Dark forces are amassing. The armies of the living are fractured and torn by infighting amongst the different clans and factions of the Jwar Islands. The Risen are coming.
The week of the Con is upon us and we can't wait to see who will reign victorius at the tournament. Good luck to all the players taking part.
All Wave 38 Pre-Orders will be shipped this week.
We are delighted to announce that tickets are up for our next Grand Masters Tournament and you can find out more info and grab your Tickets:
We had a great time at Bones Con and the tournament was lots of fun, interestingly every faction was represented and remarkably four different factions were present in the top five! Well done to Colin Tough who won with the Savage Wave, a close fought win over a previous Grand Master Chris Hales, finishing on the same points, SoS was the only thing seperating them. We hope to see you next year and we will look to make our presence bigger and better.
Some incredible models line up for Bushido's next release, which are you most looking forward to?
Kosuke hails from the mainland of the Empire. He fights with all four limbs, strength and skill are indistinguishable between arms and legs, hands and feet. He comes in aid of his fellow monks of the Ro-Kan and the prowess he shows on the battlefield will be well received by those he fights alongside. However his presence has caused disquiet amongst the Masters of the Ro-Kan. What message does Kosuke’s presence herald?
Giichi uses a unique fighting style and flail-like weapon. Forged in the fighting pits of Jima he has learned what it takes to survive. He is a bane to Samurai that fight in well-rehearsed routines, he does not follow the rules they have come to expect and his attacks are difficult to anticipate. Giichi understood early on that he would never compete with the Buto in the ring, he did however learn what he could and has impressive Jumo skills.
We want to apologise in advance for any delays to shipping of our products dur to our presence at Adepticon. We will endeavour to get everything out as soon as possible on our return.
The show exclusives including Toshiro will be available douring our time at Adepticon: 22nd-25th March
Well done to Dave 'Panzer' Palmer for winning Newcastle Legion's (Australia) first Bushido event.
Not much is known about the wanderer, he remains an enigma even to those he fights alongside. Whilst there is nothing to point to Toshiro’s presence being the catalyst for violence he often appears before momentous events. In battles involving Toshiro chaos reigns and even the most composed soldiers find themselves in a rage; feeding on the death and destruction around them driving them to tap into unbridled power.
All the models of Wave 39 are available in the webstore now for Pre-Order. Also until Sunday evening you can get your hands on Bushido's 2018 show model: Toshiro.
“The British are coming!”
Paul Revere (supposedly)
"Another town I've left behind,
Another drink completely blind,
Another hotel I can't find,
Another backstage pass for you,
Another tube of super glue,
Another border to get through,
I'm driving like a maniac,
Driving way to hell and back,
Another room a case to pack,
We Are The Road Crew!"
Motorhead (definitively)
Chicago does many things right but none more so than deep-dish pizza and AdeptiCon. This is GCT's second show in the Schaumberg area of Chicago and it just keeps getting better and better. Old friends, familiar faces, new players, and a kick-ass tournament to boot. But I digress...
AdeptiCon started in 2002 with just 110 players attending a special event. Now, 12 years later, there are 4500 attendees roaming the halls of the Schaumberg Convention Centre to battle it out in over 460 tournaments. The Dealer's Hall is home to 100 exhibitors, and the side-halls are packed with seminars, special events, painting classes and loads of pick-up games. It truly is a Temple of Ro-Kan to all things miniature and wargame related. It runs from the Thursday to the Sunday with the Wednesday being set aside for setup. That's when we got there, on Wednesday, in the freezing cold, to unload and begin building the booth.
As far as most shows go in the USA, AdeptiCon has to be by far the easiest when it comes to this. Our other main show GenCon, owing to size, and schedule, can be a nightmare to do set-up, because you're contending with Thousand-Sons-hued articulated lorries, and Ryder Truck drivers, who are dazed and confused having driven non-stop from Texas; it takes hours and hours, but at Adepticon, we were done before sunset and home for tea and crumpets as we British are wont to do.
We debuted our new show exclusive miniature on Thursday. I always think of him as the Man-With-No-Name, but he's actually called Toshiro. He's Ronin, applicable to all factions, cool as hell, and armed to the teeth! We were fortunate to have the entire Wave 39 with us as well, which made everyone extremely happy. We were also delighted to bring on a new retailer in Grognard Games, be sure to hit them up for your Bushido fix if you're in the Chicago area, www.grognardgames.com
On Saturday we hosted our very first official AdeptiCon Masters Bushido Tournament. Before I go into the details on this most excellent of events, we have to give a big round of rapturous applause to Aaron Nowick, and his amazing wife, Danielle Nowick. Not only did they build and paint every single piece of the amazing terrain used to decorate all sixteen mats, but Danielle did this whilst heavily pregnant and in her last trimester! So, again, thanks from GCT for all your hard work. Aaron ran a tight ship, a great tournament, and answered rules questions with the consummate ease of a life-long Judge. Another nod of sincere thanks has to go to Mats to Mars who provided the incredible mats used in the tourney. They looked absolutely amazing, and not only do they add to the overall experience of playing but they encompass what they call a ' Bushido PlayerAid Border', that has all those little rules we tend to forget in the heat of battle.
