Testing the water... perhaps?

[Jewomie]

Well, i've been gone a little while, and i come back to see an entire faction with all sorts of neat possibilities!

So, now that i am quite behind the times i wanted to see about a little help from you all.

Rebecca and i received book 4 last night and flipped through it a little bit, and while i hate to jump on band wagons and always play the latest releases, i am more than a little interested in this stuff. So here is my question:

Are the starter sets enough of a crew to test the ten thunders, or will we want to pick up additional models right away?

Rebecca seemed very interested in Misaki, so that is my main focus right now. Is her box set going to be enough to get a feel for the crew, or like many of the other box sets of old (McMorning, Dreamer, Hamlin), are there some things we'll need to pick up at the same time, such as the 10T archers or yamaziko, even the Oiran?

We have two pets and rent and bills and all that "real world" stuff so i know she is going to want to keep this on a low low budget if she decides to pick them up, so i'm really looking for the most cost efficient way to jump in.

Thanks everyone!

[WaywardSun13]

From what I've experienced, the new starter sets are a bit more cohesive and playable out of the box than their predecessors.

I've had quite a bit of experience w/ Misaki, and the box set gives you a decent feel for her as a master. The models in the box come in at 29 SS, so you can easily play a 30 SS game right out of the box. The Mei Fang box is pretty similar, in that you can play out of the box to get a handle on things. I'm not sure about the other 3, because I don't have a lot of experience w/ them at this moment. For the most part, the box sets contain the master, their totem, 3x minions, and then some have a unique minion.

The nice thing is that each TT master has other things they can hire, so you're old figures can find a new home. The example that comes to mind right now is Ronin, Hans, Taelor, and Desperate Mercs can all be fielded w/ a Misaki crew and count as Ten Thunders.

All that said, I've expanded my own Misaki crew w/ Yamaziko and Archers and such...and in the long run those are definitely worth while purchases!

[Adran]

My personal opinion is that the box sets are probably the most balanced of any they have released. Yes, you are probably going to be at a disadvantage to someone who owns half a faction, but you will be able to field a competative crew with just a starter box.

SO for example you can play the Misaki box quite well, and its a good way to get to understand the models in it, you will probably want to add in Yamiziko soon, as a second soulstone user is good, as is the ability to save Misaki a wound on Reckles evry turn.

After that it depends on what way you want to go. Archers are a good ranged piece, Oiran are good control. One of the other box sets will give you some interesting choices to look into (wastrals and Kang primarily from the box sets).

[Jewomie]

True, i forgot she can hire the mercs, (all of which already show up in her Viks crew... aside from Hans)

that is exactly what i needed to know. I know that as time goes on, she will probably expand (assuming she likes the crew) but there are some masters that take on a whole different play style when you add some more pieces, or some like the dreamer or hamlin that you really can't get by without picking up some adds with the initial purchase.

So really, as long as Misaki's box is going to be cohesive enough for her to make a decision one way or the other on the new master, then i think i'll go ahead and jump.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Jewomie
Spelling fail

[pgbsamurai]

From my experience the Misaki and Mei Feng boxes play very well out of the box. Jakob Lynch box is light on stones and really needs Beckoners to function well IMO. Yan Lo really wants Izamu. Can't say much about Lucas McCabe's box as I haven't fielded him yet.

Expanding Misaki your first picks are probably going to be Yamaziko and a blister of Ten Thunder's Brothers. Expanding Mei Feng you want to get the Rail golem first.

I've also found the wastrels from the McCabe box work very well with Misaki's Torekage.

[Jewomie]

She already has the Ten thunders bros. she just hasn't painted them yet. haha. it's been nearly a year and they are still on the table.

Not to derail my own thread, but what about Yan Lo? I know you just said he would want the izamu the armor, but is there anything else that his crew really wants? i have a pretty extensive list of resser pieces, aside from Kirai anyway. I was wondering how much the ancestor thing really works for him, or if there are things that he likes to have such as the dead rider or maybe another 10T item.

[RebeccaJo]

All that said, I've expanded my own Misaki crew w/ Yamaziko and Archers and such...and in the long run those are definitely worth while purchases!

Now, after Jeremy and I looked through the book, I took an interest in Ama No Zako. Do you have any thoughts on Ama with Misaki?

[Adran]

Ama isn't released yet, so there hasn't been much discussion about it, and not many people have tried it.

It looks to be a good model, the addition of Nimble means you are much more likely to get it where it needs to be. The miasma sounds promising, but I would have to use it before I was certain. It looks like it could be the melee part of a crew. With Misaki in particular it loses out on not being able to take part in the torkage swap. That might be enough to make one of the 10 Thunders big hitters better in lists with torkage, but it might not.

I'm planning on gettign it, but tehn it fits into so many different crews I'll certainly make the most of it (Terrifying and Nimble on a Merc - who doesn't want it?)

[RebeccaJo]

No kidding! I was thinking of getting it for my Viks crew, while Jeremy could use it for his Marcus crew

[Jewomie]

I just checked with miniature market, my gaming store of choice, and they told me that Ama no zako *should be* comming out in March. Along with Vanessa the treasure hunter... so it sounds like it might turn out to be a tough month to pick and choose our purchases. lol

Lucky for Rebecca i don't know if i will be getting anything since i'm on a major Lillith kick right now.

[Super Lo-Fi]

Misaki is fantastic out of the box. Ototototototototo is a fairly decent melee piece that gets Weapon Master when he is below half wounds, not to mention he can heal himself. A lot of folks choose to take Kang over Ototototototo, but since you are on a budget and he won't be available as a single piece since he is in Mei Feng's box, you may just want to stick with him. The Torakage are nice, but are missing a little something in my opinion and Misaki's totem piece, Shang is a really nice addition, letting you draw an extra card (then discarding back down to six) and giving Misaki the ability to re-flip a card in duels. And he has a surprising amount of damage capability FOR A TOTEM. Misaki is the one that really shines out of the box, with Reckless and Diving Charge she can dish out nasty amounts of damage, not to mention being pretty hard to kill outside of melee with Bulletproof 2. I run Archers and Yamaziko with my crew, but I feel like this is already just a wall of text so I will keep their respective reviews to myself.

[Jewomie]

Actually a wall of text would be appreciated. care to share your opinion of the archers and Yamaziko?

Rebecca and i are all ears!

[noob]

al;skdjfl;adjsfl;ak my reply was just deleted.

Jewomie, I'll retype up my 2 cent wall of text about the 10T faction and get it up sometime today.

[Jewomie]

haha, that's cool man.

thanks!