M2E+Mei+Feng

= = **Mei Feng, Ten Thunders/Arcanist** ** Master ** toc //"Ambitious Mei Feng uses her mastery of metal and fire elemental magic to insinuate herself into the Miners and Steamfitters Union, drawing the attention of Viktor Ramos and his Arcanists." -- So Who are the Ten Thunders Masters?//

=Overview= Mei Feng is an incredibly mobile melee master. She excels at fighting multiple opponents, being able to dart into combat using her own constructs as stepping stones, once engaged she can move from opponent to opponent laying down damage and burning tokens. Mei Feng can combo her spells and strikes together into chains, which though card intensive allow her to pull off some impressive feats.

=Mobility= Mei Feng is an exceedingly mobile Master. This helps make up for her lack of ranged options. While her Walk/Charge is average, she can use Railwalker to leap into the fray. Once engaged in melee, both her Attack actions have a method for allowing her to reposition: **Jackhammer Kick** requires her to be pushed directly into base to base contact with the defender, whether the attack succeeds or not; The upgrade Seismic Claws gives **Tiger's Claw** a trigger on Tomes (//Roiling Ground//) that allows her to push the defender away and follow up with a **Jackhammer Kick**, again pushing her into base contact.

**Railwalker**
This (1) Ca Action requires a 7+ of any Suit to cast and allows Mei Feng to be placed into base contact with any Scrap marker or friendly Construct within 6". This can be repeated with a Tome, which the Ca base already comes with, and can be repeated infinitely. To use **Railwalker** effectively, it helps to have a number of mobile friendly Constructs to move around. You can create chains of models 6" away from each other to help get Mei into position. While the obvious use of **Railwalker** is to get into melee range, it is important to remember the spell is a place effect - not a move or a push. Therefore it is just as useful for getting out of combat without taking disengaging strikes or to leap around hazardous or impassible terrain.


 * Railwalker** can also trigger a **Jackhammer Kick** at the end, allowing you to make an attack and then push immediately into base contact to **Tiger's Claw**.

With some planning, this can allow Mei to cover the entire board with a single AP, or get into melee range on the first turn.

This attack action has a built-in movement effect which pushes Mei into base contact with the target, even if the attack failed and even if it was taken as a Disengaging Strike. Because of this you can move an additional 3" towards a model to **Tiger's Claw** another nearby model, or move 3" if something you're trying to keep engaged tries to get away.
 * Jackhammer Kick **

**//Leap Aside// (Defensive Trigger)**
In addition to Mei's normal actions, she has a Defensive trigger allowing her to push (not place) up to 5" in any direction. This requires a Mask, and must be planned around if you don't have a high Mask in hand. A good use is if Mei is charged by a heavy hitter, or a model about to **Flurry**, you can Soulstone for the Mask and then cheat in a high card to push away, negating the rest of the attacks. This trigger can also be used if you attack her with your own model and succeed on the defense, in order to get her another 5" of movement.

Just Walking
If you're using Mei to Scheme, it can be easy to **Railwalk** out of combat and then regular walk to a good place. She has a Wk of 5, and can get out for Breakthrough, Power Ritual or other "enemy side of the table" Schemes fairly easy.

=Offense= Offense is Mei Feng's real strength. She's never happier than when she's surrounded by horrific monsters pulling crazy feats of destruction among them. While Mei can deal with individual opponents, it is when she's in combat with multiple opponents that Mei really shines.

**Ranged**
Mei has no ranged attacks, where's the fun in shooting things from a distance?

**Melee**
Mei has 2 melee attacks by default, **Jackhammer Kick** and **Tiger's Claws**.

**Jackhammer Kick**
Jackhammer Kick is a very useful attack for a number of reasons. It has a 3" range, good base of 6 (so Mei is quite likely to hit with it) and an average damage profile with a very respectable severe, so it's not bad as an attack, and gives a large combat reach (often forcing disengaging strikes on enemy models who can't reach Mei themselves). When **Jackhammer Kick** hits, Mei is pushed into base contact with the target. This allows for some very interesting positioning tricks depending on the situation - for example, pushing into your original target to engage new models. This can often get Mei close enough to other enemies to perform **Tiger's Claw**.