They are also lovingly decorated with artwork of your favourite Bushido characters and I suggest you head over to www.matsbymars.com to see what I'm gushing about! Next week we'll have an in-depth interview with this years winner, Mark Creamer, as well as a complete look at all the lists that were at the tables, and a breakdown of all this years medal winners. Until then!
Don't miss your chance to sign up for the tournament, if you're thinking of coming we urge you to decide soon and grab a ticket. In the event of a relatively low take up we will be unable to run the tournament. So get one while you can:
Check out the latest story from the Jwar Isles.
We're heading to the Excel center tomorrow for Salute, it's a busy, high octane show with tons to see and do. We hope to see plenty of old faces and no doubt some new players as well.
Toshiro and the other show exclusives will be available at the show and on our webstore.
Sign up for your tournament place... HERE
" You must not fight too often with one enemy,
or you will teach him all your tricks of war."
Napoleon Bonaparte
" If you ain't first, you're last."
Ricky Bobby
It was Saturday and that meant Tournament day. We had an uneven amount of players so there there was to be a Bye round which is never ideal, but everyone was still going to get to roll dice and beat the snot out of each other. It was a mixed bag of Factions, with the Temple getting the most love at four players, Ito and Cult next with three players per faction, sneaky Silvermoon with two, and everything else having one player. Even the Shadow Wind Clan made an appearance, I think, it's hard to spot those suckers unless you are an inch or two away!
The tables looked great, awesome scenery ( thanks Aaron and Danielle) and bespoke Bushido playing mats (thanks Mats by Mars). There was also a lot of interest from other gamers who had never seen the game before and eventually found themselves down at the booth having a demo game with Gordon.
There were five medals up for grabs: First, Second and Third place, as well as Best Painted Army and Best Sportsman. The Competition was fierce, but eventually, after nearly seven hours of gaming, there emerged one clear victor from the rubble of smouldering temples and burning villages, and that was Mark Creamer with a sibilant and slithery, Ito List.
In his own words...
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How did you discover Bushido and how long have you been playing?
I discovered Bushido a year ago at Adepticon 2017 and it’s been my primary miniatures game for the last year.
How many factions do you play?
Currently I play two factions: Ito Clan and Temple of Ro-kan.
What's your favourite faction and why?
My favourite faction is Ito Clan since I like the pressure that the poison condition puts on the other player since most lists don’t have an easy way to deal with it. I also like how the faction has a mix of heavy hitting warrior/Samurai models as well as the Sishai control pieces.
What's your favourite model and why?
My favourite model is probably Kuma from the Temple of Ro-kan. From a rules perspective he’s extremely versatile. He has a lot of defensive tech for holding ground between his huge life pool and traits such as Fear (4), First Strike and Indomitable. He provides scenario control with Binding Roots and Push Defence and can also dish out some good damage with the combination of the Stunned marker, Brutal and Combo Attack. Plus, in addition to all that, who doesn’t like a Kung Fu panda?
How does it feel to win the inaugural American Masters Bushido Tournament?
Surprising at first. Even though I’ve been playing consistently over the last year, it has only been with a few opponents (and mostly one). I think what helped us both leading up to Adepticon was playing some games on the clock and getting a feeling for how to play an aggressive game to get those early VP.
What was your biggest challenge vs your competitors on the day?
My hardest game was the Ito Clan mirror match. Since we were both running The Blessed theme, both of our poison had limited effect. We had to rely more heavily on model positioning and early objective control.
Any lists you didn't want to come up against? If so explain.
Really any list that can remove or ignore my poison effects. This would be things like other Ito players, lists with constructs or support models that can clear poison.
Tell us about your list. Even though you won, are there any changes you would make to it?
My list was: Sakura, Satsuki, Kaihime Ito, Kenzo Ito, Taisei, one Temple Asp and one Shimogama Viper, running with The Blessed theme. The game plan was to get some early poison down on turn one using Sakura’s Psychic Venom and a ranged shot from Kaihime loaded with Blood of Orochi. This sets me up to start taking out some models on turn two using Accelerate Venom combined with melee attacks. My snakes are also speed 5 which allows me to hopefully get out in front of the scenarios and attempt to hold with their large health pools.
As far as changes I would make to the list, I might switch out Taisei for either Kyou to give an even stronger Sishai presence, or possibly both Taisei and the Viper to upgrade to Yatsumata for an even stronger melee presence.
Plans for next year? Same faction? Or something different?
There’s still a lot for me to try out with Ito so I don’t see myself stopping with them any time soon. I also want to give my Temple lists a try in a tournament, so it’s also possible I’ll enter with them next year instead.
Any tips for us non-tournament winners to up our game?
First, I think the biggest thing is to consider the clock, especially if most of your games are played casually with no time limit. If it doesn’t look like you’re going to get all the rounds in then consider being more aggressive and piece trading if it means gaining those early VP.
