012 Battle of Okehazama (1560) - Dengakuhazama Gorge
Imagawa Samurai Army (Red/BrentS) 2 Banners won, 17 figures lost
Oda Samurai Army (Yellow/toddrew) 5 Banners won, 13 figures lost
The Oda intended for this battle to go much as Mark and Scott's, but the initial play of Serpent Command was blunted by White Fox Spirit, only enabling a solitary Naginata unit to advance within striking distance of the Command Tent. Imagawa may have had few cards, but they were the proper ones early, as Crane's wing allowed the spearmen to back off and the Mounted units to move over to protect the camp as archers on the right picked off a figure from the Oda spearmen there. The Oda play of outflanked allowed the spearmen to close the distance to the archers, but not attack, while the advanced Naginata commenced the assault on the Command Tent. The 5d hit once, but the 3d coming back hit twice, leaving the Naginata standing out in the open to take the Mounted Charge of the Imagawa forces. Although the odds were well in hand, it was with trepidation that a Personal Challenge was issued by Nobunga to the unnamed Mounted Leader of the Imagawa army - 8 dice to 3 dice. The trepidation proved warranted, as Nobunga lost the challenge, soon followed by losing the Naginata unit.
Rattled, but unassuaged, Tiger Tail Right was played to both advance toward the camp and try to run down the archers on the right. Two hits but no flags and the archers stood. The Oda archers in the center did clip the Heavy Cavlary hovering around the camp. On Imagawa's next turn, the tables were turned on the Oda Spearmen, as the archers backed off and fired, while the other Heavy Mounted engaged in combat - a draw as each unit took a hit.
And here is where the game turned: with an order two in the center, the same Oda Spearmen moved adjacent to the 2 figure archers, but could not attack. The Naginata, however, had reached the camp - this time the 5d brought down the Command unit, forcing a leader evade, and gaining three banners while satisfying one of the victory conditions. Oda did not feel confident enough to take a swing at the Heavy Cavalry, and remained removed from further action.
Instead of responding as Oda had anticipated, Imagawa chose to move the weakened archer forward along with the heavy cavalry in order to surround the spearmen, first firing at them with a single die from an arquebus and another archer unit. The Practice of Aikido allowed the spearmen to remain at two figures, while doing some damage to the archers they had been chasing, now at 1 figure after the battle back.
Card attrition was beginning to take its toll on both sides, as the Oda could only muster a single order in the center, but it was enough to bring down the archers. The price was immediately paid on the next turn, as they in turn were finished off by the Imagawa Heavy Cavalry. The battle then shifted to the Oda left/Imagawa right, as the Oda advanced their Naginata and fired with the Arquebus, zeroing in on the Imagawa Spearmen in the hills. The cards allowed Imagawa to re-position to get the spearmen further from danger, but Oda kept pressing, and was able to end up pinning the other spearmen. Though at full strength, they faced a total of 13d, and were not able to hold up.
