Samurai Warlords

Tactical use of unit types in Samurai Wars

Yari Ashigaru is an anti-cav unit with that moves faster than yari samurai due to its very light armor. Use it against cavalry, but not against melee infantry because it will loose quickly to all other infantry types. This unit does not really have high enough morale to successfully operate independently.

Men	60
Cost	200
Charge bonus	0
Attack factor	-1(4)
Defense factor	-1(4)
Armor	2
Morale bonus	4
Walk speed	7
Run speed	12
Charge speed	14

Yari Samurai is also an anti-cav unit, but it is nearly 2x stronger than Yari Ashigaru in melee and most of this extra combat power is defensive. Therefore, it can hold a stronger melee unit for a while especially if the YS is in hold formation.

Men	60
Cost	400
Charge bonus	0
Attack factor	0(7))
Defense factor	2(5)
Armor	3
Morale bonus	6
Walk speed	6
Run speed	10
Charge speed	12

No-dachi is a melee unit that can beat yari samurai, has enough morale to charge teppo and is an excellent unit to use for flanking due to its high speed and large charge bonus. However, it looses to all the cav units, and therefore has to be protected by an anti-cav unit if there is cav around. No Dachi is vulnerable to archers because it has very light armor.

Men	60
Cost	500
Charge bonus	8
Attack factor	5
Defense factor	-2
Armor	1
Morale bonus	10
Walk speed	7
Run speed	12
Charge speed	14

Warrior Monk is the best melee infantry with high morale and high speed, and will beat everything except for Heavy Cavalry. With a good charge, Naginata Cavalry can beat WM. WM is vulnerable to archers because it has very light armor.

Men	60
Cost	1000
Charge bonus	4
Attack factor	5
Defense factor	2
Armor	1
Morale bonus	10
Walk speed	7
Run speed	12
Charge speed	14

Naginata Infantry are nearly as strong as Warrior Monk, but have very little offensive power. So, they are best used to hold the line for a long time or to make a slow but steady advance if their flanks are protected by some other units. They are heavily armored which protects them from archers, but teppo are still effective against them.

Men	60
Cost	800
Charge bonus	2
Attack factor	0
Defense factor	6
Armor	5
Morale bonus	8
Walk speed	6
Run speed	8
Charge speed	10

Portuguese Teppo are good if your plan is to neutralize the enemy teppo during the skirmish phase. They are more effective when used in 3 ranks when skirmishing, but 2 ranks when repelling melee attacks especially in the endgame. Rain stops them from shooting.Read more on Teppos

Men	60
Cost	200
Charge bonus	0
Attack factor	-7
Defense factor	-4(-7)
Armor	2
Morale bonus	0
Walk speed	7
Run speed	12
Charge speed	12
Ammo	20
Reload	21 sec.
Range	100
Accuracy	0.12
Lethality	72%
Power	4
Armour modifier	0.015

Japanese Teppo are good if your plan is to win the skirmish phase since they are 50% more effective than the Portoguese Teppos. They are more effective when used in 3 ranks when skirmishing, but 2 ranks when repelling melee attacks especially in the endgame. Rain stops them from shooting.

Men	60
Cost	300
Charge bonus	0
Attack factor	7
Defense factor	-4(-7)
Armor	2
Morale bonus	0
Walk speed	7
Run speed	12
Charge speed	12
Ammo	20
Reload	21
Range	100
Accuracy	0.16
Lethality	72%
Power	4
Armour modifier	0.015

Samurai Archers can defeat teppo and Yari Ashigaru in melee, but will loose to everyting else. They can beat a Portuguese teppo and a Cavalry Archers in ranged duel, and are equal against Japanese teppo. However, since they are more expensive than teppo they are best used to support their own teppo to help win the skirmish phase. They can then move up along with their own teppo to shoot the enemy infantry.

Men	60
Cost	400
Charge bonus	2
Attack factor	0
Defense factor	0
Armor	2
Morale bonus	4
Walk speed	6
Run speed	10
Charge speed	12
Ammo	36
Reload	4 sec.
Range	100
Accuracy	6
Lethality	12%
Power	1
Armour modifier	1.0

Cavalry Archers are fully as effective as samurai archers with their bows, but will loose to the other three ranged unit types because CA are a larger target due the the size of the horse. CA are good at provoking an enemy response when used on the flanks, and can also be very effective on enemy melee units if their use is delayed until the enemy ranged units are depleted in strength, have run out of ammo or if rain has stopped the teppo from shooting. They are also good to use for chasing routed enemy units. They are not very good in melee, but good enough to beat ranged units such as PT, JT and SA in melee.

Men	60
Cost	600
Charge bonus	3
Attack factor	0
Defense factor	1
Armor	3
Morale bonus	6
Walk speed	8
Run speed	20
Charge speed	22
Ammo	36
Reload	4 sec.
Range	100
Accuracy	0.6
Lethality	12%
Power	1
Armour modifier	1.0

Yari Cavalry is an anti-cav unit, and is the fastest unit. You see it misused a lot to charge teppo, but this is not its intended purpose. It's too expensive for that, and only has moderate morale and melee power. It's best used to protect ranged units against cav attack or to make flank attacks on enemy units.

Men	60
Cost	1000
Charge bonus	4
Attack factor	2 (6)
Defense factor	2
Armor	3
Morale bonus	6
Walk speed	10
Run speed	24
Charge speed	26

Naginata Cavalry is similar to but 40% less powerful than Heavy Cavalry. It's good for assaulting both melee and ranged infantry, except of course,yari infantry, and has high morale. It shouldn't engage Yary Cavalry frontally because it will loose.

Men	60
Cost	900
Charge bonus	4
Attack factor	4
Defense factor	2
Armor	4
Morale bonus	8
Walk speed	8
Run speed	20
Charge speed	22

Heavy Cavalry is the most powerful cav type. It can do everything the NC can do only better. Only the YS can decisively beat the HC. The YC and YA are equal in matchup against the HC, but lower in morale. At least the YC is faster and can catch the HC which is another reason for not throwing away YC on teppo attacks. If an HC comes tearing through your formation during the main melee and you don't have a yari samurai to counter it, it can do a lot of damage and turn the tide of a battle.

Men	60
Cost	1200
Charge bonus	5
Attack factor	3
Defense factor	5
Armor	5
Morale bonus	8
Walk speed	8
Run speed	20
Charge speed	22