Master Shi
Today we will look at a few Profiles and Special Cards for the new Kinshi Temple faction. First, let's look at how some old favourite feats have appeared using the new resource mechanic. Also how, in the Jwar Isles, the Kinshi Temple have influenced others since they have been practising their feats for untold generations.
The 25 Rice Master Shi is a phenomenal profile with elements that players will recognise but with subtle changes. Many of these techniques may have been learned by the Ro-Kan Temple after seeing Master Shi in a previous appearance.
Master Shi has Melee Pool 4 and (For only the second time in Bushido) Ranged Pool 4 with a Ranged Attack. And what a Ranged Attack it is! Combo combined with Ki Block and a +1 Strength is very frustrating, to say the least. They also have Ki Block in melee, and with Combo Attack, they can also put out very decent damage while interfering with an enemy model's Ki generation. This means you can attack more heavily as the enemy models simply can’t pay for their abilities to hurt you back, or indeed defend themselves.
They also have the Exceptional Gokusatsu Attack, which some may remember from Master Enos. This is the ultimate Void combat technique that takes both attacker and defender into the Void itself. Where Enos and Shi have mastered the element and can make their way back easily, their opponent may not be so lucky.
Master Enos is not the only Ro-Kan Master who has techniques derived from the Void, Ekusa’s iconic Contemplate Existence Ki Feat returns here as Contemplate No Mind; it is still, the powerful control feat we know but with the addition of a bonus Void Counter and the ability to measure the range from any Void Rift, this will be a favourite for Master Shi players.
As a Rank 1 Feat, you should get access to this early and use it as much as possible to gain maximum benefit; after all, unlike Master Ekusa, who is a slave to his Ki, Master Shi can use this at no cost!
Rage Against Time is also somewhat analogous to a feat practised by Master Ekusa. A twisted Aura of Serenity, which instead of spreading Ekusa’s calm and patience; instils all around Shi with their hatred and anger.
Touch the Silence is an interesting variation on Touch the Void. Touch the Void on such a powerful Combat profile is frightening, but consider now that it costs nothing! Why not use it every turn? Late in the game when it can be used as a Rank 3 Feat, it is devastating to any who try to damage Master Shi.
Finally, we return to Master Enos. His ability to damage the reality around him, weakening Kami for his own power, is the Void's ability. Master Shi also has this power but they feel under no compunction to try to control it as Master Enos does. While Master Enos rarely uses this only where the greater balance is served, Master Shi is a blight on the land and wherever their feet fall, grass withers, streams dry up, and campfires sputter and die.
Since this ability is based on your enemy’s warband, it has been added for “Free” to the profile, essentially Shi gets this bonus for almost no Rice. With such a wide variety of powerful effects though, I’m sure players will make good use of this.
Master Shi follows the archetype set by Master Monks but in a twisted, left-handed way. Monks of Ro-Kan can’t have Op Ki Feats, but the Void monks make much use of them. Ro-Kan also doesn’t use Death Sentence Markers but… well:
This is another variable Rank feat. At its most powerful it can inflict three Death Sentence Markers in one activation. Since Range can be measured from a Void Rift, you can often affect surprising areas of the battlefield.
Have your plans ever been stymied by that one Tireless model on the objective that you simply can’t stop? Maybe the path of the Void is for you! Their ability to fundamentally harm time itself allows them to take away future events before they happen. Future events such as Enemy Activations!
Against most models, this means a single Melee exchange will exhaust the enemy (Lose one Activation Counter for the Melee and another for the Ki Feat), but against Tireless models, this will still remove an Activation Counter. If you’re still having issues, then this advanced technique will help.
While the Time Stutter Feat is higher Rank and one use only, this more powerful version could deal with more tireless models or perhaps over-cocky Tunaki with 6 Activation Counters stacked on them. It also costs only 1 Rice so it could be an excellent way to spend the last Rice you have. If you want this effect more and at range, then the very powerful Thief of Time card is a game-changer and converts any model into a ranged control model, but at 3 Rice, it's a hefty upgrade.
So we’ve looked at Master Shi, and we’ve looked at some cards. How about a special card that is only for Master Shi?
What is the ultimate expression of the Kinshi philosophy as a game mechanic? Destroying Ki, deleting time, opening rifts to the void… well, how about this?
Ouch! I won’t say much about this; I’d like to see your reactions!
We had to be careful while creating this faction because the style of play we were going for - which I call disruption - is prone to making the opponent feel bad. Disruption differs from Control as it is a soft playstyle.
Control says: You can’t do X.
Disruption says: I’ve taken away your resources to pay for X; you need to put in more effort to be able to do X now.
The Disruption playstyle may involve elements of Control, but for both of them, it's easy to get to a point where your opponent isn’t enjoying the game because everything they do is too hard or near impossible to do. Removing Ki and Activations is both powerful and frustrating, but we found there are good and effective counterplay methods, and I hope you have fun finding them!
Playtesters have been very excited by this project, and I think we’ll see more of these mysterious monks on battlefields.
