"First Clash" a Test of Honour playthrough

Two young samurai from rival clans have met by chance on the road. Each intended to stop for rest and to pray at a small roadside shrine, but having arrived at the same time neither is willing to back down and make way for the other.
Heated words are exchanged, families insulted, and soon swords are unsheathed.
The only honourable course is to strike down the upstart who has disparaged your good name.

The above is the introduction to the introductory scenario in the "Battle Guide".
Designed for 'Head to Head' play, the rules call for a coin toss to decide who deploys (and subsequently acts) first - I replaced this with a dice roll for solo play........

Saito Yoshihito barked brief orders to the ashigaru retainers before donning his face mask prior to battle. One of the two bowmen was sent to use cover out on the right flank, while he and the rest of  the group occupied the road.

Meanwhile, Murayama Tanjiro ushered his own retinue into line to face their opponents.

This battle will end as soon as one of the samurai is cut down. The retinue whose samurai remains will be the victor.

Turn One: Yoshihito draws the first token - "samurai"! He assigns this to himself ,

and makes a 'cautious' (half speed and allowing a free reaction to any attack) advance along the road.

 Tanjiro draws the next action token, which is also "samurai",

and moves to the left flank in search of the bowman he saw taking cover there.

Yoshihito draws the first "Fate" token (there are three mixed in with the Action Tokens, and when the third is drawn the turn ends), so the Mori clan can do nothing and it's Tanjiro's draw phase again.

A "Commoner" token is drawn and allocated to one of the Takeda clan ashigaru bowmen,

who has a clear shot at the samurai who has insulted his clan's honour and now foolishly approaches along the road!

When the shot is taken, the arrow flies wide of its mark however.
All actions in the game test for 'successes' and need 3 "swords" - the archer has only scored 2 swords (on the right-hand dice) with this roll. The other dice show a blank "miss" and an X  "miss" (If there are more X's than swords, the roll is an automatic "miss" even if 3 or more swords were rolled!)

Once the ill-aimed arrow had whistled past, Yoshihito drew the next token and assigned the "Commoner" action to his own bowman out on the flank,

who makes a half distance move (so he can still shoot), and takes aim at one of the opposing dogs who dared take a shot at his master!

He rolls 4 "swords" and the shot is on target!

The bowman must shoot at his nearest target unless he first takes and passes a "test of wits" - in this instance, the spearmen are obscured by cover, so the offending bowman is the target and since he has taken his action for this turn, he cannot attempt to 'dodge' the shot.
The Mori clan bowman now rolls for damage,

only 1 "sword" (a 'fail'), so the target only receives a "Light Wound"

As his companion lets out a yell of pain, the second Takeda bowman has been assigned the next "Commoner" action token drawn by Tanjiro,

and attempts to seize victory by taking a shot at the approaching samurai.....

Missing his target dismally - the fool next to him hopping around attempting to remove an arrow from his thigh probably didn't help his aim!

Yoshihito ignores the wayward arrow and draws the next action token - a second "Fate" token,

so the draw immediately passes back to Tanjiro,

who draws the third "Fate" token, ending the first turn.
The three Fate tokens and all previously drawn and allocated Action tokens are returned to the pool and whoever drew the 3rd Fate token gets to draw first next turn.
Turn Two: Tanjiro draws a "samurai" Action Token,

and makes his way cautiously along the treeline towards the enemy bowman.

Yoshihito also draws a "samurai" token,

and moves towards his foe.

Tanjiro draws again and seizes his chance having drawn a second "samurai" action token,

and charges his enemy!

Using the Action Token to charge into contact with the enemy also allows the charging character to attempt a 'strike' as part of that action.
Tanjiro launches a well aimed cut at his opponent

The strike is a success, so Yoshihito must attempt to block it.
A "samurai" Action Token is removed from the pool and allocated to his card because he's taking this action, and he takes a "Test of Agility" to try and block/avoid the strike.

Yoshihihito's reflexes were fast enough for him to avoid the deadly attack, and his opponent had no option but to step back!
If the attack caused no damage, the attacker is forced back 1 inch.

It's the Mori clan to draw next, and it's a "commoner" token, which is immediately assigned to the bowman nearest the melee and he moves into position for a clear shot

but narrowly misses his target!

Tanjiro now realises that he's isolated and hopes for a favourable draw - but it's a "Fate" token!

The smile behind Yoshihitoh's polished face mask slips as he also pulls a "Fate" token from the bag,

and the initiative slips away to the enemy.
Relieved, the Takeda draws another token - "commoner", 

and advances the ashigaru spearmen.

Seeing the spearmen advance, Yoshihito knows the balance could swing against him as he draws the next token, and his smile returns when he sees that it's a "samurai" - his third and final 'action' for this turn!

and he immediately counter-attacks his foe!

He makes his "Strike" roll, three "swords and his blow is on target,

and forces Tanjiro to take an action token from the bag and attempt to block the attack -
Two "swords"!!

  - he fails to block, and the sword cuts home as Yoshihito rolls his "Test of Strength" to damage his opponent.  The test is passed with four "swords"

 and Tanjiro is cut down!

When a warrior is "Cut Down", he may not actually be dead, but he is certainly too seriously wounded to take any further part in the battle.
The fight is over as his opponent lays bleeding on the ground. Yoshihito signals to the Takeda ashigaru to carry off their fallen leader, before heading for the Shinto shrine, where he will give thanks for his victory this day and the maintenance of his honour.
(While Tanjiro swears revenge while he is carried unceremoniously from the field!) 

So, after quite a long wait, I have my first game and first impressions - I like it!
The game mechanics are well suited to solo play, I didn't even really need to replace the "coin toss", I could have assigned 'heads to red and tails to blue', but rolling red and blue dice saved me having to remember anything.
The scenarios in the "Battle Guide" are designed to be played in order, with consequences for the victor and loser of each game. They also appear to increase the battles in size and introduce more advanced rules (I've avoided 'reading ahead' so as not to spoil any surprises), and I intend playing through all six before 'freelancing' my own games.

Sorry if this AAR has been a bit "rules heavy" - I've only done it this way since it's my initial post. From here on, I'll only explain any 'new' rules as I encounter them, and the battle reports will concentrate more on the "narrative" that the game generates.

Congratulations if you managed to read through the whole thing, and many thanks for doing so.
Your comments and any queries are most welcome.
"Ja Matane"   (See you later)