Shogitai (FOTS Unit)

Shogitai (FOTS Unit)
File:Shogitai FOTS.png
Class	Sword Infantry
Recruitment Cost	1090
Upkeep Cost	150
Requires	Buildings: Master Dojo Allegiance: Shogunate
Melee Attack	19
Charge Bonus	15
Bonus vs Cavalry	0
Melee Defence	6
Armour	2
Morale	12
Speed	4

Description

These katana-armed warriors are exceptionally brave, and deadly in close combat.

The shogitai are the epitome of traditionalist Japan, charging into combat with drawn swords. They are shock troops, and will break an enemy line. If they can close with the enemy, they will do fearful slaughter, as they are deadly when attacking in melee and have very good morale; they think less of defence, and so need some careful handling. They are vulnerable to rifle fire, as they have no counter to it, other than to close with their tormentors: this is a deadly risk. If left foolishly exposed or isolated they will also be ridden down by cavalrymen.

Despite 250 years of Tokugawa rule and a mostly enforced peace, the old skills of the samurai had not been entirely discarded in the rapidly modernising Japan of the Meiji era. Bushido had become a formalised study rather than a practical set of warrior skills, but that did not make individual swordsmen any less deadly. The samurai, alone of all the social classes, had been permitted to keep their weaponry, and they had kept alive the skills needed to use traditional arms. These traditions would be kept alive in the very modern Imperial Japanese Army, something that would probably have surprised the shogitai!

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Very Good in Melee.
• Weak against cavalry.
• Weak against missile attacks.
• Good Morale.

Special Abilities

• Banzai - This unit can enter into a frenzied state for a short period of time, temporarily increasing its speed, charge and melee attacks, and making it unbreakable.

Other Information

When it comes down to hand-to-hand combat, the Shogitai are absolute overkill since they have the highest Melee Attack of all the units in the game. Sadly, their lack of armor means that only a few well-placed volleys will decimate them before they ever get a chance to close in and cut down the enemy. Their high recruitment and upkeep cost doesn't help much either for anyone that wants to use them in single-player or multi-player. It is strongly recommended that Shogitai be recruited in a Province that has both an Armourer and a Jujutsu Hallso that they'll have a better degree of survivability in an open field battle and be even more overpowered in melee than they already are. And just like the Katana Kachi, the one saving grace that makes them forever useful in a campaign is garrison duty: If one of your castles is assaulted by a full stack army that doesn't have any artillery, just one Shogitai unit will completely thwart their attempt with huge casualties.