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 A Treatise on Tactics for Crab Armies
By Kuni Tetsu, yoriki to Hida Kurai
Introduction
Although the Crab is known for its defensive
nature, remember the tactics of the Crab Clan: Harass, weaken,
then attack unexpectedly. The Crab armies send out elements to
harass and weaken the enemy, and then strike suddenly from an
unexpected direction. The sudden, fierce attack demoralizes the
enemy, forcing them to quit the field. Crab armies are tough,
and very defensive in their nature, but do not forsake attack
as a valid strategy.
Within the scope of Clan War, the Crab army
is much more defensive in nature. With the supplimental units
added from the Crab Army Expansion, the mighty armies of the
Crab are more defensive than ever, but new strategies are now
available as well. There is much more to add with all the
new units and choices, so I will be writing much more into this
document in the future.
| Elements of Crab
Strategy |
Tactical
Cards
Delayed Orders
This tactical card ensures that you get in a
critical charge, by forcing the enemy to move last. This technique
will prove difficult on the Lion, however, as their TL is very
good and they stand a decent chance of making their maneuver
test to avoid the consequences you are trying to inflict on them.
Defensive Position
This tactical card comes in very handy. Crabs
are a high TN, defensive army by nature. If you can increase
your ATT and DAM while standing fast, you can maul a charging
enemy pretty badly. Remember: If they lose more models than you
do, they may be the ones making a morale test. With the new maneuver
Hiruma Withdrawl, you can draw your enemy deeper into
your lines, and if they manage to engage you anyway, you can
use Defensive Position to make them pay for their aggressiveness.
Doom of the Dark Lord
This card can be very handy in certain circumstances. If you
build an army that takes advantage of the Crab personalities
natural skills, you can make this card pay off for you. Remember
that Wounds are a Crab strength, so you can more afford to play
a tactical card or two than can the players of many other clans,
your leader can take a couple of wounds without worrying. If
you set up your army not to require much in the way of tactical
cards, you will be in good shape when this card hits the table,
if your opponent is relying on his tactical deck, you can seriously
disrupt his plans of conquest.
Frenzy
Frenzy can be a
powerful weapon if you can break the unit you are engaging and
force them to retreat, but remember that it requires that
you initiate an engagement to use it. Charge is
therefor must-have items in your arsenal. The cost of having
the frenzied unit become spent is an expensive one, though, so
use Frenzy cautiously.
Grim Determination
This card is a must in any tactical
deck. Although the Crab have a decent ML and good leadership,
once your unit breaks you may be hard pressed to keep from loosing
it. Better to keep them from breaking in the first place if you
can help it.
Kharmic Betrayal
This card is solely responsible for
a great shift in the style of game play among myself and my friends.
Played at the right moment, this card can cripple a unit if the
leader was foolish enough to spend 3 void on a re-roll during
the early stages of the game. If your opponent loves to spend
void, then you should definately consider taking this card. Once
this card is introduced into your games, be very cautious about
spending Void, or it may come back to haunt you. [In addition
to its usefulness, it also has a 4 focus value, making it a good
choice for any tactical deck.]
Know the Terrain
This card is just about standard in
any tactical deck. An unexpected dash through rough ground or
over a hill can turn the tide of a battle.
Parade Ground Practice
At first, I used this card mainly to ensure that
my archers could achieve the Archers Row to maximize their fire
power. Once the Crab Expansion was released, it becomes important
for performing a Hiruma Withdrawl at the right moment as well.
Practice can also ensure that if you need to extract a unit from
a bad situation, you will make your maneuver rolls to Retreat
in Good Order or whatever else you may need.
Return of Courage
It is critical that Broken units be recovered
before they can rout, for once they have crossed that border
they are gone and cannot be recovered. It is therefor critical
to do everything you can to ensure that they make their rolls
when facing routing as a consequence of failure.
Strength of Purity
Although this is not normally a choice
for a Crab army, remember that Chakara, the sword of the Crab
Heir, can make a personality Honor 3. Especially when wielded
by Hida Sukune, this can make a potent combination. You cannot
count on it,but it can be a nice bonus if you can find room in
your tactical deck for this card. Also, the Hiruma personalities
have Honor high enough to use this card.
