Bushido- the Bakemono Hordes

 For my 2nd Bushido faction I picked up the Bakemono part of the Savage Wave, and I really love the little guys a lot because they are so fundamentally different to the ninja. I've got a few games in with them now and I decided to start writing things down for them too, but unlike the Shadow Wind Clan I won't be talking about everything in the faction, just the Bakemono side and not Oni/Onisho

Communal-

Bakemono Horde- The most logical place to start because this is the card you will always use with any Bakemono, and it defines a lot of their playstyle simply by being there. As soon as a single Bakemono model goes into your warband you get this card, and it becomes a Ki pool for every Bakemono in your warband (they all place their Ki on it, and they can all spend from the pool). This means you have a lot more variety than normal in what you would be doing with any of your models at any given time and the 1 Ki stat on a lot of them is somewhat negated (although not for Fear and Disguised, your biggest enemies) as you can perform Ki Feats almost at will. That said, the Horde card gives you a few other options as well and some of these are quite good, albeit expensive in Ki. Summon from the Shadows is the most expensive one and requires it to be your activation but getting an entirely new model out of it is well worth that cost. All of the Horde Bakemono are useful and it’s really a matter of just deciding which one you need in any given situation, but I see myself using this almost every turn I can because it is such a powerful thing to be able to add to the crew. Mob Mentality is a great way to get around Cowardly for cheap, but it has diminishing returns throughout the turn as it gets more and more expensive to use. In the right circumstance it will be amazing, but often it will also not be worth the cost of paying for it if you keep using it in a turn. Shadow Walk is simple but effective and a 3” place is always great, especially on some of the bigger base models like Boomers and the animals where you get extra distance out of it, but the tradeoff is they are harder to keep out of LoS. For that there is Darkness, and for 5 Ki you can ensure that most enemy models only have 4” of LoS which means early game you can use it to advance very safely while the opponent can’t (it shuts down running as well as the obvious charging and shooting, because Run needs to target a point on the table). In general, all of the Ki Feats on the card are powerful and I tend to find myself hiring a few models with higher Ki stats as standard just to feed the card a bit easier, although there are a lot of ways to do so.

Themes- 

Thousand Eyes- My favourite theme for Bakemono, you get some really nice bonuses from it and still access to the full Bakemono roster. Being able to give Bakemono of choice Group means you have the ability to easily gang up on enemy models and hit them where it hurts, taking models out of the game for a turn with attacking them twice. Darkness for free on turn 1 gives you safety in advancing while also saving 5 Ki you probably would’ve spent anyway, letting you bank it for later turns and use them for whatever you want, and the Ki Feat it gives you access to is also amazing with Co-Ordinated Attack. You can use it on your bigger hitters like Rinsho, Bat Riders, Ig and Ook to guarantee more damage, and even through strategic summoning you can get it to be activated without any chance of being stopped by the opponent which is massive. 

Escort- You lose access to some of the funniest models in theme in the animals and cavalry, but you get Ki from your casualties all game (but not summons) and access to Distraction which is quite good for setting up Surprise Attacks. Not a huge bonus, but it is good if you want that. I prefer Thousand Eyes though because I love the animals too much. 

Mushroom Crazed Lunatics- More of a fun option IMO, this theme is where you take a ton of melee models and run straight at the opponent to do as much damage as possible early. Rinsho, Cave Bat Rider and then whatever else to taste, get them up the table with Run and get stuck in ASAP. Every model gains Bansai! so even though you can only Run and Charge you can pretty easily get into most places you want to (although terrain is an issue because you can only move in straight lines). Losing the theme bonus when you declare any other action hurts though, and any scenario where you have to Interact with objectives I would recommend Thousand Eyes especially just because it’s the same access to models (but also with extra Ronin added) and a better bonus with less downsides. In zone games this is definitely a very funny option, but it definitely takes more care to play in a way where you can win games. 

