B2B: Escorting

Another "Back to Basics", today we're looking at the concept of "Escorting".

Units that are Falling Back are automatically removed from the table if any model in the unit hits the board edge or at the end of the game. This makes them easy Kill Points and unable to Score or Contest objectives. Also, a unit that is Falling Back counts as having moved that turn and can't use Heavy Weapons, even if they Regroup. There's exceptions, of course, such as Space Marines that Regroup using "And They Shall Know No Fear" and/or anyone able to move and fire Heavy Weapons. Still, these are categorically "Good Things" when it is happening to your opponent. So once you've gone through the laborious process of breaking an enemy unit, don't you want them to stay broken?

Units can take a Regroup check at the beginning of the unit's Movement phase. If they pass the test, they regroup and hang around. If they fail, they run another 2d6" or more. Simple enough. The problem here is that you're relying on luck of the dice when odds are probably in their favor. Many units, such as Space Marines, don't even have to test and automatically Regroup. But there's a simple solution: never allow them to test in the first place!

There's three criteria that must be met before a unit can test to Regroup. If any one is failed, the unit keeps on running. These are:
1. The unit is in coherency. This one is probably the most uncommon reason for a Regroup to fail. Not only will smart opponents remove casualties or move models in an order so that this doesn't happen, but many people naturally bias the movement angles and/or distance moved to keep the unit in coherency. As you've already Broken one of their units, getting picky about this with an opponent is a sure way to kill the fun of their game. There are certainly ways to create this occurrence with some really tricky tactical use of another unit, for an opponent to get unlucky on a unit with weird wound allocation, or even for them to make a stupid mistake when moving their models. But these aren't occurrences I'd suggest relying on.
2. The unit is at or above half strength. Just killed off 1/2 those guys and made them run? Great! You can ignore them now as they'll keep running. Well, unless they're Eldar with an Avatar near, IG with Orders, Marines with "And They Shall Know No Fear"... the list just goes on and on. Almost every Codex has some way of getting around this requirement or won't break in the first place. So be aware of what your opponent's army can do before you rely on this one.
3. There's no enemy unit(s) within 6". This is the key to Escorting and the most common reason for a Regroup to be skipped. Why? Because it is a factor that YOU can control. As long as there's an enemy within 6", even the bravest Space Marine will keep "Advancing to the Rear".

As with all things, there's a catch. I've been asked "Units that are Falling Back can still shoot! Why would I want my guys to Escort and get shot up?" It comes down to one thing: Tactical Opportunity-Cost. You need to honestly assess the amount of damage that unit will cause to your forces before they are removed from the table. Also look at secondary factors like if pursuing them will put your unit out of position, open to other fire or otherwise at a disadvantage.
Then compare that to the amount of damage the enemy unit would be able to cause if allowed to regroup. Given that the unit will be under your opponent's control, looking to cause maximum havoc, and able to Score or Contest objectives? The majority of the time you will want to keep them running.

But wait! There's ways you can minimize the amount of headache the broken unit causes you. My personal favorite? Don't make Escorting your primary objective. Instead, look to accomplish another tactical objective AND Escort the enemy. For example, this can include charging other enemy units (this usually protects you as the Broken unit cannot shoot into CC), securing a mission objective, shooting up another target, Screening, or even just annoying your opponent in hopes that it causes them to make a mistake. How can you do this? Here's an example where some Genestealers have found themselves in charge range of the Red Squad of Space Marines... and then charge on in.The Marines killed one Genestealer but lost three of their number, fail Morale and Fall Back, aren't caught on a Sweeping Advance, and move 9".So what do you do now? I've seen many players just move their entire unit back into the ruins and spread out to avoid enemy Blast markers. But is this really worth it? Those Marines are probably just going to regroup, walk back up and shoot you anyways. They're also going to get extra attacks if they opt to charge. Worse yet, your opponent might not play your game and have the unit wander off to support somewhere else! So why not move up a few guys and keep them running? The majority of the squad is still in cover and you've lost nothing tactically by moving up. Yes the unit is going to get shot by both squads, but they were going to be shot anyways. Now when the Red Squad checks for Regroup, there's enemy units within 6" again and they will Fall Back. This can potentially put the Red Squad out of Rapid Fire range, their move direction isn't optional, and they won't be able to assault!But that's not the end of it... say the Red Squad only falls Back another 6" on their turn. This puts them out of your unit's range, so they will Regroup on their next turn. So why not move in such a way that you prevent this?Then when you charge, you will have models within 6" even if the combat is a press. On your opponent's turn, that squad will hit the edge of the board and be out of the game.

Now remember, these Fall Back moves (and Regroup checks) happen at the start of the owning player's Movement Phase. The average Fall Back distance is going to be 7". With a 6" move and the option to Run or Assault, a unit should normally have no problems keeping up with a fleeing enemy and forcing them off the board.

