Fueldrop
06-08-2015, 06:16 AM
While this thread is entitled winning in the movement phase, there's a lot more to strategy than just walking your way to victory.
Let's start with army composition:
For this tactical doctrine one needs an army composed of 2 separate "arms".
Arm 1 isn't going to be doing much damage, and should be cheap if possible. It's role is to roll up your enemy's weak flank on turn 1 and look scary, preferably while being tough to kill. It's a distraction carnifex, and it's going to be drawing the enemy out of position by being big and threatening and hard to ignore.
Some good units for this are things like... well, like Carnifexes, a lone Imperial knight, Fire warriors in Devil Fish, ect. Troops in transports are generally a decent option as they can floor it up the flank, drop out, and hide in cover. Take smoke launchers. I'd say that you should budget about a third of your points for arm 1.
Arm 2 is maneuverable, and hits like a tactical nuke. Durability optional.
Now the thing about arm 2 is that you're sinking most of your points in here and you want to get your money's worth. That means that they'll probably be coming in from reserve to make sure the enemy can't shoot them to pieces before they can do anything, which means that they're not assaulting on that turn. You want ranged firepower, and lots of it.
Great units for arm 2 are things like white scar bikers, Terminators kitted out to the gills with dakka, dark eldar ravagers, eldar warp spiders, storm troopers in vendettas... you know, anything which can put out a ton of firepower after moving and either outflank or deep strike, or barring that just move very very fast. Should you have a unit with a special rule that allows them to assault after coming in from reserves (like Vanguard Veterans could do back in 5th, not sure if they can still pull that stunt), put them into this grouping.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you get access to a fast unit with teleport homers or equivalent, such as scout bikes (I think they still have those) GET THEM. You're going to have a lot of stuff coming in from deep strike soon, you want it to come in exactly the right place.
If you can take a commander that makes reinforcements more reliable, do so. For this build the best command traits are either ones that allow for accurate reinforcements or the ones that allow for reliable reinforcements. The Strategic Command Traits table in the main rule book is good for this, and most of the other options (automatic night fighting +night vision on all your guys, giving up to three units infiltrate (which can either be used to outflank or to put down arm 1 units after the enemy has deployed in spite of you going first, Move Through Cover and Stealth for ruins, Hindering enemy reinforcements) are good.
Deployment.
Naturally the nature of your army will affect how this goes, but you should deploy Arm 1 and anything of Arm 2 that won't be coming in from reserve on one flank. If you're deploying second, size up your enemy's deployment and place them on his weaker flank. Arm 1 units should be near the forward corner of your deployment zone, while Arm 2 units are best served hiding in cover to avoid getting geeked by enemy heavy weapons before your grand tactic can begin.
Now if you deployed first then your enemy has likely put most of his units more or less opposite the bulk of your force. This is good, as it means Arm 1's job is already done more or less. In that case you use arm 1 to move up to cover and take a few pot shots at the enemy. If arm 1 is melee and your on your enemy's weak flank, move them forwards and be intimidating. If arm 1 has good range then hang back and shoot. Just remember to keep your enemy focused on this arm of your army, but at the same time make them as hard to kill as practical. They're a distraction, and will keep distracting as long as they're alive.
At the same time, any Arm 2 elements on the board move at full pelt up the battlefield towards the other flank. They'll be meeting up with reinforcements soon. In turn 1 shooting they need to run, turbo-boost, move flat out, or otherwise do everything in their power to get as far out from arm 1 as possible. Since much of arm 2 should be outflanking or deep striking, the stuff on the board should look fairly insignificant in comparison to Arm 1, which is big and intimidating. If you have any scout moves, start with this and then turn and move towards the middle of the field a bit.
Round 2 onwards:
Now is the time to look at the enemy disposition and decide: has the enemy taken the bait? Have the bulk of their forces begun re-positioning to deal with Arm 1? If yes, then you continue this plan. If your enemy has the "I see what you're doing" glint in his eye and has not taken the bait, smile warmly.
With luck your reinforcements arrive this turn. If your enemy has taken the bait they will (hopefully) be appearing on a flank that's mostly legging it to get to the "real fight", and thus out of cover or otherwise easy pickings. Having your arm 2 elements arrive as close together as possible means that you suddenly have a powerful cohesive force where your enemy is most vulnerable. When this isn't practical, prioritize targets based on your unit's ability to break their fighting effectiveness and attempt to make your one guaranteed round of good shooting as crippling for the enemy as possible.
If your enemy has seen through your little ploy... don't go through with it. Drop all your reinforcements around arm 1 and make that your main arm while the arm 2 stuff that your foe was bracing against becomes the distraction. By failing to reinforce his line where your distraction was attacking, you're now on his vulnerable flank with most of your force.
Important note: If you are using outflankers, there's a risk they'll come in on the wrong side. Roll for outflanking troops to come in before deep strikers, and if they turn up in the wrong place then just roll with it and adjust your deployments accordingly. They're still probably coming on from behind the enemy's main line and can likely do some havoc back there, either becoming another fire to put out or a new rally point for your force.