Second, don’t try to make a list that answers every question your opponent might throw at you; Bushido doesn’t allow for enough models to reliably do this and there will always be bad pairings. Instead try and pose a strong enough question to your opponent that they are forced to deal with you instead.
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Second Place went to Aaron Skrivanek who was also playing the skin-shedding Ito,
while Greg Oberfield flew into third place with his Tengu.
Competition for the Best Painted Army was tough, but the Judges eventually decided on Patrick McCabe and his Ito Army.
Yup, it was Ito to the left of us and Ito to the right! Best Sportsman went to Rob Perkins whose patience and affability won the day. Rob played Savage Wave in the tournament which just shows that even though Wave players look cantankerous and curmudgeonly on the outside, they're actually all just Teddy Bears on the inside (that's you too, Toby Nathan).
Here is a breakdown of the top three lists.
Mark Creamer: 1st Place. Ito.
Kenzo Ito
Kaihime Ito
Taisei
Sakura
Satsuki
Temple Asp
Shimogama Vipers
Aaron Skrivanek. 2nd Place. Ito.
Kenzo Ito
Sakura
Kyou
Ayako Ito
Temple Asp (2)
Greg Oberfield. 3rd Place. Tengu.
Buzenbo
Kanut
Jirobo
Tarobo
Zenkibo
Zephyr Guard
The show wound down on Sunday and it saw us gaining another distributor in the Chicago Area, namely Grognard Games, which can be found at www.grognardgames.com
A great time was had by all and GCT would just like to thank all of the retainers and players, old and new, for not only playing but for stopping by the booth to say hello. See you next year! Don't forget that there are still tickets available for the UK Games Expo Bushido Tournament. Nothing says fun like beating random strangers into submission with dice, tape measure, and a host of lovingly painted Bushido models.
We are delighted to say that GCT Studios will be represented at FanCon in scenic Cape Town this weekend. You'll find Bushido demos and more at the Battle Bunker's stall, be sure to pop by and say hello to the guys!
There will also be a Grand Master scale event sponsored by GCT Studios at Gamers of the West in Rotterdam. It is a 35 point list, 4 scenario round tournament, expectations are high and competition is set to be fierce. They are still welcoming any and all players that would like to participate, so if this is the first you've heard about it and you're in the Netherlands then get in touch and get involved.
We are happy to see the number of tickets available steadily drop but there is still time to book your seat at the table:
Sign up for your tournament place... HERE
Were heading to Gen Con and we can't wait, it will be great to catch up with seasoned Bushido veterans and meet new players as well. We are also hosting a 16 player, 50 rice tournament on the Saturday. We'll have some cool prizes to give away to participants and we'll announce these in the run up to the show.
Outside, in a town called Taki, the wind howled and beat against a guardhouse door. Inside, the room was filled with off-duty soldiers drinking, gambling, and carousing with the local Oiran. A sergeant peered at his tiles while listening to the din coming from outside but ignored it the moment he won another hand. His pile of coins grew rapidly; he had won six games in a row and was hoping to make it seven before turning in for the night.
He was feeling lucky; he’d just drawn ‘Iron Samurai’, undeniably the strongest hand in the game and virtually impossible to beat. He slid all his coins through a puddle of sake to take their place proudly in the middle of the table. He was off in his head somewhere, merrily spending the fortune he was about to win; the noise outside merely a distraction. Until it came again, this time louder, more violent; the stout oaken door bulged in the middle, as if something were trying frantically to get inside the fetid room. The sergeant dropped his tiles on the table and drew his sword. The others followed suit.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” whispered a soldier when the fearsome banging stopped and the room grew quiet.
“I don’t know. Sounds like... I’m not sure what it sounds like,” slurred the sergeant, wishing he hadn't finished that last bottle of rice wine. Some of the ladies tittered nervously in the corner.
“Silence!” he barked, holding up his hand. The men watched, and waited. The tension grew when the infernal hammering began again.
“I’m going to see what it is,” said a soldier with his back to the door. Before he could even turn, the door exploded in a hail of splinters; masonry cracked and fell to the floor as the intruder forced its way inside...that’s when the screaming started. The beast stood taller than any man; its massive horned head surveyed the room, relishing what was to come. A staff, adorned with an otherworldly skull, glowed an eerie, eldritch green as the beast advanced toward the soldiers. Its nostrils flared at the repugnant stench of man; then it attacked.
Afterwards, body parts and coins lay scattered on the floor amid pools of glistening blood. It seemed the sergeant’s luck had run out after all, ‘Iron Samurai’ or not. And so it began... Kokoro the Harvester had arrived.
Got you guessing? Good. We'll have more on this fantastic-looking Oni later in the month but for now here's an interview with his Chris Hale, who got to create him after winning last year's UK Games Expo Bushido Masters Tournament. Remember, if you want to join the hallowed halls of UK Masters Winners, and create your very own miniature, come down to this year's tournament and try your luck. Tickets are still available.
1. How did you discover Bushido and how long have you been playing?
I discovered Bushido at my FLGS when a friend pointed out the awesome miniatures. That was around 4 years ago and I have loved the game ever since!
