Sengoku Rance:Commander Tips

Summary table
Different troop types with the same stats will work out differently. The troop type bonus for each of the four battle parameters is ranked in the manual from A+ to C.

Note that various costs may be affected by other factors such as items or satisfication bonuses.


 * Attack = Base Attack + ATK * (1 + Buff Modifier) * 10
 * Defense = Base Defense + DEF * (1 + Buff Modifier) * 8
 * Magic Attack = Base Intelligence + INT * (1 + Buff Modifier) * 10
 * Magic Defense = INT * (1 + Buff Modifier) * 7


 * Max troop size is based on difficulty and the number of provinces controlled. Vassaled provinces are not counted. The base value is then multiplied by each unit's troop ratio.


 * Recruit cost goes up by 20 when troop size is 500~999. Recruit cost goes up by 40 more (base + 60) when troop size is 1000~?.
 * The attack power of new troops goes down with increased numbers.


 * Damage (Without Item Modifer) = {[Adjusted Troop Size * (Attack - Defense)%] * Skill Modifier} * Battlefield Effect
 * The number within square brackets caps at the actual troop size.

Warrior (武士/Bushi)
Warriors are the classic samurai. They are swordmasters focusing on offensive skills. At lower difficulties, they are a typical player's main source of damage. However, as they often receive counterattacks from enemies, their usage dwindles when the enemy outnumbers them, which is often the case on higher difficulties.

Important Skills: Important Captains:
 * 力を貯める (Charge) — Passive skill raising damage by 70%. By spending one action, all your future attacks become stronger (unless debuffed by enemy Tacticians). Also, it has less delay than standard skills.
 * 迂回突撃 (Side Attack) — Special attack preventing enemy counterattack. Although it costs two actions, it keeps your troops unharmed to perform the next attack. Useful for slow commanders who can't expend all their actions anyway.
 * 手加減攻撃 (Light Attack) — Special attack dealing 0.2 damage; increases capture rate. Any enemy hit by this attack will likely be captured. Light Attack does not have to be the final blow, but the target must still be defeated.
 * 武将突撃 (Commander Charge) — Special attack preventing enemy counterattack. The first hit (intiated by the commander) deals 20 damage plus 3 damage per commander's level. And then the entire troop attacks regularly. If the enemy is guarded by Shikigami, the commander's attack will be blocked. But the follow-up attack will not. Unfortunately, the initial attack doesn't reduce a Foot Soldier's guard rate.


 * ランス Rance: The main protagonist. His passive skill "Auto-Heal (Sill)" initially regenerates 30 troops every turn. Also, there are Satisfaction bonuses to increase his actions and stats. Besides Kentarou, only Rance can reach level 99. In army battles, his Rance Attack is the same as Commander Charge. And in dungeons, the skill deals 2.0 damage. Moreover, a character cleared commander deployed with him gains 1 Affection point. (If Rance's unit is defeated, it's always a game over.)
 * 乱丸 Ranmaru: Probably the best starting commander. However, she is quickly outclassed by others. If character cleared, she gains ATK and DEF buffs when deployed alongside Katsuie.
 * 上杉謙信 Uesugi Kenshin: A useful commander with Commander Charge. Her passive skill Military God's Aura (軍神の威光) takes away 1 action from enemies in army battles. And it increases battle preparation effects. Furthermore, her high level makes her great in dungeons. Hence she's a good candidate for action increasing items.
 * 小川健太郎 Ogawa Kentarou: He's somewhat similar to Rance. For instance, he's the only other character able to reach level 99; he's the best damage-dealer in dungeons. Also, after he becomes a demon, he cannot be harmed by most enemies. And therefore, it's wise to deploy him troopless in defending battles.
 * 徳川家康 Tokugawa Ieyasu: Incredible in dungeons—he has a piercing charge-attack, costing 1 action, which deals 2.0 damage. In army battles, he has Charge, Full Power Warrior Attack 2, and 5 actions. Only available in second games. But to recruit him, you must forgo Senhime.
 * 明石風丸 Akashi Kazemaru: Although he starts weak, he has potential in army battles. He can acquire Hibachi, a skill increasing damage by 50. Acquiring Hibachi increases his below-7 combat stats by 2 so it's recommended that you trigger this event when he has 6 in all 4 combat stats. His level cap is 40 but his starting level is 11. Recommended equipment is Ryuuguu Sword Urashimaru or Oiuchi Fang.
 * 毛利元就 Mori Motonari: He has high stats and Commander Charge. But when character cleared, he will return to his cursed form in which his only attack deals a fixed 200 damage. Additionally, he'll keep his previous troop size, which cannot be increased, so (if you desire) raise his troops to 1,000 beforehand for using a battle permit.