UPDATE: sonsoftaurus brings up an excellent point that Transport vehicles are a great unit to use for this purpose. They are fast enough to keep up, can Tank Shock to cause extra Fall Backs, and might as well be doing something anyways. It's a great use of a Rhino or other vehicle that's hanging around.
ChimeraHiveMind also notes a very important side effect of Falling Back: "Troops who are falling back automatically fail all Morale checks, except those to regroup." Subsequent Morale checks from Shooting, Tank Shock, Psychic Powers or otherwise can cause the unit to execute additional Fall Back moves. This can be used to push a unit multiple times in the same turn and cause them to quit the field even sooner. Learn this, know it, love it.

Cheers and hope you've learned something! For my part, it was so difficult to write this entire thing and not make any "Sisters of Battle Escort Service" jokes... "Get thee to a nunnery!" Heh.

***Images from Motor Trend, July 1990 and Monty Python's Holy Grail. Used without permission and will be removed upon request.***

B2B: Flamers

Hello folks! Today we're going to talk about some basics of the Flamer, how to minimize getting hit by them, and how to maximize their effect.

The joy and sorrow of Flamer weapons is that they base their hits on the number of enemy models covered by the Flamer Template. No to-hit rolls, no partials, no cover saves, and all "I love the smell of napalm in the morning!" The downside is that the enemy should be able to look at your list, see you have flamers and adjust their battle plan accordingly.

A few simple facts pertinent to Flamer spread:
1. A unit cannot move closer than 1" away from the enemy without being locked in CC.
2. 1" = 25.4mm, a standard base is 25mm, and .4mm is too small a difference to easily distinguish. Thus a normal base is 1" across for all intents.
3. Unit coherency is measured 2" from base to base.
4. The flamer template is 8.25" long and just over 2.25" at the widest.
5. The template always covers a set area, so the total number of hits can be reduced by simply spreading out.

So how can you minimize their effect on your own Troops? Well, it's always better to not get shot at all and an 8.25" range isn't much. But when it inevitably happens, spacing out your unit can drastically reduce the flamer's amount of coverage. As shown to the right, 1" away + 1" base + 2" coherency + 1" base + 2" coherency + 1" base = 8". In theory, a conga line formation could reduce a flamer weapon to a maximum of 3 hits. Of course "in theory" means about as much to an actual game as a frictionless vacuum does to applied physics. Terrain, additional units, inaccuracies of movement & measurement, inability of attackers to be perfectly positioned and many other minutiae will both increase and/or reduce the number of hits that occur.

On the other side of the coin, a flamer correctly placed over guys packed in like sardines can hit about 19 models. A range of 3-19 is quite the spread... how can you go about getting the most flame for your buck? There's six main times an opponent will bunch up nicely for flamers:
1. They make a mistake, such as forgetting you have flamers.
2. They're crowding into a small piece of terrain.
3. They're clumping to surround an objective.
4. Deploying from a Transport.
5. After Close Combat.
6. After a Tank Shock.
I'm never willing to rely on the first but happy to exploit it when it does. The second and third also rely on your opponent and are commonly related to the first. But the other three are items you can be proactive with...

Deploying from a Transport: One of the best times to hit opponents with flamers is right after they deploy from a Transport. Unfortunately, your opponent probably knows this too. A voluntary disembark on their part usually involves a subsequent move away, a mistake, over-confidence, or a limitation of their army build (such as DropPod "Drop & Shoot" armies.) It's good to recognize these and use them if they come up, but they're not reliable items.
In turn, there is also involuntary disembarkation, aka killing their transport. There's a few snags to relying on this method too. The main conundrum is that movement is done before shooting or assault, yet these are your most likely phases to kill a tank. So your flamer units will have move into position before you kill the tank and the enemy disembarks. This makes it difficult to predict where they will go, especially as a Destroyed-Wrecked result has a different deployment area from Destroyed-Explodes. Having your guys in position also allows the enemy to deploy away from the flamers and in formations to minimize their effect. Flamers are also a short range weapon and need to be close to the target. Being close means a chance of hurting your own unit if you get a result of Destroyed-Explodes. Last, if your dice run sour and you fail to kill the tank, your guys are exposed for retaliatory fire and assault from the unit in the tank. While moving your guys and hoping to pop their tank can work in a pinch, it is not a sound enough tactic to base strategy on.

Close Combat: The nice thing about Close Combat is that everyone involved gets up close and friendly. The bad thing is that you can't shoot into CC. So you need a way to end the CC but keep the enemy bunched up.
One option is to sacrifice a disposable unit. Simply let the enemy charge, have the speed bump die, then hit the enemy unit. Another option is the use of "Hit & Run". The availability of this is highly army dependent and it isn't always a sure thing. The problem with both of these is that they allow the opponent to make a Consolidate move. Though random, a decent roll can go a long ways to softening Flamer hits.
But there's an option that's even better: let them assault a Vehicle. Units cannot perform a Consolidate move after, even if the vehicle was destroyed. On your turn, the Vehicle (if able) can move away from the combat without penalty and units inside or near can move in to maximize those flamers.
Here's an example of this from an Ard Boyz game:Admittedly, my opponent made a mistake is charging the Wave Serpent right in front of the Wraithlord. So how about a more realistic example:Here we have examples of a Space Wolf Rhino getting charged by a mob of Orks. The top diagram is what to do if the vehicle survives the assault and the bottom is if it does not. A large part of making this work is to not over-extend your move. It is much more risky when the enemy can block the tank's exits. You want to make sure there's still enough room for the unit to disembark. It is also good policy to leave some room for the vehicle to exit. This isn't critical though as the vehicle might be Destroyed, can Tank Shock their way clear, and/or can provide cover for your unit after the enemy is annihilated.
Also note panels 5&6 for another neat tip. Infantry models may place the template "so that [the template's] narrow end is touching the base of the model firing." Note that this is different from "the shortest distance" or anything. The Flamer can be measure from any point on the edge of the base that does not cause it to cross the base or a friendly model. In Panel 5, he is turned to face the opponent as people are naturally wont to do and the template is placed at the closest point. This causes the wide part of the template to extend past the enemy and covers 9 models at most. But in Panel 6, the template is pulled back to measure off the side of his base. The model has been turned in place to change where his weapon is, to make this angle more obvious. This aspect change increases the hit count to 12. Simple things like this are critical to getting the most out of of your Flamers. (Note that this is literally true for Vehicles as the template is measure from their actual barrel tip.)

