M2E+Shenlong


 * Shenlong, Ten Thunder Master[[image:shenlong.png width="227" height="350" align="right"]]**

=Overview=

Shenlong, the Dragon, can switch between several limited upgrades in order to alter his play style. He uses conditions as a resource for maximizing the effectiveness of the different **Styles**. Being able to balance which **Style** is best suited for the situation at hand is hard to do; making Shenlong a master that requires a great deal of finesse. But if you can master when to switch between his upgrades and increasing conditions, you will have a master who can adapt to nearly any situation. Shenlong is mainly a buff and debuff master who thrives at making his crew better. Nevertheless, he can certainly handle his own in melee.

=Mobility=

Shenlong has a solid walk and charge of 6", which make him fairly fast. He has no other basic movement tricks. That being said, Shenlong's crew has access to a large number of pushes via Sensei Yu's **Airburst** action and the upgrade **Wandering River Style** (which are available to both of Shenlong and Sensei Yu). If Yu has the **Wandering River Style** upgrade attached, Shenlong can potentially move 34" in a turn.

=Offense=

Overall, Shenlong is a melee fighter, but he does not like to stay in the thick of things for too long. In addition, Shenlong has several midrange attacks he can use before charging into engagement. Shenlong has two Attack Actions on his basic card, but most of his offensive arsenal comes from his upgrades (more on those later).

(1) **Fury of the Dawn** is **Ml 6**, with a 2" reach, resist defense, and a decent damage track of 2/3/5. The attack has two triggers, one (tome) which prevents the target from using Soulstones, and the other (mask) prevents the target from using (0) actions. Both last until the end of the Turn. Making opposing masters and henchmen unable to use Soulstones makes them a lot easier to take out.

The midrange attack (1) **Burn Like Fire** attacks WP, with a range of 6", and does 1/2/3 damage. Its appeal comes from that it ends all instances of Defensive, Focus, Reactivate, as well as Fast on the target, and applies the conditions onto Shenlong. Its use is certainly situational, but being able to steal Fast or Reactivate from models makes it a great tool. Since it is resisted by Wp, it is a fantastic tool to remove the Defensive condition from a dug in model. Note that it can only target enemy models.

Shenlong's ability **Knowing the Wind and Stone** will lets friendly models within 6" of him take the Focus action as a (0).

=Resilience=

Shenlong has solid defense and willpower stats of 6 to go with a good amount of 12 wounds. This makes Shenlong naturally resilient, but he has more defensive tricks up his sleeve. **Hard to Kill** is a very nice last line of defence. The immunity to damage caused by conditions thanks to the **Flow Like Water** ability can make it hard for models who rely on conditions in order to do damage. **Flow Like Water** also enables Shenlong to not have to end or lower the current value of Poison, Burning, and Focus conditions during the upkeep step.

Shenlong's ability **Knowing the Wind and Stone** allows friendly models within 6" of him take the Defensive Stance action as a (0).

Having both the Living and Tyrant characteristics will make Shenlong take quite a few Horror Duels. Also, like all Tyrants, his worst enemies are those pesky Relic Hammers. Look out for the likes of the Captain, Johan, and Taelor.

=Upgrades=

The Upgrade Cycle
Shenlong's (0) **Monk of Many Styles** lets him attach an upgrade with the restriction of Shenlong. This model may discard a Limited Upgrade it has attached on it in order to attach the new Limited Shenlong upgrade. Also, if a friendly model (read Sensei Yu) has the Upgrade attached, the friendly model discards it and attaches it to Shenlong.

The ability to swap Upgrades is what makes Shenlong really special. He can adapt to most situations at will, by switching his upgrades between control, offense, defense, and being able to push models around.

Note that Shenlong gets two (0) actions each Turn: one at the start of the Turn and once as usual during his own Interaction. He can use this to build up his Conditions several times, or to switch Styles multiple times in a turn.

NOTE: You will need to start with one of the Limited Styles in order to switch them about. Always pick one Limited Upgrade when hiring Shenlong!

