STW No-Dachi
No Dachi
| STW No-Dachi | |
|---|---|
| Unit Name: | No Dachi |
| Type: | Shock |
| Combat Stats | |
| Charge: | 8 |
| Attack: | 5 |
| Defence: | -2 |
| Armour: | 1 |
| Speed: | 5 - 10 - 12 |
| Morale: | 8 |
| Cost: | |
Unit Card: 
| |
No-Dachi are staple Shock Troops – in fact, the term was coined for them. They're meant to lead suicide charges, killing as many enemies as possible with utter disregard for their own lives. It's not uncommon that the sheer force of the attack will make the enemy run immediately: hence "Shock Troops". Even if this trick doesn't work, No-Dachi have sky-high morale and will keep on fighting almost to the last man, eventually winning through against most opponents even when fighting head-on and uphill.
Due to their light armor, No-Dachi are rather vulnerable to enemy missiles; some care should be taken, but one shouldn't pay too much respect to archers. After all, the whole point of the unit is to go for the jugular; being peppered by arrows is part of the job description. Still, providing some armor upgrades may be a good idea. This will also improve their survival rate in a melee.
Armored or not, No-Dachi aren't the worst choice if you have to assault a steep hill with lots of archers: under the hail of arrows, lesser troops may well rout before even reaching the enemy, while No-Dachi will keep going and fight bravely – costly, but at least you get something for your money. Likewise with river crossings: if the day is too short or the enemy archers too plentyful for feints and maneuver, when you have no choice but a brute force frontal attack, No-Dachi are just the right troops for the purpose. As a welcome side effect, the enemy will suffer badly from friendly fire while he tries to pick out the dozen-odd No-Dachi between hundreds of his own men.
Armies made up mostly of No-Dachi do work, at least insofar as they will win suffer badly but kill even more, however, you'll need several Dojos in order to provide for a constant stream of reinforcements.
The main purpose of No-dachi is to provide quite some punch in a small package, to either hack your way through tough opponents or (preferably) to make some enemy unit run early, which probably will lead to a chain rout. They are best deployed in a way that will bring as many of them into contact with the enemy as possible, like only two ranks deep and on lose formation.