After a Tank Shock: One of my main armies is mech-Eldar and Tank Shock is one of my favorite tools. They have highly mobile and durable tanks in a force that needs to maximize every aspect of their attack to succeed. Commonly you see Tank Shock used in objective missions to push enemy units off of an objective. But a lesser known use is to compress the enemy unit to increase your Flamer shots. Simply, even if an enemy unit passes their Morale check, they are still displaced by the mass of the tank. The affected models must move by the shortest distance to clear the tank and must maintain coherency. So if you hit one side of an enemy formation, you can force the models at the edge to compress back into the main part of the squad. Additionally, models inside the tank may deploy as normal AFTER seeing where the enemy moves. This will often increase the number of hits enough to make it worth skipping on assaulting, especially with a non-combat unit like Guardians. Here's a visual:This is a simple example, but it should give you the general idea. Now imagine doing this with a tank on each side... As another variation, you can always Tank Shock with one unit and then flame and assault with a second.
There's also one more fun bit to remember about Tank Shock... Ramming! As mentioned above, enemy units bunch up when deploying from a tank and flamers will get more hits. Because most anti-tank is done after your movement, your opponent has greater ability to react to where your flamers are placed. Yet Ramming happens in the Movement Phase. Thus you have the potential to pop their tank and jump your guys out for maximum carnage. Just be aware that this type of attack relies on a number of random factors and enemy movement. It really is an attack of opportunity rather than a tactic I would rely on regularly using.
UPDATE: And yet another fun thing about Tank Shock: "Death or Glory" attacks are only allowed by a single "model in the vehicle's path". Many players like to place their special weapons and nasty characters either to the center of the squad or stacked to one side. If you Tank Shock an edge of the formation such that those don't have to move, they are not able to perform a DoG attack. This is another of those simple yet critical items that be make all the difference in your Tank Shock.

This is the first in a new series of articles I'm calling "Back to Basics", or B2B for short. Most of my tactics articles have focused on really complex and/or esoteric items. Partly this is because I haven't seen others talking about them. Partly I like complex tactics as they give me a chance to show off. But mostly I'd assumed the majority of players on the internet/blogosphere were experienced players looking for the rarer ideas. In looking around and talking to people, I've since realized there are a lot of newbies looking to up their game and regular players that may have missed some basics. Several times I've dropped a comment about something I consider basic, such as "escorting" or "castling", only to be asked what I'm talking about. So the B2B series is going to focus on basic rules and how they interact with other basics to create the mid-level tactics that are the bread and butter of winning at 40K. Cheers and I hope you enjoy this new style of article.

PS. Go vote on a banner and COMMENT in my "Vote a New Banner" thread. I promised a set of sculpting tolls to a random lucky winner and an LE fig if it hit over 20 comments. Well, we're at 27 now. Depending on how many more I get, even more cool stuff will have to be pulled out...

***Image is from Apocalypse Now and used without permission***

Advanced Assault Shenanigans Part 2

So in recent post, I showed some of the ways in which difficult terrain rules can be used creatively in an assault. An anonymous troll informed me I was wrong, I invited reasoned debate and mchmr6677 decided to step up with this great rejoinder:
"As opposed to anonymous, I will actually state why your interpretation is flawed.

The first sentence of page 36 under "Assaulting Through Cover" states "If, following the rules for moving assaulting models, any model in an assaulting unit will have to..."

This rule specifies that you must check before any models are moved to see if any of the additional models will be required to move into terrain (i.e. are within 6" of a model that they must try to base). You don't start the charge first and then see what happens."

Ah, a good point with citation! That's the kind of response I like.

However, I still have to disagree. Yes, that rule does state that the unit has to take the relevant terrain test before moving. It also says that this test can cause the assault to fail if the closest model is not in range.
But it does not say anything about checking range, being forced to charge into difficult terrain, nor otherwise supersede the rules as laid out on page 34. For that matter, the rule explicitly says "...moving assaulting models (see page 34), and model..". So the rules laid out on page 34 must be followed.

