Saturday, July 31, 2010

Scenario Gaming Pt.2: an Effective Army

What a week... sorry for no updates recently, but I've been over the top busy.

Last time we looked at scenario gaming. Tonight, I've got a few thoughts on armies that are strong for winning objective/ scenario based games. In my mind, an army based for objectives and scenarios should be balanced around three facets.
1: Mobility
2: Sustainability
3: Adaptability

Mobility: No matter the game system, an army that needs to capture objectives or hold areas of the board has to get there. In 40k, this is taken care of by mechanizing the army. Getting the army in transports not only allows them to get where they need to be, but keeps them safe along the way. In Warmachine/ Hordes mobility comes through the use of spells and the run mechanic. On the smaller board used in PP games, a unit or model with a speed of 6 or more can provide their own mobility. Many casters also bring some method of mobility with spells or feats.

Sustainability: Once the army gets where it needs to be, it needs to be able to put up a fight and stick around. In 40k and fantasy large numbers of troops are one side of this with 20-40 strong ork mobs being very sustainable while the other side are rock solid troops like assault termies with 2+/3+ saves on T4. In Warmachine, synergy between casters and units provide sustainability beyond the basic stats and abilities of the model. Models also have to be able to lay down some way of being able to keep the ground they've taken. Whether it's the supressive fire of an IG squad or the combi strike ability of a unit of mech thralls, the army must be able to fend off any risks for the objective.

Adaptability: The army has to be able to react to forces on the battlefield as well as be able to strike out when needed. This is where a well rounded army comes into play. Having components that can throw off your opponent's plans wherever they are needed can keep the enemy on their heels. The other factor here is just how many models/ units your army has. (don't forget to take into account system rules like troops only scoring) A small army, no matter how hard core its individual units are, just can't adapt well enough to win scenario games.

So... some examples:

35 Point Cryx List
eSkarre
Seether
Nightwretch
Leviathan
6 raiders + sea witch
6 blood witches + hag
necrosurgeon
warwitch siren.

The army brings the mobility with high speed across the board, especially in the Satyxis raiders with an 18" run movement. The leviathan is the only "slow" model in the army, but it's 13" range with the spiker makes up for that. Sustainability? eSkarre's feat is the "queen" of sustainability. The blood witches also can go incorporeal and make it very hard to pull them away from a target.  Adaptability? This army is a little small, but every model in the army has a threat range that allows them to strike out when and where they need to.

1500 pt Imperial Guard
Company Command Squad (med, standard, plasma gun, vox commander w/ p-fist)
   -Chimera
Infantry Platoon: Command squad w/ 3 flamers and vox.
      3 x infantry squad w/ vox, hvy bolt. grenade launcher
     Heavy wep. squad w/ 3 las cannons
Vet Squad w/ 3 meltas vox and sgt w/ p-fist
Valkyrie w/ multi rocket pods
3 armored sentinels (auto cannon x2 + 1 plasma cannon)
Leman Russ Demolisher
Hellhound

This is my normal IG rollout at 1500 points. I built it to be as well rounded as possible. The chimera and Valkyrie allow some advanced mobility with the sentinels able to keep up for fire support. Sustainability is the guard's middle name, just through strength of numbers. The list also has enough armor to make it tough to crack for melee heavy armies. Adaptability comes through the well rounded weapon distribution in the army. I'm a big fan of heavy bolters, grenade launchers, and auto cannons as some of the most dependable weapons in the guard arsenal.

So there's some more wacky ideas. Feel free to add!

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