The Waves Break
This card is very powerful, and is
one geared toward the Crab army. It is an important option for
an army that employs Frenzy, although it may not seem
that way at first glance. But, since you play this card when
your unit is being charged, you cannot use your Frenzy
in such an engagement. Then, once the enemy unit is forced to
retreat, you can then charge them on the following turn and activate
your Frenzy to shatter them utterly. It also works very
well with To Do What I Must, for once the leader is dead
most units will stand little chance of resisting the effects
of this card and retreating.
To Do What I Must
This card is not an obvious choice for Crab, as it seems to favor
the Crane (who are noted on the card as getting a bonus), but
do not be fooled. Crab personalities have more wounds than an
equivalent personality in other clans, and so can kill an opposing
leader if they are willing to take some damage to do so. Combined
with Nemesis to soften the leader up before you play this card
on the next turn, you can efficiently remove a leader from an
enemy unit, and then force them to break, since they no longer
have Leadership to modify their morale level.
Magic
Unfortunately, the Crab army is not known
for its shugenja. Even the head of our Shugenja family is only
Glory 4. Against an opponent such as the Phoenix, with high Glory
casters, it becomes very difficult to stop their spells from
being cast. Instead, take Beyond Your Mastery or Resist
Magic to minimize the impact of your opponent’s magical
resources. Use cunning, employing spells that help your units
rather than harm your opponent's, after all, if the target and
caster are not within 18 inches, the enemy shugenja cannot dispel
the spell.
Biting Steel
This spell works particularly well in a Crab
army. Hida Sukune can combine it with his extra strike to become
very dangerous. Hida Amoro can likewise benefit from this spell
during his Frenzy. Beware of Matsu Tsuko with this spell upon
her, or any other daimyo, for that matter.
Calling the Elements
This is a wonderful spell against
an opponent who loves to employ cavalry. This spell can be used
anywhere on the battlefield, and the target unit cannot move
during the cavalry and reserve movement phases. This is very
effective in a missile-heavy army, as you have more time to shoot
the units before they close. It also allows you more time to
maneuver into a superior position on the battle field.
Counter Spell
I have never found this spell to be useful. I
do not like having any of my shugenja become spent, and since
counter spell does that, I never find myself with the leisure
to use it. Perhaps I need to take more shugenja. I also do not
like the mechanic used to dispel spells. The Daimyo of the Kuni
family is only Glory 4, so stands little chance of dispelling
a spell from a Phoenix caster of any repute. I have never found
a spell to be so bad that I am willing to dispel it, at least
not so far.
Earthquake
This spell can be very useful if one
of your personalities gets drawn into a duel. Your shugenja can
spend the enemy personality, and now you get free hacks for a
round, as spent personalities cannot roll dice in a duel.
Essence of Earth
The Crab have a decent defense against ranged
attacks already, since many of our units have Defense 3 to help
reduce what damage that gets through a TN of 8. But a well-timed
Essence of Earth spell can allow the unit to close with the archers
and destroy them with minimal losses. With a TN 10, only the
luckiest archer will score a hit on our warriors before they
close and snuff the life from the foe.
Fury of Osano-Wo
Although the other attack spells seem very attractive
at first, do not allow yourself to be seduced by them. They all
require the caster to become spent, so may only be used half
as often. The Fury spell has a +1 ATT and +2 DAM that the other
spells do not, so this one can be more effective over a couple
of turns than the other spells can, although it will take more
time. There is the downside that if you use it on a unit with
Defense, then the Defense's value becomes multiplied while using
Fury of Osano-wo rather than one of the larger attack spells,
but I prefer the flexibility of this spell. After all, I may
decide I need to cast a different spell next turn, and it would
be nice if I was not spent so that I could cast it at a critical
moment.