There you have it. Not guaranteed victory, but solid tactics that have served me well and deserve to be shared with the world. Have fun out there.
Let's start with army composition:
For this tactical doctrine one needs an army composed of 2 separate "arms".
Arm 1 isn't going to be doing much damage, and should be cheap if possible. It's role is to roll up your enemy's weak flank on turn 1 and look scary, preferably while being tough to kill. It's a distraction carnifex, and it's going to be drawing the enemy out of position by being big and threatening and hard to ignore.
Some good units for this are things like... well, like Carnifexes, a lone Imperial knight, Fire warriors in Devil Fish, ect. Troops in transports are generally a decent option as they can floor it up the flank, drop out, and hide in cover. Take smoke launchers. I'd say that you should budget about a third of your points for arm 1.
Arm 2 is maneuverable, and hits like a tactical nuke. Durability optional.
Now the thing about arm 2 is that you're sinking most of your points in here and you want to get your money's worth. That means that they'll probably be coming in from reserve to make sure the enemy can't shoot them to pieces before they can do anything, which means that they're not assaulting on that turn. You want ranged firepower, and lots of it.
Great units for arm 2 are things like white scar bikers, Terminators kitted out to the gills with dakka, dark eldar ravagers, eldar warp spiders, storm troopers in vendettas... you know, anything which can put out a ton of firepower after moving and either outflank or deep strike, or barring that just move very very fast. Should you have a unit with a special rule that allows them to assault after coming in from reserves (like Vanguard Veterans could do back in 5th, not sure if they can still pull that stunt), put them into this grouping.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you get access to a fast unit with teleport homers or equivalent, such as scout bikes (I think they still have those) GET THEM. You're going to have a lot of stuff coming in from deep strike soon, you want it to come in exactly the right place.
If you can take a commander that makes reinforcements more reliable, do so. For this build the best command traits are either ones that allow for accurate reinforcements or the ones that allow for reliable reinforcements. The Strategic Command Traits table in the main rule book is good for this, and most of the other options (automatic night fighting +night vision on all your guys, giving up to three units infiltrate (which can either be used to outflank or to put down arm 1 units after the enemy has deployed in spite of you going first, Move Through Cover and Stealth for ruins, Hindering enemy reinforcements) are good.
Deployment.
Naturally the nature of your army will affect how this goes, but you should deploy Arm 1 and anything of Arm 2 that won't be coming in from reserve on one flank. If you're deploying second, size up your enemy's deployment and place them on his weaker flank. Arm 1 units should be near the forward corner of your deployment zone, while Arm 2 units are best served hiding in cover to avoid getting geeked by enemy heavy weapons before your grand tactic can begin.
Now if you deployed first then your enemy has likely put most of his units more or less opposite the bulk of your force. This is good, as it means Arm 1's job is already done more or less. In that case you use arm 1 to move up to cover and take a few pot shots at the enemy. If arm 1 is melee and your on your enemy's weak flank, move them forwards and be intimidating. If arm 1 has good range then hang back and shoot. Just remember to keep your enemy focused on this arm of your army, but at the same time make them as hard to kill as practical. They're a distraction, and will keep distracting as long as they're alive.
At the same time, any Arm 2 elements on the board move at full pelt up the battlefield towards the other flank. They'll be meeting up with reinforcements soon. In turn 1 shooting they need to run, turbo-boost, move flat out, or otherwise do everything in their power to get as far out from arm 1 as possible. Since much of arm 2 should be outflanking or deep striking, the stuff on the board should look fairly insignificant in comparison to Arm 1, which is big and intimidating. If you have any scout moves, start with this and then turn and move towards the middle of the field a bit.
Round 2 onwards:
Now is the time to look at the enemy disposition and decide: has the enemy taken the bait? Have the bulk of their forces begun re-positioning to deal with Arm 1? If yes, then you continue this plan. If your enemy has the "I see what you're doing" glint in his eye and has not taken the bait, smile warmly.
With luck your reinforcements arrive this turn. If your enemy has taken the bait they will (hopefully) be appearing on a flank that's mostly legging it to get to the "real fight", and thus out of cover or otherwise easy pickings. Having your arm 2 elements arrive as close together as possible means that you suddenly have a powerful cohesive force where your enemy is most vulnerable. When this isn't practical, prioritize targets based on your unit's ability to break their fighting effectiveness and attempt to make your one guaranteed round of good shooting as crippling for the enemy as possible.
If your enemy has seen through your little ploy... don't go through with it. Drop all your reinforcements around arm 1 and make that your main arm while the arm 2 stuff that your foe was bracing against becomes the distraction. By failing to reinforce his line where your distraction was attacking, you're now on his vulnerable flank with most of your force.
Important note: If you are using outflankers, there's a risk they'll come in on the wrong side. Roll for outflanking troops to come in before deep strikers, and if they turn up in the wrong place then just roll with it and adjust your deployments accordingly. They're still probably coming on from behind the enemy's main line and can likely do some havoc back there, either becoming another fire to put out or a new rally point for your force.
There you have it. Not guaranteed victory, but solid tactics that have served me well and deserve to be shared with the world. Have fun out there.