Profiles-

Horde Bakemono (Archers, Beaters, Bushi, Raiders and Spearmen)- The core of any Bakemono warband, and as your summons they’ll always see play somewhere. All of them are Cowardly and 1 Ki so very weak to Fear and Disguise, but they all have Tiny and Camouflage (4”) to help them defensively which is really nice to have and helps you be really hard to shoot most of the time. They have 2s and 1s in their stats with most being 2 melee 1 ranged (Archers are the opposite, and Raiders have 2s in both) and overall not fantastic, but not terrible either given their cost and how they’re able to be summoned in. They benefit a lot from Themes and the Communal card, but overall you’re using them to soften things up with lower value activations before the hitters can have a greater effect. Archers can help get little bits of chip damage out which helps things like the Bats in particular, although any chip damage is good, Beaters are solid attack pieces with a bonus to their damage which is unique for the Horde Bakemono, and Bushi have Combo Attack which can also be really nice when it works (although at 2MP and cost 1 for Combo you have to make sure it’s hitting something that you can maximise output, likely using Coordinated Attack). The Spearmen and Raiders are both very defensive Bakemono but in different ways, with the Raiders shining when you can run them into enemies and roll all defence (because Parry and Armour 1 are both great to help here) to exhaust the opponent and make them weaker for when a better hitter arrives, while Spearmen are best at sitting in zones or on objectives where they can be annoying and threaten to score, but if an opponent attacks them they get to benefit from Reach and attack first. All of the Horde Bakemono have a use, but IMO the Bushi is the weakest because its main use is very situational and requires a lot more setting up (and in that setup, your other Horde models will already be good)

Boomers- As straightforward as they look, Boomers shoot things and they shoot them well. Their Arquebus has amazing range bands, and +4 damage with Pierce 3 means they will pretty much always have a positive to damage rolls so they can deal as much damage as possible. Ranged pool 2 isn’t great, but they have easy access to boosts being Bakemono and when they get to 4 they will do more than enough work. Reload (2) keeps them from shooting a lot and it’s often better to throw them into the fray with Endless Numbers so you can re-summon them instead of spending time reloading (although with your likely activation advantage you’ll also have opportunities to safely Wait). 

Giant Cave Bat/Cave Bat Rider- either variety of bat is fast, deals good damage and has a great amount of wounds for going with Bakemono. Both options are a bit costly, but for what they do it’s well worth the take depending on what you want. The Giant Bat has Aloof so can’t make any scenario actions, but as a Flank piece it will do a lot of work picking out wounded and weaker targets. Bats both have Sixth Sense, Fear (4) and Dodge which all really help keep them safe, and Cloudwalk on a 50mm base so they have really crazy fast movement (Move 5 before their buffs) as well as Poison (2/1) on their Bite attack so they can tick things down easier even if they don’t manage to kill them. 6 wounds in both cases is good, and when they wound non-Soulless models with the Bite they heal 1 so they aren’t the most fragile models you have access to. Getting +1 move when you target enemies that have wounds marked is amazing, and turns them into a super reliable threat of both models and objectives in the case of the Rider. You also gain Sweep Attack 0 here, which is also useful because it plays into Bakemono’s theme of wasting the opponent’s resources and if you manage to hit something with this they’ve lost 2 activations in the melee exchange and then standing up, while you’re free to just walk away and affect something else. The Rider costs a bit more because it brings a bit extra compared to the regular Bat, the main thing being Cavalry (3”) for even more of a speed boost and Banzai! so they can charge all around the table like crazy. Especially at Move 6 nothing is safe from the Bat Rider, and it also has Reach and Push Defence 0 to keep itself safer if needed. 

Ig and Ook- both of these guys are bodyguards for the Herald and Council Bakemono (currently only Wei-Shu, but future proofing) and they have a bit better stats than most. MP3 is great to have and their weapons are both really good, Soulless keeps them safer from a few different things and they can both be resummoned assuming there are Herald or Council models in play which makes them really great. They both have defensive tools in Shield (Ig) or Reach (Ook) and Counterstrike Defence (1), while both also have pushes for 0 usually on the first exchange of any given time they’re attacked (Ook has Attack, Ig has Defence). I really like both of them and Crimson Sky Mushrooms is perfect on either, I usually have both in my lists.Kaihei and Alpha- While Kaihei and the Alpha are excellent and fairly cheap individually, they need to run in a pack to get their best effectiveness which means the cost starts to add up and then competes with Bakemono needing Ki for their Communal card. The whole mechanic of them ganging up on a single target and then tearing it apart is great and pretty easy for them to get off with the Alpha for Group, and their attacks are great for only having 2 dice standard (which is no downside given said advantages from ganging up with Group). They’re all quick, have decent defensive tech for their costs and with a Ki stat of 2 can go up against Fear (which they have in-built protection from with Fear (4) themselves) and Disguise which is nice to have but in general they do more for and benefit better from an Alphas list with Oni. 

