Ronin: Bushi Buntai composition?

[Luddite]

Hi all,

My friends and i are starting with Ronin and a couple of us have chosen Samurai.
We're thinking of starting small with 100pts, and building up if needed once we've got to grips with the rules.
I'm struggling to see how you build a 100pt Bushi Buntai however; so some sage advice from you good people will be most welcome.


OK, so with Samurai at 100pts there seems to be very little choice. Is this right?
A Buntai must be 4+ models (p4, 'at least 4, and up to 20 models). Correct?

As far as we can tell, the 100pt build options with minimum 4 models are as follows:

1. 4x Samurai (Rank 3) (24pts x 4, 96pts) - 4 models

2. 1x Ashigaru-Gashira (Rank 2) and 4x Ashigaru (Rank 1) (18pts x 5, 90pts) - 5 models
You must have 3x Rank 1 models for every Rank 2. Also Rank 1 and Rank 2 are both 18pts - any reason why?

3. 1x Bushou (Rank 5) and 3x Ashigaru (Rank 1) (88pts) - 4 models
You can't take any Rank 2 models as you need 3x Rank 1s to get a Rank 2, and you only have 12pts left. Also, unlike the Rank 4 models, a Rank 5 doesn't seem to require you to take any Rank 3 Samurai.

4. 1x Samurai (Rank 3), 1x Ashigaru-Gashira (Rank 2), and 3x Ashigaru (Rank 1) (96pts) - 5 models


You don't seem to be able to have a Rank 4 at 100pts. A Rank 4 means you also have to have a Rank 3 model. These two require you to have 4x Rank 1 or 2 models, for a total 125pts. Correct?


It seems you basically have four fixed builds (with a few points to spend on weapons/abilities) with Bushi Buntai at 100pts. Is this right?


Uh...some help and advice would be greatly appreciated.   

[Kadzik]

Also Rank 1 and Rank 2 are both 18pts - any reason why?

Basic ashigaru have a special weapon included in his cost (bow, teppo or yari) so he cost the same as his superior counterpart armed with katana only.


As author states in this bushis' introduction it's very versatile warband, but a little price. You don't have realy cheap units, so there is even option to buy this "something' which allow you to re-roll Initiative roll.
As your cheapest model cost 18 points, Bushi Buntai is not well suited for 100 pts (same with Chinese warband). Other buntais could play that small encounters, but why don't you try bigger games. 8 miniatures is not a problem, and with this even 200 pts. battles are possible. Option to take only Rank 3 and higher allows you to close in 4-5 models.

[SotF]

One other thing to remember with those builds is that you can also go with unarmored characters, it was also confirmed by the game designer that the 4+ models is a generalization and you are allowed to have fewer. Hell, with the Koryu, I think there's a decent build that only uses two with the highest rank one and one of the hired blades...

[Ray Earle]

I play at 100pts too and basically ignore the 4+ minimum for each Buntai. It makes for some interesting matches, my Ronin Buntai consists of three models whereas my bandits number seven. Armour and quality really play a part in the smaller games.