M2E+Ototo


 * Ototo, Ten Thunders Henchman**

=__Overview__=

Ototo, or ("Little Brother" as his buddies like to call him) is an expensive pure Ten Thunders brawler. He can take a beating and when hurt, can dish it back with interests. He does have a hard time balancing how wounded you want him to be at his most dangerous without getting him killed. Outside of punching people and getting punched, there isn't much else he will be doing, being pretty focused on those aspects.

=__Mobility__=

Ototo's mobility is pretty average, he has a nice **Wk** of 5 and an average Cg of 6. His threat is still quite big though thanks to his **Melee range** of 3" on his **Massive Tetsubo**. His other mobility advantage is the **Shove Aside** ability which lets him move through **Ht** 1 and **Ht** 2 models. This can be a fantastic way to go over small fry walls to engage the good stuff, though his 40 mm base will always have to be a consideration to see how much use you get out of it.

Finally, he also has **Laugh Off**, which means he may not be moved or pushed by enemy model abilities or actions. This isn't something that helps Ototo's mobility as much as hinders your opponent screwing with his positioning. The biggest offenders it blocks are ** Lures ** (Rotten Belle, Performer, etc.). Note that ** Obey ** (Zoraida and others) __can__ make him take Walk actions; the FAQ clarifies that an Obeyed Ototo is taking the Walk action himself, so **Laugh Off** doesn't apply.

=__Offense__=

This is half the reason you hire Ototo. Initially he seems a pretty meh package at 10 SS. His **Massive Tetsubo** is a **Ml** 6, **Melee range** 3" attack action with a damage spread of 2/4/5. This is pretty mediocre for a 10 SS beater model. His triggers do make it a bit better, **Critical Strike** giving +1 damage for each ram in the final duel total and **Stagger** that also requires a ram which gives Ototo a - on the damage flip but gives the target **Slow** after damaging. He doesn't have any native Rams on his weapon though, so it's still pretty underwhelming.

His **Enrage** ability is what makes it all come together. Once Ototo is reduced to 6 **Wd** or fewer, all his **Ml** actions gain +2 **Ml**, a ram and + to the damage flip. This makes his humble weapon become a beast at Ml 8, 3/5/6 and + to damage when using **Critical Strike** or Ml 8 with the lower spread, but always doing slow. If you get a high ram and stone for it, it becomes a very painful 5/7/8, which is resource intense, but can be just what the doctor ordered.

His other important offensive tool is the **Flurry** action, which lets him discard a card and use 2 **AP** to make 3 **Ml** attacks against the same target. Unless something puts Ototo in place, he will need to start engaging something to be able to use it, though if **Enrage** is active he should be more than capable of making a mess of whatever he decides to **Flurry** into.

=__Resilience__=

This is Ototo's other selling point. His **Df** is an average 5 and his **Wp** is a pathetic 4, but he has a huge sack of **Wd** with 12. He has **Hard to Kill**, which lets him live with 1 **Wd** whenever an attack that would kill him connects when he has 2 or more **Wd**, which gives him that last extra omph.

He also has the **Just a Flesh Wound** action. This is his only 0 action, being a heal of 1/2/3 that requires an 8 or more to work. Since Ototo has no other 0 actions outside of upgrades, there really is no reason to not try to cast it whenever he is wounded, though do make sure to leave it for the end of the activation if the heal would put Ototo over the **Enrage** threshold.

The combination of a free heal, **Hard to Kill** and so many wounds, as well as using soulstones to prevent damage can make Ototo demand a focused effort to take down. Any additional healing he can get will only make it more annoying for the opponent who may decide it's just not worth the resources.

=__Upgrades__=

Ototo is played in the grand majority of situations as a Ten Thunders master, though with Misaki playing as an Outcast, he can be hired thanks to her **Last Blossom** characteristic. I'll have a look at his upgrades from both factions.

Call the Thunder
This is Ototo's dedicated upgrade. This gives him a new 0 action in **Thunder-strike** and an additional trigger for his **Massive Tetsubo**, **Battering Blows**.