What the page 36 rule does is set up the timing of things. If there's an option, the choice to take the difficult terrain test MUST be done when moving the closest model. So yes, you're correct that there's no starting the charge and seeing what happens... and that applies both ways. If you forget or opt not to take it, you can't change your mind later.

That make sense? The control over taking that difficult terrain test is always in the hands of the assaulter, for good or ill.

Also, I feel it should be said that some of these are the nicest rules to apply, just that they are the rules as written. In the name of fairness and sportsmanship, you should let your opponent be aware when they make a mistake in the timing, but I wouldn't hold them to it. (Well, unless maybe it is Ard Boyz and they're being a prig.)

Some examples:As a last item, the "Banner Contest" has 38 votes, but only 5 people have commented in the thread to win a free set of sculpting tools. What, don't you guys like free tools? Get to 20 comments and I'll throw in a Limited Edition fig! (I know I have a couple floating around...) Cheers!


UPDATE: This is obviously a hot topic as I've seen the debate raging on several forums... There's the "Measure First" side that says you have to check for all models in the unit before moving. Then there's the "Movement Rules Apply" crowd that says you should have control.
I'm of the latter school. Why? Because of something like this:Technically, the "Measure First" interpretation would hold true even if there was someone in charge range from a DIFFERENT UNIT, per the Multiple Assault Rules.

I prefer "Movement Rules Apply" as it is quicker and, I believe, more realistic. If someone's running for a thicket to get away from me and I catch them before they get there, why would the thicket slow me down???
Is either side intrinsically right or wrong? No. It's a coin toss unless we get a FAQ about it. Both versions have some ways that the rules can be abused. 99% of the games you play, this shouldn't ever become a problem.

Advanced Assault Shenanigans

Warhammer 39,999 wrote me today with:
During my assault phase I wish to charge a unit that's in partial cover. The closest model of that unit is within charge range and entirely not in cover. All other models in the unit are in cover, but are still within 6". When attempting to charge that unit, do I need to roll a difficult terrain test?
He also attached a handy diagram to show what he was talking about:My response:
Oh yeah, that's a fun little one. There's really two pertinent rules here:
BRB, page 34, Moving Assaulting Units: "[Models] in an assaulting unit... move following the same rules as in the Movement Phase."
BRB, page 14, Moving Through Difficult Terrain, "If a unit starts its move outside terrain, the player must declare if he wants his unit to try to enter difficult terrain as part of their move. If he chooses not to, the unit moves as normal but may not enter difficult terrain."

Simply put, the choice to enter the difficult terrain (or not) is usually* up to the controlling player.

But what about BRB page 34, Moving Assaulting Units, "Assaulting units must attempt to engage as many opposing models as possible"?
Well, the counter is BRB page 34, Moving Assaulting Units, "If possible, the model must move into base contact with any enemy model within reach." If no difficult terrain test has been made, then models within the terrain are not within reach. For all intents, difficult terrain is impassable unless you opt to take a difficult terrain test.

So the way the movement would look is:Then you move the closest model. At this point you have the option to take the difficult terrain test as the movement between closest to closest is in the clear. If you choose not to, your assault move would look like this:It also is worth noting that the assaulter CAN assault a unit on the edge of area terrain without penalty, so long as they can get into base to base without entering the terrain. Remember that you can move up to and be touching the terrain, just not "in" it.
Basically, someone who wants to get the benefit of terrain had best ensure that ALL of the unit is in the terrain.

*Now why did I say "usually" up to the controlling player? Because it's not always. The specific steps of moving assaulters is that you move the closest by the shortest route, check difficult/dangerous terrain based on that route, see if the model made it and THEN move everyone else. For example:So if the closest to closest move goes through difficult/dangerous terrain, you MUST roll the check. Otherwise, the choice is up to you.

Cheers and hope this has given you some evil ideas. Check back again in a day or so and I promise I'll have the banner contest up and running!

Oh, and for one other thing, it looks like my guest articles on Space Wolf Vehicles have posted over at Space Wolves. Go have a look and tell me how I'm wrong. :-p

***Main image undoubtedly copyright Star Trek or something and will be removed if requested. The rest are crappy Powerpoints as I don't have Vassal 40k when posting from "work"***

Eldar: Prince Yriel

This is an update of a couple articles I wrote for Warseer's Eldar Tactica a while back. My original blog plan was to only recycle them here whenever I hit writer's block or got busy with real life. However, Master DarkSol of All Things 40K decided to write up a nice review on Eldar Autarchs. The one version he didn't cover was the special character, Prince Yriel...

Prince Yriel, Corsair Prince and Autarch of Iyanden Craftworld:
Prince Yriel is a touch more expensive than a tooled-out Autarch and is even with the Avatar in cost. This makes him the lowest priced Named Unit in the Eldar Codex. By background he's supposed to be unique to the Iyanden Craftworld, but his usefulness on the battlefield has spawned a number of "counts as" likenesses. He's basically a cross between a Warlock and an Autarch and this is supported by both Fluff and rules.

Stats: Yriel has the same stats as a normal Autarch, but at +1 Attack and Initiative. The biggest item worth noting that he is only T3; he's not too hard to wound and will Instant Death against anything S6 and above.

