Ten Thunders Versatiles for each Master in the Faction

[Maogrim]

こんにちは or 你们好, fellow Thunder siblings!

I am a returned Malifaux player who used to play a bit or Arcanists (Colette) back in the first edition, but recently a friend of mine got me interested in the game again. So I decided to go with Ten Thunders after getting interested in what I read about Youko's playstyle. By now I've acquired Youko's and Lynch's core boxes (also have Mei Feng's core box from back in the days) and of course had a look into what else to get for these masters.

Now, after realizing that there are only two other boxes for Lynch (Dark Dealings and Friendly Faces) and reading that Ten Thunders were supposed to have some of the best versatiles in the game,  I wondered which versatiles would be best suited to the playstyles of my chosen masters.

But to make it a little more comprehensive, I would like to ask all of you more experienced players of our favorite (mostly) Asian crime syndicate to provide us with your thoughts on the most useful versatile models for each master in the faction. Please try to explain which abilities or characteristics of a model are useful and what they actually add to said master.

Thank you so much in advance!

[regleant]

While I don't play any of the masters you named, I actively play many of our Versatile models and often prefer them over keyword models.  Just to give you my top three choices:

Fuhatsu: When you want a model to control a section of the board and keep the opponent away with a serious threat, Fuhatsu is your man. The Gatling Gun has some serious damage potential, and he has abilities to free him up to use it. Rapid Fire just adds more fuel to the fire. Hard to Wound, Armor, Juggernaut, and Stones keep him quite survivable. Also Ruthless and Laugh Off ensures that he'll do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants.

Samurai: For many of the same reasons above. Can't use Stones, but has other benefits from being a Minion. His stats are not quite as high as Fuhatsu, but the bonus-action for Concentrate makes up for it. In a pinch, his melee weapon does ignore armor, giving it potentially more damage output than the gun. However, he is not Ruthless.  

Tanuki: All-around great support piece passing out Focused and the occasional heal. This Trash Panda is in about every list that I make.

 

Special mentions:

Dawn Serpent: I do love a mobile army. Having Flight and Agile with a MV 7 gets this guy where you need him. His Bonus Action as a Heal alongside Hard to Kill keeps him in the thick of enemy territory and attracting attention.

Wanyudo: Similar to the Dawn Serpent for mobility, this he gets to where you need him and lights the world on fire on the way there. Also fewer points and arguably higher-damage output then Dawn Serpents, he's good when points are short but not nearly as survivable.

Minako Rei: Arguably has a place with Mei Feng, but I tried this just yesterday and was never able to utilize the scrap markers to summon the Katashiro, because cheating a 12 is a big cheat... With Misaksi, she's great. As a Versatile, I need more practice.

 

And my bottom-barrel:

Yasunori: Too many points for what you get. I take him only when I absolutely need a hyper-mobile army and out-of-activation movement shenanigans. He's usually a fun model on the board, but don't expect to make up the points in kills - I have been using him to facilitate scoring.

Shadow Emissary: I just can't get this model to work for the points. He might do something, then he dies.

 

I can't speak about the others too intelligently. 

[OracleToronto]

Shadow Emissary can help fish out needed cards so is often a great pick for Asami. 
 

also he is a MV 6, agile model on a huge base making him very mobile and I great model to get that last scheme marker right where you need it. 
 

Often his ability to grant a concealing aura can be super useful against range crews. 

[Regelridderen]

From an opponents view, I just see Fuhatsu, Samurai and drunk raccoons. 

[Ogid]

I want to echo the Samurai, pantless Samurai and drunk Racoon; that's a very solid start. They don't have to synergize super well with any crew, but they are bringing either very independent and solid models or a ton of support on a very cheap model. As you said there are a lot of good option in the faction, most of the versatile pool is legit.