A few important notes about this push:
 * Pushing Mei into base contact is part of the attack, it is not a trigger. It happens during Step 5 of the Opposed Duel Sequence, before any/all triggers ** . **
 * The push is not optional, thus could be improperly used and pull her off of a Scheme marker she may be holding, or away from an enemy model she may be engaging.

It can also be taken as a Disengaging Strike, which allows her to push into base contact with the target. If the disengage is successful, she pushes into base contact //before// the disengaging model moves away.

**Tiger's Claw**
Mei's Tiger's Claw are pretty good even without Upgrades. They have a good base Ml of 6, and a good damage profile (though lower severe damage than **Jackhammer Kick**) and come with the Mask needed to get the trigger off to give your opponent **Burning**. However, it only has a range of 1", so you have to be close to use it (though often you can get close enough by Jackhammer Kicking the opponent first). The Tiger's Claw get a positive flip to damage flips when the opponent has the **Burning**, and the Claws also put a **Burning** on the enemy (though only after you damage them).

Offensive Upgrades
Gives 2 triggers to **Tiger's Claw**. //Tremors:// On a Mask, after damaging push the damaged model 3" away and **Tiger's Claw** a different model. Useful against groups, where if you have good cards, you can continue attacking with **Tiger's Claw**. //Rolling Ground:// On a Tome, after damaging, push the target model 2" away then **Jackhammer Kick** them. This trigger allows for multiple attacks from a single AP - ideal if you can position Mei in amongst lots of enemy models, or (even better) manage to get two of them so that the push from the //Tremors// trigger doesn't push them out of Mei's melee range. If you can manage this, laugh maniacally as you repeatedly throw trigger attacks at the two unlucky models.
 * Seismic Claws**

This can be given to any Foundry model, and every Foundry model (like Mei) within LOS of the carrying model gains a (0) action. This action allows the model to discard a card to ignore **Armor** and **Hard to Wound** until the end of turn. Very good against Arcanists and Resurrectionists, with some use against Guild too (looking at you, Charles Hoffman).
 * Hard Worker**

Gives Mei a Ca action with blasts, which is a 3" melee with a base of 7, with a chance for burning & blasts. This is the only damage Ca Mei has access to, so it's also her only way to deal with **Incorporeal** models in a timely fashion. Consider taking it when you see your opponent eying up their Kirai or Pandora.
 * Vapormancy**

Gives **Jackhammer Kick** a Mask trigger to push models engaged with her away, then discard all Scheme, Corpse and Scrap markers within 3" of her.
 * Thunderous Smash**

When she's running alongside the Ten Thunders, Mei gets a wealth of attractive upgrades:

Given how many attacks Mei can throw out in a single activation, getting a [+] to all flips is amazing. This upgrade really supports Mei's playstyle of chaining attacks together via her **Seismic Claws** upgrade.
 * Recalled Training**

If Recalled Training will turn Mei into a murder machine for a turn, Misdirection is the opposite. Mei will more often than not be in amongst groups of enemy models, and Misdirection gives her a way to palm damage off onto other models. It even uses the same suit as her **Leap Aside** trigger, so just stone for a mask and then declare a trigger regardless of whether your opponent hits her or not. Don't forget - Misdirection lets you pass the damage onto any nearby model, not just one of yours, so if you have some masks to spare just throw Mei into a large group of enemies and cackle maniacally as they are forced to hit one another instead of Mei.
 * Misdirection**

Another upgrade that helps Mei to stay standing, Broken Promises can be a good choice if you find her over-extended and out of her depth.
 * Broken Promises**

The Wp buff is more situational on Mei given her **Unstoppable Industry** ability, and **Cleanse The Earth** can be an interesting option to have if the scheme pool includes a lot of marker-heavy schemes. However, her Thunderous Smash upgrade does give her a very similar option that's not a one-use-only option.
 * Servant of the Five Dragons**