Skills:
Master Strategist: Taken straight from the Autarch's rule, this gives any army he is with an optional +1 to any Reserves rolls. Additionally, this entry and his army list name are the only non-background places that mention him as an "Autarch". This is important to remember if you want him to benefit from Exarch Powers.
Doomed: At the end of every game he takes an auto-wound from his weapon but gets a 4++ save against it. This rule is really just an annoyance and many players tend to forget about it. I find Yriel rarely ends a game with only 1 wound left; typically he's either unscathed or died gloriously around Turn 4.

Equipment:
Forceshield: Gives a 4++ Invulnerable save to go with his 3+ armour.
Plasma Grenades: Allows him to charge into cover.
The Spear of Twilight: One of the biggest problems with Eldar CC is that they're usually S3, don't ignore armour saves, or don't hit at Initiative (especially charging into cover). Yriel with his Spear of Twilight is one of the few exceptions. Running a WS of 6, hitting at I7, carrying plasma grenades, throwing 5 attacks on the charge, wounding anything on a 2+ and ignoring armour saves... Wow. Yriel is happy chewing through Marines or cutting down the biggest of monstrosities. The weapon is also decent in CC against tanks and Dreadnaughts as it hits at S9. The downside is that this is serious overkill against light targets and horde players will probably be unfazed.
As if the CC weren't enough, it can also be thrown in the Shooting Phase like a normal Singing Spear. This is commonly Yriel's best way to drop a mobile tank due to his higher chance to hit.
The Eye of Wrath: This weapon is a hold-out bomb for when he's surrounded by the enemy. Being S6 and AP3, it is most effective against basic Marines. Note that it hits everyone in the area, be they friend of foe.

Basic Tactics:
Yriel's biggest drawback is that he's a mainly CC unit that's stuck on foot. Since you can't always rely on the enemy coming to you, he's best served with a bodyguard that both protects him and wants to close with the enemy.
On foot, he is well suited with Wraithguard, Harlequins, or a Warlock Bodyguard. His presence can be a great way to attract extra enemy attention, especially for a fire sponge like Fortuned Wraithguard.
Running a Wave Serpent offers extra mobility as well as protection. Complimentary units include mech Wraithguard, Scorpions, Banshees, Dragons, Storm Guardians, or Warlock Council. It's also possible to run him with Serpent of Fury Dire Avengers, but not optimal as they tend to prefer a bit more distance from the enemy.
In either of these cases he can provide a nice bit of normal CC power. However, The Eye of Wrath has created an amusing tactic known as "Yriel Bomb". Yriel is escorted by his bodyguard towards the enemy similar to a Goblin Fanatic. When close enough to charge he disengages from his bodyguard, charges in solo, lets the enemy surround him with Defenders React, and then sets of his explosion.
This will typically kill off the majority of any target squad. Downside is that the return fire is often an angry Marine Sergeant with a powerfist. Yriel has a good chance of weathering this on his own, but Fortune can minimize his risk of Instant Death. Then he'll often see the rest of the unit off with No Retreat! wounds. But even easier? Just Doom the target. A 2+ to wound with re-roll and no saves rarely leaves survivors to hit back.
Just be warned... opponents WILL remember a tactic that causes this much carnage. Expect Yriel and his unit to be a priority target or avoided by anyone who knows better.

Advanced Tactics:
Independent Characters don't have to get out of the tank when the rest of the squad does. Because of this, people often forget he's around or assume he's in a different tank. This can be VERY effective to get them to make a bad choice and close within charge range of Yriel.
Put him in with a mech DA or Dragon squad and advance them to a "vulnerable" position. Optimally this will be some place where the unit isn't assaultable that turn, it looks like they are over extended, and/or they would have a hard time getting away even if they got back into the Wave Serpent. Other options for luring the enemy close it to offer up the Wave Serpent as a charge target and/or threatening an objective.
The turn you move the tank, the unit jumps out and shoots while Yriel hides in the tank. Wait for the enemy to close on their turn, spring Yriel out of the tank on your turn, and then sit back and watch the fireworks.
Another fun twist to this is to run a second HQ in the same tank. If a FarSeer jumps out with the squad, people will often presume the tank is otherwise empty.

With Serpent of Fury DA, there's an extra subtlety you can pull against players more experienced with Eldar: don't Bladestorm the turn you get out of the tank. People who play against DA Serpent of Fury tactics often expect to see them jump out, Bladestorm, and then jump back into the tank and fly away. When the DAs don't Bladestorm, it is either because the player forgot about it or the unit is planning on hanging around the area for another turn or two. Since Bladestorm is so integral to the squad's function, most people will figure that you didn't forget it... so they'll close units on the area thinking your DA want to stay there.

Last, try attaching Yriel's with a squad that doesn't want to get out of their Wave Serpent after it moved; such as a CC squad like Warlocks, Banshees, or Scorpions. Move the Serpent into a threatening location like normal. But when the unit get out of the tank the next turn, Yriel doesn't have to stay joined to them. Just deploy him out of coherency from them such as on the other side of the tank. He can then move and assault a completely different target. This can be a great way to hit multiple targets with one Wave Serpent's cargo, especially against players that have given you a bait unit and intend to shoot you with the second. This tactic is little harder though. Most opponents usually want to get away from the unit inside the Serpent, rather than closing like they might for the tempting bait of DAs.