Nian and Rider- Both fairly straightforward models because they have no Ki Feats of their own, the Nian and Rider are made for aggression and are primarily fast missiles. Same as the Cave Bat, the Rider gives Cavalry (3) and Banzai! at the cost of losing Cloudwalk, Intimidate, Fearless (read- all very very good) and changing up the Bite attack quite significantly. The Rider I feel is an ok option because it does a whole lot that is very good, but the Nian without Rider is really great because it brings a whole lot more to the table in terms of how it interacts with scenarios instead of just being a cavalry model that’s made to run in and attack the enemy. Throw Attack is the biggest factor here for me because with Brutal (both of which you lose with the Rider) you can chuck enemies out of zones or make them prone when it matters, which will help a lot especially in zones where you’re usually relying on cheap numbers and you can now get a higher cost model in there that can put other things outside. In general I think both are well worth taking, but the 3 less rice and difference in rules between them makes the riderless Nian win out I think

Okina and Oto- This pair are almost entirely support, with 1s in both MP and RP, but the support they give the warband is pretty great. They’re slow but Cavalry 2” means they are always moving at least 2” so they’re at least consistent, and Leadership (2/5”) for all Bakemono is a massive bonus when it comes to Fear tests and is probably the best counter to it that all Bakemono have. The 2 Ki Feats they have are very expensive but also really great for the benefits they give and are decent range, which is really the reason you take them. Marching Beat helps speed up your warband and get them all up the table quicker which helps in almost any situation, while the ability to give Bakemono Virtue tokens (which can then be spent for +1 melee strength, Last Stand or Bravery, all excellent) is well worth the cost of 6 Ki provided you can hit a few models with it at once and get more of a benefit. On the table though 4” either side is a pretty wide bubble to fit things into though, and you can easily get a lot of your warband in it.

Rinsho- Big beater supreme, the Rinsho are amazing at hitting things and surviving longer than most Bakemono. They’re steep cost, but the potential damage they can do with 3 MP and Brutal 1 makes them pretty reliable, and Armour stacked with Regenerate 2 (or 4 with their Ki Feat) means they take a beating back and keep going with their 8 wounds. Auto passing Fear is really great, and being able to easily get Combo Attack 0 and bumped up to Fear 6 (at the “downside” of Aggressive) just feed into what they do best.

Tra-Peng- The scout Bakemono, Tra-Peng has some interesting tools but I don’t really find them useful enough to justify taking him. His attacking stats are actually pretty decent, but with no ranged attack (I’d like a bat ranged attack along the lines of the Temple Villagers’ bird) and a very bad melee weapon he is going to always be defending and rarely doing any damage (Sidestep 0 is amazing but not other models in the warband can do similar). Giving a model Stunned is ok and Snare can really waste enemy activations if the tests are failed, but the control from Shugenja is just flat out better and they also bring the option for more enhancements at the same time. Tra-Peng can possibly threaten objectives early with his Scout, but that’s about the only benefit I see from him that I can’t make up for with something else.

Trak- As a Bakemono Samurai Trak has a bit of melee tricks that the others don't, and he's really fun because of it. While still MP2 he has Co-Ordinated Attack (Bakemono) which is very easy for him to achieve with summons, and with Prowess he can reroll a dice if needed so he is very consistent for a fairly cheap Bakemono (especially with possible Brutal +1 with Kurouma Koryu). Pierce and Parry are both good to have in the right situation too, and overall although Trak isn't a super powerhouse Samurai he does bring a lot of good tricks that combo very nicely off of other Bakemono to turn him into a surprising threat. Combo and Powerful Attack are also both great, despite both of them costing a dice (which makes it easier to gain Brutal though) and should at least be considered in the right situation. 

Tribal Brutes/Uk-Kang- A bit tankier melee options than most Bakemono with their 6 wounds, Regeneration 1 and Armour 1, they sit in between the Horde Bakemono and Rinsho in terms of their role I think. Bravery is really nice to have vs anything with Fear, although Stupid means they won't be able to affect scenario objectives which can be a big downside as well. The Tribal Brutes can give a bit of a bonus to Bakemono charging (another way to get around Fear) and being able to gain Fear (6) keeps them a bit safer and makes up for their MP2 a little bit. Uk-Kang is fairly similar stat-wise, although loses War Cry and the possible Fear for a couple of weapon bonuses (Push Defence is especially great, but Chain Weapon is nice when it will work). Bodyguard on any Bakemono is really good for scenario play, because it means Uk-Kang can engage and try and push things away very often and defend zones. Thrash as a Ki Feat is situational, but it lets him be a little bit more consistent and stops the opponent from blunting your attack with Dodge which is nice