 

But I want to give a bit of shoutout to a few OOK picks that are as worthy of consideration as the versatiles:

Yamaziko: Amazing jack of all trades but the reason she is a worthy OOK pick is her aura when paired with lots of minions;  to everything is dope and can even help to counter defensive tech like Terrifying, Manipulative or SC.

Sun Quiang: The best support on the faction hands down, and with how good he is and having 8 Wds for cost 7 I don't really feel the OOK tax tbh. Mind his Kind of medicine and Bedside manners combined make killing any H2K model near of him not an easy task (which includes ANY model if you are willing to buy SP upgrade). Also flying models or models with place effects fighting around him will get free healing. Tanukis are cheaper and sometimes that's all you need, but don't overlook this guy. Df 7 btw.

Sidir Alchibal: 3 important tech counters on this model: Ruthless, Analyze Weakness and Blow it to hell. Pricy but to consider depending if you need several of them on the game.

Lucas+Luna+something that creates scrap: Deceptively high damage output with all those TNs but also a lot of control with the Netgun, he is also the only Ride with me model in the faction (as long as he isn't the leader) and he brings OPtifacts for your minions and himself. The sword has precise, which is just nuts; and Life leech with any H2K minion is another good combo; with fast on top of that. And he doesn't die, he just dismounts lol.

Huckster: Scheme runner on steroids.

Kabuki Warrior: Arguable and probably more a personal favourite than a solid OOK, but his distraction aura is very powerful when paired with good Wp attacks or effects; he dies easily versus anything that's not a mele attack so he must be picked considering the other crew and benefice a lot from extra defensive tech or models able to look after him.

Lotus Eater: Not sure about him because I've never picked him as a tech piece, but unless I'm missing something he's the only model in the faction able to eat any kind of marker (including those not being able to get destroyed by blow it to hell or Burn it down), so he might be very valuable versus crews with those kind of non-destructible markers.

Izamu+Chiaki+Sun Quiang (or any retainer): This was nerfed in GG1 and now it needs the third model to work (and eats half of a crew SS lol), but it's still to consider if those 3 models would work well in that game. Izamu's Reliquary make up for the 3SS tax and those are 3 very solid models.

On 10/4/2020 at 8:18 PM, regleant said:

Minako Rei: Arguably has a place with Mei Feng, but I tried this just yesterday and was never able to utilize the scrap markers to summon the Katashiro, because cheating a 12 is a big cheat... With Misaksi, she's great. As a Versatile, I need more practice.

I also don't think a Katashiro is worth a 12... In my case, she goes in with Ototo/Misaki OOK to get 2 shadow markers the first turn or not at all.

[Maogrim]

So, from what I gather so far, Versatiles in Ten Thunders aren't really taken because they provide some incidental synergy with specific masters, but are rather simply good and efficient models that offer useful traits and abilities that are just great to have around for any crew in the faction.

 

Samurai and Fuhatsu: High damage output and board control.

Tanuki: Giving models Focused and occasional healing.

Dawn Serpent and Wanyudo: High mobility and Burning.

MInako Rei: ?

 

I do think Dawn Serpent and Wanyudo are cool looking models so I do consider picking them up. Sadly I don't like Fuhatsu at all, because of the "funny" brain damage thing in the fluff and displayed on the model. I know about the Miss Guided alternate sculpt, but have no idea how to get her in Germany without paying the quite high shipping costs from the States. Tanuki I also find to be just a bit silly, which at least for me trumps their usefulness. Samurai aren't available in an ME3 box, as far as I know.

Now, Ten Thunders have a few more versatile models that haven't been mentioned yet but look really cool, like Obsidian Statue, Terracotta Warriors and Ten Thunder Brothers. What about them?

 

 

[Cursed25]

1 hour ago, Maogrim said:

Tanuki: Giving models Focused and occasional healing.

 

 

you forgot condition removal!!! this is extremely useful vs a lot of crews! They also can be tricky to kill for a 5ss model, if you keep a low tome in your hand! Also they can scheme for you if you don't need their other abilities and since they are cheap you won't mind using them for this!

