Rurouni Benshin

Out of curiosity, besides Chiaki, Toshiro, Izamu, and Yin, are there any other Ancestor models? I'm not aware of any, but if there are, please share.

F*CK, THEY'RE ONTO US! *lol*

Oh ok, thanks for clarifying. I hadn't had a chance to beta test the emissaries when they were in beta testing. I think my friend and I were more busy with the campaign. In any case, I'm definitely looking forward to their release.

I'm taking a break.

I see. So depending on the faction, a leader gets a unique upgrade that can only be taken if his crew includes the emissary? Please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I'm sorry, but you lost me at "emissary upgrade". Where is this?

The one time I played Lynch, I utilized his "Ace In The Hole" ability as much as I could, just from the Illuminated's healing ability, and the 10 Thunder Brother's "Dance of Heavens" ability. That said, I kept most of the Aces I found, until it was Lynch's turn to activate. Depending on the circumstance, and what situation was needed most for my 10 Thunder Brother's, I hung onto 1 Ace all the time, unless I absolutely needed the higher card. I didn't take "Wanna See A Trick" or "Woke Up With A Hand" though. The first relying on my drawing Aces before Lynch went, and the other needing him to activate last didn't seem to mesh well with the strategy. "Woke Up With A Hand" would've been good for a couple of turns at best, and for 2 SS, I thought I could've made better use for them points.

Being an avid TT fan, I thought I'd weigh in with my thoughts on Yan Lo... I've only played him once, and I've never faced him before, so my experience with him is limited, but from what I've seen and understand (based solely on what I've read), he is the type of Master that does need moderate advanced planning. I don't think the problem (assuming there is one to begin with) is adding more Ancestors though. To my best recollection, this was the list I used for my 1 50ss game. Yan Lo -Wings of Wind Soul Porter Toshiro Izamu Yin, the Penangalan Onryo Onryo Punk Zombie In hindsight, Wings of Wind was probably a bad choice. Granted it did help me get Izamu halfway up the board on Turn 1 and into melee, but Yan has a lot of "0 Actions" he already relies on, and adding more 0 actions just becomes counter productive at that point. Also, I probably could've done without the Punk Zombie. A Monk of Low River would've probably been good, since I had no defenses against Poison or Burning conditions, but otherwise the list was substantial. I didn't use Chiaki, despite also being an Ancestor, mostly because I wasn't sure how her abilities would work. Maybe instead of the Monk, next time I'll substitute the Punk Zombie for her. In any case, my general strategy started off with board manipulation and responding to my opponent's movement. Fortunately, I had second initiative on Turn 1, and I believe we were equal on activations, so responding wasn't too difficult (He was playing Kaeris). By the end of Turn 1, Yan's Chi was at +2, thanks to Izamu killing someone within range. My memory of the rest of the game is hazy, but I remember utilizing "Fury of Yomi" at least twice, making Toshiro a Spirit for at least 1 turn, and making a lot of use with his ability to move just about anywhere. It was at this point I realize his strength is in making his crew stronger and better. My biggest mistake was misusing Yin. Instead of bringing her towards the middle of the board and engaging my oppositions stronger models, I had her going off to take out his minions. I believe the game ended in a draw, so all in all, it wasn't a bad experience. Now as far as how Yan Lo can be improved... I don't know if he needs improvement, honestly. Having more options for Ascendent upgrades would be nice, but what else can you give him? Commenting on his summoning abilities, I think they work well for his fluff. They make him unique in his own way, which TO ME, is the draw for playing him. He's not like the summoners from the Resurrectionists, and he doesn't have to be.

