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Ranged Attacks, Ranged Attacks, and more Ranged Attacks
By Nick Zube

Stronghold: Kyuden Yoritomo

Personalities
Daikua x2
Daidoji Rekai x3
Mukami x3
Mukami (Exp)
Tsuruchi x3
Yoritomo
Yoritomo (Exp)
Yoritomo (Exp. 2)

Holdings
Barbican x3
Island Wharf x3
Jade Works x2
Large Farm x3
Master Smith
Pearl Divers x3
Pitch and Fire x3

Regions
Farmlands x3

Events
Imperial Gift
In Time of War
Kisada's Funeral
The Return of Fu Leng
---------------------
Dynasty Total: 40

Items
Jade Arrow x3
Tsuruchi's Arrow x3

Followers
Elite Spearmen x3
Medium Infantry x3
Spearmen x3

Actions
Arrows from the Ranks x3
Arrows From The Woods x3
Blackened Sky x3
Concealed Archers x3
Deadly Ground x3
Mushin x3
One Koku x3
Superior Tactics x3
The Egg of P'an Ku
---------------------
Fate Total: 40

Obviously, this deck works great on defense. In fact, it's got so much ranged attack power that I took a rather large risk in not including either Block Supply Lines or Refugees. Still, there are so many arrows and fireballs flying out of Kyuden Yoritomo that it should hold off almost any attacking force, several highly annoying Personalities, Items, Followers, and Actions excepted.

Of course, the difficulty of making such a defensive deck is trying to take advantage of its defensive capabilities to win battles. This is where Yoritomo and Daidoji Rekai come in. We all know how cool Yoritomo is. But Rekai is a little lady who's often ignored by the public at large for anything but Iron Crane decks. Here, she serves a dual purpose: she's got the ranged attack strength of Mukami, but high enough Force to swipe Provinces with a few Followers attatched. She's also a samurai, which means you can give her Tsuruchi's Arrow for an instant Ranged 6 attack!

There aren't any Rallying Cries in this deck because, in general, you shouldn't need them. The Fortifications take care of your Provinces for you. Barbican paired with Pitch and Fire create a nice base for Mukami alone to defend a Province. If you wish, you may defend with everybody, then play Blackened Sky to destroy them all. Duels are nicely prevented with Arrows from the Ranks: after the first one, your opponent will never be sure whether or not you have any others in your hand. Mukami, in particular, is strengthened by the powerful Jade Arrows (the sole reason for the normally inferior Jade Works in this deck), which are findable with Imperial Gift. And, of course, The Egg of P'an Ku is there to create what I like to call Yoriclone-o.

This is only a sample of one of the many different varieties of ranged attack decks possible with Yoritomo's Alliance. In fact, there are so many ranged attack toys out there that you can always surprise your opponent with the next little weapon you have up your sleeve. A number (but, by all means, not all) of cards which can be cycled into this deck include:

• Blazing Arrows (incredible with Moshi Wakiza, Exp.)
• Higher Ground (combined with Mushin and Blackened Sky, this is deadly)
• Isha, Balash, and Sysh (they're Naga, but, damn, are they ever good archers!)
• Kyudo (double your Ranged Attack characters' power!)
• Kyjutsu (gets around most RA defenses)
• Moshi Wakiza, both versions (strong ranged attacks, and Moshi, Exp. is especially good when carrying the Eye of Shorihotsu)
• Retired Wasp General (provides both defense and offense!)
• Sting of the Wasp (works really well with Archers)
• Street to Street (remove the Followers in order to pick off the Personalities)
• The Elements' Fury (remember the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when they open the Ark of the Covenant? This is the L5R equivalent)
• The Fires that Cleanse (frakka-boom!)

Go ahead and experiment with these and see what works for you.

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