 * 独眼流政宗 Dokuganryuu Masamune: Has 6 actions, and can reach level 70. He has high stats, but comes with no special attacks, which may be good or bad; he's less useful before you teach him skills like Side Attack. Unfortunately, having him prevents character clearing his wives. So you'll often fire him regardless of his strength.
 * ノワール Noir: An ideal Warrior with Commander Charge and high stats. Keep her, and fire Masamune if you wish. In addition, she has Auto-Heal. (Not as powerful as Masamune in dungeons.)
 * Daidoji Komatsu: Has the unique skill Fan Club, which gives her 20 troops every turn. Therefore, she may be useful in lengthy playthroughs. Her stats are quite average though.
 * 森田愛 Morita Ai: A decent bonus character slightly better than Ranmaru. Starts with Shouting Charge and 5 actions. Don't expect her to survive magic attacks though; she's as thick as two short planks (INT 2).
 * Ouka Toki: Another bonus character. Begins with less combat stats and less troops than Morita Ai. But she has better Search/Negotiation/Construction and level cap.
 * Kuge Kyouko: Obtained early in Kyo. Fairly average commander, but starts with Light Attack.

Foot Soldier (足軽/Ashigaru)
Foot Soldiers constitute the main force of most armies. They are the most cost-effective troops to heal/recruit, and have the fastest growth; they are weak individually, yet strong in numbers. More importantly though, they're able to simultaneously self-buff their defenses and guard allies. Building the training school in Mamushi Oil Field lets all Foot Soldier units grow by 5 per turn, and 5 more per visit to the school. Foot Soldier units are generally lead by spear-wielding commanders who retain their ability to guard in commander battles. There aren't many named Foot Soldiers, so beginners may find worth in hiring generic Foot Soldiers who serve as cannon fodder in army and commander battles.

Important Skills: Important Captains:
 * 味方ガード (Ally Guard) — Support skill increasing the chance of support-defending an ally (in the same row) by (INT*20)%; also while guard is active, all physical attacks taken will be halved. This skill defines a Foot Soldier unit's role.
 * 味方ガード改 (Ally Guard+) — Support skill increasing the chance of support-defending an ally (in the same row) by (INT*30)%; also while guard is active, all physical attacks taken will be halved. An improved version of the previous skill. With this, even Foot Soldiers with low INT may become decent defenders.
 * 全体ガード (All Guard) — Support skill increasing the chance of support-defending an ally by (INT*10)%; also while guard is active, all physical attacks taken will be halved. This skill allows Foot Soldiers to protect all rows. Due to this skill's low guard rating, it needs several supports to be used efficiently. Along with having high INT and equipping Protection Paper, a Foot Soldier with All Guard may want the next skill.
 * 強化初期ガード (Enhance Initial Guard) — Passive skill. A unit with this begins the battle with 120% guard rate instead of 50%.
 * 反撃率アップ２ (Counterattack Rate Up 2) — Passive skill raising counterattack damage, which deals 30% of normal attacks, by 60%. With this skill, high ATK units will essentially attack and defend at once; enemy Warriors will easily charge themselves dead. Only two commanders have this skill.
 * 柴田勝家 Shibata Katsuie: A reliable commander with 7 DEF and 6 INT. He's your initial Foot Soldier, so he may possibly be your largest Foot Soldier unit. Incidentally, his stats may be improved through a Satisfaction bonus. And in True History/Ran/Kenshin routes, he can gain Kouhime as a sub-commander. Alternatively, deploying him with character cleared Ranmaru buffs their ATK and DEF.
 * 前田利家 Maeda Toshiie: Another intial Foot Soldier, but useless compared to Katsuie. If you spend two Satisfaction bonuses on him, he'll gain 3 to ATK and DEF. But due to his low INT, he'll be decent at best. Investing two Attack Textbooks and two Defense Textbooks, he'll have 9 ATK and 9 DEF after applying the two Satisfaction bonuses. However, he'll still be underpowered without stat increases to INT and SPD.
 * 戦姫/千姫 Senhime: Has fairly good stats, and exclusively deals a Warrior's damage (disproven?). She also has Auto-Heal, which some would replace with Enhance Initial Guard, and All Guard. However, as she doesn't appreciate peace-time, she will leave if she doesn't fight for 3 turns. This can be avoided by character clearing her. A fair choice for Brute Photo/Rance's Love due to her high level cap.
 * 野菊 Nogiku: Has the highest starting stats. Comes with All Guard and Auto-Heal like Senhime.
 * 毛利てる Mori Teru: Eldest of the Mori sisters. Comes with Ally Guard+, Loot, and Counterattack Rate Up 2. A good candidate for the Dragonfly Cutter, which adds 45% to counterattack damage.
 * 島津ヨシヒサ Shimazu Yoshihisa: Eldest of the Shimazu brothers. Comes with Ally Guard+, Loot, and Counterattack Rate Up 2. But he has much better stats than Teru.
 * Moscow Fuyushogun: Youkai Foot Soldier with massive troop size, but only with two actions. Worth capturing to avoid fighting him. Not worth using though; his stats are low.
 * ゴン Gon: A sturdy commander with 7 ATK/DEF, Ally Guard+, and Fellow Troops Revenge. His INT/SPD are low though, thus making him ineffective as a defender. Also, his low INT makes him susceptible to instant-kill attacks.
 * ターバン Tarban: A decent bonus commander with All Guard, 7 DEF, and 5 INT. Has 0 ATK, which may be neglible if he's only defending (like Foot Soldiers are meant to). Not good as the named commanders, but noticeably better than say Maeda Toshiie.

