Last Blossom- Malifaux 3E Misaki Tactica

Another Malifaux tactica today, this time Misaki. Thematically one of my top 3 favourite masters (alongside Parker and Tara) she's got a really fun playstyle and her crew look great doing it. More of a ninja-type style with a lot of movement shenanigans and good damage dealing, she is well suited to scenarios that are a mix of scheming and damage.

Keyword abilities-
Charge Through- On a crew that is fairly heavily tilted towards melee combat this is really good to have. The shooters don’t have it obviously, but it just gives positives to damage on melee actions generated from a Charge action. It’s simple but it works, and it can counter things like Hard to Wound pretty well.

Assassin- Quite a simple ability that is on a lot of the models in the crew, if they kill models that haven’t activated they gain Fast. It’s swingy but also very good, especially when you consider this crew as one that fights to achieve schemes in advantageous positions (yes that’s most things, but it’s a huge part of Last Blossom)

Shadow Markers- Not an action or ability per se, but a lot of things in the crew play off of Shadow Markers. They themselves do absolutely nothing but a lot of models in the crew have tricks with them (mostly placement, but Minako can summon off them and Yamaziko uses them for card draw) so it’s important to make sure you have ways to generate at least a couple outside of Misaki because they really are great value.

Keyword models-

Misaki- The star of the crew, Misaki is a real lynchpin for Last Blossom as a whole because of all the work she does. She has Charge Through and Extended Reach as you could probably expect, Mobile Warrior to charge while engaged, Df6 and Wp7 with 12 wounds and a slightly low for the keyword Mv5. She can however choose to play a shell game with Shadow Markers, as she can choose to bury in the start phase and place 2 Shadow Markers anywhere within 8” (which happens every time she is buried- even by enemy effects) and then in her activation can choose to unbury at any Shadow Marker with the penalty of -1Mv for every 2 friendly models that have already activated that turn. In all this is a really great way to keep your enemy on tilt and to make sure your own plans can go off safely, while also just being a free way of moving Misaki around every turn (as long as you keep some from earlier turns, she can teleport around like crazy). As for her actions they are very good, with 4 actions that all make her work differently. Her bonus action is a tactical and needs a 4 to go off, and lets her shuffle cards from the discard back into the deck for every other friendly that hasn’t activated. It means if you have a really hot hand she can activate early, do a ton of work and then put your high cards back into the deck to use later in the turn. The crow trigger lets her hand out Stunned to enemies within 8” unless they discard cards for each crow you shuffle back in (this works really well with Execute- cheat high cards for Execute and then put those cards back in to try and force Stunned). Her other tactical action needs an 8 and targets any other friendly model within 8”, letting them take the charge action (or if they are Last Blossom, they can charge while engaged). This is a great way to extend the rest of your crew and reposition but also to hurt enemies more in advantageous positions and use your good beaters for more damage (mainly Crime Bosses and Ototo). As for her attacks she has an 8” range Shockwave that needs a 6 to go off, and is Shockwave 1, Mv13 and damage 2 which plays into her hand destruction mechanics. As for triggers she has a ram trigger for a second Shockwave marker, or a tome trigger to make a Shadow Marker in base contact with the Shockwave just before the Shockwave is removed (so the action still fully resolves as normal). Her Bisento is her main attack though, being a stat 7 attack vs Df which is always excellent despite the somewhat average 2/4/5 damage (which can be boosted by Crit Strike) and the action has a 2” range so she can hit models while usually being somewhat safer. Reposition on a mask gives her some movement potential to get around while attacking, while Execute threatens killing the opponent or hurts their soulstones and hand which is a great way of controlling the enemy crew.