2. How many factions do you play?
Currently I play three factions; Savage wave, Jung Pirates and Cult of Yurei.
3. What's your favourite faction and why?
I'd have to say Savage wave are my favourite overall. I love the variety in the range and the options that allows when building lists. I could easily make 4 or more distinct war bands that I would be happy to run at any event. From a tide of Bakemono to an elite Oni war band each and every list brings a really fun and unique play style to the table.
4. What's your favourite model/models and why?
Firstly I have to go with Xi-Han And Zoo. Being given the opportunity to develop the concept for this guy was an amazing experience. I really love how the figures were sculpted and also how flexible he is on the tabletop. Being able to set up kills via Berserk mushrooms never gets old! My second favourite is the Goro, I think the sculpting on this model in incredible and he is a real monster in the game with access to both powerful and combo attack with no cost.
5. How did it feel to win the United Kingdom Grandmasters in 2017?
I was super happy to take the title. But more than that it's always great to see and play against friends I've made over the years of attending tournaments.
6. What was your biggest challenge vs your competitors on the day?
A Temple of Ro-kan peasant theme list. It had lots of kami and lots of traps. I think Rashka failed his checks 3 times to escape the traps, and when you have a third of your army rice stuck in some ropes things tend to get tricky! It was a very fun game however and the luck swung in my favour in the later turns allowing me to snatch victory.
7. Tell us about your list. Explain the thought process behind your selection.
My list was;
Alpha theme
Rashka
Yusha
Waka the thunder
Oni slave
Oni slave
The lost
The lost
2 x Unearthly rage
Elixir of vigour
Arashi's fan
The idea was to layer the defences of the Oni, to allow them to pick and choose who, when and where they would fight. This is achieved by cycling fear 6 onto the different Oni and through placement of The lost who provide the Oni with bodyguard. By making it as difficult as possible for the opponent to engage the Oni, it becomes a lot easier to set up the rock throw for Waka and melee kills for the others. With Unearthly rage and an extra activation from the elixir, the list can put out a serious amount of offence.
8. Even though you won, are there any changes you would make to it?
With changes from the errata such as not having access to the elixir any more, I would look to swap out some cards and to potentially include a Kaihei pack as they are really interesting and I feel powerful on the table.
9. Any lists you didn't want to come up against? If so explain.
I didn't want to play against a Silvermoon Rose theme list. Generally they seek to control models and whittle them down with crossbows. Both of which my list lacked a viable defence against.
10. Plans for this year? Same faction? Or something different?
I do like to represent the wave, although I may have a new list hoping to “rise” to the occasion!
11. Any tips for us non-tournament winners to up our game?
The main thing for me is to learn the scenarios and the victory conditions your list needs to achieve for success. Every list will be weak in one scenario or another, but it's about maximising the points where you can. The great thing about Bushido is you can draw or even lose a game and still win the tournament. It's all about securing VP's where you can.
12. You now have your very own miniature joining the ranks of Bushido, what can you tell us about it? What was your thought process in designing it?
Well, it's a model for Savage Wave, and something we haven't seen before with them. I really like the idea of the Oni gaining vitality from the souls of the dead and thought it would be awesome to crank that theme to 11. I love how the concept is coming along and cannot wait to harvest the souls of the fallen enemies on the battlefield!
The Expo was a lot of fun and the tournament was expertly run by Jason and Andy (Massive thanks guys) ensuring a smooth and fun experience for everyone that took part.
The winner and Grand Master this year was again Chris Hales who surely cements his position as the best ever Bushido player! There were a couple of mentions of organisers coming out of retirement etc. but we will see what happens at the Grand Masters 2019... Could you be the one to knock him from his lofty position?
(From Top Left: 1st place Chris Hales, 2nd place Jim Lawrence, 3rd place Olof Hedberg)
For the full final placements click HERE.
What's remarkable has been the variety of lists he has run and achieved success with, his first two Grand Masters success were with very different Savage Wave lists and this year he threw a real curveball in with a Jung Pirate list. We cannot wait to here what concept he comes up with as his prize for winning the tournament. To top it all he picked up best painted and you can see his paintwork below:
Some other Warbands and action from the event:
With the release of the Minimoto a little over a month away we are going to have a number of design notes from our lead designer to give you a taste of what to expect:
Right at the beginning of the design process for the Bear Clan I started by looking at what we wanted for the faction as a whole. To make sure each model fits I have a set of “Rules” used to make new models. I have these rules for every faction and some smaller parts of the factions, while these rules can certainly be broken based on exciting concepts or mechanics these form the basic building blocks of the faction, so here are the Minimoto Meta Rules so you’ll know what to expect.
Default 7 wound boxes
Almost all models have 7 wound boxes. Like all factions some could have more, others less but in this faction 7 is the base wound level. This gives a core of every model that has some resilience, so the faction is naturally “Tanky”.
Steadfast
Almost all models have Steadfast. This is not just a core ability that helps the faction, it also allows for other abilities that only affect Steadfast models, acting like a keyword.
