Starting Shenlong

[Mune]

Hey Guys,

 

so me and some friends are going to start with Malifaux.

I'm really into the Ten Thunders style, especially Shenlong.

So here is my problem: I've got about 100 bucks and no **** clue about what to get in addition to the starter.

 

Can you guys provide me with some helpful tips?

 

 

Greetings from Germany

 

[Pyrflamme]

The Katanaka Snipers box is a decent choice, if you didn't get a free Sniper as a promotional model. They work well with his aura that lets models focus or Defensive as a (0). I assume you want to start off with the one crew box, so you might also look at Toshiro - his aura can benefit High River Monks and he can boost them. Komainu are also releasing soon / should be available Black Friday, so they're also an option and synergize well with Toshiro, as well as being one half of the summoning from his upgrade.

So Shenlong box, Snipers, Toshiro, and Komainu if you can swing it, all should be a good start and will work well with other crews if you expand.

[Shadowfane]

Lone Swordsman too - nothing quite like You Shall not see another Sunrise, along with all the pushes that Shen and Yu can give him to murderise something your opponent thought was well out of reach...

[Inquisitor Wall]

I would second the lone swordsman, and if you can locate them I would go for ten thunders brothers. Protect our holdings with wandering river style is great.

[santaclaws01]

Katanaka Snipers. If you don't mind paying the customs and shipping, I would also pick up Tengu.

[Grendol]

Ha Funnily enough I just went through the exact same thing!

I thought the 10 Thunders and in particular Shenlong looked absolutely badass.

After reading alot of what people suggested (Mainly snipers with Shenlong) I just decided to buy some models I liked the look of because I will be playing with my friend who's starting a Guild and im not too fussed about throwing together a cookie cutter build right from the get go (had enough of that with warhammer).

Please do bare in mind that there will be additional costs for Cards i.e. Fate deck (could use a standard deck but that seems fiddely), Arsenal wave 1/2 (if you want to have stat cards for all the models in your army, even ones that haven't been released yet i.e. The lone Swordsman.

I ended up getting - Shenlong Set, Monks of Low River and Izumi the Armor, because the izumi model looks boss and they just happened to have a box of low rivers in my local store, I did fortunately get one of the boxes with a free Sniper in.

Not played with them yet just painting them, thought I would throw what I did in the mix (Wrong or right)

Hope we both have fun with them!

[RarerMonsters]

I'd grab Ten Thunders Brothers, a Shadow Effigy, and Yin the Penangalin, all three are excellent choices in most lists. Katanaka Snipers are okay but not mandatory, Izamu is a great Beatstick but also overlooked as a control piece with his ability to lock people down.

[Mune]

I've been thinking about the 10T brother too.

But I've got no chance to get the old models in Europe

[RarerMonsters]

I've been thinking about the 10T brother too.

But I've got no chance to get the old models in Europe

Ugh, tell me about it. Best pick in the faction and no plastics

[BigHammer]

samurai work fantastically with Shenlong, in my experience. Use them similarly to the snipers, by exploiting (0) focus and +1 to focused attacks from Shenlong and Yu respectively, and with the pushes and heals that a Shenlong crew provides.

[Jokerboy]

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

 

[rvdbarnes]

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

I must give this a try myself

[Inquisitor Wall]

I have fallen into a bit of a trap sticking with wandering river or low river and running Shenlong as a purely support piece.  I will have to try out your trick to play him more aggressively.

[mattbird]

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

I must give this a try myself

 

Even going in with what seems like a max 3 burning, I don't think you can "take out nearly everything" on the first turn, as the damage spread on his attacks isn't high enough.

I can see waiting til turn 2 for 6 or more burning, then running in and killing 2 things through attacks + burning transfers....

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by mattbird

[tomjoad]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, here's the basics of my Shenlong advice: Get 10 Thunders Brothers and always use one or two. Get Yin and use her a lot. Keep Wandering River and Low River on Shenlong and Yu; neither of them should be trying to damage or kill an opponent's model under normal circumstances (maybe they're needed to finish something off, or maybe you want Yu to give them slow, but this should be relatively uncommon). This may seem like a huge investment of ss and resources in models that don't really attack, but they will more than repay you in their ability to redistribute AP via pushes, Fast, condition removal and healing.

