Kraellin, Sorry to let the cat out of the bag, Multi Campaigns are only two weeks away, so I guess I better keep my yap shut. (to everyone else, this is a joke)

Radan, LOL....I was wondering how long it would take before someone brought up the Hoard. The best part of this strategy it actually reduces the chances of going up against the hoard. Here is why...

A Shaddow Daimyo is very interested in maintaining buffer zones around their territory. He must strike a balance between keeping these zones strong enough to be able to defend themselves, but not strong enough to want to attack his own lands. Because these zones are controlled by AI Daimyos the same "cheats" that create the hoard effect apply to these buffer zones. So as one hoard expands, it must face another hoard before they reach your borders. These battles will deplete the strength of the hoard, and if the Shaddow Daimyo protects their borders well enough to deter attacks from the buffer provinces, then the hoard that concurred the buffer provinces should not be strong enough to pose an immediate threat. They even may even be weak enough for you to strike and capture all those well developed lands that you did not spend a single koku for.

In my Shaddow War games, I have three phases of mischief. The first phase is usually positioning some Shinobi in out of the way provinces to give reports of the activities of the other Clans. It is vital that these Shinobi cross the border asap before your neighbor has enough time to properly set up their spy defenses.

Phase two is the buildup and training of my rabble rousers. I will wait to gather up 15 Shinobi before sending them to an easy mark. This is almost always Imagawa's Hizen since it has a port and doesn't border another clan so therefore doesn't build up spy defenses. 15 Shinobi in a province with at most one or two units is usually enough to start a revolt. With Shinobi each revolt acts like a kill for purposes of determining a units honor. The higher the honor the higher the percentage of population a Shinobi will encourage to revolt. So, even after a couple of revolts, the 15 Shinobi will still be able to spur revolts even when the garrison is 4 or 5 units strong.

It also should be noted that no matter what, I will continue to commission Shinobi and send them to my current mark to be trained or stationed along my borders for defense. As in any war each side will have casualties and it is very important that you have enough spies at work to keep the revolts going.

Phase three starts when it becomes clear that one Clan is beginning to dominate. I will target a province in that Clans rear and send my Shinobi there to start revolts. A army of peasants will rise and the Clan will have to divert its own units to put down the revolt. These armies clash and the winner (usually the Clan) will have lost troops that otherwise would have been a part of the hoard. More uprisings are spurred, more peasants take arms, more Clan units sent to put down the rebellion.

Remember the key to a successful Shaddow Campaign is to have rival clans fight each other or even themselves while you safely build your elite troops. Once the rebellions start, they quickly become a vicious circle where troops that you did not have to pay for, lose their lives in ever increasing numbers. These losses help to destabilize the dominate Clan to where they are no longer able to expand and in many cases allows other Clans to take bites out of the dominate Clan.