The Samurai

[DeleteAccount]

I've never played the blokes, but I just read their card and don't really feel the power. Seems like an illuminated is better for less stones. Basically, am I just underestimating it a lot and should really put it in the table or has synergies and combos that make it shine?

[Mason]

I've only used him once, but I was up against the Guild and his Bulletproof +3 made him, well...bulletproof. Hard to Kill was nice, as were his high defense and willpower, which all made him really tough to actually bring down (he spent the game tanking the Pale Rider and survived to see the end).

Wander the Earth was also really good, allowing him to gain some extra movement as he advances, making him more mobile in severe terrain, and most importantly, allowing him to just wander out of combats without having to worry about disengaging strikes.

Toss in a handful of great utility triggers, and I think he's pretty solid. I don't think I would take him with Lynch, where the Illuminated just have better synergy all around, but I think he earns his 8ss and I could see taking him again.

[MasterDisaster]

I think you might be getting confused with the Lone Swordsman rather than the Samurai from Wave 1....

[DeleteAccount]

I think you might be getting confused with the Lone Swordsman rather than the Samurai from Wave 1....

Ding ding ding, yep, meant wave 1 Samurai, the Lone swordsmen seems to be pretty keen at the moment.

With the Samurai it's clear that the selling point is mostly armor +2. He is a beast when engaged no doubt, but doesn't seem to have the ressilience that an 8 SS tag demands and his shoting, although nice, will always scare the poop out of me when I try and do it.

[MasterDisaster]

I think the appeal is the shooting offers some nice blast damage, combined with his Armour and ability to bypass Armour with his Daito. They seem pretty nicely well rounded models however I haven't tried them out myself yet. I've come across one once and it scared me so I smashed it to death with Taelor lol

[Nephalumps]

Is this about the gigantic-gun wielding Samurai, or the Lone Swordsman from the beta? Mindshred's post got me confused.

If it's about the "normal" Samurai, I've used it all of once in a Shenlong beta game, and even though it ended ignominiously (Red Joker one shot from Mancha Roja) it wasn't a bad model.

The gun can be great if you know the Black Joker is out of the way. Great range, lots of to hit, fair damage, good trigger; all for a (1) action. You need to pick your targets kind of carefully, but it does help against a more horde-y type of enemy crew, where the average Df is probably going to be lower anyways.

Melee is solid. The damage output isn't high, but ignoring Armor is very nice to have when you need it.

Its also decently durable with Armor +2 base, though his Wds total is a little lower because of it. With the increased healing coming to 10T in Wave 2, I think they could be pretty durable in the right circumstances.

It's a pretty flexible model, though you pay for that flexibility in SS cost and with the unreliability of the Shoulder Gatling (at least he doesn't sacrifice himself anymore if he misses.) I'm interested in trying it out in more crews, though I kind of want to wait until I get the actual model before messing around with it much more.

[Mason]

I think you might be getting confused with the Lone Swordsman rather than the Samurai from Wave 1....

Yes I am.

My samurai have just exploded themselves dead. ;__:

[tadaka]

Illuminated are all around better tanks and melee damage. They are faster and at least as good at everything but shooting. So if your taking them its probably for the gun.

One or perhaps 2 can be very useful however if you use them right. Unlike say archers if some thing rushes them they can and will hold there own. The trick to using the gun is late in turn when hands have gotten low. Also I will never fire the gun unless I know that barring the black joker I can cheat and win if I must. If you time there activation right and hold a card to cover fate going bad they can dish out some pain. They actualy work very well with Jacob. He is potent if you can hold off cards for woke up with a hand. Play around with holding that 13 for him and just use it if you must. It also gives him an amazing body guard for misdirection upgrade.

[Joebill]

I had fun with him yesterday. It was late in the turn. Neither person had a hand. I did it with recalled training blown so i could still have my max positives vs cover (the damage buff was nice too). Shot papa, triggered walking fire, shot santiago, triggered walking fire, shot papa again, papa blows up and puts santiago on one health. 2nd action finishes off santiago.

This was the only time he fired all game.

I had about five cards left in the deck by the time he was done eating through it.

[Thrawnic]

I'd also like to point out that the Samurai are enforcers which means they can bring upgrades to bear. Combined with the new Kamaitachi totem they can get fun. also giving them the ability to focus as a 0 action from shenlong is awesome.

[DeleteAccount]

Shenlong does seem like the premier Samurai user right of the bat. Though to be fair, anything with a gun shines with him, like the dawn serpent, archers or Ansatsu Sha.

The machine gun of death situation Joebill mentioned does have me a lot more eager to put one on the table. Question is outside of Shenlong, which master can take advantage of him? Misaki and Mei will be mostly doing their own thing, Jakob sounds like a plan thanks to the hand molding, Brewie tends to play a different game altogether and Yan Lo is sort of ambivalent about him too, though he does bring his huge heal to help him keep on trucking, though someone would say to just get Izamu and punch people.

[Falconrider]

This reminds me of something i read in the Rezzers area about Bete Noir and having to hold a 10 called the Bete tax. Same applies with the Samurai to safely use the shoulder gatling except the Samurai tax is having a 13 in your hand and try shoot at Df5 or lower targets.

I've used him in about 5 or 6 games and felt underwhelmed by him though the healing wave 2 brings will help him a lot.

[chris_havoc]

I have played these guys a few times and find them quite useful indeed. The fact that they are quite survivable with armour and high wounds for a 10t model that isn't a henchmen. I also personally think that Armour +2 is basically the best form of armour. It takes the edge off of most high end attacks and really starts taking off the edge when it has Defensive on it. They deal damage consistently in Melee and have a good Hail Mary in the form of the gun.

I tend to use them in conjunction with the Archers and Ototo in a Misaki list. To take advantage of Call the Thunder and basically they function really well in tying down the enemy and with some threat of damage. Because they aren't out-pacing the archers' range they act really well as a means of holding bad guys still while the archers provide ranged support. They do take effort to remove from the game and aren't a big enough target generally to pour resources into. Especially if Misaki or Ototo are on the board.

[LordZombie]

The samurai itself is a nice model. Very themed for ten thunders. His biggest problem is his gun. You have to pay for a action that is VERY risky. You need to have the black joker in hand and need to be sure your opponent is going to fail. Otherwise, you lose over half your wounds. Now you are using APs to heal up a model. For one stone less, you can take a ronin and know she can get the job done. I have used the samurai a few times and he is good the cost is his biggest problem.