Ninja All-Stars Review part 2

Last time I posted a very comprehensive review of the Ninja All-Stars board-game. This time I want to show you all the add-ons that came with the Kickstarter package.

This is my box, which is full of miniatures. How many miniatures are in there? That'd be 186, not including my two trophies. How long will it take to paint this lot? God only knows. My plans for painting them are as follows - paint the 6 Clan teams first, (most likely starting with Clan Tora), paint the lanterns, shines and samurai sentries (in that order), then the Ronin and finally, the 6 Shrine teams because they're the least likeliest to get used. Of course, things may change but at least I have a plan.
Last time I showed you the six Shrine teams. Now I'd like to show you the six Clan teams, who are of a vastly superior quality. I have listed them alphabetically.

Clan Ijin have affinity with the Void element and they are the most demonic looking of the clans. Their tribal totem is a horned demon and all of these figures have a pair of horns. The Ijin value strength above all else. Their clan is founded on the belief that might makes right. In the front row, from left to right, are the Chunin (clan leader), 2 Heroes (Bomechan and Yobuko (Clan Heroes are very powerful allies but they can never gain experience points, meaning their stats and abilities remain fixed) and 3 Kaiken (foot soldiers). In the middle row, from left to right, are 2 Yajiri (archers), 3 Kunoichi (female scouts and my favourite figure from this clan because she so reminds me of Lady Demon, the evil alter ego of Lady Death) and 2 Madoushi (mystics). Right at the back are a pair of fearsome Oni (demons). It is suggested that players start with 100 Koban (KB - the monetary unit of the game) to build their teams. Note that Clan team members come with 4 stats, Movement, Attack, Defence and Koban cost. The two Heroes come with separate stat cards (not shown). When designing a Clan Ijin team, the player must choose 1 Chunin, 1 Kaiken and 1 Kunoichi, totalling 41 Koban.

Clan Ika have affinity with the Water element and their tribal totem is the octopus. In a land where paranoia and insularism are a way of life, the Ika are famous for being even more secretive, cryptic and distrustful of outsiders than usual. In the front row from left to right, are the Chunin, 2 Heroes (Akkorokamui (my favourite figure of this clan) and Mizuchi), 2 Kunoichi and 2 Madoushi. In the centre row, from left to right are 4 Kaiken and 2 Yajiri. Standing at the back are a pair of Oni, looking like avatars of the great god, Cthulhu! When designing a Clan Ijin team a player must choose 1 Chunin and 2 Kaiken, totalling 39 Koban.

Clan Kitsune have affinity with the Spirit element and their tribal totem is the fox. All possess big bushy tails and either have fox-like faces or wear fox-like masks. For many on Kagejima, the difference between the Kitsune and the kami inhabitants of the dark forest is non-existent. In the front row, from left to right are the Chunin, 2 Heroes (Uzumaki and Tamamo No Mae) and 3 Kaiken. In the centre row, from left to right, are 2 Kunoichi, 3 Yajiri (armed with blowpipes) and 2 Madoushi. In the back row are 2 Oni (giant foxes and my favourite figure from this clan). When designing a Clan Kitsune team a player must choose 1 Chunin, 1 Kaiken and 1 Yajiri, totalling 41 Koban.

Clan Tanchyo have affinity with the Air element and their tribal totem is the crane. They are renowned for their archery skills and possess more archers than any other clan. The Tanchyo have close ties to the many spirits of the air and earth that they share the great forests with. In the front row, from left to right are the Chunin (so close to being my favourite figure from this clan) 2 Heroes (Karura and Zenyo Ryu (my favourite figure from this clan. Look, she's firing 3 arrows at once!)), 2 Kunoichi and 2 Madoushi. In the centre row, from left to right are 2 Kaiken and 4 Yajiri. The 2 Oni at the back are hybrid crane-like creatures. When designing a Clan Tanchyo team a player must choose 1 Chunin and 2 Yajiri, totalling 37 Koban.

Clan Tora have affinity with the Fire element and their tribal totem is the tiger. The Tora are much like their tiger totem, a proud and haughty people, always ready to pounce, taking the initiative or advantage. I must admit to liking this clan the most. When I ran my Bushido RPG campaign in the 1980's, my players were all members of Clan Tora. A pure coincidence as they were all samurai. In the front row, from left to right are the Chunin, 2 Heroes (Byakko (who bears a striking resemblance to Wolverine of Marvel Comics fame. Not surprising he's my favourite Clan Tora figure!) and Ryu), 2 Kunoichi and 2 Madoushi. In the centre row, from left to right are 4 Kaiken and 2 Yajiri (armed with flintlock rifles). In the back row are 2 Oni, looking like a really cool pair of Samurai Warriors. When designing a Clan Tora team a player must choose 1 Chunin and 2 Kaiken, totalling 40 Koban.

Clan Yamazaru have affinity with the Earth element and their tribal totem is a mountain. The Yamazaru are hardy, fierce, spiritual and good natured people, capable of feats of toughness unmatched by other clans. In the front row, from left to right, are the Chunin (my favourite figure in this clan), 2 Heroes (Mizaru and Son Goku), 2 Kunoichi and 2 Madoushi (who are excellent healers). In the centre row, from left to right, are 4 Kaiken and 2 Yajiri. Finally, are two Oni, who appear almost ogre-like with tails that prevent back strikes against them. When designing a Clan Yamazaru team, a player must choose 1 Chunin and 2 Kaiken, totalling 44 Koban.

Players may also hire Ronin (clanless mercenaries) to their teams. Just like Heroes, Ronin cannot earn experience points and their stats remain fixed throughout a campaign. Ronin have a Koban cost to hire, but if a player wishes to retain them on his team, he must pay an upkeep cost per game after the first. The upkeep cost is roughly 25 to 35% of the initial purchase cost. A Ronin may be retired at any time. There are currently 26 Ronin to choose from and I have them all. I'm listing them alphabetically apart from Candy and Cola, who deserve special mention. 18 Ronin are listed in the rulebook but all have their own stat cards.
In the front row above, moving from left to right, are Arashikage (MV6, AT5, DF2, KB23/6, Fire and Water Affinity), Bakusho Mondai (MV6, AT3, DF3, KB19/5, Fire and Spirit Affinity), Benkei (MV3, AT3, DF4, KB16/5, Earth Affinity) and Blind Swordsman (MV5, AT3, DF2, KB16/5, Air and Spirit Affinity).
Behind them, from left to right, are Dark Kitsune (MV7, AT2, DF2, KB15/5, Spirit and Void Affinity), Goemon (MV6, AT4, DF3, KB23/7, Earth and Water Affinity), Hanzo (MV5, AT4, DF4, KB25/7, Air and Fire Affinity) and Howl and Yip (who are based on the Manga heroes, Lone Wolf and Cub, MV5, AT3, DF4, KB23/5, Earth and Fire Affinity).

In the front row above, going from left to right, are Inu Clan Kaiken (MV6, AT2, DF2, KB13/3, Earth Affinity), the giant spider demon, Jorogumo (MV5, AT2, DF2, KB16/5, Void and Water Affinity), Kappa (MV4, AT2, DF4, KB20/5, Earth, Void and Water Affinity) and Komuso (MV5, AT1, DF2, KB13/5, Earth and Spirit Affinity).
In the back row, from left to right, are a real life Japanese hero, Miyamoto Musashi (born in 1580 and possibly the greatest swordsman to have ever lived. He was also author of the famous Book of Five Rings. MV5, AT4, DF3, KB20/6. Fire Affinity), Mochizuki (MV6, AT2, DF2, KB18/6, Air, Fire and Water Affinity), Momotaro (MV5, AT5, DF4, KB21/6, Earth and Fire Affinity) and Moon Princess (MV7, AT2, DF2, KB18/6, All 6 Affinities!). Moon Princess is the current ruler of Kagejima, the Land of the Moon, which is the setting of Ninja All-Stars. It was she who organised the various challenges between the six main clans that take place at the Moon Castle once a year during midsummer. The Moonlight Tournament lasts from one full moon to the next.

In the front row of the photo above, going from left to right, are Ondori Clan Kaiken (MV6, AT3, DF2, KB14/3, Air Affinity), Onibaba (MV5, AT2, DF2, KB14/5, Void Affinity), Onryo, (MV6, AT2, DF2, KB16/4, Air and Void Affinity) and Shojo (MV6, AT2, DF2, KB16/6, Earth and Water Affinity).
Bringing up the rear, from left to right, are Sun Empire Wandering Samurai (if Kagejima represents a fantasy version of Japan then the Sun Empire represents China. Eleven Sun Empire armies who tried to invade Kagejima have been repulsed so far with none succeeding in taking the Land of the Moon. Nowadays peace reigns between the two nations, thanks to the machinations of the Moon Princess. MV4, AT4, DF4, KB22/6, Earth and Fire Affinity), Tengu (MV8, AT2, DF2, KB14/5, Air and Fire Affinity), Yagyu Jubei (MV5, AT5, DF4, KB24/6, Air and Earth Affinity) and Sumo Wrestler, Yokozuma (MV4, AT5, DF4, KB24/6, Earth and Water Affinity).

The last two Ronin are Soda Pop Miniatures' mascot pair, Candy and Cola. I love Candy and Cola and so I was delighted to see them making an appearance in Ninja All-Stars. Kunoichi Candy has stats of MV8, AT3, DF2, KB18/4 and Spirit and Water Affinity. Her best friend/pet familiar, Stealth Cola, has stats of MV7, AT2, DF3, KB16/4 and Earth and Void Affinity. Stat cards for using them in Super Dungeon Explore are included. Interestingly enough, Stealth Cola is considered by many to be the most powerful Hero in SDE. I've never used this version of him yet, so can't comment, but others present a compelling argument for why this should be.

These are lanterns (front row) and shrines (back row), which were a stretch goal to replace the card counters. Lanterns are obscuring terrain that cannot be moved across. If a model in Stealth moves within one space of a lantern, it loses Stealth due to the lantern's light. Shrines are also obscuring terrain that cannot be moved across. When a shrine is placed on the board, the player chooses one of the status effects that the shrine radiates: Haste, Lucky or Protect (all beneficial) or Curse, Poison or Slow (all detrimental). When a model moves within one space of a shrine with a detrimental effect it must make an Affinity test. If it fails it receives the status effect shown by the shrine. When a model moves within one space of a shrine with a beneficial effect it may spend one action to make an Affinity test. If it succeeds it it gains the status effect shown by the shrine. A maximum of 6 lanterns and 4 shrines may be placed on the board before play begins and a minimum of 4 of either type must be placed.

And finally are a pair of Ninja All-Stars large trophies. They measure 11cm tall and their bases are 5cm square. These play no part in the game but can be awarded at the end of a campaign to the winning team. So, why do I have two of them? Well, they were a free stretch goal, but it appears that everyone who backed the game on Kickstarter received two trophies per box they ordered. Cool! I may leave one gold and paint the other as a Giant Ninja to use in a unique challenge.
There are so many fantastically sculpted figures amongst the ones I've shown in my two posts. I've mentioned a few of my favourite figures but do I have one figure that I like the most? Yes, I do. It is the Clan Tanchyo Hero, Zenyo Ryu. She's cute and deadly and anyone who can fire three arrows at once earns my respect. I leave you with this picture of her, expertly painted by Minx Studios so you can really appreciate the quality of this superb figure. I think she's the coolest Chibi miniature I've ever seen!

Ninja All-Stars Review part 1

Just last week, I received a parcel from Soda Pop Miniatures containing the Ninja All-Stars game and lots of add-on miniatures. These were all part of the Kickstarter project that I backed last year. There is so much to show that I'm splitting this review into two parts. Part one concentrates on all that you get with the basic boxed set, whilst part two will cover all the add-on extras and stretch goal sets.

First up is the box that the game comes in and what is immediately noticeable is just how deep it is. My one and only criticism of the box is that it does not contain any plastic inserts for storing the cards, dice and figures. It's just a big box. Obviously, there are ways around this but it needs pointing out. The rulebook runs to 80 pages and is in glorious full-colour throughout. The rules themselves are easy to learn and they don't take up too many pages. Most of the book covers stats and info on the characters as well as background detail. Once you learn how to use the dice, which uses 6 elemental symbols instead of numbers you're good to go. More on these later. The game is designed to be played by 2 to 4 players, with 2 being the default option. I'll be playing it solo without bias towards any team I choose. There are eight scenarios, or challenges as they are called, to choose from. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from designing your own challenges.

