[PhilD]

Even without magic (all mages are very expensive), the Ashikaga seem awfully strong to me.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but the Samurai Swordsman, Samurai Bowman, and Samurai Horseman, all seem pretty strong: fast, deadly, and durable. The Bowman and Horseman are expensive, and they don't exactly have extra heavy protection, but in my one test game, they all tended to rout enemies quickly enough to take few losses; the high morale does a lot for this, of course.

In the game I started yesterday (vs 12 AI on Targa's map), by turn 34 I have killed Ulm, am at war with Pangaea and Abysia (and sieging both their capitals), and generally feel very comfortable (twice as many provinces as the closest AI). And I believe the only spells I've cast so far were site-searchers...

At least, this is all much better than I'm usually doing!