Henchmen Hardcores: Who's your favorite Henchman for this?

[Rurouni Benshin]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to get some feedback on what some of your favorite Henchmen are for "Henchmen Hardcore" matches.  I realize that some TO's play with different parameters (different model compositions, upgrades, etc), but overall I would think that the opinions on Henchmen and their effectiveness don't generally change.

That said, I'll start off with mine.

My top two are Ama No Zako and Yamaziko. 

1. Ama No Zako: The last HH I played it, she was my leader (however this was as an Outcast leader).  I would imagine though that as a TT leader, she's equally effective, but in different ways.  Her ability to create her 4" aura of hazardous terrain was what ultimately won me the tournament, having done about 8 Wds of damage per game on average alone, and is great at locking down opposing models.  With the right sequence of activations, her crew is very effective.

2. Yamaziko: Although a rather fragile leader, her saving grace is that she brings a cache of 6.  Paired off with another Henchman that can dish out damage and soak a bunch (ie - Fuhatsu, Kang), those stones could come in very handy for a lot of stuff.

 

[BigHammer]

I've had a lot of success with both Toshiro and Ototo in HH format.

Tosh brings big minions; Illuminated and/or a Dawn Serpent, for example, and the Misdirection upgrade. He makes them fast/pushes them/gives them positive flips, while they take damage aimed at him and heal it back, and between them all they kill rather brutally in melee.

Ototo brings Chiaki, the Shadow Effigy and Mr Graves, and Misdirection again. Graves and Ototo can kill just about anything the enemy wants to throw at them, and with Misdirection, Graves' armour and Chiaki's condition removal/healing, you get a tough, hard-hitting package.

[valhallan42nd]

Kang. Constructs and/or undead seem popular in HH. And ignoring Horror is huge. Kang, two Railworkers and Izamu is my friend's preferred list.

[Eclipse]

I have only tried Hungering Darkness so far in HH. He is pretty powerful with 5 SS and his devastating synergy with Illuminated. 
I am more that willing to try Yamaziko and Ama no Zako as well. They can take quite a bit more skill to use, but also offer a great deal of options in return.
Toshiro would be fun as well: He is obviously meant to be run with strong (more expensive?) melee minions.

[Astrella]

-woops wrong forum-

Edited December 13, 2015 by Astrella

[Yvarre]

Ototo with Recalled Training and Call the Thunder. 

Activated last on turn 1, he likely can charge something and possibly kill it if it's small.  At the least, he can engage multiple models, possibly even keeping them in his engagement range but out of theirs.  This combos nicely with Call the Thunder, as any model that gains slow won't be doing much turn 2.  However, Ototo does want to take damage to get enraged.  Then pop recalled training with Ml 8 and a built in critical strike, flurry, assassinate.  Just watch out for silly defense triggers like The Captain has.

[Rurouni Benshin]

Loving all the choices! Keep 'em coming, guys!

[Ray]

On 12/13/2015 at 8:09 AM, Yvarre said:

Ototo with Recalled Training and Call the Thunder. 

Activated last on turn 1, he likely can charge something and possibly kill it if it's small.  At the least, he can engage multiple models, possibly even keeping them in his engagement range but out of theirs.  This combos nicely with Call the Thunder, as any model that gains slow won't be doing much turn 2.  However, Ototo does want to take damage to get enraged.  Then pop recalled training with Ml 8 and a built in critical strike, flurry, assassinate.  Just watch out for silly defense triggers like The Captain has.

Nicely done. What else do you bring with ototto? 

[Definitechoice]

I rarely get to play Henchman Hardcore, but I've been wanting to try out Ototo with Recalled Training and Call the Thunder, 2 Komainu, and Yin. 

[Paradigm]

I've had some decent success with Toshiro, two Illuminated and Chiaki. Toshiro hands out fast/pushes to get Illuminated in place for (ideally) tagging enemies with brilliance with their Sh attack and then charging for 4/5/7 damage spread. Brutal when it works

 

[Yvarre]

Ototo with RC & CtT

Chiaki with Pull of the Grave

Wastrel

Then either an Illuminated or I drop Call the Thunder and take Graves

The Graves build just ensures Ototo can get to something to take out turn 1 with that push to the center.  It's been a pretty effective crew, especially as Chiaki can mitigate any negative conditions Ototo gets from having such a low WP.  I just have to make sure to have a 6-9 on hand to cheat if he needs to pass a horror duel during his activation.

Ototo is such a great model for me because he puts moderate pressure on such a large area, and my opponents almost always underestimate his resilience, trying to take him out and getting him into enraged territory at which point he can fairly reliably oneshot models like Howard Langston and even some masters in regular games.