 

Tanukis are among the best support models in the game! 😉

 

Minako is used to create 2 of the best schemers available to TT! But since her nerf if you really want her to shine you have to take Ototo or Misaki to create shadow markers. I think the penalty of using scrap marker is a little too high! So in Last Blossom or with Ototo, Minako will give you 2 excellent schemers worth 5ss each and she can herself scheme (she is fast) or tank for you! A lot of opponent don't want to target her for fear of giving you a Wanyudo!

 

The other versatiles are not that great! Obsidian statue could work with Mei fang but the golem does a better job, terracotta warriors can work with certain masters for specific jobs (like in Asami to copy A Mother's Love freeing important AP from your masters). and Ten Thunders brothers are just bad in my opinion. Dance of the Heaven should have been a bonus action.

[Cursed25]

7 minutes ago, Cursed25 said:

you forgot condition removal!!! this is extremely useful vs a lot of crews! They also can be tricky to kill for a 5ss model, if you keep a low tome in your hand! Also they can scheme for you if you don't need their other abilities and since they are cheap you won't mind using them for this!

 

Tanukis are among the best support models in the game! 😉

 

Minako is used to create 2 of the best schemers available to TT! But since her nerf if you really want her to shine you have to take Ototo or Misaki to create shadow markers. I think the penalty of using scrap marker is a little too high! So in Last Blossom or with Ototo, Minako will give you 2 excellent schemers worth 5ss each and she can herself scheme (she is fast) or tank for you! A lot of opponent don't want to target her for fear of giving you a Wanyudo!

 

The other versatiles are not that great! Obsidian statue could work with Mei fang but the golem does a better job, terracotta warriors can work with certain masters for specific jobs (like in Asami to copy A Mother's Love freeing important AP from your masters). But their use is pretty limited! Finally Ten Thunders brothers are just bad in my opinion. Dance of the Heaven should have been a bonus action.

 

[Ogid]

20 hours ago, Maogrim said:

Now, Ten Thunders have a few more versatile models that haven't been mentioned yet but look really cool, like Obsidian Statue, Terracotta Warriors and Ten Thunder Brothers. What about them?

Terracota are good imo; but these need to go in with a plan in mind; that's copying some tacticals (Misaki, Ototo and Asami have good stuff for him to copy for example) and also having some good target to replace. Don't get greedy and aim towards high cost models because you'll need a high suited card for that; if that happens, awesome, but don't count on that. The most reliable targets are high impact, low cost models like some totems (Amanjaku, Shang...) or some enforcers (Mr Tannen).

Obsidian might be worth in games where you have a lot of burning going on; I haven't played it but I guess it'd have some niche; probably with Asami, Shenlong or Mei Feng and paired with the other Fire themed versatiles.

The TTB... I've never used them (nor have them) and I do find them a bit underwhelming on paper... IDK, maybe with Youko or Lynch to put more pressure on the other player's hand with that aura (and if a model happens to be also within a Distraction aura the odds to pass the flip will be quite low)... you might try them.

Take a look to the lone swordsman tho. That model hits HARD even for thunder's standars, has decent mobility with his bonus, is tanky enough and can also pull off some extra shenanigans getting free pass tokens or slowing enemies. I've been happy with him the few times I put him on the table.

And also don't overlook the humble Shadow Effigy, one of the best effigies imo. Remember the mission is very very good, it also has a nice defensive aura and he also got a decent attack on top of that (and of course H2K, Accomplice plus Armor as all other effigies which make it decently tanky for a 4SS and able to chain activate).

[OracleToronto]

On 10/7/2020 at 8:43 AM, Cursed25 said:

Minako is used to create 2 of the best schemers available to TT! But since her nerf if you really want her to shine you have to take Ototo or Misaki to create shadow markers

 

Another option is to take Minako and a Torakage if there is someone who can create a scheme marker for him he can turn it into a shadow marker for Minako to use, plus he is just a solid scheme runner while much cheaper than the Ototo option. 