Shang- As far as totems go Shang is pretty good cause it plays nicely with what the crew does but is still somewhat unique in how it works. Arcane Reservoir is nice for the crew in general (but especially Minako) and for 4 stones Df5 Wp6 and 4 wounds is definitely acceptable. Insignificant is fine and Assassin is sort of there, and Shang also ignores all damage from Burning but the big ones are its support roles to Misaki. It has the same Channeled Healing action as Karina being able to target buried models (only Misaki in this crew unless you play against models that bury you) and Flickering Flames allows Misaki to treat Shang as a Shadow Marker to unbury from at the penalty of dealing 2 irreducible to Shang (half its wounds which is big). Attack-wise there’s nothing special, It’s Claws are decent for a totem with Flay(cheat damage through negatives on a mask) and Blaze(Burning 1 for each Tome) as great triggers while it also has the Heavenly Blaze Shockwave attack needing a 6 and at range 8”. It’s Shockwave 1, Mv12 and damage 2 which is decent as a way to get through an opponent’s hand, and as far as Shockwaves go it’s pretty damn good

Ototo- Almost about as unsubtle as Last Blossom get, Ototo is a big beatstick. With Ruthless, Charge Through and Assassin he is already geared towards combat somewhat but having a 2” range 3/4/5 weapon at stat 6 vs defence, plus possible Crit Strike he hits super hard when he needs to. He has another trigger which is pulse 2, all enemies must pass a TN13 Mv duel or gain Slow which ties into my next point with him- he’s tanky. Despite his Df/Wp4 which is pretty low for 10 stones, he has Armour 1 and Hard to Kill with his 10 wounds meaning he takes a beating before he goes down, plus his only bonus action is Juggernaut for healing which he will usually do. Slowing enemies with his pulse trigger makes him harder to take out, and when he does get below half his wounds he gets positive flips to attack and damage (meaning a whopping double positive to damage if he charges and on top of that possible severe of 7). Mv5 is somewhat slower in the crew, but he has 2” range, Misaki to make him charge outside of activation (and even while engaged) and his other tactical action The Storm is Coming which is a 6” range Shadow Marker drop on a 5 that has some additional effects. If he is within LoS of a friendly Leader the Shadow marker has the same effect as his Thunderous Blow trigger but on Wp instead of Mv (pulse 2, TN13 or gain Slow) which is great to control AP in enemy crews, plus the mask trigger on this action lets Ototo place in base contact with the Shadow Marker. Because of how the place works, his 40mm base and his 2” melee it can be a huge threat extender while still getting out Shadow Markers for the rest of the crew.

Minako Rei-Easily one of the best henchmen in the entire game (and bound to be changed in the coming errata), Minako is an excellent piece with special synergy in a Misaki crew. With Charge Through and Assassin as expected, Minako also has her own special piece of kit based around her Karmic Fate upgrades on the front of her card. As a Df/Wp trigger on a Mask she can discard any in play Karmic Fate upgrades and choose to attach it to the attacker after resolving the attack, and afterwards whenever Minako suffers damage a model with the Karmic Fate upgrade suffers an equal amount making it a big risk to hit Minako at all. Her stats are pretty great at Df and Mv6, Wp5 and 8 wounds for 8 stones, plus she also has Laugh Off to shut down enemy movement effects on her. On the back of her card she has some nice actions, with her attack being a 1” range stat 6 vs Df attack that does a respectable 2/3/5 damage, but the built in trigger makes it Irreducible if the target has a Karmic Fate upgrade which is a great way to penalise people trying to attack her. The ram trigger is also very useful in that it gives Adversary (Last Blossom) which will obviously not matter much when she is being taken as a Versatile hire but is very relevant in-keyword. She has a 3” ranged summon which I will discuss a bit further down in more detail (but it’s great and fairly reliable in-keyword plus in a couple other keywords) and her bonus is to simply draw a card if the opponent has more cards in hand which is very nice if it happens.

