Round 3 CW vs MB_H Immortals 2v2 Tournament

Spector in Cav core army battles

Here is a video of two battles back to back. In both battles I am using a army that has cavalry units as its core. I am using all cavalry type units so its not a just a cav spam. There are also bow units, sword, spear and naginata units used.
Two different maps, but two similar opponents. One map had key buildings the other one did not.
Watch the video and see what happens!

FREE RAFFLE RISE OF THE SAMURAI DLC! Sponsored by the Immortals 2v2 Tournament!

The Immortals 2v2 Tournament has sponsored a Raffle to win the Rise of the Samurai DLC for Shogun 2. Winners will be announced at the end of the Finals (To be announced) So stay until the very end!

The Immortals 2v2 is down to the final Four Clans of: Gerudo, Imperial, Craftsmen of War, and Brotherhood of Aggony. Who will take it all and the sweet sweet prize money?

You will be able to view the finals at azuretotalwar.com and justin.tv/azuretotalwar.

Cavalry Guide

A warm greeting from Clan Gerudo,

here we go again with another gem from the Gerudo archives so please enjoy this modest Cavalry Guide. Again please comment if you liked it or found it useful and remember that you can still ask for guides on certain topics. :)

Cavalry Guide

Light Cavalry:

Light cavalry and Yari cavalry are the fastest cavalry units in the game. And obviously the best units for chasing down enemy units and launching surprise attacks on the enemy. The low cost is what makes this unit deserves a place in your army. In most fights I would have liked to have light cav in my army, but my otherwise cheap army makes it difficult to use up all the money if I bring light cav. Light cavalry is best used when it is sacrificed to charge into enemy bow units or to deliver a charge just before your melee line hits the enemy. It's main use is to mess up the enemy army and to launch fast flank attacks. A sacrifice for the greater good. Another good use for the light cav is to use it harass the enemy and keep him alert, by moving to enemy flanks and read. You can always escape if he sends his cavalry to chase your light cav. This way you can keep the enemy alert and he has to contribute unit to guard against your cheap light cav unit. Also having units in the enemy's flank or rear will reduce the morale of his units.

Should you vet this unit? No. Keep the unit cheap.

Weaknesses: spears, matchlocks and other cavalry units

Strengths: speed and low cost

Katana Cavalry:

Katana cavalry is great against any non-spear infantry. A katana samurai unit will rout in a matter of seconds and Katana cavalry will only loose 5-10 men in the process. That is some bang for your buck. Katana cavalry is used differently than other cavalry units. While other cavalry units perform hammer and anvil like charge and retreat attacks. Katana cavalry is best used to charge into combat and then just left there to hack all non-spear inf to pieces. Katana cavalry is to be kept safe from all other cavalry units. I would suggest sometimes being more aggressive with katana cavalry and even using katana cavalry against enemy infantry when there is yari ashigaru present. You can almost totally overlook enemy yari ashigaru if it is guarding a high value target like a matchlock unit. Katana cavalry will slaughter even yari ashigaru, but lose some men and obviously its not worth it to use katana cav against just yari ashigaru.

Shoud I vet this unit? Totally up to you, I would upgrade melee defense because that makes these units harder to kill and they last longer in prolonged combat. Melee attack is also another option to be upgraded, but I prefer melee defense.

Weaknesses: spears, matchlocks and all other cavalry.

Strengths: High melee attack, non-spear infantry, the ability to survive in prolonged combat, high morale.

Naginata Warrior Monk Cavalry:

Monk cavalry is a hybrid between yari cav and katana cav. And is to be treated as such. A yari cav unit will still beat this unit and it will not perform so well fighting against non-spear infantry. With the cost being only 50 lower than yari cav and 50 more than katana cav. I still find this unit quite nice and handy in multiple situations and when vetting this unit it really comes into play! High melee defense makes this unit last so long fighting against cavalry or melee infantry. The warcy ability on cavalry unit can be devastating. And some even opt to go all out and get hold firm. If you give this unit 4x melee defense, 2x bonus vs cav and warcy it will cost 1149 (with -5% cost retainer) and it will be able to take out a great guard in cavalry melee. The trick is though to get this unit into melee without absorbing the charge from a great guard. Since that will absolutely destroy monk cav.