Picking between styles:
 * **Low River Style**: Keys on Defensive. Heals models (including Shenlong possibly) and removes Conditions. Use to defend and heal, such as when holding territory.
 * **Fermented River Style**: Keys on Poison. Reverses positive and negative twists for Shenlong, and gives enemy models Wk duels or they suffer negative flips. Use against Ressers especially, or when you need to turn a combat disadvantage around.
 * **High River Style**: Keys on Burning. When he has Burning, Shenlong can take damage to raise duel totals, even after final duels. Gives a powerful kick attack that transfers Burning to enemies. Use when Shenlong is in personal combat and needs to dish out a lot of damage. (If Shenlong gets too beaten up from using this, he can switch to Low River Style.)
 * **Wandering River Style**: Keys on Focus. Gives free actions based on Focus. Move Scrap, Scheme and Corpse Markers, and push models. Can give a target Fast and Slow. Use to speed up crew members, to move enemy models into position, or to get VP.


 * Low River Style** (Limited)

The defensive upgrade. Grants an ability that give Shenlong +1 Defensive if he succeeds on a duel with an enemy model. As well as, the (1) tactical action **Stones on the River**, which is cast on 6, and will heal a friendly model 2 damage and removes one condition. The action also has a trigger on a ram (built in), which will let you heal 2 damage on a friendly model within 6" by lowering Shenlong's Defensive condition by 1.

Since this is a tactical action, Shenlong can target himself and heal quite a lot of damage.


 * Fermented River Style** (Limited)

A control upgrade, which is really good against Ressers and other models with **Hard to Wound**.

Shenlong receives the **Drunken Kung-Fu** ability, which is quite a lot to get your head around. As long as Shenlong's has the Poison condition, he will treat all +flips as -flips, and will treat all -flips as +flips. For example, if you attack and tie the duel, you will make a ++flip instead of a --flip for damage.

Shenlong also gains the (1) tactical action **Stumble**. It is cast on a 7 of any suit, and the action sends out a pulse of 4" which will force all enemy models, within range, to take a TN 11 Walk duel. If they fail they will receive the condition Unsteady until the end of turn. The condition will make the enemy model suffer -flips to all duels. The action also has a trigger on a crow (built in), which let Shenlong lower his current Poison condition by any amount. For each point of Poison lowered you get to increase the TN on the Walk duel to a maximum of 5.

The action and ability works very well together. Stumble is really good debuffing enemies in order for your crew to take them out easier.


 * High River Style** (Limited)

The offensive upgrade of the lot, which lets Shenlong dish out some blast damage.

First, it grants Shenlong the **Burning Chi** ability, which can only be used if Shenlong has the Burning condition. When Shenlong is performing a duel, immediately before determining success, it may suffer up to 3 damage to increase its final duel total the same amount. The downside is that the 3 damage may not be reduced or prevented, and if Shenlong is reduced to 0 wounds while using this ability the action fails (and Shenlong is killed).


 * Burning Chi** can result of some really cheeky mind tricks with your opponent. As long as Shenlong has a sufficient number of wounds remaining you can really turn the outcomes of duels. For instance, if you are the defender, have already cheated, and your opponent is tying your result (or exceeding yours with one or two), you can increase your duel total 1 (-3) damage and win the duel. It is still a trade off, but against certain, beefier models, it might be the easy way out.

Shenlong also gains the (1) **Lighting Kick** attack action. It’s got a really neat **Ml** range of 3", **Ml** stat of 6 with a ram built in, and is resisted on defense. It only does 1/3/4 damage, but will let you place one blast marker on moderate, and two on severe. The attack also has a trigger on rams, after succeeding against an enemy, which will let you lower Shenlong's Burning condition by any amount. For each point of Burning lowered the target will get Burning +1 to maximum of +3.

The attack action lets Shenlong have some board control with a larger Ml range, and the threat of getting blast markers out, will also make your opponent think twice about bunching up and attack in groups.


 * Wandering River Style** (Limited)

A control upgrade, which will let Shenlong push both friendly and enemy models around, in addition to some marker manipulation.


 * Calm Air Thunderous Voice** is an ability that will let, once per turn during Shenlong's activation, lower his Focus condition by 1 to take a (1) interact action without spending any action point. Really good if Distract, or Cursed Object is in the Scheme Pool. Another great use for it is to set up for Spring The Trap, which can be quite hard to do otherwise.

