Army Selection: Basic Comments, Blood Angel Example


This particular section contains information on selecting units for an army, with an applied example for Blood Angel armies at the end. Different recommendations are made for varying terrain, army size, and terrain. No specific recommendations are made for defeating a specific army type (e.g. Orks); all tips are for general purpose tournament armies that will be used against a number of unknown opponents.

The tips listed in the beginning of this section will prove useful to any army. However, the focus at the end will be entirely on Blood Angels. Other army selection sections may be made for other army lists (e.g. Orks, Space Wolves, Eldar), depending on reader request. Please email [email protected] if you would like to request such a section.

Most of the information here will end up the Strategy and Tactics chapters - with more complete information and additional comments. Until then, please use this section for reference.

This section is a running commentary of battlefield applications rather than a strict analysis of WH40K strategy and tactics. Please excuse the informal nature of the presentation; I know it's rather difficult to read in its current format.

Note: Armoured Company is not considered tournament legal, as it is "Recommended Optional". The following section assumes that Armoured Company will not be faced.


The Basics


The single universal theme around which all other themes revolve is local superiority of force. This does not mean that an army will attempt to have more point value worth of units in a particular location than the enemy (although this may well the case).

There are four major themes around which most WH40K armies are based; four major themes that are often used to implement the universal theme. These are

  1. Transport Assault
  2. Mob Assault
  3. Massive Shooting
  4. Shoot/Counterassault

There are eleven minor themes that are commonly used to support the four major themes.

  1. Numerous High Toughness Creatures / Numerous Vehicles
  2. Shooting Fodder
  3. Assault Fodder
  4. Suicidal Close Combat Units / Suicidal Tank Destroyer Units
  5. Loose Layered Deployment
  6. Tight Layered Deployment
  7. Counterassault
  8. Guess Range Weaponry
  9. Pinning
  10. Template Weapons
  11. Shooting

Transport Assault


Transport Assault - uses transports to get a good number of troopers into hand to hand combat quickly. There are a number of advantages to this type of army, but a number of disadvantages as well. Speed Freeks, Blood Angels, and Black Templar are generally based around transport assault, while some Biel-tan Swordwind, Salamanders, and Space Wolf armies also choose to go this route.

The most common minor themes used with the transport-based assault army theme are shooting fodder, assault fodder, counterassault, template weapons, and shooting. Some transport assault armies will use all of those minor themes, while other transport assault armies will choose to use only some of those minor themes.

Suicidal close combat / suicidal tank destroyer units, and pinning are less commonly used themes for transport assault armies.

Shooting Fodder - usually implemented by using less valuable vehicles or transports to block LOS to the more important transports. The less valuable transport must be destroyed before the more important vehicle can be shot at. (note that in many cases a "destroyed" vehicle continues to block LOS). This minor theme is increasingly effective as higher point values are used, as more points allows more vehicles to be fielded, which in turn allows more vehicles to be used as LOS blockers.

Assault Fodder - usually implemented as follows - The majority of the assault is focused on a single enemy flank, as already described. Meanwhile, a small force of durable troops moves to the opposite enemy flank, and attacks a powerful enemy unit. That enemy unit is tied up in close combat for a few vital turns, during which it cannot move to reinforce comrades in the "real" assault. With some planning, the enemy unit may even be pulled farther away from combat, as after a drawn combat, models from both sides must move models 6 inches towards the enemy.

Alternative uses of this minor theme are common. One example of an alternative use - An enemy Ork commander has deployed a line of Gretchin at the front of his line. Any assaulting units must attack the Gretchin first, as there is no way around them. However, any assault on the Gretchin will immediately be followed by an Ork counterassault. So, the Blood Angel commander sends an assault fodder unit to attack one flank of the Gretchin line. If the Gretchin break, they disappear, leaving the main Ork force open to a Blood Angel assault. If the Gretchin manage to draw the combat, they must move 6 inches towards the attacking Blood Angel unit - which will also leave the main Ork force open to a Blood Angel assault. Note that even though the attacking Blood Angel unit may be more cost-efficient that the Gretchin, the Blood Angel unit is still considered fodder - expendable - since its primary purpose is to draw the Gretchin away, not to inflict casualties.

Counterassault - usually implemented by sending the less valuable troops (those less valuable in close combat) in first. The less valuable troops, armed with flamers or other template weapons, weaken the enemy with their initial charge, then stay in the assault. Since the enemy has likely lost too much forces in the initial attack to have an advantage in the subsequent rounds of assault, the enemy must send its reserves in as reinforcements. The less valuable troops absorb the impetus of the enemy reserve's charge, then the more valuable troops move in to counterassault the enemy reserve's assault.

Shooting - This minor theme may be implemented through any number of means. Infantry being transported may be armed with assault weapons; heavy weapons may be mounted on mobile vehicles, or an immobile fire base may be created.

Template Weapons - In an assault, a unit with its models in base to base contact with the other models in the unit will be more effective than a unit with its models spread apart. High point troops such as Space Marines will often use a tight formation, as the tight formation allows fewer of the enemy to get into base to base contact on the initial charge - this reduces the effectiveness of an enemy charge. Low point troops such as Orks will often use a tight formation, as the tight formation allows the most number of models in the unit to receive their full attacks in close combat. In short, regardless of the army type being played, an enemy will often pack his or her army's models together when receiving a charge.

However, the more closely packed together models are, the more of them can be hit with template weapons - blast templates, flamer templates, and ordnance templates.

Thus, a transport assault based army - any assault army, really - will often take template weapons. If the enemy packs it in, the templates take out more of the enemy during shooting. If the enemy doesn't pack it in, the assault on the enemy will be more effective.

The idea behind the template weapon minor theme and the idea behind the shooting minor theme are distinct. The template weapon theme increases the casualties of the bulk of the enemy army in the shooting or assault phase. The shooting theme is intended to weaken elite enemy units before closing for close combat - weakening or destroying units that would pose a threat in close combat.

Suicidal Close Combat Units / Suicidal Tank Destroyer Units - This minor theme is very similar to the assault fodder theme. However, there is a clear distinction between units allocated to assault fodder roles and units allocated to suicidal roles - both their characteristics and their manner of use are different. I'll have to clarify this, so bear with me.

Assault fodder serve a supporting role in the main assault. They can expect to take high casualties, but are expected to survive long enough to fulfill their role - usually a couple of turns or so. Assault fodder usually get their points worth between the point value of the enemy they dispatch and the advantage they give the rest of the *real* assault force when they are used properly. Assault fodder is supposed to hold up the enemy, create large areas in the battlefield that must be maneuvered around, etc - they are basically a moving wall of sorts. The sole requisite for assault fodder is durability - all other considerations are secondary.

Suicidal close combat units serve no supporting role whatsoever. They will probably all be destroyed by the end of the game. They are expected to survive only long enough to accomplish a single directive - the neutralization of a particular enemy threat. Suicidal units almost never get their points worth in terms of what they destroy and how long they hold up the enemy. Instead, they get their points worth by destroying or occupying enemy units that have superior cost effectiveness relative to the rest of their army. The requisites for suicidal units are the ability to hit hard and fast - they need fast mobility to get to a protected target quickly, and they need the weaponry to be able to neutralize the threat effectively.

So in short, fodder serves a general purpose support role, and is expected to last at least a little while. Suicidal units serve as surgical strike units, and are expected to be destroyed almost immediately upon completion of their task.

Generally, transport assault armies have little use for suicide units - since the vast majority of the army is mobile, all targets can be quickly engaged, so there's no need for a sacrifice. Some transport assault armies use super fast or otherwise highly mobile units to quickly neutralize enemy units, but such tactics are not essential, and thus are not commonly used, in a transport-based assault army.

Pinning - The object of pinning is the same as assault fodder - to immobilize enemy units or at least to seriously mess up their mobility. A pinned unit can't move, and other units may be forced to move around the unit (if the pinned unit has models all in base-to-base contact with each other, they form a solid line - and a unit can't simply pass right through them if that is the case).

