Guide of Bait Tactics

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Thirty. One Bait, Many Preys

"The trade ship has surrendered... I hope every ship is this easy. "
"That's why if the Wako has nothing but trade ships, they simply remain on the spot to be shot to pieces one by one."
"Let's see what's the next ship... a Bow Kobaya! Baits, go ahead!"
"Please be careful. The preys will come to us this time."
"It is fine ~ no worries... WHAT'S THAT?"
"The preys started moving! Lot's of them! Two Sengoku Bune! Medium Bune! Bow Kobaya! Half of the enemy fleet is moving!""
"All ships, prepare to battle!"

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"The enemy flagship is heading into our trap! Yeah! Come to daddy!"
"The second Sengoku Bune is still some distance away! We have one precious minute!"
"The enemy also has a few other ships, two Bow Kobaya, one Medium Bune. How about them?"
"One Medium Bune can easily board and take out one Bow Kobaya. Amako's Medium Bune is strangely sailing away... that leaves us 4 Medium Bune against their Sengoku Bune! We can beat it!"
"Shoot them up!"

43. Sometimes, smaller enemy ships decide to sail away only to be stuck at the "strange red line". We will leave them to the last.

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"Got them! War Cry! "
"You can't run away! Surrender! "

44. When the prey enters the trap, use War Cry to slow them down. Use ships to block their advance.

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"One Sengoku Bune surrendered! Two to go!"
"The second Sengoku Bune is coming, my lord!"
"Block their advance! Keep firing!"


Note: That was a head-on collision! But strangely none of the sailors fell into water.

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Thirty One. Those who were Idle Remain Idle

"Second Sengoku Bune down! One last to go!"
"The third Sengoku Bune did not move since the beginning. Two Bow Kobaya are with it."
"Can we lure it out by shooting at the Bow Kobaya?"
"Hm... if it did not come out in the first chance, why bother now? "


45. Ships that did not respond to the bait in the first place will quietly remain on the same spot, waiting to be destroyed.

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"Bow Kobaya routed! Third Sengoku Bune surrounded, my lord!"
"Board the ship! Release the ropes!"

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Thirty Two. Those Who Tried to Hide will Get Away

"My lord, we have captured all of Amako's Sengoku Bune!"
"Good! Report the victory to the Grandmaster! Let's go have beer!"
"My lord, the battle is not over..."
"Huh? We have wiped all all enemy ships..."
"There is one Medium Bune stuck on the far side. Remember the Medium Bune that abandoned the other preys at the beginning?"
"Oh yeah... I thought they fled."
"They won't flee as long as their morale is not broken."
"Then let's break it now! "

[Maltz]

"My lord, the Amako ship is about to rout!"
"Release the rope!"
"The enemy got away as half of the ship is already out of the battle zone..."
"What a joke... "
"At least our arrows killed a lot of them... watch that body dangling outside the ship like a castle gargoyle..."

Note: Actually there is one way to prevent the enemy ship from routing once they are stuck at the red line. Simply reduce our ranged attack and wait for the ship to turn. As long as the ship is not facing the exit, it does not instantly get away.

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Intermission. Repair for the next battle

(Reprise: We wish you a Merry Christams 1555, Part I)

We crushed Amako's first fleet,
But we know they have more ships,
We must get the repair ready...
More battles next year!



(Part II)

More Amako ships have shown up,
More Amako ships for us to shoot up,
In Bait Tactics we trust,
Foes break down with tears!

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Thirty Three. When No Ship is Allowed to Escape

"Pearl, we let two Kobaya run away in the last battle. Our victory was not complete. Is there a way to allow no ship escape?"
"Hm... Kobaya is routed easily while it moves toward our trap. The will trun to their side when they get close. Which way they turn is hard to tell, and therefore it is hard to intercept them."
"So there is no way to catch those pesky Kobaya?"
"After they start routing, difficult. Before they start routing, there is hope. We significantly shorten the trapping distance. Before they start routing, they move toward us. We can board them as quickly as possible."