Armour 3+
All Armour traits are either no armour or Armour (3) or Armour (4). Minimoto don’t use light armour. Armour (4) is a thing you need to see to really appreciate.
No Move Shenanigens
After a Minimoto model moves, it's staying there. The Minimoto have no abilities to move their models outside of their normal move actions. To make up for this and their relative slow speed, they do have ways to slow their enemies down a little.
The Bear Stands Alone
This ability grants Indomitable +1 to Samurai or Ashigaru who are not within 3” of a friendly model. This stops the “Brick-up” style of play most tough, resilient armies tend towards in other games. The Minimoto can spread out and actually gain resilience!
Bear's <<Characteristic>>
This is a collection of abilities that are only active while the Samurai has 4 marked wound boxes. They gain various benefits, from Powerful Attack (0), Toughness +1 to flavourful unique effects. This is a defensive ability, it helps the “Toughness” of the model as your opponent will not want to damage them.
There are also some more minor themes within the faction, see if you can spot them as the models are revealed. You may be surprised that the Toughness trait is not a theme for Minimoto, while a few models will employ Toughness, it’s not a theme for the faction but let me tell you Armour (4) with Toughness (2) does not go down easy!
Ok, this may be my favourite model in the new faction! I love the art for her, the model looks great and I’m very happy with how her rules turned out.
Aya is from the Masaema family which was raised to minor clan status by the Minimoto and so some of the family are now Samurai. Most are still faithful Ashigaru however and Aya is one of the foremost of these as a Gunso in the Bear Clan army. She has been in the thick of fighting since she joined up in her teens and has seen everything battle in the Jwar Isles can throw at her. This experience is the core of her character and on the table she is all about reliability.
Aya has Armour (3) and Iron Mind which is a solid defensive base, as you’d expect from the Bear Clan with the characteristic 7 wound boxes of the faction. Fearless is usually only on a faction’s top characters but in this case Aya is the one who knows holding your ground and fighting through to the end is the best way to survive and win.
To synergise with this core of reliability the awesome new Ki Feat “Veteran” allows Aya to keep her three dice even when afflicted with any amount of state effects. She’s seen it all before and can calmly fight through being knocked prone, blinded or stunned. This is an amazing feat and to round off this ability to ignore negative melee penalties, Aya does not suffer penalties for being exhausted! This suite of abilities with the ubiquitous The Bear Stands Alone makes Aya a great model you know is going to do her job regardless of what your opponent throws at her.
To reinforce her theme of a reliable veteran soldier she has Military Training which is not a theme in Minimoto as it is in Prefecture of Ryu but its an option that sometimes becomes invaluable.
Like Touga, Aya is a starter box model so has all her Traits detailed on the back of her card. You can see the Bear Clan’s Gunsos are different to the Prefecture’s (Who are there to lead other Ashigaru by issuing commands) and the Ito’s (The Ito simply promote the best individual soldiers rather than those with leadership abilities), in the Bear Clan Gunsos lead by example. Aya will always be in the thick of the action and expects her ashigaru to do the same.
We would love to know what you think about Aya over no the forums.
Yoshinobu is an established Ashigaru, not a long-serving professional like Aya, he has seen his share of combat and is more adaptable than most Ashigaru.
All Jyoto Ashigaru are heavily armoured, each suit individually tailored to the particular soldier.They carry heavy metal Tetsubo which most men need two hands to use (Though some of the Minimoto effortlessly swing them with one hand or indeed, wield two of them!) with which they are trained relentlessly to build up their strength.
Notice the Armour (3), all Jyoto Ashigaru have this heavy armour and have Melee Strength modifier. Yoshinobu has learned the basic Ashigaru technique of centring his mind to ignore terrifying enemies or the magics that may try to affect him but has developed his own technique for holding strong against the enemy. Immovable is a powerful ability and very suited to Minimoto Clan models.
He also has a wider range of Special Abilities than most Ashigaru, learning the benefits of merely fending off a foe but also knowing how to make a finishing blow.
A new wave is coming and several factions are getting some exciting additions. Along with an alternate sculpt for a second Takashi Retainer and two more Risen models for your Death and Decay delight, we have four new profiles, some of which you have seen artwork for already and can finally see the upcoming stats and feats.
First up we have Hideaki, a new Jung Ummimiman who has been blessed with features of a hermit crab. This is a great example of what we call a “Top-down” model. It was made without consideration for its role in the faction, but with total attention to its fluff, that is the type of creature he is and his back story. Mostly this came from the model and the design was influenced by “How can we represent this model on a Bushido table?”.
I wanted him to be able to retract into his shell, for this to be amazing protection but also not really allow him to do much while he’s in there. Playtesters really made this one shine and the changes made from the initial design to the finished profile were mostly inspired by things that happened on the table to find a role for him in a list. The culmination of this was moving all the rules for being in his shell to a unique effect from the “Retract” Feat and making the Ki Feat Instant and simply making him prone or not. I also added his Bleed as this is to be a Jung staple and he really looks to be a solid model for the faction.
The Izu Serpents were a challenge as we wanted three unique species of snake with different rules on the Bushido table but making three cards seemed excessive and buying activations so cheaply was problematic. I won’t bore you with the minutiae but getting three individual profiles to have Group Activation solved all the problems.
