Strengths and Weaknesses of the Dragon Clan

by Agasha Mirv

The Dragon clan is an enigma to most of the other clans. None say they understand them, and few, barring the Phoenix on occasion, call them friend. Even fewer call them enemy.

The strength of the Dragon Clan is not apparent at first glance. That is because there strength is their lack of weakness. By the same token, their weakness is that they have no strength.

If I appear to be talking in circles, and making little sense, then I am giving you a glimpse into what the Dragon Clan is.

You will not find the best close combat warriors, those belong to the lion. But with a well placed lion or tiger tatoo, what originally appeared to be a mediocre unit is now as devistating as those lion warriors. This is the true strength of the Dragon. They have more versatility with their troops than any other clan. Any attempt to best a clan at their own game will lead to folly. Do not try to out duel a Crane, or out magic a Phoenix, or out fight a Lion.

You can, however, out magic a Crane, and out duel a Lion, and out fight a Phoenix. And you can do this with ease, as the Dragon clan is pretty much second best at everything.

Each house of the Dragon adds a certain element to the clan. The Mirimoto are the backbone of the army. They are the best warriors in the clan, with some of the best ATNs in the game at 8/7 for basic and elite troopers. Some of the best in the group are the Talons who can Enrage for wonderful bonuses (+3+3), ignore moral, and still have a ATN of 7. My two favorite personalities have to me Taki and Yukihira. Taki takes 10pts off the cost of an attached weapon, and Yukihira adds a +1+1 for a weapon.

The Agasha are your shugenjas and they are respectable and plentiful. Agasha Tamori in non-unique, only 75pts, and only gives up 2VPs if he's killed. And there are lots more shugies in the Dragon mountains. The Agasha troops, Fireblossoms, are relatively useless, however. Poor moral and combat numbers and their limited range make them ill suited for any role.

Next up is the strength of the Dragon, the Togashi family. They are the part of your army your opponents will come to hate. They will never be certain what they can do, as no one will know which tattooes you've got on them this time. The Ise Zumi are my personal favorite. 2 Wounds, TL of 5 (resist those pesky army collapsing break tests) and the tatooes...those wonderful tatooes. I rarely field any army without them. Give them a crab, tiger and centipede tatooes, and that 2 wound unit is now cavalry with a 6" move, ATN of 8 and has combat numbers of +1+4. The single best leader for the tattooed units is none other than Togashi Bujun. He can give his unit fast strike for 2 rounds, and two extra dice for 2 rounds. With happy little charges, this unit can be +2+5 with first strike. and with centipede active, they have a greater charge range than any other unit in the game!! There's also the tattooed madmen to consider. They can be fun, but they're always one trick ponies. Try throwing on 5 Tiger tatooes and activating them all at once. Their unit becomes +0+15. You hit someone, and they die, it's as simple as that. Obviously, you want to find some way to add to their ATT. Try adding charge, empire in flames, etc. to your tac deck to make these guys really shine.

Last but not least is the Kitsuki family. They are great against ninja and kolat, but that's about it. They don't have any troops currently, so there's not much else to say about them.

Summary: Our group dreads to play me, since I have such a wonderfully balanced clan to choose my troops from. One battle I may duel, another pepper them with ranged attacks, and the next swarm them with tatooed warriors. The key to Dragon clan success is suprise. Never let them know what you've got up your kimomo's sleeves.