Stagnant Air
This spell is particularly useful against mobile
armies, especially the Lion. This spell can keep a unit from
charging, allowing you to attack with ranged weapons, spells,
or at least give you time to maneuver to a more advantageous
spot. If your opponent tries to charge you throught he spell
effect and fails his Resist roll, the unit becomes disordered
for failing to complete a charge. One particularly ugly tactic
is that Hida Kisada (and his unit) are immune to spells, so he
can wade though such a region without being affected by the spell.
Wind Born Speed
This spell is very effective in any army. It
allows one of your Infantry units to move as a cavalry unit for
a turn. This grants you unforseen speed and maneuverability.
It can be used in the early turns of an engagement to help you
close with the enemy (especially helpful if you are facing a
large number of archers) or as a surprise in the later turns
of an engagement to swing a hard-hitting unit onto an unsuspecting
enemy units flank.
Units
The Damned
This unit is very useful on the battlefield.
Since they ignore the first wound taken every round, and also
have a +3 modifier to morale while engaged, they are very strong
while in combat. Combined with a skilled leader, they are dangerous
and difficult to break. Combined with Hida Tampako, they can
form an excellent core to a strategy of tying up an enemy unit
and then attacking it on the flank.
Remember, however, that they have the Shadowlands
taint. They can be blown apart with a few good Jade Strike spells.
The Phoenix are particularly dangerous in this regard, since
they get magic for 5 koku less, and Isawa Tadaka can take Jade
Strike for free! I would not recommend taking our tainted brothers
to war against the Phoenix.
Crab Heavy Elite
This unit is particularly effective as an offensive
or defensive unit. With a base TN of 8, they are very hard to
damage, especially for archers. Their morale is good, although
they will break if pressed too hard, but with their stats is
will take a very formidable opponent to create that much pressure.
Combined with Hida Tampako, they can act as
an Anchor Unit, using Tampako’s ability to make them
TN 9, Defense 7, ATT +1, and DAM +2, as well as having 2 wounds
each! Give Tampako the Hammer of Earth and the modifiers climb
to ATT +2 and DAM +3. They are very expensive, but are a very
worthy investment. Use them wisely.
If you use them offensively, consider the Yari of Air for their
leader. That will give them a TN of 9 vs. missile fire, enabling
you to forge ahead while under fire.
Crab Berserkers
This unit is most effective in an offensive roll,
since that is needed to make use of their Frenzy ability. They
make a good Supporting Unit, whose task would be to follow just
behind an anchor unit, and then swing in on a engaged enemy’s
flank, forcing them to break and run. Unfortunately, they become
very vulnerable at that point, and the Anchor Unit must defend
them until they recover.
Not surprisingly, Hida Amoror is a good choice
to lead the unit. Amoro has the Charge skill, and so you can
make maximum use of the unit without having to rely on a Charge
card to do so. However, this will waste Amoro’s own Frenzy
abillity, which allows him to whip any unit into a frenzy. If
you frenzy a unit that is also berzerk, then they will remain
spent for an additional turn after the engagement has ended,
since both Berserk and Frenzy require that you become spent for
a turn once the engagement is over.
Crab House Guard
These warriors are similar in effect to the Crab
Heavy Elite. Their TN is one less, but they make up for this
by being unbreakable as long as their leader is honorable. The
number of Crab personalities that can lead this unit is low,
at least at present, but they are a very effective unit on the
battlefield. If lead by Hida Sukune, they will never break once
they are engaged in combat, and can Counter-charge! If you Frenzy
this unit, they will become particularly dangerous. They are
one of the cheapest House Guards in the armies of Rokugan, which
can help you afford an additional surprise or two for your opponent.
Kaiu Engineers
I admit that my current interest in
Engineers is mainly as a 55 koku, 4 inch wall to place my Defenders
of the Walls behind. They have no Defense skill themselves, have
a TN of 6 and are not very good fighters. If you are going to
use them to actually build a wall, then they will need a leader
with Engineer skill to make them effective. Also remember that
you need a minimum of 5 to build a wall, so protecte them from
Ranged Attacks with Gust of Wind.
