This week you’ll be taking a look into my mind as I prepare for battle. I'm a firm believer in the axiom, “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.” I do my homework to make sure that I'm as ready as possible for a battle. As an example, there’s a book sitting near me as I type titled Maneuver Warfare, an Anthology, that I’ve been anxious to read, but I had to take care of other business first. I hope to increase my tactical knowledge and improve my effectiveness with the concept of maneuver warfare. (Short version of maneuver warfare: use mobility to concentrate on a single portion of the enemy line, giving you a local superiority and letting you crush the enemy piecemeal.)
In the case of this article, I was preparing for the second half of the Battle for Bray Tournament. I had already played the first two games and I took the opportunity to become somewhat familiar with the armies involved and their playing styles. I also wanted to help a friend of mine (Hi Adrienne!) that was involved with the battle, since she’s also a player at Ludicrous Games. With that in mind, I wanted to give us both a good chance in our next two battles, so I put together a brief rundown of each of the forces involved in the tournament.
I realized that one of the Imperial players used Space Wolves, which is an army I am not familiar with. While I generally knew that they were more expensive than standard Space Marines and that they were good at close combat, I wanted more details. Knowing that Kenton Kilgore, of Tigers of Veda fame, was participating in a campaign against a Space Wolf Player (his best friend, Pat) I immediately looked up The Jungle and read all the battle reports they had, and especially Pat’s comments about his army list and choices. I then remembered that one of the regulars at the Millennium Gate Forum is Fenrir Sureblade, a Space Wolf player with his own website. I went to that site and promptly read through all the tactical articles and selection articles I could to see what Space Wolves could do and how they do it. I made a few notes to help keep track of the information, but mostly I just let my mind absorb it as I read.
I then turned to my analysis of the forces and made notes on each one. The Imperial list features notes for myself, the Chaos list has notes for Adrienne. Note that I made more specific comments for my potential opponents, since I knew what I would be using against them and I wanted to make sure I knew how to use it. On the other hand, the notes for Adrienne were general notes so that she’d know what to expect and could then tailor her plans accordingly.
Here is the analysis…
Chaos Undivided (Land Raider and Lord, Dreadnaught, not sure what else)
Slaanesh: Lots of Marines in a couple of rhinos and light demons, Lord on a bike that has a chance to turn enemy models into Chaos Spawn. I think he has some sort of Predator, but I don’t know the armament.
Iron Warriors: you met this guy on Sunday. Mostly shooty?
Dark Eldar: me. Short-range shooting and assault focus. High Maneuverability due to Raiders.
Dark Eldar: Lord on a bike (fast and deadly, but expensive) several shooty foot squads with lots of Warriors. Grotesques, Mandrakes, Talos. Semi-defensive and shooty focus
Adrienne
Patric: 3 full tac squads, 2w/Rhinos (at least one has a vet sgt w/PF, I think the other two have powerweapons) Chaplain on bike with lots of stuff. Dreadnaught.
Space Wolves: lots of infantry. Lots of infiltration. Space Wolf Scouts.
Remember to vastly outnumber the squad you assault. Gang up 3 or more squads on 1. Heck, if I deploy and move aggressively, the scouts may be entirely useless, or I might just sic the Talos on them. Remember, most of his guys will run about 17 or so points each, so there won’t be as many of them. Consider the possibility of sitting back and outshooting him! 3 Raiders with DL+a sniper squad should take out 2 vehicles per turn. At which point the two Disintegrators come into play. Send the Talos forward to tango with them, and watch for the scouts. When they show, smack them down quick. They’ll probably still take out a Raider, but oh well. When the Wolves get close, move up and dogpile!
Eldar: Serpent with Scorpions, farseer and small council, Wraithlord, large squad or two of Guardians. Seemed shooty/defensive.
Farseer and Guardians should fall quickly to splinter fire. Council/Farseer should be first target for squad fire. Waveserpent should be first target for Dark Lances. Lances should then start targeting Wraithlord. Assuming Wraithlord is not killed by shooting, assault it with several Sybarites or a Sybarite and the Dracon, preferably with a couple of Blaster shots on the way in.
Eldar: Serpent with Scorpions, Avatar, Wraithlord, Warp Spiders, Guardians? Dark Reapers. Shoot/Assault combination with separation between the assault elements and the shooting elements.
Reapers will shred my Raiders, but can only affect one at a time. They can also lay some serious hurt on my squads. Warp Spiders and Scorpions are the most dangerous units here. Wave Serpent will be primary Dark Lance target, followed by Wraithlord. Disintegrators should target either Scorpions or Warp Spiders. Remember the Mandiblasters of the Scorpions and try to take as many as possible down with shooting before you try to assault, or hit them with the Talos. If the assault units do separate from the shooty elements, gang up on them with Dracon and Sybarites. Shoot the Avatar and Wraithlord at close range, then use the Agonizers to slaughter them. Try to stick together. You’ll be tempted to send some squads after the shooters, but don’t do it until the assault types are dealt with. Focus whole army on one part. Hopefully the enemy will help with that by separating the assault units from the shooty ones.
LOOK UP BOOBY TRAPS. The Imperial side can have 100pts of them in the next game.
End Analysis.
Well, there you have it, a look into my fevered brain. You now know a little bit more about my Modus Operandi. I hope you enjoyed it, and, just maybe, it might prove useful to you.