Yu Jing Close Combat

I don't think CB has baked Taowu's points correctly. Comparing to Cathrine Cho he's paying far too much for his melee abilities and comparing to Miranda, his points again can't be explained. I'm wondering if he's missing NWI? He should be about Cho's cost, maybe a point more... and compared to a Mentor it's just a bad joke.

Anyway, there's a bit more to it than just sitting on his arse in the DZ, as a bunch of miniatures will end up that way during a game. Those are also miniatures I wouldn't describe as being used "actively". By comparison, a Lu Duan doesn't have much going for it if doesn't shoot at something so putting one on the table kind of asks you to use it (also the reason why I despise a huge swath of 20-30 point units in this game across most factions)

Much like the Lu Duan, though, Taowu does have the gear to be used actively late game. Unlike the Lu Duan, he doesn't depend on your ability to keep an unarmed hacker that doesn't have any offensive hacking programs alive to perform at peak. Unfortunately, neither can push buttons. Don't discount dual viral pistols in an environment where hopefully all SWC weapons are dead.

 

Yeah definitely plausible.

The Lu Duan can reach the opponent's DZ with its effective rangebands in 1 order, it's relatively easy and reliable to leverage so an opportunity to attack if you want to is pretty common. Tao needs alot of orders and/or lucky circumstances to align to actually attack something. When we're talking the points invested the Lu Duan isn't very hard to get some value out of if necessary, Tao on the other hand not so much.

Alot of the time I don't actually use an EVO with the Lu Duan, it's good enough as is as a backup fighter, and often it is actually pretending to be the EVO hacker which has other value because it's causing fuckery by telegraphing a Liu Xing that doesn't exist. I often get value out of my Lu Duan because my opponent looks at my list, sees a slot in the army for a Liu Xing and an EVO hacker with nothing obvious to buff and has to dedicate orders and units to protecting his backside against a non existent threat, which takes pressure off the frontline and makes it easier for a Hac Tao or Ninja to charge through him and wreck things. I think I actually had that exact scenario play out in one of the early N4 batreps I posted on this forum now that I think of it.

 

Honestly: don't.

I don't think Yu Jing have too many units that can actively attempt to get into CC. Our premium CC units tend to have comparatively stunted movement compared to our shooting units and other factions' premium CC units, and we've almost no (proper) Marker state units left in this category.
Instead use the increased CC potential incidentally to create a bit of space around your units - ideally to keep shotgunners and SMG users in their 0 range or worse.
Even the Hulang is good enough at shooting that getting into melee is something you'll probably not want to do unless it's a particularly hard target or you can get away with it without sacrificing extra orders doing it.

 

If you desperately want to CC something and not have it be part of a meme tactic, Monks and Ninjas. Same as last edition.

 

Exactly this!
You probably didn't go out of your way to get either the Shaolin or the Hulang into CC, no? Not like with McMurrough or Shinobu where you'll spend 4-5 orders just getting into position so that you don't get shot, but instead an extra order just to pop someone who needs popping while your unit is in the area.

 

In my last games I tried out Adil MI, Liang Kai, Jing Qo and of course Shaolins. Adil and Liang had their first CC kills in their first game. To be honest, the enemy has not much resistance as they went to work. It was an CA Vanilla army after their main pieces were shot down. Adil had his great moment as he used smoke from a Shaolin and charged a Zeta from O-12 - survived the crit - and cut it in half. Laing shines as a Shaolin softend up Hypolita (she come to me, due to the scanarios conditions) and he could finish her. Hypo is a quantum better but in the end its like 50/50, who rolls higher wins.
Shaolin shined in ARO, engaging a Morat TAG and finished it (2 STR left) with a crit. Jing faced Hypolita also, reacting in ARO and kills her. Again it feels like a 50/50 chance ... again she came to me, choosing the wrong victim.

Oh and in Taowus first and only game, he could kill a Crusher, that was stuck with a Kuang Shi and a Yaozao.

All situations were - erm - situational. The only active cc run was Adil, destroying the TAG - this was essential for the vitctory. He needed about three orders and two or three from the Shaolin for smoke support.

Adil usualy runs with a fireteam and can go in for a kill, if there is the opportunity and it feels neccessary, which is not often the case.
I tried Jing two times with a Shaolin in Duo. In the first game she ended up more shooting than CCing and in the second Hypolita showed up for visit.

I not played very much with Ninjas because I play mainly WB and IA. Not tried out the Hulang in N4.

Yes I thing Yj has some competent Marital Artists but it is still not easy to get into CC. Smoke support helps a lot - especially for Cranes.
If you want to activly go into CC then Ninjas and Shaolins are the choice (like Triumph pointed out above), I would add the chars that can use a linkteam, but this is more a opportunity option, a solist had better chances. I will definitly give Jing a chance or two more with her duo.

 

I’m a newer player and Yu Jing just feel like they lack good CC models even more so compared to nearly every other faction. Kanren just don’t work for me at least, and anything else with decent CC just gets nuked.

 

I've used Karens, Pheasants, Hulang in the shang ji fireteam, Adil, Liang Kai and they maybe its me. They just don't do anything.

 

You can totally heal NWI troops.

Source: https://infinitythewiki.com/No_Wound_Incapacitation

 

It's actually getting to the point where locally Pan-O is more of a "doctor" threat than Haqqislam, with their troops more reliably getting back on their feet thanks to higher BS paramedics in links and often reviving PH14 targets that aren't relying on NWI.

The ORC FB profile is getting a reputation as a zombie with how hard it is to keep dead.

 

Now we know Shang Ji are modelled with gorgeous promenade swords, has anyone found a use for them?

 

With that monstrous CC19?

Not really. Mostly just a threat against CC specialists to let them know that he'll be slightly less efficient to kill in close combat.

 

I have used them to bully hostile units that are significantly worse in melee, yes, but the conditions for this to be useful in are really slim. Their biggest problem is their low PH, 'cause a single DAM 14 hit is quite low in this edition.

I think the changes in N4 to CC has even further increased the gap between units that are bad in CC and units that are good, and it's made damage amount a lot more important. They've made more units absolute monsters in melee, but at the same time I think they made a whole bunch of units that were somewhat capable quite bad at it.

 

No. I only played Shang Ji Hacker or FO so far. By the way Daofei is posing with his sword in combat style on both new minis (from which the HMG is now only a proxy) and he has more options to actualy start a CC. And with a look over the rim to our friendly neighbours, I guess no one has actual used the fancy bi-händer of the swiss guard (I think he used it for photoshooting and its actualy Shonas).

One day I hope to fullfill my personal achievment of killing a Fusilier with a Zhanshi in CC