Should I vet this units? Yes, you should.

Weaknesses: spears, missiles in general and other cav.

Strengths: versatility, high melee defense and morale, survivability in melee combat, the ability to upgrade bonus vs. cav, warcry and hold firm.

Yari Cavalry:

This is the "basic" cavalry unit. It is good against other cavalry units (same bonus vs cav as great guards) and it can deliver devastating charges against inf. It is also as fast as light cav. When facing infantry this unit is to be used to deliver hammer and anvil like charge and retreat attacks. This way the unit will beat a katana samurai, but if left in combat yari cav will loose to a katana samurai. So charge and retreat is the key to using this unit against infantry. Against cav I would never disengage from combat, unless it is truly necessary. (enemy closing in with spear or matchlock units) Yari cav charging into any other inf unit than spears is always a good idea, just remember to pull out as soon as the charge hits. Yari cav is great against melee spammers or just against closing melee units. It can hammer the closing infantry causing their formations to shatter and thus slowing them down, while you have more time to get your infantry ready or hammer them with bows and/or matchlocks. Doesn't really matter if you cant get behind them, just charge the melee lines from the front. Though remember that hitting a unit from the flank equals -4 morale and from the back -6 morale.

While this unit is great against cav, it still gets slaughtered by great guards and I would never charge my yari cav unsupported by spearmen or matchlocks into great guards. Just a waste of koku.

Should I vet this unit? I don't recommend vetting yari cavalry. Yari cavalry is such a fragile unit after all that you don't really want to invest anymore koku on them.

Weaknesses: spears, matchlocks and Great Guards.

Strengths: strong vs cav, speed and charge bonus.

Fire Cavalry:

Well not much to say here, came with the Sengoku Jidai dlc meaning only max 1 in avatar mode. Power/unit wise fits right between great guards and yari cavalry. And is best used as such. Or you might opt out to get a third great guard and vet this unit quite highly. But remember though, it will not be as powerful as a great guard. Upgrading monk cav might be a better option for this. But if you are a player that likes to use vetted yari cavalry it might be wise to just choose Fire cavalry instead.

Should I vet this unit? A hard one, as I said before, depends on how you like your cavalry.

Weaknesses: GG's, spears, matchlocks, head on charging yari cavalry.

Strengths: Cavalry melee combat, against lesser cavalry. All around good stats.

Great Guard:

The mother of all cav. Great Guards are to be used wisely, they cost a lot but also rack up a lot of skills if used properly. Does not work so well in prolonged combat and best used to perform hammer and anvil strikes against enemy infantry. These units are to be feared in the battlefield and matchlocks should be pointed to shoot great guards when ever possible. These units can really turn a battle around. They also provide a melee buff to nearly enemy units and a well placed second wind (restores the gg's and 3 nearby units fatigue to fresh) can prevent your melee line from routing since exhausted fatigue gives -4 morale.

Should I vet this unit? Up to you, I use lightly vetted great guards, some more melee attack/melee defense never hurts. I do this to gain an advantage over enemy vanilla great guards.

Weaknesses: spears and matchlocks.

Strengths: Sheer power against all cavalry and devastating also against infantry, buffs nearby units morale, second wind ability.

Bow Cavalry:

Bow cavalry is truly an annoying unit. It can harass an army with more or less accurate volleys and the fall back if in danger. When harassing bow units you can avoid being hit by firing a volley and then falling back when being fired at. Also another good use of this unit is to first perform this sort of harassment and when the enemy gets used to it and lets his bow units chase you a bit, charge the bow units. I'm not saying charging into cheaper ashigaru bows is a good idea, but taking out vetted bow monks is always a good idea. Also be aware that bringing alot of bow cav is somewhat waste of money, the kills you get with this unit are fairly small. Only if you can constantly micro them can you get kills worth the cost. I'd recommend a max 2 bow cav. Bow cav is also good because it forces the opponent to do something and move.

