Torakage

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 * Torakage, Ten Thunders Minion**

=__Overview__= The Torakage are ninjas! As such they have all the ninja moves you'd expect: Smoke bombs, disappearing act, stealthy kills, and stabby weapons! Most crews will be content with 1 or 2 Torakage, but you should be aware that they are rare 3 - no super ninja crews.

=__Mobility__= Torakage have a slightly above average walk and charge score, but they have many movement tricks.They can cast Mistaken Identity to switch places with another friendly Ten Thunders model within 12". This requires a 12 mask, but they have a 0 action Faceless that adds the mask in for them! This is definitely their signature spell.

Their other movement spell is called Shadow Stride. You bury the Torakage and then unbury it in the Resolve Effects Step anywhere on the board completely within 8" of a friendly Ten Thunders model. Combined with Mei Feng, Misaki, or some clockwork traps this allows you to move your crew up the field incredibly quickly. In the event all friendly Ten Thunders models are dead or no longer in play this spell does have the unfortunate effect of killing your Torakage - so make sure there's someone/thing that they can stride to!

They've also got arachnid, so when they do need to move with their walk (or charge) they can move up and down vertical surfaces with ease.

=__Offense__= Torakage have decent offensive abilities, they have two weapons: The Ten Weapons of Wxu-Sju and the Shuriken. They're ruthless, being ninjas, and have the ability Works Best Alone which gives them +1 Cb and a + twist to damage flips if they are the only model in their crew engaged with the enemy.

The Ten Weapons of Wxu-Sju
Their go-to melee weapon. It has a 2" range, Cb5, and the exact damage spread of a Freikorpsmann's gun (weak of 1 severe of 5). This weapon has two cool triggers. First Relocate: After you damage the defender with this weapon you can move into base-to-base contact with it. Second, Silent Kill - what all ninjas do right? If you kill the defender after casting Mistaken Identity the defender counts as being sacrificed rather than killed for game effects (no blasts upon death, slow to die, etc). The defender still counts as killed for VP purposes. This can really help you get around some of the more annoying abilities in the game - such as slow to die coupled with Use Soulstones (Collette, Von Schill, or Lucius anyone?).

Shuriken
Range 8 with a low damage profile (3 at severe) the shuriken, at first glance, leave much to be desired. However, the Torakage get a //free// Shuriken strike whenever they walk (this strike has -2 Cb)! While the Shuriken doesn't do a bunch of damage itself, there is a nice trigger: Treated Weapon on crows that makes them Poison 1. Torakage also have Rapid Fire on their Shuriken, though you'll rarely find yourself using this unless it's to use the poison trigger previously mentioned.

=__Resilience__= The Torakage would rather be ninja-ing about with smoke bombs and teleports but when it comes down to it and they've gotta take a punch they can certainly do that too. With a Df 6 they're no slouch in a fight.

Their Ability One with the Crowd grants them soft cover whenever they're within 3" of another model - friendly or enemy. So even if your opponent decides to fire at them in melee and successfully targets them, they still have to go through a flip - on their attack! Simply amazing.

They've got another ability that allows them to ignore disengaging strikes when they start their turn within the enemy's melee range - only from the model(s) they begin the turn engaged with.

But wait there's more! They have a 0 spell - Smoke Bombs that allow you to place two 50mm obscuring bases touching completely within 3" of the Torakage. This allows them to screen your crews advance. There is a trigger on them too called Delayed Release which allows the smoke bombs to last until the end of the Torakage's //next// activation (or until s/he is removed from play, whichever comes first)!

Finally, both Mistaken Identity and Shadow Stride can be used defensively for the Torakage. Mistaken Identity can be used to defend friendly models by pulling them out of the fray and the Torakage into it.

=__Tips and Tricks__= There are many movement tricks to be had with Mistaken Identity. Swap your master right next to the treasure, out of combat, or into range to Deliver a Message. Swap a slow moving sniper (such as Hans) onto a nice vantage point. Shadow Stride to Clockwork Traps that you've deployed From the Shadows and get behind enemy lines.

=__Master-Specific Tips__= The Torakage work well with any Ten Thunders master as they can swap with them almost at will. They are often used with Misaki (since they only come in her box set...) and can offensively use Shadow Stride to surround whatever Misaki is assassinating at the moment or defensively swap her out of combat with something nasty.

=__Minion-Specific Tips__= As with most Ten Thunders models, Torakage work very well with Ten Thunders Brothers.

=__Playing Against [Minion]__= Torakage are shifty and can be quite hard to pin down against a skilled opponent. They have an average number of wounds, if possible try and shoot them at range (not likely due to cover and smoke bombs) or simply obliterate them with a heavy melee hitter such as Kang or the Executioner.

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