[regleant]

50 minutes ago, OracleToronto said:

Another option is to take Minako and a Torakage if there is someone who can create a scheme marker for him he can turn it into a shadow marker for Minako to use, plus he is just a solid scheme runner while much cheaper than the Ototo option. 

I would be careful with the Action Point economy, though. Now you're spending 2 AP's just to make a Shadow Marker for Minako. It's an idea that works in a pinch, but what else could those models be doing? I do like the Ototo option, because he can still use it for movement and gain value for spending the AP.

[OracleToronto]

it's true you generally want someone that can create a scheme marker either through bonus actions or triggers, or to use for an additional effect. Sun Quaing is often good for this in later turns as his bonus action is not always easy to use for scheming 

[Ogid]

22 hours ago, OracleToronto said:

Another option is to take Minako and a Torakage if there is someone who can create a scheme marker for him he can turn it into a shadow marker for Minako to use, plus he is just a solid scheme runner while much cheaper than the Ototo option. 

I don't like him for this, at all.

I find him viable with Misaki because he may trade shadow markers for schemes, has a lot of good teleport points with all the shadow markers laying around and may also create shadow markers to give Misaki the ability to unbury in remote places which is awesome mid to late game and to punish model trying to kill him. Without Misaki and Shadow Markers all over the place and for 7SS I find him quite underwelming as a runner.

I also like more having a heavy hitter drawing attention from the 2 Katashiros than having a third squishy schemer to look for; Misaki and Ototo will also be in position to create more shadow markers for Minako if one of the Katashiros is killed way more easily than the Torakage; and what's worse, he can't create 2 shadow markers the first turn, unlike the other 2.

[regleant]

On 10/9/2020 at 11:59 AM, Ogid said:

m. Without Misaki and Shadow Markers all over the place and for 7SS I find him quite underwelming as a runner.

SPD 7, Agile, Stealth, and only 6 points... I have had decent luck with Torakage as a runner. He’s my go-to in Last Blossom if I have to drop lots of Scheme markers. But my opponents are likely different than yours.  

[Cursed25]

42 minutes ago, regleant said:

SPD 7, Agile, Stealth, and only 6 points... I have had decent luck with Torakage as a runner. He’s my go-to in Last Blossom if I have to drop lots of Scheme markers. But my opponents are likely different than yours.  

he meant outside of Last Blossom they are not worth it!

[Ogid]

58 minutes ago, regleant said:

SPD 7, Agile, Stealth, and only 6 points... I have had decent luck with Torakage as a runner. He’s my go-to in Last Blossom if I have to drop lots of Scheme markers. But my opponents are likely different than yours.

I like them as schemers in keyword but not outside of it, but in general I rather summoned Katashiros for that role because it let me keep a stronger combat crew on top of 2 very good schemers (also the fact that "Blown by the wind" cannot fail or force me to cheat is very good...).

It's the ability to create shadow markers in remote places why I really consider them tbh, they being good at scheming is just a nice extra; but it's true the oponents matter, most threats for my schemers will try to go close and personal so Stealth isn't that important for me.

[Whut]

A couple of the less talked about points:

Lone Swordsman is A+. Ruthless, Stat 6, 3/5/6 with crit strike offense. 8 Wd, H2K, Arm+1, with decent Df/Wp. Roughly 9" charge threat consistently with push angles. Movement as a bonus action. Already worth 8 stones just as a solid beater. Add in plus flips to everything sometimes, pseudo-frenzied-charge sometimes, pseudo-charge while engaged sometimes, 2/4/5 with quick reflexes being stellar sometimes, and being able to generate 1-3 SS during the game. Just gauge your chance to kill well and gamble accordingly. I can't imagine a scenario where he's not an above-average option.

