Above the Clouds

I have begun to experiment heavily with the ronin options of Bushido.  Last night I tried out an Imperial March warband using the Sworn Sisters, Koshimori, and a Golden Sentinel.  To round things out I also brought along a playtest profile, and submitted my feedback for him: he needs a fairly hefty nerf and he's still amazing.

The Sworn Sisters were very interesting to use.  They bring such a wide array of options whether you're attacking or defending.  Yanjing may look the most threatening, but that's a lie.  Yizhi is the real danger.  Just when you thought you were fighting one of the Sworn Sisters, Yizhi is there giving out melee assist and activating Co-ordinated Attack.

I got a lot of enjoyment using the Sworn Sisters, but I don't know if Imperial March is the warband I should be catering to.  I'll stick with it for now, as it inspires me to get more painting done.  For alternative options, both the Jung and Prefecture bring something to the table.  I don't feel I'm really losing anything by using them in my Hare clan style warband, and I can field an entirely ronin Jung warband.

It's time to explore that skill ceiling.

Conclave Conclusions

Eldest Brother

Having now done a whole bunch of games with my Conclave of Captains warband, I'm happy with how it performs.  The theme itself may need a more concrete benefit, as I've been finding the bonuses feel invisible.  On the other hand, the warband is really, really solid.

I've tried a wide variety of special cards in the warband, and a 3 rice Kamikaze has given me the best results so far.  It did occur to me not too long ago that I can try out Hiroto with a Hand Cannon.  He would get Assassin off from it...  Or I can help alleviate Eldest Brother's chief problem by giving him a Vial of Raijin's Rage.  If I drop out of Conclave and into Ordered for Battle (since Conclave probably won't be out before the next tournament), I think I'll give Eldest Brother the Vial, and drop the Kamikaze down.

The warband has a really interesting graph of how powerful it is throughout a game.  It is incredibly weak on turn 1, has a large spike on turn 2 as Hiroto and Eldest Brother arrive, and then the power flattens out for the rest of the game.  If I win the Tactical Test on turn 2, my opponent is usually in some serious trouble.  If I don't, then I'm presenting threat saturation so they won't be able to deal with everything.  You could kill Hibiki, but then Hiroto will murder someone in return.

Now I just need to finish painting Hiroto and I'll have my next fully painted warband.