Yamaziko- This is the henchman I would most skip for a variety of reasons. Although she has some good stats, abilities and actions she doesn't entirely work with what the crew does best and dictates a specific kind of list built around her to get her most value. Charge Through and Extended Reach are fairly standard and Honorable is nice, but Nimble will only be used the first couple of turns unless you’re in a position where neither of her other bonus actions will be relevant or because you want to set up either scheming or an attack run, which are jobs that should be done by other models in the crew. Finesse is good if you’re at risk of attack but not amazing, while Great Teacher takes a card to use but it synergises really well with a lot of the keyword and some Versatiles. A gunline with her using Samurai, Snipers and Archers is pretty effective and can put out a ton of damage but it’s leaning hard into her and she isn’t a tough kill by any means. Her Yari has a good range to engage things and it’s an ok attack overall with decent triggers, but it’s not something to rely upon and a melee henchman with only stat 5 isn’t great at any cost. Master Tactician could be useful to eat the opponent’s hand (and then set up Execute runs with Misaki) but it’s very specific in who it can target and reliably go off on (that being a Leader with low Wp). All in all she’s a model who looks good on paper but every time I try and put her on the table I struggle with how I could’ve gotten more value out of something else as Yamaziko whiffs yet again.

Katanaka Crime Boss- One of the equal most expensive minions in keyword (which isn’t really saying much, they’re all between 6-8 stones), the Crime Bosses are pretty great models for area control if only a little slow in reaching those areas. They have Extended Reach and Charge Through, plus Protection Money to draw cards after enemies drop schemes near them (including if Wokou force them to) and they can choose not to move from enemy effects or in enemy activations which flat out removes a lot of control options unless you want them to happen. They have a chunky 8 wounds with Df5 and Wp6 so aren’t too fragile, but Mv4 hurts them a bit. They do have a 2” melee range to compensate though which is excellent, and their stat 6 vs Df 3/4/5 damage is very nice. It has Unworthy of Her Attention for card draw and a Pass, but also Heave on a ram to place the target anywhere within 3” of the Crime Boss to play into its area control role. The other attack it has it Pressure which is range 8” stat 5 vs Wp and must target non-Leader enemies within 3” of a scheme or friendly Shadow marker but has an excellent effect in that the target must either discard a random card and take 2 damage or function as an Obey. The mask trigger then pushes the target 2” away from the Crime Boss to play with placement more which is great fun as the Crime Boss can lock down zones so the rest of your crew can do their thing. Its bonus action tactical needs a 4 to go off on a friendly scheme or Shadow marker within 6”, and then places the Crime Boss into base with it (even the slowest model in keyword has speed tricks) before pushing all enemies within pulse 2 away 2”. By removing an enemy scheme marker within 2” you can take an attack against a model pushed on a ram trigger, while on a crow you can remove a corpse marker to instead give every enemy pushed Distracted +1. The ram trigger is better given the choice, but if you have the crow trigger and nothing else you take it.

Katanaka Sniper and Thunder Archer- The shooters in Last Blossom, both are cost 7 although the Sniper is probably slightly worse. Both models are Df5 and 7 wounds, but Thunder Archers have higher Wp, Mv and the bonus of Chi tokens to add to their duels so are more survivable, plus Archers have a very relevant Df trigger to get out of combat. They both ignore Friendly Fire and Concealment and both have Assassin, but the advantage of the Sniper is that it can engage in combat far quicker with From the Shadows and Sniper to all but guarantee turn 1 shooting with at least one shot or just to start in a position to scheme right from turn 2. The Sniper also ignores Cover which is great and has one higher severe damage, plus Crit strike, Reposition and Unworthy of Her Attention to gain Pass Tokens. It is, however, less accurate even before factoring in Chi tokens and the triggers on the Archer. The Archer ignores Incorporeal on its attack which is great in that situation, and with its triggers can get Irreducible damage for a ram and a Chi, on a tome can draw a card if they cheat damage and on a crow can give +1 damage and Staggered if the opponent is within 3” of a friendly Shadow Marker which are all very useful. The Sniper actually has a melee attack which stops it getting locked in combat, plus its bonus to freely move out of combat, which is a good bonus over what the Archer can do outside of damage. The Archer has Target Practice to remove markers up to 18” away (with the difficulty increasing with the range) and as a bonus can add blast damage to their shots needing an 8 (with a tome trigger to Concentrate and thus gain Focus or Chi). In general, I would take an Archer in most cases except for when there are either incredibly fast enemies on the table (primarily Neverborn) or if there is an abundance of hard cover on the table in which case the Snipers are better.

