Let's beat Dreamer

[Vessien]

Turn 3 started with the Dreamer summoning a daydream and a stitched and placing a scheme marker next to the center.

In response, the Oyabun doing what she does better: commanding. She rescued the imprisioned raider and ordered him to charge against Chompi. The raider (despite having to cheat the terrifying duel) slashed and cut him for a severe.

After that, she charged against the big foe and managed to kill him (SS usage here was not enough and my opponent was pretty short on them due to the Carver and the summons). But the icing on the cake was the final mask trigger on Misaki to reposition and recover the intel marker.

(Something big and purple is missing there, RJ involved)

 

(Fuhatsu not happy because aiming Chompi is easy and the boss was faster - I liked this pic, hehe -)

 

However, the left side waa not the only hot place, as the ladies fight was about to start. Serena charged Minako and (RJ for damage chetead), hit her, and hit her hard, leaving her at 1HP after SS prevention (lucky me).

(Minako taking the big hit)

 

The Tanuki, seeing the left flank was well managed by Fuhatsu and Misaki, run and healed Minako for 3, which put her out of the danger zone.

In that flank, the IM charged the raider and invoked the stitched next to him. The raider striked back and manage to make the IM drop a scheme marker. To finish the brawl, the stitched attacked the raider and put him at 1HP... But he ended up hitting himself too and lost half his wounds.

Fuhatsu found another juicy target on Serena and shot her with everything, killing her once and leaving her at pretty low health.

The Dreamer, a bit worried, pressed the daydream next to him to lead Teddy for the rescue. But he was late, because after the katashiro in the middle suicided himself trying to kill Serena, Minako took the chance and finished the mistress.

Anyway, Teddy went running there to protect the intel marker. Whereas the other katashiro dropped more scheme markers on the top right to fullfill Breakthrough later.

While all lf this was happening, I don't remember exactly when, but the alp dropped another scheme marker next to the center just below the house. And the not summoned IM that killed Ototo, picked up the intel marker and went next to the mentioned alp.

At the end of the turn, we both scored Recover evidence and the scoreboard was 2-3 favoring the kiddo.

 

This turn has no final pic, I forgot to take it (shame on me! Hehe). Also, it is worth mentioning I was running out of time, because we tried to play with a 90 min per player clock chess, penalizing each 10 additional minutes with 1 less point.

I will try to finish the game rep later today, but cannot promise anything ^^'

 

[Vessien]

Turns 4 and 5 were reaaally fast, due to the mentioned time limit (and let's face it, Real Life ™ was calling us too). Therefore, I am afraid I got no pics from these turns except for a couple of final ones.

Well, on turn 4, I don't remember who won the initiative, nor the exact order of activations, but here we go.

Teddy ate Minako and defended the mistress' intel marker and the Dreamer.

The wokou rider, fast after taking the scheme marker, decided to die fighting rather than being taken prisioner, and made a last breath attack against the stitched, killing him and taking 1 poison (I realized I could suicide him with the stitched poison just in time). He also made some damage to the IM.

The Dreamer dropped another scheme marker next to the center and picked up Minako's intel marker.

The daydream of the center of the table did nothing relevant that I remember. And the tanuki failed everything I think.

Fuhatsu opened fire, killing the summoned IM, and the one with the intel marker with a severe, and blasting for 4 damage the alp.

Coming far from the right, the remaining katashiro rushed to try and kill the daydream in the center, suiciding himself in the process. (I know it was kind of nonsense, but I was in a rush).

Misaki... Neither my opponent nor me remember what she did this turn, maybe she was laughing in the shadows after killing Chompi? Nothing relevant for the game anyway.

End of turn 4, the raider died poisoned and the Dreamer scored 1 more point for the Recover evidence strategy and it was 2-4 in his favour.

At this point I was already penalized by time with one less point and my opponent had like 5 minutes left or so. Thus, turn 5 was a rush.

 

This turn was really, really fast, and the most relevant things were:

Fuhatsu protected the intel marker dropped by the raider sitting on it and killed the alp next to thw house.

