Was he being run with good Smoke support, or was ranged Striking strength a little lacking? I can understand him being tough to take out with Melee Strikers, but he seems pretty vulnerable at range. Also, what were the Aristeia! numbers at Gencon like? The photos on FB make it look like there were only a tiny handful of people actually playing.
I like that these characters appear to be aimed squarely at countering Wild Bill/Musashi by being either higher initiative (7) or manipulating initiative. I don't see Wild Bill having a fun time with Axl on the board humping his leg! So I see this as actually a stealth buff for Shona - who at I4 expects to go last anyhow. I'm a big fan of Shona so I like it!