The "burn a stone" part of the upgrade is situationally useful defensively but the (0) Action it gives Mei is quite nice, especially given her lack of (0) Actions on her card. Recalled Training is a better option 99% of the time as it gives Mei [+] to all flips as opposed to one stack of **Focus**, but this may be worth considering if you find yourself with 1SS and an upgrade slot left over.
 * Dragon Stone**

There are a few good upgrades for Arcanist Mei:

Many consider these "Stone" upgrades worthless. This one isn't as bad. The "burn a stone" portion is pretty situational defensively (but could be used in concern with **Leap Aside**). The (0) Action allows her to draw two cards, which can be very handy if you're about to start an alpha strike. There are better upgrades, but this is worth considering.
 * The Philosophers Stone**

The best Arcanist upgrade, and it continues to be brilliant on Mei. 4AP gives her even more chance to Claw someone to death, or **Railwalk** and run away.
 * Imbued Energies**


 * Imbued Protection** is a costly upgrade, but if Assassinate is in the Scheme Pool it can be worth the cost. Mei wants to be in close, so it gives you a safety net in case she takes a lot of damage unexpectedly.

Expensive at 2 Soulstones, but having an extra card in hand increases the chances of being able to pull off long chains of attacks.
 * Arcane Reservoir**

=Resilience=

Vs Melee
Mei is reasonably resilient in melee, but like most models can't take on a dedicated assault. With 12 wounds, 6 Df, 6 Wp, and **Armor 1**, she can take some damage. Her defensive trigger can be used to prevent multiple attacks from charges or flurry, but requires a high Mask or a soulstone and a high card.

Her best defensive move if being assaulted by multiple beaters is to **Railwalk** away.

Vs Ranged

 * Vent Steam**. If you are on the receiving end of a strong casting or ranged assault, activate Mei first and **Vent** that **Steam**. Then move models close to her that you want to protect within that aura. Next turn, try to make Mei the last model you activate so that you get the most benefit from your Steam - it lasts until her next activation.

In General
She is immune to **Slow** and **Paralyzed**, which is brilliant. It also means that while she has to take Terrifying tests, she is immune to the **Paralyzed** that comes from them.


 * Vapormancy** gives **Tiger's Claw** and **Jackhammer Kick** a Tome trigger to **Vent Steam** after succeeding. This can make the ranged defense above a little easier. Some models uses Sh attacks even in hand to hand, such as Gunsmiths or Perdita, so the potential free stacks of **Vent Steam** lends Mei a hand even while she's busy slapping people in combat.


 * Vapormancy** also has great value against Ca heavy masters if you can get stuck in early in the turn, since if all their damage options are Ca actions, they automatically get negative flips. You get bonus points for taking Bleeding Edge Tech and using it's (0) as well.

=Soulstones= In general, Mei can get away with fewer soulstones than other Masters. She might want a few for her defensive trigger, but her offensive triggers aren't generally powerful enough to warrant using a soulstone, and she doesn't need suits in order to cast her spells.

Her best use of them are for damage prevention, should she get in to a rough situation, and for drawing and discarding cards at the beginning of the turn.

=Tricks and Tips=

Railwalker
Hire as many Constructs as you can (Metal Gamin, Fire Gamin, Komainu and Rail Workers work well). Never space your Constructs beyond **Railwalk**ing distance, unless you have a Scrap marker there, and move Mei where she's needed most. Remember that she can **Railwalk** out of Melee without taking Disengaging strikes, and that she can attack, **Railwalk** and drop a Scheme marker in the same activation. Honorable mentions in this tactic are the Emberling to get Scrap tokens in hard-to-reach places, and an Ice Golem to move your Gamin around early on. Sparks is another superb addition to a Mei Feng crew, allowing you to turn other models into Constructs mid-game.

If you find that you need to get somewhere, move a friendly Construct 6" away from Mei and then **Railwalk**. You can set up chains of models to get her where you need her to be.

If you are relying on being able to **Ralkwalk**, for any reason, be sure to keep some 7+s in your hand. Spending an AP to do your powermove only to flip a 1 can be devastating.

