I kept looking at Contested Ground for a long time, and kept coming up with the same assessment: too risky. If you can bow to destroy more people than your opponent, then wouldn't you have more people and more force at the battle there to begin with, and probably win without putting your own people at risk of being destroyed themselves?

Sure, there are some cases where the risk is worth it. If you can replace the terrain at will, say using a Go Master, you might be able to take out one of your opponent's linchpin personalities. The force bonuses from the Experienced Yoritomo or Takuan really add up, for instance, and you should never pass up the opportunity to knock off a dragon. (Remember, kids, "A Void Dragon!" is good advice.)

Probably one of the best times to use this terrain is when your opponent has all the mus C1 e concentrated in a few big and nasty cards (e.g., Hida Amoro, dragons, ogres, oni, Togashi Mitsu), and you've got followers. The Contested Ground action, like a Ranged Attack, has to target followers first. If you've got reasonably sized units, preferably with medium to heavy sized followers, your opponent is not going to nullify the force of the big, bad oni or bow Togashi Mitsu to kill one measly follower. You on the other hand, can probably knock out a few of these big power personalities. It may cost you the battle, but getting rid of those heavy hitters may take enough wind out of your foe's sails for you to cruise to victory another way.

The big problem with this card, though, is not that your personalities are at risk of being destroyed. The problem is that once you put it in play, your opponent has the first chance to make a move. The situation is analagous to walking into a battle with lots of Ranged Attacks: whoever fires the first shot has a big advantage. Essentially, by putting this terrain in play, you allow your enemy to seize the initiative. How can you get around this?

Enter Kitsu Motso. Bow Motso and destroy one of his Master tokens. Use the two actions afforded to you to play Contested Ground, then immediately use the "bow and destroy" action enabled by the terrain. Now, no matter what, your opponent will be playing catchÄup.

Similarly, you could use a Scout to lay in the Terrain before the defender does anything, and use a Sneak Attack to make the first move. The Experienced Isha and Daikua, the new Mantis Scout, not only provide you with an alternative to the Sneak Attack when attacking, but they also let you pull off this trick when defending. too. Use Isha or Daikua to lay in the terrain, and then use the terrain's battle action before the attacker can do anything. Maybe not quite as elegant as using Motso, but still effective.

Finally, if the risk factor for these tactical tricks is just too high for your taste, dig out the spell Mighty Protection. Cast it on your forces before the battle is joined. This way, your opponent should realize that there is very little point in sacrificing his units to kill off yours, because yours will be saved by the effects of the spell. You can then pick off a good chunk of your opponent's army at your leisure.

Contested Ground is not the easiest terrain to use effectively. You should have a good number of followers before you in C1 ude it in a deck, and a few tricks up your sleeve before you play it. Because it isn't a simple card to use, it hasn't been a popular card, so your opponents probably won't be expecting it. It also means when you make it work right and slice your foe's armies up with it, you've earned yourself several hundred points for style.

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