Re: Guiding Jomon
Hmmm, let me clear up a few misconceptions...
PvK - Decoying using small groups of independant shield-wielding infantry is fine up to a point. Especially early in the game this works fine. However, once your 100+ strong army is facing down another one, and it comes to protracted melee, your small shield squad is probably going to be either overrun or right next to your unshielded samurai, at which point you will start taking heavy losses. So decoying will work in the early game, and with smaller fights, but for larger battles as the game progresses it will (in my experience) be insufficient on its own.
Tifone - I wouldn't want to spend much on kit for assassins: you have other priorities for your gems. However, an ethereal crossbow or a bow of war can be pretty deadly with a prec. of 14, and both of them are only 5 gems (3 with a dwarven hammer). Of course both of these are Construction 6. Before that your best bet is probably Longbow of Accuracy.
Sombre - I think the 'hordes of longbow samurai' strategy is why this nation is rated as low as it is by most people. I think it can do better.
Aezeal - I didn't say you didn't need money. Everyone needs money. In fact (as I think I said) you can get almost as much money from good events as from an Order scale. What I said is that your troops and mages aren't that expensive, which is true. Compare, for example, to Pangaea: most expensive mage 330 gold, 35-75 gold for elite troops; or Abysia: 330 gold again for most expensive mage, 30 and 55 for top elite troops; or Patala: 450 for most expensive mage and 20 - 45 gold for your better troops.
Compared to these (which are just a sampling) you are paying a lot less with Jomon to buy as many of your best troops as you can, plus your best mage. Using the build I describe I rarely run out of cash, even with aggressive castle-building.
Aezeal - no offense, but I think your logic is flawed wrong re. archers. So they can take sloth while you have to take production - you don't think that's a disadvantage for you? that's 240 design points difference! If you have 3 castles pumping out archers what's to stop them from having 3 castles also? then you are still outgunned 5 to 1. The point is that your Samurai's melee skills and good melee weapon are largely irrelevant if you're in a shooting war, and you are paying 27 resources for that equipment.
Ming - good point about fetishes and clams. The only problem with clams is you don't start with a water income - but the hope is you'll find one quickly enough. Two water boosters should be easy enough. I agree that longbows have their place - but I'm going against the prevailing wisdom, which is that all you need is longbows.
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