-testing and they release bi-annually erratas to keep the game as balanced as possible. Wyrd has just recently confirmed 3rd edition of Malifaux will arrive in 2019, but this will be a streamlining of current rules and all current models will be given updated rules that will be released for free so it is still a great time to jump on board.
What is this systems history in WA?
Wyrd has been around Perth since its first release. Some of our veterans are original play testers and current writers of Wyrd fictional material. Many of us are now engaging Wyrd for play testing of Malifaux 3rd edition to be launched some time in 2019.
How is the game supported in WA?
Outpost 6030 and KRAGS are both places you can find Malifaux games being played. KRAGS runs a monthly league where your scores contribute to an end of year ‘finals’ event. You can find the entire range stocked locally at Tactics in Perth.
What is the history at SHO?
This is the second time Malifaux will be run at SHO. Last year it was organised by Liam who was a Henchman. I was not in Perth at the time so sadly I couldn’t attend but from all accounts it was a good day!
How are you associated with the game?
I’ve been involved with some beta-testing but mostly I’m just a fan. I’m currently going through the recruitment process to become an official Wyrd Henchman and hope by the time SHO comes around it will all be finalised.
What is unique/exciting about this event at SHO?
I am working very hard on producing a display table for our competitors and spectators this year. Included is some Wyrdscape terrain I am having express shipped from GenCon in the US.
Why should people come and play this event at SHO?
If you’re a Malifaux player, new or old, I implore you to join me and your fellow gamers in a last Oorah to second edition. Lets get together and celebrate Malifaux and generate some excitement for the 3rd edition that we are all so pumped about.
Anything else you want to add
I’ll be demoing the Saturday and Monday of SHO so please come and find me for a game or just a chat. If you have never played Malifaux I am happy to run you through a game, if you haven’t played in a while this could be a great excuse to dust off the minis and bring them out to play.
The players pack for the event is available on the SHO website The formal Malifaux event will be Saturday 22nd September. Tickets are on sale now via humanitix.