Points spent on dedicated sniper units such as Space Marine Scouts with sniper rifles, or Ratlings, are often better spent for more transports and other assault units. The advantage of pinning is considerable enough that some commanders elect to take dedicated sniper units in their armies, but again, this is not commonly seen.

Transport assault armies, though, can pin the enemy with units other than dedicated sniper units. Terrorfexes can fire on the move, and guess range ordnance forces pinning checks as well as causing heavy casualties. The pinning effect achieved through these effects, though, is more of a bonus than the central theme of the transport army.

Application of Transport Assault

Transport assault armies are generally not particularly effective in low point games. First, any transport fully loaded with assault troops is expensive in points - which means that when an enemy heavy weapon destroys the transport, a good percentage of the army is rendered ineffective. Second, the low number of points means that not a lot of transports can be fielded - which means that valuable transports will have nothing to hide behind, so they can easily be destroyed. Third, with so few points on the board, the enemy will have relatively few troops - thus the enemy units will be relatively close together, and will be able to support each other quickly in the event of an attack - so flank attacks are MUCH less effective than they would be in higher point games. Fourth, whatever units manage to get into close combat will be isolated from the rest of the army - and thus quickly destroyed (for two reasons - first, as already mentioned, the enemy can reinforce an attacked flank quickly, so the enemy can apply overwhelming counter-force to your attack, and because the rest of your assault troops will be footslogging towards the combat - too late to help their comrades.

Naturally, a commander can make best use of terrain to block LOS, and can even use transports to partition the enemy army (tank shock then stay in place) - but in low point games, the commander will be fighting an uphill battle.

Transport assault armies are much more effective in high point games. In practice, here's what happens. The transports move up the board, blocking LOS to one another - even if one or two are destroyed, those vehicles will still block LOS, as a wrecked vehicle is not usually removed from the board (exception: Ordnance 6 roll). Barring that, however, most of the transports are protected, and hit an enemy flank. The transport assault troops, and jump packers, form the first assault wave.

The bulk of the enemy army is rendered ineffective, since the enemy models get in each others' way (remember, must be in base to base to be in combat, and within 2 inches to get any attacks).

The survivors of destroyed transports move up the board, charging into the fray and receiving whatever charge bonuses are applicable. (Since the enemy army usually has little real mobility at the attacked flank, the footsloggers often manage to get the charge off, instead of being charged by the enemy). These form the second assault wave.

Whatever units started without transports - such as Space Marine Scouts, Dreadnoughts, Wraithlords, etc. - move up the board, and hit the enemy wherever possible. IF there are any such units, these form the third assault wave.

The above mentioned major and minor themes are applied throughout.

The key to the transport assault army is the flank attack. The attack on a single enemy flank gives two advantages. Local superiority of force and reduction of the enemy's effectiveness, as enemy units not near the assault can't lend support (LOS is blocked by units in close combat, and the enemy units already in assault prevent new enemy units from entering the assault easily - the new enemy units must often maneuver around the sides of the conflict to get into base to base contact.


Mob Assault


Mob Assault - uses huge units of troops that advance relatively slowly into the enemy lines. There are a number of advantages - and disadvantages - to using this type of army. Tyranids and Orks are probably the most famous examples, but Sisters of Battle and Ulthwe Craftworld may also use mob assault tactics.

The most common minor themes used with the mob assault army theme are numerous high toughness/numerous vehicles, shooting fodder, assault fodder, suicidal close combat/tank destroyer units, counterassault, template weapons, and shooting. Usually, only some of these themes may be implemented effectively at one time - trying to concentrate on all the minor themes listed will inevitably weaken the effectiveness of each minor theme for the army.

Numerous High Toughness / Numerous Vehicles - usually implemented by taking the maximum number of high toughness or maximum number of vehicles (Dreadnoughts, whatever) possible. The idea is that the enemy won't have enough heavy duty firepower to take out all of the targets - and your surviving heavy hitters smash trough the enemy troops that can't hope to take them on. Of course, the ones that pose the most threat will be shot down first - for that reason, take a lot of the same thing, so the enemy can't eliminate your most effective heavy hitter.

One benefit of taking numerous high Toughness creatures or numerous vehicles is that the majority of enemy firepower cannot hurt them. For example, take a Tactical Squad with a missile launcher. Although that Tac Squad can potentially inflict a wound on a high Toughness creature, or destroy a vehicle, the rest of the bolters in the squad will be ineffective - and if the Tac Squad shot at a high Toughness creature or a vehicle, that Tac Squad isn't shooting at the regular troops in your army - which means that more of your basic troops will survive to enter close combat.

Shooting Fodder - This idea is almost built into the army. Without transports, there are too many units to shoot down before units close for HtH. The usual LOS blocking can usually be used - Gretchin lined up base to base with a Mek with a Field close by, Space Marines blocking LOS to the more vulnerable Scouts, Storm Guardians blocking LOS to Striking Scorpions and Howling Banshees. Tyranids can't block LOS, so usually they should just take plenty of extra leaping Gaunts.

The shooting fodder principle is more effective as more low point models are added to the army - for the exact opposite of the reason benefiting high Toughness / numerous vehicle armies. The benefit of taking numerous cheap point low Toughness creatures is that heavy weapons are usually overkill - a lascannon costing 15-35 points is pretty much wasted on a 3 point Gretchin. Combined with LOS blocking (not for Tyranids of course), this principle is extremely effective - Gretchin blocking LOS to Orks, Orks blocking LOS to mega armoured Nobz, for example, or Guardians in front of Wraithguard in front of Wraithlords.

Assault Fodder - a variety of implementations exist for this minor theme. The fodder can be used in single flank or double flank attacks, as well as in the main assault.

Single Flank - implemented in one of two ways. The leading regular foot troops may advance on a single flank, and pull it away from the rest of the main army, thus increasing the battle front and allowing more of your attacking models in the main force to get into base-to-base contact. Or, troops with high mobility - mounted troops or jump packers - may advance past an enemy flank, hitting it from the side or back, and force the enemy to fight a two-front battle, as the rest of your troops hit the next turn. Either implementation is combined with the main assault - the flank attack troops attack on a flank and expand the length of the enemy line exposed to the bulk of your charging army.

Double Flank - A single flank attack can usually hold its own; as all the mobile troops or advance army elements were directed there, there are plenty of numbers to sustain an assault. A double flank maneuver can usually not stand on its own; it must usually rely on the main force for backup, as in this case, the advance elements are split in two; rendering each more vulnerable to attack. This is particularly true because of the NATURE of a double flank attack.

A single flank attack can attack a single weak point of the enemy army. A double flank attack is attacking two points - it's not likely that both sides will be vulnerable. Furthermore, the enemy reserve is much more effective when flank attack forces are split. Dramatically so, in fact. To illustrate this, here is an extremely simplified, but extremely useful, example of applied force.

Imagine that you have a basic soldier costing 1 point that will inflict a casualty 50% of the time - all hitting, wounding, etc. are contained in that calculation - and everyone strikes simultaneously; nobody gets a bonus attack from charging.

Now imagine you have 400 points worth of flank attack units opposing two enemy flanks of 100 points each, with 200 points of enemy reserve. It takes 1 turn for the enemy reserve to respond to your flank attack, and 2 turns for the enemy to move from one flank to another.

If a single flank attack is made, that's 400 against 100. That means after one round of battle, 350 surviving attackers, 0 surviving defenders. In round two, the reserve arrives - 350 attackers against 200 defenders. After that round of battle, we enter round three, with 250 attackers against 25 surviving defenders, plus the 100 arriving defenders from the other flank - in brief, 250 attackers against 125 defenders. In round 4, we have 187 surviving attackers and no surviving defenders.

If a double flank attack is made, that's 200 against 100 on side A and 200 against 100 on side B. After one round of battle, 150 surviving attackers on side A, 150 surviving attackers on side B. In round two, the reserve arrives - 200 points of reserve to side A. After that round of battle, round three commences with 50 attackers and 125 defenders at A (side B is moving to attack). Round four, all the original attackers at A are destroyed, 100 defenders are left, and the attackers from side B arrive, or 100 defenders agaisnt 150 attackers. Round five and six pass; 87 attackers are left.

