Model Suggestions-Ten Thunders

[jesters89]

Hey folks,

 

My partner and I will be attending GenCon in a few weeks. We've been away from Malifaux for some time, but have a few crew starters for several factions (we couldn't resist the gorgeous models). We plan to round out the forces at GenCon. We'd love any community feedback about good go-to models for the following crews: 

 

The Thunder- Misaki Starter

Rail Crew - Mei Feng Starter

 

Are there other models folks would recommend we consider buying given synergy they might have with the above-mentioned crews? Thanks folks! I'll be posting a similar topic in a few other faction threads, so if you're an expert with lots of factions I'd love to see your thoughts in the other threads.

 

J

[Pyrflamme]

Toshiro is a great buffer, especially with Rail Crew which can get up to nutty amounts of +flips.

 

Izamu is a solid beater.

 

Consider picking up Katanaka Snipers and Guild Pathfinder/Traps for some solid ranged for your crews.

[D_acolyte]

I like the ten thunder archers as rail workers, Kang  and both masters like getting into the thick of it.

Metal gamin for Mie.

Yamaziko and Ama no Zaku, probably miss spelled both names, are good situational models.

[Rurouni Benshin]

For Misaki's crew, anyone of the Last Blossom models would be a good edition. Right now those include Yamaziko and Oiran.  The Ten Thunder Brothers are a pretty solid addition to most crews too, even though they don't have Last Blossom anymore. Thunder Archers are solid as well.

 

For Mei Feng's crew, I would consider getting Metal Gamin. Being as she can take up to 4 Foundry models that are out of faction, Metal Gamin are a good choice. If you want a big beatstick to go along with them, a Rail Golem would be nice too, although the damage output from Mei Feng and Kang together is already pretty good.

 

The Shadow Effigy comes out soon too. Definitely get that, as it would benefit both crews greatly.

 

Good luck!

[OneLittleThunder]

I second the votes for :

• Toshiro (both as a buffer and as 10T's only real source of summoning)
• Izamu (the faction's best tanky beatstick)
• Katanaka Snipers (great ranged attackers who can hold their own in melee and give out Slow as a 0 action)
• Thunder Archers (make sure you have someone carry the Blot the Sky upgrade with them)

If you can find the old metals, 10 Thunders Brothers are fantastic utility models for their price. 

 

Yamaziko is a nice complement to Misaki who has good utility elsewhere. Onryo Oiran can also play roles, but they fill a pretty specific niche. 

 

Komainu are great additions for Mei Feng, but there are no official models for them yet (lots of good proxy options, though).

[Rurouni Benshin]

Onryo can also play roles, but they fill a pretty specific niche. 

Onryo aren't actually TT models though. I think you're thinking in terms of Yan Lo, who can take up to 4 "Retainer" models outside of faction.

 

That said, with Yan Lo, they are pretty good.

[OneLittleThunder]

Whoops! I was actually thinking of Oiran - thanks for catching that!

 

Onryo may well be useful for Yan Lo, but I haven't actually fielded them yet, so can't comment.

[Jewomie]

i will second everything stated above, and also add that monk of the high river (will be out at gencon) have almost entirely replaced Torkage for me, and the lone swordsman is a beast and i love him. 

 

also, the pathfinder is great, but outside of McCabe i find myself taking the 10T archers almost every time. firing into melee with reckless abandon is just too good not to have.

 

Also, Yin and Dawn Serpent always seem to be worth their stones for me. seriously.

[jesters89]

This was all super helpful. Thanks guys.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I'll keep peeking back for suggestions as the Con nears. There seem to be a lot of these effigy models coming out this year-- are they worth considering?

 

I'm going to spend too much money.

[OneLittleThunder]

I find the Shadow Effigy to be situationally useful. His attack only does 1 damage but is very accurate, so it's handy for finishing off Hard to Kill models and keeping enemies from disengaging. He's good at making other models drop scheme markers and can give some decent protection to your Master, so with the right scheme pool, I think he's worth the 4 stones.

[Rurouni Benshin]

When there are schemes that benefit from scheme markers, he's amazing. Admittedly, I haven't used him in missions involving "KILL EVERYTHING", but as far as a 4 point model goes, he pulls his weight pretty well.

[BigHammer]

I find the Shadow Effigy brilliant when Assassinate is in the scheme pool. Its "Into Shadows" ability stacks well with stuff like Recalled Training, Misdirection and Broken Promises to ensure your master stays alive when you need them to. Also, Remember the Mission is a tactical action, so it can target itself with it, take an interact action to place a scheme marker, then drop another right next to it at the end of its activation. If you keep it out of the way, it can score 3VP from an announced breakthrough or Protect Territory all by itself in a single activation, as long as you have a 10 in hand to guarantee the Remember the Mission action succeeds.

[Rurouni Benshin]

I find the Shadow Effigy brilliant when Assassinate is in the scheme pool. Its "Into Shadows" ability stacks well with stuff like Recalled Training, Misdirection and Broken Promises to ensure your master stays alive when you need them to. Also, Remember the Mission is a tactical action, so it can target itself with it, take an interact action to place a scheme marker, then drop another right next to it at the end of its activation. If you keep it out of the way, it can score 3VP from an announced breakthrough or Protect Territory all by itself in a single activation, as long as you have a 10 in hand to guarantee the Remember the Mission action succeeds.

 

Considering how you can't take a (1) Interact action to drop a scheme marker within 4" of another, this is the perfect way to get around that.

[Jewomie]

I love the effigy. I don't take him (her cause I use puppet Misaki from puppet wars) all too often, but when I do, I'm never disappointed. if I expect lots of condi stuff (Hamlin comes to mind) low river monks might end up winning out in the 4ss model list, but I usually find a way to squeeze the effigy in otherwise.

[BigHammer]

Considering how you can't take a (1) Interact action to drop a scheme marker within 4" of another, this is the perfect way to get around that.

 

If you are using McCabe with the badge of speed, and have a couple of 10's in hand, it's a scheme running machine. It can actually score LITS in a single turn, single handedly;

 

Remember the mission, interact, end to scheme, black flash, give it the badge and push it, then reactivate, move if you have to with nimble (you're probably about 3 inches away from your last scheme marker, so will have to move just over an inch further to place one with an interact), remember the mission, interact, end to scheme; four markers down by one model, all within about a 10" space or so. Beautiful. Now camp a couple of Ten Thunder Brothers nearby and go defensive with them for the rest of the game, or just do it in the 5th turn to begin with.