[Jokerboy]

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

I must give this a try myself

 

Even going in with what seems like a max 3 burning, I don't think you can "take out nearly everything" on the first turn, as the damage spread on his attacks isn't high enough.

I can see waiting til turn 2 for 6 or more burning, then running in and killing 2 things through attacks + burning transfers....

 

No but dealing 9 damage (3 damage three times) with the blasts to often 2 models near the target is really good. and the target itself suffers 12 damage. (plus one burning if you want) the burning is just for raising the duel total high enough if the plus flip from recalled Training is not enough to get a straight flip. MI 9 is really good

[DeleteAccount]

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

I must give this a try myself

 

Even going in with what seems like a max 3 burning, I don't think you can "take out nearly everything" on the first turn, as the damage spread on his attacks isn't high enough.

I can see waiting til turn 2 for 6 or more burning, then running in and killing 2 things through attacks + burning transfers....

 

No but dealing 9 damage (3 damage three times) with the blasts to often 2 models near the target is really good. and the target itself suffers 12 damage. (plus one burning if you want) the burning is just for raising the duel total high enough if the plus flip from recalled Training is not enough to get a straight flip. MI 9 is really good

Have to echo this approach, not as aggressively, but I always go first turn with Wandering River and then change to High River at the start of turn 2 to proceed to beat the shit out of somebody. Chi Block is an amazing trigger as it can set up any soulstone user for an easy death and the burning effect of bumping duels is amazing at letting you connect AND dodge mote than a few hits.

[Ludvig]

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

I must give this a try myself

 

Even going in with what seems like a max 3 burning, I don't think you can "take out nearly everything" on the first turn, as the damage spread on his attacks isn't high enough.

I can see waiting til turn 2 for 6 or more burning, then running in and killing 2 things through attacks + burning transfers....

 

No but dealing 9 damage (3 damage three times) with the blasts to often 2 models near the target is really good. and the target itself suffers 12 damage. (plus one burning if you want) the burning is just for raising the duel total high enough if the plus flip from recalled Training is not enough to get a straight flip. MI 9 is really good

I wouldn't expect enemies to hang around within blast range after experiencing this the first time. Thanks for the tip btw, I should be able to avoid this the first time I face Shenlong.

[Jokerboy]

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

I must give this a try myself

 

Even going in with what seems like a max 3 burning, I don't think you can "take out nearly everything" on the first turn, as the damage spread on his attacks isn't high enough.

I can see waiting til turn 2 for 6 or more burning, then running in and killing 2 things through attacks + burning transfers....

 

No but dealing 9 damage (3 damage three times) with the blasts to often 2 models near the target is really good. and the target itself suffers 12 damage. (plus one burning if you want) the burning is just for raising the duel total high enough if the plus flip from recalled Training is not enough to get a straight flip. MI 9 is really good

Have to echo this approach, not as aggressively, but I always go first turn with Wandering River and then change to High River at the start of turn 2 to proceed to beat the shit out of somebody. Chi Block is an amazing trigger as it can set up any soulstone user for an easy death and the burning effect of bumping duels is amazing at letting you connect AND dodge mote than a few hits.

I would recommend to get the Lone Swordsman, the Katanaka Sniper, Dawn Serpent and the Shadow Effigy as soon as possible. Tengus and Low River Monks are also great choices. And if you have the Money get the Mei Feng Box. Kang is a really good model. If proxys are allowed at your location, play the Shadow Emissary.

I´m playing Shenlong a long time now and if I can give an advice, use him not as a support. Start with Wandering River Upgrade, Recalled Training an Broken Promising. Change to High River Style by sacrificing a Peasant, give him Fast with Yu and use is Zero action to give himself Burning and Focus when activating and he can take out nearly everything in the First Turn.

I hope my English is not too bad.