Although both flank attacks beat the enemy, there is clearly a difference in the number of surviving attackers. This is why it's important to apply overwhelming force to one area. (note to self: Put this - concept of overwhelming force at one area - in a chapter of its own with extended comments and examples)

Back to the subject of double flanking - since double flank attacks are more vulnerable to enemy attack, there must be a significant advantage gained by attacking on two flanks. Usually, forcing the enemy to extend its lines will be sufficient advantage, as this will make the enemy army much more vulnerable to your main assault. A double flank attack counters tight and/or loose layered deployment (see Shoot/Counterassault major theme army, below)

Mob army assault fodder attacking up the middle of the board are used slightly differently than the way transport army assault fodder is used. First, mob armies usually assign a combination assault fodder role / shooting fodder role to a low point unit that's difficult to destroy (i.e. a huge mob of Gretchin, Nurglings, etc.) Since the fodder units have to absorb heavy casualties from enemy fire as well as enemy assault, a mob army's fodder force is usually rather considerable - unlike the small sized fodder force that assault armies generally use.

The mob army's massive wave of fodder troops effectively immobilizes a huge front of the enemy army - blocking LOS, creating a huge area that must be navigated around. The enemy can't respond very well to possible threats once his/her entire front line is immobilized in a gigantic melee. The elite units of the mob army can thus hit an enemy's flank without having to worry too much about enemy reinforcements - the enemy reinforcements are already tied up with fodder troops.

The concept of assault fodder remains the same for both armies, though. A cheap point unit is used to limit enemy mobility. The assault fodder is not supposed to inflict heavy enemy casualties (although it can); its primary role is to limit enemy mobility. A prime example of assault fodder would be Gretchin in an Ork army.

Suicidal close combat / tank destroyer units - usually implemented as follows - The majority of the assault is focused on a single enemy flank, as already described. Meanwhile, a small force of durable troops moves to the opposite enemy flank, and attacks a powerful enemy unit.

If the suicide unit was close combat oriented, the powerful enemy unit is tied up in close combat for a few vital turns, during which it cannot move to reinforce comrades in the "real" assault. With some planning, the enemy unit may even be pulled farther away from combat, as after a drawn combat, models from both sides must move models 6 inches towards the enemy. This pulling effect will be most effective against units with multiple models, such as Striking Scorpions or Space Marine Scouts - such units can be pulled out of formation, reducing their effectiveness in any subsequent assault phases. The pulling effect won't work on small units, such as Dreadnoughts, Wraithlords, or Killa Kans. This type of suicide unit assists the main assault.

If the suicide unit was oriented towards destroying tanks, the unit simply destroys the powerful enemy unit - the tank - with krak, melta, or other weapons. This type of suicide unit assists the mob assault army's survivability.

Normally, tanks (ordnance in particular, but other types as well, such as Predators or even transports with assault troops held in reserve) are used to destroy large sections of the mob assault army - Predators destroy Killa Kans or Dreadnoughts, Leman Russ, Basilisk, or Whirlwinds destroy large swathes of enemy troops. Even after the initial mob army assault, a good number of units in the mob army won't be in close combat (those units will still be moving towards the enemy), and the tanks will inflict heavy casualties on them. So, suicide tank destroyers destroy the tanks, increasing the survivability of the rest of the mob assault army. This is a vital role.

Counterassault works similarly to transport army counterassault. The less valuable units lead the assault (usually filling a minor role of shooting fodder). If the enemy assaults the less valuable troops, the elite units at the back move up and quickly destroy the assaulting units, then the mob army reforms its lines and advances again. If the enemy stays stationary and absorbs the assault, the less valuable units get the benefit of charging. After the enemy reserve special close combat units counterassault the less valuable lead units of the mob assault army, the more valuable elements of the mob assault army counterassault the elite enemy units, inflicting heavy damage on them in turn.

Template weapons are used for exactly the same reasons as in the transport assault army. If the enemy packs his/her models close together, the enemy will be more effective in close combat. But if the enemy packs his/her models close together, template weapons will inflict more casualties.

Mob army use of flamer template weapons can be considerably more difficult than for transport assault armies. Since mob armies usually don't have particularly good mobility, the enemy can move and assault a unit with a flamer before that unit can move close enough to use its flamer. This is not too serious of a problem, though. The threat of the flamer weapon forces the enemy army to respond, which is worth the point value of the flamers by itself.

Of course, mounted troops will usually manage to use their flamer templates, and some vehicles such as Hellhounds or Wartrak Skorchas can be used to inflict flamer template casualties with their regular armament.

Shooting - used to destroy important enemy units on the way in. Often the enemy army will have units that can hold up the progress of the main assault, or that pose a significant threat to the mob assault army as a whole.

A single well placed Sentinel, Wraithlord, or Dreadnought can hold up the progress of a mob assault army. This is particularly true of Dreadnoughts and Wraithlords - any characters in a unit that are capable of destroying those models will usually be destroyed before they attack (Dreadnought or Wraithlord attacks first and insta-kills in most cases). Although a fodder unit can be sent against such models to neutralize them, that portion of the battlefield will be held by the enemy - which allows the enemy greater flexibility to respond to your attack.

A tank with a commanding view of the battlefield can often inflict heavy casualties.

Some enemy units may be particularly dangerous in close combat.

A mob assault army can weaken any or all of such enemy units by shooting. Most shooting weapons will be mounted on vehicles or assault weapons to allow the mob assault army to shoot while moving. There may be some exceptions - such as looted Basilisks or Biovores - that may provide strong fire support. In any case, the shooting destroys any units that cannot be readily handled by the bulk of the army.

Other themes such as guess range weaponry, loose layered deployment, tight layered deployment, and pinning, are generally not used, as points used for such items would be better spent on more models to support the main attack. When such minor themes are present in a mob assault army, they are generally either incidental (only 25 extra points paid to use indirect fire option for a looted Basilisk) or minor (a small unit of Lootas with sniper rifles).

Application of Mob Assault

Mob assault armies require particular tactics to remain effective in higher point games. An enemy with transports can attack on a flank, rendering the bulk of the mob helpless or relatively ineffective. In smaller point games, units in the mob can usually reinforce each other very effectively - in larger point games, the sheer number of units on the battlefield tend to cause the mob army to be unwieldy and thus unresponsive to changing battlefield conditions (such as an enemy attack). For higher point games, some way to deal with enemy flank attacks is absolutely necessary.

Ork mob army commanders can counter this problem by having a hard hitting mobile strike force that can respond quickly to enemy assaults - Nobz, Cyborks, or Skarboyz mounted in vehicles (Skarboyz in a Battlewagon or looted Rhino). Using mounted elite troops in this way should be taken on a case by case basis - sometimes a reserve strike force is necessary, sometimes the reserve is not necessary - sometimes the elite troops mounted in vehicles should lead the strike against the enemy army, sometimes those elite troops should be held in reserve. (think of the difference between a mounted Biel-Tan Swordwind army and a stationary Imperial Guard Infantry Company)

Tyranid mob army commanders will have an easier time responding to enemy attacks - Gaunts have better mobility than Orks on foot, and Leaping Gaunts can attack even if not in base to base contact, (which vastly increases their combat effectiveness). Gargoyles and winged Warriors or Tyrants may supplement the basic troops if necessary.

In practice, a mob assault army always takes heavy casualties from enemy shooting while moving across the board. The enemy knows almost exactly what to expect, and apart from any mounted troops or units with good mobility (Gargoyles or boyz in trukks, etc.), there is little room for the mob army's commander to improvise.

Usually the limitation on innovation during the battle means that the mob army's commander will have to be particularly careful during setup - since the relative position of most of the army's units won't change, the units will have to be in the right position to begin with.

The limited options available to a mob army's commander once a battle actually begins are offset by the natural advantages of the composition of the mob army - lots of cheap expendable troops. A mob army's commander must be particularly careful in selecting the composition of the mob army, and in deployment.

On an incidental note, Ork mob assault armies should always include a good fire base, as Ork mob assault armies will not be able to stand up to Tyranid mob assault armies. Dedicated units such as Flash Gitz with big shootas or more dakka, or looted Basilisks are options worth considering, but big shootas or rokkit launchas in regular Ork mobz are a must have.