Shrine Maiden (巫女/Miko)
Miko, the only units able to heal others, are crucial to every army wishing to minimize healing costs. They are also useful in outnumbered battles; Miko's Storm will likely outdamage most other attacks in such situations.

Important Skills: Important Captains:
 * 巫女の舞 (Miko's Dance) — A healing ability especially useful when facing heavy-damage dealing opponents.
 * 治癒の霧 (Healing Mist) — Heals all troops for a lesser amount than Miko's Dance for 2 actions.
 * 巫女の嵐 (Miko's Storm) — A devastating attack dealing damage equal to 10% of the opponents' max troop size. This skill is most effective on higher difficulties. Incidentally, this skill does not affect Hannys or Rizna.
 * 出張巫女 (Outcall Miko) — Male units start battles with ATK buffs because—if you catch the drift—Miko sell their services as "working girls." This skill is decent when you lack Tacticians. (Each 250 Miko buffs 1 male unit.)
 * 玉籤風華 Tamagushi Fuuka: Distinctly average, but quite possibly your only Miko for some time. Give her Miko's Dance+ as a priority to make her less generic. Also, she's necessary to open the dungeon to the game's (arguably) most powerful boss.
 * 足利超神 Ashikaga Choushin: A completely worthless commander with 0 in ATK/DEF/INT. However, he's required for Akihime's character clear. And he posesses the Emperor Ring, which Rance can steal. Fire him once you acquire the Emperor Ring; he costs 4 National Powers for nothing.
 * 名取 Natori: She has the exclusive skill Miko's Storm 2 (巫女の嵐２), which deals damage equal to 30% of the opponents' max troop size; she's crucial in castle sieges. An important commander to have in higher difficulties.
 * 雪姫 Yukihime: Comes with Healing Mist, but has less stats than Fuuka. However, she's worthless in dungeon battles.
 * 小早川ちぬ Kobayakawa Chinu: The only Miko with the skill Poison (毒殺), which deals damage equal to 50% of the opponents' current troop size. Her weakness is speed, but, in redemption, Poison requires two Ninja attacks to be preparation canceled. In addition, Poison unfortunately counts as a physical attack. Hence Foot Soldiers with guard active will receive reduced damage. Finally, in non-Ran/Monkey routes, she will be lost permanently.

Musketeer (鉄砲/Teppou)
Musketeers are the most offensive, and they completely ignore their opponents' defenses (unless the enemies are Foot Soldiers with active guard). Because of their incredible power, even low ATK Musketeers easily reach the damage cap. But against highly defensive enemies, such as a 9 DEF Foot Soldier with guard active, high ATK Musketeers reign supreme. Although they often strike first, Musketeers suffer either from having one action and/or long delays between attacks. They are also extremely vulnerable without protection. Finally, Musketeers are expensive, and grow slowly. Building an academy in Tamba (requires Tanegashima Shigehiko) lets all Musketeers grow by 3 per Turn, and this can be expanded to let them grow by 5 per Turn instead. In addition, each visit to the academy adds 3 more. Captain Defense Team complements Musketeers well.