Torakage- In my opinion these are one of the most efficient scheme runners in the game, a far cry from their 2E mediocrity. Mv7 Agile alone means they will get where they want when they want, but their bonus action Ninja Vanish is another possible 6” place on a 7 and their Shurikens have built in 3” movement as well with Onslaught so they can be throwing out damage while they move. Stealth is a great way to keep them alive too as even though Df and Wp 5 isn’t bad with 6 wounds it isn’t fantastic either. Offensively their ranged attack is low damage but high utility, and their melee attack is respectable with a movement trigger (have I said Torakage can move?)  and a trigger that is on both their attacks. No Witnesses is conditional and requires no other enemy to be within 12” and LoS of the Torakage (so use terrain where possible) and if so you get +1 damage and ignore armour which is very useful in Thunders in general.

Wokou Raider-A shared keyword model with Parker, Wokou Raiders are a bit odd in how they work but they’re very good nonetheless. They’re a melee model with a little bit of shooting, working as a tarpit and damage dealer that still has the classic Bandit scheme marker removal you’d expect. They borrow Charge Through from Last Blossom, getting positive flips to melee damage flips on Charges which goes well with their damage track (2/4/5) and positives to attack built in with some great triggers. Drop It! is typical as a Bandit, Critical Strike is good for the extra damage should you get rams and Coordinated Attack is better in Last Blossom than Bandit given the melee preference over Bandit’s gun focus, but always good when it’s relevant. Defence 5 is pretty average for something of their cost, willpower 6 being good, but Combat Finesse and the fact opponents can never cheat melee attacks against them is a very big boost to their effectiveness. Bullet Proof is something they share with Gunslingers and Kunoichi giving them a little edge against guns as well, while they have Life of Crime to gain Fast when they activate and not Assassin. This is somewhat easier to trigger if the opponent is using scheme markers (or in Parker), and synergises well with their Ever-Changing Wind which lets them move (not push) 3” when an enemy scheme marker is placed within aura 6, meaning you’ll easily be able to get in 4” to remove that marker when they activate. A New Horizon lets them place scheme markers around as a bonus action for a 4 of tomes, moving the marker 6” of its current location when the action is declared which can counter an opponent very well.

OOK/Versatile models-
Samurai- One of the higher cost Versatiles, the Samurai often get compared with Fuhatsu because they are both high cost Versatile tanks with gatling guns. However for me the Samurai edges out over Fuhatsu for a few reasons specifically related to the two masters I play in Thunders (Misaki and McCabe) and basically boils down to it being a minion over a henchman. In Misaki's keyword, the Samurai can benefit from Yamaziko's buffs but also gets the big benefit of being able to take From the Shadows and be made to charge turn 1 from Misaki with very little setup (which then gets the benefit of both Rush and Blade Rush so he's better at it). The Samurai is also great at both shooting and melee (with its Daito ignoring armour, something Last Blossom tend to struggle with) while being deceptively tanky for Df4 between Armour 2 and Juggernaut, and having the option to Concentrate as a bonus action and thus gain easy Focus if he doesn't need the healing. On top of all that once he does die he gets to make an attack action targeting the attacking model (notice attack action, he can shoot or melee as long as the Demise is triggered) for one last little bit of extra damage before he goes away (and see just below how you can repeat it!)

Terracotta Warrior- As a cheap model it has its own value as an activation, and for 4 stones it's pretty good. Ruthless and Armour 1 for it's cost are both great, and Df5 is solid despite its 4 wounds. Its melee attack is definitely not fantastic, but its tactical actions are because of the sheer versatility they give to the crew. Just Like You! lets you copy any non-bonus tactical action from a higher cost model in the crew at -2 stat (things like Ototo's Shadow Marker drop or Misaki's charge order are great options if you have the cards) and Mold of the Other lets you replace the Warrior with a minion or enforcer that died earlier in the game (another big reason I like Samurai over Fuhatsu is this interaction). This replace also heals it 3 so it isn't then super easy to kill, but is a good way to turn a cheaper model into something that can possibly have far more impact on a game.

