Ikoma Ujiaki (Lion Character)

[Kakita Shiro]

[Doji Yoshi]

Game changer

[Faris Kalin]

Game changer

What do you take out to put him in though? The Clan champ?

[Doji Yoshi]

Game changer

What do you take out to put him in though? The Clan champ?

No. Don't play him at all yet.
But when they print a card that can guarantee paying the favor, he auto-goes in.
That's the sad part.. super game changer, but unreliable ability.
The Lion deck is super tight right now, there's not much to take out without losing synergy.

Other clans don't have that problem, they still have some clunkyness.

[Faris Kalin]

No. Don't play him at all yet.
But when they print a card that can guarantee paying the favor, he auto-goes in.
That's the sad part.. super game changer, but unreliable ability.
The Lion deck is super tight right now, there's not much to take out without losing synergy.

Other clans don't have that problem, they still have some clunkyness.

Makes sense. Would you say the same thing about the upcoming Crane character that also requires the favor to be discarded to use his ability?

[Doji Yoshi]

No. Don't play him at all yet.
But when they print a card that can guarantee paying the favor, he auto-goes in.
That's the sad part.. super game changer, but unreliable ability.
The Lion deck is super tight right now, there's not much to take out without losing synergy.

Other clans don't have that problem, they still have some clunkyness.

Makes sense. Would you say the same thing about the upcoming Crane character that also requires the favor to be discarded to use his ability?

To some degree.
Yoshi is different. In Lion, your box gives everyone a military bonus. You have cards that help bushi characters in the deck (For Greater Glory, Rout, possibly the gain 2 fate character) and with that, a large personality with 6 military for 5 fate can help that end. Ujiaki doesn't have a large amount of military. Yes, he's still a 3, but for 5 fate, that's not worth it. That said, if you feel like your political is lacking, he is a political beef cake, and does work with cards like For Shame! However, I'm not of the opinion that playing 2x 5 fate costs characters in the same deck is a reliable thing, and could cost you the game on a same turn flip. Based on my own opinion of that, then I'd weigh Toturi with Ujiaki. Toturi just fits in more easily. His ability might be unexciting, but even on a cloud the mind, Toturi can scare your opponent. Oddly enough, the Lion swarm deck fits better with Ujiaki's ability. Without the ability, Ujiaki doens't fit into Lion very well.

Yoshi, on the other hand, has the same political skill as Hotaru, and has the courtier keyword. So even if Yoshi was cloud-the-mind-ed, he'd only be one less military from Hotaru, and can still use his keyword (Courtier) which fits into the entirety of Crane much better.

That's my overall take on it.