Important Skills: Important Captains:
 * 引き付け (Lure) — Support skill boosting ATK by 70%. This skill doesn't spend an action.
 * 貫通射撃 (Penetration Shot) — Special attack costing 1 action. Hits front and back rows for 50% damage. So the net damage is the same, but penetration helps bypass Foot Soldier guard. The upgraded version, Penetration Shot 2, deals 70% damage for 2 actions; it's a worse deal.
 * 必殺　国崩し(Special Cannon) — Special attack exclusive to Ootomo Sourin, a Shimazu Muskteer. Hits all enemies for 100%.
 * 柚原柚美 Yuzuhara Yuzumi: The only Musketeer with "Shoot + Snipe" (射撃＋狙撃), which has a chance to instant-kill enemies. Recommended items are Action Textbook2, Popularity Staff, and Working Bee. The latter gives her three chances to instant-kill enemies.
 * 島津トシヒサ Shimazu Toshihisa: A rare Musketeer with 2 actions. He has high stats, but they're mostly irrelevant—DEF/INT is pointless on his squishy unit, and his 8 ATK is neglible unless facing heavily fortified enemies; otherwise, even generic Musketeers will rival his damage.
 * 種子島重彦 Tanegashima Shigehiko: Leader of the Tanegashima House. He has 2 actions, and lessers stats than Shimazu Toshihisa, which doesn't mean much. He's noticeably slower, but hits as hard as Toshihisa until late-game—when enemy Foot Soldiers become quite sturdy. Even then, the difference isn't dramatic.
 * 大友 宗麟 Ootomo Sourin: A generic Musketeer with 必殺　国崩し, which expends all actions. Good defenses against this skill are All Guard Shikigami and Accurate Shot. Only capturable in Free for All.

Monk (僧兵/Souhei)
Monks are utility units. They are cheap to expand, and they completely heal each turn; Monks are very cost effective. In battle, Monks are somewhat weaker than Warriors, but the former can heal themselves in combat and Monk Charge removes a buff from the target enemy. Also, even from the back row, they can handily remove the enemy's Foot Soldier guard, or restore action(s) of an ally. Monks are weak combatants in commander battles, but their Convert Action is valuable.

Important Skills:
 * 活動転換 (Convert Action) — Support skill restoring one action for an ally. This is especially effective on units with powerful skills, which consume all action(s). With this in mind, the upgraded version, Convert Action 2, is less desirable.
 * ガード解除 (Remove Guard) — Special attack removing Foot Soldier guard from all enemies.
 * 妖怪退散 (Youkai Ward) — Deals triple damage to Youkai. Also, it prevents enemy counterattack.
 * 延長戦 (Extend Battle) — Prolongs the battle. Effective for slow ally units like Miko or Mages.

Important Captains:
 * 性眼 Seigan: His unique skill, Death's Scythe (死神の鎌), reduces all enemies by 25% of their max troop size.
 * 卑弥呼 Himiko: A generic Monk in Miko Institute. Has 7 in all combat stats and 6 actions. In dungeons, she has three shots of Convert Action 2. She is likely the earliest and also most useful Monk in the game.
 * 朝倉義景 Asakura Yoshikage: His stats are mediocre. However, his character clear increases the National Power of all your provinces by 1 and allows him to give up to 3 Affection to random commanders when talked to. Uses a spear, which makes him hardly stronger than generic Monks, in commander battles.
 * 魔窟堂野武彦 Makutsudou Nobuhiko: Has 9 ATK, 8 DEF, Youkai Ward, and Convert Action 2. He's a little slow, but essentially performs like a Warrior. Arguably the most offensive bonus character.
 * 油娘道三 Aburako Dousan: A Monk earned through a Satisfaction bonus. Has Youkai Ward and Convert Action 1, which is effective on units with all-action skills like Uruza or Natori. Unfortunately, she costs 4 Command Fans to recruit.

Tactician (軍師/Gunshi)
If there is a single unit that can turn the tides of an entire battle, here it is. While relatively weak in every aspect, tacticians are able to make your troops exponentially stronger through buffs. In offensive battles, they can also push the morale meter in their side's favor and capture victory even if the entire enemy force is untouched. In defensive battles, they can strip away the time and make full use of the home-field morale advantage before being overrun. Friendly troops start combat with random tactician buffs already cast when a tactician participates in combat. While this is also true in dungeon battles, it tends to be less useful there, not counting the fact most tacticians wield war fans in dungeon battles, which might as well be feather dusters. Equiping +damage items like Ouichi Fang prior to an important dungeon can help mitigate this. the Tacticians are also among the slower troops to move.

