Total War: SHOGUN 2 1vs1: Mori Wako Raiders vs Naginata Samurai

Total War: SHOGUN 2 1vs1: Mori Wako Raiders vs Naginata Samurai Clan: Mori vs Hojo Battle Difficulty: normal Similar to kisho ninjas, Mori Wako Raiders may deploy anywhere on the battlefield except the deployment zone of the opposing army. This gives them potential to be good ambush units. They are the only land units unique to the Mori Clan. Wako Raiders are quite cheap, with recruitment and upkeep costs more in-league with ashigaru units than samurai. Despite their low cost, they can defeat Yari, Katana, and Naginata samurai in evenly-matched battles. However, they have very poor armor, making them highly vulnerable to archers. They have no bonus against cavalry, either, making cavalry a good choice for fending them off. Finally, their recruitment requiring ports make them harder to obtain than most other units. Mori Wako raiders benefit most from being trained in provinces with a blacksmithing tradition, to either maximize their potential as surprise attackers, or to shore up their weaknesses with their poor armor. The closest smithing specialty provinces to the Mori Clan's starting position with ports are unfortunately very far away: Satsuma, at the south-western tip of Kyushu Island, and Sagami, one of the Hojo Clan's starting provinces in the south-east of Honshu. Should the Mori Clan be able to obtain these provinces, they can create Wako Raiders that are essentially cheaper but superior Katana Samurai, with the added bonus of flexible deployment through their kisho training. A more accessible alternative would be to train Mori Wako Raiders in regions with a Holy Site specialty. This grants them greatly increased morale, a useful trait given that their kisho training deployment could leave them isolated from the rest of the army and thus more vulnerable to drops in morale. The Mori home region of Aki has both a port and hallowed grounds. Naginata Samurai have the highest armor value of all non-special infantry, making them an excellent choice for tanking enemy arrows. Offensively, they are a compromise between yari samurai and katana samurai, with a smaller anti-cavalry bonus than the former and a weaker anti-infantry capability than the latter, but with no glaring weaknesses to speak of. They pay for this with a lack of specialization. However, they are still versatile troops offensively, able to take on almost all types of cavalry and win, and doing well against most infantry. They perform similarly to naginata warrior monks, but have much better armor and more men per regiment at the cost of poorer melee skills. Naginata Samurai are best countered by anti-infantry troops, such as katana samurai, matchlock equipped units, as these weapons ignore armor. When trained by the Date Clan, Naginata Samurai have +2 charge bonus. Hattori Naginata Samurai have kisho training, allowing them to be placed anywhere on the battlefield except the opponent's deployment zone during the deployment phase of a battle. They can also hide in light scrub. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ #TotalWar1vs1 #TotalWar #Shogun2