46. When we have superior melee ships (better ships, higher experience, equal or more ships), shortening the trapping distance and boarding every ship as quickly as possible is a good way to capture every enemy ship.

"This will incur more loss, though."
"When ships are repaired, sailors are always filled up to the top. As long as our ship survives, the number of sailors remain matters little."
"True. How about let's try that in this battle? We board Amako's ships quickly as they come to the trap."
"Amako's ships have a few Medium Bune! There is one level-5 Medium Bune! This is quite risky..."
"We have superior ships. There is nothing to worry~

Note: Capturing every ship is very important when trying to wipe out an army-carrying fleet. Even if one ship survives, the army will magically all squeeze onto the single batterred Kobaya.

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"The AI's captain ship is coming first!"
"Fire! Wait until it get closer and prepare for boarding!"

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"More ships are coming, my lord! Some are attempting to sail through the gaps between our trap!"
"Perfectly aligned to us! Perfect chance for boarding! "

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"My lord, thanks to War Cry and local superiority, the level-5 Amako Medium Bune surrendered! The Bow Kobaya beside it is about to give up, too."
"Good! Keep the pressure up! Board every ship as quickly as possible!"

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"My lord, we are now boarding the two ships that did not respond to baiting!"
"And the last prey is in the net. Let's fight! "

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"My lord, a fierce battle happens on the last ship! Heads are flying into the sea!"
"You are surrounded! Surrender to the compassion of Buddha! "

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"Victory, my lord! No ship escaped this time!"
"Good! Amako's navy has taken a huge hit from the last two battles."
"But those ships that escaped from the first battle still has to be handled..."

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"Here you are! Gotcha!"
"We have to reduce our attack to just 2 ships so they do not run away... "
"Two ships is enough to get rid of these broken ships! "

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"Board them as quickly as possible!"
"My lord, we have again captured them all!"
"6 vs. 16 becomes 6 vs. 0 in three seasons! Let's report the victory to the grandmaster!"

[Maltz]

Bait Tactics Episode #04: Bait Tactics on Water.

[Maltz]

VI. First Battle of Echizen

Intermission. Japan Divided

It was spring of 1560,
The Ashikaga Shogunate could tolerate no longer,
After half of Japan turned Ikko's believer.
here comes the Realm Divide,
But two great clans stood with their ally.

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A new order was born,
When the Ashikaga Shogunate was defeated in Kyoto.
A new world awaits Ikko,
But there was still a long way to go.

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While Ikko and Oda are still allies,
Tension arise, when the monks started to encourage peasants to defy.
By autumn, both Ikko and Oda gathered armies of five.
Great clashes of the superpower will decide the winner,

the monks, or the samurai.

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Next spring we see the eruption of fall-scale war.
More than ten thousand in Echizen prepared for battle.
Oda's army was led by their daimyo,
Ikko's army was led by their two best generals.

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"Suzuki, Oda has declared war and joined the enemies. You are in charge of the first battle of Echizen. Are you ready to face them?"
"My lord, I am ready as ever. The Legion of Faith is with us. The faithless Oda shall be shattered by the chant of pure land Buddhists! "
"Er... there is no one else around, so let's drop the propaganda. What's your plan of tackling the upcoming battle?"
"Yes, my lord. Actually I have been studying The Art of Gore heavily! I know what to do!"
"Oh? Let me test you a few enemy formations..."
"Please!"
(Clapping hands) "Gather the soldiers this afternoon to train on formations~"

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Thirty Four - Formation: Misplaced Katana I (Spear Point)

"OK, Suzuki, tea break is over. Take a look at this formation."
"My lord, you must be kidding me. This is the Spear Point formation. This is the first formation that every one learns in school."
" You only see the surface... Spear Point is nothing but a fancy name. Name means nothing. See through the surface! How do you break this formation?"
"I see! There is a Misplaced Katana in the middle of the first row! I will draw that out with Bow Warrior Monks!"
"That's better. What if there is no Katana but a lot of Yari?"
"Then the Yari must form a very long second row. I will draw them out from their exposed sides!"
"Very good! Now let me show you another formation..."

