Symmetry

Random thought I had, and realized it needed to be put down:

There is a lot to be said about a symmetrical army.  Set up your forces in such a manner that it has a certain symmetry to it, the same when it is put on the table.  If you take one unit, have another one identical (or, near identical, anyways) if you can.  There are going to be units you only take one of, given, but for your main forces (your troops and their primary support), you want doubles.  If you have 3, then that is fine as well.  Take your first two, and your third acts as a middle support pillar, aiding whichever most needs it.  This helps your army immensely.  When you form your army on the tabletop, do the same.  Place your army so it near mirrors itself, this gives you an even defense against both sides.  Run any single units in the middle, as this allows them to flex and maneuver to either side and lend support.  If you have all of your troops on one side, and your vehicles on the other, then they cannot support each other.  Take from this what you will, but following this will help you immensely.

Space Marines: Troop Formations

Before I get into individual squads, I would like to point out the "normal" squad upgrades and go over which upgrades are good and which are not as good, and why.

Leadership Upgrades:
Storm Bolter: cheap; allows 2 shots at 24", is an assault weapon, but it does not allow you to have an additional attack in close combat.  I personally do not recommend this as much. (3-10 pts)
Power Weapon: moderately priced, close combat weapon, it's a good investment. (15 pts)
Plasma Pistol: moderately priced, excellent S and AP, can kill your sergeant. Not recommended.  At all. (15 pts)
Power Fist: expensive, excellent for last minute wounds or against that monstrous creature/walker.  If you can afford the extra 10 points from a Power Weapon, get it.(25 pts)

Special/Assault Weapons:
Flamer: cheap, template (hits a lot but short range).  This can go either way, there are benefits to this weapon, and reasons others are better.  Use your best judgement.
Meltagun: almost as cheap, short range (12"), high S, AP values. I recommend this choice.
Plasma gun: expensive, rapid fire (so no shooting before assault, where you can get the most out of it), and it overheats. Not recommended.

Heavy Weapons:
Heavy Bolter: cheap, multiple shots, 36" range.  Not a bad weapon, just not great either.  In comparison to other options, it just kind on sits between Krak missiles and Frag missiles out of a Missile Launcher. I recommend using a Missile Launcher instead.
Missile Launcher: cheap, multiple rounds (S 8 AP 3/S 4 AP 5, Blast), 48" range.  I recommend this.
Multi-melta: cheap, short range, but excellent against vehicles, and can add that last minute high-powered, no armor save shot.
Plasma Cannon(only used by some units): expensive, powerful, has a blast diameter, 35" range, overheats. Not a bad choice, but you pay too much and it has the potential to kill one of your own.
Lascannon: expensive, powerful anti-tank weapon, 48" range.  I do not recommend this.  Go with a Missile Launcher instead, it will save you lots of points.  If you must have anti-tank, go with a multi-melta. The range is significantly shorter, but if you are mobile, that should not be an issue.

Dedicated Transports:
Rhino:
Pros: It's a cheap armored vehicle.  It allows you to either have it be a mobile heavy weapons carrier or allow you to castle. 30 pts.
Cons: It's a cheap armored vehicle.  It is easy to kill, only 2 fire points, and the tank itself has almost no firepower.
Recommended Upgrades: Additional Storm Bolter (bringing you up to 4 shots, plus your two fire points), Dozer Blade, Extra Armor.
Conclusion: It's weak, but it can safely carry your troops for at least one turn.  Points well spent. Besides, with the Combat Squad ability, these can give you noticeable flexibility.
Razorback:
Pros: It's only 5 points more than a Rhino and offers more firepower. 40 pts.
Cons: Only holds 6 models, does not have any firing points.
Recommended Upgrades: Storm Bolter, Dozer Blade, Extra Armor.  There are multiple weapons options (Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter is standard), Recommendations are towards Twin-linked lascannon and Lascannon with coaxial twin-linked plasma guns (aka las-plas)
Conclusion: Take it for command or small assault squads.  Possibly for Devastators.  If you use it for your regular squads you are just weakening them.
Drop Pod:
Pros: You can Deep Strike masses of them onto the battlefield, where they sit, adding another storm bolter to the fray.  They have decent armor, so can keep your opponent's anti-tank busy, as they can be quite a nuisance.  They will not hit terrain or enemy squads, and you can drop half of them on Turn 1. 35 pts.
Cons: They are immobile.  They cannot move from where you place them.
Recommended Upgrades: none
Conclusion: This can cause a lot of confusion and problems for your opponent.  That storm bolter is no threat in itself, but the fact that it can just sit there and continuously fire at his units means that it can still cause wounds, and should be eliminated.  Armor 12 means he will need to use some of his anti-tank (or at least his better anti-infantry) weapons to do that.  Not to mention you can deploy half of them on turn one.  It's not a bad choice, should you wish to use Reserves/Deep Strike.