Important Skills: Important Captains:
 * 合戦戦術 (Strategy) - The buffing skill. It originally buffs the entire team, and can be upgraded to either have greater effects on all, or buff a single target fully. Usually the all-buff is more versatile unless your Tactician has many uses and max speed.
 * 状態解除 (Remove Buffs) - Takes All buffs from a certain number of units.
 * 時間経過 (Time Advance) - Used to shorten the length of the battle, thus saving you from additional pain.
 * 戦果ダウン (Battle Result Down) - Boosts the morale meter in your side's favor. If you can't manage to kill your enemies, this is a good alternative to winning in attacks.
 * 明智光秀 Akechi Mitsuhide: Your starting tactician. He's pretty awful. You'll probably be forced to use him until someone better like Naoe Ai can join. Strategy: Tease him twice using the satisfaction bonus and he will run away from your army. However, his daughter Gracia will join instead and take on his stats with a +2 to atk/def/int/spd. As such, boost all applicable stats to 7 using a combination of basic atk/def/int/spd textbooks and affection level-up bonuses beforehand and Gracia will join with 9 atk/def/int/spd. He only has 2 action points though so this is not entirely recommended (as action textbooks are rare and should be reserved for other commanders).
 * ウルザ Uruza: She is the sole user of a blowgun, and consequently 精密射撃 (Precision Shot), a skill that attacks all enemies and removes one of their moves (even if they're at one). Her blowgun also amounts to massive damage hits in dungeon battles. Also has a level cap of 75, probably the highest in the game next to Rance and Kentarou. Also starts with the highest stat for tactician though weak skills. A fair choice for Brute Photo/Rance's Love due to her high level cap.
 * 真田透琳 Sanada Dourin: Comes with the passive skill, Fuurinkazan, which grants him all 4 buffs at the start of every battle (Dungeon OR Troop battle). He also starts with Strategy A and Battle Result Down 2. The latter can be abused if used well. Uses a bow (and is fairly good at it) instead of the standard issue tactician fan in dungeon battles.
 * 一休 Ikkyuu: His stats are not that impressive, and his level cap is pathetic, but in battle he is the only one who can use "Reversal of Fortune", which inverts the current state of the battle result gauge (can only use thrice in the entire playthrough).
 * Kurosaki Ichiya: One of the more useful bonus captains, specifically for early game Battle Rating Down 2 and Strategy Single.
 * 直江愛 Naoe Ai: Comes with second highest stat for tactician. Also starts with Remove Buff B and Strategy B.
 * 島津イエヒサ Shimazu Iehisa: Basically, stronger stats than all generic tacticians but less than most other top tier tacticians. Has a level cap of 49 however. No special skills worthy of mentioning.

Yin-Yang Master (陰陽師/Onmyouji/"Diviner")
With the ability to hit one or all enemy units at once and to create a barrier to protect one or all your troops, the Yin-Yang Master is probably the most versatile troop you can have. Their attack being magic means Honeys are immune, a fact of note when fighting the Imagawa House and in dungeons. Unlike some unit types, generic Ying-Yang captains tend to be as useful as special ones in dungeons (assuming they are same level), as they retain their shikigami ability as well as guard shikigami in dungeon battles. They tend to be among the first units to move, but since their primary attack requires preperation, you will likely not be able to use them to deal significant damage first.

Important Skills: Important Captains:
 * 防御式神 (Defense Shikigami) - A barrier is created, allowing a unit to not get any damage. A captain charge will do damage to your troop, even with this on a troop. The reason for this is that the first attack by the captain will break the barrier and then the troops will then attack, damaging your troops. Assassination skills (gale force, assassination, snipe+shoot) will go through the barrier, possibly killing the captain in the process.
 * 全体防御式神 (All-Defense Shikigami) - This skill creates a barrier for all the troops.
 * 式神 (Shikigami) - A spell that hits all troops, and is a magic attack (i.e. intelligence is counted for damage calculations). This is very useful as damage isn't reduced when a foot soldier has his guard up. The major weakness is that if a yin-yang is slow, it will take a long time before his/her turn is up on top of the fact that it will always take at least one full rotation before he/she unleashes the attack.
 * 鬼を召喚 (Oni Summoning) - An attack that hits one unit. A useful magic attack, but can be diverted by foot soldier guard.
 * 北条早雲 Houjou Souun: 8s in all stats. He comes with an attack similar to Oni Summoning Plus, but with only 1 action cost instead of 2.
 * お町 Omachi: She is the best yin-yang captain, and one of the most broken commanders in the game. She has two INT-based skills which can damage all enemy captains in battle. Her first skill (50% damage) doesn't require preparation, while the second one requires one turn preparation (but requires 2 ninja attacks to cancel) to deal higher damage (150% damage).
 * エリナ Elina: Quite possibly the best bonus starting character you can pick in a New Game +, since you cannot get a good diviner for a long time. She is only really outclassed by Souun and Omachi, and in any case starts with All-Guard Shikigami, which is amazingly broken to use in the beginning of a game and always remains useful.
 * 山中子鹿 Yamanaka Kojika: Unavailable until you beat Mouri (must see all her scenes with the different houses). She has great skills: All-Guard Shikigami, Summon Ogre Plus and Healthy Body. She has 0 upkeep cost to start as well. The only downside are her INT and SPD stats which are 4 and 3 respectively.