The Dreamer, Teddy and the daydreams did pretty much nothing, since my opponent was focused on the timer.

The tanuki positioned next to the corpse marker (I always forgot I cannot score both points of a scheme in the same turn and planned as if I could score both Research Mission).

 

And Misaki tried to score Reasearch Mission and picked up the intel marker of the IM next to the house. However... The opposing half of the table was a diagonal, not the usual half... Hehehe, my bad! ^^'

 

Actually, I scored it and it would have been 4-4 (5-4 minus 1 for the overtime). But, since it wasn't on the other half and there was no way for me to score it otherwise, I ended up losing 3-4.

 

Wrapimg up, it was a very funny and interesting game, and we managed to end it in 3 hours, which is pretty fast for us since the previous games took double the time or so.

I've made some obvious mistakes, like the sucide of the katashiro and forgeting to drop the scheme markers. Ah, and planning the whole game as if I could score twice in the same turn and thinking the other half was the "normal" one.

 

As always comments and sugestions are welcome! 😃

 

P.D: I really hope I did not forget to activate Misaki turn 4!

[regleant]

Okay! So, ignoring the timer issues, you won! Congrats!  Other than the many mistakes both you and your opponent made, and the length of the game.., how did you feel about the list and how the models came together? Was the advice we gave misleading? What did you learn? Because I can't quite make it out, which models were left on the board between you?

 

Without knowing the play by play, I see some areas I can point out:

1) Mistakes. You made them. Your opponent made them. Nobody is going to get all of the rules on every card and on every page correct in their first few games. Accept that, and reread cards and instructions of items that came up to be sure you played them correctly, and learn from them. That's a given and an easy one, and you even called out some yourself. Moving on.

2) Minako Rei: did you remember to put her attachment onto the model that hit her? BECAUSE: If Serena charged Minako and hit, Serena should have had the Karmic Fate upgrade on her, such that when Minako killed Serena, you should have received a free Wanyudo! And I don't see that in your write-up.🤣 Also, don't forget Minako's bonus action is pretty nice. I am an idiot and was thinking of the wrong ability. Minako adds her upgrade when the opponent missed her with an attack, not when she is hit by one...  

3) Ototo: Turn 2 Ototo he was smacked hard. Questions I have reading through:

• Why did he turn and run for healing, when he could have stayed and fought? Ototo gets positive flips when he is below half health, and he could have potentially taken someone out. 
• How did Ototo heal 6? Is there a Tanuki activation that wasn't mentioned?
• I'm not saying his death could have been prevented that turn, but he wants to be swinging that giant reinforced baseball bat he carries as much as he can.

4) Attacking the Dreamer: Sadly, putting hits directly onto The Dreamer is not something I recommend. As you saw, he can pass off hits, and with Serene Countenance and Incorporeal, he has some great defensive traits. Those hits definitely could have gone elsewhere.

5) Misaki fails Willpower duals: Did you cheat the Terrifying checks? Because at Willpower 7, she has a great chance of overcoming Terrifying on a straight flip, and even better if you cheat. Yes, it burns your hand a bit...

6) Katashiro: From the write-up, even discounting the errors you admittedly made, it sounded like they were your heroes and scored most of your points. Glad that worked out. 

7) Misaki: I can't say whether you made mistakes with her, as she is so versatile on the board, you can use her for exactly what's required at the time. From reading through, you used many of her abilities and if anything, that helps you get a feel for how to use her better. So good on you for testing a bit of everything.

😎 Fuhatsu sounds like he enjoyed his life!

 

All that said, I think you won, and could do much better the next time around.

[Azahul]

Pretty sure Minako's upgrade only gets attached if the opponent misses.

[regleant]

14 minutes ago, Azahul said:

Pretty sure Minako's upgrade only gets attached if the opponent misses.

You are right and I'm gonna' edit my post. Shows you how often I use her - or when I do, my opponents just ignore the fact she's there.

[Vessien]

6 hours ago, regleant said:

Okay! So, ignoring the timer issues, you won! Congrats!  

