Casual allround Misaki/Shenlong crew

[blomkaal]

Hi,

A friend of mine is having a small, casual tournament right before New Year, the purpose of which is to introduce a bunch of friends to Malifaux. I'm looking to come along and play, and would like to take some 10T for a spin. As I'll be traveling quite a bit, though, I'm looking to build a pretty fixed crew, to not have to carry too many models. Also, I'm lazy when it comes to crew construction. As mentioned, it's a very casual event, and will serve to introduce new players, so I'm not concerned about optimal builds. Schemes and strats are unknown at this time, and probably will be until we're at the tables.

I have the following models available:

• Shenlong box
• Misaki box
• Lone Swordsman
• Yamaziko
• Komainu

I can borrow a Sniper (not sure if he only has a promotional one, or has multiples) and I also have a Rail Crew, but I might have to bring that for some of the other players, so optimally, disregard models from that (Kang seems like he might come up). I'm willing to pick up some more models, but considering the time of year ('tis the season, after all), cash is a bit low, so 1-2 boxes at most, and only plastics (personal preference). I have a pretty large backlog of models to get anyways

My main considerations for purchases are Archers (Blot the Sky-shennanigans), Low River Monks (Shenlong monk crew), Shadow Effigy, or possibly Oiran (... no real excuse, I guess, I just really like the models >< also, Smoke and Shadows/Hidden Agenda-shennanigans).

There will be a Henchman Hardcore game as well, so lists that take into account models for this is welcomed, but not a must. Also, lists for Henchman Hardcore are appreciated

Cheers, and thanks in advance

Edited December 15, 2015 by blomkaal

[Eclipse]

The only things that I would really add to this collection would be a sniper or two and the Shadow Effigy. The Archers can give you versatility, but are not a must-have with your setup (if you do take them, consider putting Blot the Sky on Sensei Yu or Yamaziko). As for Oiran, they are not really necessary - I would not take them with Misaki as she likes her crows, but rather with Shenlong with Ototo, I guess? If you insist on taking them, anyway. Also you need a reliable ranged attacker that can hold upgrades to deal damage to activate their (0) Hidden Agenda - which you don't have, nor need). I say, borrow a sniper or two, get the Shadow Effigy () and possibly the Dawn Serpent. Tadaa! Have fun with your tourney

[RarerMonsters]

Here's what I drafted up for you:

Shenlong
-Recalled Training
-Servant of 5 Dragons
-Wandering River Style

2 Peasants

Sensei Yu
-Promising Disciple

Ototo
-Call the Thunder
-Smoke Grenades

Monk of High River

Monk of High River

Shadow Effigy

SS Cache: 5

For a little more thorough background, Sensei Yu starts without an upgrade since you'll immediately be passing him Wandering River Style with Shen.

Shen pretty much does his thing in a straightforward way, with a pretty generous cache to keep him alive. The three minions are versatile for damage or scheme running, and Ototo and Sensei Yu can switch about between doing damage or helping scheme running.

For schemey Yu, drop markers earlier using the Effigy and Monks, then Whirlwind them to where you want them. For offensive Yu, wind pull things back to him and then tap them to put slow on them, then charge in Ototo to clobber them but good.

Put one focus on Yi early and then just reup it with your attack trigger with him for basically permanent +1 Ml and positive flips.

[BigHammer]

Here's what I drafted up for you:

Shenlong
-Recalled Training
-Servant of 5 Dragons
-Wandering River Style

2 Peasants

Sensei Yu
-Promising Disciple

Ototo
-Call the Thunder
-Smoke Grenades

Monk of High River

Monk of High River

Shadow Effigy

SS Cache: 5

Drop one of the peasants and put the cache up to 7. You immediately summon the second peasant for free at the start of the game anyway.

[blomkaal]

The only things that I would really add to this collection would be a sniper or two and the Shadow Effigy. The Archers can give you versatility, but are not a must-have with your setup (if you do take them, consider putting Blot the Sky on Sensei Yu or Yamaziko). As for Oiran, they are not really necessary - I would not take them with Misaki as she likes her crows, but rather with Shenlong with Ototo, I guess? If you insist on taking them, anyway. Also you need a reliable ranged attacker that can hold upgrades to deal damage to activate their (0) Hidden Agenda - which you don't have, nor need). I say, borrow a sniper or two, get the Shadow Effigy () and possibly the Dawn Serpent. Tadaa! Have fun with your tourney

Initial thought was to run Yamaziko with Hidden Agenda/Smoke and Shadows and Torakage/Oiran for maximum Smoke and Shadows shennanigans, or Smoke/Blot the Sky with Archers/Torakage, and I was leaning mostly towards the second package. I can't really see me running Ototo without Yu, unless I'm running Wings of Wind, and Misaki seems spoiled for upgrades. Ototo w. Hidden Agenda with Shenlong and Yu sounds interesting, though.