Knight (騎士/Kishi)
The Knights of Leazas have the offensive strength comparable to the Japanese Bushi, and the ability to guard their allies. The knights maintain a fit and healthy body making them very cheap to heal also.

Important Skills: Important Captains:
 * 親衛隊突撃 (Royal Guard Charge) - Special attack, when enemy has more troops, deal double damage. Even though knights face counterattack just like bushi, the double-damage dealt is worth it and can be abused - all it takes is 1 more unit on the enemy side for the double damage to apply. Very effective on crowds and many bosses who more than often have a thousand troops.
 * レィラ Leila: The only Knight unit in this game... She's gorgeously golden, with a little bit of orange. Royal Guard Charge is especially useful in higher difficulty games.

Cavalry (騎馬/Kiba)
Cavalry is perhaps the strongest melee unit in the game, with a base attack of 80, 20 higher than Knight and Bushi while maintaining the same defence. They also have the ability to attack from the backrow (and against opponent's backrow). The downside is that it's attack is treated as melee attack, thus suffers from counterattack. Only Takeda starts with Cavalry (except with 2nd game bonus). They tend to be among the first to move and move often. Surprisingly cheap to hire but have very slow growth per battle.

Important Skills:
 * 突進 (On Rush) - Aside from dealing extra damage, this will remove one move from your target, even if they are at 1.
 * 後衛潰し (Rear Crush) - Double damage to backrow range units. Good way to prevent back support.
 * 追い討ち (Follow-through) - TRIPLE damage if you are currently winning the battle and prevents counterattacks.

Important Captains:
 * 馬場彰炎 Baba Shouen: While his stats are not particular impressive, he starts with Fuurinkazan, which allows him to start with all 4 stat bonus. In addition, he is the only cavalry with the captain's charge. Furthermore, he starts off at level 50 with an impressive cap at 68. Finally, his Battle Rating Up skill tilts the battle rating bar for your side(more useful for higher difficulty games). One of the most overpowered captains in the game.
 * 山県昌景 Yamagata Masakage: Arguably the most powerful melee captain in the game. Starts with all stats at 8 AND comes with Fuurinkazan to further buff them up at the beginning of a battle, making his first attack possibly an instant death when fighting against him unless you have a colossal footsoldier troop guarding well. Also has battle result 2 to help with difficult castle seiges. His downside is the low level cap at 34, so he's not that useful in dungeon/solo battles.

Ninja (忍者)
Ninja are fast and benefit from being rather good at dealing hit and run damage without retaliation. You need them to prevent preparation by spell-casters (all their shuriken skills have that particularity, even during dungeons), and some Ninja can also attempt to instantly kill an enemy unit with their Assassination Skills. Building the Ninja Mansion in Yamato lets all ninja units of yours grow by 5 per turn automatically, and 5 per special visit to the school. They tend to be among the first to move and move often, but their damage leaves much to be desired.

Important Skills:
 * 暗殺 (Assassination) - Has a chance to insta-kill an enemy unit(chance increases when the captain has "assasination 2" instead). It also uses all the actions of the Ninja unit, regardless of outcome. Under certain conditions this ability may be guaranteed to fail, such as the fortress battle after poisoning Asai-Asakura post-earthquake. When targeting a unit being guarded by Footsoldiers, the Footsoldiers appear have the same chance of being assassinated as the protected unit.
 * 音速手裏剣 ([mach speed]Sonic Shuriken in english patch 1.04) - Very effective skill for a Fast Ninja Unit (like Kanami), as theres a good chance you will get two free attacks before the enemy forces can even attack once, as it has practically zero-cooldown time. Hence, extremely handy for eliminating undesirable enemy units quickly or taking out the enemies back line before they can start guarding it with footsoldiers. At higher difficulties this skill is of little use as you won't be damaging much of their troops with this skill, this only helps if you need to cancel charging skills super fast.
 * ちゅんちゅん手裏剣 (Chun-chun Shuriken) - Unique to Suzume, its basically like Yamamato Sweeping Fire, just the Shuriken version (while it's not as "economical", because it requires 2 actions, it does help cancelling charged attacks instantly even if the target is guarded by footsoldiers).

