Current state of MP - Balanced armies good?

When I quit playing Shogun 2 MP it was in a fit of extreme rage because of really ridiculous army builds that destroyed me when I played with a nice balanced army. Basically loan-sword spam with matchlock monks deployed into a thin line in the front and sides with a thin line of spears guarding them on both sides (vetted out great guard that can smash through anything to get to my general with no finesse or requirement of tactical thinking required was also a HUGE pet peeve). I found this bullspit impossible to beat unless I gave in and played along with the same, and I just wasn't willing to do that.

IIRC loan-sword spam was patched out, but I was wondering if there's still anything ridiculous in the same fashion that's the flavor of the month. I don't like it when the outcome is determined before the battle even commences, where no matter how hard I try with my balanced army, I lose against the ultimate optimized min-maxed army build and cheese tactics.