 

Here's what I drafted up for you:

Shenlong
-Recalled Training
-Servant of 5 Dragons
-Wandering River Style

2 Peasants

Sensei Yu
-Promising Disciple

Ototo
-Call the Thunder
-Smoke Grenades

Monk of High River

Monk of High River

Shadow Effigy

SS Cache: 5

For a little more thorough background, Sensei Yu starts without an upgrade since you'll immediately be passing him Wandering River Style with Shen.

Shen pretty much does his thing in a straightforward way, with a pretty generous cache to keep him alive. The three minions are versatile for damage or scheme running, and Ototo and Sensei Yu can switch about between doing damage or helping scheme running.

For schemey Yu, drop markers earlier using the Effigy and Monks, then Whirlwind them to where you want them. For offensive Yu, wind pull things back to him and then tap them to put slow on them, then charge in Ototo to clobber them but good.

Put one focus on Yi early and then just reup it with your attack trigger with him for basically permanent +1 Ml and positive flips.

Starting with Wandering on Shenlong and nothing on Yu seems like the way to go generally. Any reason to hire both Peasants off the bat, though? List looks nice, though, and as I said above, I really like the idea of Ototo with Yu. My FLGS doesn't have have the Shadow Effigy in stock, though, and I'm not sure I can get in through mail order by the time I need it, with the holidays and all, but I guess I could just swap in the last Monk, or drop the second Peasant and bring something bigger.

I also really like that the list doesn't really use stuff from the Misaki box (as stated above, I'd probably run Yamaziko with Misaki), as I'm considering bringing both crews and loaning one (likely Misaki) to the others

What is "Shen's thing" in this list, though? From what I hear, he play multiple styles (get it?), and I suck at Theoryfaux, so sorry if it's supposed to be obvious  

Edited December 15, 2015 by blomkaal

[blomkaal]

Right, so I've ordered the Effigy and a box of Snipers  Assuming they get here before Christmas, which they should, I'll probably be bringing the Shenlong crew listed by RarerMonster above, minus one Peasant for full cache. Next challenge is a Misaki crew using the remaining models

Initial thoughts:

• Misaki w/ Stalking Bisento, Misdirection, Recalled Training
• Shang (mostly for Rush of Magic, cheap activation)
• Yamaziko w/ Smoke and Shadows
• 3x Torakage (for max. Smoke-shennanigans)
• 2x Katanaka Sniper

Leaves me with a cache of 4, so maybe drop Shang if full cache is preferred, for another upgrade on Yama, or maybe to up a sniper or Torakage to Lone Swordsman. I know people don't generally run three of a model, and the other list leaves a spare High River monk, but I really like the idea of running three ninjas in a list led by a ninja assassin, and more Last Blossoms to get the most out of Smoke and Shadows. Just realized I should have probably just borrowed the one sniper, and bought something else, though

Thoughts?

PS: Guess who's pretty gutted he decided to wait until January for the Tengu ><

Edited December 15, 2015 by blomkaal

[Eclipse]