Important Captains:
 * 鈴女 Suzume: She's basically the only required unit besides Rance, so you may as well use her. That said, she may well be a prodigy as an individual kunochi, but her unit is actually fairly average. She can learn Chun-Chun Shuriken,which consume 2 actions when she only has 4 to spare (can be increased with action book 2) but is piercing and can cancel preparing attacks even while their user is guarded. She has a decent success rate with Assassination(starts with assasination 2) and is good for scouting, she is also decent co-ordinator for dungeon battles to switch out your exhausted forces simply because she's a Ninja. Nin-nin? Will cost a lot of money and skill books if you wish to make sure useful beyond the beginning of the game.
 * Kikkawa Kiku - Powerful all-around ninja. Starts with high 7/7/6/7 stats, along with Assasinate 2.
 * Kousaka Yoshikage - Probably the best ninja in the game, and incredibly powerful like his Takeda breathrens. All 7s in stats, Assasinate 2, and the awesome Fuurinkazan. Also has highest level cap of all among ninjas in the game.
 * 見当かなみ Kentou Kanami: She's not that great in other areas, but boy is she fast. She's basically guaranteed to go first unless the foe also has fast ninjas, making her ideal for Sonic Shuriken takedowns. Also a great dungeon co-ordinator because of her speed (she has basically no cool-down time when you use her to make other exhausted units switch... very handy).
 * 犬飼 Inukai: Being the top Ninja of Japan, he naturally has the best stats. He also has 101 Wanwan, which deals 101 damage to all enemy units. Can be upgraded to 201 damage to all units.
 * 折女 Orime: Ninja captain with the best starting stats (if you take into account that she has more actions than Inukai), and one of the special few with Automatic Recovery. She does not come with Assassinate, thus making her a candidate for learning Sonic Shuriken. Unlike most ninja captains, she has a sword attack in dungeons, and is considered a Youkai. This does not seem to do anything special but does seem to justify the fact that she has the highest HP of all ninjas in the game in dungeons (often about twice as much; the exact same as the other girls of Masamune at an equal level). This, along with fact that she also has the 2nd highest level cap of all special ninjas in the game, makes her one of the best dungeon running ninjas who has the attack power of a bushi and the speed of a ninja combined (however this also means she can neither cancel preparation nor attack the rear column in dungeons).
 * 月光 Gekko: You get him from picking the same New Game + bonus as you get Shizuka from. He cut off his left arm and adopted a Loli girl (Shinobu) to be his Right Hand (so to speak). The two appear in battle together (but strangely he appears alone in Dungeons). He has poor defence but is brutally powerful with 6 action points and an attack of 8. His passive skill "Assassination Skill +" gives him 100% chance to kill an enemy that has run out of action points.
 * ゴエモン Goemon: He's the only ninja which starts with both Battleground Preparation 3 and Assassinate 2 which makes him very versatile on the battlefield.

Archers (弓兵/Kyuuhei)
Archers main advantage is the ability to strike from either row without having to worry about counterattack. Due to their weak defence, that means put them in the back row. That said, though you wouldn't think it, the specialised archery unit is only marginally better than Miko's and Tacticians using their bows, although they are cheaper, grow faster, and are capable of much larger maximum troop sizes. Still, beyond the early/mid game, you'll probably not have too many of them (Yamamoto is usually the only one worth keeping under most circumstances). They are also notably worse in dungeons than ninjas.

Important Skills:
 * 一斉射撃 (Volley) - Hits all foes, but uses all the archery units actions and is a physical attack. Perhaps decent for cleaning up stragglers. Unfortunately, you have to go through Untrained Volley to get it.
 * 山本弓掃射 (Yamamoto Sweeping Fire) - Unique to Yamamoto Isoroku, its a very nice attack that hits an entire column for 0.9x damage and can't be guarded against for just 1 action. Probably the best attack useable by a Archer unit because it brings a vast damage increase over a regular attack.
 * 疾風点破 (Gale Force Strike) - Also unique to Yamamoto Isoroku. Its the archery version of assassinate. Has a lower chance, but you're more likely to have a bigger archer unit than a bigger ninja unit, so whatever. Also only uses 2 actions instead of all of them...

