Malifaux: Soulstones

I want to touch on the basics of the soulstone. In my last post explaining the basic mechanic of the game (duels, and using card to determine success or failure) I didn't talk much on where they come from and all of their uses. A soulstone is the currency of Malifaux, it is also a powerful gem that allows the wielder to use/enhance their power (read magic). It is also how you determine your encounter size, in this neck of the woods with Malifaux being a new addition to our clubs games we have been running 25ss games. Each model (except Masters) have a soulstone cost associated to them. You add models to your crew adding their soulstone values until you reach your agreed upon max for the encounter.

What if you can't get to exactly 25ss? Any soulstones you don't use when hiring your crew will go into your soulstone pool. Masters do not cost soulstones, instead they have a soulstone cashe. This number will be added to your soulstone pool after hiring your crew. There is a limit to your soulstone pool when starting a game for a scrap it is 8 and for a brawl it is 10.

What can you use soulstones for anyway? You can use soulstone for many things in the game. Some models actions or spells may call for you to discard a soulstone as part of the cost. Models that have the "Use Soulstone" ability will have a general list of things they can do with a soulstone even though it is not printed on the card. These include:

• Discarding a soulstone to add a fate card to your duel total
• Make a healing flip
• Make a damage prevention flip

Soulstones (much like your control hand) add a new dimension to the game, it adds resource management. You have the ability to 'change fate' and hedge your odds but it can only be done so many times. It gives you a bit more control than leaving fate to the roll of the dice.

Of course there are abilities in the game that can allow you to create soulstones, and alter your control hand but these tactics are beyond the intent of this post.

So there you have it, soulstone basics 101.