Actually it was a tie without the timer (but the timer did matter, since my opponent rushed quite a bit to avoid losing points), my writting was a bir messy there in that explanation. What happened is that I tried to score Research mission, but I could not, because the markers where not on the other half of the table (I was playing as if the other half was like in normal deployment instead of flank).

Anyway, I am ok with a loss, it was a close one and I made many mistakes in retrospective. But learnt a lot and had a great time playing.

The list worked wonders and I really enjoyed it, thanks!! Later I will detail a bit more and read the rest of the comments slower, but I had to make that clarification ^^'

 

[Vessien]

19 hours ago, regleant said:

.., how did you feel about the list and how the models came together? Was the advice we gave misleading? What did you learn? Because I can't quite make it out, which models were left on the board between you?

The advice was pretty good in general. Maybe there were a couple of things that I would not agree 100%. Such as:

- Minako: Instead of trying to drop a scheme marker next to her every turn, I found that dropping both Misaki's schemes was easier. Since later you usually want Misaki's and Ototo's markers placed in other spots and they don't have to be necesarily close to Minako. Also, now that I think about it, markers are not mandatory if you got a 12+ to spare, and that may allow more flexibility.

All in all, she is just great and I think she is worth every SS. Scheme runners that can represent a one time damage burst  threat and a decent beater all in one pack.

Not to mention the bonus action for card advantage. I did not used her and the katashiros to their full potential,  but with a couple more games she is going to be key.

- Ototo: I did not really like the Trained Ninja upgrade on him, Unimpeded is not very useful because despite the great amount of sever terrain there was on the table, he can maneuver pretty good with the mask trigger Unexpected Smoke Bomb in The Storm is Coming action.

And Stealth does only really work on the fiest turn or circumstantialy, because he likes to be kn the middle of the fray.

I'd rather put Masked Agent on him for the combo with Misaki's Oyabun's Command. Or put the upgrade on another guy, I got to try it on the wokou raider.

Anyway, it was worth the try and in specofic circunmstances it may be worth considering. Also it is worth to say we thought he would bring the spiders, which would have placed lots of additional severe terrain, but my opponent told me he did not due to the strategy. Because the Bandersnatch cannot bury with an intel marker.

 

Lessons learned here we've got a couple:

- Minako: Timing for her bonus is very important. Also, if you are going to spend a 12+ remember you don't need to remove a marker.

- Katashiro: Do not suicide them after scoring, and much less if there are still points to be scored. Use the blase rush to pin enemies, specially incorporeal.

- Shang: Do not overextend him, the extra card and additional tactical options for Misaki are more important than most of the things you would missplace him, such as healing or advancing Misaki a bit more one turn.

- Wokou raider: He was never close to where enemy scheme markers were being dropped. He should have dropped a scheme instead of moving on first turn, so he could have consumed it turn 2 to get fast and went where he was needed, or applied presure with his Collier Revolver.

I have the feeling he is too weak to go straigth to the middle of the brawl, so maybe positioning him better and shooting for the first couple of turns, so he could survive and go close to where the scheming is to benefit from his passives.

 

And the surviving models where:

- Dreamer, Teddy, 1 starting daydream and 1 summoned and buried daydream.

- Misaki, Fuhatsu, Tanuki.

 

[touchdown]

44 minutes ago, Vessien said:

- Wokou raider: He was never close to where enemy scheme markers were being dropped. He should have dropped a scheme instead of moving on first turn, so he could have consumed it turn 2 to get fast and went where he was needed, or applied presure with his Collier Revolver.

I have the feeling he is too weak to go straigth to the middle of the brawl, so maybe positioning him better and shooting for the first couple of turns, so he could survive and go close to where the scheming is to benefit from his passives.

Drop 2 upgrades and bring the effigy. You can obey the raider to interact out of activation (or have the 4ss model interact) to keep your Raider fast. Also, save those high Tomes.