For only 1 Rice each at least one of these is sure to find a way into any list. The venomous Asp strikes quickly and inflicts poison even if it does no damage. The Boa can tie up enemies, sadly as a normal sized snake it cannot really stop larger enemies. Finally the spitting Cobra can blind its prey with its venom leaving them vulnerable to other attacks.
Different players will have different favourites and I expect to see these models filling the last Rice on many warbands.
Hisoka is an old mountain hermit, rarely seen by other humans. He traps food and lives happily alone high on the peaks between the Iron and Ro-Kan mountains. He has been forced to join other locals, be they Minimoto patrols or the nearest peasant villages by disturbances near his home.
Hisoka is tough like most who brave the cold of the Iron Mountains and his seven wound boxes, while normal for Minimoto, is very impressive for a Temple Peasant. The Snare Ki Feat, already well known to Tengu and Savage Wave players, is great in your Minimoto lists to help control the enemies advance, helping the slow marching bears get an advantage on their unfortunate foes. In the Bastions of the Mountain Theme however Snare is an amazing tool, combined with the Trap Event cards and with extra Ki available and the Believer Trait in the list your opponent may find he is doing nothing more often than he gets to take actions!
Then we come to the big guy. Kokoro the Harvester the Chris Hales’ Grand Master model from 2017. Chris used the Alphas theme to win that year so he chose to make an Oni model and well… just look at what happened!
While physically unable to match the other Oni, even Raska the Devastator would think twice before challenging Kokoro. His mastery of the Oni soul magic is unmatched and its effects can be devastating. Summoning an additional Oni, just like Bakemono summon more of their kin, is obviously a powerful effect and had to be played quite a bit to adjust its final power level. Curse of Doom is also an immensely powerful tool; few models can survive it so keep your VIMs safe! The other danger of Kokoro is that even if he only shoots his Darkness attack every turn, he still ends up really powerful after just a few attacks. Grand Masters winners’ models have had an impact on the whole game before and I’m sure this one will be a model to be feared as the previous ones are.
Let us know what you think about these models on the forums and ask any questions you may have. Wave 40 will be released at Gen Con on the 4th of August, check back for the Pre-Orders so you can secure yours first.
People have been asking about the Minimoto since long before I started working at GCT, I know at least in my local area it’s been one of the most anticipated releases for a good while. One of the reasons people are so enthusiastic about the faction is the original drawing in the rulebook of Yuji Minimoto, a Samurai carrying a huge tetsubo.
He encompasses quite a lot about what the faction is, he’s huge, strong, and brutal but first and foremost, he’s a Samurai. Players were inspired by this and really want to play the Bear Clan in Bushido so I was happy when an early project I got to work on was writing the rules for this new faction and even more so when we decided the Samurai model in the Minimoto starter set would be this exact samurai!
The first thing you see is Armour (4). He is currently the only model with an Armour value over 3 and let me tell you it makes a huge difference. I did the maths on this high Armour value and it is, as you’d expect from a “Tanky” faction, among the best protection you can get in the game (It’s slightly better than Toughness (2) and even Durable in most cases!). Not only are Minimoto the only faction with access to Armour (4) their armies also only have Armour (3) or Armour (4). Yes, if a Bear Clan model has armour (Some models don’t wear any), it’s the best in the game. So unlike the other samurai clans, none of the Minimoto have Armour (1) or (2), even their Ashigaru come with Armour (3).
Bravery and Martial Prowess are pretty standard for Samurai of all clans and Iron Mind is a solid defensive ability, and its higher than usual value is well in character for the stoic and stubborn Bear Clan. Indomitable is another good defensive ability but for Minimoto you’ll see it becomes slightly better.
All Minimoto Samurai and Ashigaru have the new “The Bear Stands Alone” ability which grants Indomitable while the model is unsupported on the table.
Yuji already has Indomitable (1) and so while on his own goes to Indomitable (2) which can really allow him to hold an entire flank on his own with his impressive defensive abilities and that big tetsubo will eventually start to take its toll, even against three enemy models!
Yuji’s Ki Feats are also very archetypical for his clan. Batter is great as an offensive and defensive tool, allowing Yuji to get an advantage to keep him alive or to force a final blow. When he has that opportunity, Mighty Blow is the perfect finisher. With built-in +2 Melee Strength Modifier, the ability to buy Strong can allow him to finish off models even with low Success Levels on his Melee Exchange attacks.
Finally, Bear's Fury is part of a range of abilities which offer each Samurai model a different benefit once they are under half health. In Yuji’s case Powerful Attack (0) really punishes your opponent for trying to kill the model. It rounds off this Samurai to be an exemplar of all the traits we will see in this faction. Other versions of this ability have different effects for example:
Bear’s Tenacity:
While this model has at least 4 marked wound boxes, it gains Toughness (1) or Toughness +1.
Bear’s Ferocity:
While this model has at least 4 marked wound boxes, enemy models involved in a melee exchange with it may not re-roll defence dice.
