Sangokushi Taisen

Unit Type In-Depth FAQ Version 1.0


---------------------------------Introduction----------------------------------

This FAQ was created for the purpose of explaining in depth, the uses for the
various unit types in the Sangokushi Taisen game. I'm sure all of us have
already spent a huge amount of time and money on this highly addictive game,
but I hope that this FAQ would help new players or perhaps even old ones learn
a new trick or two.

As with the other FAQ, the most of the information I have is gathered from the
Sangokushi Taisen Guidebook published by Enterbrain (ISBN4-7577-2697-X), 
which I heartily recommend buying, 
the Sangokushi official website at http://www.sangokushi-taisen.com,
and of course expensive playing experience (sigh).

Finally, I'd also like to thank Junitsu especially for his FAQ, and the other
guys at the SG Magic forum, http://www.sgmagic.com,
who helped me quite a lot along the way.



----------------------------------Background-----------------------------------

There are in all 5 different types of units in this game. These include:
Cavalry, Spearmen, Archers, Swordsmen and Siege Engines.
Knowing and being able to use these units effectively is a deciding factor in
this game, and makes the difference between a good and a bad player.

I will be listing the average siege damage in percentages based on a strength 6
unit. One thing thats important to know is that the siege damage is based more
on the type of unit rather than the strength value. Attacking the center gates
deals more damage, and all units lose a point of health gradually when sieging, 
regardless of strength and type.

I've included melee combat differences together at the end of the FAQ.



***Cavalry***

Siege Damage	13% (21% at Gates)
Mobility	1.1 (1.32 when dashing)

Traits:
Cavalry are the fastest moving units in the game but they suffer from having
very low siege damage. When they are given a distance of about 10 cm to run on
the board when not sieging or engaged in combat, they would be engulfed by a
bluish aura. This aura would only disappear when the Cavalry stops moving, has
it's movement speed reduced by terrain or spells, or when it encounters an
enemy unit. Any enemy unit it touches however, will take immediate damage
before normal combat begins and there will be a "STROKE!!!" message when this
occurs. The aura will also reduce the amount of damage taken from arrows and
from other enemy Cavalry rushing towards it, but if it touches any array of
spears, counter damage will be taken by the Cavalry instead. The aura damage is
dependant on the strength of the Cavalry and includes a one time melee.

Strategy:
Take note that the movement speed of Cavalry becomes slower than most units
when moving on the difficult rocky terrain, through forest or grasslands. Any
skill that improves the movement speed however would somewhat neglect the
terrain effects and you would be able to maintain the minimum speed for the
aura.

You can maintain the aura indefinitely by keeping the Cavalry moving from one
distance to another or simply by rotating it in a tight circle. Very useful
while waiting for enemies to come out from their fort, or using the Cavalry as
bait for the enemy archers.

Versus Spearmen, the best options are to stop just right in front of them and
enter into combat without the aura, wait for the Spearmen to enter into normal
combat with other units and lose their array of spears, or try to hit them from
an opposite direction where the spears are not pointing at. Good luck though.

Against other units, just rush at them with the aura. If you have something
that increases your speed, you might even consider falling back a distance
after the initial attempt to rush them again. Since the aura deals a set damage
based on your Cavalry's strength, other times you'll find repeatedly rushing
the enemy units useful would be when the enemy has a higher strength than you,
when the enemy unit is attacking your fort and is stationary, and of course
against other enemy units trying to defend against one of your sieging ones.



***Spearmen***

Siege Damage	18% (28% at Gates)
Mobility	0.7

Traits:
Similar to Cavalry, when not in sieging or engaged in combat, an array of
spears will appear from the Spearmen. Consider this array of spears as an
invincible extension of the unit. Apart from dealing damage to any unit
touching it, if the array of spears touches any Cavalry aura, the wave will be
neutralized and the Cavalry will be damaged. There will be a "COUNTER" message
when this occurs, and in fact, Spearmen can counter any unit type as long as it
is moving faster than 1.2 speed (No you didn't see wrong after all). The 
counter damage is also based on the strength of the Spearmen and has a one time
melee.

To use the array of spears effectively, it is important to know that the
direction of the array would be firstly, the direction the unit is moving, or
else, the direction the unit is facing when stationary.

Strategy:
Firstly, the array of spears only disappears when sieging or when the unit
engaged in close combat, and it is extremely effective to wave the array in and 
out of a near enemy unit when you still have them. This would allow you to deal 
the equivalent of a round of melee damage to the other unit every time the
spears are waved in and out. Theoratically, it is possible to kill every other
unit without taking damage. Well, maybe except those pesky long-range
Archers...

Methods to use the array of spears effectively include waving the card from
side to side (card slightly in front of game position), moving the card in
small circles, or moving the card back and forth. This needs getting used to.

Spearmen would fare badly against Archers because they take longer to move into 
attacking range and also because they move slower than archers. The only
effective strategy then would be an all out mass attack. Remember, if a unit
loses half its life going near an archer, trying to run away would only lose
you the other half.



***Archers***

Siege Damage	15% (24% at Gates)
Mobility	0.9

Traits:
Archers are the only ranged attackers in the game, and they are the second
fastest unit in mobility. When stationary, they would be able to attack enemies
about a half-board radius away with arrows. Archers will target the first
available unit in range, and when there are multiple targets, the unit that it
is facing. Archers will not be able to continue to shoot arrows if they are
engaged in close combat.

