Misaki the Thief

[InvokeChaos]

Anyone run cutpurse to decent effect with Misaki? 

My typical upgrades are Stalking Bisento, Misdirection and Recalled Training. But with Sensei Yu/Kang, I've found I don't really NEED recalled training. It's kind of like bringing a gatling gun when I need a pistol...

So i'm thinking about bring in Cutpurse instead.  It seems like it's another way to make my opponent go "must cheat!" which only helps me assassinate. And if they don't, I get a soulstone... which helps me assassinate. 

While it needs a high crow to do this, I like the idea of charge, last stone for crow to trigger assassinate, second attack pilfer.  If I get the soulstone, third attack is another assassinate.

Doesn't seem like it's something to bank on, but if I don't need recalled training, seems like it could really just make my opponent psyched out a bit.

Thoughts?

 

[Paradigm]

I actually used this strategy in a tournament a while back. I would only use it in a game where I believe killing the enemy master is necessary and possible, often if Assasssinate is the best scheme I can pick. I also like doing this against opponents who I know like to bring lots of spare soulstones, like summoners or players who I know like having a maxed out cap.

Last time I used it was against a Sonnia Creed player. Her lack of viable defenses other than damage prevention made her a prime target for a fast Misaki charge at the start of round 2. I didn't actually manage to kill her that turn, but I got her to burn through five cards and three soulstones before his first activation of the turn, while still losing most of her wounds. This shocked my opponent into having everything attack Misaki for the rest of the turn, with her being hit just once due to him lacking cards to cheat with against Misaki's Df6 with double positive flips due to Risky Ventures and Recalled Training. Needless to say, I still won the game quite convincingly.

[Gennosuke]

 

A question regarding Cutpurse. If the enemy master doesn't have any SS left, does Misaki still get 1SS when successfully casting Pilfer?

[Paradigm]

Gennosuke:

A very good question... "If target model is the enemy crew's leader, it must discard 1 soulstone, and this model adds 1 soulstone to its soulstone pool." I've always played it like I actually steal a soulstone, which requires my opponent to have a soulstone in the first place. I would guess that is what the text intends. Though read-as-written, the wording suggest you get a soulstone either way. It states that IF(enemy leader), THEN (opponent discard 1 ss AND you gain 1 ss)). The "and" suggests both happen either way.

[Myyrä]

16 minutes ago, Gennosuke said:

 

A question regarding Cutpurse. If the enemy master doesn't have any SS left, does Misaki still get 1SS when successfully casting Pilfer?

Yes, as it isn't clearly stated that the enemy discarding the a soulstone is a requirement for Misaki getting one.

[Gennosuke]

 

Thanks both of you for your answers

With that in mind, it's slightly more interesting. I've actually never used it, but I personally find Cutpurse quite situational. Only working against enemy leaders, needing a crow (which means it's only reliable when you have no SS left), with a poor Ca5, and at the cost of not triggering Next Target, which I find extremely good for Misaki, makes it to me quite hard to justify including it, especially if it's at the cost of losing Recalled Training, which I can hardly find a game where I wouldn't need it in Misaki (And I guess I could say the same with Misderection, which works quite nicely with Misaki's Next Target).

Also, to make an extensive use of Cutpurse (more than one use, I mean), you have to succesful make several attacks (even more when it's crucial to trigger Next Target whereas) to the enemy leader, with some assassinations in between, which should mean the enemy leader is already dead, so no more Cutpurse... It looks like it's difficult at least to perform more than one or two succesful/useful Pilfers.

Anyway, I will give it a try some day, I guess.

[InvokeChaos]

2 hours ago, Gennosuke said:

 

Thanks both of you for your answers

With that in mind, it's slightly more interesting. I've actually never used it, but I personally find Cutpurse quite situational. Only working against enemy leaders, needing a crow (which means it's only reliable when you have no SS left), with a poor Ca5, and at the cost of not triggering Next Target, which I find extremely good for Misaki, makes it to me quite hard to justify including it, especially if it's at the cost of losing Recalled Training, which I can hardly find a game where I wouldn't need it in Misaki (And I guess I could say the same with Misderection, which works quite nicely with Misaki's Next Target).

Also, to make an extensive use of Cutpurse (more than one use, I mean), you have to succesful make several attacks (even more when it's crucial to trigger Next Target whereas) to the enemy leader, with some assassinations in between, which should mean the enemy leader is already dead, so no more Cutpurse... It looks like it's difficult at least to perform more than one or two succesful/useful Pilfers.

Anyway, I will give it a try some day, I guess.

Yeah, I've been concerned about that aspect as well.  Dead master equals "wasted" upgrade.  I admit that I'm a little drawn to jankiness though, and I've found that I often go after the Master at some point with Misaki.  But that might be more due to my meta. I don't have a ton of games under my belt yet, so this is very much a theorycraft for me.

Thanks for the input! Good food for thought

[Rurouni Benshin]

As an Outcast Master, the staple upgrades I've used on Misaki are Stalking Bisento, Tally Sheet, and Survivalist.  While playing with the Hodgepodge Effigy, I've come across the nifty tactic of killing models, drawing cards, and then discarding them (with discretion) for soulstones back.  It's since been the most reliable way that she can earn/win back the soulstones she uses during the game.

I didn't think that there was a reliable way to do this as a TT Master, but with Cutpurse, the options do open up.  It's situational, at best, IMHO.  Depending on the faction I'm facing, there are a few staple upgrades I always take with her, so slots may  not always be available.  It would also depend on the Master I'm facing as well, since not all Masters are as easily engaged as others.  Plus, Ca 5 is relatively weak, even against the average Master.