Now that upgrades are out of the way (they are mostly the same throughout the squads, and I will add notes when they are not), we can discuss units.  I will be discussing your main body forces here, i.e., the majority of your ground troops.  The only squads I will not discuss in this blog are Devastator Squads, which will be placed in my Heavy Support blog, and Honor Guard and Command Squads, which will be in my HQ/Support blog.  Every unit entry here will have a brief description of the unit, any upgrades (aside from the normal, previously listed, or changed from that list in some way), it's pros and cons, recommended upgrades, and recommended tactics for them. I thought about a conclusion paragraph, but I decided against it.  At the end of the Space Marines section of blogs, I will discuss overall army tactics with them, and you can decide whether or not to take units mentioned here.  Also included are "average" points range.  This is purely so you can tell how much you're going to be spending, and do not include vehicle pricing.  So, on with the units:

Tactical Squad:
This is the mainstay of any Space Marine army.  They are a good, static unit, and can be very flexible.
Pros: As most Space Marines have WS/BS of 4 or higher and an armor save of 3+, I will not list that.  Their main pros are that they can combat squad, can deliver a lot of firepower for their size, and all-around good troops to have.
Cons: They are expensive, and cannot deliver a lot assault-wise.  They are meant to be a static, ranged unit, as the majority of the Codex is.
Upgrades: I recommend a power weapon for your sergeant, if you do not have the points for a power fist.  Take melta bombs to burn up last-minute points. As previously stated, go with a meltagun or flamer and missile launcher.
Tactics: you can do a lot with them.  If using them as a light unit, combat squad them, give your heavy weapon some good fields of fire, and place your special/assault weapon and sergeant in the other combat squad.  Your heavy weapon will support your close combat squad at range, and can continuously fire.  If Mechanized, either place the whole squad in the Rhino and advance as such, or combat squad them, keeping the aforementioned plan, with your heavy weapon in the vehicle (as it can now move and shoot).  While advancing, keep your "assault" combat squad behind your Rhino, using it as cover. If using Drop Pods, take or leave the heavy weapon (you can't shoot it the turn your troops come on the board anyways), and deep strike right next to the objective.
Average Points Cost:  190-200 Note that this list is purely what is placed above, with no vehicles or other upgrades.

Scout Squad:
Your other Troops choice, Scout Squads benefit from can infiltrate.  They are not allowed the full range of upgrades, and their weapons choices are bolters, bolt pistols/combat blades, shotguns, and sniper rifles.  One scout may carry a Heavy Bolter (with hellfire shells, S X AP5, Blast, Poisoned) or Missile Launcher.
Pros: They are cheaper than Tactical Squads, can infiltrate (I would place them on or near an objective to take it asap), move through cover, and take a wide variety of weapons for much more flexibility than your regular tactical squads.  They can also carry teleport homers, which are useful if you are deep striking your squads, and camo cloaks to boost their cover saves.
Cons: WS/BS 3 and a 4+ Armor save.  They are the most vulnerable unit in the space marines, and cannot take vehicles.
Upgrades:  If you want them to deal with assault, give them shotguns/combat blades, in whatever mix you desire.  If you want them to be a ranged unit, give them sniper rifles and a missile launcher.  Because you can combat squad them, you can create a mix, where 5 are straight assault oriented, and 5 equipped for longer range. Regardless, the power weapon/power fist for your sergeant is still a viable option.
Tactics: Due to their saves and (comparatively) low WS/BS, I do not recommend them as your main force, and instead suggest using them as support.  Infiltrate them on or near the objective and take it on turn one, then either use your snipers reduce numbers/pin your opponent's squads or assault them and stall their movements while your Tactical Squads advance to the objective.
Note: Veteran Sergeant Telion Upgrade: you can give a scout squad Veteran Sergeant Telion for 50 points.  He offers BS 6, Ld 9, and a sniper rifle with 2 shots, and can give his BS to another member of the squad (provided he does not shoot that turn).  If you have the points and are playing a sniper setup, take him.
Average Points Cost: 140-230