Tiger's Claw
When using **Tiger's Claw** with **Seismic Claws**, it can be worthwhile to use the built-in Mask in order to Superheat your opponent with your first AP. This puts **Burning** on them, which means the rest of your attacks are that much more effective. Getting a straight flip for damage is much better than a negative.

If you take the **Seismic Claws** upgrade, you can also chain your **Tiger's Claw** attacks, with themselves. If Mei finds herself 1" from a pair of enemy models with impassable terrain or big models behind them, you simply keep punching them with **Tiger's Claw**, claiming the trigger to Push the target backwards, and then get a free attack at the other.

=Strategies and Schemes for Mei Feng= Mei is a fairly mobile master and also very offensive, so she can be flexible with regards to Schemes and Strategies. Her crew selection tends to be more deciding, but here are a few notes to think about, including her crew box and some good models for her to work with.


 * A Line in the Sand:** Mei does well with a lot of friendly Construct models, like Metal Gamin and Rail Workers, which tend to be able to spread out and get Line easily. Emberling is good for placing Scheme Markers in the far corners for Corner/Flank deployment, where your opponent can't get at them.
 * Assassinate:** Take care when this is in the Scheme Pool, as Mei feels invulnerable until she isn't.
 * Bodyguard:** Kang is brilliant at Bodyguard.
 * Breakthrough:** Mei's extreme mobility makes this easy, so long as you have Scrap Markers or friendly Constructs who are still mobile enough to allow her to **Railwalk**.
 * Cursed Object:** Mei with a horde crew it is easier to out activate your opponent in order to get points.
 * Distract: ** Same as Cursed Object, but more fun.
 * Frame for Murder:** Take this on the Emberling and run him straight at the opposing master or henchman. An easy 3VPs if it works.
 * Outflank****:** Easier with Corner deployment, but fairly hard regardless. You need really fast and tanky models. Mei tends towards tanky models, but not fast ones.
 * Plant Explosives:** Mei with horde is able to drop Scheme Markers fairly quickly to cover important areas.
 * Protect Territory:** Metal Gamin are incredibly tanky for this. However, they often have a contradictory purpose with this Scheme, in that they want to be mobile to give Mei her mobility.
 * Power Ritual:** Good with Corner/Flank deployment and a chain of Constructs, as Mei can **Railwalker** between them to quickly get to a corner of the board if you need that last scheme marker down.


 * Squatter's Rights:** Super Line in the Sand, Mei is good at this with a horde crew as she can **Railwalk** between models claiming Squat markers as she goes.
 * Turf War:** Lots of tanky, cheap minions make this easy to claim. Harder to stop your opponent, but Kang or the Rail Golem can help. If you need Mei to focus on the Turf War point, using **Vent Steam** can help give your models some more staying power depending on how the opposing crew is attacking you.
 * Reconnoiter:** Horde crew, spread out. Remember that the Emberling is a Minion and is **Incorporeal** and Wk 5 and can get around to needed areas quickly. Mei herself can **Railwalk** to whichever quarter needs supporting, and her various pushes built into attacks can move enemy models to the central 'dead zone' where they can't score. Just bear in mind that her **Jackhammer Kick** pushes her regardless of success or failure, and will push her even if used as a disengaging strike, as canny enemies can use this to pull her out of position.
 * Reckoning:** Mei can work fairly well in Reckoning, particularly with her triggers that let her bounce multiple attacks off models for a single action. If you can pin two models up against a wall or similar blocking terrain, Mei can chain attacks between them and kill the required two models for the VP. Since Reckoning typically lends itself to small, elite crews she might find **Railwalker** a bit more limited than usual, but there's plenty of hard-hitting tough constructs out there that synergize with Mei and Reckoning (Lazarus, Howard Langston, Rail Golem...)
 * Stake a Claim:** Again with the horde of significant minions. Mei herself can place Claim markers with more ease than most - chain **Railwalker** actions across the board for (1), then (2) interact to drop a Claim marker. Rinse and repeat each turn!