Targets for bow cav: The more expensive units you can shoot the better. Cavalry, matchlocks and bows are always good targets.

Should I vet this units? Maybe, extra ammunition never hurts.

Weaknesses: spears, missile fire, matchlocks and other cav. Especially Yari cav and light cav since they are faster than bow cav.

Strengths: Tactical use, mobile bow unit.

Mounted Gunners:

Yes, matchlocks on horse. Sounds pretty good, but it's not. At the moment this unit completely sucks. First of all they face the same problem as bow cav, how can you justify the cost of 1000? You really can't. You would have to get so many kills with the mounted gunners that it is impossible. The micro and patience needed is insane. And that combined with the broken mechanics of this unit that make it absolutely useless. First they don't come reloaded into the battle, so the first time you target someone they start reloading. Then there is the range of 100, you can't properly harass enemy cav since even after they have reloaded they take forever to aim and actually fire. So you almost never get any good shots if the enemy can micro their cav. And sometimes they just end up shooting 10ft in front of them! I AM DISAPPOINT.

Should I vet this unit? No, same idea as bow cav.

Weaknesses: Any cav unit basically, bow units and matchlocks.

Strengths: Devastating volleys if you can actually land some.

About cavalry in general:

Mastering the art of cavalry is essential in winning and stupid cavalry play will often make you lose. I would never suggest going into a battle without cavalry. Enemy cavalry that is allowed free movement because you lack cavalry is always dangerous.

What I also see often is people attacking more powerful cavalry with less powerful cavalry, like cavalry is there just to be thrown at the enemy cavalry. I mean would you charge one katana samurai into two katana samurais? Almost in every match I get charged by enemy cavalry, no matter if I have more or less cavalry than they do. And often these cavalry fights take place right at the beginning of a game. So:

1. Enemy has more/stronger cav than you, assist your cavalry with spears and matchlocks. Keeping your cavalry near your army helps to get spears in fast.

2. You have more/stronger cav, try to fight the cavalry fight early on. And avoid enemy spears and matchlocks.

Pretty simple? Still most people fight cavalry fights that they can't win.

You notice me not recommending upgrading charge and this is just because the charge mechanics in this game are either broken or so confusing that I don't really see the value of upgrading charge at all.

Formations:

Do not use wedge formation. Maybe only in some cases if you need to penetrate thin lines of infantry. It makes your formation tiny and it doesn't really do anything. It's just for show. Use wide formations. In medium size units a formation that has 3 lines of cavalry is the best. You can go even wider, to 2 lines of cavalry.

Charging Enemy Cavalry:

When charging enemy cavalry always try to hit them in the flank, or even better in the rear.The best to achieve this is not to just click all your cavalry to go ahead and attack one cavalry unit, as people usually do. But keep atleast one cav unit a little back and when the cavalry fight has started, go around the fight with that one cavalry unit and charge the enemy cav in the back. NEVER CHARGE CAVALRY THAT IS STANDING STILL AND FACING YOU, since this will absolutely decimate your cav unit. Use this information to your advantage and park your cavalry in front of the enemy cav and let them charge you frontally. (this doesn't apply when charging immobile cav in the flank or in the rear, and that is always a recommended course of action)

Cheerz,

][GERUDO][ Harba

Spector in Rushing with a balanced army

In this battle I am on my favorite rush map but i have my balanced build. But my enemy has a siege unit a Fire rocket unit. Since i dislike the use of siege units in Land battles I decide to attack and make his life hard. How do it all work out?

Spector in Hold them down and shot them up!

Video on how to use a bow army with low cavalry support and hold of your enemy long enough to take him out with arrows. And you don't even have to snipe the enemy general. One volley to scare him off and make him make a mistake that you can use against him.