Shenlong will also get the (1) **Mighty Gust** attack action. It is cast on a 6 of any suit, has a tome built in, is resisted by Wp with a range of 6", and it may only target the same model once a turn. It lets you remove up to three Scrap, Scheme, or Corpse markers within 3" of the target. The target is then pushed up to 5" in any direction, and the removed markers are placed within 3" of the target. The attack has two triggers, and both hit on a tome. Depending on which one you choose, you can either give the target Fast or Slow, after succeeding.


 * Mighty Gust** brings a lot of utility to the crew. Being able to push a friendly slow, beefy hitter (like Izamu), 5" and also give that model Fast is incredibly ap efficient. It can also let you get your own model out of an engagement. On the other side of things, you can push an enemy model into engagement with your crew and giving that model Slow is just icing on the cake. It is also a way to get points from schemes like Plant Explosives or Spring the Trap.


 * Words on the River**

Lets Shenlong draw up to three cards by removing all of the Burning or Poison condition. It is a (0) action so it will compete with a lot of other things. But it will come in handy at times.

Some Notable Generic Faction Upgrades

 * Misdirection**

A really good upgrade if you want to play aggressively, or are suspicious that your opponent is likely to go after Shenlong. It gives Shenlong the defensive trigger Misdirection, which trigger on a mask. After an enemy model succeeds with an attack action against this model, target model within 2" from this model must discard two cards or suffer the effect from the attack. The attacker cannot become the target of this action. This action is perfect if Shenlong is stuck in melee with two or more enemy models and will give Shenlong a last line of defense.


 * Recalled Training**

This is always nice upgrade, but Shenlong might not be the perfect fit for it. It will give Shenlong +flips on all duels during a turn single turn. Also, if Sensei Yu with the **Promising Disciple** upgrade is in the list, Yu can attach the upgrade too. So you can get a two for one deal with this upgrade in this crew.

In order to maximize Shenlong's powers you need to have an understanding of what you want him to accomplish each turn. Most of the time, it is usually a good thing to focus on one or two of the **Styles** and invest in the conditions accordingly, and switch them out as the game progresses. If you are starting out with Shenlong, it might be better to plan for a more comprehensive game plan where you stick to two styles and simply switch between them while focusing on gaining those conditions.

Every time Shenlong uses his (0) action **Mastery** he can choose to gain +1 from two different conditions out of: Burning, Focus, Poison, and Defensive. In general Shenlong can take two (0) actions a turn, unless you want Peasants to make interact actions, since one (0) will come from the **Powerful Chi** ability. And if you really want to ramp up a condition and have a Peasant to spare (sacrifice with their (2) action), Shenlong can take a maximum of three (0) actions in a turn.

The hard part with Shenlong is to balance when to switch **Style** and when it is time to invest in additional conditions. Often it comes down to, preferably at the beginning of the turn since you can then take 2 (0), reading the situation that Shenlong is currently in, and deciding what is the sensible thing to do in that instance. Is it safe? Maybe it is time to increase your conditions. Can you deny VPs from A Line in the Sand but do not have any Focus? Increase the Focus, or ad **Wandering River Style** with the first (0) and do the other with the next.

=Strategies and Schemes=

Several strategies and schemes require good positioning. Shenlong and crew can make this a lot easier for you with him while denying the opponent VP by pushing models around. In many of the strategies you should look closely at models that have already activated and try to push them into positions where they cannot score VP. Most apparently this will come up in Turf War, Reconnoiter, in earlier turns of Squatter's Rights; Protect Territory, and Outflank. Being able to push your own models can be really useful in Stake a Claim and Reconnoiter too.

Shenlong might not be the best damage dealer in the game, but he can play the role as debuffer or go in for the kill since he can hinder masters from using Soulstones.

=Building a Crew=

Shenlong has ways of working with most Ten Thunder models, inviting for some creative and innovative builds, but there are certainly some standouts that synergize very well with him. On a general note, it usually it is worth to invest in a beater or two, since Shenlong will most of the time rather focus on soaking damage and de-/buffs. With that being said, Shenlong can make nearly any crew better with his versatility.