Usually, the mob advances up the board. The enemy will either direct fire at particularly dangerous units, or simply shoot the closest unit. In any case, the enemy will not have enough firepower to destroy all the members of the mob, and the mob will eventualy reach the enemy army. Although the mob assault army has fewer points by the time they reach the enemy, the advantage quickly turns to the mob assault army, as the bulk of the mob army's troops will be close combat oriented, while the bulk of the enemy army's troops will not be so (in most cases).

The army usually stays close together - there's no room to spread models in the units out - so template weapons will inflict heavy casualties in the inital stages of advance.

As the bulk of the army advances, any shooting units direct their fire towards units that may prove troublesome - Dreadnoughts, Leman Russ tanks, or even elite infantry such as Striking Scorpions. The mob assault army may have chosen to take assault weapons for each unit, or may have opted to add a relatively immboile fire base.

If the game involves a lot of points, elite mounted units strike at an enemy flank, while the bulk of the mob assault army prevents the enemy's elite units from responding by engaging those elite units in close combat. Alternatively, elite mounted units may be held in reserve against enemy assaults (if the enemy army is largely assault oriented).

A mob assault army will usually attack in either one or two major waves.

Suicide units will always be among the first attackers, followed by the bulk of the army. The use of elite units will change considerably with the composition of the enemy army. If the enemy army is spaced out, and has no strong assault units, elite assault units may be sent in to hit an enemy flank - if it is estimated that the elite units will not need support. If the enemy army has strong assault elements, the bulk of the mob army should be used to gum up enemy mobility, then the elite units should be used to wipe up the enemy army from a flank onwards.

The above mentioned major and minor themes are applied throughout.

The key to the mob assault army is overwhelming numbers at lower point value, and the flank attack at higher point values. At lower points, the mob assault army relies on the assault effectiveness of its units to reverse the losses suffered in the initial rounds of enemy fire. At higher points, the mob assault army does the same thing, but adds the element of flank attack to increase its effectiveness. Note that the flank attack is key at higher points for both attack and defense - the mob assault army should flank attack with elite units if possible, but must also take care to prevent *being* assaulted in a flank.


Massive Shooting


Massive Shooting - the strategy is to simply shoot the enemy. Enemy mobility is destroyed by shooting down transports; enemy jump packers or flyers are taken down with massive small arms fire. A reserve of assault units may be taken to deal with the eventual close combat. Transport vehicles are useful to move troops around; such mobile troops may provide a decisive advantage in an assault, or may avoid close combat altogether while shooting out of the vehicle. In particular settings, this type of army will have an extremely powerful advantage that cannot be surmounted by the enemy - but in most cases, this type of army will have a number of disadvantages. The most typical army in this respect is Imperial Guard, but Dark Eldar, Biel-Tan Swordwind, Alaitoc, and regular Space Marines can each use different variations on the massive shooting theme. The Tau are really a mixture of Massive Shooting and Shoot/Counterassault (detailed below), as the Tau have no really powerful ordnance like the Imperial Guard Battle Cannon or Earthshaker gun.

Almost all minor themes are used in an army based around massive shooting - numerous vehicles, shooting fodder, loose layered deployment, tight layered deployment, assault fodder, counterassault, guess range weaponry, pinning, template weapons, and, of course, shooting. Suicidal close combat / tank destroyer units are also sometimes used, rounding out the spectrum.

Numerous High Toughness Creatures / Numerous Vehicles - an army based upon massive firepower may take a large number of vehicles; some vehicles block enemy LOS to other vehicles (while allowing the vehicles they're protecting to still have LOS to portions of the enemy army). With so many vehicles on the field, the enemy won't be able to focus firepower on a single dangerous vehicle - since all vehicles pose a credible threat. Dark Eldar usually take a good number of Raiders, while Imperial Guard may use Hellhounds and Chimeras in conjunction with the traditional Leman Russ Battle Tanks or Basilisks and Griffons. The Tau may use Devilfish to block LOS to their Hammerheads.

Shooting Fodder - an army's basic infantry will usually be used to block LOS to infantry armed with more valuable shooting weapons. Imperial Guard platoons often block LOS to Imperial Guard Fire Support and Anti Tank squads, while Dark Eldar often simply use large Warrior squads to absorb shooting casualties. Vehicle shooting fodder is often placed to block LOS from enemy heavy weapons to important vehicles - for example, interposing a Raider between an Imperial Guard Fire Support team with autocannons and a Ravager armed with three disintegrators. Although the Ravager can still shoot at most of the enemy army, the Imperial Guard Fire Support team must destroy the Raider before destroying the Ravager. Imperial Guard may use Hellhounds and Chimeras in a similar fashion. Tau Fire Warriors with their 4+ save can block LOS to the more vulnerable Kroot.

Assault Fodder - usually, almost the entire army will be assault fodder. Units at the fore may be sacrificed; while the enemy destroys that unit, the rest of the shooting-based armies may move into new position, to take advantage of the enemy position. Implementation of this strategy usually uses either loose or tight layered deployment, described below. The Tau will likely need to use Kroot and Kroothounds as assault fodder; Tau Fire Warriors cost too many points to be sacrificed.

Loose Layered Deployment - Deploying units in loose layers forces the enemy to deal with the front elements before dealing with the rear elements (some of this is mentioned in the Strategy and Tactics Chapters). Usually, implementation of loose layered deployment involves placing powerful shooting units in the back lines, with models in each of the units packed together in base to base contact. Such units may be placed in a linear formation across the battlefield, or may be grouped into a single group or two major groups. The front lines will have units with models spaced widely apart - about 3/4 inch or so apart from each other.

In practice, the loosely spaced units in the front will be decimated by enemy firepower, then totally destroyed in the enemy assault. They do, however, provide a significant contribution to the battle. As any enemy assault must attack the closest unit first, the enemy assault can be directed with the sacrificial units in the front.

Sufficient models must be placed in the front line to fill the role sufficiently - if the units in the front are entirely destroyed by enemy firepower, they cannot influence the direction of enemy assault.

If the front line survives the initial attack, it may be sacrificed to give the shooting army's rear units time to move into better positions.

The purpose of loose deployment - deploying a unit with its models spread apart - is to force the enemy to deal with the unit in front, as the widely spaced out unit covers different approaches that could be used to attack the more valuable units in the rear.

Tight Layered Deployment - Deploying units in tight layers has a similar purpose to deploying units in loose layers, in that the purpose of layered deployment is to influence the course of an enemy assault. The actual effect is so different, though, that tight and loose layered deployment are listed as separate minor themes.

Tight layered deployment places the models in the less valuable units in base to base contact with each other, rather than spacing them widely apart. This blocks LOS to the units behind them, but increases the casualties that the enemy can inflict on the army with template weapons. The increased casualties are offset by the natural advantages of a tight formation - less area needs to be protected.

A number of tactical options are easier to implement when using armies deployed in a tight, rather than loose, formation.

One or two high toughness creatures or vehicles can be placed to halt the advance of enemy troops. This is much more difficult to implement for an army using loose layered deployment, as the loose army is widely scattered, leaving a wide area open to enemy attack. The tightly deployed army will cover less area, giving the enemy less area to attack, allowing the shooting army's commander to predict enemy movements with greater accuracy (and thus, placing any key units such as close combat vehicles or the like to better effect)

An army deploying using a tight layered formation may place the basic firing units at opposite ends of the board - both will be able to shoot at an enemy army, as it advances, and the enemy army will usually commit its forces to one side. If the enemy army splits its forces, one of the enemy forces may be significantly weakened by firepower, then any of the shooting army's reserve units can combine with the shooting troops to finish off that weakened segment of the enemy force in close combat. The other segment of the enemy army will then have to cross the width of the board, taking casualties from the remaining half of the shooting army. In short, if the enemy commits its forces to destroying one portion of the shooting army, the remainder of the shooting army gains extra time, and if the enemy splits its forces to attempt to destroy both of the shooting army's positions, the weaker attacking force can be destroyed with relatively low casualties. This option is not as easy to implement for armies using loose deployment - ideally, each of the models at the shooting army's two positions will be placed in close proximity to the other models in that position, so the enemy will have to cover the greatest distance before being able to assault.