Shadow Effigy is great situationally. Just cheap, significant, can often survive 2 hits, grants concealment, and can help scheme and sometimes push.

Terracottas I only see being good with Asami, but one is great with her. They can copy her Mother's Love on a 6, drop scheme markers for her to heal, and bring back her totem on a 6Mask (or something bigger if you get lucky drawing a high mask). Much better than Akaname for lowering the flicker of her summons in the early game.

Lust is very situational, and it's hard to make her work. If your opponent draws many cards on different models (like Sandeep, Lynch, Big Hat) she can either steal those draws or bomb the enemy with destructive performance. Problem is she needs to be within 6" and is too squishy to live long against a few focused attacks. Seduction can sadden some models that rely on stacking focus if she can manage to live.

Shadow Emissary exists only to help Asami mulligan her hand. It's not worth the 10 SS otherwise.

Minako Rei is not a good early game summoner. She's a catch-22 generator for your opponent, does decent damage on the charge, and summons a wanyundo at some point during the game. Be prepared to dump a SS or two into her as she is fragile.

Wanyudo is an amazing Minako summon. Too squishy to take in crews for my tastes. Very fast and effectively agile. A great schemer with surprising damage output.

Obsidian Statue is great situationally. All the burning stacking is a red herring, you need to stack +3 burning to get 1 delayed damage so +1 burning does nothing 90% of the time. Primarily a "surprise!" pick against enemy crews unlikely to bring armor-ignoring attacks or unlikely to ignore cover with shooting. People don't expect Armor from most Ten Thunders masters so it's more likely than you think. Effectively reduces the first 3 damage to a minimum of 0, can't be moved by enemies, good melee attack, Breath of Fire is totally broken on severe damage, and can remove enemy scrap and scheme markers. Needs some help with mobility, and suffers from conditions since he's so easy to hit. Remember to place your scrap markers under his base if your opponent can use them. Requires good knowledge of all factions and what armor ignoring options they have.

Yasunori is pricey, but good against the correct enemy crews - the ones who draw tons of cards and have large, clustered model counts. Crews like Sandeep and Big Hat have trouble getting/staying under 3 cards in hand, giving Yasunori effectively Arm+1 and H2W and building in his triggers for the first half of every turn. His Flying 9" charge threat (16" if walking first) with 4 attacks on a + flip rips apart the squishier elements of these crews (especially clustered bayou grems). You charge him in at the end of a turn, attacking 2-3 times. At the top of next turn he bombs into a big cluster of (hopefully low-Df) enemies attacking 3-4 times, then sits there, quite tanky. Your opponent asks himself, "Do I attack him now? He's at his tankiest, and my opponent's other threats are left undisturbed. Do I attack him later? He'll be squishier but he's engaging all these models and being a pain right now." Yasunori is also fast enough to engage many shooting models quickly, or to run down schemers. Using his bonus action or Chaos Unleashed he can almost always exit engagement to charge elsewhere, or move multiple enemy models into engagement with him. He can also deny your opponent VP and mess up their plans. At the end of a turn, fly him 14" towards the Corrupted Ley Lines holder and bonus action to push them 1" away from the strategy marker, no duel required. Similar late-turn charges and small pushes can deny breakthrough, take prisoner, catch and release, claim jump, and research mission.

 

Edit: Note that some options might be great, but still overshadowed by others. For instance the Obsidian Statue is great sometimes, but for the same points Fuhatsu is just going to be better and more reliable a large amount of the time. That doesn't make the Obsidian Statue bad.

[Assdex]

On 10/17/2020 at 11:38 PM, Biletsky said:

A couple of the less talked about points:

Lone Swordsman is A+. Ruthless, Stat 6, 3/5/6 with crit strike offense. 8 Wd, H2K, Arm+1, with decent Df/Wp. Roughly 9" charge threat consistently with push angles. Movement as a bonus action. Already worth 8 stones just as a solid beater. Add in plus flips to everything sometimes, pseudo-frenzied-charge sometimes, pseudo-charge while engaged sometimes, 2/4/5 with quick reflexes being stellar sometimes, and being able to generate 1-3 SS during the game. Just gauge your chance to kill well and gamble accordingly. I can't imagine a scenario where he's not an above-average option.