Wei-Shu- At the moment the only Herald model, Wei-Shu is one of the models I consider an autotake because of how reliably helpful he is. Being able to easily give your squishy Bakemono extra wounds is great but the rest of what he brings is even better. He can really easily throw rocks with the event which is very funny, although his melee is almost nonexistent, his Ki stat of 3 is excellent and it plays really nicely with Mind Control, which almost guarantees you will be passing Fear and Disguise tests when you want to be using this. Disguise is harder because a lot of your models will still be unable to target, but it is good to have nonetheless and helps make up for a very big weakness. Psychic Drain also costs very little for a very big gain and I would use it fairly often.

Wu-Zang- in terms of non-Herald Shugenja I think Wu-Zang is quite easily my favourite, because his Ki Feats are amazing. 2 Ki isn’t great for getting them off but Willpower makes it fairly reliable, and although his actual combat stats are garbage he makes up for it otherwise. Grasp of Darkness to give enemies Slow and Weak can keep your stuff safer (and combos with some other debuffs from Bakemono Shugenja) and Curse Fate can cripple your opponent’s beater models as well from a huge distance. Curse Fate is probably the most universally available, but Psychic Venom is also a really great way of doing damage with Wu-Zang and probably his only way of doing so as well. 

Xi-Han and Zoo- Xi-Han may appear a bit expensive for a Shugenja and doesn’t look that great, but then you factor in him hulking out with Reiji Kinoko and it makes a bit more sense. His Mushrooms range attack is pretty great, being able to give things a choice of debuffs that kind of vary in usefulness depending on the rest of the warband (Frightened for example is useless if you don’t take Fear models, but quite good if you do and Blind vs Sixth Sense is similar) but Impetuous and Aggressive is always nice to have. Zoo is a good combat model that can pull a few tricks out when needed, but overall I’m not a huge fan of the pair because I’d rather a few other models especially when it comes to Shugenja

Zung-Fu- While he is very mediocre in terms of combat, he has a few tricks that make him great at ki feats (2 ki with Willpower is reliable enough against most things) and his feats themselves are great. Shadow Tendrils is simple but -3 move is really good at stopping things from getting into positions where they can counter your plans (if they need to get to objectives or your VIM, this has a big effect) and Strip Soul can be higher cost but it really shuts down enemies even more than a simple reduced movement could. 8” range is great, and both actions are well worth using in certain situations, but I don’t rate Zung-Fu as highly as some other Bakemono and he is in a bit of a contested spot

Ronin Options-

Hiretsuna- Unlike in the Shadow Wind Clan Hiretsuna isn't a list filler and isn't a particularly cheap option for Bakemono, but he does have some real value in being able to use Swift Executor (and Vitality, but that gets costly) every turn with a lot of reliability so he makes for a great objective runner with his extra Camouflage and movement bonuses. 

Nightwing Swarm- This is the best thing Bakemono have with regards to tying up big melee models and locking them in combat. It’s really quick, and Durable and Regenerate combined means you have something that is just a real pest to remove while it bogs down whatever it’s in combat with. It has a few things to make it near impossible to shoot at while it advances, on top of the usual Darkness tricks Bakemono can do, and although it’s Insignificant it does a lot to just annoy enemies while the squishy goblins can do the actual scoring.

Terrain-

Cavern Hole- I like this because it can be used as a way to put pressure on an opponent really early by summoning Bakemono really deep into the opponents table half and threaten scoring. I wouldn’t always take it if it comes at the expense of an extra model but it is something I take often

Idol of the Deep- With how your Ki Feats are such an important part of the warband, being able to get Believer into it is amazing. It makes summoning cheaper, Mob Mentality a lower cost for longer (but this is also very hard to manage) and in general your Ki Feats on Shugenja easier to throw out. Placing it is going to be a bit of a learning curve because it should be easy to reach but still in positions where it can both threaten a good amount of the table and keep somewhat safer from destruction

Totem Pole- This card is autotake because it gives an absolutely massive bonus. It has to be placed near the centre of the table which gives it a lot more potential to be destroyed by opponents, but just giving 2 free Ki a turn to the Bakemono Horde card is a steal for 2 Rice. It also gives cover, and thus can trigger Camouflage on all of your Bakemono.