Gerudo vs CW - Maneuvering and Formations Guide

Spector vs a Friend by pure chance of Matchmaking

OK, Perafilozof's Shogun 2 videos is hosting new battle commentaries, my new Avatar Spector II has just graduated as a 10* General. There are 3 new builds that i am using. A balanced army, army with a Cavalry core and a one with a Bow core. First video is with a balanced army and vs a friend and a fan, of mine that I get matched in Matchmaker by pure chance.

Spector in Bows and Forests!

This is a little demonstration of just how bow units and forests go together because it seems that there are some players that don't know the basics.

Drophacking for Dummies (Not a How To)

GERUDO VS RTK, IMMORTALS 2v2 TOURNAMENT Round 2

Trash Talk + Cav Spam = Loss

TWR VS IMMORTALS, Round 2 IMMORTALS TOURNAMENT

Sibundla Brothers present BOSSROBERT VS AZURE!

Bossrobert vs Azurecuzyeah! Enjoy the match! And remember... If you mess with a bee hive... YOU WILL GET STUNG!!! ;)

Sibundla Brothers present BOSSROBERT VS AZURE PART 2

Bossrobert vs Azurecuzyeah! Round 2!!! Enjoy hehehehe! GGs to azure.

Sibundla Brothers present Im2v2 tourny aggony vs CW 1_02

Immortals 2v2 tournament round 2 match of Aggony vs CW. Enjoy!! This is game one of two.

0-4 on the day. GG Robert & Pointman

I got crushed in the Special match and the semi finals of the PMGT. It has not been a good day.

IMMORTALS TOURNAMENT 1PM EST FRIDAY AZURE VS BOSSROBERT LIVE STREAM

LIVE STREAMING NOW! 4:30 PM EST!!!

Check out the Live Stream on the right Justin.tv/azuretotalwar

Trailer #2 for a Fan made Shogun 2 Movie

Here is the second trailer for my upcoming Shogun 2 fan made movie. It shows off some of the features of the movie.

2v2 AzureCuzYeah & Alnananaz vs Synoptic & Angelos effective use of terrain

Skirmish units vs a Melee army

SIBUNDLA BROTHERS PRESENT... THE IMMORTALS TOURNAMENT 2V2 CHAMPIONSHIPS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG_BCq52oHM

The Immortals 2v2 Championships hosted by the Immortals and commentary provided by the Sibundla Brothers! Stay tuned for the matches of the tournament!

Picking retainers

Hello everyone,

today's lesson is about picking retainers. A good thing to master as a 1 star and even more so as a 10 star general.

Picking retainers is an art and also a math question. Retainers and veteran upgrades go hand in hand in this game. In order to get the best value out of your army you need to balance out your retainers and veteran upgrades. All starts with you wanting to max out certain stats on certain types of units for certain purposes. Skill and knowledge lets you do this is as efficiently as possible, and gives you and edge over your opponents. Also one thing to note about negative retainers is that they become more powerful and useful in team games. Since most of the retainers, like fuguchef affect the whole enemy team and thus racking up more value and meaning that only one of you has to play it. Freeing up more retainer slots for your team.

I've divided retainers into 3 categories based on how useful and cost effective they actually are.

Category 1:

1. Fuguchef, -2 to enemy melee infantry, pretty much a no-brainer. You don't have to worry about different types of melee units, since this affects them all. Veteran or not.

2. World WearyDLC, -1 morale, -2 melee attack and -5 accuracy to all enemy veterans/heroes. We can all see why this is better than Fugucheff, it gives your opponent disadvantages all around, in cav, in bows and in melee units. The more koku loss and -stats you give your opponent the better. And there is no single retainer or even 2 retainers that could negate the effects of WW. And as you progress through the ranks more and more veterans are being used, so you are likely to get good value with WW.

3. Blade master, +3 melee attack to swords, pretty self explanatory. For swords this is worth 50 koku per unit.

4. Trade post, -5% cost retainer

5. Inspiring Orator, -10% cost to all ashigaru units

6. Way of the Ikko IkkiDLC, +1 morale to ashigaru and monks, +3 melee defense to all ashigaru and monks (including monk cav), but +10% cost to samurai units. Great retainer for those fielding ashigaru or/and monk armies.

