As we can't make it to Gen Con we're going to offer you some fantastic deals here on the webstore. For the duration of the show, 30th July to the 2nd of August, simply enter the code GENCAN15 to redeem 15% off of your order sub-total. This will apply to all products in our webstore but excludes Pre-Order products and the limited stocks of Yuta and Open Rebellion (Wolf Clan) sets that will be available during the show (these will be without the retail packaging).
Please note any order that includes Pre-Order items will be shipped with the intended arrival date of September 4th.
Pre-Order for release September 4th
Download the pre-order catalogue HERE.
Here's a little look at the reinforcements for the Minimoto Clan. First let’s look at some new additions for The Finest Steel theme. This samurai theme has been a bit underwhelming since release with basically only one list. It's supposed to be “The Samurai Theme” the best the Minimoto have to offer. Yuji is a great start and an exemplar of everything Minimoto but wouldn’t it be nice if he had some friends?
Niko is a maelstrom of destruction. He has taken the Minimoto fighting style to its limit and simply swings his tetsubo tirelessly until everyone else is defeated. Niko is a 4 melee samurai with a wide array of melee options. He can use up to 4 different special attacks and has split attack. His Yoko-Men feat cancels out enemy model's Dodge traits, meaning he can really get to use his Tetsubo on the most nimble opponents. With Armour 4 and Resistance (2) he’s pretty safe too, but that's just how Bears are. Reo is a little different. A long time campaigner, Reo is not at his best. In fact Reo has been given up as dead multiple times, he has broken most of his bones, been stabbed more times than he remembers and… well after all that he fights on! Reo isn’t as quick as he used to be, his melee is only 3. He also wears lighter armour (The Minimoto consider it lighter but it's the very best any other clan has!). He’s still a Bear samurai though and his Immovable trait is great for holding zones, frustrating Ryu spearmen and laughing off monks many throw and slam attacks. It's his unique effect that really makes him a great choice however as when he is reduced to 4 wounds he gains Durable. I think that's all you need know about him!
Also permitted in Finest Steel is Rinko. A more senior Yuki no Maio than Kimiko she can create much larger effects, even making a Blizzard (Like the Event card) every turn if you want. She has the same Icy Veins utility feat and a quite amazing feat for the bears that is able to increase damage immensely if you use it correctly. Some of you will have seen these characters already in artwork on the Facebook Group or possibly elsewhere. These are the Minimoto’s ranged Ashigaru. When we were designing the Bear clan I wrote a whole page to try to decide what ranged weapons they would use. While they would respect the strength required to use a bow, it doesn’t follow their metal theme. We considered the use of black powder weapons since they would have to be made of Minimoto forged metal to contain the force from the powder but that didn’t suit the reliance on strength they have. I considered metal javelins (Too primitive), Heavy axes (Not a “Noble” weapon), Shurikens (Ninjas!), and even had an idea that they would use balls of excess metal or slag like a shot-put which is very thematic requiring great strength to hurl huge metal balls at enemies but in the end we decided on Shakram. Sharpened metal disks that are thrown like a frisbee, using both the force and the spinning blade to cut into the enemy. We decided these are ashigaru weapons only, not something a samurai would use but it does (Along with Kimiko) give the clan a ranged option beyond Ronin.
And finally (Well, for now) we have the blacksmiths. This is Kajiya. Blacksmiths are held in high regard, they are almost like priests in Jyoto, their work is revered almost as much as the ancestors. There are many ranks to ascend through among the blacksmiths from the lowest, who dispose of unusable metal and slag, up through the domestic smiths who make horseshoes, cooking gear and other household equipment to those making metal items for war. Armour smiths are particularly revered as they choose which ashigaru will receive their “Blessing” but the very best of the blacksmiths will be weapon smiths. Most of these will make the clan’s signature Tetsubo but the few who have the skill will become the best
bladesmiths in the Jwar Isles. Minimoto samurai rarely use their swords. It's a reverence for the steel used to make it and the smiths artistry in creating a katana that makes the bears use it only for important foes. They do not skimp on training with the sword, indeed many of their tetsubo techniques are carried over resulting in unstoppable powerful sword strikes that can, and do, cut an opponent in half. Kajiya will take a Samurai’s blade and dedicate it to a specific fight. This ceremony signifies that a certain opponent has been deemed strong enough to warrant the use of the katana and all of Kajiy's skill and control over the metal and fire elements will go into the dedication. I hope you like our Minimoto Wave. We’re also working on a bear (Yes another one!) and a lot of Garrison of the Damned for Minimoto so keep checking back here for more info.
