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It is that time again Wyrdos.....   Another 3 round, Oz event at Battlefield Hobbies....BUT WAIT ITS ON A SUNDAY!   As always, awesome swag, awesome games and the abuse that comes along with attending an Oz event.   32places, GG4, Single Master, Clock Optional.....the same standard shenanigans   Reserves list will go live in after Cow Wars, Tickets are 17.50, Paid to: cgoff101@googlemail.com  Tickets not paid for by middle june (Circa 14-16th) will be released back into the wild.   Rulespack (not that anyone will read it) will be made shortly.

Heya Wyrdos! This week, Waldo’s taken up a bit of early morning meditation to try and help ease him into the day. He’s been somewhat successful, even if he gets distracted every few seconds and still has a healthy caffeine addiction… While we’re on the subject, let’s take a look at a new release who has most definitely mastered the art of perfecting mind and body: Banying Banying is a new Henchman for the Monk and Last Blossom Keywords. His Illusionary Strike has a respectable damage track, while the Shadow Clone defensive Trigger gives him admirable survivability. That said, the real draw of Banying is how he plays with Shadow Markers. Banying has a lot of ways to generate Shadow Markers which he can then convert into Sunless Self models thanks to his Mirrored Images Ability. One interesting thing about Banying is that depending on which Crew he is hired into, he has to focus on different resources. In a Monk Crew Banying will have easier access to Chi Tokens, but it will be harder to generate Shadow Markers. In a Last Blossom Crew, Shadow Markers will be more prevalent but Chi Tokens will be less common. Whichever Crew he joins, he’s a terror once he gets going, either burning Chi Tokens for big hits or utilizing Shadow Markers for Triggers like Shadow Shell Game and Shadow Pin. In Last Blossom In Last Blossom, Banying can fill a lot of roles. Ninja Vanish is one of the most exciting things on his card as it allows him a lot of positional flexibility. In a speed-based Encounter Ninja Vanish allows Banying to keep up with and protect Torakages. In a more damage-focused Encounter it allows him to appear in the center of an enemy Crew along with Ototo to bust heads. Being able to do either of these things makes it difficult for enemies to plan for where Banying will end up on a table. Outside of Ninja Vanish, Banying is an amazing way to get Shadow Markers out for Last Blossom models. Darkened Chi and Shadow Clone Drop Shadow Markers so it is easy for Banying to generate one to two Shadow Markers each Turn. He can also turn Shadow Markers into Sunless Self models with Mirrored Images. Turning a Shadow Marker into a Sunless Self protects it from enemy Marker removal and helps move them into position for effects such as the Unbury from Misaki Katanaka’s From Shadow Ability. In Monk In Monk, Banying is a self-sufficient threat. There’ll be fewer Shadow Markers on the table, but he’ll have more ways to generate Chi. This means he can lean into Illusionary Strike and its Triggers to damage opponents, but it doesn’t mean that he is without any access to Shadow Markers. Darkened Chi Drops a Shadow Marker as part of the Action, so hitting an enemy with Darkened Chi and then using the Dropped Shadow Marker for an Illusionary Strike lets Banying Attack an enemy with Illusionary Strike without moving, which is useful if he’s staying out of danger or holding down an area. Banying is also a very good model to combine with Thunder Archers in Monk Crews. Banying can run out ahead to set up Shadow Markers near enemies which will allow Thunder Archers to get the most out of their Shadow Pin Trigger. Sunless Self Sunless Self models do not follow the usual template for Minions. Thanks to Living Shadow they do not have Health and cannot be killed by opponents, but Living Shadow causes Sunless Self models to die at the end of their Activation. As they Drop a Shadow Marker when they die Sunless Self models are a very good way to get Shadow Markers on the table, but if you don’t want to wait for them to expire, Shadowy Reflection allows friendly models to treat the Sunless Self models as a Shadow Marker. Beyond being Shadow Markers, Summoned Sunless Self models are unique, as without Health they cannot be killed before they Activate. This means that Summoning Sunless Self models will not allow an opponent to kill them before they Activate to gain Activation control. While a player will generally not hire a Sunless Self due to Living Shadow, they are a cheap 2 Cost way to Drop a Shadow Marker Turn 1 which can be used for things like Ninja Vanish or From Shadow. In Last Blossom In Last Blossom Sunless Self models are a great way to protect Shadow Markers. Against a Crew that can remove Markers with Actions like Blow it to Hell or Lost Knowledge, turning a Shadow Marker into a Sunless Self keeps it safe. Oddly enough, Mindless helps here, as turning a Shadow Marker into a Sunless Self will not give the enemy any Pass Tokens. During their Activation, a Sunless Self is pretty useful. They can put out a little damage due to Shadow Strike, but the real fun is Wreathed in Shadow. Pushing Shadow Markers allows a Last Blossom Crew to reposition a misplaced Shadow Marker and is especially useful in Misaki Katanaka, Fractured as her Spreading Influence Ability has a habit of Dropping a lot of Shadow Markers in odd places. Even if there are no Shadow Markers to Push, Bolster Strength is a worthwhile Trigger, often worth Cheating a R to declare. In Monk In Monk Sunless Self models are generally going to be generated via Banying’s Mirrored Images Ability. As such, their main focus is to support Banying. This means that they’ll give Banying a place to teleport to, to punch from, or to escape to. If they’re not supporting Banying, Sunless Self models’ are cheap Activations. Sunless Self models get a lot of use out of General Actions like Charge or Assist. As they cannot be damaged and can move through enemy models, they are able to Charge enemy models that would otherwise be safe. They’re also good vectors for supportive General Actions like Slam or Assist, freeing up more expensive models to score. Finally, Sunless Self models are an interesting target for Shenlong, The Teacher’s Remember Your Training Trigger. As Sunless Self models die quickly, you’ll be able to put out the same Upgrade more often, which will allow friendly Monks to resolve their River’s Conflux Ability multiple times a game. The Black Blossoms box is available now, so head on over to your FLGS or the Wyrd webstore and get yourself a copy of Banying and his shadowy selves. Fractured Futures Week 3 The Fractured Futures global campaign continues this week, and there’s been quite a lot of progress! The trajectory of Nia's Fate is still up to you to decide. We saw a surge in points last week from Keywords that have been struggling a bit so far in the campaign; Bandit was the Keyword that received the most points, with a few others right behind. It's still anyone's game, and nothing will be settled until the campaign ends on May 31; there's still time to play and influence Nia's future. For those of you still undecided, here is some full artwork to influence your choice: If you’re looking for all the information about this campaign, check out the landing page here! Everyone at Wyrd has their own favorites (Kyle is rooting for Savage—we're worried he'll give us the cold shoulder for months if they don't win… just saying 😉) and it's great to see that enthusiasm reflected in the community!

Reanimating the post: I'm going to play VonS as my first master, is this thread updated/still viable to study him?

Thank you so much! Actually the owners of the shop where we are going to start the community are gifting me the rotten harvest of Von Schtook (I painted one of their walls and this is part of the pay lol), so Im starting with him and then Molly will be my second one probably! McM will wait, even because I dont like that much the first version and McM2 is too complex for a totally new player like me. So, Im going to focus on Von Schtook for now!