New player asking for advice

[Darkuu]

7Hi guys

Im recently picked up my first crew box: misaki. Also i bought ten thunder brothers and im after 2 games. What should i buy to expand my collection? Also what is the best way to play misaki? Last time my friend borrowed me oiran and izamu and i managed to score 8 points however i lost that game(it was vs tt lynch). It felt like my my models arent survivable enought, my torakage was murdered by the samurai's gatling, oiran and borther managed to complete scheme with markers niear the centreline, and misaki was in the enemy deployment zone by the end(i dont remember schem name) as well as killing wandering river monk. What should i include in my lists to increase survivalability? I thought about jorogumo, wokou raiders and ronin or two.

[thatlatinspeakingguy]

Are you sure the survivability was your main issue there? You have scored 8 points but nonetheless lose the game, which means that you was not able to prevent your opponent from scoring.

As for your "what to buy next" question: Shadow Effigy would be a nice addition - 4ss model with armor and hard to kill, and with action which makes Misaki less vulnerable.

[Nikodemus]

Q: What should I buy?

Do you feel like you lack anything in particular? What I want to have with Misaki box is shooters (look up Samurai, Katanaka Snipers and Guild Pathfinders), schemers (lots of options here), models to extend her threat range (Sensei Yu and Mr. Graves pop to mind) and support models (I like Sensei Yu + Monk of Low River pair myself). Other models I recruit a lot for Misaki: Shadow Effigy, Lone Swordsman, Sue. Partly because they look cool, but they do get work done on the table.

Misaki threads pop up every now and then, it might behoove you to do a forum search here. You might also want to check out Schemes & Stones blog and Wyrd Chronicles #27, both have "building on a budget" lists for TT Misaki:

https://schemesandstones.wordpress.com/2016/09/29/building-on-a-budget-ten-thunders/

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/201097/Wyrd-Chronicles--Ezine--Issue-27

Q: Best way to play Misaki

Big question. I guess if I were to generalise, I try to use her for what's she's good at. That's tying up and removing enemy models. Stalking Bisento and Misdirection are my usual upgrades. Depending on the match at hand sometimes I beeline to a big model other times I thin the herd by taking out small fry. Something I do that seems to differ from "accepted" online way is to play her a bit more cagey. With Sensei Yu/Wandering River Style especially you can just fling her up the board far from her crew and wreck havoc. I don't do that a whole lot, rather I hire a few healer models and play her somewhat closer to midfield and keep her healed up and free from harmful conditions if need be.

Really the best way to play her is finding your groove with her. Get some games in, see what feels good and what doesn't.

Q: How to increase survivability?

First things first, survivability isn't required for this game. I've won many matches where I lost one or more models every turn without killing many myself. That said it's certainly easier to get things done if you have models on the table.

Are you asking for the entire crew or just for Torakage? Torakage have high stats but six wounds goes down fast. And high stats won't save you when you flip that ace. Those guys aren't your frontline, don't put them there and expect them to survive. Crew wise lot of comes down to who you hire and how you use them. Healers help keep models alive, as do having defensive abilities like Hard to Kill. Highly offensive models often don't leave anyone standing that could harm your crew in the first place. Obviously some schemes don't rely on you being near the enemy to score at all. They can't kill what they can't reach.

Rather than recommending any specific models I'd urge you to look at how you use your crew. Some say Misaki is a fragile master but in my experience she's sturdy enough to handle moderate attention and has the mobility needed to avoid really heavy hitters if need be. You said Torakage got shot to shreds. Shooting in vast majority of cases requires LOS. Admittedly that's table dependant, but don't be seen if you don't have to. Use cover, sure it won't hurt Samurai's odds of hitting much, but hard cover will still give them -flip to damage which means you're much more likely to only take 2 wounds per hit.

Tell you what, if you want survivability buy Shenlong crew and Jorogumo box. Shenlong and Sensei Yu have a powerful healing action and Jorogumo have silly survival abilities. Combine the two for quasi immortal murder spiders