M2E+Torakage


 * Torakage, Ten Thunders Minion**

=__Overview__=

Torakage are the standard **Last Blossom** minion model. They are very mobile minions that happen to be pretty good beaters when away from other friendly models. They have above average stats across the board with 6 on everything except **Ht**. They tend to be good flankers that can take down enemy objective grabbers, objective grabbers that can take care of themselves or a bit of both depending on the situation. They are an expensive minion at 6 SS (7 if hired out-of-faction) though and are very fragile once attack start connecting, so need a certain finesse to get results. They can also benefit from the **Smoke and Shadows Last Blossom** upgrade, which gives them even more options. toc

=__Mobility__=

The Torakage have a high **Wk** stat of 6 which lets them be able to contribute to Protect Territory from the first activation or simply just moving at high speed where needed. Their **Cg** is the same as their **Wk** though, so it's purely for the 2 attack actions. Their biggest strength in mobility though is their **Agile** ability, allowing them to walk away from engagements without retaliation, making them perfect for achieving schemes in the opponents table half. Do keep in mind that **Agility** won't let them charge even if they start engaged, so don't commit that mistake.

Their **Shuriken** also gives them some mobility thanks to the **Leaf Steps** trigger. This trigger lets them push 3" after resolving the attack action, meaning that no matter what happens, they get to push. The suit for the trigger is native to the attack, so there is no reason to not use it unless you want to put poison on somebody.

=__Offense__=

Ten Weapons of Wxu-Shu
A standard Melee attack action with **Ml** 5, a **Melee range** of 2" and a pretty weak damage spread of 1/3/5. It comes with two triggers, **Relocate** that can allow the Torakage to re-position himself better in base contact with the target, and **Poison Coated** which causes **Poison** +1 if it damages, making the damage spread not seem as tame. What really makes the Torakage dangerous in combat is their **Works Best Alone** ability, which gives them a + flip to all attack and damage flips of Ml actions as long as they are more than 3" from another friendly model. This makes their damage potential go from tame to pretty high for a 6 SS model, allowing them to get moderate and severe damage a lot more consistently and you should consistently try to have it be constantly in effect when moving your crew.

Shuriken
The **Shuriken** is a ranged attack with a **Sh** of 5, a range of 8" and a damage track of 1/2/3. It has the **Poison Coated** trigger which causes **Poison +1** if it damages. The Torakage has Rapid Fire meaning he can do 3 **Shuriken** attacks at the same target at the cost of 2 AP and a card. The threat of the Torakage's **Shurikens** is the same as his charge, so if you use **Rapid Fire** it will probably be more because of the **Leaf Steps** trigger to move while placing some damage, since it is a lot less effective than the **Ten Weapons of Wxu-Shu**, or when charging isn't an option because of terrain or other factors.

=__Resilience__=

The Torakage posses above average **Df** and **Wp**, both at 6 and a decent amount of **Wd** at 6. They are still incredibly fragile for their cost, since 3 decent hits and they are out. To stay alive Torakage depend on their high-ish stats, but mostly on their speed and mobility to choose their fights, so unless you have a good reason to do it, they operate better as schemer hunters and flankers.

They also have the **One With the Crowd** rule to help them stay alive which gives any **Sh** attack a - flip when attacking a Torakage as long as there is another model 3" from him. This doesn't specify friendly, so any model will do, even the model making the **Sh** attack. This can cause scenarios like Perdita always having a - to attack a Torakage in her Melee range. This really gives them a survival edge against **Sh** based opponents, though do try to still hug cover since a good number of dedicated ranged models tend to get + to attack flips in some way or another and if they **Focus**, the + to damage will still hurt.

=__Tactics and Tips__=

Learning how to position the Torakage really affects their offense and resilience and mastering this can turn the Torakage into a lethal minion. When close to another friendly model any **Sh** actions against the Torakage suffer a - flip but when more than 3" away from friendlies he gains a + flip to his attack and damage flips for his melee actions, so always be sure of what you want to be doing at a given moment. Don't forget **One With the Crowd** works on enemy models too, so you can get the best out of both world if you keep close to enemy models.

