Actually, you're right: the troops can have a bit of random positioning. If you're unlucky you can definitely lose some units.Unfortunately, I realized this issue near the very end and I was short on time to solve it :(
I suspect that's an unpleasant realization. The more complex your game system is, the more risks there are.
I'm still impressed with how hand-crafted the game feels.
Oh, I must ask: did the foxes show themselves as crafty during the later parts of the game, and how?