Ten Thunders was my first faction, and has since become my favorite thus far. I started playing this past Decemeber, with Misaki's crew as my starting crew. Since then, I've collected every TT crew, and every model within the TT faction that's since been released. With the exception of the Ten Thunder Brothers models, all of my TT faction models are ME2. That all said, I have to say they're a very fun faction to play. After getting the mechanics of the game down, it took some time to recognize where each Master's true strengths are. Of all the Masters, I've played with Misaki and Shenlong (via proxy) the most. I've played Yan Lo and Lynch once each, and am vying to try the other 3 I own soon. As far as most powerful Master, it would be hard for me to say, but from the games I've played with Misaki and Shenlong, both can be versatile enough to accomplish most strategies and schemes. Shenlong himself has a decent damage spread, but his bread and butter comes from the upgrades he takes in tandem with Sensei Yu. I've found that his greatest strength isn't so much in the damage he can deal, but the way he helps his crew become that much better. Throw on an Enforcer that can dish out the damage (my favorite is Lone Swordsman, currently), and his crew would be a force to be reckoned with. Misaki is all about her limited upgrades as well. Depending on scheme and strategy, you're taking either "Disguise" or "Stalking Bisento" with her. Personally, I tend to favor "Disguise", unless Reckoning is the Strategy in play. Of the Master's I've yet to try, I'd have to say that I'm most interested in seeing the Brewmaster in action, if anything, just for the lulz.

I see that it's Week 2, but thought I'd ask anyway if it was too late to join. If so, no worries. Just being able to casually play would be enough.

Awesome! Thanks for the info! I'll definitely make it a point to comeby on Tuesday's.

Hey folks, Just wanted to ask when the next tournament might be held! My name is Ben, and I'm still new to the Malifaux scene. Been to TOGIT a few times before, and definitely looking to get more involved with playing. Thanks in advance! ~Ben

Ok, that's clearer. Thanks!

To echo what MasterDisaster said, all the Masters, from what I've seen and understand are all very capable of accomplishing each Strategy. What it ultimately comes down to are 2 factors: 1. Which Schemes are drawn with the Strategy 2. How the rest of your crew compliments your Master If your Master is ideally used for beating on things, you want a crew that's faster moving to drop Scheme Markers and accomplish objectives. If your Master is better used for accomplishing Scheme Markers, you want to have a model that can lay out the damage when needed. Most of my experience in playing a T.T. Master are with Misaki and Shenlong. As a combatant, Misaki has a slight edge, due to her Assassinate trigger, but with the right upgrades, Shenlong can be potent too. As far as dropping Scheme Markers, Shenlong with the "Wandering River Style" makes him paramount for accomplishing objectives, especially if he's with Sensei Yu. In any case, with my experience with playing with and against these T.T. Masters, here's what I've deduced for this topic: Stake a Claim: Shenlong, with "Wandering River Style" / Misaki with "Disguise" Reckoning: Shenlong with "High River Style" / Misaki with "Stalking Bisento" Turf War: Shenlong with "Low River Style" / Misaki with "Disguise" Squatter's Rights: Shenlong with any upgrade that compliments his crew / Misaki: Same as Shenlong Reconnoiter:Shenlong with any upgrade that compliments his crew / Misaki: Same as Shenlong The upgrades I chose for those 2 Masters are based on only my experiences with working with them, but YMMV.

I agree that the answer should be "no", but your reasoning is a little confusing to follow. Could you elaborate a bit more?

As an Outcast, pairing him up with Bishop could work. That is to say if someone survives Bishop's attacks first. *lol*

Question concerning Sensei Yu's ability, "Calm Air Thunderous Voice": While playing "Stake a Claim", could he use (1) AP and the ability from "CATV" to lower his Focus and be able to perform a (1) Interact action for free, could he drop a Claim Marker for the Strategy? Since "Stake a Claim" specifically says the action must be a (2) Interact Action to drop a Claim Marker, I'm tempted to say "no", but would like clarification. Thanks!

Ok, let's try this again... Apparently I posted this in the wrong forum, so here it is again. Sorry for the redundancy, folks! Hi all, I'm sure everyone is as aware as I am that the "Hired Swords" crew has been out of stock for some time. Does anyone have any idea as to when they'll be back in stock again? My suspicion is that when the new models are released in February, they might be back, but that's just a hunch. Anyone with any concrete information on that, please share. Thanks!