=Building a Crew=

Being a dual faction master, Mei has the **Infiltration** ability that lets her hire models with the **Foundry** characteristic, regardless of faction. As of the release of Shifting Loyalties, the models available are:

Metal Gamin (Arcanists Minion, M2E core book) Rail Golem (Arcanists Enforcer, M2E core book) Kang (Ten Thunders Henchman, M2E core book) Rail Worker (Dual-faction Arcanists / Ten Thunders Minion, M2E core book)* Willie (Arcanists Minion, Crossroads) Sparks (Gremlin Henchman, Shifting Loyalties) Mechanized Porkchop (Gremlin Minion, Shifting Loyalties)


 * As the Rail Workers are dual-faction Arcanists / Ten Thunders Mei can hire them whichever faction she leads. They're listed here for the sake of completeness.

Metal Gamin and Rail Workers are the first minions to consider. Cheap and durable, as well as both having the Construct characteristic, they can help hold ground and provide points for Mei to **Railwalk** to.

Mechanized Porkchops are mobile scrap-marker generators that can run schemes, hand out Burning, and/or empower other melee models. All-round strong choices that should be a serious consideration when building a Mei Feng crew. Don't forget that they are also Constructs themselves, and with a 50mm base that's quite a big target to **Railwalk** to.

Emberling is good when you have a specific Scheme purpose for it, and having a mobile, significant Minion for 3 soulstones is almost always a good deal. At the very least it's another activation for 3ss, and can drop down scrap markers for Mei to jump to.

Kang is brilliant if you need to hold something, kill something, or are going against Resurrectionists or Constructs. He's also an ideal choice for the Bodyguard scheme, thanks to his incredible healing.

Komainu are 40mm-based Constructs for **Railwalk**ing to, and can also hand out **Burning -** so synergize very well with Mei.

Sparks can make Constructs **Fast**, can make other models into Constructs temporarily for on-the-fly **Railwalk**ing, and has an interesting Aura that can severely hamper enemy crews by shutting down their ability to target other friendly models.

Toshiro is a superb choice for Mei. His (0) **The Daimyo's Price** combined with his **Daimyo** ability can make Rail Workers and Komainu - two of Mei's favourite models - even more deadly. He can also summon Komainu if he takes his personal upgrade, creating more Constructs mid-game!

Rail Golem and Howard Langston are a good jumping point for Mei, as well as being good for killing things.

Joss is a Construct, so is a jumping point. He also creates more points when he kills things, and he's very good at killing things.

December Acolytes and Katanaka Snipers are great models for a lot of different purposes.

=Starting Mei Feng= Mei Feng's Crew Box comes with Kang, Emberling, and three Rail Workers. First purchases could include:
 * A box of Metal Gamin. You'll want all 3, for Railwalk and as cheap tanky models for Schemes.
 * Rail Golem is a strong beater.
 * Sparks and the Mechanised Porkchop, since they both synergise very well with Mei regardless of whether she's running a Ten Thunders or Arcanist crew.

Mei Feng is, in general, not a difficult Master to use. However, using Railwalk can be a puzzle as you have to figure out the correct positioning of your other pieces to use it most effectively.

=Playing Against Mei Feng= With **Vent Steam**, her melee prowess, and her mobility, Mei can be a handful to deal with. Although counter intuitive, Mei is weakest in melee against another melee-oriented opponent. Her average **Wds** for a Master leave her a bit vulnerable when she's low on Soulstones. Any model that can **Flurry** can handle her, provided she doesn't use her Df trigger to jump away.

Against a less savvy Mei player, you can try to bait her into a bad combat. Some players may see her as a very fast beater and try to solo enemy crews with her. You can take advantage of this by preparing a trap. If she charges her full range into combat, she will likely be out of range of a Scrap marker or friendly Construct to save herself by Railwalking away.

She tends towards a crew that has a lot of **Armor**, so Armor-ignoring or anti-damage-reduction attacks are suggested.

Although killing Mei's Minions isn't as effective for reducing her mobility because they all drop Scrap markers, doing so can still be a good tactic since Mei can no longer move them around and is stuck with them where they are.

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Thunderous Smash
Gives **Jackhammer Kick** a Mask trigger to push models engaged with her away, then discard all Scheme, Corpse and Scrap markers within 3" of her.