That rounds out Yuji, the iconic Minimoto Samurai who is finally hitting the Bushido table soon. Yuji is in the Minimoto starter set and as you can see, starter set models now have their traits detailed in full on the card. This makes it much easier for new players to learn the game as you don’t have to keep checking the rulebook for all the rules. It also has the side effect of taking space up on the card so no starter set models can be too complex, perfect for new players to learn the game and also for making a core of solid models that have the faction traits. Where feats grant a trait the trait has been highlighted in a different colour in the description and detailed below in the same colour. I will say, trying to keep the complexity down does not mean the models can’t be powerful… just look at Yuji! Other releases will just have the traits named on the front as usual but all new starter sets will follow this trend.
Hauru is a Blacksmith. When the armies of Jyoto go to war, they bring their Blacksmiths with them. The Minimoto clan revere this ancient and essential profession and the best Steelsmiths and Sword Smiths are treated almost like Priests. Indeed the reliance on the Tetsubo is almost as much about the Samurai reverence for the swords made by the Clans Swordsmiths as it is preference for then due to their great strength.
Hauru himself is not a high ranking Blacksmith, he makes Tetsubo and can make special adjustments to his weapons based on the enemy he sees on the battlefield.
Obviously the first thing you notice is he grants an extra Enhancement card. This will be a feature of most Blacksmith models, the models come with an enhancement card and they have different ways of bringing them into play. For the starter box I went for a simple one, but as you can see very powerful. The ability to see where the enhancement is needed and then give it out is great as your opponent can’t simply send their armoured guys to where your Armour Piercing model is not!
Hauru is a metallurgist and he knows how to burn away impurities from his pure steel. In the same way he can burn away impurities from his soldiers, at the cost of burning them with his forge fire! A little pain never hurt a Minimoto though right? As the Blacksmiths make extensive contact with Fire and Metal Kami to aid in their forging, they often accompany the patrols when a Blacksmith is present. Beyond that, Hauru has the Leadership trait which is usually on big high Rice Cost models but in this case the reverence for the Blacksmiths is such that no Minimoto would want to be seen fleeing by a Blacksmith. This is an important part of the Minimoto as they are not as tightly controlled an army as The Prefecture of Ryu, instead relying on the strength of every individual to carry the day.
Blacksmiths are one of the parts of the new faction that makes them unique. Hauru is just the first but his Weighted Tetsubo and ability to recruit Fire and Metal Kami make him a great addition to any Minimoto list. The Kami open all kinds of avenues for new tactics from adding more damage and melee strength with the Fire Kami to the Metal Kami offering Brutal in melee and… wait is that model out yet?
Raiko is one of the Unblessed, while technically an Ashigaru he has not yet earned the right to call himself a soldier of the Minimoto clan. When a soldier first joins the armies of Jyoto they are sent into the field without armour.
As you can see, Raiko will perform feats of near insane bravery if a Blacksmith is watching, as this can earn him his iron. He has already begun Ashigaru training too, learning to work with other Ashigaru and to knock a foe to the ground with the force of a blow. This is an interesting point with the design here. I wanted the Minimoto to be shown to be powerful in melee in ways other than just high Melee Strength or the Strong trait (Though they have these too!) and knocking opponents prone is one way to show how hard they hit. Though the Special Ability is called “Sweep Attack” which may conjure images of tripping an opponent or kicking their legs from under them, in this case the flavour is more smashed to the ground by brute force!
Taken together the unblessed alongside the Ashigaru make a great core to build a force upon. Most Minimoto models are high Rice Cost so the unblessed especially are a great boon, allowing a few decent models and still leaving room for the big Samurai.
These models round out the Minimoto Starter set, with just over three weeks until they are released we hope you are as excited as we are to welcome them to the fray. Pre-orders will be available soon.
We first saw the Minimoto back in 2012 and since then they've been eagerly anticipated to say the least! The recent design notes have whetted everybodies desire for them further and now I'm proud to say:
Get yours right here in the newest section of our store:
Available at the point of release will be the starter set including five models, a theme card and an enahancement card. We will also have the Jyoto Ashigaru, the Minimoto Special Card pack and Hisoka the hermit. These and the rest of Wave 40 are available to Pre-Order now and will be shipped on the 1st of August. We will also be bringing the Minimoto to Gen Con for players to get their hands on them there.
Download the new Errata Here (Beautified version coming soon).
We'll be flying across to Indianopolis on Monday, we cannot wait to experience the best four days in gaming and know it will be as fun as ever. We hope to see lots of you coming to get your hands on the Minimoto and on that note all pre-orders received before Sunday afternoon will be shipped in time for release. All subsequent orders will be shipped on our return so if you want them first get them ordered here, quickly!
There are still tickets for the GenCon tournament so if you are coming and fancy your chances get a ticket here.
Bushido gets one errata every year, we try not to make too many changes, and just make sure problems that have arisen are dealt with. This year we have a theme changed due to new options, tightening up the melee sequence and making way for a new faction! Yay!
