Bushido: Unboxing the Ito Clan Starter
I’m back with more Bushido! Today we look at the Ito Clan.
The Ito are one of Bushido’s two newer factions, added after the games initial release. They are the “bad guy” Samurai faction (the prefecture of Ryu being the “good guy” Samurai faction) that made a deal with a Kami and ended up with a snake-like set of powers, and sometimes an appearance to match.
Our first fellow here is an ordinary Temple Bushi: an Ashigaru with the skill to survive enough battles to get promoted to temple guard duty.
Like most of the Ito, his defining characteristic is Speed. Not so much in movement value (although he can boost his if he wishes and has sufficient Ki) but in the Lightning Reflexes ability. If he spends a couple of Ki he can give himself this ability and strike first in melee exchanges.
Chiyo is another Temple Bushi. Of course you know she has to have something unique going for her if she has a name…
Her stats are identical to the generic Temple Bushi, but she can get rid of the prone condition with the Jump Up ability, and ignore some interevening terrain and other models with the Leap ability. And she has Sidestep Defense.
While many of the Ito possess a snake-like visage, Akimoto is the only one of these you’ll find in the starter set.
He’s actually a pretty horrible fighter, but that snake face of his can put a good scare into his enemies. Assuming he has the Ki to spend. Also as one of Orochi’s chosen he has a special ability to let him spread poison around.
Sakura is our first Ito model so far whose focus is more on Ki feats than melee. She can hand out poison counters all over the place, but does it better when backed up by her fellow Shisai.
Since Sakura is the only Shisai in the starter, you’re definitely going to want to grab Satsuki and Ayako. They’re booth cool models but also thematically it doesn’t get much cooler than a trio of snake priestesses.
Itsunagi might look unassuming, but with a recruitment cost of thirteen rice, he’s one of the more expensive models in Bushido.
One thing I like about the design of this model is how easily his sword hilts attach to his belt. You might have noticed that big chunk missing from his waist. Well his hilts are attached to a chunk of his belt, and you can just slide them right in. I didn’t even have to use any glue here.
Here’s a quick look at all the cards.
As I pointed out in the Ro-Kan starter unboxing, the cards have a glossy finish that lets you write on them with a dry-erase marker and easily wipe it off.
And here’s a little bonus unboxing. I made myself swear I wouldn’t buy any more Bushido until I had the starter sets painted. But FRP games was having a hard time getting something I ordered from them back in stock, and they offered me a refund or store credit. Well, I guess it technically doesn’t count as buying more if I have store credit right?
Satoshi here is another Ito Clan Samurai. He has more staying power than others in this set with Armor 3 and Toughness.
His naginata gives him First Strike without even having to spend Ki. He can gain even more Toughness with a Ki Feat. And he can boss your Ashigaru around with his other Ki feat.
Here they are assembled and primed.
Would you just look at this guy. He knows what a boss he is.
Satoshi was the only guy I didn’t feel comfortable assembling fully. His naginata just blocks too much of his face.
~ Hope you’ve been enjoying all this Bushido. If all this stuff about Ki feats and abilities sounds like so much Greek, go ahead and download the Bushido Rules. They’re free! And if you like them buy the hard copy and fill yourself in on all the fluff the free version is missing.
