First unlocks - which units to head for first

Speaking about competition and the first things to head for.

If you choose the Yari Cav start area, than you can see 2 maps with guns on it. To get your first gun unit unlocked <matchlock ashi>, you should head for both of those maps. There are many things worth to unlock first, but in my Opinion the guns are worth to go for first.

After that, you can see a bit more west retainers which are quite strong:

the -2 melee attack and the -10% ashi costs. The -2 meleeattack is something most people will use for quite a long time.

The next step is going for a moral unit. While the first available units got mostly 5 moral only, units like Yari Samurai or No Dachi goin strong with 10 moral. It depends on your play-style and your liking, but i would go at least for one Samurai unit. This way you can create a strong moral Spot in your army.