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Sengoku Daimyo guide: strengths, counters and build orders

Yatai and Matsuri economy, Yumi Ashigaru spam and Mounted Samurai with the Daimyo aura

Tier D · 46.1% win rateYataiYumi Ashigaru LevyDaimyoKanabo SamuraiYari CavalryYumi AshigaruIkko-ikki MonkOzutsuTanegashima AshigaruTanegashima Ashigaru LevyAtakebune

Strengths

  • Economy scales with Yatai and Matsuri
  • Yumi Ashigaru are cheap and fast, he makes huge numbers of archers
  • Mounted Samurai with the Daimyo aura are very strong
  • Koka Township: Shinobi scout the map and set ambushes

Weaknesses

  • Very weak against a Dark Age spear rush and harass on the Yatai
  • Yatai got heavily nerfed; if they return to base the economy drops
  • Hard civ with lots of effort for less payoff
  • Lowest win rate on the ladder

How to counter Sengoku Daimyo

  1. Spear rush or tower rush in the Dark Age on the Yatai and Matsuri
  2. Raid from several sides with cavalry, and make Archers against the Yumi push
  3. Against Yumi spam: defensive 2 TC and outscale him
  4. Spearmen against Mounted Samurai, and kill the Daimyo first
  5. Scout the Matsuri, Yatai and Estate type: Oda = Archers, Takeda = cavalry

Units that work well: Spearmen · Early spear rush · Cavalry to raid · Archers

Layla's in-game tip: Hit the Yatai early with Spearmen, his economy will collapse

Power spikes and timings

  1. 2:50Goes Feudal with a Ryokan or Koka Township
  2. 5:00Feudal: Oda Estate and Yumi spam or Yari Cavalry

Strongest armies per age (simulator)

Open-field fights in Layla's battle simulator against standard armies of the same cost. Score = resources needed per enemy resource (lower is better; 1.0 is an even trade).

Feudal Age

  • Hardened Naginata Samurai + Hardened Spearman0.79
  • Hardened Naginata Samurai0.8
  • Hardened Naginata Samurai + Yumi Ashigaru0.93

Castle Age

  • Veteran Spearman0.89
  • Veteran Naginata Samurai0.91
  • Veteran Spearman + Veteran Naginata Samurai0.92

Imperial Age

  • Elite Spearman0.79
  • Elite Spearman + Elite Naginata Samurai0.83
  • Elite Spearman + Elite Yumi Ashigaru0.84

Civilization bonuses

  • Daimyo Estates can be dedicated to a clan to provide bonuses to melee infantry, cavalry or ranged infantry.
  • Farmhouses are Food drop-off sites in addition to providing Population.
  • The Matsuri is a unique early Market that can recruit Yatai which can passively gather food from nearby Food sources.
  • Survival Techniques researched by default.
  • Forges are Gold and Stone drop-off sites in addition to containing military upgrades.
  • Gold deposited by Villagers generates bonus Stone and vice versa.
  • Extra melee damage upgrade accessible in the Dark Age (I).
  • Ikko-ikki are combat monks that can be recruited from Buddhist Monasteries that heal while attacking.
  • Keeps come equipped with Rocket Emplacements and increased health in the Imperial Age (IV).
  • Fishing Boats are cheaper to produce.