The Minako Summons- 
Katashiro- Cheap glass cannon summons, Minako only needs a 10 of tomes to summon one off of a scrap or Shadow marker which "only" gives it a Flicker token and Slow (which you don't majorly care about). Shadow markers are more reliable, but once the Katashiro dies it becomes its own resource to continually summon off if that's what you want to do. It has very low defensive stats and is easy to kill at Df/Wp4 and 5 wounds, but they can put out some decent damage for their relatively low cost to the crew. They have Made to Kill to attack once they're placed (including when summoned), Blade Rush for if they charge through models (not too common but useful, also synergises with Misaki) and the standard 2 Oni abilities in Flicker. This means they can gain a Flicker token every time they perform a duel to gain positive flips to the duel and any damage flips working like a far easier Focus, but if they have 3 at the end of any activation they die meaning you have to manage it (or just not care because they're summons). They can discard one if they kill a model but with the way you'll usually be using them they'll be at a point it will kill them regardless of if they discard a single one or not. Their back of card has a few actions, with 2 bonus actions- one to discard a card to end a condition, and the other to place within 5". You might think at first glance the trick is to remove Slow when they activate, but in reality the far better option is to use the place and get a free attack off it anyway that can then generate another attack with its trigger so you still cap out at 4 attacks a turn (it's 6 without Fast or Slow but that assumes you're using the place and not removing conditions). It has a 6" range action that removes a condition on the target and puts it onto the Katashiro at up to +2 of its value at stat 5 vs Wp and needing a TN of 12 to succeed. It's not a bad way of getting around things like the Fire Golem, Experimental models or just anything with Focus because it forces a hard decision on them that can very easily risk death should they fail. Their Claws action is the way they become bombing blenders though as even though it is only stat 5 and 1/2/4 damage Flicker fixes that with its easy positives, and the excellent mask trigger to gain a Flicker and attack again so you can just keep going. You'll likely end their activation with far more Flicker than 3 which will kill them, but it drains cards and deals damage so is probably worth it.

Wanyudo- As a summon, it’s not super reliable. It requires a model to first damage Minako Rei, her to put the upgrade on with her trigger and then the model with the upgrade to die which is possible but very specific and they can just pitch cards to get rid of the upgrade before that (which is still bad, but it stops a swing if they die). If Minako doesn’t kill the model it also takes 3 damage and gains Slow which shuts down its ability a lot more as well. As for the Wanyudo itself it’s a very good model for Misaki’s crew but doesn’t do all that much that’s unique. It’s Mv7 Unimpeded with Trample so can get wherever it wants to go, as well as forcing TN12 Mv duels when it moves through models with Burning 1 and 1 damage as a downside if they fail. It itself doesn’t take damage from Burning and can charge while engaged (nice with Misaki making it charge to force even more duels). Its actions are decent with a great melee attack resisted by Mv that puts out Burning and moves it around more, Breath of Fire for ranged blast damage (strictly inferior to just charging with it’s range) and a bonus action to force enemies to take a Burning damage immediately in pulse 3. All in all it’s a great mobile model that is probably best used to hunt down scheme runners and run schemes itself, but I wouldn’t really hire it in a Misaki crew.

Upgrades-

Trained Ninja- The regular effects of Unimpeded and Stealth are quite good and synergise with Last Blossom pretty well (so they should- thematically Misaki has a bunch of ninja-esque models). The minion buff however turns it up even further, giving From the Shadows which is great value for 2 stones. On Samurai it’s expensive but excellent, Torakage can get into position to scheme very quickly and Archers can use it to shoot from turn 1 to name a few good interactions with it.