Kuni Witch Hunters
The Witch Hunters are a somewhat focused unit,
but are hard-hitting in any case. Their TN is the lowest among
the Crab House units, unless they are facing a Shadowlands foe,
and this makes them somewhat vulnerable (especially to ranged
attacks). If facing a Shadowlands foe, however, they are a bargain
as they are very tough and dangerous. You must choose carefully
which battles to bring the Witch Hunters to and how you deploy
them.
Hiruma Archers
This unit is a decent value, since they are Samurai
and therefor their yumi shoot farther. They also have a better
ML and TL than bushi archers, as well as better combat stats
than most archer units. Since they will be in the back of the
battle, it may not be necessary to give this unit a named leader,
but I would recommend giving them one of the leadership packages.
Since a Gunso and a Chui have the same Leadership, you can probably
just give them a Gunso and leave it at that. The difference in
Battle is unimportant, since all archery damage is resolved at
the end of the shooting phase, so shooting first does not matter.
The fact that they are +0/+0 in close combat
means that if things are getting desperate, the Archers can draw
their weapons and attack an enemy unit. That extra pressure may
be enough to break the enemy before he can break you.
Defenders of the Walls
The Defenders are an excellent unit, as they
have Heavy Armor, Yumi, and become very dangerous when defending
a fortified point. When combined with the fortifications provided
by Kaiu Engineers, they gain terrific combat and morale bonuses,
which make for a very effective force and a deadly combination.
If lead by Hida Tampako, they make a wonderful anvil that can
strike at your enemy as they approach, fight well to hold your
opponent until the hammers close, and then shoot your enemy again
as they flee. Although you may not bring many to the battle field,
they can make a very effective fighting force.
Since they are archers in heavy armor, the generic archers in
the boxed set work very well as Defenders, at least until the
real models are available (coming by the end of the year!).
Hiruma Scouts
The nice thing about this unit is that is can
skirmish. Although that means the unit can only number 9 (or
8 plus a leader) it can be very useful to have a unit that can
move through brush and trees with no movement penalty. They make
a decent unit for harrying the enemy's flank and forcing flank
units to miss their reserve movement so that they are out of
position when needed to support a central unit. Remember not
to expose them to your enemy's charge if possible, since their
only option when engaged is Full Retreat (skirmishers may not
use the Hiruma Withdrawl).
Command
Groups
Consider forming your general in a command
group [from the Crane Expansion], as it gives you some interesting
bonuses. First of all, you can bring Kisada to the field without
having to pay his normal cost, although this is balanced by the
fact that he will probably not see any combat, and that is a
considerable skill gone to waste! However, if your command group
has 5 signalmen, then Kisada can temporarily grant Defense 5,
Leadership 4, Double Chi, or Stalwart Defender to any of your
leaders in the army for a turn. This gives you a great deal of
flexibility, and can help you cope with various armies in a tournament
situation. All that, and your command group is immune to spells!
Fiddler Crab
The Fiddler Crab can be seen waving its one
huge claw before it, threatening the world with its extended
weapon.
In this tactic, you push archers out quickly
into one flank of the table. Archers are relatively weak, but
dangerous. They should be supported by a unit of cavalry or other,
fast moving, troops. By pushing them out into the middle, they
will bring enemy units into close range faster. (Remember to
place your archers away from your opponents archers while attempting
this tactic. ) Your opponent will find the archers aggravating,
but maneuvering a unit to attack them exposes the attacking units
flank to attack by your fast unit. If your opponent takes the
bait, then you Stand and Shoot as the unit charges, and
then follow up during the cavalry movement phase by slamming
into the enemy units flank with your fast moving unit. Just the
fact that you have charged him in the flank while he was engaged
with another unit will cause the target to take a morale test.
If you can give the archer unit a Defensive Maneuver, or better
yet, spoil your opponents charge with a withdraw if possible.
A really good idea would be to put a Hida Tampako with the unit,
guaranteeing the Defensive Maneuver and granting the unit +1
TN as well.
This maneuver works better against an opponent
with limited mobility, to prevent the Claw from being surrounded
and destroyed as you would destroy the enemy. Much like the creature
for which this tactic is named, if the enemy threatens your limb,
pull it back toward your body, where more of your claws can be
brought into play.