Counterassault - the principle works in exactly the same way as for transport and mob assault armies. Less valuable units are placed at the fore to absorb the impetus of any enemy assaults, then more valuable close combat units are used to counterassault, gaining the advantage in turn. Some shooting based armies, such as Imperial Guard, are generally better off simply sacrificing any units at the fore (although charging Guardsmen *can* be quite dangerous). The Tau can use Fire Warriors with photon grenades to blunt the force of an incoming enemy assault, then counterassault with Kroot and Kroothounds.

Although the principle of counterassault remains the same for shooting armies and for transport assault armies, implementation of counterassault for a shooting army is considerably different. Because of the focus of the main army on shooting, the majority of the shooting army's forces will be relatively ineffective in close combat. Thus, the main forces will be unable to provide good support for an assault, and will usually be relatively ineffective in drawn out combats. For this reason, the shooting army's counterassaulting unit must be strong enough to totally destroy the enemy assault forces - this will allow the counterassaulting unit to move into a relatively protected position for the subsequent turns (usually implemented by consolidating backwards with the counterassaulting unit, while moving a fodder unit forwards to absorb the impetus of any future enemy charges). If the shooting army's counterassaulting forces are not strong enough to totally destroy the enemy attackers, the enemy attacker's counterassault forces will attack the shooting army's counterassault forces - leaving the shooting army with no mobile reserves to respond to enemy assaults. This is also bad as the enemy's charge will inflict higher casualties on the shooting army's counterassault forces, but that is almost incidental, considering the more important tactical loss of the shooting army's elite close combat force.

On occassions, an enemy army's assault will be weak enough to allow the shooting troops to act as an effective counterassaulting force - a good sized force of Imperial Guardsmen being attacked by a moderately sized force of Dark Eldar Warriors, for example. In such cases, standard counterassault tactics apply.

Usually, though, an army based on massive shooting will be better off simply throwing the unit away - which is why the Tau are really a mix of massive shooting and counterassault; the Tau Fire Warriors cost too many points to be thrown away in close combat.

Guess Range Weaponry is ideal for most shooting based armies. A unit with guess range weaponry may be hidden behind terrain features or vehicles as well as behind basic infantry, and is thus well protected from enemy attack - less vulnerable to assault, and less vulnerable to enemy shooting that requires LOS.

Special considerations apply to some guess range weapons - for example, Basilisks with indirect fire have minimum ranges when using their gun as guess range weaponry, so the Basilisk must be deployed well away from enemy forces.

Although units with guess range weaponry are often relatively well protected, care must still be taken. Ork and Eldar fast vehicles, deep strikers, jump packers, and infiltrators (especially Space Wolf Scouts) may all be used to quickly attack the unit using guess range weaponry. Against enemy armies with such units, proper care must be taken - this will usually mean deploying a number of shooting infantry to act as support for the guess range vehicle.

An alternative strategy is to place all guess range weaponry together in a variation of the tight layered deployment theme - if the enemy assaults the shooting troops of the shooting army, the guess range weaponry will have longer to shoot, and if the enemy assaults the units with guess range weaponry, the basic infantry will have longer to shoot.

Pinning is often used by shooting armies to limit enemy mobility. This may be through guess range ordnance or sniper units, but different methods of pinning are possible as well. Imperial Guard armies have excellent snipers - Deathworld snipers and Vindicare assassins - and guess range barrages from Griffons, mortars, and Basilisk indirect fire. Dark Eldar have much less in the way of pinning; being limited to terrorfexes. The Tau have many pinning possibilities with pulse carbines - and pulse carbines have the added benefit of being assault weapons with 18 inch range, allowing a model to run backwards and fire, remaining out of most models' assault range. Although Tyranids and Orks can often resist pinning, pinning units still pose credible threats against those armies.

Although transports can't be pinned, jump pack troops *can* be pinned. So heavy weapons destroy the transports, pinners slow down the jump pack troops.

Template Weapons are used by shooting armies to destroy swathes of enemy troops. Although ordnance blasts will usually scatter off target, with a good number of incoming enemy units, even a scattered template will often inflict a good number of casualties. Typical blast templates from weapons such as missile launchers or mortars are excellent against closely packed troops. Imperial Guard ordnance can destroy any target. Tau "ordnance" is considerably weaker with much worse AP - although the Tau shot won't scatter, its effect is really best against medium to light armoured troops.

For short ranged flamer templates, mobile units such as Hellhounds, or Haemonculi on jetbikes with destructors are usually best, as the bulk of the shooting army will be stationary (and will thus be assaulted by the enemy before using shooting weapons).

Other units may take flamer templates, though. If an army is set up in a loose layered formation, the front line will take enough casualties in the initial enemy assault to allow units in the rear lines armed with flamers to advance and fire their weapons. (If the army were to be set up in tight layered formation, there will usually be too many survivors after the initial enemy assault - survivors that block LOS to the enemy, preventing the flamers from being used to good effect). Flamers in Imperial Guard Armoured Fist units can be used to good effect.

Shooting - as always, the idea of this theme is to eliminate strategically important enemy units. The most important targets are fast enemy assault units. The most important targets are enemy transports; an enemy force's assault will be considerably slowed if transports are destroyed. Autocannon and dark lances excel at destroying such vehicles at long range.

Enemy suicide units must be neutralized before those suicide units can take out their targets (not necessarily destroyed; sometimes a simple unit of fodder may be used to occupy the suicide unit, effectively neutralizing it). This is a secondary priority, and will usually not totally succeed - if an enemy has suicide units, those units will almost always succeed in accomplishing the destruction of their primary target. The enemy suicide units must be neutralized as early as possible in any event - otherwise, they will continue to take out strategic targets.

Enemy jump packers, fliers, bikes, and other units with good mobility must be neutralized before those units can maneuver to assault heavy weapons teams or get in range to attack tanks.

Suicidal Close Combat / Tank Destroyer Units are not always found in purely shooting oriented armies. Often, enough guess range weaponry or mobile firepower will be available in an Imperial Guard army to destroy any hard to reach enemy targets from a good distance. Dark Eldar may use Raiders or Reaver Jetbikes, or deep striking Scourges to take out any out of the way targets (such as Griffons hiding behind hills).

Application of Massive Shooting Armies

Armies based on firepower can use considerably different strategies to accomplish their objectives. Imperial Guard armies will typically use tank ordnance with lots of infantry firepower to limit enemy mobility, weakening the enemy enough in the initial rounds of fire to allow the Imperial Guard army to overwhelm the surviving attackers. The destruction of transports is of utmost importance here - usually fire support teams armed with autocannon and Sentinels or Chimeras armed with multilasers can destroy any light vehicles, while mobile squads with melta weapons move in to destroy important enemy heavy vehicles. Lascannon and plasma guns are excellent against enemy vehicles and elite troops (or regular troops in the case of Space Marines), but destruction of transports is of primary importance, and should be considered first. Template weapons are often used to overcome massive horde armies - if many points are available, Leman Russ Battle Tanks make excellent additions; if the battlefield is large, Basilisks with indirect fire are a good choice, and if there are few points of troops, Griffons provide excellent firepower for a low point cost.

Dark Eldar will typically avoid enemy assault by using troops mounted in Raiders, or troops on foot alternating shooting with Fleet of Foot to stay out of range of advancing enemy troops. Dark lances are excellent against enemy vehicles, while disintegrators are often chosen to destroy swathes of enemy heavy infantry or light vehicles. Dark Eldar armies built around shooting will likely have very light assault support - units of Wyches and Warp Beasts - as most of the points will be spent on Raiders, Reaver jetbikes, Scourges, and Ravagers. Raiders and Reaver Jetbikes are usually used to destroy any enemy units that are hiding out of LOS (usually units with good guess range weaponry such as Basilisks with indirect fire, Whirlwinds, or Griffons). Scourges can be used for supporting fire in different ways, depending on the army being faced. Against some armies, Scourges may be deployed using Deep Strike rules - if armed with dark lances, they may be set up in cover a good distance from the bulk of the enemy army (far enough to avoid assault); fodder Scourges absorb the shooting hits as the Scourges arrive, and the Scourges can fire on weaker rear or side armour in the next round. Alternatively, Scourges may be armed with splinter cannons, and move about shooting enemy heavy weapons teams. If the Scourges are not deployed using Deep Strike rules, they may set up behind large units of Dark Eldar Warriors to be relatively well protected against enemy firepower.

