Kouhei

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Background

Kouhei, like many from the House of the Long Shadow, prefers to operate from the darkness.
His eyes, as sharp as an owl’s, give him a distinct advantage in the night. Even as an adept Kouhei’s ability to hide and move silently were noted by his superiors and more than one worm squad’s attack on him ended when they simply couldn’t find him. Having honed his skills on the dark side of ‘The Nest’ Kouhei completes most tasks equally well in light or darkness.
For those that do come into contact with Kouhei, death is often quick and from the shadows.

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Model type(s):

• Long Shadow
• Ninja

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Melee Weapons(s):

Weapon	Melee Strenght	Traits	Special Abilities
Ninjato	+1	-	Sidestep Defence (0), Sweep Attack (0)

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Ranged Weapons(s):

Weapon	Ranged Strenght	Range	Traits	Special Abilities
Daggers	+0	3/5/7	Light Weight	-

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Trait(s):

Armour (1), Assassin, Camouflage (2"), Lightfooted, Resistance (1)

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Ki Feat(s):

• Hail of Steel
• Prediction

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Unique Effect(s):

At the start of this model's activation choose one of the following:

• This model gains Agile until the end of the activation.
• This model gains Evasive until the end of the activation.

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FAQ

Q. When using Hail of Steel, do you add +1 to the additional Ranged Attacks?
A. Yes. Each additional attack incurs the +1 modifier to the Ranged Attack Challenge Number for already having made an attack. This does not stack.

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Other +

Tactics

Kouhei received some fantastic buffs with the Risen Sun release and is now a great option when selecting a ranged attack orientated war band that can really put the hurt on opponent’s models.
Not only does he have good shuriken equivalents (albeit without the possibility of being armour piercing) but he has access to the strongest ranged attack trait in the game with Rapid Fire (3). Added to this you can mess with your opponent by making them predict (via the Prediction Ki Feat) where you are going to attack next.

Main points to note for Kouhei:

• Kouhei has so much utility, and if you are looking for a strong character to put alongside Kerasu to get more from him then this guy comes equipped. Sweep Attack means models are Prone and still in melee with him, ready for someone else to finish off. Additionally, Agile means he can wander off from a difficult combat to sweep attack someone else (when you aren’t shooting people in the back).
• Sidestep Defence to behind an opponent’s model will give a really good surprise opportunity for the Sweep Attack or if you have the Ki spare, then three daggers at short range from a Surprise position should get the job done. Be aware though, Kouhei does not have many defensive traits so can struggle in combat and melee should be avoided unless he is likely to be able to succeed. I would normally advocate just walking away from any combatant to more than 2” away and into cover and flinging a dagger at them, assuming you didn’t manage to successfully defend and wind up behind them with Sidestep Defence.
• Evasive as a start of action trait is really good for putting a ZoC on a model that is attempting to turn an idol, or pray, without the risk of having to actually fight. As Kouhei has ranged daggers you may as well fling a shot in from point blank range instead (or use the Hidden Kusari event card to make them prone instead).
• Resistance (1) and generating 2 Ki a turn means Kouhei is one of the few models able to stand up against casters, meaning he will rarely be the target for such things unless the only model out of camo cover.
• Prediction can be an amazing way to get models into Surprise positions and make your opponent feel really bad about their choices. I’d normally run strike teams up each flank and in turn two use Prediction to force my opponent to select a model to activate next. Then, simply do a walk or ranged attack action with someone nowhere near that selected model to reposition for a hail of steel or powerful surprise attack in the subsequent action.

Best gear to give him:

• Poisoned weapons - because Rapid Fire (3) can result in a lot of poison being distributed and could be great for finishing models off where weak ranged attacks fail to finish the job.
• Makibishi - because it turns slow moving models into fish in a barrel (admittedly only good against certain lists - yes I’m looking at you Desecrated Grave tar pit!).
• Grappling Hook - as already mentioned, Hail of Steel behind enemy lines is going to be scary for your opponent and force them to turn/split their force to deal with it.
• Disguise - because it gives some security when appearing out from the Hidden Tunnel Entrance against 1 Ki generating models, and forces your opponent to make a decision on failing to see through the Disguise (6) witht their 2+ Ki generating models.

Where he is most useful:

• Kouhei excels at setting up Surprise attacks so is most useful at removing opponents models to make it easier to achieve the scenario objectives once the outnumbering has been addressed.
• On Zone Control I would recommend hiding him in a Smoke Field in the zone and trying to whittle opponents down with Hail of Steel.
• On 3 idol missions he works well with Bikou or other strong ranged attackers by setting them up on either side of the battlefield so the opponent splits their forces to deal with you. Then use Prediction to give you free access to hurting the group that aren’t near the model the opponent has selected to activate. Once you’ve killed a few models it should be possible to turn the two outward most idols or defend them if using speedsters to turn them Turn 1.
• Kouhei would be pretty strong on both defence or offence on 6 idol missions, if using Hidden Tunnel Entrance or Grappling Hook he can come on to take down the defending models on an idol for Ghost or someone else to take advantage of, especially if using the Shadow Moves Event card after Kouhei clears the idol using Hail of Steel and a Sweep Attack or Hidden Kusari Event card.
• Kouhei doesn’t make a particularly good open VIM versus other Ninja, but could be a useful hidden one and is great in VIM missions thanks to Prediction offering opportunities to ‘go for it’ when trying to get to a particular zone first and being Agile means he can move away from an attempt to kill him or get beyond a blocker to shoot or trip a suspected VIM.

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