Trouble using two hidden deployment units in JSA

Starting your game down two orders (or 4 if you go first) can be a big handicap. One HD trooper seems to be the sweet spot for me as well, but you could share your list to get more detailed advice.

 

If you're going for two full groups and going second, you could forseeably have one HD in each group and not hurt too much if you have access to NCO, impetuous, tac aware etc. Different maths if you're going first and only have 12 orders though. Depends on your list, mission and opponent

 

What @csjarrat said. One in each order group is a good rule of thumb.

Seeing HD as “lost” orders is really a matter of perspective.

Yes, you are down an order every turn your HD guy did not start on the table. But think of it this way: that order is effectively invested in a later payoff. These HD guys are usually infiltrated in a key spot, for a specific reason (usually assassination or an objective-grab).

If you chose that spot well, you will have them -exactly- where you need them, when you need them there, with very low risk of them being found and destroyed first. Small price to pay for that, really. A normal non-infiltrator, or even a fast bike, would require several orders to reach that position and then be really vulnerable to counterattack.

With the smaller order pool for your other troops, you do need to be more efficient with them. A Dayokai team is a good choice for offense there, or Yojimbo and another biker.

Your defensive line will likewise need to ready to hold out while you wait for your TO guys to do their thing. Tanko ML, or just a hide-and-mines strategy can be useful there.

 

As someone who plays 9 orders list with 3-4 hidden deployments each time: learn and adapt.

It will vastly depends on the mission and where objectives are put down. Preferably you would want your opponent to deploy first to maximize your hidden deployment, but if the map is ok nor the mission, you can mitigate that too with a little bit of training.

 

Oh, important thing to note for using HD: against your regular opponents, you really should prime them to be in doubt about your HD, and cause them to spend energy worrying about your HD.

To set this up, sometimes you should field -no- HD, but still have only 14 models and a 9-model first order group (works well with a Domaru/Tanko team or even a bikes list).

They’ll forever be in doubt after that about whether they should spend caution or orders trying to avoid/find your HD troops.

Outside JSA, similar headgames work well with AD troops.

 

Kitsune as a lt. Is problematic as you either start off in loss of lt. Or can't deploy her in hidden deployment.
Keisotsu are in my experiance goddamn awful and too expensive, even IG they are really cheap, compared to what Other linetroopers bring. Their BS is so damn low. But hey, mileage may vary. I shelfed them for the forseeable future I hat some success with samurai centric Liste with some camo shenanigans here and here. The Ryuken smg Is a Staple in a lot of my lists.
I am a big Fan of a domaru, karakuri and yuriko haris. You have an absolute beast in close quarters, a Terminator robot-geisha that just doesn't die so easily, is a specialist und you tag along an engineer to repair both of them, push Buttons or place mines around Corners. And you can either play the domaru with spitfire whole and paar him with the heavy shotgun karakuri and Power a daiyokai in another link with the two lt. Orders oder play a Standard domaru with EM ccw and the karakuri with mk12 in both cases you have a very versatile squad to be a menace with.
And even with a link like that you can fit an oniwaban/saito and or ninjas into the list. You won't get to 15 orders easily 13 or 12 orders in one combat Group , or 11/10 without the hidden deploy can Do some work.

The most important thing to say is: play what you think is and looks cool and have fun doing it! There are a lot of thematic possibilities, samurai, ninja, bikes, killergeishas and you can Mix everything!

 

This list looks pretty good, but I might suggest a couple changes.

First, make someone other than Kitsune the Lt., as others have said. She’s fine as Lt. If you are going first and using her as an assassin immediately (deploy her as your Reserve, with a token on the board instead of HD). But that will be only half the time. Better to have a WIP 12 Lt. than waste her HD, in my opinion.

Second, consider dropping one of the HRL Ryuken to upgrade one Tanko to the missile launcher. In my experience Tanko MLs make a good, durable defense turret. One of those and one HRL is a good set.