Space Marines generally beef up on Whirlwinds and heavy weapons in light Tactical squads. Predators, Razorbacks, and Dreadnoughts may provide extra heavy support if points are available (the Dreadnoughts double to protect flanks when necessary), while Land Speeders with heavy bolters or multi meltas, and Assault Squads with meltabombs are common choices for suicide units to destroy important enemy vehicles.

Orks are not often used as a shooting army, but they can be quite effective in a shootout. 8 point Shoota Boyz armed with loads of cheap Big shootas, combined with fodder units of Gretchin, looted ordnance vehicles, big gunz, and dreadnought-type units with heavy weapons can direct a surprising amount of firepower at an enemy. In low point games, Flash Gitz with four big shootas may be used; in large point games, a large unit of Flash Gitz with More Dakka can run around the board while shooting twice at 24 inch range.

Tau armies will rely on Hammerheads to destroy swathes of enemy infantry, and XV8 suits with missile pods to destroy enemy light vehicle transports. Although Marine power armour is not particularly vulnerable to most Tau guns, and railguns are cost-ineffective against Marines, pulse carbine pinning can significantly reduce enemy Marine mobility. A Hammerhead is likely the best choice for the first Tau Heavy support choice, with either another Hammerhead or 3 XV88 suits taking up the second and third support choices. Tau armies with enough points to field three Heavy Support choices will likely take two Hammerheads and 3 XV88 suits. Shas'ui with markerlights and target locks combined with Devilfish transports with seeker missiles will provide good additional fire support; the Devilfish will also act as good LOS blockers to protect the Hammerheads. Against heavy infantry like Space Marines, Tau would probably best mount their transports, and move to accomplish mission objectives / move into distant firing positions, leaving Kroot to assault and tie up the enemy forces.

The above mentioned major and minor themes are applied throughout.

The key to an army based on massive shooting is limitation of enemy mobility, combined with superior firepower. Superior firepower forces the enemy to attack. Limitation of enemy mobility (destruction of enemy transports) scatters the enemy army across the board, decreasing the cohesion and therefore effectiveness of an enemy assault. If the enemy army's mobility is seriously compromised, more shooting casualties can be inflicted on the enemy while the enemy attempts to move into close combat.

The distinction is between shooting-based armies and shoot/counterassault armies is sacrifice/ A shooting army will usually have relatively weak close combat units - perhaps only Imperial Guardsmen with lasguns, or Space Marines with bolters, or Guardian Defenders. With no powerful assault reserves available to repel an incoming opponent's assault, units may need to be sacrificed. A shooting/counterassault army, on the other hand, will usually have strong powerful close combat units, so the shooting/counterassault army may counterattack almost any incoming assault. Note that a shooting-based army may use shoot/counterassault tactics against opposing armies that lack particularly strong close combat units - the distinction is that some armies can force the shooting-based army to sacrifice units, while almost no armies can force a shooting/counterassault army to sacrifice units.


Shooting/Counterassault


Shooting/Counterassault - uses superior firepower to force the enemy to close for close combat - and when the enemy does close for close combat, specialist assault troops destroy the assaulting enemy units. This sort of army relies on massive firepower and close combat specialists. Dark Eldar, Tau, and infantry based Space Wolves are typical examples of this type of army.

The most common minor themes used with the shoot/counterassault army theme are suicidal close combat / tank destroyer units, loose or tight layered deployment, counterassault, guess range weaponry, template weapons, and shooting. Shooting and assault fodder are common themes as well, but of secondary importance.

Suicidal close combat / tank destroyer units - usually implemented by having some durable, fast, hard hitting units. Speed is important to allow the model to take advantage of terrain features - hiding behind terrain. Durability is important so the unit can survive long enough to take out its target. The unit must be hard hitting enough to have a good chance of destroying its target with a single hit - as it won't last long isolated in the middle of enemy forces. Land speeders with multimeltas, units of Space Marine bikes with a multimelta attack bike, assault Marines with meltabombs, Vypers with bright lances or starcannons, Dark Eldar Reaver jetbikes, Dark Eldar Raiders with dark lances, and deep striking Scourges with dark lances are some ideal units for this purpose.

Usually, a suicidal unit will not be able to directly make up for its point value in what it destroys. The value in such a unit is indirect; it preserves the rest of the army, increasing their relative effectiveness to the enemy. In example, trading four Vypers with starcannons for two Whirlwinds seems a bad deal, but if that preserves three squads of Dark Reapers, the trade may well be worth it in the long run.

Loose layered deployment - probably the more common type of deployment. Models that are less powerful in close combat are placed in a loose formation at the front, and models that are more powerful in close combat are placed at the rear (within charging distance, usually about 9 or 10 inches away). In practice, the enemy is forced to combat the units at the front, as those units are too widely dispersed to go around, but too tightly deployed to go "through". After the enemy assault, the units in the rear charge (gaining the benefits of charging). Most of the description of loose layered deployment in the Massive Shooting list applies here.

Tight layered deployment - also similar to the description of tight layered deployment in the Massive Shooting list. Protecting a flank with high toughness creatures or with vehicles such as Dreadnoughts remains a good choice for shoot/counterassault armies. Deploying in two major groups is not often a good option for shooting/counterassault armies, though. Splitting the assault forces between the two major groups allows the enemy to overwhelm one, then the other. Placing all the assault forces at one end allows the enemy to attack the other end with little fear of retribution. Placing the assault forces separately from the shooting groups allows the enemy to target the assault forces with firepower. Deploying in two major groups is still feasible for shoot/counterassault armies, but extra care must be taken.

Counterassault - the concept behind this theme remains the same as for any other army, but implementation differs because of the added strength of the close combat troops available in this type of army. Again, as with for an army focused on massive shooting, the counterassault must be decisive. However, a massive shooting-themed army must gain a decisive advantage in the first round of an assault to free up its close combat troops, while shooting/counterassault armies will have enough close combat units to keep the advantage in a sustained assault.

Guess range weaponry - As with shooting armies, guess range weaponry is useful for its ability to remain out of enemy LOS. Even Tau seeker missiles require a guiding markerlight. Guess range weaponry is possibly even more important for shoot/counterassault units than for armies built around massive shooting. In a battle in which shots are traded, the added survivability of guess range weapons is extremely important. The enemy is forced to maneuver into LOS, which will cause the enemy to become more vulnerable at some point.

Template weapons - Important for all the previously listed reasons. As with armies built around a massive shooting theme, shoot/counterassault armies must cause enough casualties to force the enemy to come to come into the attack (rather than sitting and trading shots). The use of template weapons comes in handy just before an assault phase as well - significant enemy casualties can be inflicted on enemy light infantry with flamer templates.

Shooting - The exact same principles as for armies with a massive shooting theme. The firepower of a shoot/counterassault army must be strong enough to force the enemy to close for combat rather than simply trading firepower. However, the longer the enemy is on the open field, the enemy is vulnerable to superior firepower. Again, transports are the key target. Here, though, enemy suicide units need not be shot down, as they can generally be neutralized by an assault unit before they cause significant damage.

Shooting fodder can work oddly because of the composition of the shoot/counterassault army. In some cases, the enemy will have vastly superior firepower, stay in one place, and trade shots. In this case, the assault forces may be placed in front of the shooting units to absorb shots. In other cases, the enemy will have inferior firepower, and will be forced to advance. In these cases, the shooting units themselves may absorb enemy firepower, preserving the rear ranks of close combat specialists for the coming assault. In both cases, the unit absorbing enemy firepower will have a more important primary role, so the term "fodder" is not wholly appropriate. Still, the factor of protection can't be overlooked.