Cheers and hope you've gotten something useful from the read!

**Image grabbed from GW.

Riposte, the Art of the Counter-Attack (More Advanced Vehicle Tactics)

Riposte: -noun
1. General. a quick, sharp return in speech or action; counterstroke.
2. Fencing. a quick thrust given after parrying a lunge.
3. Warhammer 40k. a tactic whereby you crush an opposing force after allowing them to over commit.

The concept? Simple. The execution? Tricky.

There's three major components that go into making this work:
1. Get them to commit to an attack that they can't recover from.
2. Counter or blunt the attack such that it is not crippling to your force.
3. Hit them in return such that their force is crippled or destroyed.

Now while I use Eldar vehicles in the examples, this kind of ploy is viable for pretty much any army out there. To quote the current Space Wolf Codex, "The only way to slay a Fenrisian Wolf [bare-handed] is to wait until the Wolf pounces and leap forward while it is in the air so that the exposed neck and belly can be attacked." I've used this tactic to success with Wolves, Eldar, Marines, Chaos and Tau. Heck, I've even pulled off variants of this with non-mechanized armies, but that's for another day...

Another thing worth stating here is that this is not meant to be an end-all-be-all of tactics. This is just one of many options to put into your tool chest.

Part 1: Get them to over-commit.
Gamers often tend to be young, single men. They're naturally afraid of commitment. They'll want to hedge their bets, explore other options, and play their own games. However, they're also easily distractable, tend not to think beyond the immediate moment and have a weakness for honey-pots.
So how do you distract them? Well, my wife can simply lean over the table, pose, and heave a bit to cause the IQ across the table drop. I don't have the same *ahem* attributes. I also want to be a good sport, so I have to rely on distracting them via gameplay. One of the simplest and easiest ways I've found is a "bait" unit.
What makes a good bait unit? It's relative. There needs to be a reason for your opponent to attack the unit in the way you desire. You'll need to get into their head a bit and figure out what will bait them... Is it enough to just present any old target? Do they dislike a particular unit disproportionately? Are they after your Scoring units?
Additionally, you will want to have a backup plan. It can and will happen that people won't take your bait, no matter how tempting the bait. Accept this, plan for it, and adjust your strategy to suit.
But the best "bait"? One where the choice to take it or avoid it doesn't matter. A crude example of this would be a unit of Fire Dragons, in a Fortuned and Moving Fast Wave Serpent, 16" from a Land Raider full of Terminators. The Terminators have a choice of getting out and attacking, or risking being destroyed inside their tank when the Dragons attack. Typically, engineering this kind of fait accompli will require multiple units working in tandem, conducive terrain and maybe a little luck... but it's worth it if you can pull it off.

Part 2: Blunt the attack.
Truth be told, this is really the second half of choosing the right bait.
When choosing your bait, you must accept that the unit is going to die. There's no room for "maybe it might get lucky" or "maybe it might live". If you're going to risk it, you need to make sure that your strategical plan can afford to have it die. If it lives? Great! You have an extra unit to go out and do damage with. If it dies? Fine, it's what was expected. Always plan for the worst and then work with the actual.
Now any type of unit can work as your bait... but my favorite is a Transport vehicle. Here's why:
a. Tanks are more mobile than normal infantry. This allows them to get into position faster and
b. A unit being Transported is not damaged unless the vehicle explodes or is completely surrounded when wrecked. Many players seem to think a Vehicle Wrecked causes them to take damage and that blocking the hatch is enough... but this isn't true in 5th edition. Have them re-read the Damage to Transported Units section.
c. Enemies cannot consolidate after close combat with a vehicle. This leaves them nice and clumped up for applying Template weapons and being close enough to charge.
d. Live tanks = mobile cover. By nature, a bait unit is typically up close and personal to the enemy. This means they will often block LOS or confer a cover save to your units behind them.
e. Dead tanks = cover and difficult terrain. When a tank is taken out, you have the majority control of where they deploy. If all your opponent's shooting is done and there's no assaulters near, it might be worth getting a few extra inches by deploying in front of the tank. If they held back a bunch of anti-infantry in hopes of popping your tank, you can deploy behind the wreckage to block LOS or get cover saves. If they have an assault unit nearby, you can put the bulk of the tank between you to force Difficult Terrain tests that might blunt or prevent a charge.

Step 3: Cripple them in return.
You've done the hard part of surviving. Now you get to exact your revenge. The usual caveats apply here of using the best tool for the job, maximizing damage, and setting things up for winning the game. It's actually this phase that tends to provide the psychological turning point for a game. Your opponent is often feeling pretty good about having damaged or destroyed a unit or two of yours. Now is when you want to hit them as hard as you can and wipe out as many units as possible. The sudden switch from a feeling of victory to one of defeat can be crushing. I've watched people give up on or even concede games after this, even though they still had the ability to tie or win.

