- When I got the Great Guard I it was the only non elite unit in my army; It was cavarly fight and after that I got free whack at opponent samurai backside.
- When I got the Great Guard II I had two of them and each backed by 2 yari cavarly; It was 4vs4 battle and in those theres allways something to do for cav.

Looking the stats after the match... 1000xp is pretty safe contestant for veteran spot. Getting more kills than the unit has men is also safe bet. With great guards its safe to go 3x as many kills.
But if you have non elite ashigaru in the army and it scores the 1000xp... You get offered the ashigaru first.

- Whit the great guards; look for opportunity to take out opponent archers. (When they arent guarded by spears) That will bring lots of kills.

- I dont know about the No-Datchis... They just keep dying in my hands so I dont use them anymore. (In STW they did the same but they took lots more with them.)