Next Wednesday Fighting Hedgehog will be starting a campaign to bring the warring states of Japan to the tabletop with the third supplement for their CLASH of Spears rules.

CLASH of Katanas // Fighting Hedgehog

The power of the Shogunate is in shambles, and Japan has fallen into the chaos of the Sengoku Jidai. Daimyos lead their clans into battle, fighting to become the next Shogun, while peasants are rising across the country in a "single-minded revolt", the Ikko Ikki. But those are the problems of lords and generals, yours is to lead your men through the day, and achieve honour and glory for your house! Or plunder and riches for you and your men...

Fighting Hedgehog have worked alongside acclaimed author Terje Solum to put together an expansion to cover the later stages of the Sengoku Jidai period in Japan as the newest expansion to the amazing CLASH of Spears rules. The book will cover fourteen lists, which will include Koreans and Chinese for the Japanese invasions alongside Clans and factions as they would be following the introduction of firearms in the mid-sixteenth century.

For those unfamiliar with his, work Terje has written extensively on the subject with his eighth book on the Saga of the Samurai due for publication this year and he has been invaluable to the brothers in helping to construct the army lists for the Clans and he has also written a potted history from the start of the Onin War in 1467 all the way to the final days of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1616. So if you are unfamiliar with the period you can get an excellent grounding very quickly.

CLASH of Katanas // Terje Solum

Fighting Hedgehog has also partnered with Zenit Miniatures to put together Clan packs to help people start their CLASH warbands. Games are typically twenty-five figures and upwards so these warbands are a good start and Francisco has gone through the Zenit range to find the best miniatures from a range that has a fantastical flare. There are also plans for other miniatures to be available in the Backer Kit and for some new sculpts to be made specifically as part of the campaign.

Samurai Clan Set

Ikko Ikki

Bandits Clan Set

Ming Chinese

There are no Koreans in the range currently but Fighting Hedgehog has put together a nice set of starting forces if you don't have figures already. The Kickstarter has various pledge levels from the single book by itself, or bundles containing multiple clans and additional books if you and a friend fancy going halfers on a pledge.

CLASH of Katanas // Early Bird Minis

There are a couple of early bird offers for people backing in the first 24 hours and at a certain pledge level. Everyone who backs for a book or higher is entered for a chance to win a Things from the Basement Yamashiro Fort which is a thing of beauty and will be very welcome by whatever jammy git gets it. The four models above are available to anyone adding a clan set to their book. You'll get the model for the clan you're picking up and if you are pledging for multiple Clan Sets then you will get one for each clan.

Things from the Basement Yamashiro Fort

New scenarios and characters change the gameplay to reflect how warfare was fought in Japan, this isn't just a medieval pike and shot game with a new skin and I can't wait to play it out on the table. The unique engagement phase that CLASH uses to set deployment can now be given an added tweak with the inclusion of a Ninja or Shinobi to a force. Likewise, the heart of the command and control of the game can be mixed up with the inclusion of Tsukaiban messengers.

Clash itself is figure and scale agnostic and while it is written for 28mm figures you can use them with whatever you have. Although I do love the Zenit miniatures, I think I may be visiting Steel Fist for a look at theirs or perhaps the upcoming plastics from Fireforge Games. There is a lot of options available these days so whatever you're after to field your force it is worth a look.

Maybe Lloydie will finally get to play with some samurai!