For some practical examples, I've enlisted Vassal again to provide some images with how I approach this with my Eldar. For those of you unfamiliar with Eldar... Wave Serpents are extremely fast, very durable against shooting, and rather durable against close combat. The downsides are that they're not cheap (100+ points), their basic weapons don't put out that much damage, and their upgraded weapons are usually too expensive for the results you get. It's the units inside of them that really pack the punch. This makes the great "bait".
The yellow Serpent is Howling Banshees. (Alnti-troop close combat specialists)
The red Serpent is Fire Dragon. (Anti-tank specialists)
The green tank is Storm Guardians. (Anti-troop shooting that's more effective against packed-in targets thanks to multiple Flamers.)
Images are clickable for larger and better detailed versions.

This first image shows three basic deployments. They were done with an eye to the terrain and with the thought that the Eldar are deploying and going first. Because people will steal the initiative 1 time in 6, most of the deployments aren't right on the line and have some cover. 5:1 odds aren't that bad... don't let an aggressive deployment cost you the game.

This image shows how I might approach certain targets.
In example 1, I'm looking at a Tactical squad supported by two Dreadnaughts. An Assault squad is behind them to provide assault and counter-charge. The first concern here is dropping the two Dreadnaughts as only the Fire Dragons have the ability to drop them reliably. The second is to keep the Assault squad from charging my infantry.
Now if I approached this with the idea of alpha-strike shooting, I'd probably futz around at range for a turn and try to pop the Dreadnaughts on a lucky shot. I'd probably get one Dread and a couple Marines. But the return fire is going to turn my Dragons into a fine red mist.
But by holding off a turn and trying to bait, I can hit with all three units in tandem. The Fire Dragon Serpent is put out front as bait. There's enough room left behind it that the Dragons can bail out if needed. This and the Storm Guardian Serpents form nice, juicy targets that the Dreads and Assault Marines will be hard-pressed to ignore. And if they do ignore them or even try to move away, I'm still close enough to attack. The Banshee Serpent hangs out on the far side of the wall. It could be the point-man or flanker just as easily as these positions would put them closer for enacting a charge. However, in this example I was trying to downplay the threat of the Banshees in hopes that he'd ignore their presence entirely.
And if they don't take the bait and pull back? Unless the tac squad Runs, the Banshees are still close enough to catch them with a reasonable Fleet roll. The Dragons are also close enough to drop one Dread cold while the Serpents could angle for rear-armour shots.

In example 2, there's a full Termie T-Hammer Assault squad in the Raider and a bunch of multi-melta/heavy flamer Speeders behind the building. My first concern here is getting the Termies out of the tank. My second is luring those Speeders out so that my Serpents and Dragons can drop them thanks to squadron rules. Again, the Dragons form the bait, with Storm Serpent as the backup. The hope here is that the Termies will jump out and charge the tanks while the Speeders slide to the left to shoot my tanks. I could then hit the Termies with Storms and Banshees while the Dragons hop over to the Raider and the Serpents drop some Speeders.

In example 3, we have a much more common kind of tournament army. Here we have a squad of Termies in a Land Raiders, but this time they're supported by a Rhino wall and a bunch of Razorbacks. Here my concern is getting the Termies out again, but also breaking or hopping the Rhino wall and hitting the juicy insides. My main hope with this type of deployment is to lure the Termies into a charge. If they do so, my Banshees would be detailed for them while the other elements go after his forces. And if he stays buttoned up? I push forward again, but this time I have a bunch of shooting and assault primed to hit his lines in another turn.

None of these are perfect examples... but I needed something to illustrate my point. I also wanted to use examples that looked feasible to see in a game, rather than obvious set pieces.

Whew, but that was a lot of typing. Maybe I should switch to less extensive topics, like my recent painting. :-p Though I guess if you made it this far, it was probably worth the read. Cheers!

First pic courtesy of a psuedo random GIS... and chosen because it amused me as I'm in it...

Falcon versus Wave Serpent: The Math

Hey there folks.

So Fritz over at Saim-Hann put out a post wondering which is more survivable, a Falcon or a Serpent. Having done the math-hammer in the past... my answer is that the Falcon's more survivable in a stand-off role while the Serpent's a better assault boat.
Serpents are less likely to be killed by melta, Demolishers and when Moving Fast.
Falcons are equally or more likely to be damaged in other cases, but also more likely to survive the results.

5th edition has really become the heyday of mechanized armies. With this, there's been a subsequent rise in melta too. So my general rule is that Falcons sit in the back and play DAVU tactics while Serpents are used to Transport anything that wants to get close.

This is just a general rule as the math does not include BS to-hit, cover, Fortune, Tank Hunters or other exotic situations. I also don't factor for rear-armour shots; this is both implausible to fairly calculate and I figure you're getting your just desserts if that happens. So all shots are considered to have already hit, the target is in the open, it is against AV12, and the Serpent Field is on. Here's the maths:

Wave Serpent	Shaken	Stunned	Weapon D.	Immobilized	Wrecked	Explodes
S6	8.33%	2.78%	2.78%	2.78%	0.00%	0.00%
S7	11.11%	5.56%	5.56%	5.56%	2.78%	2.78%
S8	13.89%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	5.56%	5.56%
S9	13.89%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	5.56%	5.56%
S10	13.89%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	5.56%	5.56%
S8 Ordnance	13.89%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	5.56%	5.56%
S10 Ordnance	13.89%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	5.56%	5.56%
S10 AP1	5.56%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	11.11%
S10 AP1 Ord.	5.56%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	11.11%
S8 AP1	5.56%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	11.11%
S8 AP1 Melta	13.89%	8.33%	8.33%	8.33%	5.56%	5.56%