Events- 

Ambush- This is a great way to give Flank to models you want to put into awkward positions for the opponent and get them threatening enemies in as good a way as possible. It’s fairly cheap for what it does, and I like to slot it in for Boomers so they can pop out on a flank where they can get around cover and start killing models

Sneak- Being able to use the Shadow Walk Ki Feat in LoS of an enemy can be very powerful in the right situation, although I’m not a huge fan of taking Sneak because there are so many other things I could want for 2 Rice before I want this.

Throw a Rock!- Often it isn’t a very good take, but it is very very funny and I fit it in whenever I can. Wei-Shu chucking rocks at enemies with Ranged Stat 4 is something that will catch anyone by surprise and although it won’t do much damage it will be great for making both players laugh when it does anything

Unearthly Howls- Being for Kaihei it’s only really included here on a technicality, but in lists with the full pack this card is well worth taking. Fear (6) on them is a great way to both keep them safer while they can also use it as yet another debuff to drag down the opponent and tear them apart

Enhancements-

Endless Numbers- Being able to buy the Horde keyword for a non-Horde Bakemono is very good, but ultimately with the restrictions on it (non-Animal so you can’t resummon the Riders) it is only going on a select few targets. I would personally only take it on either Rinsho (for reliable fighters that you can recycle) or Boomers (because the gun is amazing, who wouldn’t want it to keep shooting all game?). 3 Rice per hired profile is quite expensive though, and in almost every case I would only take 1 with Endless Numbers or 2 without because that 6 Rice is super steep.

Red Spot Mushrooms- For Horde Bakemono, being able to be even more of a horde is a very tempting possibility. At the cost of Impetuous you get -1 cost on the model attached, which adds up if you take it more than once. It’s a small downside for being able to squeeze in other things that might add more power to the warband and should always at least be considered. 

Equipment-

Most of the Mushroom equipment can only be taken if you also take a Bakemono Shugenja, which isn’t really a restriction because you are almost always taking Shugenja anyway

Crimson Sky Mushroom- At the cost of ticking down 1 health a turn and no healing, you get absolutely massive buffs to your melee and damage rolls so you can hit things ridiculously hard and still have safeguards in defence. I think it works best on Ook to give you a crazy defensive model that basically forces a “don’t touch” model for most enemies, and a model that can also hit back when it needs to. Putting it on Ig or Ook also gives you someone you can summon it back on and they keep it when they come back, which is excellent

Deep Mushrooms- A single use Fearless at the cost of a Berserk marker is decent to have, but the downside is important and Bakemono have enough other ways to negate Fear that this is a far lower opportunity cost for me.

Dokutsurutake Mushroom- This one is really funny because it has the potential to turn all your Bakemono into poison bombs, but at 4 Rice its really steep and for it to only be a potential benefit I don’t really like it. I think in Mushroom Crazed Lunatics to double down on the hilarity of the theme it has legs, but otherwise I wouldn’t take it

Ghost Heart Mushroom- One use, but getting Sixth Sense and Intangible for a turn is very good on its own, letting you get wherever you want to go to attack or interact with objectives, but getting Ki Block on top is amazing. Bakemono already have very good Ki control and being able to stop their opponent generating Ki at the same time is a huge potential swing. Cost 2 is somewhat high, but at the same time it’s worth it

Nightblood Mushrooms- Kind of a weaker Crimson Sky but you can take 3 of them for 1 Rice each, so you get a lot out of it still. Instead of getting bonus dice, the model that uses it loses the upgrade to gain +2 melee strength, Aggressive, Cloudwalk, Fearless and Tough (+1) for that turn at the cost of Impetuous and 2 wounds at the end of the turn. That in itself is a huge amount of bonus traits for 1 Rice, and you can use it for a ton of things. It’s cheap and effective and if I have the Rice to spare on it I would chuck it on the models I’m using for attacking. 

Poisoned Weapons- Fairly simple one, and its cheap, but isn’t a high priority to me. Most things you either have better equipment for (a lot of the mushrooms but particularly Crimson Sky)

Shitake Mushroom- For 2 Rice it’s super niche and unless you know for sure you can get it to work in a game it will not be worth the cost for you.

Soul Medallion- Immediately adding 4 Ki to the Horde card when the attached model dies is a great benefit for 1 Rice, but at the same time it isn’t high on my list of priorities. It can work amazingly well in Escort for huge Ki boons when your models die, but I don’t like to plan for my models to die at all and try to avoid it.