Eventually, this page will include more information on tactics for the clan, and maybe some stuff on Magic.  Also, as soon as I get Tsukune painted, I will give some painting tips for Phoenix (who have the best Clan Colors, IMHO).

My point of view on the Phoenix army is two sided:  On the one hand, I just think the Phoenix are one of the coolest clans, and the Phoenix samurai are my favorite characters in the L5R storyline.  On the other hand, the units in the Clan War game for this clan seem a little over-magicked and remind me why I never liked the more mainstream fantasy-genre games.

The phoenix army is kind of an irony.  They are supposed to be the weakest clan, militarily, and the most powerful clan magically.  The problem is, of course, that pure magic will not win you a battle against a thousand armed Samurai.  Thus, the Shiba family.  The Shiba are small in number, and they do not involve themselves in many battles, due to their clan's pacifistic nature, but they are as skilled as any Samurai bushi, and many are eager to prove it on the field of battle.  Unfortunately, the basic set has not provided us with many Shiba units or personalities, leaving us only with gimmicky magical units, some of which are actually quite cool, in game terms, but I'm not a big fan of powerful magic and high fantasy.  I like my swords with just a hint of sorcery, thanks.  Nonetheless, I find myself fascinated by the idea of a Phoenix Clan Samurai, or a Phoenix Clan Army.  Something about the idea of a soldier from a clan of wizards is very exciting, and the mystery that surrounds the Phoenix Clan is intriguing as well.

I have purchased the Phoenix Clan Army Expansion and plan to add some tactics for the new rules and units in that book soon.

Units:

• Tsunami Legion:  These guys are not too tough, but they are pretty darned cool.  They have the Cavalry trait, a +2 initiative modifier, and Yari.  They are too weak to be a core unit in an army, but are certainly very mobile.  They would  probably be very effective as a supporting unit, moving around and harrassing enemy flanks.  The Yari, I think, give them just the bite they need to be a really cool unit.  The other very cool thing, though, is that all personalities in their unit gain the Cavalry trait as well.  This includes the unit commander and assosciated personalities. When I played Phoenix, I had Isawa Tomo in the unit as an assosciated personality.  Tomo turned out to be quite an asset.  His ability to move any unit 4" proved very annoying to my opponents.  Overall, a unit that fills an army's cavalry role well, without the added expense of horses.  I have to say though, even though the figures do look pretty cool, the idea of a bunch of pikemen riding around the battlefield on a tidal wave bothers me a little....
• Hurricaine Initiates:  32" extended range is amazing.  Place this unit correctly, and they can fire almost all the way across the table. Put Shiba Tsukune in command, and their poor ML and TL are not so much of a problem (her leadership is 4, plus she has a Yumi already).  I'm sure they're terrible in close combat, but my opponent never had the chance to teach me that; a testament to the unit's effectiveness.
• Shiba House Guard:  At 21 Koku, they are one of the cheapest House Guard units available.  Their ATT and DAM are not staggeringly impressive, but +1 is decent, and 21 koku for a 2 wound unit is not too bad either.  Add in their immunity to magic and their standard House Guard resistance to Rout, and I'd say this unit is a pretty good deal.  However, my experience with other House Guard (see Doji House Guard and Hida House Guard) units tells me that the restriction to 12 models can be a pain.  Certainly, the fact that you can only buy 12 lessens the coolness of their low cost/model.
• The Shiba House Guard force card which was released in the Phoenix Army Expansion lists their Morale as 21.  I believe this is a typo.
• Avalanche Guard: At first glance, this unit doesn't look that impressive.  Certainly the idea of a bunch of shugenja running around with their skin turned to rock and spurting lava from their wounds makes me want to laugh a little.  It makes me think of 11 year-olds playing D&D or something.  The idea of the clan being able or willing to send enough of these shugenja into battle to form a unit larger than the Shiba House Guard also seems a little ridiculous.  But really, in game terms, I don't think this unit looks too bad.  They have 2 wounds, which is nice, and they have TN 8, which is also very nice.  If they have a leader with decent Defense (which Tsukune has) they could be almost as tough to take out as the Crab Heavy Elite.
• Firestorm: Another unit I have a little difficulty accepting, conceptually, but in game terms could be kind of cool.  A ranged attack with +3 ATT and +1 DAM makes me a little scared.  My Crane archers only have +2 ATT and +0 DAM.  However, this unit has several drawbacks: first their range is rather limited compared to some of the other elite archer-type units.  Second, their attack is a magical elemental attack, which means that there are several cards and units capable of countering or resisting it.  Third, they cannot fire Reactionary fire.  These guys are nice, but I'd prefer the cheaper and more flexible Crane Elite Archers or Phoenix Hurricaine Initiates.
• Isawa Elite Pikemen:  I haven't played them.  I can't say much about them just looking at their stats, except that I know that Yari are very cool from having played with the Daidoji Iron Warriors and the Tsunami Legion.  However, their TN of 6 concerns me slightly.  Comparative shoppers might note that these guys have almost the same stats as the Daidoji Spearmen from the Crane Expansion, except that the Cranes have better morale and aren't limited to 30 models.  However, Phoenix can't really (economically) buy Crane units so, its more useful to compare to the unaligned medium infantry.  The Elite Pikemen have the yari-equipped unaligned medium infantry beat hands down.  Still, i think a unit with TN 6, 1 wound/model, and an ML of 7 will require good leadership to survive long.  Of course, for the Phoenix, there aren't too many alternatives.
• With the release of the Phoenix expansion, their cost went from 14 to 16!  Why pay 16 per model for these troops when, for the same price, you can get Tsunami Legion which are identically equipped, but are cavalry?  I wonder if this was a typo?!?

• Shiba Tsukune:  I love this personality.  Her ability to gain the Double-Chi trait in a duel against a Shugenja may seem lame, particularly since she's not a spectacular duellist, but how many other personalities have ratings of 4 in Battle, Leadership, and Defense?  And if that's not enough, she's got a ranged attack with +2 ATT and +1 DAM.  The Phoenix samurai units may leave a little to be desired, but this Samurai personality I think is one of the best in the game.  She's certainly my favorite.  Go Little Turtle!