Strategy:
If there is nothing threatening the Archer, and there's still a target in
range, do not move the Archer at all. This is the most common mistake made by
beginners who were trying to 'finish' the enemy unit by chasing it, or trying
to move the Archer nearer to enemy units to get in range. Remember that Archers
cannot fire when moving. Also, in order to target another enemy unit, you have
to move the archer slightly, and there will be a slight delay before they can
fire again.

Archers have fast movement and are quite unaffected by terrain, so if you are
facing too many enemies at one go, if might be better to fall back and hide
behind some obstruction or some of your other units.

One of the better uses of Archers is to use them for support when your other
units are sieging. Since they are able to shoot from a safe distance, even if
your Archers are low in health, it may be worthwhile to keep them within range
of the enemy fort. 

The arrows shot from Archers will hinder enemies trying to siege. Being shot by 
arrows will cause a unit to take double the time required for sieging. Although 
this would not be as effective as placing your unit on the enemy's and stopping 
the siege entirely, if you can afford the risk and place your archers a
distance away, you save them from being damaged and make them a great nuisance. 
Sometimes a much better option then letting them die instantly against a higher
strength enemy. Also, if there are multiple units in range, remember that you
can always change the direction the card is facing to target enemies that are
actually sieging.



***Swordsmen***

Siege Damage	18% (28% at Gates)
Mobility	0.7

Traits:
Nothing. Really!
Swordsmen are practically Spearmen without the spears. The main reason why they 
exist is because by having no special traits, the cost of these cards can be
made low. You'll also find that most Swordsmen do have very useful and
sometimes unique card abilities.

Strategy:
None. Almost.
Basically, if you are not planning to use the special ability the Swordsman
has, then you are better off using another card.



***Siege Engines***

Siege Damage	40% (64% at Gates)
Mobility	0.5

Traits:
Siege Engines are the slowest units in the game, but for a good reason. Two
successful sieges in the enemy gates is more than sufficient to win the game.
Apart from this damage advantage when sieging, they do not have any other
attributes. Unless you want to count the extremely slow movement speed as
one...

Strategy:
Like Cavalry, Siege Engines are very much hindered by terrain. Since their
movement speed is already slow, trying to get them to pass anything is a
pointless affair. It is therefore very important to position them at a correct
location at the start of the game.

I once thought that Siege Engines take a longer time to register a hit when
sieging then compared to other units, it is actually not the case. Most of us,
when we just started playing this game, would move our cards right up to the
very end of the game board in order to siege. However, because the siege bar
only increases when your unit is stationary, the Siege Engines start sieging
later than others because they take longer to get in place. To help overcome
this, and save some time when sieging, just place a third of your card over
the enemy fort line drawn on the game board.

Siege Engines have better defense against damage from other units, so they
would be useful when you're defending. Normally a Siege Engine wouldn't make it 
to the enemy side in time to be useful anyway. Siege Engines deal lesser damage 
too, and unless you are using the Siege Engine as bait, you are better off
getting rid of the enemy unit first with something else when sieging.



---------------------------------Melee Combat----------------------------------

The Official guidebook contains 25 matrixes of figures for the exact damage
dealt between different unit types, but I'll just list a basic summary in this
FAQ. Do note that melee combat refers to the units overlapping each other.
Like the siege damage, there is also a 20% random factor.

The reason why I included this together here is that its not just a simple
"Rock, Scissors, Paper" game, and gets a little confusing without the formula.

Cavalry:
Loses against Spears and Swords, but wins Archers and Sieges.
Versus Swordsmen you can still try to use your aura to gain an advantage, but
you're at a distinct disadvantage against all Spearmen.

Spearmen:
Draws with Archers and Swords, but wins Cavalry and Sieges.
Spearmen are great melee units, and at the very least will draw with anything
of the same strength. Having the array of spears is also an advantage in the
game.

Archers:
Loses against Cavalry and Swords, draws with Spears, and wins Sieges.
Archers do poorly in melee combat, but they are compensated by having a ranged
attack. One interesting thing about Archers is that they both deal and take
damage the fastest in the game. Another analogy is that they have a high
attack, but low defense.

Swordsmen:
Draws with Cavalry and Spears, but wins Archers and Sieges. 
Compared these with Spearmen, they seem to be not much different, but you have
to note that they do not have any other unit traits in-game.

Siege Engines:
Loses...
Actually with regards to damage, although Siege Engines deals very little
to other units, they also take damage very slowly. That means in the long run
Siege Engines will still lose, but they tend to survive for quite a while.



---------------------------------Ending Notes----------------------------------

Thank you for reading, I quite enjoyed writing this FAQ. I might still have a
mistake or two in here, so I'll be grateful for any correction, contribution or
comments, and I can be reached at the GameFAQs boards, at tel_arin at hotmail,
or best at the SG Magic forums.

I claim no credit for the information in here, just the effort in compiling
them into one piece. This FAQ is free to be used for non-profit purposes, but
it'll be nice if you could send a mail when you plan to use it.

Copyright 2006 Lim Yi Ming

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.



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