Important Captains:
 * 丹羽長秀 Niwa Nagahide: Ridiculously awful, but he's your starting archer and he does start with lots of troops. Also notably, he starts with Defeated Warrior Hunt, allowing you to capture enemy captains more easily. You can dump him fairly early.
 * 山本五十六 Yamamoto Isoroku: She has fairly average stats, but two skills which are unique to her. Yamamoto Sweeping Fire is sufficiently effective to make her the best archery captain. She also has Whirlwind Shot, which has a 'fixed' chance of instant death to one captain at 2 action cost. Because insta-kill chances are based on troop sizes, she is actually more useful as an assassin than ninjas, due to archers gaining troops so easily. Boost her attack to 9 and give her the Ryuuguu Sword and she can demolish a row of enemies with ease. Sweeping Fire also makes her one of the few units able to ignore guard, making her useful against back row units using preperation moves (like Diviners).
 * 原昌示 Hara Shouji: You can capture him fairly early, and he does start with Volley, so if you want that without the pains of training for it, then use him.
 * Inoue Shigemi/Shigeyoshi and Yamaguchi Tamon: Subordinates of Yamamoto Isoroku. Both of them will join your army if you bring Isoroku to trust and have spare nation power (7 nation power). They also can learn Yamamoto Sweeping Fire but unlike Isoroku they had to learn Bow Attack Plus first before Yamamoto Sweeping fire is available.

Magi (魔法/Maho)
Only available through calling for reinforcements from Zeth and/or new game + bonus. Nevertheless, pretty worthwhile if you're patient enough to train them, as they ignore physical defence and the footsoldiers guard, and can also hit multiple targets without a charge up time. Their defense is though below average and their speed is quite pathetic. Remember that buffing INT is more important than STR in this case. Most mages have high action points but tend to only move once or twice per battle, so using them in a battle with fewer captains on each side may let you move them more often. Their attack being magic means Honeys are immune, a fact of note when fighting the Imagawa House and in dungeons. In dungeons they also have relatively low HP despite their high levels, which leads to them being easily knocked out without the help of items.

Important Skills:
 * 白色破壊光線 (White Destruction Laser) - Is a piercing attack that hits an entire column for 1.5x the damage of a normal fireball (hence, deals a total of 3x damage), its pretty devastating. It does use all the actions of the mage unit though.
 * Ａカッター (Angel Cutter) - Unique to Rizna. Interesting because it hits all enemy units without a charge up. However, unlike the White Destruction Beam, it typically deals alot less damage (0.5x) to everyone except monks or demons. Since it deals massive damage to those two it is useful against the Demon Army and the Tenshi Sect.

Important Captains:
 * リズナ Rizna: An old heroine returns. Probably your first mage unit and possibly the worst, even though she can learn her hit all attack. Her speed is one of the worst you can find in the game as there will be fights where she'll only act once. But you must call her to have Uruza and Magic. However she has total immunity to all magic attacks, this includes the hit-all attacks of the likes of Xavier or Suzaku.
 * マジック Magic: Not actually much better than Rizna to begin with, since she comes untrained as well. Though her ability to learn White Destruction Beam is probably better than Angel Cutter.
 * 魔想志津香 Masou Shizuka: Probably the best mage, but only available with a New Game + bonus, and then only after recruiting Maria. Starts with White Destruction Beam and also has the rather useful Sticky Ground, which increases your chance of capturing enemy captains automatically. Also, always Hates Rance; you can never get her up to Normal/Trust/Love.

Cannoneers (砲兵/Houhei)
Cannoneers combine the power of musketeers with the placement versatility of archers and mages. Hence, they can benefit from a very high power without having to actually sit in the front row and endanger themselves, making them very useful for sniping at enemy units. (Technically, they possess far less base power than Musketeers. So Cannoneers can't deliver capped damage without raising ATK.) A few of their drawbacks however, include their poor speed and inability to ignore footsoldier guard. Despite the name, they're actually a unit of girls with rocket launchers!

Important Skills:
 * チューリップ連射 (Tulip Rapid Fire) - Double damage, but uses all actions.

Important Captains:

マリアMaria: The second reinforcement you get from Leazus after Kanami and probably the only Cannoneer you want to use (Kasumi is pretty inferior to her boss). Probably a good choice for the +2 ATK item, if you get it. Due to the extreme high cost of cannon troops, you should give her the popularity staff to make sure useful.