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The Book of Izumi Samurai

dnutt99

dnutt99

Well-known member
The Book of Izumi Samurai
Rise of the Valkyrie - Master Set

samurai.jpg
If you cannot see the Army Card graphic, check Hasbro's Unit Page for stats and special powers, plus "character biography" and other non-game unit info.

Character Bio: Inscrutable, unpredictable and dangerous: there are no better words to describe the Izumi Samurai warriors. This precision-trained squad puts honor and ethics above all virtues; yet they are highly secretive, and will shift their allegiance if the cause inspires them. Any warrior brave enough to attack an Izumi Samurai must plan carefully and make no mistakes. The Izumi are artful masters of the riposte: the lightning-quick, deadly-accurate counterstrike. (Hasbro)

_________________________________________________________________
-Rulings and Clarifications-
  • - COUNTERSTRIKE : Who is affected by counterstrike
    Does Counter Strike work against other characters that have Counter Strike?
    Yes, the only time the Izumi's Counter Strike is negated is against other Samurai. All other figures that have counterstrike can still be affected by it unless otherwise stated on their card. (Hasbro FAQ)
_________________________________________________________________
-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received
  • - HATAMOTO TARO : Heroic Defense Aura
    As Samurai, Izumi Samurai may benefit from Hatamoto Taro’s HEROIC DEFENSE AURA

    - KATO KATSURO : Kato Katsuro's Command
    As a Samurai Squad, the Izumi Samurai may benefit from Kato Katsuro's KATO KATSURO'S COMMAND activation synergy.

Synergy Benefits Offered
  • - SACRED BAND : Disciplined Army Defense Bonus
    Having a Disciplined personality, Izumi Samurai may aid the Sacred Band with their DISCIPLINED ARMY
    DEFENSE BONUS
    *NOTE: See The Book of Sacred Band for proper application.
C3V and SoV Custom Synergies
Spoiler Alert!

_________________________________________________________________
-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

Strategy Notes:
  • - Someone once said, "Nothing says retreat like an approaching Izumi Samurai". They were right. The Samurai are a powerful squad that is best used either on the front line, or defending a hill or home base. The Samurai don't seem like much when you look at their base powers. They only have an attack of 2 with a range of 1, but their power comes from their defense of 5 with Counter Strike. Only a few characters in the game can attack with more than 5 dice (without any enhancements), so having their Counter Strike ability is a deadly combination especially when using height. (Hasbro FAQ)

    - If you use the Izumi Samurai on the front line, engage an enemy, and then allow them to swing away while the ranged figures in your army back up the Samurai. If you have to protect someone or something (e.g., the Scenario "A Desperate Rescue Attempt" from your Master Game Scenario Guide), surround them with Izumi and let the enemy come close. Once they are engaged, start firing away with everything you have. They will be forced to keep attacking the Samurai and on the off chance that they can kill one, use your next turn to shift the other 2 over and keep your web of protection. Make sure they have backup though. They won't last forever all alone! (Hasbro FAQ)

Who is affected by the Izumi Samurai's Special Powers?
  • - Counter Strike: Any adjacent attacking (Non-Samurai) figure. (Hasbro FAQ)

Who else could I draft with the Izumi Samurai?
  • - Raelin the Kyrie Warrior
    Raelin is almost adding insult to injury with the Samurai. Their Counterstrike ability is deadly enough with 5 defense dice,
    when you add Raelin's defense aura, it becomes downright nasty. Be careful with this combination however. Your opponent
    will likely target Raelin first, and attempt to pick both her and the Samurai off with ranged figures. (Hasbro FAQ)

    - Venoc Vipers
    The Venoc Vipers are very useful when using them with the Samurai. Not only do their combined point costs round off to an even 100, but they are excellent at running ahead and engaging enemies. They can normally hold figures off long enough for the Samurai to get adjacent to them. Once that happens, they are locked down till the inevitable end.
    (Hasbro FAQ)

Who do the Izumi Samurai work well against?
  • - Melee Figures
    Any figures with a range of 1 that must get adjacent to attack another figure is subject to their Counter Strike ability. If they don't have any ranged support, they will be forced to attack the Samurai and thus be destroyed. (Hasbro FAQ)

    - Minions of Utgar
    Aha, we finally have found the weakness of the Minions of Utgar! The Minions defend with 6 dice, so they are even harder to kill than the Izumi Samurai. However, they also only attack with 2 dice. Even with their Deadly Strike ability, the Samurai will have a good chance at rolling more shields and using Counter Strike to do all the damage they need!
    (Hasbro FAQ)

_________________________________________________________________
-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Rankings

Jexik: Izumi Samurai- The Izumi remain good blocker units. B

OEAO: B

Cleon: Tier 5 (138/208)

dok (VC inclusive): B


Master Index
MKSentinel said:
Izumi Samurai
Boosting Counterstrike? http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=768
Overall Strategy http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=10920
Click to expand...

Unit Strategy Review
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Two things to remember about Counter Strike:
- Trigered only by Normal attacks.
- Works only against adjacent attakers (unless otherwise stated on their card).


Aranas
 
When defending with a unit that has counterstrike, such as the Izumi, do you still get to roll defense if the attacker doesn't roll any skulls?
 
Just what I'd expect an atheist to pick!

Thanks for the answers guys, thats how I was playing it. I just hadn't seen anything that specifically said it was so.
 
Izumi, the original masters of the counterstrike. 8).
 
