Seishin blog post

[theshepherd]

The same as a few others it seems I've started running Kirai lately, I decided to do a few blog posts on her spirits as a way to help me learn what they do.

The first one on seishin is up here

http://abnormalifaux.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/in-spirit-of-things.html#more

 

[benjoewoo]

To add another layer to the seishin, you can run them with other masters beyond Kirai--they are actual units with an engagement range. They're immune to Auras, so running them into people for engagement can be useful provided you're able to protect kirai still or use another for something else. Kirai & Molly can generate them the fastest, but each master can always use a summoned model that can sacrifice itself for a 1/2/2 heal or to tie up a unit. Lady J still can't charge if she starts the turn engaged, so at least AP will be used to get rid of the Seishin.

Their melee is below average at Ml4, but it goes against Wp, so against some factions they have a decent chance of hitting, and their damage track is below average, but if you're using them as distraction pieces, you may as well rather than just defensive stance, as you'll save a card and the Seishin's low defensive stats and 2 Wds means it'll likely explode anyway. 

[theshepherd]

That's great never tried them with other masters.

Cheers.

[benjoewoo]

With seamus if you get 2 you can essentially ensure that you can back alley when Seamus activates. The seishin have an ability that will place them into b2b with your master on your master activating, regardless of whether the seishin have activated. For Seamus this means blocking LoS potentially. For Kirai, your seishin can go do stuff and when Kirai activates she can draw them back into the fold.

A useful little trick is Seishin are 30mm and can just sit on top of markers, necessitating killing them in order to deny schemes or deny. They can count against schemes that can't allow units within X".

[Fetid Strumpet]

Provided no one in the opposing crew is on a vantage point you mean.

Even vantage point of Height 2 says "Oh, you have 2 Seishin in front of you? Too bad I can still see you"

[MEGAHORSE]

Every game I use Seishin, some new way of using them, or some new light dawns on me to their usefulness. They're so simple, yet very complex and fun to utilize. Especially with Datsueba's upgrades to spam them out and recover ones that might otherwise die. I've fallen in love with them, as I have Kirai. Love the blog post man! 

[nunorod]

Yes but you need Datsue Ba for summoning them right? I can only see them being summoned by that upgrade or Anna? Apart from Kirai.

[benjoewoo]

Vantage Point rules can screw with Seishin blocks, but Seishin blocks work against Ht 2 and below models on the same base level. Then Seamus gets to cackle.

Outside of Kirai, yes, you need Datsue-ba. I made a mistake in saying Molly generated them equally as fast, since she can only summon spirit minions, not peon models.

Seishin also make good combo dummies. Kirai can abuse them to summon off of, and a trick I'm testing out is Seamus beating up a seishin after dropping a marker with the Bag O' Tools to drop 2 more markers. Seishin are incorporeal, so they will only take 1 from each of Seamus' hits. If Datsue-ba has both of her specific upgrades, you can keep the seishin from dying as well. The markers might be for schemes or for Philip to consume for cards. If the seishin lives, it's still around to heal and be annoying--no one really wants to waste an AP to kill a 1Wd summoned peon.

[Bengt]

What would be the benefit to using a Master AP and a card/stone for the suit to drop a Scheme marker? Instead of just Interacting, possibly with a cheap Minion. I mean it's a fine trigger when attacking enemies as you want to do damage anyway, but against friendly models?

[Daysleeper]

2 hours ago, Bengt said:

What would be the benefit to using a Master AP and a card/stone for the suit to drop a Scheme marker? Instead of just Interacting, possibly with a cheap Minion. I mean it's a fine trigger when attacking enemies as you want to do damage anyway, but against friendly models?

The way benjoewoo wrote it you get 3 Schememarkers in basecontact with seamus. Very nice for things like spring the trap, a line in the sand etc.

[Dassenkop]

7 hours ago, benjoewoo said:

If the seishin lives, it's still around to heal and be annoying--no one really wants to waste an AP to kill a 1Wd summoned peon.

Well at 1Wd in Make Them Suffer they are easy targets for VP's and playing against Wong the blasts and pulses spinning of the Sieshin can go around incorporeal and malevolence etc. for the rest of your crew. 

[Fireuser]

Datsue Ba has one specific upgrade.  The other upgrade is Kirai or Spirit.  Any spirit that can take upgrades can use Spirit Beacon to summon Seishin.

I think the list is Philip and the Nanny, Izamu, Jaakuna Ubume, Datsue Ba.

Also, Seishin have 2 wds. Not that it makes them much harder to kill in make them suffer.

[benjoewoo]

6 hours ago, Dassenkop said:

Well at 1Wd in Make Them Suffer they are easy targets for VP's and playing against Wong the blasts and pulses spinning of the Sieshin can go around incorporeal and malevolence etc. for the rest of your crew. 

Yes, make them suffer and killy schemes that allow you to kill peons will encourage you to kill seishin, but 3VP for the opponent over 3 turns in exchange for activation control if he/she didn't get free kills from blasts isn't too bad of a trade.  Match up dependent, but this combo would take place probably in some hidden corner of your base rather than in the middle of a turf war fight.

My mistake on the specific upgrades for Datsue-ba. I don't play Kirai so when I read the card I just have it as "Datsue-ba" in my head. 

The combo isn't particularly efficient, since it trades 3 Master AP for 3 cards over two turns, but I'm seeing if there's any potential in specific match ups.

[MEGAHORSE]

14 hours ago, benjoewoo said:

Vantage Point rules can screw with Seishin blocks, but Seishin blocks work against Ht 2 and below models on the same base level. Then Seamus gets to cackle.

Outside of Kirai, yes, you need Datsue-ba. I made a mistake in saying Molly generated them equally as fast, since she can only summon spirit minions, not peon models.

Seishin also make good combo dummies. Kirai can abuse them to summon off of, and a trick I'm testing out is Seamus beating up a seishin after dropping a marker with the Bag O' Tools to drop 2 more markers. Seishin are incorporeal, so they will only take 1 from each of Seamus' hits. If Datsue-ba has both of her specific upgrades, you can keep the seishin from dying as well. The markers might be for schemes or for Philip to consume for cards. If the seishin lives, it's still around to heal and be annoying--no one really wants to waste an AP to kill a 1Wd summoned peon.

In addition it's Seishin being murdered for the scheme and not your summoned/hired models. While denying VP is incredibly important in the game, so is resource management and risk aversion. If I can bait them into an easy VP to kill a Seishin with their Firestarter, then have Izamu charge and ruin it, he got a VP, but the opponent lost a very key model. (Or hell, example, one of their minions).