The Open Rebellion (Wolf clan) boxed set will also be available to pre-order as well as Tanaka Kazuo and Heir. Read more Kazuo below...
After Tsuki led her Open Rebellion out of Tsumaga and against The Prefecture, the Takashi family became wary of their neighbours. To ensure a loyal Wolf clan for the next generation, the Dragon offered to foster the Tanaka heir, Nobuko’s son with the Takashi family at Eddo. Fostering is an old tradition and it is a great honour for a clan to have their children taught the ways of the samurai by their liege lords. This strengthens the ties that bind the clans together and creates very loyal vassals for the greater clans. Such an offer cannot be refused without causing a diplomatic incident or even war. The Tanaka heir was sent with his uncle Kazuo to Eddo, the seat of the Dragon clan but they simply traveled to Ryu and stopped. The fostering had been agreed so the Takashi had no cause to call out the Tanaka but the boy studied in Ryu under Wolf clan tutors and learned his family ways, not those of the Takashi. They were just always “On the way to Eddo”. Honour was satisfied. Not all were happy with this however and a Prefecture official saw the boy and his uncle and tried to have them escorted to Eddo by an armed guard. Incensed by the lower ranking official trying to force his hand, Kazuo refused. None of the Prefecture ashigaru survived his refusal. Knowing this would not be accepted, Kazuo took the boy and fled. Lord Nobuo had no choice but to declare Kazuo an outlaw, claiming he kidnapped his son or the Dragon would have cause to declare that the Wolf Clan were disloyal. Now with nobody to help, Kazuo not only teaches the boy the wolf ways of sword fighting, their loyalty to the Shiho and the ways of the samurai but also must protect him from the Dragon and any who would take their coin for the bounty they offer.
Ok, so that's a hell of a card! Go back and look at Kazuo’s Melee Pool... go on! That’s a 5. 5 is a whole new number for Bushido, no model ever had a Melee stat above 4 before. This card is very densely packed with rules information. We usually try not to make complex models that need smaller fonts or anything like it but once you start reading this, it's actually just a comprehensive rule for a simple idea. Kazuo has to defend the heir, if he doesn’t he can fight better, but enemies can kill the boy. Once you work out the rules covering the heir, it's not hard to see from the rest of the card that he can be a melee monster. It's almost like everything you would usually do to kill a model like this has been countered by his traits!* Exhaust him? He has both Tireless and Endurance! Outnumber him? Not only does he have Indomitable (5)** he can actually get better in melee the more models he’s fighting! Take out other models and try to ignore him? No, he will intercept your model and force it to deal with him! It took awhile for us to learn his (Few) weaknesses and exploit them and I look forward to seeing the same from the players when they get hold of him.
Now if you have the Wolf clan box, it makes a list of about 100 rice*** (With some options) on its own. So how do you fit in a 25 rice model? There are a few options. One is to take this model instead of Tsuki as the “Leader” model. It's ok to do this and without her, Tsuki’s Pack are less tempting so that easily pays for Kazuo and some more special cards. When you have Tsuki and Kazuo you can have three excellent Tireless models as your front line and that's very tempting. You can use Tsuki’s Hunt on Gorak to make sure any model the enemy tries to engage is tireless. In this case you probably have to drop Yue and Muna. Remember when making lists and trying to fit the models you want, the Open Rebellion theme card allows a Ronin Ancestor Spirit which can fill a gap if you need it. With these additional models and the ten special cards in the Wolf Clan box there are enough options to customise your Warband exactly how you want it. Remember you can also use Ronin Special Cards too and the odd Arashi’s Fan, Rice Bale Barricade or Second Chance can all help against specific problems you may face. We just want to add finally that while we came up with our own character and background for him, of course we wanted to pay homage to one of the greatest Manga writers of all time who sadly passed away. Kazuo Koike co-created the Lone Wolf and Cub series which was also made into the Shogun Assassin movies. We certainly recommend any Bushido fans check them out.
*Just keep him away from any Marionettes!
**Yes another 5 that is a new record! It's probably enough to make sure he’ll never be
outnumbered.
***The models alone are 95 Rice, you can add special cards in to tailor for the rest.