What to do with Misaki

[Viks_Masamune]

Just got a Katanaka Sniper for placing in a tournament, so now I have to get him a crew.  I have considered Misaki in the past, and since I typically run more of the combat oriented masters (Viks, Lady J, Pandora), she seems like a good fit.  My questions are; Which of the limited upgrades do you feel are best for her AND who are some good Outcast and Ten Thunders models that sync well with her.  (For those who are curious, I've already hit up pullmyfinger, I'm just curious what you folks take/use)

[Eclipse]

Misaki does not sync with models in her crew per se. Most of the time she goes deep into the enemy territory so other models are often left behind. This is why most of the time it is a better idea to have a crew that is more independent and self-sufficient.
The most powerful combo with her in TT is probably standard Sensei Yu w/ Wandering River Style: Air Burst > Focus+1 from that > the other push from the upgrade that gives Misaki Fast on the trigger if you spend the focus. At the same time if you take the Stalking Bisento upgrade (which is taken 90% of time it seems?) Sensei Yu can copy the (0) to stalk a model so that Misaki can potentially have 5 AP and is at least 10" ahead (not counting potential other pushes) on Turn 1. This is a crutch play, though: You will always deliver a Fast Misaki to the enemy on turn 1, but it is so good that afterwards you will probably be unable to play her without Yu... Which could be a weakness for the opponent to exploit.
Having cover from a good range is very nice when you are diving into the enemy. The sniper you won will be useful to you. Also, since he can be placed ahead due to From the Shadows he can shoot turn 1, then if all targets are behind cover he can run schemes, then charge the enemy with his sword. I expect Hans or a Freikorps Trapper to do the same thing for you in Outcasts.
Misaki likes models that discard cards. Yamaziko for example is now great for the Gaining Ground 2016 schemes as they all start hidden, so she has a better chance of dropping 4 (!) cards from the opponent's hand. She can also carry Blot Out the Sky and Smoke and Shadows well, though you should use her carefully or at least take Smoke Grenades with her too. If you go for Smoke and Shadows bring at least two Last Blossom minions (Oiran, Torakage, Jorogumo) and plan for what you want to do. Only use the smoke abilities if you have the cards in hand.
Misaki -does- have limited support ability in her tactical (1) Thunderburst action. This centers a pulse push that can push models away from the target. Useful to free models that hate being engaged such as Fuhatsu, Lazarus or a Thunders Archer (the latter is probably already dead if engaged, though).
Overall, what you take in the crew depends more on what you need for the strat/schemes or what you need to counter, really. Still, you could always take a single Samurai, one or two Torakage (in her box), a Katanaka Sniper or a Ten Thunders brother and will find that they perform reasonably well. You will probably also need at least one other model that can dish out serious damage to reduce the pressure on Misaki. In any case, I believe it is almost always better to harass the enemy with Misaki, killing off weaker models and circling around the other prey to divide attention and resources. This way she lives longer and hey, she might actually survive the whole ordeal.
As you read Misaki has two limited upgrades and Stalking Bisento is taken most of the time by far. It is more aggressive and gives her some additional AP and accuracy (+ flips).
Coupling it with Misdirection should work very well, Misaki keeps slicing off pieces of the enemy while draining their resources. On the other hand, Disguised is more defensively sound and does not require Misdirection for full effect. This is the limited upgrade when you want to support scheme running and holding territory. Ten Thunders Brothers and Ototo are finally useful here, as well as Oiran if you do manage to make them work  You probably need the help of one or two very killy models such as the Lone Swordsman with Recalled Training. Oh, and speaking of Recalled Training: Misaki usually loves it for her third upgrade slot, unless you sorely need something else.

[Math Mathonwy]

5 hours ago, Eclipse said:

The most powerful combo with her in TT is probably standard Sensei Yu w/ Wandering River Style: Air Burst > Focus+1 from that > the other push from the upgrade that gives Misaki Fast on the trigger if you spend the focus. At the same time if you take the Stalking Bisento upgrade (which is taken 90% of time it seems?) Sensei Yu can copy the (0) to stalk a model so that Misaki can potentially have 5 AP and is at least 10" ahead (not counting potential other pushes) on Turn 1. This is a crutch play, though: You will always deliver a Fast Misaki to the enemy on turn 1, but it is so good that afterwards you will probably be unable to play her without Yu... Which could be a weakness for the opponent to exploit.

How would you go about exploiting that?

[ArcticPangolin]

By taking advantage of the fact that since Yu is not along, Misaki will not be killing 3 models on turn 1 without assistance from an overconfident opponent, methinks.

[Da Git]

2 hours ago, Math Mathonwy said:

How would you go about exploiting that?