Hammer and Anvil
Just as the anvil can be used to create a
fine blade, if the hammer is swung hard enough the sword can
be shattered.
This is a classic maneuver, but well worth
mentioning. You set up a strong unit in the center of your force,
this unit is the Anvil. This unit should be able to take a deadly
charge and be very resistant to breaking, such as the House Guard
The Damned, or perhaps even Crab Heavy Elite. Supporting this
unit are two hard hitting unit with some mobility, perhaps Medium
or Heavy Cavalry. These units are the Hammer.
Once the enemy has charged the Anvil, they
will be tied up in combat. The Hammer then swings around and
slams into the target’s flanks, breaking them upon the Anvil.
Units with Frenzy would be very good for the Hammer units, or
a Frenzy card could work very well if you have one available.
To use this tactic it would be preferable if you start the game
with a Frenzy card.
This maneuver is similar to the Fiddler Crab,
but works against a faster army that is going to come at you,
since the bait in the trap is a slower and more dangerous unit.
If one of your hammers becomes engaged in the aftermath of the
attack (or in an attempt to avoid the Hammer and Anvil all together,
then the Anvil or the other Hammer can become the new Hammer
to the old Hammer’s Anvil.
The Crab are particularly good at making a
very resistant Anvil for the enemy to break their weapons against.
There are several units in the Crab army that can fullfill this
role. This is the sort of tactic that the Crab army excels at,
after all.
Deny a Flank
They expected us to march up the middle as
their vast array of archers rained death upon us. I would have
paid good koku to see the look on the right flank's faces as
we charged up the left, with a house between us and them, and
the woods between us and the archers on the left.
If you are facing an enemy with a lot of missile
troops, or a particularly dangerous unit that you are worried
about facing, then try to draw him into spreading himself too
far apart. Place all your units along one flank, up to the center
but not beyond it. Then try to maneuver all of your units along
the one flank, rendering all his units on the far flank useless.
This can also be very appropriate when you are up agains an army
composed of many, lower cost troops. If your army is composed
of more expensive units (and thus many fewer models) then your
opponent ends up with his units tripping over each other trying
to get at you.
To make this stategy particularly useful,
consider spells such as Wind Borne Speed and Banzai charge to
clear the killing ground and close with the archers at the far
side. Use terrain to your advantage, picking the flank that has
the most cover between you and the enemy.
| Elements of Strategy vs. Other
Clans |
These are some concepts I have developed while facing various
opponents. These are often dearly earned bits of so-called wisdom,
to be sure. Read through them, contemplate how relevant they
are, and then keep any concepts that you find useful. Good luck
to you, and may the Crab armies reign supreme.
Crane
This army is big on archers, even their House
Guard have bows, for goodness sake! Although the Crane have a
reputation as an honorable clan, do not believe it. They are
sneaky and underhanded, but they supress this at court. Expect
to get shot to peices as you try and close with them.
Definitely consider Turtle Shell and Gust
of Wind which will combine with the Crab's natural missile protection
to help deflect missile fire until you can get close. At least
archers are notoriously weak fighters, so you should be able
to get away with a Banzai Charge against a unit of archers without
too much worry. Wind Borne Speed will help your units get there
more quickly.
Use terrain to its best advantage, and try
to force his units to come to you. If you can crush those while
avoiding getting your own picked apart, then you have an advantage
on him. Consider denying him a flank to cut down on the number
of archers that can be brought to bear on you early in the game.
Lion
Lions love to charge; they get great bonuses
for doing so, and almost all of their personalities are capable
of leading their unit in a charge. You need to slow the army
down and try to weaken them before they get to you. Lion units
are very powerful, and you want a numerical superiority by the
time they contact your unit. I would not recommend using inferior
troops, however, or whatever superiority in number you had will
quickly dissolve.