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Thirty Five - Formation: Misplaced Katana II (Crane's Wing)

"How about this formation, Suzuki?"
"My lord, you cannot fool me. This is Crane's Wing."
"I am not asking you its name! "
"It is very simlar to the previous formation - with the Katana in the middle of the first row."
" That's better. So how do you break this formation?"
"Draw out the misplaced Katana with Bow Warrior Monks!"
"That's better. What if there is a Naginata in the middle?"
"I also draw it out with Bow Warrior Monks!"
"What if the Katana is stuck behind and forget to refill the first-row spot?"
"I use Cavalry to approach from the side to encourage the enemy to reform!"
"Very good! And don't forget that this formation has more exposed cavalry. It is possible to draw them out. OK, take a five-minite break. I will show you another formation..."

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Thirty Six - Formation: Misplaced Katana III (Cloud Dragon)

"Suzuki, how about this formation?"
"My lord, are you teasing me? It is the same as the last two formation. Katana in the middle of the first row."
"Yeah... I don't know who invented those formations... But it is actually a different formation."
"Oh yes, I see it now. This is Cloud Dragon formation. It seems that Spear Point and Crane's Wing are more popular."
"Indeed. Well, now you know what to do with it, right?"
"Draw out the misplaced Katana with Bow Warrior Monks!"
"What if there is a lot of yari samurai?"
"Approach from the side to draw out exposed yari!"
"What if there is a lot of cavalry?"
"Wouldn't the enemy actively attack us? There is no need for bait tactics."
"Yeah... I meant that as a trick question. OK ~ enough of the Misplaced Katana. Let's look at the other formations..."

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Thirty Seven - Formation: Bow First I (Flying Geese)

"Suzuki, take a look at this."
"Hm... I have never seen Cavalry at the very flank before. Usually only a human does that. "
"Yeah the enemies usually hide Cavalry in the back. This formation is rare. Well, this is Flying Geese formation."
"My lord, why don't you tell me more about the surface?"
" Actually in this formation you should first pay attention to the surface - the first line. What do you see?"
"All bows."
"What does Bow-First mean?"
"That it is impossible to draw out melee infantry when approach from the front."
"Exactly. So what would you do?"
"Draw out infantry from the sides!"
"Good! And those cavalry on the flank look very irritable as well. Don't forget to give it a try... if you ever see this formation. "

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Thirty Eight - Formation: Bow First II (Reclining Dragon, Turtle's Shell)

"Suzuki, how about this?"
"Oh I have seen this quite a lot. This is the famous Turtle's Shell formation. It is the bane of Bait Tactics!"
"Indeed. The formal name of this formation is Reclining Dragon. It is very hard to draw out enemy units if they are all well protected by first-line bow units. It takes a lot of skills and courage to draw out the units from the BACK of the enemy formation."
"My lord, I know you did this to the Chosokabe in the second battle of Iyo."
" Yes that's why I said that."
"Ok... Wouldn't the Cavalry respond, though? They are in the back."
"Yes. We have to be careful that this will draw out the Cavalry. Get the yari infantry ready!"

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Thirty Nine - Formation: Bow First III (Pine's Bark)

"Suzuki, let me show you another variation of Bow First. You should recognize this."
"Yari on the second line, katana third line. This is quite common... Pine Bark formation, right?"
"Indeed. Many clans like to use a lot of Yari units, like Oda. So you see this formation quite a lot, with a very enlogated second line."
"So I will draw out their exposed unit of the second line."
"Exactly. And since the Cavalries are also very exposed, you should be ready to draw out Cavalry as well."
"No problem!"
"OK, that's all of Bow-First formation. Now let's move onto the freebies. "