Historically, the Lion have had no more frequent or vehement
opponents than their neighbors the Crane. The feud between
the two Clans was born over a thousand years ago, when Lady
Matsu fought the upstart Kakita in the first Emerald Championship.
While the two Clans have put aside their enmity for
the present, and are in fact staunch allies, the Lion still remember
the methods that have served them best over the centuries
of warfare with the descendants of Doji and Kakita.
The foremost principle the Lion favor when facing the Crane
is not to rise to the inevitable baiting by their commanders.
This has proven disastrous time and time again, as the Crane
commander taunts his Matsu counterpart into a duel, defeats
him, and then leads his army to victory over the leaderless Lion
forces. Therefore, Lion commanders maintain a respectable
distance from the front line when facing the Crane, communicaUng
their orders to their units and subordinates through signalmen
and runners. Some Matsu consider this tactic distasteful,
but the Akodo regard it as prudent as well as efficient.
Related to the practice of having officers pointedly avoid duels
with Crane commanders, the Lion have noticed the practice
of highly specialized Crane warriors used specifically to
intercept and eliminate key units in Lion formations, disrupting
tactics and casting the field into disarray. The most notable
of such specialized units are the Kenshinzen duelists, who are
deployed against elite Lion units to hinder them by defeating
their leaders in duels. Other such targeted units include the
Daidoji Iron V\1arriors and the Asahina Archers, both of whom
are trained to target battlefield commanders and can accomplish
a similar result.
The Lion answer this through use of targeted elite units of
their own, typically Ikoma wardens or Deathseekers. The wardens
use their superior mobility and speed to intercept and destroy
dangerous Crane units, while the Deathseekers can simply
be used without concern for attrition, and at the very least
entangle enemy units until such time as they can be properly
dealt with.
Given the Lion armies' superior numbers on the battlefield,
perhaps the greatest difficulty that they have encountered
from the Crane over the centuries has been the unconventional
(some might say dishonorable) tactics employed by the
Daidoji. While the rank and file of the Iron Cranes are a difficult
enough opponent on the battlefield, when their formations
and tactics are supplemented by extensive traps, modification
of the landscape, and even sabotage (as some suggest), it can
complicate matters considerably. After several unfortunate incidents,
the Lion have grudgingly admitted that swift entry to
the battlefield with the intent of crushing their foe can be a detrimental
tactic to use against a prepared Crane force. Extensive
use of scouting has become more commonplace in such
situations. Once again. this is a matter of contention between
the Matsu and Akodo, with the former admitting only grudgingly
that the tactic saves lives and has a dramatic effect on the
battle's outcome.