[regleant]

56 minutes ago, Vessien said:

- Minako: Instead of trying to drop a scheme marker next to her every turn, I found that dropping both Misaki's schemes was easier. Since later you usually want Misaki's and Ototo's markers placed in other spots and they don't have to be necesarily close to Minako. Also, now that I think about it, markers are not mandatory if you got a 12+ to spare, and that may allow more flexibility.

- Minako: Timing for her bonus is very important. Also, if you are going to spend a 12+ remember you don't need to remove a marker.

 

Not sure what you mean by this one - removing a marker is mandatory to create a Katashiro. This list doesn't have a way to produce Scrap Markers, so Shadow Markers are required at the 10+ Tomes. But true, you can set a Shadow Marker "within walking distance" so she can advance and create. I'm dumb, so I try to keep it as simple as I can for myself.

59 minutes ago, Vessien said:

- Ototo: I did not really like the Trained Ninja upgrade on him, Unimpeded is not very useful because despite the great amount of sever terrain there was on the table, he can maneuver pretty good with the mask trigger Unexpected Smoke Bomb in The Storm is Coming action.

And Stealth does only really work on the fiest turn or circumstantialy, because he likes to be kn the middle of the fray.

 

Totally fair statement. It depends on what problem you're trying to solve, and you adapt from there. If the problem is "Ototo never makes it to combat" then Trained Ninja is great. Mix'n'match the upgrades and see what works best for you.  Quite honestly, I rarely, if ever, use upgrades. That's in part because half the time I forget that I even added them....

 

And the Wokou Raider is an interesting tech piece that needs practice, much like the Crime Boss. The abilities they have are far deeper than what you can see in a single game. Just takes practice.

 

Better luck next game! My honest advice at this point is: Don't change the list, or change 2 models at most. Repetition is the best way to learn how things work. It sounds like Wokou didn't click for you, so that's an easy one to drop and put something else in. Looking forward to the next batrep!

[Vessien]

21 hours ago, regleant said:

Not sure what you mean by this one - removing a marker is mandatory to create a Katashiro. This list doesn't have a way to produce Scrap Markers, so Shadow Markers are required at the 10+ Tomes. But true, you can set a Shadow Marker "within walking distance" so she can advance and create. I'm dumb, so I try to keep it as simple as I can for myself.

I totally misread the skill when I wrote it. Thought you could summon with no marker with 12+. And it is shadow 10+, scrap 12+, right?

In this case, I should remember to place the scrap msrkers when katashiros die, because you can resummon them with a 12+ if needed (actually I could have done so). It may not be useful every game, but I think is good to have the option.

[Vessien]

21 hours ago, regleant said:

Better luck next game! My honest advice at this point is: Don't change the list, or change 2 models at most. Repetition is the best way to learn how things work. It sounds like Wokou didn't click for you, so that's an easy one to drop and put something else in. Looking forward to the next batrep!

Will definetly try again the list, with small changes depending on the map, schemes and strat. Thanks!

We are planning more games next weekend and I enjoyed writing the batrep a lot, so I will write another batrep for sure ( I guess this one eill go to the proper forum ^^').

[Vessien]

22 hours ago, touchdown said:

Drop 2 upgrades and bring the effigy. You can obey the raider to interact out of activation (or have the 4ss model interact) to keep your Raider fast. Also, save those high Tomes.

I like the idea, so I will definetly give it a shot.

Also, you gave me the idea of trying this with a terracota warrior too. He can copy some fancy Oyabun's Command or The Storm is Coming with one action and place a scheme for the raider with the other. And  who knows, maybe even bring back Shang, hehe.

[Thatguy]

Thanks for the bat rep.

Dreamer is an A-lister and your managed a tie, more or less. That's a good showing in my opinion.

[Vessien]

The mentioned batrep from yestarday here. We agreed on exchanging masters and I am writing.

[Vessien]

I finally beat the Dreamer!

Yes, it had to be after the errata, but who cares! Hehehe. Actually I think he still is a great menance to all the folks at this side of the Breach.

To add a little sauce, here are a couple of pictures of the game (not enough for a batrep this time).

Here is the deployment:

 

A mid game shot:

 

Final shot:

 

And the result: