Hello there,

I am finally back in a country where I can buy miniatures, after a long haul in the Far East.

So, I've got myself the Ronin starter pack, a shootist, an esper, a fist and a brick.

And a load of paints. How do I go about building a crew? I've also got a load of 'filler' minis from East Riding Miniatures and EM4 minis just so that I can substitute and swap about.

As soon as the painting's done, I'll post the results. It's all gonna get Grant Morrison/William Gibson- esque...

Any hints on crew construction appreciated.

Step #1. Decide on a point limit for your game. 500 is typical. 750 is a "large" skirmish.

Step #2. Decide on your particular style of playing. It looks like, based on your models, that you're "well-rounded" and covering all bases (HAK, CRFT, guns).

Step #3. For Ronin, you must always field a Maven. He/she is typically your leader as well. A Maven is 58 points so that's a start.

Personally, I love the Shootists best of all when playing a Ronin crew. 500 points allows for a Maven and 9 Shootists which is a whole lot of bullets coming at your opponent with a great RCA to boot.

If I attach Ronin in another faction crew, I focus on the specialties Ronin bring to the table. Espers are good CRFT specialists. They're a fun attachment to the Dravani who have no CRFT users and they're extra-effect when played with the Vatacina. Ghosts are pretty much the best Hackers in the game and their Sneak and suppression abilities are not to be underestimated. Fiddlers are great for their flamethrowers.

When I play Shootists, I usually pick the Dual Smarts as my weapon of choice over the rifle... because I love the 4 shots per turn they get. In my multiple-Shootist crew mentioned above I mix it up a bit and take one or two rifles, one or two teams of two Shootists, and the rest are left operating as independents with Smarts.

For the Maven, he never leaves home without his Shotgun. Run-n-gun and snapshot until I get into close range and then unload with the shotgun on the next round!

Have fun with your Ronin. They're a little tricky if you're used to playing with teams but they have a lot of freedom to be unique from all other crews and if played well will dominate the game board!

what is the points cost for an esper? Everything else I've got sorted. I am intending to post painted mini pics- I have 3 proxies; hope I can still post! I'm working on 1 maven, 2 fists, 1 ghost, and then all shootists and an esper. First pics coming soon.

Esper = 41 points
I look forward to the pix.

Ok, 4 are done- they're all proxies to try out a lots-of-different-coats approach. As soon as 3 Rez minis are also done, I'll post the WIP.