Assault fodder is often used in a shoot/counterassault army, although, again, the unit(s) serving as "fodder" usually have different primary roles. After the initial enemy assault, firepower units may be moved to prevent strong enemy reinforcements from entering the assault. Alternatively, after the initial enemy assault, some of the close combat units may occupy the enemy while the shooting units move into a better position, along with whatever other close combat units that aren't immediately needed.

Application of Shooting/Counterassault Armies

Most of the same general guidelines used for shooting armies apply here. There are some slight modifications. Shooting/counterassault armies must destroy important enemy units, such as Leman Russ Battle Tanks early in the battle, as simply trading firepower with an enemy army themed on massive firepower will result in a loss. Shooting/counterassault will often have strong close combat units. This means that close combat need not be avoided.

As with armies based on massive shooting, Dark Eldar will use dark lances and blasters to destroy important enemy targets. However, Dark Eldar using a shooting/counterassault theme will usually use Incubi to destroy an attacking enemy quickly and completely, rather than using Wyches and Warp Beasts as asasult fodder to delay an enemy assault. The bulk of the army will use typical Dark Eldar tactics, avoiding enemy assault by using troops mounted in Raiders, or troops on foot alternating shooting with Fleet of Foot to stay out of range of advancing enemy troops. The usage of Raiders and Reaver Jetbikes is similar, but Scourges and Ravagers are usually exchanged for Talos units. The more extreme forms of Dark Eldar shooting/counterassault armies can be classified as transport assault armies.

Space Wolves have Grey Hunters, ideal for shooting the enemy with their bolters, and ideal receiving the charge with True Grit. Blood Claws are ideal for the countercharge. Long Fangs provide strong and cost-effective supporting fire, along with any additional Whirlwind support. Land speeders may be used to destroy enemy targets that are out of LOS.

The Tau can be used as shoot/counterassault armies against light infantry armies such as Tyranids and Orks. Hammerhead with Ordnance blast templates, combined with pulse rifles, can weaken the enemy significantly on the way in, photon grenades combined with 4+ armour allows Fire Warriors to survive an enemy charge, and Kroot can counterassault to good effect. This shooting/counterassault approach will not be particularly effective in shooting/counterassault against some opponents with strong armour and multiple attacks, notably Black Templar Marines that may be armed with bolt pistols and close combat weapons, and Striking Scorpions. In those cases, the Kroot counterattack will be insufficient to gain the advantage, as the enemy is too difficult to destroy. Against armies with such opponents, a purely shooting approach must be used, using Kroot as simple assault fodder to tie up the enemy while the Tau maneuver into better positions.

The above mentioned major and minor themes are applied throughout.

The key to an army based on shooting/counterassault is combined forces. Against shooting armies, shooting/counterassault armies may either 1)destroy important units with suicide units, vastly reducing enemy firepower, allowing the shooting/counterassault army to simply trade fire for the rest of the game, or 2) advance assault troops on the enemy while weakening the enemy with firepower. Against mob assault and transport armies, shooting/counterassault armies destroy or scatter the enemy on the way in, and finish off any survivors in close combat.

As a shooting/counterassault army has a mixture of forces, it is not particularly vulnerable to enemy attack.

The distinction is between shooting/counterassault armies and shooting-based armies is sacrifice. A shoot/counterassault army will usually have enough powerful close combat units - Space Marine Scouts with bolt pistol and close combat weapons, Striking Scorpions, Chaos Space Marines with bolt pistol and close combat weapons, for example - to not have to sacrifice any units. A shooting/counterassault army may meet almost any incoming charge with a counter-charge; thus, units almost never need be sacrificed. A shooting-based army, on the other hand, will usually not have particularly powerful close combat units, so a shooting-based army may sacrifice some friendly units to opposing close combat units, as the rest of the army forms new battle lines. Note that a shooting-based army may use shoot/counterassault tactics against opposing armies that lack particularly strong close combat units - the distinction is that some armies can force the shooting-based army to sacrifice units, while almost no armies can force a shooting/counterassault army to sacrifice units.


Application of the Four General Themes


First, any army must be able to counter the four major themes to good effect. Defense is the most important consideration. Second, any army must have its own theme; its own strategy to defeat the enemy. After defense is taken care of, an offensive plan may be formed.

Of course, defense and offense are not isolated from each other - more of one will mean less of the other. Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. If the entire enemy force is destroyed, there's no need to worry about defending against it. But sometimes the best offense is a good defense as well. If an impenetrable defense is formed, the enemy will be broken when it attempts to attack.

Of course, there is no such thing as an invincible offense or an impenetrable defense. There are, however, signficant differences between weak offenses and strong offenses, and weak defenses and strong defenses.

So how can an army create a strong defense, and how can it create a strong offense?

Defense will be covered first. The main counters for each of the four types of army are listed.

Defending against transport assault armies means one of two things. One is destroying the enemy transports before they can dump their cargo, spreading the enemy army across the field. The other is maneuvering so that the enemy's mobility advantage is neutralized.

The first option requires a lot of high strength multiple shot weapons. Autocannon are ideal, assault cannons and starcannons are decent, heavy bolters can be borderline against Marines, but are quite effective against Ork Trukks and Dark Eldar Raiders. Weapons such as missile launchers, lascannon, and railguns are also important, although "skimmers moving fast" often reduces the effectiveness of such weapons to glancing hits. This approach is less effective against fast vehicles - notably, Speed Freek armies with their high number of shielding units (Wartrak Skorchas), Ork Kustom Fields, and their Fast vehicles with red paint jobs.

The implementation of the second option changes at different point values. In small point (500 or less) games, maneuvering to reinforce an attacked flank is quite easy. In games with a moderate amount of points (1000 or so), a good deal of tactical planning will be required during deployment and during movement. For larger games (1500 and up), an army will have to have good built in mobility to deal with the threat of an enemy flank attack by transports. Such mobility means either infantry units with Fleet of Foot/Claw, or transports. This approach is less effective against elite transport assault armies, such as Biel-Tan Swordwind and Black Templar transport assault armies.

Defending against mob assault armies means one of two things. One possibility is reducing the enemy army with massive firepower. The other possibility is to strike against one location, causing the bulk of the enemy army to be ineffective.

The first option requires a lot of multiple shot or template weapons to destroy the incoming mobs. Alternatively, against Tyranid "Super Swarm" armies, a lot of high strength weapons with good AP are needed. Imperial Guard solve both with the Leman Russ Battle Tank. Marines can use lascannon and plasma guns and Whirlwinds. Dark Eldar can run around, avoiding the enemy, while firing Raider dark lances and Troop splinter cannons.

The second option requires good mobility, and a good number of durable fodder troops. Redemptionists using the Passion can take on a section of the enemy army while Sisters in power armour prevent the enemy from surrounding and destroying the force. Eldar Guardians can be used to hold back the enemy lines while Aspect Warriors attack the flanks of the mob assault army.

Defending against massive shooting means one of two things. One option is to engage the bulk of the enemy army in close combat very quickly (since units in an assault can't be shot). The other option is to outshoot the enemy.

The first means transports, jump pack troops, bikes, or assault-oriented deep strikers. The enemy can't shoot if its units are engaged in close combat - the rest of the army can move up the field in relative safety.

The second means lots of guns, naturally. Usually, some sort of suicide unit will be needed to take out enemy units armed with guess range weapons that are out of LOS.

Defending against shoot/counterassault usually means just one thing. The enemy army must be out-shot, forcing the enemy assault units to move across the field.

An enemy army based on shooting/counterassault will be ready for any deep striking attacks behind the front line, or flank attacks - assault units will usually already be there, or be in position to counterassault quickly.

If the shooting elements can be destroyed, the enemy will be forced to march across the field while being subjected to enemy firepower. This will likely require some suicide units to take out enemy units armed with guess range weapons that are out of LOS. A good number of regular guns will also be necessary to destroy enemy units with weapons.

Offense is much simpler. Simply, your army does whatever it was designed to do, while preventing the enemy from fully countering it. Any defense is vulnerable to offense. Although the listing above does not mention shooting/counterassaults as being particularly vulnerable to transport assault armies, a well orchestrated transport assault army *will* have a chance of succeeding against a well planned shoot/counterassault army.

