Toturi's Army and
Yoritomo's Alliance Expansion

Figures Pictures of the House Guard / 12 Ronin figures included in the box.
Bows and 'mantis" helmet adornments not attached.
(The Editor's collection)

Kamoto.

Written by Ken Carpenter

AEG 12-014 Toturi's Army and Yoritomo's Alliance Expansion $34.95 (US)

Review by The Ancestral Hamster of the Hantei <*_)'

The Toturi's Army and Yoritomo's Alliance expansion adds the final two military factions of the Clan War. Players with no interest in either of these two factions will be glad to know that there are no rules in this expansion that are applicable to other Clans as well: AEG seems to have learned from the anger generated by publishing generally applicable rules such as Skirmishing in Clan books, and not the main box. The only new rules included pertain to Toturi's Army and Yoritomo's Alliance exclusively and are primarily concerned with clarifications of some new units and personalities' abilities which might be misinterpreted from the rules text on their cards.

There are no new spells, and only one item, the Bloodsword Fukushu. was added in this set. AEG has returned to its previous policy of giving two of each Fate card, so getting a set will be easier. Of particular interest are the two "Dooms", that of the Lion and the Phoenix respectively. The former negates movement multipliers and bonuses, and the latter, spell use and innate abilities. Both will have a major effect on the game environment.

For clarity, each faction will be reviewed individually.

Toturi's Army:

As for Toturi's Army itself. The units are all ronin. Ashiguru. and peasant levies, and in the case of the latter two, available to Yoritomo's Alliance as well. As you might expect, they are nothing special compared to the Clan units, but they are cheap, available en masse, and slightly better trained and motivated than the unaligned troops found in the boxed set. There are also veteran units of ronin and Ashiguru who are a cut above the rest of Toturi's forces, most noticeably in training levels. With the exception of the Twelve Ronin, who are one of the few "House Guard" units to carry yumi, there are no outstanding units in Toturi's Army, nothing with unusual abilities as is usually the case with the units of the Great Clans.

The special leadership packages have designed for use with peasants and Ashiguru, as they have a +1 bonus for manoeuvre purposes. Other than that, they are similar to the regular leadership packages. These leader packages are also available to Yoritomo's Alliance. Similarly, the TA characters are similarly designed to bolster a peasant and Ashiguru army. For example, the experienced Toku has the Mob trait in regards to said unit types, so with his Leadership of 2, he can lead 40 of them. Takuan can boost his unit's ATT and DAM modifiers once per game, and can do the same for an adjacent unit's DAM once per game. Toturi himself seems under costed. It seems that Toturi's Army is not a power army, but one that will require good tactical co-ordination in order to win. Less than Phoenix or Crane, and definitely less than Scorpion. As they are less gimmicky than Scorpion or Crane, this task should be easier, but by the same token, there will be no unpleasant surprises for your opponent. It will come down to sound generalship and tactics to best utilise the ordinary rank and file which comprise the Wolf's army.

Yoritomo's Alliance.

The units of Yoritomo's Alliance are more similar to those of the Great Clans than those of Toturi's army, being that they have some special abilities, such as the Mantis Budoka's ability to have a permanent DAM modifier from a focus card. However, they will need to employ some of the same Ashiguru and peasant units as Toturi to make up for the smaller number of Clan units. This is a balanced army, being decent at both ranged combat and at close combat, so one can emphasise one or the other, or go for combined arms. Unlike the Dragon, where there is a confusing array of odd abilities, Yoritomo's Alliance is simple and straightforward. Solid yari unit, decent archers, good skirmishers -- easy to understand.

Personalities: Yoritomo is a bargain at 400 koku. Solid skills package, can attach two special weapons getting a cumulative +1/+1 bonus with them, and can rally a routed unit ... at a price. Roll a d10, that's how many wounds Yoritomo inflicts on the unit, and add rolls count. Kamoto, who can also be hired by Toturi's army, is also pretty good, having both Go Master and Charge for offence, and Stalwart Defender for defence, and he is a Tactician as well. Ryosei will be replacing Tokei as the generic shugenja of choice in armies. And experienced Tsuruchi and Mukami are as dangerous in ranged combat as you'd expect them to be.

For players interested in either Toturi's Army or Yoritomo's Alliance, the Hamster gives this 9 koku. One might wish from more personalities and units from either faction, but that's not feasible as this is a dual expansion. Still, one has good start with what is given and the unaligned personalities from the basic set.

This set is not recommended for players of other clans. With no new rules or spells which can be applied elsewhere, this has little utility for those who don't intend to play either faction or to use them as allied forces.

Toturi's Army / Yoritomo's Alliance
A Personal Take

From Chris Payne

I came away a little unsatisfied with this, because it seemed like a pint stretched into a quart part. Possibly this is because Toturi (like the Lion clan in general) doesn't appeal to me personally, but I was very interested in what we would see on Yoritomo's mantis after the ideas from the card game. I was disappointed in the lack of type of units available to Yoritomo.

To add to the Hamster's review above, I think it's beneficial to list what personalities and units you get details for:

TOTURI

Personalities:
Toturi, Dairya (exp), Takuan, Akodo Godaigo, Mikio, Ginawa (exp), Matsu Hironi, Morito Tokei (exp), Seppun Kiaku, Toku (exp), Tsuo.

Units:
The Twelve Ronin (Yumi), Elite Heavy Infantry (No-Dachi), Elite Ronin Guard (Yari), Veteran Ronin Archers (Yumi), Elite Ronin Spearmen (Nage-Yari), Mounted Infantry (Yari) (Unicorn Also), Veteran Ashiguru with Yumi (Mantis also), Veteran Ashiguru with Yari (Mantis also), Veteran Ashiguru (Mantis also).

YORITOMO

Personalities:
Yoritiomo, Kamoto, Tsuyu, Tsurudii (exp), Genzo, Mukami, Kanbe, Hyobe, Nobuo, Kemmci, Ryosei.

Units:
Mantis House Guard (yumi), Storm Legion (Yari), Tortoise Marines (No-Dachi), Wasp Skirmishers (Yumi), Mantis Mercenaries (Crane also), Mantis Bushi, Mantis Budoka (Nundiaka), Fox Clan Stalkers (Nage-Yari).

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