M2E+The+Lone+Swordsman

Living, Rare 1
 * Lone Swordsman, Ten Thunders, Enforcer**

=__Overview__= toc A solo ronin-style character, the Lone Swordsman wanders around looking for people to hack up with his Pa's sword. Overall, for a very reasonable cost of 8ss, he's rather good at it too, especially if he decides he really doesn't like you.

=__Mobility__= The Lone Swordsman has an average Walk and charge of 5 & 7 respectively. So while he's no slouch at moving, he won't be winning any races in the near future.

He also has a **(0) Wander the Earth** which pushes him 2" in any direction, giving him a total move of 12" a turn. Like all movement tricks this has several uses.
 * Allows him to charge models 11" away (2" push, 7" charge, 2" Rg)
 * Get out of engagement ranges so he can do schemes, charge others or simply preserve his health if he's running low on Wds and the enemy is engaged with someone else and can't pursue him
 * Get into range and LoS to support abilities
 * Open up LoS for other models

=__Offense__= Melee is where the Lone Swordsman really shines & is where you want him to be. He has no guns, so get him stuck in! As an added bonus, he's **Ruthless**, so he's not going to get scared by any big gribbly that comes his way.

His only attack is **My Father's Sword** and what a sword it is. Ml6, 2/4/6 damage with a sleuth of triggers for every occasion, this guy hits hard! His triggers are:
 * **The Perfect Cut (Tomes)**: Ignores **Armour, Hard to Wound, Hard to Kill & Incorporeal**. Getting around most defensive buffs this allows the Swordsman's attacks to do thier most damage. Obviously, if the target doesn't have any of these, look at the other triggers!
 * **Karmic Strike (Rams)**: No Soulstone prevention flips makes this the go to trigger if up against masters or Henchmen that don't have any of the above defences. If they do, then it's really case-by-case.
 * **One with the Void**: No -'s to damage flips. This is another way to get around **Hard to Wound** and all you have to do is tie to be able to cheat for that nice 6 severe damage.
 * **The Sword Knows the Way**: After damage, place target into base with this model. This one has several applications. Remember, that you have to damage first, so watch out for prevention flips and Black Jokers.
 * Place them in melee with your other models or into range and LoS for them to be charged.
 * Position to deny them the best use out of auras, pulses, blasts and any other effects other models have (& for you to get the best use out of yours)

His big offensive ability is actually a **(0) You Shall Not See Another Sunrise**. For the cost of 2 cards, choose an enemy Enforcer, Henchman or Master and gain **Reactivate**. Naturally, there's a catch (& it's pretty severe too). If the Swordsman does not kill said model before the end of the turn, he commits seppuku (aka, sacrifices himself!) Choose your target wisely...

Note that you really don't have to play fair by this either. Other models can attack the target too and it doesn't have to be on full health. If there's someone with 1wd within 4" (his push & Melee range) with the Swordsman, then kill him and you have the best part of 2 activations to do other stuff! Alternatively, if the Swordsman fluffs it the first time round (hopefully taking out some decent cards from your opponent's hand in the process), send in another model to take it down a few notches & have the Swordsman finish it round 2! Just make sure the second model doesn't kill it (i.e. don't flip the Red Joker for damage), or the Swordsman will seppuku out of shame.

If worst comes to worst, if the Swordsman's low on wds or has **Burning/Poison** out the wazzoo and is gonna die anyway, target something important that needs hurting & set him loose. That way it doesn't matter if he offs himself and at least he went out in a blaze of glory (which is probably all he wanted to begin with!).

=__Resilience__= The Lone Swordsman has above average Df & Wp and 7 wounds, making him reasonably difficult to hit if you cheat, but any swings that do hit could still really hurt. To make up for this he has **Hard to Kill** so he should take a few hits before going down.

To the swordsman, guns are very unsportsmanlike, so he has **Bullet Proof +3**. If your opponent chooses to play Guild, then this swordsman is definitely a consideration! Note, that the toe-to-toe attacks of some opponents are still **Sh** instead of **Ml.** So, occasionally he gets this bonus in combat too (I'm looking at you Perdita!).

=__Upgrades__= As an Enforcer, The Lone Swordsman gets to choose a lone upgrade (see what I did there!). The best bang for your buck is **Recalled Training** and you'll probably see this taken 99% of the time. As of Wave 2, the only other upgrade he can take is **Servant of 5 Dragons**.


 * Recalled Training**: + to every flip this model makes this turn. I'll let this sink in... Pick something that needs being dead & is within charge range. Drop this upgrade charge in (hopefully doing a decent amount of damage) & then **You Shall Not See Another Sunrise** to double your bang for only 1ss! Getting +'s to Df and Wp should hopefully see him through what ever the retribution enemy activation throws at him to give him that second shot.


 * Servant of 5 Dragons**: This one can make a meal out of your opponents schemes and gives him +1 Wp. The Swordsman is actually a pretty good place for this upgrade as with **Reactivate** he can position to where it's needed most before dropping this in his second activation. This may take him away from his target though, so the price could be steep. Still it might win a game. **Recalled Training** is still where it's at though...


 * Equality**: As of Wave 4 Ten Thunders have received Equality which allows the model to either Heal 2, Drop a Scheme Marker or Draw a Card when your opponent earns A **VP**. This allows The Swordsman to be more survivable or run schemes adding to his versatility.

=__Tactics and Tips__= Although the Lone Swordsman doesn't really synergise with any models, there are plenty of Ten Thunders whom synergise with him. He absolutely loves push effects, so Shenlong & Sensei Yu are very good. **Wandering River Style** gets a special mention because as it also makes him fast (you could potentially get 6 **Recalled Training** attacks out of him in one turn!).

From a McCabe point of view, he loves **Take This**' push. Upgrade wise, **Badge of Speed** speed for **Nimble** is probably the best, although if he's in combat already, **Strangemetal Shirt** is probably the best & **Elixer of Life**, for when he's low on life, is pretty good too. Just be careful he doesn't seppuku himself more than 10" away from McCabe with any of these upgrades or you'll lose them. **Promises** is also very handy if the Swordsman has an upgrade.

=__Playing Against Lone Swordsman__= This model can deal an exorbitant amount of damage in one turn, particularly if he possesses **Recalled Training**. Therefore, make sure you don't put anything important enough that you can't lose within his strike range (which with pushes from other models, can be quite high). If you can, try to go after him with **Ca** attacks as **Sh** will do very little.

Alternatively, paralyzing him will put a crimp in his style, especially if you can do it after he's declared **You Shall Not See Another Sunrise** but before he **Reactivates**. Things that have defensive triggers pushing them out of combat are very good too, forcing him to waste AP on walks instead of using that sword of his.

If you want to deal with him head on, either make sure you can do 6dg on the first swing, or have 3 ap to get around **Hard to Kill**, Chain activations are also a good way of dealing with him swiftly before he can do too much damage.

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