This is the chance per shot for a Wave Serpent to take a certain type of damage.
Or in graphical form:

Wave Serpent	Sum Damage	Dead Norm	Dead SMF
S6	16.67%	0.00%	1.39%
S7	33.33%	5.56%	5.56%
S8	50.00%	11.11%	9.72%
S9	50.00%	11.11%	9.72%
S10	50.00%	11.11%	9.72%
S8 Ordnance	50.00%	11.11%	9.72%
S10 Ordnance	50.00%	11.11%	9.72%
S10 AP1	50.00%	19.44%	13.89%
S10 AP1 Ord.	50.00%	19.44%	13.89%
S8 AP1	50.00%	19.44%	13.89%
S8 AP1 Melta	50.00%	11.11%	9.72%

This is a Serpent's total chance to take damage and risk of being destroyed.

Falcon	Shaken	Stunned	Weapon D.	Immobilized	Wrecked	Explodes
S6	12.50%	2.31%	1.39%	0.46%	0.00%	0.00%
S7	17.59%	6.48%	4.63%	2.78%	1.39%	0.46%
S8	22.69%	10.65%	7.87%	5.09%	2.78%	0.93%
S9	27.78%	14.81%	11.11%	7.41%	4.17%	1.39%
S10	32.87%	18.98%	14.35%	9.72%	5.56%	1.85%
S8 Ordnance	31.56%	16.59%	12.42%	8.26%	4.63%	1.54%
S10 Ordnance	33.41%	23.38%	17.98%	12.58%	7.41%	2.47%
S10 AP1	9.26%	23.61%	18.98%	14.35%	9.72%	7.41%
S10 AP1 Ord.	4.63%	28.78%	23.38%	17.98%	12.58%	9.88%
S8 AP1	9.26%	13.43%	10.65%	7.87%	5.09%	3.70%
S8 AP1 Melta	4.63%	27.08%	21.99%	16.90%	11.81%	9.26%

This is the chance for a Falcon to take a certain type of damage.
In graphical form:

Falcon	Sum Damage	Dead Norm	Dead SMF
S6	16.67%	0.00%	0.23%
S7	33.33%	1.85%	2.32%
S8	50.00%	3.70%	4.40%
S9	66.67%	5.56%	6.48%
S10	83.33%	7.41%	8.57%
S8 Ordnance	75.00%	6.17%	7.22%
S10 Ordnance	97.22%	9.88%	11.23%
S10 AP1	83.33%	17.13%	15.74%
S10 AP1 Ord.	97.22%	22.45%	20.22%
S8 AP1	50.00%	8.80%	8.34%
S8 AP1 Melta	91.67%	21.06%	18.98%

This is the Falcon's total chance to take damage and risk of being destroyed.

Falcon vs Serpent	Shaken	Stunned	Weapon D.	Immobilized	Wrecked	Explodes
S6	1.5	0.83	0.5	0.17	N/A	N/A
S7	1.58	1.17	0.83	0.5	0.5	0.17
S8	1.63	1.28	0.94	0.61	0.5	0.17
S9	2	1.78	1.33	0.89	0.75	0.25
S10	2.37	2.28	1.72	1.17	1	0.33
S8 Ordnance	2.27	1.99	1.49	0.99	0.83	0.28
S10 Ordnance	2.41	2.81	2.16	1.51	1.33	0.44
S10 AP1	1.67	2.83	2.28	1.72	1.17	0.67
S10 AP1 Ord.	0.83	3.45	2.81	2.16	1.51	0.89
S8 AP1	1.67	1.61	1.28	0.94	0.61	0.33
S8 AP1 Melta	0.33	3.25	2.64	2.03	2.13	1.67

This is a risk assessment comparison of the Falcon versus the Serpent, broken down by type of damage.

Falcon vs Serpent	Sum Damage	Dead Norm	Dead SMF
S6	1	N/A	0.17
S7	1	0.33	0.42
S8	1	0.33	0.45
S9	1.33	0.5	0.67
S10	1.67	0.67	0.88
S8 Ordnance	1.5	0.56	0.74
S10 Ordnance	1.94	0.89	1.15
S10 AP1	1.67	0.88	1.13
S10 AP1 Ord.	1.94	1.15	1.46
S8 AP1	1	0.45	0.60
S8 AP1 Melta	1.83	1.9	1.95

The numbers above are a risk assessment of the Falcon vs the Wave Serpent for total chance of damage and being destroyed.

For the risk assessments, the number given is roughly how many times more likely a HoloFalcon is to get a result compared to a Wave Serpent.
A value of 1 means the two tanks are equally likely to get this result.
A value greater than 1 favors the Wave Serpent.
A value less than 1 favors the Falcon.


And here's a side-by side of their survivability based upon movement.

*Image borrowed from the good Master DarkSol's Photobucket.