There's a few interesting things you can do when you throw magic into the mix.
Samurai Spirit[ Spoiler ]
This requires Permission on the GM's behalf, as Martial Arts aren't usually on the list of qualities a spirit may take. Even if it makes sense for a warrior-type Guardian spirit or whatever
Arts: Anything that adds to unarmed DV: Boxing, Karate, Kung fu, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Wildcat
Spirit Powers: Natural Weapon(looks like sword?). Implications: Count as Unarmed Attack. Movement. Implications: lets you Powerwalk to melee range, letting you save your Free Action for Called Shots or Interceptions instead of Running/Charging. Energy aura. Implications: +4dv, ap half, automatic damage back to attackers
Maneuvers: Kick attack(swords have reach, this simulates that)
So, a force 6 spirit has the potential to push their 6dv natural weapon to 9 through martial arts, and 13 with energy aura. One net hit on the attack makes that 14 DV base. Not bad at all.
The Nerve Strike Adept [ Spoiler ]
Powers: Nerve Strike
Arts:
Maneuvers: Disorient, Setup, Finishing Move. Kick attack can give you reach, and thus a -1 penalty to the defender if they have no reach.
Tactics: Declare a nerve strike attack and use all your maneuvers, and immediately follow up with a finishing move. You don't care about dealing damage, only net hits. A hit with disorient lands your opponent with a -2 dice pool penalty to everything, nerve strike reduces Reaction, and thus their defense pool as well. Assuming 3 net hits, the defender gets -5 to defend against your next attack, while you get 3 more dice with setup. This method can quickly bring enemies to 0 reaction, paralyzing them. The Touch Attack modifier may also be a way of getting extra dice on the attack, stacking the odds even more in your favor.
Interception-Trolling [ Spoiler ]
Arts: Any
Adept Powers: Counterstrike, Combat Sense
Maneuvers: Evasion, Riposte
Tactics: Review Free actions options for Delayed Actions. You may interject actions in other people's action phases, and running is a free action. The idea here is to get stuck in melee, and then run past someone or try to disengage, thus giving them an opportunity to try to stop you with an Interception Attack. You WANT then to try to hit you - because you get a bunch of bonus dice to defend from Running and from Interception, which Adept Counterstrike turns into bonus dice on your Riposte. This can let you cockblock an enemies turn outfrom under them, essentially.
If they DONT go for an interception, then you put yourself into an advantagous position: Behind cover, in melee to give a shooter a dice pool penalty, around the corner, etc.
Bonus: If you have the edge in IP against your foes, you can afford to defend against their Interception attack with a Block or Parry + Full Defense Gymnastics Dodge for maximum turnaround on your Counterstrike bonus dice. More Dice = more hits
Group Beatdown Man [ Spoiler ]
Arts: Tae Kwon Do ( Charging, Multiple Targets,), any source of Reach
Maneuvers: Finishing Move, Multi-strike, Herding
Tactics: This involves getting as many bonuses to the attack Tests as possible. While multistrike may SEEM useless, with proper bonuses to the TEST, and not the SKILL(so they are applied AFTER the split) it becomes a way to get a free secondary attack on another target. The Kung Fu multi-attack bonus is excellent for this, as it applies to all multi attacks you make. You get +3 for the charge, 2 for a specialty(depending on whether you follow the outdated contradictory faq, or the 4a rulebook), +1 for a personalized grip, and maybe some for superior reach. That is +4 to +6 on each secondary attack AFTER the split. So if you charge into a crowd, suddenly, splitting one die from your pool to each secondary target looks a lot better, especially if you have Surprise so they can't defend.
All you need is to land one hit, so you can trigger finishing move. Since Finishing Move is a melee attack, you can use the usual options on it. So..... you split your dice and hit your opponent and all his friends AGAIN.
You can also use this technique with Herding to hit someone, use Herding to move them over to their friends, follow after them(remeber, the minimum distance to Charge is 2 meters, and herding is 1 meter per net hit.), and then
Weapons: Personalized Grips, Relevant Melee Specialization. Bonus: Synch or Sideways
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Uzi [ Spoiler ]
Art: Any, but bonuses to blocks and parries are good.
Maneuvers: Riposte, Herding, Finishing Move
Weapons: Any FA or Suppressive Fire capable weapon
Tactics: This one is simple, and is best used with Pirate Style - so you have a gun. Finishing Move requires that you make a melee attack. Riposte does not, you only need parry or block a melee attack to trigger it. Position yourself so that you are in melee with an opponent, with other enemies behind him. Let him attack, then Parry-Riposte with Suppressive Fire from an automatic weapon, showering multiple opponents with a delicious multitarget cone of damage. Use Herding on your own attacks during your turn to setup a cone of enemies that may be affected all at once if necessary. If you're feelng ballsy, you can combine this with a Quickdraw, though you will probably need the Iajutsu maneuver to whip out a machine pistol. Be wary of shooting in melee penalties.
Upping the Ante: Suppressive Fire is special in that it lasts until the shooters next Action Phase, and it hits anyone moving into or OUT OF the area.(4a 145). Therefore, you get better mileage out of it by burning through your actions for the combat turn with lots of Interrupt Actions. Herding doesn't require a melee strike, only a 'successful attack', so you can literally use it to pin enemies down and keep them in the cone of bullets or make them dance for you, but at the expense of doing damage. It actually gets MORE powerful against opponents with multiple IPs, as they risk getting hit on each of their turns. Its also a great, if expensive thing to do with Stick and Shock rounds because it has the potential to force a lot of 'fall over and twitch' tests due to Electricty Damage.
Throw is more useful than you think: Sidestep throw and counter-charge [ Spoiler ]
Art: Bonuses to blocks and parries help a bunch, as does having a high initiative. Gimmic tactic for Carromeleg
Maneuvers: Throw, Finishing Move
Tactics: If you successfully block or parry an attack, and winning an opposed strength+unarmed combat lets you throw/move an enemy AND make them prone. The prone is big deal, because standing up is a Simple Action, and a melee attack is complex, so you can't do both in one turn. Much like riposte or finishing move, it uses up your next action. Best if you have a high passive defense, so you don't have to use a Full Parry, which would take up ANOTHER action.
Combined with Recieving the Charge and taunting someone to attack/charge you, you can cockblock someone's attack against you and force them to waste actions.
If you get at least two net hits on the throw, you've put your opponent at minimum charge distance. This is especailly good if you haven't used your Free Action, due to how delayed actions work.(you also need to have higher initiative, which you probably do, if you were going to recieve the charge) You can Throw your opponents to at least two meters away, and then hit them with a Finishing Move using your Unused free action to Charge in. This lets you claim sweet sweet Prone AND charge bonuses on the attack.