Of course, the enemy commander will attempt to prevent you from attaining your goals, and will try to counter your attempts to counter his/her strategies and tactics.


Blood Angels


The following explanation of the construction of a Blood Angels army provides an example of how the above army construction tips should be used.


Particular Characteristics


Although Blood Angel charges are extremely strong, Blood Angels are not particularly strong in lengthy combats. Thus, a Blood Angel assault must be overwhelming enough to break the enemy each time in the initial round of combat. Also, a Blood Angel player must do his/her best to ensure that the Blood Angels are not charged - since a charged Blood Angel unit is usually no better than a regular Space Marine unit.

Heavy weaponry will be less effective, with most units with heavy weaponry failing to fire one out of six turns.

A number of valuable models may be lost to the Death Company, Terminators, for example. Veteran Sergeant characters for squads may become Death Company and gain extra mobility, durability, and weaponry, but any weaponry they already possessed would be lost to the original squad.

The Death Company must be controlled to be used to full effect. Targeted effects such as Vindicare rifles and Mind War can destroy the leading character, causing the Death Company to become uncontrollable.

Rhinos and Razorbacks are very fast.

The Death Company is extremely durable, and may contain a good number of powerful close combat weapons.

The Death Company is the ideal "suicide" unit, with its extreme durability and access to powerful close combat weapons. A Sanguinary High Priest allows close combat misses to be rerolled (excellent for hard hitting units), and a Chaplain allows more Death Company to be taken (excellent if durability is required).

Selecting a Theme

How will defense be set up? How will offense be set up? A basic theme must be selected, then the natural offenses and defenses of that theme can be used.

Blood Angel transport vehicles are extremely fast, changing the usual transport assault strategy of jump packers and bikes advancing with the transports. Instead, transport vehicles will hit first, jump packers and bikes second, and foot units such as Blood Angel Scouts third. For transport assault type armies, the extra movement that a unit may be forced to take will almost always be a bonus.

The efficiency of shooting is reduced by the Blood Angel tendency to charge the enemy. For Blood Angel shoot/counterassault armies, the extra movement that a unit may be forced to take will reduce effective firepower. The added durability of the Death Company compensates somewhat for this loss, though. The added Strength and Initiative of a Blood Angel charge compensates too, as Blood Angel Scouts with bolt pistols and close combat weapons will usually manage to strike at least at the same time as an enemy, if not before, and will usually inflict heavy casualties. Thus, Blood Angel shoot/counterassault armies need not spend as many points on either their suicide units or their counterassault units, which ought to sufficiently compensate for the loss in the shooting units' point effectiveness.

The strength of the Blood Angel charge, combined with the loss of heavy weapon fire due to unit movement, renders Blood Angels less effective as a purely shooting based army.

Mob assaults are possible, with Blood Angel jump packers and bikes leading the charge, and Scouts following up and reinforcing the initial charge.

Additional particular guidelines apply to Blood Angel armies. Particular characteristics of the Blood Angel army require that certain units be taken in certain armies. This, combined with knowledge of the number of points that will be used in a game, knowledge of the board size, and knowledge of terrain, will determine the composition and theme of an army.

Transport assault armies will require melta weapons to weaken enemy Dreadnoughts and Wraithlords; the Death Company can finish weakened enemies with power fists. As a decisive advantage will be required against the superior numbers of swarm armies, flamers are another must have. Whirlwinds are excellent for breaking up enemy formations before entering into close combat. To survive enemy firepower, there must be at least three transports, if not considerably more, with appropriate jump pack and/or bike support. Taking the minimal requirements of at least three fully loaded Rhinos with smoke launchers and extra armour, plus the cost of a Sanguinary High Priest, plus Whirlwind support, plus one Assault squads or bike squadrons, plus various wargear and weaponry such as flamers and meltaguns in tactical squads, will require at least 1000 points. (Razorbacks are not a particularly good choice in lower point armies; transport assault armies must transport as many models into close combat as possible to give local superiority of force - the added firepower of a Razorback doesn't compensate for the loss in troop carrying capacity in lower point games). A fully kitted out transport assault army will require 1500 points.

Mob assault armies will do quite poorly against Tyranid swarms, so a good amount of firepower is necessary to support the main attack. Whirlwinds are again an ideal choice. There also must be a strong jump pack element, so enemy armies based on shooting can be engaged quickly, preventing shooting. The minimal requirement of one Assault squad with meltabombs, two Scout squads with bolt pistols and close combat weapons, one Chaplain, and one Whirlwind, will require 600 or so points. A fully kitted out mob assault army may be fielded at 750 points, with any appropriate support, such as additional Whirlwinds, Furioso dreadnoughts, additional Assault Marines or Scouts, etc. added as necessary. Blood Angel mob assault armies are unusual in that they are still fully competent in higher point games of 1500 points and up - the high point cost of each Space Marine allows more force to be concentrated in one area, which counteracts the traditional weakness to flank assault in large point mob assault armies.

Shooting armies are possible with lots of bolters, lascannon, plasma guns, suicidal tank destroyer units of Assault Marines with meltabombs, Terminator Marines, or even Tactical squads with krak grenades. The traditional "shooting" approach doesn't apply to Blood Angel armies, as Blood Angels will usually be strong enough to destroy an enemy in close combat after weakening the enemy with firepower. The minimum requirement of one Whirlwind, one Tactical squad with lascannon and plasma gun, and one Scout squad with autocannon and bolters, plus one Space Marine HQ unit, comes to only around 300 points. Additional units may be added as necessary. Whirlwinds and Tactical squads with lascannon and plasma gun will be the next choices on the list, followed by suicide units of land speeders with heavy bolters or multimeltas or Assault squads with meltabombs, then a Chaplain or Sanguinary High Priest.

Blood Angel shoot/counterassault armies are essentially the same as shooting armies, but there are some changes. The minimum requirement of one Whirlwind, one Tactical squad with lascannon and plasma gun, one Scout squad with autocannon and bolt pistol and close combat weapons, plus one Space Marine HQ unit still only comes to around 300 points. The emphasis of a shooting/counterassault army is divided between shooting and assault, but the natural abilities of the Blood Angels allow them some "built in" counterassault ability. A couple of units of Blood Angel Scouts, combined with control of the Death Company, ought to be sufficient when combined with the Tactical squads already taken.

Note: Although the Blood Angel army naturally lends itself to shooting/counterassault, other armies have vastly different army composition for shooting and for shooting/counterassault. Dark Eldar, for example, may choose to create a shooting themed army without Incubi, using Raiders to completely avoid the enemy. Dark Eldar using a shooting/counterassault theme will almost invariably use Incubi - meaning less Warriors, Scourges, or Ravagers.

In brief, the army selected will depend largely on the point value of the game. For games of 600 or less points, shooting and counterassault are likely the best themes. For games of 600 to 1200 points, mob assault armies may also be fielded to good effect, and for games of 1200 points or more, transport armies are worth considering.

Board size and terrain are also important factors, but those will be covered in their turn in the Strategy and Tactics chapters.


Summary


This concludes the brief explanation of tips on army selection. This section will eventually be reformatted into sections, edited, and illustrated, for easier reading. Some topics that were briefly mentioned will be explained in more detail. This particular topic of army selection will likely take up six or seven complete chapters when finished.

The example given at the end details how the guidelines are applied to one particular army type - the Blood Angels. Different armies will require different interpretation of the general guidelines. Eventually, all armies will have their own specific guidelines written up, although that will only be after the Strategy and Tactics chapters are mostly finished.

Follow this link to Chapter One.


Table of Contents


Home Page

Prologue

Chapter One: Basic Principles

Chapter Two: Strategy, Tactics, and Statistics

Chapter Three: Calculating Basic Cost Effectiveness

Chapter Four: Formation

Chapter Five: Terrain

The Unofficial Warhammer 40,000 Army Cheese Purity Test

Sector Occultus: Background Information

Sector Occultus: Participants

Army Selection (Example: Blood Angels)

Frequently Asked Questions.

Models and Books For Sale.

Painted Units For Sale. (Pictures mean long download time!)

Copyright Details.







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