Kondei

Overall strategy
These Emishi cavalry form a powerful corps of mercenary units but are distinct in that they do not train as quickly, and while initially cheap, have a high ramp cost. Their main draw is that they have the nasty habit of being capable of going into stealth, making Kondei useful for hit and run attacks, but suffer from attack speed penalties. Although they have good range, their LOS is terrible -- so using Spies against isolated pockets of these units is usually a good idea. As such you should always accompany these units with their own Officers, or an elite unit such as Yamato Kyubushi and a scout to defend against Spy attacks.