regleant

I am mostly going to mirror what people said above. You should focus more on a single keyword rather than spreading out to multiple, because it's more difficult to make an efficient list. But since you're already there... look at some Versatile models to get more mileage. Misaki: Loves versatile models and has no real keyword synergy. She'll be fine with pretty much any Versatile models. Shenlong: Seems like he should have more synergy than he does within the keyword. Anything you pick up for Misaki, he'll also enjoy. Mei Feng: She runs fine in Ten Thunders, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Though I find she prefers keyword models and runs more efficiently with them, and so she may drop down on your priority list until you want to commit the funds. Which Versatile models to pick up? My favorites: Fuhatsu. Amazing ranged damage output, solid defensive abilities, balanced by low stats. Dawn Serpent: One of the most mobile models in the faction, and quite durable with Hard to Kill and the ability to heal himself. Minako Rei: Arguably runs best with Misaki, also likes Mei Feng. Comes with Wanyudo, who can run well with anybody and is highly mobile. Sad that people are recommending the Lone Swordsman, because he's not available for sale anywhere

Having played this match-up, I found it's not too terribly concerning to have Misaki buried. Her defensive stats are pretty solid, and can you bring her back out any any time you want. Maybe my opponent was bad? But if they are spending so many resources on "free shots" at Misaki, then they aren't doing other things that they need to do in order to win the game. And if you have a new opponent, they may forget that they can Charge and attack Misaki, totally losing ground on scenario and board control (which is how I won).

Funny enough, the guy in my group who plays Dreamer hates him because the Summoning mechanic is too convoluted. First you have to succeed in the Summon (required number and suit), THEN your opponent needs to fail a Willpower dual and that's where the summoned model appears. If you run high-willpower models and keep away from your own WP offense, it really does limit how and where the summoned model hits the table. This is much easier for a Misaki or Asami crew in TT. Coming from Guild, I think either Lady J or Sonia C could out-gun Dreamer and drop his crew much faster than he could replace them. But I haven't personally seen that match-up to confirm.

I had to create this PPT picture to understand more of the intricacies behind Concealment. Hope you find it helpful.

That's a very interesting question. From what I found in the instruction book: "Cards discarded after Flipping, Cheating Fate, or from the Conflict are not considered discarded by the player or any specific model for the purposes of game effects." That implies to me that it's fairly immediate - as soon as you flip or cheat, the card is in the Discard Pile.

I have to ask - on Turn 2 with Abandon Honor, why didn't the Misaki player shuffle the Red Joker back into the deck? That seems to have been an odd choice...

Nope. No MV penalty, because "if it does so" does not apply. It didn't do so.

Unstable Explosives: When this model suffers damage from an effect with a damage flip, it suffers Blast damage. This is different than how Blast is described in the core rule book, as suffering damage is not a requirement. Does that mean the Bombs in yer Belly upgrade is treated differently? e.g. If damage is reduced to 0, there is no blast marker If the target dies after suffering damage, there is no blast marker (no model left in play to place the blast marker next to) I realize this is a bit pedantic, but the wording is what it is and I want to be sure I'm not cheating people.

Confirmed: Youko is better than Asami, Yan Lo, Mei Feng, and Lynch. The meta has spoken!

I'll be honest, the only reason I don't play Lynch is because of the Brilliance tokens. I love the models, but I hate the "building up" concept where models and armies get stronger turn after turn. Also, the Brilliance tokens add more bookkeeping, and it's hard enough for me to keep track of the game without adding new concepts. Otherwise I love the models (and gambling) would play Lynch otherwise. Similarly, I refuse to play Yan Lo for the same reasons: Too much accounting and slow-grow.

If it helps... There are models such as Dawn Serpent which have both AGILE and FLIGHT, and other models that just have FLIGHT. This is how I determined that Flight alone is not sufficient to walk out of combat.

Was not aware of the Nazi background. I do know that 8 is a lucky number in China, to the extent that you have to pay $$ to have 8's in your license plate or phone number. Also, 88 used to be slang for "bye bye" in SMS messages. Since this is Ten Thunders, I say bring on the 8's!

Well hold on now, I think many people agree von Schook is broken so let's not drag him into this one...

Also eagerly awaiting news on the Metal Golem Nightmare Edition...

On that end, I am surprised to see how many stones are burned early in Youko's turn. There definitely were too few stones in Game 2.

I am not familiar with Vassal. Can you show me where the Score is actually tracked? I couldn't find it anywhere on screen. Generally, I just tried watching Youko's actions to see how she impacts the game, then forward to the end to see the conclusion. But I can never find the points... I also don't have the patience to sit through 3 hours of video. Regarding Game 2, just 1 thought: on Turn 1, Youko could have used Assist on the burning Kabuki to stop him from dying. Sure, he would have dropped the Intel token, but you could have gotten another turn out of him. But I do enjoy watching the early game and how Youko may impact the game, otherwise.

On-topic, please fix the audio. It sounded more like an ASMR audio-book than someone excited about playing a new crew. This probably the opposite of what you intended, especially given how thoroughly you went through each and every model.

I understand your argument. I disagree with it. The cost is a Scrap Marker. You removed a Scrap Marker. You can only place a Scrap Marker. "May be treated as" is for specific effects while it is on the table and while it is within 6" of Sparks.

Launch into Space requires a Scrap Marker in the cost. I think that assigns the type of marker you drop right there. Scrap. No?

While I agree that a comprehensive source for outliers would be great, i would hardly call a misunderstanding on 25% of the core strategies an outlier. We have people playing a core component of the game different ways, depending on what their local groups agree to. That’s one reason I stopped playing anything by GW.

Writing rules in simple English has not been Wyrd's forte', otherwise the rules forum wouldn't need to exist.

Just curious now that we're some number of months in, which way have people been playing it? My group has been spending ALL tokens, because that's what the scheme says to do. But I can see an argument going the other way (select any number of friendly models, then discard all of their bounty tokens).

Auras! Thanks, I kept looking under Terrain rules. That solves that!

If 2 Obsidian Oni both put up the "Burn it Down" aura, are these played as 2 separate hazardous terrains? There is verbiage in the rules about Hazardous Markers all counting as the same terrain (e.g. Sparks "Scrapyard Mines," but these aren't markers. If yes, that means if these 2 models are standing next to each other, other models would gain Burning +2 for every action taken?

I don't know how deep into etymology you want to go, but Wyrd was definitely not consistent in naming conventions. Youko is a Chinese name, not Japanese. Wokou Raiders are similarly Chinese (Wokou = 倭寇· = Pirate). Sensei Yu is messy because 'Sensei' is Japanese, 'Yu' is Chinese. That's why in Kung Fu Panda, the rat was named "Shifu" which is Chinese for "Sensei" or ~Master. That said, the Oni are scarily accurate, as I looked up the history on each one. To your question itself of "Southern Kingdom," I thought of India but not Vietnam. It would be cool to have Nagas!