Anyone have success with Youko, Unseen?

[regleant]

I've only gotten in one game with her and would like to get more. I decided to go pretty much all-in on her Gather Intel ability and run models that love being pushed and tangled up with the enemy. I also realized that she really doesn't care about her keyword at all, and decided that Distraction is a trap. So what I ran and why:

• Youko, Unseen
• Chiyo
• Bill Algren (Durable, heals himself)
• Hinamatsu (Durable, mobile, has Lure)
• Kabuki Warrior with Silent Protector (Combat Finesse would do well against a melee-based opponent, and helps him survive when shoved into melee, the Silent Protector to give him that one bit more survivability)
• Dawn Serpent (can light things on fire, heals himself can remove himself from combat whenever he wants, and Counterspell is irritating)
• Lust (Weird one, here. I just wanted to use "Now kiss!" to keep opponent's models away from Strategy markers)
• 6 Soulstones (this is about normal for me)

It was an oddball mix of characters designed for some board board control and placement shenanigans. I did win, but that was partly because my opponent tried Titania2 for the first time and just couldn't get the list to click. Youko just went to where she was needed / safe on the board, did her card tricks, and pushed models around. I think the shock of such durability from Youko threw off my opponent.

 

Then I thought what if I get really crazy...

• Youko, Unseen
• Chiyo
• Bill Algren 
• Hinamatsu
• Dawn Serpent
• The Lone Sworsman
• Izamu, the Armor
• 4 Soulstones

 

It looks like it could go really really well, or really really poor. I'll have to make smart use of Pass tokens and not push limits of durability. I also considered dropping Hinamatsu for a Samurai given the lower Soulstone count.

 

What have others tried?

[Jinn]

Shojo still seems worth it in this kind of list due to pass token generation and the -3 to cheats aura, can be very strong offensively or defensively. I think you might be right about Youko 2, she really doesn't work that well with her keyword. Bill and Hina justify themselves, but Kabukis and the like are too squishy even in the comparitively Distracted spamming Youko 1, they're gonna fold even faster here. Charm Warders are worth it to counter stuff as well probably.

Distracted goes away too fast to be a reliable gimmick for this crew IMO, whether through Assist, cleanses, or bonus action attacks.

Instead going for tanky models that you enable with Youko's card swapping and pushing seems decent.

[Paul Otega]

New Unseen Crew (Ten Thunders)
Size: 50 - Pool: 6
Leader:
  Youko Hamasaki, Unseen
Totem(s):
  Chiyo Hamasaki
Hires:
  Bill Algren
  Charm Warder
    Trained Ninja
  Hinamatsu
  Dawn Serpent
  Illuminated
 

would something like this work with more card manipulation & beat sticks?

[regleant]

What are you trying to accomplish with Charm Warder and Illuminated? I've never used my Charm Warder as it feels too niche as an anti-summoning tech piece. I do love Illuminated with Lynch, but I'm not sure what it brings to the table, here.

 

EDIT: Not trying to be critical or dissuade you, just trying to understand it.

[Jinn]

2 hours ago, regleant said:

What are you trying to accomplish with Charm Warder and Illuminated? I've never used my Charm Warder as it feels too niche as an anti-summoning tech piece. I do love Illuminated with Lynch, but I'm not sure what it brings to the table, here.

 

EDIT: Not trying to be critical or dissuade you, just trying to understand it.

Charm Warders are just generally good models due to Chi and Leverage + the crow trigger on their ranged attack. And they're anti-demise and anti-incorporeal as well to be fair, their anti-summon niche is the weakest niche they have IMO.

I would never hire an Illuminated personally, not even in Lynch where they at least get brilliance synergy. They're too squishy and only really offer 2AP + min 3 (and rig +1 I guess). If you want that in Youko you can just hire a Kabuki for the same price, at least they have an extra wd and combat finesse. Or take the Lone Swordsman or Fuhatsu in this kind of list.

If you do have to hire one you should probably embrace the synergy and put Gwyneth and a Kabuki so you can put the enemy at negative to the shockwave and Gwyn's attack.

[regleant]

Random update. Twice now I ran:

• Youko, Unseen
• Chiyo
• Bill Algren 
• Samurai
• Dawn Serpent
• The Lone Sworsman
• Izamu, the Armor
• 4 Soulstones

First against Von Schill, where we tied 4-4 due to forgetting a few key rules, such as Bill should have healed and gained Fast after my opponent revealed a scheme. Oops!  Second against Euripides, where I won 5-1 after I tabled my opponent on Turn 5.

 

Overall impressions:

• Youko, Unseen does not care about her keyword at all. All she wants to do is improve your own hand, control the opponent's flips, and push models around the board. She just sits back and does her thing quite safely. Honestly, only once did one of my pushes result in an attack against the opponent's model. It's the extra surprise mobility in getting to Strategy markers or into Charge range that's great.
• Rarely did I need to burn Stones for Cards. Using her ability turn 1 helps you get a stacked hand for turn 2, and from there, unless I got really unlucky in my draw at the start of the turn, I never felt behind.
• Killing-related schemes are completely viable, which previously I always avoided. The staying power and hitting power of this list is amazing. Youko adds mobility, giving you a trifecta when you need it.
• Running few, elite models feels like any small mistake can cost you. But the durability (and healing!) makes this work. Even though you have fewer models than your opponent in most match-ups, the extra Pass tokens will allow you to get several back-to-back activations at the end of the turn for uninterrupted abuse of the opponent.
• Izamu feels a bit expensive and overkill, but he's quite the tank. I don't regret taking him, though Hinamatsu might be a better play in some matchups.
• Tabling my opponent was phenomenal, and I pulled that off just once before in over 80 games. There was some luck where twice, a negative flip resulted in Severe damage. But still....

I'll definitely buy her when the model is released.