Bike Squad:
Bike Squads are a fast attack choice, but if you take a Space Marine Captain and give him a bike, they count as Troops (and can therefore hold objectives)
Pros: They are extremely fast, and offer twin-linked bolters that can be fired on the move, in addition to your regular upgrades. This can give your army a huge boost of hit-and-run tactics.
Cons: They are also extremely expensive, and your heavy weapons choices are limited to heavy bolter or multi-melta attack bikes.
Upgrades:  Treat your sergeant like a tactical squad one.  Same with your special/assault weapon.  Take the multi-melta for a mobile anti-tank shot.
Tactics: Use them to hit-and-run your opponent and whittle his numbers down, staying just outside his assault range, then assault them once their numbers are manageable or they become a threat to your objective.  If using them as Troops, combat squad them and keep your heavy weapon on the objective.
Average Points Cost: 125(only 3 bikes)-300

Assault Squad:
Assault squads are jump pack equipped shock troops, equipped with bolt pistols and close combat weapons.  They can take 2 flamers for 10 points or plasma pistols for 15.
Pros: Lots of attacks (3 each on the assault), highly mobile because of the jump packs, and can trade in jump packs for rhinos or drop pods for free if you do not want to risk them taking fire.
Cons: They are expensive and have no ranged fire, so must be supported by your other squads.
Upgrades: Sergeant as normal, give them flamers for additional killing power on the assault.
Tactics: use them to follow your Tactical Squads, and either as a counter-assault element, objective clearing, or assault ahead of your Tactical Squads to hold up your opponent's squads/prevent them from reaching the objective.
Average Points Cost: 125 (5 model squad)-235

Scout Bike Squadron:
Scout bikes provide you with cheaper-than-bike-squads mobile firepower/assault elements.  They can also take teleport homers, cluster mines, and astartes-pattern grenade launchers.
Pros: Again, fast and agile, with the ability to hit and run and create a mobile "safe haven" for deep strike elements.  Grenade launchers are also a big plus
Cons: Even though they are Scouts, they are still expensive, and still suffer from lower WS, BS, and armor save.  They cannot take an attack bike.
Upgrades: Treat your sergeants as normal. Get the grenade launchers.  They are expensive, but worth it.  Cluster mines can be placed to prevent enemy movements.
Tactics: Use them the same as your bike squads.  If you take teleport homers and wish to use deep strike, keep them in a position to support your main forces without engaging in assault (at least until you get your units on the board).
Average Points Cost: 115(min squad)-250

Legion of the Damned Squads:
Space Marines turned ethereal ghosts of vengeance, they can deep strike and offer a decent amount of fire.
Pros: Slow but purposeful, 3+ invulnerable save, re-roll deep strike rolls, fearless
Cons: Expensive
Upgrades: As a normal Tactical Squad
Tactics: This is kinda tough.  They always deep strike, and there is never a guarantee of them actually showing up.  They can be put to good use as a mobile fire squad, able to deal a lot of ranged damage.
Personal Note: I recommend against using these squads. The raged firepower and invulnerable saves are nice, when dealing with low ap weapons and power weapons.  Against most ranged/melee attacks they are killed just as easily as regular marines.
Average Points Cost: 190 (short squad)-355

Sternguard/Vanguard Squads:
These take the place of the older Veteran and Deathwatch squads.  Sternguard are, basically, upgraded Tactical Squads, Vanguard upgraded Assault Squads. I mixed these two together because they compliment each other, and I believe limited abilities.
Pros:
Sternguard: Can create an impressive support by fire or enhance your Tactical Squads with some nasty bolter ammo, combi-weapon spam, and much more flexibility with your special/assault/heavy weapons.
Vanguard: Massive number of attacks (4 each on the charge), your sergeant comes with a power weapon, and can assault the turn they deep strike (provided they do not fire-Heroic Intervention). Can give the entire squad power weapons and melta bombs or better.
Cons: Very Expensive
Sternguard: Limited assault abilities. They get 1 additional attack per turn over Tactical Squads, but it still means they cannot do much.
Vanguard: Almost no ranged power.  You have to pay to give them jump packs.
Upgrades:
Sternguard: Combi-meltas.  Their greatest strength is in their special issue ammunition.  Using special or heavy weapons takes away from that firepower, and having a fistful of combi-meltas gives you a massive boon up close.
Vanguard: Power weapons/fists/thunder hammers/melta bombs. If you wish to use Heroic Intervention, give them Jump Packs or Drop Pods.  If not, a Rhino or Razorback will suffice.
Tactics:
Sternguard:  Keep them close to your Tactical Squads.  They are a great boon to your ranged fire, and the extra attacks are useful in an assault.
Vanguard: Use them as a character hunting unit.  I have debated on adding anti-tank, but in all reality, they might take out 1 or 2 before being completely annihilated.  I personally do not think that makes up for their points cost. Keep their numbers small and use them to intercept and destroy your opponent's support characters before they start destroying your line forces.
Personal Note: I recommend against using these squads.  They are good, but you are paying for Space Marines with a cool ability or two and an additional attack.  If you want to spend hundreds of points on a squad, use Terminators.  They have a 2+ save and a 5+ Invulnerable. Speaking of which...
Average Points Cost:
Sternguard: 150-285
Vanguard:  275


Terminator/Terminator Assault Squads:
Juggernauts with power weapons, storm bolters, and high armor saves.  They are the best foot troops in the Space Marine Codex. Terminators can be upgraded with Heavy Flamers, Assault Cannons, or Cyclone Missile Launchers (basically a 2-shot missile launcher).  Terminator Assault Squads come with lightning claws and can be given thunder hammers and storm shields.
Pros: Deep Strike, Terminator Armor, Relentless
Terminators: Lots of firepower, lots of power fists
Terminator Assault Squads: lots of assault ability
Cons: Very Expensive, can only ride in Land Raiders
Terminator Assault Squads: no ranged firepower. At all.
Upgrades:
Terminators: Cyclone Missile Launchers.  They are expensive, but can do a lot.  Give one or two a chainfist to deal with vehicles in melee.
Terminator Assault Squads: Give them a decent spread of lightning claws and thunder hammers, so you have a nice bit of wound allocation and a few hits with thunder hammers to deal some instant death/deal with monstrous creatures.
Tactics:
Terminators: With a full squad, deep strike them onto the tabletop (either whole or in combat squads) and begin releasing huge torrents of fire.  Assault or counter-assault in support of objectives or characters.  With a short squad, place them in a Land Raider and use them as a counter-assault, allowing them to support with ranged fire after the melee.
Terminator Assault Squads: Take a short squad and put them in a Land Raider.  Use them as character hunters and counter-assault, keeping the Land Raider close, to load them back up after melee.  Keep in mind that they have a minimum size of 5 models, so if you attach a support character to the squad, you will have to use a Land Raider Crusader or Redeemer.
Average Points Cost:
Terminators: 235-470
Terminator Assault Squad: 200-400 pts

I hope this has been informative and helpful, please leave comments if you wish clarification.

Merry Christmas and some notes (redux)

First, have to post this.
Warning: NSFW

Second, images for your viewing pleasures of the Christmas variety:

Alright, do enjoy your Christmahannukwanzakuh.

Now that being said, there are some things I wish to clarify before moving forward next week (Exciting stuff).

