Who do you usually pick as your lieutenant? Lately I've been going with a Keisotsu because the other options just seem unappealing.
I tend to play with a sacrificial power lieutenant, and Chain of Command. That way I can spend the lieutenant order getting stuff done in the first turn, and I get a specialist lieutenant in the third for when I'm pushing for objectives...
I often run Neko. Get him in a fireteam go bits.. LT order I'd handy for lots of stuff and i normally have the command token to reform the team if needed. Of cause always supported by CoC
Just breakdown the options... Keisotsu Squishy but less noticeable. 1 SWC can be wasted in JSA forces. DO NOT need a Kempei, especially in the same Fireteam! Kuroshi Rider Our lovely Lady of Death. Specialist. Fast moving. Dogged. Deadly at Close range. Need a Kempei. Domaru / Oyama I would only field a plain Domaru if i cannot spare the 2 points to get Oyama. Need a Kempei only if you really want to push him around. O-Yoroy Not so durable and already a target. Difficult to make it survive. Need a Kempei. Oniwaban / Kistune 6 points all in favor of Kistune. A Kempei is A MUST. Kempei Tai CoC Your REAL Lt. Always.
JSA is limited in it's LT options - I also tend to run either a Domaru or Neko. 1SWC for a Keisotsu is a loss, and if I'm spending points on a Keisotsu LT, I need to take a Kempei CoC anyway, and at that point it's more expensive than the Domaru. He stays with the Keisotsu link team as close range protection from infiltrators, and can also toss EM grenades with bonuses if necessary. Late game, I'll break him loose from the link team and send him forward to kick some teeth in. Oni's make lousy LT's as they can't start hidden, and the O-Yoroi is great only if you're going to use him as a first turn hammer, and you have a CoC when he inevitably get's E/M'd, hacked, blown up, etc. Haven't tried Kuroshi. Again, with an aggressive LT, you need the CoC, which is never bad, but I've always been hesitant to take him if the Domaru is already "safe" in the link team. If my link team is being attacked, I could lose the CoC and LT in the same turn. So my vote goes to Domaru or Neko. As said above, the 2 point difference between the two is easy unless you really, really need 2 more points. Neko is my go-to LT. Even if the opponent knows it's Neko, he's not easy to assassinate, as CC or close range shooting with an infiltrator is the usual way to take out a LT early.
The reason you'd take an Oniwaban as a lieutenant is really to gamble on having the first turn. Which isn't entirely useless. Besides, if you can ARO against one of the last orders of their turn, you aren't in LoL at the start of theirs. Don't have to do anything with the marker, only place it on the table, although you do need to think a bit more ahead to master this skill.
I'll have to give Neko another try. Do you find him more effecteff in the Haris, a Core or just by himself?
Almost always in a Keisotsu link. He protects them from infiltrators and whatnot, and if I move the link forward in the second turn, his EM grenades with link bonuses are pretty epic. With PH14, B2, and +3 (if the whole link is still alive), he can Spec fire up to 16" hitting on 8's. Within 8", that jumps to 14's. Or if I need to take a hit to lay a template down, he is the only HI in the link, so can take a hit and keep going. I'm sure he would work well in the DoTanko link as well. Don't run that one very often... If I want a Domaru on his own, I'll take one one his own, or connect him to a Daiyokai so he can ride his coattails up the board where his Chain Rifle and CC are more useful. The only Haris I tend to run is the Karakuri. The only thing a Domaru contributes that a Karakuri doesn't is CC capabilities, and that doesn't happen often enough to worry about. If someone wants to CC my Karakuri, they're taking a Chain Rifle hit, and with Total Immunity and Dogged, I'm willing to make that trade.
In limited insertion I don’t mind him in a DoTanko core. I’ve used him in a haris with the Daiyokai, and that seems find too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Remember that starting the game in Hidden Deployment puts you into Loss of LT! I run him in a DoTanko Core, with a Domaru Spitfire and the Tanko usually WYSIWYG.
A Domaru in a Karakuri Haris can be a good way to save 8 points. And it replaces a Combi Rifle Karakuri which is the least interesting profike anyway.