I may not mention everything here but I will try to make at least some explanation for most of the changes. Rules for replace. Replacement effects are becoming more common with more bodyguard models and the new Death and Decay theme. These rules were on the forums but I felt they should be in the errata. Its mostly common sense but the rule requiring BtB for models that were in BtB before being replaced is important. The ending of effects is also on the forums and helps with those abilities that don’t specify and end timing. Disengage was changed to resolve an odd situation where you could prevent a model from disengaging by… leaving BtB before they can! That’s almost an oxymoron so any use of Side Step Defence or Push etc. will also result in a disengage.
A lot of timing cleaning to make sure feats are used at the correct time. These were in response to a series of specific instances that became a general problem so the rules for when you can play instant and active feats has been re written. In 90% of games this won’t come up but it resolves those problems when they do.
The change to Initiative is borrowed from the new edition work. No more initiative bouncing back and forth or sneak-swapping the model with initiative after dice have been chosen!
Also in the melee rules, a change to allow models to get into melee, use instant feats to get out but if they do this, they don’t worsen the defender’s condition. The basic rule here is if you don’t roll the dice, you haven’t had a full melee exchange.
Rise has been something we’ve been looking at for a while. The main issue isn’t that Rise is too good but that there are no ways to play around it other than Critical Strike Attack (Which is a bit random and almost entirely on one faction). Rise is as good as it ever was but now there are some ways that can counter it, a soft counter in Combo, which simply gets to make its remaining attacks and a harder counter in Fire which denies a rise roll if the target dies to fire in the end phase. Most factions can get enough models to counter Rise in some way and we’ll look to add others later to those factions with few answers (Jung having no fire yet and few Combo models).
Another rule from the new edition brought in is the Control Markers change. The stack system is just too hard to explain easily so the new system is just simpler to play. It also comes at the same time as Kokoro the Harvester which may be helpful!
We came across some instances where, due to multiple states, effects and other restrictions a model cannot declare any actions. After thinking through the consequences the only good option is to make a model that can’t take any action become immediately exhausted. We then realised one combo that causes this: Immobilized on an aggressive model, is far too easy to set up to give such a harsh penalty. Adding defensive to Immobilize allows an aggressive model to lose both traits and attempt to disengage.
Soulless and Disguise has been a common staple of KKz for a while but it always throws up rules questions. Eventually, even our retainers weren’t sure how this interaction worked and when it was explained many players remain incredulous. For rules reasons it was removed as an option.
Death and Decay. This is how it should have always been! A real Zombie horde with endless walking undead slowly swarming the whole battlefield. The free kairai had to go as it was skewing the theme heavily in lower Rice games. Some tweaks to how the new risen come into play also should have always been there. Overall this has proven a powerful theme but it should now be balanced at all Rice Levels.
Desecrated Grave was causing issues allowing Kairai to be placed in contact with objectives and in zones before the opponent even has a turn! With this change it is more restricted on its placement and so should be much fairer.
Ninjas lost the silly-effective shuriken and then their disguise & soulless combo. This was not a faction that needed a nerf this time so to balance out the loss I have upgraded one of the themes and allowed a second Smoke Bomb (You can use both of them twice which should cover the whole game). This should see KKZ still being a threat.
The final question in the FAQ is a clarification of the rules as written. I know many people don’t like it and we looked at re-writing the rules to make it work how people think it should.
Sadly that quickly became too big a change for an errata as it impacted on various traits, rules and states; look to the new edition to leave a ZoC with Side Step Defence!
We know this document is huge and much thanks go to Retainer Ben Calvert-Lee for his consolidated Rulebook and thanks to all the retainers and players on the Facebook group for helping put this together. I hope this gets you through to the new edition which will get rid of this document, my aim will be to never let it get so large again!
Until next time,
Master Enos
Another big thanks to Ret-Fleafa who has very kindly taken the time to incorporate this year's Errata into the rules document giving players one port of call for the upto date rules for Bushido:
Our Webshop has been restocked including the Scenario terrain elements, however please note the terrain is only available in limited quantities.
All items should now be available again.
It has got off to a great start and we are having a blast, the show just keeps getting better! The Minimoto have been flying off of the shelves and if you want a copy at the show we recommend getting one early as we are unlikely to have any left by Sunday. The demo tables have been busy but if you want a one let us know and we'll make sure we get you a spot.
There are still tournament spaces available so if you want to flex your Bushido muscles you can sign up HERE.
All Wave 40 pre-orders have been despatched and the very first Minimoto models have begun to arrive and find their way to the table. The Minimoto and the rest of Wave 40 are now all on general release.
We are busy working on the next wave of releases and here's the first piece of concept art, let us know what you think over in the forums.
We have had a couple of developments and new resources that will be of interest to Bushido players that speak French.
The first is from our French distributor, click on their logo below:
The second is a developing series of youtube videos by Oh-TV, you can watch them HERE
We have been redesigning the profile cards and have worked with the Retainers to improve them. We have mainly tried to increase legibility and make space for a larger font size. Now we are happy to open the suggestions to a wider audience and are looking for your feedback on what you think.
Join the discussion HERE
