Pike & Shotte Wars of the Samurai

0 box sets · 8 kits we track

Feudal Japan's own pike-and-shot era, ashigaru spearmen and arquebusiers under samurai command.

Wars of the Samurai extends Pike & Shotte's reach to Japan in the same century as its European wars, when ashigaru foot soldiers armed with spears and matchlock arquebuses fought under mounted, armoured samurai commanders. Warlord's rules treat it as a variant of the same pike-and-shot system rather than a separate game, so a player already collecting the European wars finds the mechanics familiar even though almost nothing else carries across. It's a striking change of look within the range - lacquered armour and the banners each figure carries on its back give a Japanese force a completely different silhouette and colour palette to anything else Pike & Shotte covers, and those banners are worth real painting effort since they're what identifies a unit at a glance.

On the table: Spear-and-arquebus infantry under samurai command, fought with the same pike-and-shot logic as the European wars but a wholly different visual identity.