Gunsen Gameplay: Unicorn vs Dragon vs Lion | Road to 300 ELO — Episode 2

Episode 2 of Road to 300 ELO, and this time the random draw gives me the Unicorn clan for a 3-player live game on Board Game Arena, up against a Dragon and a Lion. The Unicorn is built around movement, and I lean into it hard — double moves, a Stable that lets me redeploy almost anywhere, and objectives that reward spreading troops across the map. It ends in my second win — though not the way I expected — and pushes me to 90 ELO. ▶ THE SERIES Road to 300 ELO is my attempt to climb from a beginner ELO all the way to 300 on Board Game Arena, exploring Gunsen's different clans and player counts along the way. It's part Gunsen gameplay series, part strategy laboratory — and honest about the mistakes I make on the way up. ▶ WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS EPISODE The Unicorn was randomly drawn this time — I didn't choose it on purpose. I was simply curious to see how the clan actually plays. Turn 1, I deploy all three tactical orders at once to score a point immediately — a line I only spotted mid-turn, and one that even earned a "cool move" in the chat. The engine is mobility: Utaku Kamoko lets my army move twice, and the Stable lets me redeploy across the board. I plant it next to an enemy castle to chase an objective that rewards controlling the tiles around their building. One battle against the Dragon's hero left me genuinely confused — I couldn't tell if it was a bug or my own misreading of the rules. BGA scored it 5-4 in my favor, and I said I'd go re-read the hero afterward. I own a real mistake: I attacked out of my Stable before moving a troop out first, and since a battle interrupts the turn, I lost tempo I shouldn't have. The finish isn't Toshi Ranbo this time: I close it out by taking both temples and assaulting the Lion's camp for the last points. ▶ GUNSEN IN SHORT Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo is an asymmetric area-control board game set in Rokugan, the world of Legend of the Five Rings (L5R), also known for the board game Champions of Rokugan. The seven Great Clans race to complete objectives — winning battles, controlling temples and villages, seizing Toshi Ranbo, and clan-specific goals. The first to complete enough of them wins. Combat in this Gunsen battle is resolved with dice: swords decide the winner, blood deals damage, armor cancels it. ▶ THIS MATCHUP Unicorn in a 3-player free-for-all against the Dragon and the Lion. The Unicorn's whole identity here is mobility — moving twice, redeploying from the Stable, and using influence flexibly to cover ground — which shapes almost every decision I make. For what it's worth, I found the game noticeably better at 3 players than at 2. ▶ LINKS Playlist — Road to 300 ELO: Gunsen : La bataille de Toshi Ranbo — Obje... Gunsen on Board Game Arena: https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?... 00:00 The Road to 300 ELO challenge: where I'm at (~50 ELO) 00:50 A 3-player live game: the Unicorn is randomly drawn 01:05 The Unicorn toolkit: objectives, tactics, heroes, the Stable 05:43 Turn 1: deploy every tactical order and score right away 11:37 Mobility in action: double moves and village hunting 14:20 Planting the Stable in enemy territory 18:31 Fighting the Dragon: a sequencing mistake — and a win 20:43 The confusing battle: bug or a misread hero? 23:07 Climbing to 5 points: three villages and territory control 29:10 Bugs, errors, and finishing the game anyway 31:54 The winning move: two temples and the Lion's camp 33:48 Second win: recap, 2 vs 3 players, up to 90 ELO #Gunsen #BoardGameArena #GunsenGameplay #UnicornClan #StrategyGames