Masked Agent- This upgrade is the best option in Thunders and really helps out your combat models. It adds With Me so the model can carry a nearby friend when it takes the Charge action (even out of activation- thanks Misaki!) and Unnerving Presence to shut down Resistance Triggers in a huge bubble, while adding Coordinated Attack as a trigger to all minion attacks. Wokou already have this so it isn’t hugely beneficial (but they gain the same benefit as any non-minion), but the best in terms of most benefits gained is the Crime Boss as despite its slow speed it gets the bonus from every part of the card. Ototo or Misaki herself are other good options but lose Coordinated Attack, which isn’t really that huge anyway when you’re as reliable as they are (and have better triggers in Misaki’s case)

Silent Protector- This gives Hard To Kill and Challenge normally which alone are good in the right situation (that being something already tanky) and minions add on Take the Hit. Misaki as a crew don’t have a huge need of this upgrade given their trend towards more mixed scheming than heavy combat, but it could be decent to protect the weaker pieces in the crew. It has jank with Yamaziko giving them positives (so pass off Yamaziko onto this model who then has a positive to defence) but that is more of a gimmick than actually always good. 

Deployments- Really, all deployments are good for Misaki because the crew has enough tricks to get up the table blindingly fast and do what they want to. It only really affects scheme selection and how they play that way because some things are affected a lot. 

Strategies-
Reckoning- While you can manage a pretty top-heavy crew of beater henchmen here it also gives up a lot of points when doing so. My advice would be to stick with the minions that can dish out damage (Archers, Wokou and Crime Bosses primarily) with a henchman or two to support (usually I would say Minako and Ototo for summons/beating and straight up damage respectively)

Plant Explosives- Easy, you can move around far better than most crews to actually get where you need to so once you've done that you're set.

Corrupted Idols- With the ability to just pop up almost anywhere on the table pretty easily they can get around to toss Idols, but at the same time the super mobile models don’t have a huge amount of wounds so they risk getting badly hurt in the process. Shang can help mitigate this though and going OOK there are great ways to get healing in crew (Sun Quiang and Low River Monks especially) so it’s not a bad option

Turf War- Like Parker and the Viktorias before, Turf War is a decent strategy for Misaki. She has mobility and damage in spades so she can do what she needs to in order to score points.

Schemes-

Detonate Charges- Not a bad scheme to take because of the mobility and ease in disengaging of Torakage as well as the marker movement of Wokou Raiders, but the crew lacks major ways of putting out markers without the Interact action so it’s not a super easy thing for them to do.

Breakthrough- Misaki herself makes this somewhat easy, but an opponent can still play around it by destroying Shadow Markers, and it’s still dedicating your (somewhat combat focused) Master on dropping schemes in the backfield

Harness the Ley Line- Torakage are who you take here, because they will get where they need to be quickly and put down the markers. It’s not unreasonable to expect a turn 2 scoring of Ley Line with this crew because of their mobility

Search the Ruins- Another one that’s fairly good to take because of their speed, just use the movement to jam into the opponent’s half and start dropping markers down.

Dig Their Graves- Not bad but not great either. Some jank can be done with suicide Katashiro to get scrap out and the mobility of things lets you drop markers where you need but Dig is just far better done by Mei Feng in faction

Hold Up Their Forces- Not a great choice given the focus on expensive models. Might be worth it if the opponent has even more expensive models (some Resurrectionist builds in particular) but you’ll be giving up points here more often than scoring.

Take Prisoner- Easy to deny with the crew and not bad to score yourself. It plays into exactly what they want to be doing on the more expensive models (being in combat) and is especially good with Wokou Raiders

Power Ritual- In Flank and Corner deployment this is easy VP. Use your movement on the fast stuff (Torakage and Misaki in particular) to run up and get markers down early and be safe in stopping your opponent countering (you will get there quicker in almost every case) but don’t take it in Standard or Wedge because it’s too difficult to get into the opponent’s 2 corners to get the VP

Outflank- With the amount of tanky models in the crew (particularly henchmen) Outflank is an easily telegraphed but not so easily countered scheme. They don’t do it especially well compared to other options but they do a good enough job at it any Last Blossom player should consider choosing it as a scheme.

Assassinate- This one is really worthwhile depending on who the enemy Leader is. If they’re someone you can get into and cut down quickly then go for it, but the more defensive Leaders (especially ones with Protected) are going to be a slog where you can’t just scalpel them out. Misaki is safe enough against it with her tools, but it is something you have to use subtlety and careful placement to get right.