If you were not constrained to playing with playing one crew and loaning the other, it would be much simpler for you: You would have basically everything you need to play however you want (or need).
Stalking Bisento Misaki is greatly complimented by Sensei Yu with Wandering River Style (what isn't??);
Shang I find a tad too slow for Stalking Bisento Misaki, but if you pick your targets carefully (harass and kill small ones at first to thin the other person's ranks) then she can live long enough to get the heal. He is helpful for the card filtering, though ;
Yamaziko is the best carrier of Smoke and Shadows, and she is a great platform for Archers too (a model you said you liked). However, she would prefer if you had two-three SS to spare as she is somewhat fragile - and Shenlong/Yu don't really need the stones, so... I like her best with Smoke & Shadows, Smoke Grenades (protection vs. ranged), Brace her for a (0) - rather durable despite the Df 4. Take two Torakage with her (or 3, if you find you really need/like them);
Ototo on the other hand also needs some SS, but he uses them more aggressively. In addition, while Granny can take care of herself, Lil' Bro very much likes being pushed (and given Fast) by gushes of wind and the like. This helps him get into position and wreck face much faster. If you absolutely MUST put Smoke & Shadows on him, take two Oiran as they are cheaper then Torakage (the Hidden Agenda goes to a reliable ranged attacker, though). Preferred upgrades: His own (Thunder Strike You!), Recalled Training;
Shenlong loves Snipers, too, but for a different reason from Misaki: She likes good, independent models. He can make those good models AMAZING.
Finally, the Shadow Effigy is a solid, cheap scheme runner that gives your other minions scheme markers on a stick. Just remember that if your Torakage shadow steps off the board, it can not place the scheme marker from the condition (buried end of activation).
Oh, and RarerMonsters suggestion above is solid. I would only swap out Servant of 5 Dragons unless I am sure I will need the Wp/scheme marker discard, and you could probably start with one Peasant only so as to save 2 $$

[RarerMonsters]

I must be in the minority here, but I have honestly never liked Snipers, definitely not 2.

7 points is really expensive for a Sh 5/Ml 5 with no defenses and an average damage spread. He doesn't have the defenses to go upfield, so from the shadows is wasted, and the Reactivate is conditional on something your opponent controls, making it unreliable. I just don't see a 1-2 decent hits a turn justifying a 7 point monotasker.

As for Smoke and Shadows, I'm going to have to be a downer here as well. I think both the Smoke Bombs and the Teleport are too resource intensive to justify what they're getting outside of a few scenarios like Power Ritual which justify the card use. Spending a turn disappearing and then reappearing somewhere is rarely more efficient than just moving, especially when you can get solid mobility from Leaf Steps while throwing shuriken. In general, your guys should be focused on DOING stuff and not just on getting places.  Also, Misaki is such a priority target that you can afford to be aggressive with Torakage, especially moving in pairs to benefit from Face in the Crowd.

I'd definitely drop it and upgrade a Torakage to Swordsman.

Referring the 2nd Peasant, yes that's obviously true, should have thought of that!

As for what Shen's shtick is, as I'd go, I think the best way to play him is essentially "Twisting" your upgrades depending on your need at the time.

One of your basic go-tos is Low River Style: Use it to pump free defensiveness on yourself and heal damage you accumulate while passing heals to critical models like Yu or Ototo. Halfway through your turn, switch styles to take advantage of the offensive power of High River Style, or Fermented River style if your opponent stacks a lot of negative mods. Next turn, do the same thing in reverse, do some damage and then switch to Low River and build Defense. Use peasants to build up conditions as well as his free beginning of turn 0
Yu can reliably give him fast and reposition him with Wandering River once you have the rest of your stuff in position. Also, Yu can be upfield with him, the two sharing heals from Low River and tons of focus play

[blomkaal]

@Eclipse,

I think we're going to end up having plenty of crews, so that constraint might not come into play, but I like to plan ahead in case it does. Also, I haven't played anything in the faction yet, so I wouldn't particularly mind having to stick to a fixed crew as to get to know those models. I agree that having all of the models available to swap as needed would be optimal, though.

I agree that on paper Shang would probably go better with Disguise Misaki (or any other less cruise-missiley version of her) because of his low speed, but I somehow think Rush of Magic makes him worth it, but point for point, stoning for cards might just be better (and is certainly more flexible). 

I definitely agree that Snipers with Shenlong seems amazing on paper. As for Archers, I like the idea of getting Focus +2 for a (0), and blasting away with Blot The Sky at the end of the turn, but the range seems somewhat limiting. I'm guessing it depends heavily on the board, due to ignoring LoS.

@RarerMonsters,

I think the key value of From The Shadows is deploying in advantageous terrain, and being in range turn 1, and not necessarily starting mid field, when it comes to Snipers. As for pairing them with Shenlong, I definitely see some potential in gaining Focus from a Peasant, and taking another Focus themselves as a (0), and having two focused shots pr. turn.

As far as Smoke and Shadows goes, I think it's probably somewhat situational, and probably pretty hard to get decent mileage out of, it just sounds really cool on paper  I agree that you'd have to teleport som massive distances in order to get a net gain over just plain movement or Leaf Steps, as you mention.

