Natalya is described as an epic hero, in what way is she epic? Is she at the same level as Edison?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm thinking about expanding my Tannhäuser collection with the Matriarchy. I'm thinking of getting the Operation Novgorod box, a Matriarchy Troop Pack, Osanka and maybe Natalya. I've got all of the figures for the Union except Edison, all released Reich models and I also have Wolf. I don't want the Matriarchy to be "overpowered" in comparison because of Natalya.

I'm actually thinking about not getting Edison (or Frankenstahl) at all, partly because I don't like the introduction of even more powerful characters since power creep often ruins games, partly because I have a figure case with just enough space for my current miniatures + the Matriarchy models and Gorgeï and Asteros.

How is Asteros power when compared to other characters? Would it be unbalanced for one side to field Asteros?

Lastly, are the Shogunate any fun to play? There doesn't seem to be too much talk about them on these forums and they are seldom mentioned when there's discussion on what to purchase. Is Operation Hinansho any good/fun and can it be used without the Shogunate without loosing any of the fun?

At least in my personal opinion, Asteros is way too powerful when compared to “normal” characters so I wouldn’t play him. While I think that Natalya is more balanced than Asteros, she is not a must have character for the Matriarchy. If you get the Novgorod box and Oksana, you’ll be able to build two Matriachy teams that play quite different from each other. The Matriachy troopers are cool as well, but you’ll often play the Voivodes.

The Shogunate is, again in my opinion, the weakest of the factions. While the characters have some great abilities, they are very much focused on close combat and often at a disadvantage when fighting against range oriented teams. Furthermore, a Shogunate player can’t choose his team from a selection of characters because there are no additional Shogunate heroes. You could of course include Wolf as a ranged fighter.

Whether you actually have Shogunate characters or not, Hinansho is a great set just because of the new boards and scenarios that can be played using any faction.

Thanks for your answers.

So Asteros is way more powerful than others but is Natalya is more balanced. But is she more powerful than the other "ordinary" heroes, or is she balanced to use in games against the other heroes without giving the matriarchy a serious edge?

Also a follow up question about Asteros, I have recently purchased the Daedalus map supplement but havent recieved or opened it yet, and I understand that there's an Asteros token in there. I guess there's scenario(s) tied to this. I also heard that if you have the Asteros figure you can exchange the token for the figure. I'm guessing this is purely because the model looks better than the token, or does owning Asteros have an actual impact on the scenario(s)?

Lastly, am I missing much fun if I'm not getting Edison?

Natalya is OP as well considered on her own. As is Edison as well, I would consider him in the epic range despite him not having 5 health rows.

The matriarchy troop pack is really fun as makes the matriarchy a completely different beast, also if you buy oksana and the trooper pack you are actually purchasing 2 factions playable on their own (if you want to play games with more factions).

I often play matriarchy with Zorka, Gorgei, Irina and the troop pack and they work very well, my other favourite build is oksana, 2 voivode couples, gorgei, irina

Shogunate are weak, to level them with the other factions I consider hoss to have both reich and shogunate affiliations, a game with shogunate + hoss suddently it becomes a much more balanced game.

Hinansho is key for playing shogunate as a faction.

If I had money to spare I would buy edison before natalya.

Moebius said:

That's right, but you can use Hinansho even if you don't own any Shogunate characters. The boards are just great! Furthermore, you don't need the Asteros miniature or character to use the boards included in Daedalus or play the scenarios.

Thanks for all the answers, they've been a great help.

Looks like I'll get Operation Novgorod box, Osanka, the Matriarchy Troop Pack and Gorgeï as my next big order of Tannhäuser stuff. Then I'll probably wait (and play) for some time before picking up Operation Hinansho and maybe some of the epic heroes (Edison/Frankenstahl/Natalya). I probably won't purchase the Shogunates at all.

Sounds like a great plan! Have fun with the Russians!