If you have a target 8" away and have a card to burn, consider if **Rapid Fire** may be a good idea, it will be a lot less damaging than charging (supposing you get **Works Best Alone** working), but it's a way to cover 9" while causing some damage thanks to **Leaf Steps**.

Be weary of their fragility and chose their targets wisely. They will destroy the standard fragile objective grabbers and should be able to come out alive from that fight thanks to their stats, but any combat dedicated model will end them quickly as long as they get a bead on them. So stay mobile and be conscious of what can attack them and what can't and before using your **AP**, evaluate what you need the Torakage to do. Never forget **Agility**, Torakage never have to stay engaged with anything unless they want to.

Smoke and Shadows
Torakage have the **Last Blossom** characteristic, and benefit from the **Smoke & Shadows** upgrade if taken in the crew. This gives them two new actions. **Smoke Bombs** a 1AP action which lets them place 2 smoke markers (50 mm bases) with a **Ht** of 5 touching their base and **Shadow Stride** a 2 AP action which lets you bury the Torakage and unbury it 6" from another friendly model at the end of the turn.

The **Smoke Bombs** are mostly helpful to block line of sight to your own models, though they do need an 8+ to work. They have the **Blocking** trait, so being inside of the smoke protects the model from line of sight, though remember that auras and pulses do ignore it. They cannot be placed touching other models or markers but the smoke markers themselves don't need to be in contact, so as long as they are in base to base with the Torakage, it's enough. The action has the **Vanish** trigger if it flips a mask, which immediately lets them cast **Shadow Stride** for free with +2 **Ca** and a mask, which makes it a lot less costly to use.


 * Shadow Stride** is mostly a redeployment trick which lets you quickly reposition a Torakage in another completely different part of the table. The spell is costly requiring a 6 of masks, though the **Vanish** trigger from **Smoke Bombs** makes it trivial when it works. Always consider where you want the Torakage to be and if a **Shadow Stride** will get him there better than walking twice. Burying is full of advantages like not being exposed for the rest of the turn and letting you chose your spot freely knowing how all the models are placed at the end of the turn. Do though remember that the Torakage is considered dead if there are no friendly models in play when they unbury and that any model that uses burying mechanics to their favor (like Tara), can make it be more of a curse than a blessing.

=__Master-Specific Tips__= Lucas McCabe loves him some Torakage. Not only are they fast enough to keep up with him, but they benefit for a large number of the relics he can throw out to them. The **Badge of Speed** can give these guys **Reactivate** through **Black Flash**, then give them **Nimble** if he attaches it to them. That means that a flat out run can get these guys 18" up the board from just walking; 20" with the push. It also means that they could drop a scheme marker, walk with **Nimble**, then drop another scheme marker. With **Reactivate**, these guys can easily cover **Breakthrough, Protect Territory, Plant Evidence, Plant Explosives** or **Spring the Trap** all by themselves. Don't forget that Torakage are immune to Disengaging strikes due to **Agile**, making them speedy and obnoxious.

The **Glowing Sabre** can really bump up the damage output on the Torakage. Because of their 6" charge, the Torakage has a good chance of making it to someone he wants to hurt, and a 1/3/4 with built-in +1 **Critical Strike** trigger and ignoring **Armor, Hard to Wound, Incorporeal** and **Hard to Kill** can really put the hurt on them.

Torakage have decent defenses. Giving them the **Elixir of Life** can make them heal up any damage they have taken. It also lets them have **Unimpeded**, which is just one more way to keep them moving quickly.

=__Playing Against Torakage__=

The Torakage can be tricky to attack using **Sh** if he's within 3" of another model thanks to **One With the Crowd** but not to **Ca** actions. He only has his **Df** and **Wp** stat to keep him alive against melee actions, but if you commit to attacking one, make sure you can kill it since when it activates it can freely get away thanks to **Agile**. Torakage love to hunt your fragile schemer and flanker models, but they fold quick against combat dedicated pieces, so try to give your objective grabbers an escort to keep the Torakage a bit more honest, or at least to be able to end them quickly once they go into the wolfs den.

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