InvokeChaos Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 I actually was having a discussion about her aesthetic with a friend this morning. There's a post that commented on it's quite possible that, on the note of her being a futakuchi-onna, could have made a deal with an oni to escape what may have been an insane aslyum (simply because of the straight-jacket she seems to be wearing). ***EDIT: HERE'S THE ORIGINAL QUOTE THAT SPAWNED MY THINKING*** 12 hours ago, Rathnard said: I'll admit, my first impression of her wasn't great. I was hoping for something a little more monstrous or sadistic-looking for an Oni Master so the actual art didn't really match my expectations. That said, I'm now liking it more and more. If nothing else the sculpt tells a story. She's an ordinary - looking Japanese girl, not especially pretty (she's not a former "companion", like Kirai) and possibly from an unremarkable background. The kimono has design elements similar to a straight jacket so at some point she lost the plot and was incarcerated. We know she's an Oni Master so she presumably made a "deal with the devil" to escape, but from the pained expression on her face she's clearly not the one in control. Basically Asami comes across as a pawn of the Oni - a vessel to use/abuse for their own purposes. If Asami entered into this situation willingly, I'm pretty sure she's regretting it now. I really like this idea because it plays in on a common concept that I've seen throughout japanese medium regarding oni and their possession of those in fear or insanity. They are kind of literally nightmares made manifest, not in the way dreamer does, but in that literally the fears and horrors of the persons mind/soul give power to the demon. Who uses that power to manifest and wreak havoc. So what we potentially have here is a girl who was wrongfully (or just horribly) committed... maybe even trapped in her own mind and insanity. An oni comes in and offers her freedom for a price. Not realizing the horror of the possession, she agrees and is now the unwilling host of a demonic presence that uses her (and her perpetual pain and horror) as a conduit. This is reflected in her front in that she empowers oni by being damaged (a common theme of price in blood, where the oni causes physical harm to its host from manifesting or controlling) and again in the form of her being hard to kill, with 10wds and Df7 (!), which is flavorful to the fact that oni are considered nigh indestructible, and in various stories of possession grant their hosts a fragment of that immortality because their ability to manifest is dependent on their host surviving. Lower WP is also very flavorful as obviously the mind of the host is already being pushed to the limit, so it makes sense that they would be more susceptible to attacks of that nature. Rush of Magic (which mechanically translates to additional card cycling) in fluff could be considered nothing more than a representation of the vast power the poor host is channeling. All in all, this model, is packed with a tremendous amount of flavor. AND if you open the image up, and zoom in on that render... the face in the render is slightly different than the artwork. The artwork doesn't really resonate with me but the render's face... I like. The render turns her head slightly, and adds a bit more definition to the left (viewing left) of her face. The mouth in the artwork almost looks puckered or pushed to the side, the one in the render simply looks somber. You end up with a contrast of the artwork face looking a bit off-kilter, to the render face looking like she is possessed, which is much more agreeable for me. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomjoad Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 5 hours ago, Eclipse said: From the wording of the preview text it sounds that she might have exactly this ability - summoning other Oni. Also Nathan mentioned that we have only seen 'one side' of her - i.e. she might be like the traditional Futakuchi-onna (with a biting mouth behind the wriggling hair..) To be fair, the fluff stories have Pandora summoning Sorrows out of The Box, so Asami "calling forth" other Oni doesn't automatically make her a summoner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipse Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 1 hour ago, tomjoad said: To be fair, the fluff stories have Pandora summoning Sorrows out of The Box, so Asami "calling forth" other Oni doesn't automatically make her a summoner. Yeah, you are right, this little tidbit is not a 100% proof of summoning. But it clearly got me excited about the possibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrflamme Posted May 31, 2016 Report Share Posted May 31, 2016 I think Wyrd knows what they're doing with their phrasing. Or maybe I just want to believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipse Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 Yeah, I am a believer too. In fact, I can guarantee to you that Asami is going to be a summoner; not because I have solid proof, but simply because I believe. Wyrd, make us happy! Hear the beck and call of our wallets! Realize our dream of Oni spawning into table existence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rurouni Benshin Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 I'll be honest... I'm not a fan of the aesthetics for Asami either... Even with the very well detailed observation InvokeChaos makes about her, I'm still having a hard time trying to accept her for who she is supposed to be. But... She is the 8th Master now, and like a loyal "little Thunder Brother", she will be added to my arsenal. Here's to hoping the rest of her crew comes out looking better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvokeChaos Posted June 2, 2016 Report Share Posted June 2, 2016 You know I didn't think about the fact that she's the 8th master... this is totally impossible to do, but wouldn't it be kind of neat if the 10th was like... the pinnacle of representation of the 10 thunders? Like is all factions or something, and his upgrades vary depending on the faction you go into as to what you can infiltrate? I know that's a long ways off (at least I hope it is... I can't keep up as it is!) but you have to imagine they gotta do something special for the "tenth thunder." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinionJack Posted June 5, 2016 Report Share Posted June 5, 2016 On June 2, 2016 at 4:05 PM, InvokeChaos said: You know I didn't think about the fact that she's the 8th master... this is totally impossible to do, but wouldn't it be kind of neat if the 10th was like... the pinnacle of representation of the 10 thunders? Like is all factions or something, and his upgrades vary depending on the faction you go into as to what you can infiltrate? I know that's a long ways off (at least I hope it is... I can't keep up as it is!) but you have to imagine they gotta do something special for the "tenth thunder." A master in all factions . . . like Wrath . . . ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvokeChaos Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 nah, he's independent. he just can hire his all factions crew ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astraeos Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 Now we know that our next master is an Oni (could be a Futakuchi-onna, and I have wondered about Asami being a harionago), I want to know what her henchman will be! I'm hoping it'll either be a Kuchisake-onna or a Yuki-onna. And then there's the questions about her totems and minions too, heck it could even be one of those master, henchman, totem and 3 enforcer boxes. It'd be cool to have a box made up of mostly female oni, there're plenty of vengeful female yokai in Japanese folklore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skitt_Happens Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 54 minutes ago, Astraeos said: Now we know that our next master is an Oni (could be a Futakuchi-onna, and I have wondered about Asami being a harionago), I want to know what her henchman will be! I'm hoping it'll either be a Kuchisake-onna or a Yuki-onna. And then there's the questions about her totems and minions too, heck it could even be one of those master, henchman, totem and 3 enforcer boxes. It'd be cool to have a box made up of mostly female oni, there're plenty of vengeful female yokai in Japanese folklore. My guess would be, on the assumption that Asami is a Futakuchi-onna, her Totem would be The Miser. Maybe Jade Oni in the box? I'd really like, on the back of her card or upgrades, some upgrade trading ability to make full use of the Wonder Weasel too... too much to hope for? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipse Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 10 hours ago, Astraeos said: Now we know that our next master is an Oni (could be a Futakuchi-onna, and I have wondered about Asami being a harionago), I want to know what her henchman will be! I'm hoping it'll either be a Kuchisake-onna or a Yuki-onna. And then there's the questions about her totems and minions too, heck it could even be one of those master, henchman, totem and 3 enforcer boxes. It'd be cool to have a box made up of mostly female oni, there're plenty of vengeful female yokai in Japanese folklore. I hope that she either has a very expensive beater Henchmen, or a versatile utility Henchman in the lines of what you said. Both would be very fitting to her role as summoner - which I believe she will be due to a snippet of info on the preview page. At least I am hoping that my guess is true Additionally, I'd rather she has some inexpensive minions in the box, something solid at 5ss cost would be perfect. Of course, this is probably wishful thinking on my part However, just thinking about it gets me very excited: A crew full of Oni and Dragons, etc. sounds terribly fun to field and paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvokeChaos Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 Why dream of only one? UTILITY BEATER! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipse Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 1 hour ago, InvokeChaos said: Why dream of only one? UTILITY BEATER! Actually I think we kinda have one already: Shadow Emissary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InvokeChaos Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 20 minutes ago, Eclipse said: Actually I think we kinda have one already: Shadow Emissary But it's a dragon... we want an oni too! Oni's and Dragons and Ninjas... oh my. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipse Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 45 minutes ago, InvokeChaos said: But it's a dragon... we want an oni too! Oni's and Dragons and Ninjas... oh my. That's what she said, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astraeos Posted June 12, 2016 Report Share Posted June 12, 2016 While it would be nice to see Obsidian Oni in her box as the minions, I am hoping it'll be something new as I'm sure most of us would hate to have to buy a box that is half comprised of models we already own! The Obsidian Oni are being released later this year sometime, and we have no idea when Asami herself will be available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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