As well as the rulebook, you get a team roster sheet pad to record your team's stats and progress if you play league games. The game works fine playing one-off challenges but really excels if you choose league play. In this respect it is reminiscent of Bloodbowl and indeed, shares a lot in common with it. You get six large-sized cards of stats for Clan teams and six for Shrine teams. Also included are a deck of 52 Moon Cards which can be played throughout the game to help your team or hinder your opponent, 12 cards of Clan Heroes, 26 cards of assorted Ronin and a deck of cards showing stats of various Ninja All-Stars figures for those who want to use the minis in Super Dungeon Explore, which is something a lot of fans (myself included) wanted to see and clamoured for.

You get two sheets packed with counters to use in the game, all very colourful and characterful. Most feature status effects - Activated, Curse, Delay, Haste, Lucky, Moon Power, Poison, Protect, Slow, Stealth and Stun.

The 16 dice (8 black and 8 white) feature symbols of the six elements - Air, Earth, Fire, Spirit, Void and Water, as shown respectively on the first six white dice reading from left to right. The most common use of the dice is for an Affinity Test. Each model has an affinity with one or more elements. To make an Affinity Test, the player rolls three dice, looking for at least one match with his or her affinity. Models with more than one affinity must choose which element to use before the dice are rolled. In combat, the attacker rolls a number of dice equal to their Attack stat whilst the defender rolls dice equal to their Defence stat. These stats can be modified by certain circumstances. The results of the two rolls are compared and dice are eliminated based on the following pairs - Air and Earth cancel each other out, Fire and Water cancel each other out and Spirit and Void cancel each other out. After all eliminations have been made, the player with the most remaining dice chooses a single die from those remaining for the result of the attack. If the results are tied, the attacker chooses the result. The results vary from element to element. Not all results are good! Three favour the attacker (Air, Earth and Void), one favours the defender (Spirit), one is subjective (Water, which could be good or bad) and one is harmful to attacker and defender (Fire).

The game boards are just superb! To the left and right are the two dojo boards, which show a team's Healing House and Training Ground at both ends. Injured team members are placed in the Healing House until they recover and are then moved to the Training Ground. Models held in reserve are also placed in the Training Ground.
The main board, shown above, is double-sided, and shows a manor house or temple on this side. Figures move from dot to dot, some of which have restrictions depending on their surrounding terrain. For example, it costs 2 movement points instead of 1 to move through Rough terrain, Obscured terrain blocks Line of Sight and Elevated terrain cost 3 movement points to climb up on but only 1 to drop down from.

In the centre of the dojo board to the left is a tracker for marking how many Victory Points a team amasses, whilst in the centre of the dojo board to the right are spaces for placing the Moon Cards deck, discarded Moon Cards and a tracker to determine the six phases of the moon, plus a tracker to note how many rounds have been played.
The game board shown above depicts a small village. Soda Pop Miniatures have announced that new game boards will be produced in the future. Yay!

Finally, I come to the figures you get with the game. All figures are 28mm scale Chibi-style miniatures, very similar to the figures used in Super Dungeon Explore and fully compatible with them. These six shown above are the Samurai Sentries, whose purpose is to protect various objectives depending upon the challenge chosen. They are not affiliated to any Clan or Shrine team and operate independently and against them. I love these figures and I do regret not buying more of them as add-ons, as they'd make a fine force to use in other games or as a tougher challenge for this game.

Now we come to the six Shrine teams, each of which are affiliated with one of the six elements. The nine figures for each team are made up of identical sculpts of five different types. The game supplies you with four Shrine teams - Fire, Spirit, Void and Water. Air and Earth Shrine teams are not included but I'm showing them here just for completeness.
Each Shrine team has an equivalent Clan team. The Air Shrine team's Clan equivalent is Clan Tanchyo. To ease identification, both teams are moulded in green plastic.

At first glance, it may appear that all six teams are identical but that is not the case. For example, compare the stats for the Air Shrine Chunin (leader above) with those of the Earth Shrine Chunin (shown to the right). The Air Shrine Chunin has stats of Move 5, Attack 4 and Defence 3, whilst the Earth Shrine Chunin has stats of Move 5, Attack 3 and Defence 4. Also, the Abilities of certain types, shown below their three stats, differ from team to team.
The Earth Shrine team's Clan equivalent is Clan Yamazaru. Both teams are moulded in brown plastic.