Light Infantry vs Light Infantry:
I will make use of the term Light Infantry in two ways.  One is the Light/Mech method, covered here. The second is the Light/Heavy method, which is a bit harder to explain, and with more grey area.  Light units are overall cheaper and with a lower save, heavy units have a better save.  This may seem easy, but it also goes into purpose on the board.  For example, a Space Marine Scout Squad with a 4+ save I consider Light.  However, a Storm Trooper Squad has the same armor and I consider Heavy.  So, I have devised a little cheat sheet here for future reference.

Light:

1. 4+ save or worse
2. Occupies Troops or Fast Attack slot
3. Equipped primarily against other infantry or low toughness/save targets
4. Cheap choices
5. Focused on amassed firepower vs effective firepower

Heavy:

1. 4+ save or better
2. Occupies Elites or Heavy Support slot
3. Equipped primarily against tanks or high toughness/save targets
4. More expensive
5. Focused on higher percentages of hits vs large number of shots

Now, there is some grey area, and that is where you have to figure it out for yourself.  But this should help clarify when I discuss a weapon or ability being effective against Light or Heavy Infantry.

Next on the agenda is Crowd Control vs Area Denial. I should point out that all anti-infantry weapons can be used for this purpose (and some anti-tank ones as well), but I specifically point out sniper rifles instead.  This is because I believe they are a great tool, and not many early players appreciate how effective they can be.  Most start off trying to take out commanders and such, but while they can do that, their best uses (in my opinion) is right here.

Crowd Control works by eliminating large numbers of troops, slowing down their advance, or softening them up for assault. This is the most generalized usage of anti-infantry heavy weapons in the game.  The following is an example of how it works.

In this example, the dirty yellow box indicates an objective, the dark green boxes represent terrain, the red infantry symbol is an opponent's squad, the dark red line illustrates your area denial lines of fire, and the green/red arrows indicate your opponent's options for movement.  No matter where how the opponent approaches the objective, his troops will always be under heavy fire from your weapons, and must survive that and assault.  You can use sniper rifles in this method as they pin your opponent's troops, and slows them down, preventing them from advancing (which, in turn, gives you more time to shoot at them.  It's a great cycle.).
Area Denial goes a step further by setting up firepower in areas so that your opponent does not want to pass his troops through there.  Allow me to present a case to you:

Now as we can see in this slightly different example, there are two paths.  If your opponent chooses Path A, which is shorter, he will be subjected to your Anti-Infantry squad, as well as your troops squad on the objective.  If he chooses Path B, his unit will be safely out of line of sight from both for quite some time, and only in range of your anti-infantry squad a short time.  You can use sniper rifles in this method because between rending and causing pinning, his units can suffer a lot of damage before reaching the objective. While the idea of making a "safer approach" may seem counter-productive, it's not.  It buys you turns on the objective, as well as time to deal with any other squads on the board, and to reinforce the objective.  His squad may not be annihilated this turn, but you have made him change his plans.  And that is what you want to achieve throughout the game.  If I can get one thing through to you new players out there it is that You want your opponent to have to adjust to everything you do, while not having to adjust any of your plans to what he's doing.

That's all I have for this week.  Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Format for army tactics pages

Alright, now, in the upcoming posts is starting the hard parts...

As I stated previously that I thought Space Marines would be good to start with, when I do start my individual army tactics, I am starting with them.  After that will be Imperial Guard, as I see them as the most tactically flexible army, followed by Space Wolves (which I play).  Space Wolves will be short as there is someone who has extensively written on their tactics, and his site will be linked when I discuss them.  Following the Space Wolves will be Dark and regular Eldar, as I have 2 friends who play them.

Also, before I go into this, there is enough to write whole books on how to use individual armies.  I will be much more brief than that, instead focusing on individual units, strengths, and weaknesses, with brief overall army tactics and a sample army list or two and how they work.

One last bit about timeline.  I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to do this.  Furthermore, next weekend is Christmas.  I do intend on spending it with family, so, if I post at all, it will be brief.  But trust me, I will be back, and my upcoming posts will start getting interesting.

That's all I got for this week. Until next time...

Alright...