The **Thunder-strike** action causes a 3" pulse where all enemy models must pass a **Wk** 12 duel or gain **Slow**. If Ototo doesn't need to heal or feels the effect will be worth it, it's a very good action to use. Since it's a **Wk** test, most models will pass it on a 7 or more which though decent odds, is still high enough to require cheating with regularity if your opponent wants to avoid the effect. Since it doesn't require any sort of duel on Ototo's part, it's risk free to do, being always guaranteed to go off, which is something that **Just a Flesh Wound** can't boast.


 * Battering Blows** on the other hand allows Ototo to cause +2 damage on targets with the **Slow** condition. This obviously combos well with **Thunder-strike** and to a lesser degree with the **Stagger** trigger. Again, without the **Enrage** bonus, Ototo doesn't have the ram the trigger requires natively, though it is worth stoning for it or using a high card if the target is **Slow** since it counts like two uses of **Critical Strike**. This trigger can be more cornercase than Ototo's other triggers, though if using models that are able to spread slow like Chiaki, Sidir or McCabe, it can become a lot more reliable.

Smoke and Shadows
This upgrade doesn't do anything for Ototo, but it does make other Last Blossom minion models be better (currently Torakage, Oiran, and Jorogumo). This lets them be able to put some smoke cover with the **Smoke Grenades** action and to be able to quickly redeploy between turns with **Shadow Stride**. Ototo is a decent user of the upgrade, but since he desires to be in dangerous places constantly, he may die earlier than expected. Yamaziko tends to be a better bearer because of this.

Broken Promises
This lets Ototo discard at the start of his activation the upgrade to gain the **Betrayal** condition. This gives a - flip to all attack actions that target Ototo for the rest of the turn. This does greatly compensate his low **Wp** and average **Df** for a turn, but it demands that he activates early to set it up. It is a very pricey upgrade at 2 SS, so it really has to be an important part of your plan, be it because you expect Ototo to be a huge distraction for a couple of turns or just to increase his hardiness for something like Bodyguard.

Recalled Training
This allows Ototo to discard the upgrade at the start of his activation to get + flips on all duels and flips for the rest of the turn. This upgrade gives Ototo some much needed bite when he is not with **Enrage** active and makes him outright demolishing if in the **Enrage** threshold. Preferable to try and activate it in a situation where you can **Flurry** into something important, though don't get greedy since Ototo may die before using it. He doesn't get as many **AP** reliably to get the most advantage out of it as other 10 Thunder enforcers and Henchmen, so if SS are tight, do consider which of your heavy hitters will get the most benefit out of it.

Servant of 5 Dragons
Utility upgrade that gives +1 **Wp** and you can discard at the start of Ototo's activation to discard all scheme markers in a 3" pulse from him. It's important to keep in mind that it's at the start of the activation, so you have to get him into position to where you want to use the scheme pulse the previous turn. The +1 **Wp** makes Ototo get a decent **Wp** stat, though chances are the increase won't really save him from the worst of it. The discard effect, though good, doesn't really play to Ototo's strength's since he isn't the most mobile of pieces and tends to want to be in the thick of it clubbing things and just being a nuisance. It can be worth considering if you really expect a heavy **Wp** assault, since between it and an Oiran he can go to **Wp** 6, though if you are expecting a **Wp** attacking heavy crew, chances are Ototo shouldn't really be your first choice.

Oath Keeper
This gives Ototo **Finish the Job** (place a scheme marker when this model is killed before removing it) or can be discarded for **Fast**. Most times you will use it for the **Fast**, which can be a godsend to get some extra **Massive Tetsubo** strikes, especially if he is already **Enraged**. If timed right it should let Ototo **Flurry** into a target and still have another **AP** left for another attack or other relevant action. 4 attacks with **Enrage** on any target should leave a very big mark.

