Which monk for the job

[BigStick]

Hi all, I've just started collecting TT with Shenlong after playing Outcasts for a while. Shenlong looks quite interesting and fun but with the now large selection of monks to choose from I'm a little unsure as to where to go from the box crew. So which monks are you running or are you not running them at all? Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

[dalleron]

All the monks do certain things better than the other.  Take a look at pull my finger wiki to see which ones do what, and if you want them based on that and your needs. 

[Tokapondora]

I never really find myself taking any. It's a shame because I like their theming and models but for every one of them I feel they're just too lacking in one or more areas to justify their cost, especially when put up against units of the same cost. Dunno, they generally just seem too specialised towards a certain playstyle without their supposed forté being anything to write home about. The only ones I'm still on the fence about are the Fermented River Monks and that's only because they have some synergy with Brewwie who I've only played a couple of times.

If you want to get some good models for Shenlong I'd naturally recommend the Snipers (focus/fast/etc makes for some great first turn threats), Tengu for some co-scheming with whoever is doing the wandering river stuff and my current favourite experiment in this crew; Izamu. He fills the role of being an actual threat which Shenlong's crew desperately needs. The pushes, the fast on top of his Melee Expert and the healing Shen's crew can give him at any moment seem to cover most of his natural weaknesses and turn him into a monster whose threat bubble extends to about 15"-20" if he absolutely must. The lone swordsman also fills a role of taking stuff out, but ultimately fails against groups, weaker units, keeping enemies occupied or really just hindering your opponents playstyle. Still, he's an okay model if you're strapped for cache.

Overall Shenlong gels quite well with most TT units and he can certainly make them shine. All he and Yu really lack is a being a direct threat to your opponent and the ability to leave their crew alone for five minutes, which the snipers/Izamu and the tengu/TTbrothers can sortof fill respectively. The aggro the former draw also aiding in keeping Shen/Yu out of the firing range even if just a little, which suits him well (keep in mind that Shen shines through his crew so leave something standing).

[Mutter]

Monks of the Low River are nice with the Shadow Emissary for an extra 3 cards per turn; not too shappy for 4 SS.

[Yvarre]

You can paint/convert Katanaka Snipers and Illuminated with monk themes.

[tomjoad]

Low River - Best condition removal in the faction, aside from Low River Style on Yu or Shenlong. For 4ss, this is a fine model that only gets better when taken along with the Emissary.

Wandering River - Like a silurid, only better. Costs only 1ss less than a pair of tengu, so it's hard to justify the cost sometimes, but this guy is still a fantastic scheme runner.

Fermented River - I've never used these guys but I've had my butt kicked by them in a Brewmaster crew. They pack a punch and that reactivate is easier to get than I had realized at first.

High River - Trash. Pretty model, bad rules.

[OneLittleThunder]

17 hours ago, tomjoad said:

Low River - Best condition removal in the faction, aside from Low River Style on Yu or Shenlong. 

I think I'd have to give that title to the Emissary with Conflux of the Dawn. Best condition removal for the price, certainly.

[tomjoad]

4 hours ago, OneLittleThunder said:

I think I'd have to give that title to the Emissary with Conflux of the Dawn. Best condition removal for the price, certainly.

Well, the price certainly plays a part in my saying this, but I'll admit that I didn't consider the Emissary. Mostly I was comparing to Chiaki, who I think the Low River is much much better than on a stone-for-stone basis.

[Kutslo]

I'm pretty new to Thunders, so have only tried High River Monks so far (due to getting them with Shen Long). In my (limited) experience they worked quite well to hunt an enemy scheme runner on the flank. My only other use for them was as a frame for murder target... Push and fast from Yu, charge master/henchman giving out 4 attacks and a good amount of burning. When they then die it's only 6 stones, which seems an ok trade for 3vp, and hopefully they do a bit of damage on a dangerous target! It worked once anyway

I do love the models so have to try and find some use for them!

I have some Low River Monks on my painting table at the moment, but not sure how much I'll use them.

[BigStick]

Thanks everyone for your advise. I've got 2 snipers now (just in case i feel that way inclined) and Izamu on the way. If im not taking monks (or only one of them) what would you recommend. Ten Thunders Brothers look good. And tengu are great scheme runners 

[Rurouni Benshin]

I recently played an "All Monk" crew with Shenlong for fun.  It wasn't in anyway optimized, and I lost 10-6 (expectedly), but it was fun to see it work somewhat.  All the monks have their strengths, depending on what you need them to do.  Wandering River Monk was the only one to survive to the end, but he managed to accomplish Convict Labor on his own.  I didn't earn a lot of points from the scheme due to his models denying it, but the fact that he was able to lay down 7 scheme markers on his own was pretty remarkable.  High River Monk earned his points when it killed Killjoy in 2 activations, Fermented River Monk held down a pair of Punk Zombies before it died from 6 Flurry attacks.  Low River Monk primarily did the other scheme (Exhaust Their Forces), all the while Shenlong and Sensei Yu tried their best to keep them alive.

Again, I didn't expect to win, based mostly on the matchup, but I wanted to see something thematic on the table, considering it was just a friendly game.

[Gort77]

On 4/14/2016 at 3:06 PM, tomjoad said:

High River - Trash. Pretty model, bad rules.

I don't think high river monks are trash.  With their ability to make 3 ML attacks on a charge they are pretty good a dishing out some damage with their built in burning trigger.  Are they the best offensive minion?  No...but they aren't trash; I have had them take out other similar priced models with no problem.  Maybe its just my meta.

[Rurouni Benshin]

18 hours ago, Gort77 said:

I don't think high river monks are trash.  With their ability to make 3 ML attacks on a charge they are pretty good a dishing out some damage with their built in burning trigger.  Are they the best offensive minion?  No...but they aren't trash; I have had them take out other similar priced models with no problem.  Maybe its just my meta.

I agree.  Synergy is important.  Part of making a model work is finding ways to best utilize it's strengths.  It's also the only minion in the entire faction that's Ruthless.  Going up against Ressers or Neverborn, or if you expect to be taking Terrifying/Manipulative duels, they're pretty reliable.

[clockworkspide]

There's also Wastrels.

[katadder]

yeah high river are not too bad. through charging and the extra attack plus burning I have had one take down a rogue necro, where the burning really helps due to ItW