Good beater

[Somnicide]

I am looking to pick up a decent beater for my Ten Thunders crews - I currently have Ohaguro Bettari and Yasunori, and wanted some opinions on if you think they are good enough. The masters I have are Asami, Shenlong, and Misaki and don't expect to get anything new for a few months. Right now I am debating Kang, Ototo (my Misaki is the vintage one - I didn't get the box), and the Lone Swordsman, but don't want to get them just to get them since I am only playing painted this year.

I am used to my masters doing a lot of the work, I can count on Asami usually devouring at least one model a game, and Misaki can assassinate. I guess I am more worried about Shenlong pulling his weight.

 

Thanks! 

 

[Nikodemus]

Lone Swordsman is my pet favourite but I wouldn't go for him here. Neither Bettari nor Yasunori like to tank hits, so that's a deficiency I'd try to fix. Izamu, Kang and Ototo spring to mind. I haven't seen Kang on the table but other two have performed well when I've been on either side of the table from them. Ototo has wp4 and min damage 2 which is bit of a bummer, but Izamu has wk4 df4 and relies mainly on his armour to stay alive. Both have semi-hard counters available. Far as I'm concerned both are valid choices but Ototo is tied to a crewbox. As is Kang.

Swordsman is definitely a good choice in a vacuum. On paper I'd think that a somewhat trigger dependent enforcer is a tragedy waiting to happen but he's never let me down. Just that he's bit of a glass cannon which puts him, I think, to the same very broad category as Bettari and Yasunori. One thing to consider is that I find TLS to be rather card hungry, at least if you want to go for specific triggers and use his reactivate. Not a problem for Misaki or Shenlong, but if Asami likes her control cards as much as most summoners this might be a factor to consider.

And you're right Shenlong definitely likes some muscle alongside him. Tons of focus, High River Style, Fermented River Style and his triggers mean that he can punch fools just fine but as a sole beater in a crew he does feel a bit lacking.

[skoatz]

Kang, because he's a sturdy Henchman beater and he can really buff the rest of a crew when facing constructs or undead.  He provides extremely solid utility in addition to providing the beatdown.  He does have a low walk.

[Dogmantra]

My personal fave is Izamu (well, Genbu really), although I play McCabe, Brewie, Yan Lo, and Shenlong so not huge overlap with your masters. He can be a bit slow which McCabe doesn't really care about because he makes Izamu nimble, but still pretty nice with anyone - have Sensei Yu give him Fast and go to town

If you throw in a Low River Monk with the 0 cost upgrade, you can keep Izamu alive for quite a while thanks to his nice armour.

[Cadaverousbirth]

I'll echo @Dogmantra here and say Izamu would be a good pick for you. He's the tanky tarpit to the minion bully (Betti) and the annihilator (Yas). His slowness is his only drawback which Shen and Yu fix easily. Misaki also appreciates a model that can hold people down and stay alive long enough for her to circle in and do her thing. 

Yasunori should be all Asami needs for a beater since she can also summon Yokai to do a lot of damage. 

[Renegade Cabbage]

I've always really liked Mr. Graves. He hits just as hard as the models already mentioned and is just as survivable. He also has black blood. This can make your opponent think twice about how they want to handle him. But, his best use in my opinion is his show you the door action. Who doesn't like a 6" push on a key model followed up by him pushing into base contact with that model?

But, honestly, all of these models that we're talking about can do a lot of work for you.

[newsun]

I'm a fan of ama no zako, especially with asami for more flying 1ap charges. Though this might be tainted by my love for her looks too.

The above are also good suggestions. Really depends on what gap you are looking to fill. The two models you have will most likely suit your needs for beaters.

[Nef]

I always get work out of Ototo. Especially in a shenlong crew. 

[scarlett fever]

All you're really missing is something to deal with armour. Lone swordsman is brilliant but he really becomes dependable with the emissary.  I'd also suggest samurai or Kang if you want to spend the ss.

[Somnicide]

5 minutes ago, scarlett fever said:

All you're really missing is something to deal with armour. Lone swordsman is brilliant but he really becomes dependable with the emissary.  I'd also suggest samurai or Kang if you want to spend the ss.

Is one samurai enough? Do people take multiples?

[scarlett fever]

I think one is plenty. I almost never take 2 of anything. Though it denies armour it's weakness is also armour denial/death by a thousand cuts so I don't like multiplying my weaknesses. Also it's gattling canon is something your opponents will learn to hate. 

[spooky_squirrel]

2 minutes ago, Somnicide said:

Is one samurai enough? Do people take multiples?

In my local meta Samurai show up as singles, typically with the upgrade that avoids damage during their activation so that they can shoot more without the serious drawbacks. I picked up a box of three to make two for fielding and convert the third into Toshiro.

[Nikodemus]

7 hours ago, Somnicide said:

Is one samurai enough? Do people take multiples?

Very rarely but I do field two sometimes. It takes very specific pools/tables/opponents but sometimes it's nice to have two 14'' guns/armour ignoring models.

I think you'd be fine getting just one though. If you want long range guns we've got Katanaka Snipers. If you want to ignore armour we've got The Lone Swordsman. Samurai should pair up nicely with either model.