Deliver a Message- Again, Torakage. You have the potential to easily get to the enemy Master and interact so the first point is doable, the second one is somewhat harder. Like most crews it’s done with careful planning but you have to have a plan to get the 2VP

Claim Jump- This one can work very easily, but the opponent can counter it easily themselves. Ototo is a good pick for it as are Wokou because they can stand long enough to get out of engagements and score the point (or just beat down whatever is engaging them) and Ototo in particular has heals to keep him above half wounds.

Vendetta- Not great. Sure you have some excellent mid-cost models (looking at Wokou and Crime Bosses in particular) but they also have a ton of 8-9 cost models which will absolutely be targets for Vendetta. Like in Reckoning I would restrict the amount of henchmen I take here because it gives the opponent a lot of choice.

GG1

Strategies

Symbols of Authority- Dropping Shadow Markers all around the place you can really pressure the defence while you push up from multiple angles, and Misaki has her own really amazing defensive models too in Crime Bosses or even Yamaziko. Extended Reach is the best bet because it makes them waste their time.

Recover Evidence- Misaki can’t be stopped burying which means she alone can scalpel out models with Intel where needed, but also your own crew are fast and good damage so you can fight on your terms to get Intel out.

Corrupted Ley Lines- There are models in the keyword with great movement tricks to work as Lodestone carriers, but the no-place clause hurts a lot more. There are great things to be done here I think, but you're not getting the most insane value out of them that you would in other strategies. 

Public Enemies- Same deal as Reckoning with the crew, except there’s no more hiding behind expensive minions to deny the opponent. Just go for the expensive beaters and tank/hit away

Schemes

Breakthrough, Take Prisoner, Vendetta, Assassinate, Claim Jump- Nothing changed here, so my points from above are still my opinion on them.

Hidden Martyrs- There are plenty of really juicy targets in Misaki's keyword, and the best part is you can bring back a copy through Terracotta Warriors if you want as well. Torakage are especially excellent choices because at cost 6 they fit nicely as half of your choice (or you just pick 2) 

Sabotage- Pop Misaki and Torakage up the back and get this pretty easily. Not sure what else to say

Catch and Release- Torakage can actually do this pretty damn well. It's not a terrible option should you want to do it cause they have plenty of ways to disengage, just keep in mind that you paint a huge target on them once the first point is out

Let Them Bleed- Playing a top-heavy crew isn’t a fantastic idea because of the possibility they can score against you, but the expensive models in-keyword are also great beaters and pretty tanky so they can score it themselves.

Leave Your Mark- I don't like this scheme and I've already written about that elsewhere, and that doesn't change at all here. 

Research Mission- Hey look, you have fast schemers and Shadow Markers so you just need one more to generate it in-keyword. Suiciding Katashiro is an option, but you can just hire certain tech pieces out of keyword if you absolutely have to generate markers and don’t want to rely on corpses/scrap being generated mid game (or just strat markers)

Spread Them Out- Easy as. Relocate around the table, drop schemes. Convert Shadows into schemes with Torakage and use Misaki to get into positions to put schemes down, you can get the 2VP without much hassle.

Runic Binding- This is actually not bad because of the Torakage action to swap Shadows into scheme markers so you can drop Shadows where you need and then convert them when you want to score. The speed of the crew and also access to Wokou means you can score it easy enough

GG2

Strategies

Symbols of Authority, Corrupted Ley Lines- Same as in GG1, my thoughts are the same.

Turf War- Same as it used to be, same opinion as before

Break the Line- I think this is a really great strat for Last Blossom because they have insane mobility and placement options so they can get to shoving markers around really early, while also having the defensive ability and damage to protect the markers from being pushed by enemies.

Schemes

Breakthrough, Vendetta, Assassinate, Hidden Martyrs, Research Mission, Let Them Bleed, Catch and Release, Spread Them Out- These are all very much the same as before and I wouldn't change how I play them now.

Detonate Charges, Claim Jump- They’re the same as GG0, same as my thoughts there.

Death Beds- Chuck shadows next to things that need to die, then kill them. It’s not necessarily as easy as it sounds, but it also isn’t that hard