• Units

Oda Matchlock Infantry

Matchlock Samurai

Matchlock samurai fire volleys into enemy ranks to disorientate and weaken them enough so a charge cannot be effectively resisted, as it can be devastating to see comrades falling in a hail of bullets. The matchlock samurai fight in a similar way to the ashigaru, but are much more accurate in their fire.

Once fired, reloading guns is a slow business, and it can leave the unit vulnerable to cavalry attacks. The matchlock samurai should retreat behind friendly melee troops once the real fighting begins.

Historically, the majority of arquebuses were used by ashigaru troops. The guns were reasonably simple to use and arming the ashigaru with them was quicker and cheaper than training archers. It also freed up the samurai to participate in combat using weapons that required more skill, such as the katana or bow. The samurai who did use arquebuses were expected to use their better skills to take out single, important enemies rather than completely rely on volleys like the ashigaru. This distinction between fighting styles for the same weapon could also be seen with the bow and the spear, where the emphasis for the samurai was to pick targets and engage them in matched single combat.

Unit Name Matchlock Samurai

Unit Key Inf_Missile_Matchlock_Samurai

Soldiers 120

Category Ranged Infantry

Class Matchlock Infantry

Multiplayer Cost 700

└ Multiplayer Limit 0

Recruitment Cost 700

├ Recruitment Turns 2

└ Unit Limit 0

Upkeep Cost 150

Melee Attack 6

└ Melee Weapon sabre

Charge Bonus 6

Bonus vs Cavalry 0

Range 100

├ Missile Weapon musket

└ Projectile shogun_matchlock

Accuracy 50

Reloading Skill 20

Ammunition 15

Melee Defence 2

Armour 4

Morale 8

Abilities

• Bamboo Wall
  A large wall that can be erected during the deployment phase. It blocks the movement of enemies and protects against cavalry charges.
• Fire by Rank
  Will fire by rank from front to rear, each rank kneeling to reload and allowing those behind a clear field of fire.
• Rapid Volley
  Temporarily increases a unit's rate of fire.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Good range but shorter than bow units.
• Devastating damage.
• Average accuracy, reload rate and morale.
• Vulnerable to cavalry but fairly good in melee against infantry.