Landmarks

  • Farmhouse (built in Age 1; 50W · 15s) Increases your maximum Population and Villagers can drop-off Food at this building. Contains technologies to improve Food gathering.
  • Forge (built in Age 1; 50W · 20s) Villagers can drop-off Stone and Gold at this building. Houses technologies to improve mining and military units.
  • Koka Township (built in Age 1; 400F 200G · 190s) The Koka Township has the ability to scout a target area anywhere on the map and an ability to spawn a Shinobi ambush near one of your buildings or near…
  • Matsuri (built in Age 1; 100W · 20s) The Matsuri acts as a early Market and universal drop-off location. Produces the Yatai. The Yatai can gather Food and when full it will send a trader back to…
  • Ryokan (built in Age 1; 400F 200G · 190s) Increases Population by +60 and nearby units get a permanent healing buff, healing 4 every 6 seconds when out of combat.
  • Hojo Clan Daimyo Estate (built in Age 2; 125W 125S · 30s) Increases Hojo Clan support providing bonuses to Barracks Infantry. Produces the Daimyo unit. Hojo Daimyo Estate health is increased +1000 and cost increased…
  • Oda Clan Daimyo Estate (built in Age 2; 125W 125S · 30s) Increases Oda Clan support providing bonuses to Archery Range Infantry. Produces the Daimyo unit. Oda Daimyo Estate health is increased +1000 and cost…
  • Sake Brewery (built in Age 2; 1200F 600G · 220s) The Brewery will create Toko-Koji Mats around itself which can be worked by Villagers to generate Gold. Villagers can drop-off Stone and Gold at this building.
  • Takeda Clan Daimyo Estate (built in Age 2; 125W 125S · 30s) Increases Takeda Clan support providing bonuses to Stables Cavalry. Produces the Daimyo unit. Takeda Daimyo Estate health is increased +1000 and cost…
  • Temple of Equality (built in Age 2; 1200F 600G · 220s) Acts as a Buddhist Temple that contains unique Ikko-ikki upgrades. Reduces the cost of training Ikko-ikki monks by 25%.
  • Castle of the Crow (built in Age 3; 2400F 1200G · 250s) Acts as a Castle. Reduces the cost of constructing Castles by 33%. Siege units nearby any Castle gain +10% damage and +1 tiles range.
  • Sword Hunt Statue (built in Age 3; 2400F 1200G · 250s) Daimyo cost decreased by 50% and increases Daimyo Aura attack speed bonus +15%. Level 3 Daimyo Estates will spawn levies +100% faster.
  • Castle (built in Age 4; 200W 600S · 180s) Heavy garrison and defensible position equipped with a powerful Rocket, which deals high damage to a single target. Can be upgraded with weaponry. Adds…
  • Tokugawa Shrine (built in Age 4; 5000F 5000W 5000G 5000S · 600s) Build and defend a Wonder to secure victory. Rival civilizations will be aware of its construction and seek to destroy it.

Sengoku Daimyo build orders

  • Yumi Spam with Wood Matsuriaggressive
  • 3 Yatai and Takeda Cavalryaggressive
How Layla reads build orders out live

Sengoku Daimyo matchups

Best matchups

Hardest matchups

All matchups

FAQ

What counters Sengoku Daimyo in AoE4?
Spearmen, Early spear rush, Cavalry to raid, Archers. Spear rush or tower rush in the Dark Age on the Yatai and Matsuri
Is Sengoku Daimyo a good civ in AoE4 right now?
Sengoku Daimyo wins 46.1% of ranked 1v1 games across all ranks (about 21,795 games), which puts it in tier D on our tier list.
What are the unique units of Sengoku Daimyo?
Yatai, Yumi Ashigaru Levy, Daimyo, Kanabo Samurai, Yari Cavalry, Yumi Ashigaru, Ikko-ikki Monk, Ozutsu, Tanegashima Ashigaru, Tanegashima Ashigaru Levy, Atakebune. - Yatai: Worker unit that will passively collect food from nearby Food sources without killing or consuming them. - Yari Cavalry: Fast cavalry effective at raiding, flanking, and countering ranged units. Bonus damage against cavalry. - Daimyo: High health and damage melee cavalry that provides an aura that increases attack speed of nearby military units. Effective against melee units. Limited to o
When is Sengoku Daimyo strongest?
2:50 — Goes Feudal with a Ryokan or Koka Township · 5:00 — Feudal: Oda Estate and Yumi spam or Yari Cavalry

Data from the open game data (aoe4world/data), patch 16.2.10884, public ranked statistics, and Layla Coach's battle simulator. Layla Coach is an independent tool, not affiliated with Microsoft, Relic Entertainment or World's Edge.

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