Since having Yu is a crutch play, if you can stop it it may throw the opponents game off.  Some ideas on how to do this:

1. Simple, hide the model when my opponent is not looking...
2. Another option (and probably a touch more sporting!) I can think of is to try and Lure/push the models away from each other if you can...  If you can get Misaki out of range, then she only gets a 5" push and no Fast.
3. Then there's the good old fashioned kill them all!

Trying to be useful as always!

[Eclipse]

2 hours ago, Math Mathonwy said:

How would you go about exploiting that?

The thing I am talking about here is that if you -know- the Misaki player is going the Yu + Bisento route you can plan around it. Anticipate an alpha strike and you can: Present a cheap model as bait; stick out something tough to take down; hide all your models and set up a defensive perimeter; if the strategy/schemes do not require you to move towards the center or the enemy deployment zone on the first two turns, you can even hang back during deployment and pelt away with snipers or Austringers. If you always take out the same crew under the same conditions you can polish your game, but you fall into a pattern. You rely on the same tricks and interactions and stop being creative about solving the problems of a. scoring points, b. countering the opponent and c. (for people like me) having fun with trying out new approaches, etc. A predictable opponent is much easier to defeat.
Well, you don't have to agree and I tend to overthink things too much sometimes, so that's that

[Math Mathonwy]

1 minute ago, Eclipse said:

Well, you don't have to agree and I tend to overthink things too much sometimes, so that's that

It wasn't meant as a "gotcha" or anything like that but as a serious question. And I do appreciate the reply!  

[Patzer]

Some good Outcast models.

Big Jake. Misaki's crews are often hard thought to even go up to eight models. Jake can really help out with strategies like Extraction and Interference.

Johan. A great all round, mid-level beater. His condition removal is great for Misaki, who is often the teeth and claws of the crew. Thus often in need to get rid of pesky conditions.

Freikorp Librarian. Another great all-rounder. Since Misaki is still an Outcast master (even though you play her in TT), the trusty Libby can cast her heal twice! The price seems quite high, but she can pull her weight. Needs to be kept fairly protected.

Strongarm Suit. The Rider killer is a combo with Misaki. Its hardy, hits really hard, shoots ok, and has the same charge rule (other than in name) as Misaki.

Aionus. Speaking of similarities to Misaki, Aionus share the same stat-line! Can be good for scheme marker heavy scheme pools, and its nice to able to dish out Fast without spending AP. However, Aionus might overlap a little bit too much with Sensei Yu and the latter is too good to pass.

Ronin. Great mid-level model who can handle Armor, and is very useful against melee models who cannot charge them. If in a tight spot, she can replenish your Soulstones or hand with their lives.

[InvokeChaos]

***WARNING: ONE OF MY TYPICAL LONG WINDED POSTS***

TL;DR - take some form of push, expect Misaki to die but take as much as you can with you first, bring self-sufficient minions, and BANZAI!

I am a huge proponent of having two beaters in a list, and Sensei Yu doesn't really count. Also, I echo the hiring a crew that doesn't require master aid comments. That being said, Misaki isn't necessarily a lone ranger. I like to think of her more as an enabler. So that my other models can do what they need to do, either unhindered (in the case of schemes) or better (in the case of killing). Sending Misaki in against 3-4 minions with Ml7 and misdirect is just as awesome as it sounds. And oftentimes you'll be able to put out enough hurting before she goes down, that the rest of your crew can go at it. I run her light on soulstones (I spend them super aggressively anyways with her) because I know she's going to die in a blaze of glory. My goal is just to make sure she does the hurt before that happens.

Quick thought on the Sensei... Yu is not a guaranteed take, but he's a super strong contender. I either take him or the Emissary or Lust (or some combination). Anything to give Misaki that little bit of extra range. Think of it like this:

5" walk + 8" charge + 2" reach = 15" of threat. Add in a single 4" push and you are 19". The opponent is probably going to deploy close to their line (and so did you). So that means the board "length" is about 24". Of which you can move 19". Needless to say, Yu is great. He gives you 25" of threat plus fast (so potentially 5" more), but it's not necessary. After some activations, you WILL have targets. So a singular push of 4"+ can get you by. 

Moving on, here's my few cents on some Misaki fodder for 10T (I don't play outcasts):

Henchmen

Sensei Yu - He's already been covered above but a couple of other interesting notes: Low River Style is a life saver. It can prolong Misaki and remove those really pesky conditions that can totally hose you. Also, I like using Wandering River Style on two targets. Misaki is plenty fast. And I do intend to cruise missile her into my enemy. But generally I like to Airburst a model, then Mighty Gust (granting the fast) to Misaki. Yu has no defensive tricks, other than being unlureable. This can really cause issues if someone focus fires him. Ten wounds don't get you very far when there's nothing backing them.

