Wandering+River+Monk


 * Wandering River Monk, Ten Thunders Minion**

=__Overview__= The Wandering River Monk is the fourth and final of the monks (as far as we know, anyway). The Wandering River style is all about speed, movement, and scheme markers. This minion will often be compared to the Silurid; they cost the same to hire, are equally speedy, and each have some ability to defend themselves. The Monks defenses and attacks are unique, though, and offer a lot of ways to utilize them.toc

=__Mobility__= The Monk has an average walk of 5, but a charge of 7. That 7 is especially important due to the 0 action Leap, which allows you to move him up to his charge distance, ignoring terrain and other models while doing so. This requires a 6 of any suit, so it is far from a guarantee to succeed, but it is reliable enough that you should have a card to cheat in on the occasions when you fail. If you want to move flat out, this means that a Monk can move 17" in one activation and can escape engagements with ease.

=__Offense__= Wandering River Monks are really not built for killing. Their melee attack (**Fury of the Nine Winds**) has Ml 5 with 2/3/4 damage. It's respectable - useful for finishing off a nearly-dead model but given his fragility, not recommended for much else. His **Blown Away** Trigger can be great for pushing enemy models out of position, but it requires a mask and if you want to push models, you're better off using his ranged attack...

While the Wandering River Monk is very much meant to be used as a scheme runner, once he's done his job he can still make himself useful by leaping around and attacking enemy models from range with **The Roaring Anger**. The damage is mediocre (at 1/3/4), but the 3" push-away can really ruin your opponents plans if you position the monk right. Getting models out of cover or away from objectives (for instance) can either get that model killed or help deny/score yet more VPs, making the Wandering River Monk the gift that keeps on giving!

=__Resilience__= Against all non-melee attacks (that is, attacks without the "claw" symbol), the Monk has the **Butterfly Jump** ability to discard a card before the attack flip and then push 3". Then, range and cover are determined from his new location. If he is out of sight, range, or no longer a legal target for the attack, it fails and the AP is wasted. This means that you can sometimes even avoid a projectile attack by pushing the Monk into engagement with the attacker, provided they're close enough of course! This can dissuade some attacks against him, which he'll need. His Df/Wp5 is only average and combined with his 6 wounds, he isn't much more sturdy than cheaper scheme runners you might look to.

He also has a Df trigger on a tome to drop a scheme marker. While this won't do anything to protect him //per se//, it sort of works like **Finish the Job**. You ideally don't want him targeted at all, but if he does then you can at least let him drop a scheme marker in the process.

=__Tactics and Tips__= Much like his cousin the Silurid, the Wandering River Monk is an AMAZING scheme runner. You can **Interact**, **Leap**, **Interact** to use him to achieve Distract/Plant Evidence/Plant Explosives/Spring the Trap by himself, and he is one of the more capable models at Delivering the Message. Also like the Silurid, the Monk can lay down a Stake a Claim marker every turn thanks to his long Leap distance. He's almost double the SS cost of a Tengu or Wastrel, but he's also much faster, harder to kill and less dependent on other models than either of them. In games where you simply have to get a scheme marker deep in enemy territory, the Wandering River Monk is well worth the cost.

If you can handle taking a point of damage, using the Monk to shoot your own models with **The Roaring Anger** can help them get into position faster. This is especially useful early in the game, when you've got time to heal the damage you just dealt and the Monk is waiting for the opponents crew to commit to battle before he can slip past them.

=__Playing Against Wandering River Monks__=

Much like the Silurid, the Wandering River Monk's scheme-running abilities usually makes him worth at least 3 VPs to your opponent if they can keep him alive long enough to do his job. This makes killing the Monk a top priority. Taking him out early can make it MUCH harder for your opponent to achieve whatever scheme/s they took him for.

Wandering River Monks can be killed easily...assuming you can catch them. The main things to watch for is his **Butterfly Jump** and his mobility-enabling **Leap** action. Make sure a 3" push won't save them if you try taking them out from range, and aim to take them out before they can activate again. If they get a chance, they can escape and put a lot of distance between themselves and whoever is trying to take them down.

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