Sensei Yu
The brutal Sensei can complement Shenlong by also being able to attach the different Style upgrades. Naturally survivable, Sensei Yu has actions that can push friendly and enemy models around. In addition, Sensei Yu's **Master of the Wandering River Style** lets friendly models that lower their Focus condition gets to add 1 to their final dual totals during the reaming of the action. All these abilities combined synergize with models who like to attack from range.

If you bring Sensei Yu, his **Promising Disciple** upgrade is something that is worth looking at. It grants him an ability called **Journeyman of the Four Styles**, which lets him attach any upgrade that Shenlong discards, ignoring all restrictions. If Yu has more than one limited upgrade, he must discard one of them. Yu also gains the **Flow Like Water ability**, which makes him immune to damage from conditions and may choose to not lower or end conditions during the up keep step.

Another way of playing Sensei Yu is to just hire him without any upgrades at all, and let him focus on buffing your own crew. On the first turn, he can then attach either **Wandering River Style** or **Low River Style**, since he will take damage from gaining the other conditions he can acquire. With **Low River Style** Yu can take away conditions and heal friendly models by lowering his defensive condition. He can then stay out of harms way, while helping the front lines recover.

Sensei Yu will gain most of his conditions either from Peasants, or by using his (0) action **Disciple**, which lets him take a (0) action belonging to his crews leader, that is, Shenlong’s Mastery action. He can also use Shenlong's **Monk of Many Styles** if you want to switch the limited upgrade he currently has attached.

Peasants
Shenlong's native totems have a lot of synergy with their master, and will always be able to do something useful for the crew. The crew may hire two of them, which is quite nice for activation control, and they only cost 2ss.

Even though the Peasants are insignificant, Shenlong's ability **Powerful Chi** will let a Peasant, within 6" of him, once per turn after the initiative is determined, take a (1) interact action ignoring the insignificant. Since Peasants are peons, they cannot put out Distract or Cursed Object conditions. But it makes them efficient scheme marker droppers. If a Peasant makes an interact action outside of their activation, an additional Peasant will be summoned into base contact. Worth noting, they are Rare 2. Peasants are quite slow; their walk is only 4". So if Shenlong wants to summon more of Peasants, keeping one within 6" of him will often need some help in order to keep up. This should not be too much of a problem since the crew has access to a lot of pushes.

The Peasants do not possess great stats or any other defenses. Making them somewhat of a liability in Reckoning. Unless positioned well and safe, they will falter quickly. What make them so good though are their two tactical actions. The first, (1) **Provide for the Temple** is a cast who needs at least a five of any suit to go off, can only be used once a turn, it has only a range of 1", and it gives the target friendly model +1 Burning, Focus, Defensive, or Poison. A really neat ability to buff Shenlong and Sensei Yu. Since it only got a range of 1", you need the Peasants to keep up with the crew, which can be a bit taxing due to their walk of 4". But, that is when their next action comes in.

It is a (2) action called **Sacrifice for Shenlong**, and it will Sacrifice the Peasant which will let Shenlong immediately take a (0) action. This can be handy if a Peasant is in a tight spot and will likely get killed soon, or if one of them have fallen behind the rest of the crew and you cannot be bothered waiting for them.

Kamaitachi
Whether one should take the Ten Thunder generic Super Weasel totem over the native Peasants will always be a viable toss-up. Kamaitachi provides a lot to the table for Shenlong. Its **Winds of Fortune** ability will let you draw a card, once per turn, any time a model attaches an upgrade. The **Howling Thunder** ability lets, once per turn, a model who discards an upgrade gets to heal 2 and be pushed 3" in any direction. The abilities are applied through auras of 6". Both abilities will usually be triggered every turn in a Shenlong crew. Kamaitachi also has a really nice (0) action **At the Crossroads** which lets you, after discarding a card, push a leader or minion within 6" up to its walk in any direction. The Kamaitachi has a nice defense stat, but only 4 wounds, so if you want to keep it around, keep it safe! The Kamaitachi can also give Shenlong or Sensei Yu the Burning condition by using the (1) **Katanaka Flame**. Sure, this will burn a lot of cards but might be viable on turn one, if you flip some bad cards.