Yamaziko - The flavor henchman of Misaki, she's my go-to for the upgrade Smoke and Shadows. I've strayed away from her recently, but I've been meaning to put her into more lists. Smoke Grenades are her are fantastic and the GG2016 really makes her a threat if she's not handled. Plus she's one of the few models with min damage 3 in 10T.

Kang - Speaking of min damage 3... Kang is an absolute monster. Auto-passing horror duels, 3/4/6 damage, positive twists against undead and constructs... If you need a beef henchman and don't plan on running Yu, this is your man.

Enforcers

Shadow Emmisary - Free AP when you kill something is pretty nice. The Emissary has some great tricks and is a decent beater in his own right, and fairly resilient. I will oftentimes take him if I don't want Yu for whatever reason (11 pts for 2 pushes and fast is nice, but 10 pts for 1 push and an effective fast that can also rip things apart is sometimes better).

Lone Swordsman - This guy. This freaking guy. What's better the a cruise missile? How about TWO cruise missiles? One of my favorite go-to combos, I often run the trinity: Swordsman + Yu + Misaki = pain. Misaki on one flank, Swordsman on the other... Yu can double push and fast one, or push them both and fast one. So good. 

Lust - I like Lust for a myriad of reasons. But one of the best reasons for her is that she has a push and a warp. The warp only has a 6" range and only for enemies, but it's perfect for Misaki who is at home with Misdirection + Stalking Bisento. What's that? You spread your dudes out a bit so that they could not be in range of misdirection? Tough cookies... here's a push with some damage followed by a place with some damage that hands out slow. Go get 'em Misaki!

Yin the Pengalan - Anytime you have a tarpit model that can just lock down a whole section of the table with another model that eviscerates anything... you have beautiful music. Yin can just straight make something worthless, allowing Misaki a chance to go finish other threats before returning to Yin and finishing the job. Beware of negative synergy here though: Yin forces negative flips on Ca and WP duels... and has a negative flip on all attack and damage flips against her. This means no cheating from your opponent during those situations. And no cheating means cards in hand to discard to misdirection and assassinate.

Sue - Everything about this model is great. Can churn out a lot of damage, get you some cards, is hard to shift and has some great utility in his 0 actions. Sent him in against a rogue necro and did 8pts of damage; on weaks. Cuz critical strike is AMAZING. Finished it off with his burning aura. Carries smoke grenades fairly well, but I'm liking the idea of him carrying Blot the Sky. I believe the archers and him are the same range, so them moving in a unit and having some serious firepower sounds tasty.

Graves - haven't played with him but he has a nice push and is a tanky bruiser type. So go for it!

Minions

Katanaka Sniper - Completely self-sufficient and possibly the best sniper in the game. If you can stick him near Yu, he gets +1Sh when he focuses

Torakage - The pen-ultimate in Ten Thunder standalone minions. A great harrier that is hard to shoot, and hits surprisingly hard. I delegate this model typically as a more combat oriented scheme runner. But the point cost can be a bit to swallow.

Illuminated - And now the ultimate in Ten Thunder standalone minions! Illuminated hit like a truck, have armor, have regen, a decent bevy of wounds and a self-heal. 'Nuff said.

Jorogumo - Expensive beaters that can't carry upgrades. But they are last blossom models. That is VERY important here. With Smoke and Shadows (and the right cards) these puppies can be devastating. You already want Misaki in the mix... why not send an evil spider minion that does a metric !@#$-ton of damage with her? Bury your Gumo, send Misaki in to blender/tie things up, end of turn unbury right next to her. Your opponent HAS to focus a Jorogumo down in one activation, or has to keep anything that can die to its respectable power away... because eat your fill is bad-ass. And it's even better on a minion that's HtK!

Oiran - They don't get a lot of love, but flavor and concept wise, I love these girls. Misaki is great for carrying hidden agenda. Yes, you have to plan out that lure... but oh when it happens. She's a great model to hold down the fort, and with focused and fast, she can get where she needs and do what needs done. That +1WP aura isn't too shabby either!

Shadow Effigy - Four points to gain an activation, a minion with armor and HtK, decent walk and a once per turn condition that imposes a negative flip on an attack vs Misaki? Um... yeah. 

Thunder Archers - I go back and forth on these guys a LOT. But in this situation... Yu having a blot the sky (or yamaziko or sue) is really solid here. They're ability to ignore shooting into engagement penalties is sweet. The ignoring LoS from the Hail of Hachinosu is awesome. And you can walk them up with Yu, and then focus, meaning that end of turn shot is going to get +1Sh AND positives to attack and damage... with blast on mod/sev.  Situational, but useful.

10T Bros - Much like the Kage and Illuminated, Bros are great self sustaining models. Perfect for scheme running and can be surprisingly stalwart. Plus they are cheap!