Shogun Army 2000 Pts - Dogs of War Army (inspired by The Last Samurai movie and Total War: Shogun pc game)

1 Teishogun Tokugawa (Mercenary Captain) @ 76 Pts
General
Heavy Lacquered Armour
[No-Dachi] Sword of Might [20] (also the same as having a shield in close combat)

18 Yari Samurai (Pikemen) @ 239 Pts
*lead by Captain
Pike
Heavy Armour
Standard
Musician
1 Kaneda (Champion) @ [10] Pts

1 Tokugawa Banner Bearer (Paymaster) @ 86 Pts
Heavy Lacquered Armour
[No-Dachi] Sword of Battle [25] (also the same as having a shield in close combat)

18 Yari Samurai (Pikemen) @ 239 Pts
*lead by Paymaster
Pike
Heavy Armour
Standard
Musician
1 Kenshin (Champion) @ [10] Pts

1 Zen Monk Morimoto (Hireling Wizard ) @ 110 Pts
Magic Level 1
Lore of Heaven
Miscast Table
Dispel Scroll [25]
Dispel Scroll [25]

18 No-Dachi Samurai (Bearmen of Urslo) @ 335 Pts
Frenzy
Heavy Armour + No-Dachi [same as having Light Armour & Shield]
Musician
1 Musashi Kensai (Beorg Bearstruck) @ [0] Pts
Frenzy
#Twin swords of Heaven and Earth (Bear Fang) [0]
1 Tetsuo (Oerl) @ [0] Pts
Frenzy
Heavy Armour + No-Dachi [same as having Light Armour & Shield]
Standard
#Musashi's Legendary Dojo Banner (Bear Banner) [0]

13 Samurai Crossbowmen (Marksmen of Miragliano) @ 224 Pts
Crossbow
Light Armour
Standard
Musician
1 Uesugi (Maximilian) @ [0] Pts
Crossbow
Light Armour

1 Commander Takeda (Kislev Boyar) @ 104 Pts
[Naginata] Great Weapon (same as having a shield)
Heavy Lacquered Armour
Normal Bow

18 Ikko-ikki Warrior Monks (Kislev Kossars) @ 196 Pts
*lead by Boyar
Great Weapon
Normal Bow
Standard
Musician
1 Hiryu (Champion) @ [10] Pts

5 Naginata Cavalry (Gryphon Legion) @ 221 Pts
Naginata (same as having Lance and Shield)
Heavy Armour
Standard
Musician
War Banner [25]
1 Nobunaga (Champion) @ [16] Pts
6 Warhorse @ [0] Pts

1 Cannon @ 85 Pts
3 Cannon Crew @ [0] Pts

1 Cannon @ 85 Pts
3 Cannon Crew @ [0] Pts

Casting Pool: 3

Dispel Pool: 3

Models in Army: 107

Total Army Cost: 2000

note: Naginata (Short spear w/ the blade of a katana sword) and No-Dachi (Long-sword) have such excellent quality blades that the skilled samurai don't have a need for shields to parry attacks in close combat.

Obviously this would require a lot of conversion and putty work. It'll be my ultimate project. hehehe. If it's not going to happen however, I hope someone will :D It's tragic to have an idea go to waste :D

Sounds cool to me, only (and please correct me if I am wrong) I was under the impression that a No-Dachi was a great weapon of some sort (big two-handed version of a Katana)? All of the books I checked agree with me on this one.

You could always use Warrior Monks of some sort as the Bearmen (martial arts forms have lots of defensive maneuvers that could be treated as light armor and shield). :ph43r:

Alternatively, you could take a Paymaster's Bodyguard unit (with halberd and heavy armor) and have the No-Dachi stand in for the halberd, or perhaps a unit of Dwarves with Great Weapons (I wouldn't think someone in heavy armor with a great big sword could move at full speed anyway, but having never done that myself, I really don't know).

Yeah, you're right about No-Dachi... it's a samurai long-sword... but it's not necessarily a great-weapon equivalent to a broadsword! hehe. Anyway, I use the No-Dachi 'cuz it's the only weapon I could think of that's also best for parrying attacks (due to the quality of Japanese swords, the samurai never felt the need of using shields)... also, No-Dachi samurai warriors were the kamikaze front line warriors and with the bearmen's frenzy, it fits well. Also, it'll be easier to convert such models for me than warrior monks (although a great idea nevertheless). I like the Dwarf alternative though. I might play around with the list some more.

As for halberds, the equivalent for it in the ancient samurai arsenal would be the Naginata - short spear with a katana blade. And yeah, I've thought about using the Paymaster's Bodyguard but I'd rather have my paymaster lead the pikemen. Also, I don't have enough points left for it.

Maybe I'll change the Kossars into the Naginata-wielding Ikko-ikki Warrior monks instead and use Naginata as a great weapon! ;-)

Rules point: you get no bonus from using an additional hand weapon with a magic blade, as you have done on your captain and paymaster.

You're right! Let me fix that.