Shadow Effigy is great situationally. Just cheap, significant, can often survive 2 hits, grants concealment, and can help scheme and sometimes push.

Terracottas I only see being good with Asami, but one is great with her. They can copy her Mother's Love on a 6, drop scheme markers for her to heal, and bring back her totem on a 6Mask (or something bigger if you get lucky drawing a high mask). Much better than Akaname for lowering the flicker of her summons in the early game.

Lust is very situational, and it's hard to make her work. If your opponent draws many cards on different models (like Sandeep, Lynch, Big Hat) she can either steal those draws or bomb the enemy with destructive performance. Problem is she needs to be within 6" and is too squishy to live long against a few focused attacks. Seduction can sadden some models that rely on stacking focus if she can manage to live.

Shadow Emissary exists only to help Asami mulligan her hand. It's not worth the 10 SS otherwise.

Minako Rei is not a good early game summoner. She's a catch-22 generator for your opponent, does decent damage on the charge, and summons a wanyundo at some point during the game. Be prepared to dump a SS or two into her as she is fragile.

Wanyudo is an amazing Minako summon. Too squishy to take in crews for my tastes. Very fast and effectively agile. A great schemer with surprising damage output.

Obsidian Statue is great situationally. All the burning stacking is a red herring, you need to stack +3 burning to get 1 delayed damage so +1 burning does nothing 90% of the time. Primarily a "surprise!" pick against enemy crews unlikely to bring armor-ignoring attacks or unlikely to ignore cover with shooting. People don't expect Armor from most Ten Thunders masters so it's more likely than you think. Effectively reduces the first 3 damage to a minimum of 0, can't be moved by enemies, good melee attack, Breath of Fire is totally broken on severe damage, and can remove enemy scrap and scheme markers. Needs some help with mobility, and suffers from conditions since he's so easy to hit. Remember to place your scrap markers under his base if your opponent can use them. Requires good knowledge of all factions and what armor ignoring options they have.

Yasunori is pricey, but good against the correct enemy crews - the ones who draw tons of cards and have large, clustered model counts. Crews like Sandeep and Big Hat have trouble getting/staying under 3 cards in hand, giving Yasunori effectively Arm+1 and H2W and building in his triggers for the first half of every turn. His Flying 9" charge threat (16" if walking first) with 4 attacks on a + flip rips apart the squishier elements of these crews (especially clustered bayou grems). You charge him in at the end of a turn, attacking 2-3 times. At the top of next turn he bombs into a big cluster of (hopefully low-Df) enemies attacking 3-4 times, then sits there, quite tanky. Your opponent asks himself, "Do I attack him now? He's at his tankiest, and my opponent's other threats are left undisturbed. Do I attack him later? He'll be squishier but he's engaging all these models and being a pain right now." Yasunori is also fast enough to engage many shooting models quickly, or to run down schemers. Using his bonus action or Chaos Unleashed he can almost always exit engagement to charge elsewhere, or move multiple enemy models into engagement with him. He can also deny your opponent VP and mess up their plans. At the end of a turn, fly him 14" towards the Corrupted Ley Lines holder and bonus action to push them 1" away from the strategy marker, no duel required. Similar late-turn charges and small pushes can deny breakthrough, take prisoner, catch and release, claim jump, and research mission.

 

Edit: Note that some options might be great, but still overshadowed by others. For instance the Obsidian Statue is great sometimes, but for the same points Fuhatsu is just going to be better and more reliable a large amount of the time. That doesn't make the Obsidian Statue bad.

I think Yas is dead cuz rigth now we got more option than him. i don't see his purpose on table now. its sad for me but true