Scramble
This gives Ototo +1 **Wk** and +1 **Cg** and **Unimpeded**. It's an expensive upgrade at 2 SS but it greatly increases Ototo's ability to engage and Wk 6 does also allow him to be a clutch scheme marker placer at a given moment. Always worth considering on him, though do value if those 2 SS won't have a better use somewhere else.

Tally Sheet
This upgrade allows Ototo to draw a card every time he kills a model. It's a bit of a hard sell on Ototo since he doesn't become scary until he goes into the **Enraged** threshold and that may happen on turn 2-3. Even then, he will only kill 2 models at most without outside help, so although he does have a good chance to guarantee a card draw per turn when he is **Enraged**, it's still debatable if that is worth 1 SS.

=__Tactics and Tips__=

The hardest part of using Ototo is basically balancing his **Wd** stat. If he has more than 6 **Wd**, he hits like a pansy, but with 6 or below, he becomes a god of death, but is also that much closer to being dead. Right of the bat, the most important aspect is to never use **Just a Flesh Wound** until you finish attacking if the heal would put you over 6 **Wd**. Also very important is to heal Ototo, be it in his activation or from outside sources the moment he has 1 Wd left, since that would let **Hard to Kill** be useful again and can maybe let him survive and extra **AP**.

This is all well and good if Ototo is getting the attention you want him to get, but if he gets outright ignored, he will never go under the **Enrage** threshold and will be underwhelming all match. This is where you have to make sure Ototo is always in the most annoying and dangerous place possible. Of course there is a limit to this, sending him alone against Lady Justice will just mean he dies quick and alone, not that you will get a good **Enrage** run. The moment Ototo is either covering an area where your opponent really wants to interact or is engaging a few models he really really doesn't want engaged, he will have to pay attention to him, especially since **Laugh Off** stops him from just being pushed or moved out of an area outside of using **Obey**.

Also, remember **Shove Aside**, the added flexibility of moving through **Ht** 1 and **Ht** 2 models means you can go in deep or charge through your own models, though remember that you don't ignore Disengaging strikes, so be careful where you end each of your **Walk** actions.

If really desperate, you can attack Ototo with your own models to get him into the **Enrage** threshold, but really consider if you may not have a better use for those **AP** before you commit to stabbing Ototo in the back.

If you decide to take the **Call the Thunder** upgrade, look from the crew creating phase for possible interactions to get the most out of it, be it because other models benefit from having **Slow** enemies (McCabe's **Net Gun** **Paralyze**, Sidir's **Cull the weak** trigger), make it easier to fail (Mr Tannen's **Bore to Tears**) or put out Slow (Chiaki's **Pull of the Grave** or Sidir's **Empty the Magazine**). By itself it can be useful, but with some synergies from the rest of your crew it can become an actual workhorse.

Anything that can give Ototo extra mobility makes him a lot more dangerous (be it by pushing him, like Sensei Yu or giving him **Nimble** like McCabe's **Black Badge**) since it allows him to use Flurry to it's full potential.

=__Playing Against Ototo__=

Right of the bat, the best you can do is to either ignore Ototo, or make sure you can burst him to death before he gets a chance to activate again. If you force your opponent to attack Ototo to get him **Enraged**, that is **AP** that is not being used to do schemes or kill your models, so probably in your best interest. His **Wp** is pathetic, so he is very susceptible to conditions, so abuse this. He is also a prime target for **Obey**, especially if you manage to wound him at range and have him focus his **Enraged** might on his friends. Send something hardy but expendable to engage him as soon as possible, Ototo should take a while to remove something like a Metal Gamin off himself to be able to operate freely and if Ototo can't engage a chunk of your crew, he can't force you to dedicate resources towards him.

If you burst into Ototo but fail to kill him, try and get anything important out of his **Melee range** ASAP, when **Enraged** he is more than capable of killing a master when using **Flurry**, so try to minimize your loses when this happens. Be weary of anything that can give him more mobility, since an Ototo that can get into position before using **Flurry** can be a wrecker.

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