Well, this one was a... well, female of the canid variety.  It took me a lot but I did manage to get it up and running.  So, this one is all about full-on game tactics.  So let's dive right in, now, shall we?

Part one is to visualize the board.  Just so you know, all the "tables" shown follow the scheme of blue is your deployment zone, red is your opponent's, green is difficult terrain/cover, and the lettered circles are objectives.  So let's get this image up there.

Alright, got your basic, 48" by 48" table.  for making this as basic as possible, I limited this to 4 pieces of terrain and 3 objectives, as everything else I will do can be modified from the tactics given here to deal with it.

Now, the next step is to identify the avenues of approach.  The blue blocks/lines are the horizontal, the green are the vertical.  These are going to be the main routes of movement and giving the direction for most of the game.

"Why is this important?," you may ask.  The answer is that you can use this to identify, early on, all of the paths of movement around the table, and it will help you see and block your opponent's plans before he initiates them.

The next step, for me, is to figure out where I am going to put my area denial and anti-tank units.  You want to place them someplace with good field of view, where they can be supported easily, and where they have cover saves.  In this map I "placed" two of them as shown:

Alright, this requires a bit of explanation and can look a little confusing, and for that I apologize.  The lines mean long, uninterrupted lines of sight not blocked by objectives.  The dark pink areas are areas that can be shot at by both units, and the light pink can only be shot at by 1 or the other. The lines and fans are to scale, representing weapons with 36 inch range. Now, as you can see, models on the vast majority of the disputed area are definitely within range and able to be engaged by your support.  They are in cover, and they can fire at units directly in front of each other, allowing cross-support.  They will probably never have to move for the entire game.

Next I normally figure out how I am going to deploy my troops.  I believe that your army should be built towards capturing the objectives, and as such I create my tactics in such a manner as to best accomplish that.  I have a handful of basic strategies, the Pincer, Strongwall, and SBP.

Pincer:

The pincer works best with large armies, such as Imperial Guard or Nids.  It works by splitting your forces, taking the outside objectives as quickly as you can, and swiftly attacking the middle, leaving some forces behind to to hold your initial captures.  It's strengths are that,if you have sufficient manpower, you can take two objectives right off the bat and at least contest for the third by the end of the game.  On the flip side, if you use this on a board too large, you can easily have your forces separated and eliminated.

Strongwall:

Strongwall works better with smaller armies.  you move quickly to two adjacent objectives and hold there, with any other units located in between your forces and acting as counter assault and support troops.  It's strengths are that you take (possibly) two locations at once, and your units can support each other, plus you have a quick reaction force nearby.  Basically it's easier to hold your position, and you can elect to just sit in place and let your opponent come to you.

SBP:

SBP, or Slow but Purposeful, works by moving all of your troops to one objective, taking it by mass numbers and force, leaving a skeleton defense, and moving to the next objective with the rest of your troops. Continue this process until you can only attack with one squad.  It's strength is that it keeps your attacking force unified and allows you to systematically eliminate your opponent with overwhelming numbers one objective at a time.  It's weakness is that you have to leave skeleton defenses, which can easily be retaken by your opponent.  Also, every time you take a new objective, your attacking power is reduced for the next one.

Last, we come to tank uses.  There are a lot of good tactics, so I am going to give you the basics, and the most simple of them:

Alright, not much to explain here.  Having a wedge in the middle allows you to centrally locate your armor and divert it to attack either left or right, situation depending.  The echelons allow you to move your armor behind the objectives, change direction and formation to wedge, and sweep them across the board.  Generally speaking, the wedge would be most useful with the Pincer or Strongwall, whereas the echelons more useful in Strongwall or SBP.

And, there you have it.  I believe this to be, for all its brevity, a fairly decent basic look at tactics and strategy.  I am going to take some time off, collect my notes, and start with individual army strategies, starting with Space Marines.

Multiple Unit Formations

Alright, this one is fairly similar to the last post, but this deals with multiple units, as opposed to single squads.  There are a few more choices here, as there is inherently more flexibility when working with multiple whole units moving as opposed to models within a squad.  Things to consider for this post: the lines here represent a 4" line between squads.  I understand this is not necessary, but I believe in this because it allows you to maintain good support/cover for all of your units.