Katanaka Sniper
These guys really benefits from **Knowing the Wind and Stone** ability, which enables them to take a Focus action with a (0). This competes with their **Poison Dart** attack, but might come in handy at times. Peasants can also give them the Focus condition with their **Provide for the Temple** action. If they attack with their **Clockwork Rifles** with the benefit of the Focus condition, they gain a range of 28". With **From the Shadow** the Snipers can provide with some early game harassment before the rest of the crew catches up with them.

Ten Thunder Archer
Another ranged attacker that will benefit from being able to gain the Focus condition with a (0) action from **Knowing the Wind and Stone** ability. The Archer possess the **Reading the Wind** ability, which will let them gain an additional +1 Focus, when they use their Focus condition with an attack. A really nice thing with the Archer is that they do not randomize when shooting into engagement, and may ignore other models when determining LOS. They do not possess the best damage track, but they are really solid at hitting their intended targets, and gaining additional Focus from Shenlong will only increase their effectiveness.

Monk of the High River
Is a highly offensive model which can spew a lot of Burning. They can benefit a lot from gaining additional Focus from Shenlong due to their **Reading the Wind** ability, which will let them gain an additional Focus +1 when they take a Focus action.

Ototo
A very tough beat-stick henchman that is really slow, and can ironically dish out a lot of Slow. Shenlong and Sensei Yu can push Ototo around so that he can use his own actions going after enemy models.

Tengu
A Tengu is one of the best Scheme Runners in Ten Thunders. Each Tengu has the ability called **The Shooting Star** which lets it be placed with a scheme marker within 5" the begging of their activation. The ability synergies well with that Sensei Yu, Shenlong, and the Peasants can place scheme markers without spending any ap, which can pave the way for these guys to move even faster. They also bring some healing as well as being able to remove scheme markers.

The Lone Swordsman
The Swordsman is another beater who will benefit from the crew’s available pushes and healing. He is quite tough, with solid stats, **Bullet Proof +3**, and **Hard to Kill**. His (0) **You Shall Not See Another Sunrise**, will let him reactivate, and go after a single model. If he succeeds, he gets to live, if he fails, he will die at the end of the turn. He has several triggers on his sword which will soften the opponent’s defense. The best way of using him though might be to soften a target up with Stumble before letting this guy charge in; a truly nasty combo.

Ten Thunder Brother
The brothers are cheap, resilient, jack of all trade kind of models with some great abilities and actions. Their primary synergy with Shenlong comes from their ability **Protect Our Holdings** which will hinder enemy models from removing friendly scheme markers within 5" of them. Shenlong and Sensei Yu can push the Brothers and scheme markers near them with the **Mighty Gust** attack on the **Wandering River Style** upgrade. This opens up several positioning tricks for schemes like A Line in the Sand, Protect Territory, Plant Evidence, and Plant Explosives. They benefit a lot from having the Defensive condition, however gaining it from **Knowing the Wind and Stone** will compete with their own (0) action **Dance of the Heavens**.

Shadow Effigy
=Starting Shenlong=

Shenlong is very much a finesse master who needs quite a lot of investment in order to fully understand all of his rules and their nuances. This might not be ideal for newer players. With that said, if you like his play style, crew and their overall feel, and is not afraid of a challenge; give him a go! Shenlong is definitely a jack of all trades kind of master whom can excel in any Strategy and Scheme.

=Playing Against Shenlong=

It can be rather tough if your opponent knows how to balance the different **Styles** and how to synergies with his crew. Shenlong can also be a real pain to get rid of thanks to his variety of defenses. With that said though, Shenlong surely has his shortcomings. He does not like being shot at all too much from ranges that he cannot reach. Instant kill abilities like from the likes of Misaki and Howard Langston are always a viable option. If you can push him away to isolate him from his own crew, he will falter quickly too. Feeding him juicy targets that will overextend Shenlong from his crew might work, but savvy players might not fall for such traps. Be vary careful if interact schemes like Spring The Trap, Distract, Cursed Object, and Plant Explosives are in the pool. Shenlong and Sensei Yu have no problem of making multiple interacts in one activation.

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