Greetings from Austria

I must give this a try myself

 

Even going in with what seems like a max 3 burning, I don't think you can "take out nearly everything" on the first turn, as the damage spread on his attacks isn't high enough.

I can see waiting til turn 2 for 6 or more burning, then running in and killing 2 things through attacks + burning transfers....

 

No but dealing 9 damage (3 damage three times) with the blasts to often 2 models near the target is really good. and the target itself suffers 12 damage. (plus one burning if you want) the burning is just for raising the duel total high enough if the plus flip from recalled Training is not enough to get a straight flip. MI 9 is really good

I wouldn't expect enemies to hang around within blast range after experiencing this the first time. Thanks for the tip btw, I should be able to avoid this the first time I face Shenlong.

 I guess it is just personal favor in which turn you hit your enemy very hard. Combined with a fast and also pushed swordsman+recalled Training und a double shooting sniper I won my last 6 games in round 1 because there were only 2-3 enemy models left

[Ludvig]

I refuse to make that abomination of a quote-train any longer and can't seem to avoid it.

Quote Shen Long:

I guess it is just personal favor in which turn you hit your enemy very hard. Combined with a fast and also pushed swordsman+recalled Training und a double shooting sniper I won my last 6 games in round 1  because there were only 2-3 enemy models left

/ end quote.

I would at least avoid bunching up so Shenlong has to work for it. Your list sounds horrible by the way, congratulations! How long have the people you faced played? Were they aware of your plan before you sprung it into action? It would seem that you can mitigate some of it with positioning but it seems really strong. That recalled training is just straight up OP shouldn't come as a shock to anyone though  

[Jokerboy]

I know that the list is not super nice and I am not using it against beginner. I'm playing the list only against people you played much longer then I do and even then I often don't use the full potential because I think, that every game should be funny and ending it the first turn isn't funny for me and my opponent. But I was ask for helpful tips.

[Ludvig]

I know that the list is not super nice and I am not using it against beginner. I'm playing the list only against people you played much longer then I do and even then I often don't use the full potential because I think, that every game should be funny and ending it the first turn isn't funny for me and my opponent. But I was ask for helpful tips.

I wasn't critizising your list, it looks awesome in a horrible way! Just asking since some really experienced players could probably pick it apart but a lot of moderate level players would probably have a hard time doing it. I consider myself a player of moderate experience and it does look frightening as hell! I only have one local TT player and he doesn't have that much of the faction yet but he just bought Shenlong so I better start preparing for this 

[Eclipse]

I know that the list is not super nice and I am not using it against beginner. I'm playing the list only against people you played much longer then I do and even then I often don't use the full potential because I think, that every game should be funny and ending it the first turn isn't funny for me and my opponent. But I was ask for helpful tips.

If Ten Thunders Brothers were here in plastic, I would suggest straight away that you take at least one in your team. Shadow Emissary is something I look forward to proxying as well, but haven't gotten around to it yet - I have too many new models (and masters) piled up and not tried yet
I commend you on your choice not to use the full potential. What I have decided on doing with Shenlong currently is limiting myself to some of the not-so-good models in the faction, playing without Yu and even the Peasants (!), etc. I have seen people crush and get crushed, and believe me, it is not enjoyable for the latter, sometimes - for the former as well. Playing less-then-perfect lists gives me a chance to play with some other models (that also look awesome), while teaching me how to play better when outgunned (vs. better models). That's the theory, anyway And having a monk-themed list is hella enjoyable, too

[Vanilla_Dice]

I seem to be mossing something? What is this oh so broken with potential list? And how could shenlong really wail on something with high river style? Is it using the attack on the upgrade or his standard one and bumping up the ml value?

[Jokerboy]

The List is not broken just very good  High River Style is used to attack enemies and to def in the following turn. With recalled training, Shenlong deals 12 Damage to one target and 9 Damage to targets within 2-3 Blast Markers (depends on using the Emissary). Combined with a Sniper shooting focused twice with SH6 (also 1 Blast with Emissary) and a fast Swordsman with Reactivate this is a lot Damage hitting the opponent in the First round. I don't think there are really "broken" lists in Malifaux, but this one works really well