I will start with foot movements, and we will cover the Platoon Wedge, Reverse Wedge, Diamond, and Rolling T formations.

Platoon Wedge:

Strengths:
This follows pretty much the same as the regular squad wedge.  The strength lies in that any unit can, within a turn or less, provide aid to another squad.  Most of the time if an enemy is withing range of 1 squad, all squads can fire, and it provides a strong base of fire.

Weaknesses:
The only real weakness I can think of is the initial assault.  If you assault first, you may only be able to assault with your front squad, and have to wait to assault with your other two squads.  I don't believe in assaulting with one unit unless you have no choice.  It can work sometimes, but I prefer to play the odds more in my favor.

Reverse Wedge:

Strengths:
The wedge, plus the fact that you maintain a stronger, 2 squad front for assault.

Weaknesses:
You put all your force in front.  Basically, you're leaving 2 squads in the open and one squad to support them.  this is fine, but should they both simultaneously need assistance, it can only be granted to one squad at a time.

Diamond:
As you can see, there are two ways to set this one up.  It all comes down to personal preference and how you want to move everything around.  for purposes of argument we shall call them the Deep Diamond and Shallow Diamond (left and right, respectively), because each offers slightly different benefits.

Strengths:
Again, pretty similar to the wedge.  There's another unit to add, which increases the support aspect.  The differences lie in your setup.  a Deep diamond will be able to maneuver better, and if the last unit is a jump squad or Crowd Control, it acts fine, allowing a nice, well-rounded base of fire.  If you have a unit with special, buffing abilities, use the shallow wedge, as it allows you to be within buff range of all squads.

Weaknesses:
Really no weakness per se.

Rolling T:

Strengths:
This formation maintains a strong front.  I suggest mainly using it with mechanized armies, as this one takes a bit of horizontal space, and it maximizes the use of said front.

Weaknesses:
Weak on the sides.  Also, the size makes it harder to maneuver.  I did not add putting all your troops in front on this one because you have enough guns firing forward to make up for it.

Alright, now that we have Troops formations out of the way, time to move on to Armored formations.  There are basically 2 formations for Armor.  The Wedge and the Echelon.  Before I go into detail on each of those, I will give 3 reasons why vehicle formations are a good idea.

1) It maximizes firepower in a desired direction. It really does, and try to prove me wrong.
2) When in vehicle squadrons, it allows you to be able to keep coherency better.
3) When your vehicles are NOT in squadrons, your vehicles will provide cover for each other, and it will give your opponent a harder time taking them out than a squadron.

Now for the actual formations.

Wedge:

Now, before I get into the Strengths and weaknesses, I wish to make a clarification.  The X's demonstrate the lines dividing individual armor facings.  The longer, green lines demonstrate the armor facings of the squadron.  You can ignore this for non-squadron formations.  I did this for the wedge as a visual demonstration of the rulebook, and did not continue it for the echelon because I was lazy and tired and didn't feel like it.  And still don't.

Strengths:
Same as before.  With armor, the collective profile needs to be added in, and this one offers a strong front/side armor profile

Weaknesses:
Same as before.  If your formation is not a squadron, shooting at one target can be impeded by one vehicle or another.

Echelon:

As for this one, there deserves to be some explanation.  First, as you can see, there are 2 formations, the Echelon Right and Echelon Left.  They are meant to skirt alongside the table edge, difficult terrain, and other units, and to this end they are supposed to move enemy units away from those obstacles as well as engage them normally.  They are also only meant to have a firing arc of only slightly more than 90 degrees.

Strengths:
This formation is mobile, fast, and can provide a lot of firepower.

Weaknesses:
It is extremely vulnerable from the back and side (the left side on the Echelon Right and right side on the Echelon Left). Also, the linear formation makes it weak to central or tail attacks.

Alright.  That about wraps it up.  I'll be honest, not my best work, but I've been burned out this week, and have had problems really explaining myself.  I will make sure to pay extra attention to you guys' comments.  Next week will be overview of the board and setting up your forces.

