I'm looking into expanding my JSA army pack and, as a newb, was mulling over this list. As Oyama counts as an Domaru for Fireteam Composition can I link him to the Tankos? This is a thematic list so it isn't meant to be super-effective or competitive but I still want to try to get the most out of it before I buy new minis.
Yes, Oyama counts as a Domaru and has the Haris skill so Oyama + Tanko + Tanko is a valid (Domaru) Fireteam Haris. (As for "JSA Rage", I think that's narratively and literally Ikari :p ) List looks fairly close to several JSA lists I've seen, though with 3 points left and no space for any miniatures, maybe you want to upgrade your blank Keisotsu to FO so they have a bit more range and ARO power, seeing how you won't have any need for LT shell games? Not sure how married you are to the TR Pangguling but Keisotsu tends to die and you're short some long range firepower, maybe those points are better served as Keisotsu HMG or Missile? Incidentally, upgrading Panggo to 4th Keisotsu also gives you enough points to upgrade one of the blank Keisotsu to a Grenade Launcher Keisotsu, which could give you some important tech for dealing with turtling opponents or awkward repeater placements. In either case, try stuff out, form an opinion, don't take what us long beards say for granted.
There seems to be no Keisotsu GL profile anymore but I made some tweaks to my list due to your advice.
Hey bud, dropping the total reaction Pangguling and putting the points into beefing up your Keisotsu is a good shout. You could even lose both Pangguling and a keisotsu and throw in a MSV2 Kempei or keep the Evo and grab yourself a Rui Shi or Lu Duan, you have two impetuous smokers so MSV wouldn't go amiss! Disclaimer, I am not nearly as experienced as players like Mahtamori, so take what I say with a pinch of salt. Not had the chance to play all that often since lockdown, 3 games in total. None with JSA! But this was something I came up with for some friendly games this week. I am just trying stuff out like yourself at the minute, but love the look of the new Ryuken, and heard good stuff about the Karakuri Haris.
The big standout for me here is that you're not taking advantage of JSA's monster hidden deployment/infiltration game. We might have some of the best camo units in the game - I would think about swapping out Yojimbo and the TR Pangguling for a FO/HD Ninja, Saito, or Oniwaban into group one.
I could've sworn I was looking at that profile when posting that -.- Might just have seen the HMG profile's points. Keisotsu constantly surprise me how cheap they are.
It's definitely worth an idea, Saito etc. could be a nice backup when my two flanking Rambo's strike deeper.
I'd suggest dropping Yuriko down to an FTO version so that you have a full five man Core in Group one. The points savings you have there could be used to upgrade the TR Pangguling to another Ryuken9 or a Rui Shi
It's not about the performance of a trooper that I don't ever want to spend orders on (and in nearly all games do not have to), but about how much space they take from list building. Just 2 points from what I'm used to actually makes a huge difference.
Given all the mileage I got out of TR Bots or solo HMGs like Nisses on Active Turn I'm happy to slot a HMG Keisotsu in the Core Link to lie Prone in a good spot and wait for his time to shine. B5 BS13 to attempt hosing down something in bad rangebands is not terrible in the context of JSA. Similar to Ariadna, you don't need a brick that can solve every problem. Pebbles in every possible advantageous spot will do. After the Flash Pulse nerf, Keisotsu are woefully underperforming on defense duty anyway. They're pretty much only useful to fuel a Kemp MSV2, opportunistic HMG, supply a Sixth Sense Hacker and keep their heads down otherwise. Wouldn't put a BS12 Fusilier MSR in the open in N4, much less a BS10 Keisotsu ML. At first glance they're a tough sell over Domaru + Tanko, but the points they shave off allow running other things more comfortably. Having 2 Active Turn HMGs, 2 Smoke chuggers and an Oyoroi in a 15 Order lists isn't bad.