Thanks for the rundown on Shenlong

[Pyrflamme]

I also see the Sniper as putting pressure on my opponent's deployment and movement choices. Being able to reach out and touch something with a 2/4/5 damage spread with a critical strike trigger from turn 1 can force them to keep minions and peons, at a minimum, in soft/hard cover and perhaps even taking the long way around a structure. That eats into AP when they have to take an extra walk action or two.

[Tokapondora]

I'd say a versatile basic list with what you have now would be:

Shenlong

-Recalled Training

-Wandering River Style

Peasant

Sensei Yu

-Promising Disciple

The Lone Swordsman

-Recalled Training

Katanaka Sniper

For 32SS

Then for the rest Id say pick a few more models than you'd be able to fit into one crew so you can mix it up a bit depending on the schemes.

Ototo and say a Komainu for the more killy schemes, a Torakage and a Komainu or two for more marker-based ones, maybe Yamaziko instead of something else. Just take ^that list, 2 Komainu, Ototo, a Torakage and Yamaziko so you'll only have to haul around 10 units, and then proceed to switch units and upgrades up depending on the schemes.

 

 

Also, I'd say the Sniper's forte isn't being a killing machine. Their job is to bleed the opponent activation after activation, waiting until your opponent misplaces one important unit in your LoS and taking out a good chunk of health. and in the later turns just being able to pick off anything with some damage on it already.

 

It forces your opponent to either walk around him or take some heavy damage on whatever you like least on the board. Pair that with Shenlong or Sensei Yu and suddenly that Sh5 turns either into Sh5+focus or Sh6+focus, forcing your opponent to either cheat and lose some high cards or take the damage. As unit's they're much more about control and pressure, which is worth the 7 SS no question.

[blomkaal]

I'd say a versatile basic list with what you have now would be:

Shenlong

-Recalled Training

-Wandering River Style

Peasant

Sensei Yu

-Promising Disciple

The Lone Swordsman

-Recalled Training

Katanaka Sniper

For 32SS

Then for the rest Id say pick a few more models than you'd be able to fit into one crew so you can mix it up a bit depending on the schemes.

Ototo and say a Komainu for the more killy schemes, a Torakage and a Komainu or two for more marker-based ones, maybe Yamaziko instead of something else. Just take ^that list, 2 Komainu, Ototo, a Torakage and Yamaziko so you'll only have to haul around 10 units, and then proceed to switch units and upgrades up depending on the schemes.

 

 

Also, I'd say the Sniper's forte isn't being a killing machine. Their job is to bleed the opponent activation after activation, waiting until your opponent misplaces one important unit in your LoS and taking out a good chunk of health. and in the later turns just being able to pick off anything with some damage on it already.

 

It forces your opponent to either walk around him or take some heavy damage on whatever you like least on the board. Pair that with Shenlong or Sensei Yu and suddenly that Sh5 turns either into Sh5+focus or Sh6+focus, forcing your opponent to either cheat and lose some high cards or take the damage. As unit's they're much more about control and pressure, which is worth the 7 SS no question.

That looks like a really nice core list, thanks. I agree on your sentiments on the Snipers.

 

Slightly off topic, I've been brainstorming lists for Henchman Hardcore. My first idea was to take Yu w/ Wandering and Wings, paired with Ototo w/ RT, basically turning Ototo into a Misaki-like cruise missile, but that ended up at 15 Stones. Latest idea is Yu throwing Lone Swordsman at the enemy Leader, who then discards RT and uses his reactivate (0) to, hopefully, score the Assassination. Leaves 9 Stones for two more models. Here's the first draft of the list

• Sensei Yu
  • Wandering River Style
• Lone Swordsman
  • Recalled Training
• Shadow Effigy
• Komainu

Not sure if the Komainu is the best fit (don't have it's card with me right now), but it fit that 5 Stone void that seems inevitable with 9 Stones left over. Basically, The Swordsman goes for Assassination, and the rest of the list needs to secure Turf War, and keep Yu safe from Assassination.

[newsun]

I'll second what was said about the Snipers, being able to put pressure on the opponent's deployment zone from T1 is amazing and if you have two, you can be killing models starting that turn as well. Also if they have any shooters From the Shadows and you go second, you can park your sniper right on top of them since they are decent in melee as well. The Sh5 is not as bad when the + and Focus are taken into account. Shenlong obviously turns this up to 11 with the 0 action focus. If you add Toshiro to this, you can be unloading 4 shots with focus all game long and summoning some Ashigaru with the right cards.