The five character types depicted on each Shrine team reference sheet are Chunin (clan leader), Kaiken (foot soldier), Yajiri (ranged weapon specialist, usually bow armed), Kunoichi (female scout) and Madoushi (mystic). If you play with Clan teams you have limits as to how many of each different type you can take. However, to get you started, Ninja All-Stars includes four of these six pre-generated Shrine teams so you can get straight down to the business of playing the game.
Note that  all of the figures in the game have a small mark on their bases to indicate their front facing. This is a great idea, I think.
The Fire Shrine team's Clan equivalent is Clan Tora. Both teams are moulded in red plastic.

The Shrine team characters come with just three stats - Movement (MV), Attack (AT) and Defence (DF). However, Clan teams have an extra stat, which is Koban (the monetary unit used in the game) and this tells you how much it will cost you to buy that particular character for your team. The more powerful the character the more expensive he or she will be. Koban costs are not given for the Shrine teams but if you wanted to add any Shrine figures to your Clan teams you can find the equivalent costs provided with the Clan team sheets.
The Spirit Shrine team's Clan equivalent is Clan Kitsune. Both teams are moulded in orange plastic.

At the start of each round of the game the players determine the order their team activates. The rules recommend playing rock, paper and scissors but I prefer to make a dice roll with the highest result going first. I use a d20 for this. Then each player chooses one figure to move then act. This continues until all the figures have moved and acted. Movement always comes first, although players can choose to not move a figure if it would benefit them. Actions can be any one of a melee attack, a ranged attack, a second move, searching or going into Stealth mode.
The Void Shrine team's Clan equivalent is Clan Ijin. Both teams are moulded in purple plastic.

The figures for the Shrine teams are very nicely sculpted but they aren't particularly outstanding. However, the figures for the Clan teams and the Ronin (mercenaries who can be hired by any team) are absolutely superb. You'll see what I mean when I review them next time. This begs the question - do you really need the Shrine teams? The honest answer is no, you don't. They are just a tool to help you get started and are probably of most use for teaching newcomers how to play the game. I got my Shrine teams simply because I'm a completist.
The Water Shrine team's Clan equivalent is Clan Ika. Both teams are moulded in blue plastic.

Although I only received this game very recently, I have played it once just to try out the rules. I rolled to see which two teams to use and ended up with the Air Shrine and Void Shrine teams. I played the introductory Brawl Challenge and the first team to accumulate 9 Victory Points was the winner. It took about 90 minutes to play and ended in a 9-5 victory to the Void Shrine team. I must say, the game played very well. It was a lot of fun and is a game that should not be taken too seriously at all. 

The game is more akin to a non-lethal sports match than to a fight to the death. In Ninja All-Stars no one dies. Characters are either injured or stunned. A character who receives three stuns in a round is automatically wounded. Your role is as a coach, picking the best team for the challenge in hand and coming up with a winning game plan. Like many good games, Ninja All-Stars is easy to play but difficult to master.

I have read some misguided negative reviews of the combat system, with a few people moaning about the colours of the dice (WTF!), the cancelling elements and how characters with low attack stats have no chance of defeating enemies with a high defence stat. I totally dismiss all these criticisms. If you are stupid enough to send a low attack character head to head with a high defence foe then you deserve to lose! The game is all about tactics. Let us assume you are sending a character with AT1 against an enemy with DF3. First, you should have your attacker go into Stealth mode and move behind the enemy. Attacking the enemy in the rear from Stealth adds +2 to your AT (+1AT for a rear attack and +1AT for attacking from Stealth). Now its 3AT versus 3DF. The odds are tied. For each friendly model next to and facing the enemy you get +1AT for each assist. With just one colleague assisting your attacker the odds are now in the attacker's favour - AT4 vs DF3. Ninjas are meant to be stealthy and to attack from a position of strength. Really, combat is all about good tactics, which is why I said the game is easy to play but difficult to master. 

I absolutely love the game and can highly recommend it. From what I gather, it ought to go on general release in mid to late February.