7. Reynos teachingsDLC, +2 morale, +4 melee defense, -2 melee attack, -10 reload. If you are using ashigarus and not planning on using many missile units this is a great retainer. Sacrificing 2 melee attack for 4 melee defense is great value.

8. Drill Square, +3 melee def to swords retainer, this is actually quite valuable since it gives +1 more than upgrading melee defense and this effects also samurai units, unlike way of the Ikko Ikki. And it gives you more than 50koku value per unit. You should never underestimate the value of melee defense.

Category 2:

1. Yagu sword instructor, +2 melee attack for swords. Seems good right? Now, lets think about this. If you upgrade a loan swords melee attack you get +3 melee attack! Yes, +3 not +2. So this retainer is not even worth 50 koku per loan sword! So instead using those two -cost retainers will free you more koku to be used in upgrading and thus give you more stats. Some might argue that this would belong to the first category, and its a pretty tough call. I still believe it falls a bit short. Since you do have Blade Master.

2. All those +1 morale to certain types of units like ashigaru or samurais, Infatry Offiver, Productive rice paddy or the best Heavenly Banner. They seem to offer good value, but then again they only give you 50koku value per unit. Yes, ashigaru armies need more morale but in the 1 category you can find couple great retainers for that.

3. Skilled Weaponsmith, +1 melee attack for all melee units. I don't see why anyone would use this. It's 25 value per unit (except loans even less).

4. Bad omen, -1 morale to enemy ashigaru units. When climbing up the ranks this is a very good retainer to use, since it's pretty much guaranteed players will have ashigaru units in their armies.

5. Practise Grounds, +2 melee attack for melee cavalry. Pretty decent retainer, gives you 50 koku per cavalry unit. But since you will probably be fielding 8 cav at max, it's not that great.

6. Then you have all those +5 accuracy to matchlocks/bows, -reload speed for enemy, -10% ammo for enemies. I mean yeah, these retainers are ok at max. They will not do that much of a difference. -10% ammo? If you upgrade your ammo for 50 koku this retainer will be pretty much useless, no bow fight will last for that long. And those +-5 retainers are not something to win bow/matchlock skirmishes for you, at best they give you a tiny advantage, but in the end it all comes down to your micro management rather than your retainer selections.

7. Bandit Horse thieves, -5 charge bonus for enemy cavalry. The cavalry charging is so bugged in this game that this retainer is a waste.

8. Mikoshi Portable Shrine, +2 melee attack for monks. If you want to field armies mostly made out of monks this is the retainer for you. Allows you to put more money into upgrading melee defense.

9. Yari Master, +2 melee defence for spear units. A must have for naginata builds and other spear heavy builds.

Category 3:

All retainers not mentioned above are pretty much useless retainers. I mean those mentioned offer so much better bang for your buck. And then there are also the retainers that are just plain useless, like some less fatigue retainers. A big NO-NO. Some of them are just so useless it makes me want to cry. Not even as 1 star should anyone consider using them.

Now that you hopefully caught my drift we can address the situation from a wider perspective. What I said at the beginning, it's all about balancing out retainers and upgrades to get most value! You basically want to use those 2 -cost retainers in order to gain more upgrade slots for your units. And then to boost the more vital stats with retainers, or to balance out those stats you did not have enough clan tokens to upgrade, or use retainers for those stats that offer more value than the upgrading. Basically all the retainers in the first category give you more value than upgrading.

I mean would you like more koku or less koku to use?

But if using veterans is not the option you need to use some retainers that wont give you as much value as upgrading would give. Then it comes down to the basic question of what do I need and what gives me most value? If you got 4 samurai units and 8 ashigaru units, which one would you give +1 morale retainer and which one do you think needs it more?

Cheerz,

again if you have any topics you would like me to write, please don't be afraid to ask them in the comments below.

][GERUDO][ Harba

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