Deathreavers and Izumi Samurai have similar purposes, but there are differences. If someone attacks your Deathreavers, they have to deal with scatter. If someone attacks your samurai, they have to deal with counterstrike. Sometimes you'll need one more than the other, plus samurai are way cooler.
 
willwall54022 said:
Matthias Maccabeus said:
Probably the best 60 points in the game.
Click to expand...
Nah DED totally
Click to expand...

STINGERS!!! i never liked the whole samurai thing and yeah ded is ok but you get within range he's gone. stingers however are great, good attack and range, and you can increase that good attack.
 
I have a question on the counterstrike ability.

What if your attacking opponent rolls shields and/or blanks, and you roll 3 (for example) shields?

Does that mean your opponent gets 3 damage?
 
kr-zeronos said:
I have a question on the counterstrike ability.

What if your attacking opponent rolls shields and/or blanks, and you roll 3 (for example) shields?

Does that mean your opponent gets 3 damage?
Click to expand...

If an opponent must roll skulls to trigger a defensive power, it will say so on the card. Counterstrike doesn't say it requires skulls, just a normal adjacent attack. In your example, the attacker would indeed take three wounds.
 
Matthias: This one's for you!
--------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished a battle that I've been meaning to try for awhile.

Knight's Galore!
280 - Knights of Weston x4(Proxies)
360 - Raelin the Kyrie Warrior

Versus...

Samurai's Galore!
120 - Tagawa Samurai
220 - Kozuke Samurai
280 -Izumi Samurai
360 - Raelin the Kyrie Warrior

It was epic to the core. Sammy's took the Attack glyph first round, due to their mobility, and the Kozuke took out Raelin and a few knights in the Mix. Kozuke got killed, but not after getting a counterstrike in.

The Tagawa went over the hill, and killed three knights before getting killed. :| I've been having the worst of luck with these guys anymore. In the same round, knights slaughtered Rae-Rae.

The Izumi were about to make the final stand. And oh, how epic it was going to be. Counterstrike was absolutely ON FIRE! In one round, I killed three KoW attacking a single Izumi. In two other rounds, I killed two. The Kow never really knew what hit them, and one brave soul managed to kill an Izumi before being cut down.

The Izumi made thier stand, and marched over the bloodstained feild heads held very high.

What a battle!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Anyway...the Izumi were epic. They pulled way more than their own weight, with the following numbers.

[epic_izumi]
7 Counterstruck Knights
3 Normally Attacked and Killed Knights
10 Kills
175 Points
9,001 Wyn
[/epic_izumi]

I want these guys on my fantasy team! ;) Just wanted to share how awesome these guys were for me. Another thing they did that game was block a very vital choke-point the entire game up until the end(A 4v2 hex bridge with the Attack glyph on it.).
 
That's an awesome win with the samurai. I once played an all-melee game that included the samurai on one side, and Jandar's melee (knights, Tarns, and some heroes to bond with the knights) on the other. I kicked the other player's tail due mainly to counterstrike. In my opinion, the samurai will win an all-melee game most of the time. Counterstrike will win it for them, unless you roll Deathwalker-like-defense throughout a game.
 
I have a question about the counter strike:

When the Izumi's fight against the KoW for example
and a KoW rolls: :skull: :skull: :noskull:
Izumi defends: :shield: :shield: :noshield: :noshield: :noshield:

does that means the KoW takes no wounds or 2??

other example:
KoW attacks: :skull: :noskull: :noskull:
Izumi defends: :shield: :shield: :noshield: :noshield: :noshield:

Same question: one wound ore two wounds??

(I always counterstrike when there are more shields, is this wrong?)
 
No wounds for the first and one wound for the second.
 
i like these guys, my only complaint is that they are unique. one squad of three blockers just doesnt seem to be enough. they seem like they should be a common squad much like the KOW

just my opinion.
 
Toad Rocket said:
i like these guys, my only complaint is that they are unique. one squad of three blockers just doesnt seem to be enough. they seem like they should be a common squad much like the KOW

just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Not for the cost, I'd say. If they were common, they would need to cost a bunch more.
 
Revdyer said:
Toad Rocket said:
i like these guys, my only complaint is that they are unique. one squad of three blockers just doesnt seem to be enough. they seem like they should be a common squad much like the KOW

just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Not for the cost, I'd say. If they were common, they would need to cost a bunch more.
Click to expand...


yeah, i know the uniqueness makes them a bit cheaper. i dont think the cost would be that much higher. there are ALOT of effective common squads who are fairly cheap.
 
Toad Rocket said:
Revdyer said:
Toad Rocket said:
i like these guys, my only complaint is that they are unique. one squad of three blockers just doesnt seem to be enough. they seem like they should be a common squad much like the KOW

just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Not for the cost, I'd say. If they were common, they would need to cost a bunch more.
Click to expand...


yeah, i know the uniqueness makes them a bit cheaper. i dont think the cost would be that much higher. there are ALOT of effective common squads who are fairly cheap.
Click to expand...
Perhaps so. My experience over the years has been to trust the play-testers to come up with the right price and combinations. At least, so far, they've done well.
 
70-80 points sounds reasonable.

not really saying that they need to change. its just one on the list of many things that i would like to have been slightly changed.

two squads would be pretty awesome to have, you can actually afford to lose a guy or two and still keep them functional.
 
This question came up in a game today. An Isumi Samurai was surrounded by three zombies. The zombies used their special, so the three zombies attacked as one with a roll of 6 attack dice. If the zombies roll 0 or 1 skull and the Isumi rolls 4 (or 5) shields, are all three zombies killed by the counterstrike?
 
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