Once strategy to slow the Lions down is Stale
Wind. It stops a charging Lion unit in its tracks, and helps
alleviate the need to stop their reserve moves. Another option
is to use Cavalry or Wind Borne Speed to jump a smaller unit
up to prevent reserve moves, and perhaps even get a lion unit
to turn so that they can attack the unit pinning them down. This
could expose their flank to a potential cavalry charge as well
as a charge from the light unit if you do it right.
Along a similar line is the spell Calling
the Elements, which will deny a cavalry unit their cavalry move
and their reserve movement. This can be very handy against
a "Full Out Charge" Lion army. You just make sure that
your shugenja goes second, then wait for the Lion player to make
his unit move in the cavalry phase and then hit the same unit
with Calling the Elements.
Since most of the Lion army has the Charge
skill, this is not a good army to bring The Waves Break against.
They will charge back into combat, and have the Battle skill
to just about ensure that they get a lower MIS than you do.
Phoenix
Phoenix are one of the most powerful armies magically,
and also have the longest range archers in the game. They are
going to let you come to them, and rain death down upon your
men. When you finally get close, they have enough powerful close
combat units to shatter the remains of your army.
You will have to employ cunning and guile
to attack the Phoenix. In addition stock up on as many Beyond
Your Mastery and Resist Magic cards as you can put in your deck.
You have little chance of actually Counter-spelling a Phoenix
spell, since their big casters all have a high enough glory to
make your chances pretty slim. The same situation makes it very
easy for your opponent to Counter-spell your own spells, so magic
can be problematic. Try to make your shugenja go last, so even
if you do not cast a spell, he will have to waste a shugenja's
turn waiting for you to cast so that he could counter-spell.
Try to take spells that do not require the caster to become spent,
since your opponent will have to spend his casters in order to
stop your magic, leaving less casters to hammer you next turn.
As with the Crane, try to avoid their archers
as best you can, and their casters as well if they are armed
with attack spells. This is one army where Hida Kisada might
come in very handy leading a unit, as they will be immune to
all of the magical attacks the Phoenix can muster, and his Defense
5 goes a long way toward stopping their mundane ranged attacks
as well.
Unicorn
The Unicorn are very fast, and their cavalry
can be devastating. However, their numbers tend to be small,
as a cavalry army is expensive to field. Cavalry are very dangerous
for infantry to face, so the Hiruma Medium Elite may be a good
idea. They have good morale, and a unit if Hiruma Elite in a
Defensive Position with a Wall of Spears can make even the Unicorn
think twice! The Unicorn have lived on the backs of their mounts,
and it shows in the way they fight and the units they bring to
battle. Consider a more defensive army to try and counter-balance
their speed. Defenders of the Wall are a good choice, and Hiruma
Archers can also help. The main problem is that Unicorn have
the best heavy cavalry in the game, and a charge from one of
those units can shatter just about any infantry unit. The same
armor makes them less susceptible to archery.
Along a similar line is the spell Calling
the Elements, which will deny a cavalry unit their cavalry move
and their reserve movement. This can be very handy against
a Unicorn Army, which is likely to come right at you. You just
make sure that your shugenja goes second, then wait for the Unicorn
player to make his unit move in the cavalry phase and then hit
the same unit with Calling the Elements.
Shadowlands
Oddly enough, although the Crab have some
great anti-shadowlands units, the Crab army is not necessarily
the first choice for fighting the Shadowlands. The problem is
that they have an average Morale, and decent leadership, but
almost none of the personalities in the Crab army have Fearless.
So if you are going to fight the Shadowlands, remember to take
as many anti-fear tactical cards as you can, you are going to
need them!
Kuni Witch Hunters are a great value vs. a Shadowlands army.
The SL army is low on decent archery, so their relatively low
TN is not that much of a detriment (although you should still
take precautions). Once they engage a corrupt unit, the increase
in modifiers and a #S of 2 can really make them devastating fighters.
Be careful of big personalities with the Obsidian Blade dueling
your personalities. Although the Oni cannot take the blade, in
the hands of a non-creature personality the OB can spell doom
for your personality. Undead are also a particular problem, since
they cause fear and will not break, so you have to fight them
until you either destroy the unit, or your unit breaks from fear.
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