Squad Formations: Pros and Cons

Alright, squad formations can be a big help or hindrance to any table.  One of the big things that a lot of starting players will do is just toss their squads on the board.  Or they put them on in big square formations, or a line, to prevent blasts from impacting them.  This is a bad idea for reasons in which I will get to later.  For now, I will focus on three basic formations, the Staggered Front, Staggered Column, and Wedge. For unit placement, blue represents a squad leader/special character/sergeant.  Red is assault weapon, Grey is heavy weapon. FYI: the circles are 35mm in diameter, the lines are 2" (roughly).  So this is to scale.

The Staggered Front:

Strengths: 
This model has a strong front.  The heavy weapon is centrally located to allow maximum range in every direction, and located in the rear to protect it from first turn assault. The assault weapon is located in front next to the leader to get the most of its shorter range. Units assaulting it directly will have to assault multiple units, the leader among them, most likely the whole squad.

Weaknesses:
This is weak from the sides, as an assaulting unit can simply charge into only a couple of models, which would allow them to kill a couple off and not allow a retaliation until you charge next turn.  This may not seem like much, but it can be when you're dealing with multiple threats on an objective, especially if the unit is being assaulted from multiple units.  Also, maneuverability is an issue.  The wide setup makes it harder to move around or between terrain, slowing them down to get to the objective.

The Staggered Column:

Strengths:
This formation is maneuverable, as it's thin front allows it to more easily move around and in between terrain.  The leader in front also acts as a small deterrent against frontal assaults, and, again, the heavy weapon and assault weapons centrally and forward located for the same reason as the last.

Weaknesses:
This unit lacks the strong, unified front of the last, preventing you from maximizing the squad's number of shots, and forcing you to assault sideways.  This would work well when it moves next to a staggered front unit, as you can assault (or be assaulted) with the staggered front, and flank with the column.  Also, as the front was weak from the sides, this is weak from the front and back. As stated, the leader up front acts as deterrent, but not much of one, and if he is killed in assault, you are now down with your best assault unit and down 1 point of Leadership.

Wedge:

Strengths:
This unit is my favorite, because it's the all around powerhouse.  Not as maneuverable as the Column but moreso than the Front (much more so). All-around well defended, and able to provide a decent 360 degree firebase, it can assault easily in 180 degrees, while being well defended from the front and sides, and only slightly weaker from the rear.

Weaknesses:
It's not as good at any specific task than the previous units.  If attacked from the rear, it will take a while to counter with your best units.  Aside from that, it's fairly solid.

Note on larger or smaller units:
The pictures above use 10-man squads, as that's what most armies are based on.  For using larger squads, add to the end, or add an additional parallel column, or row.  Or both, if it's large enough.  I don't recommend using more than 3 columns or rows.  For the wedge, the green chevrons represent the lines of the "wedge," and add additional chevrons of troops.  I don't recommend a chevron of over 5 models, as you start losing the inherent mobility.

Why should I use these staggered formations instead of a single line or block formations?
I will start with the block formations.  I have a cool image for that. And the answer is blast diameters. Let me demonstrate.  As before everything is to scale.

Just so you know, the red dotted circle is the 3" blast diameter, and grey circles are models hit.  While The most you can hit in the staggered formation is 3, the maximum in the block formation is 4.  Now, given, this has to be a precise shot, but you don't want to take that chance.  Also note that if you move the circle left or down by just 1 inch in the staggered formation, you will only hit one model, whereas if you move the diameter just about any direction on the block, you will still hit 2.  Basically, using a staggered formation decreases the maximum number of possible hits, while decreasing the likelihood of getting 2 hits with a blast.
As far as the line goes, a well-targeted assault that takes out a middle model or a special ability that allows the opponent to pick the target allows you to separate the squad and break unit coherency very easily.  The staggered formation is much more structurally sound.

This concludes my foray into unit formations.  My next step will be multiple unit formations.  Till next week...

Legend

This post is going to just have the legend that I will use for maps/movements/whatever when I post in the future.  There will be a link to this page so no matter what it can be viewed.

These unit symbols may be combined in order to create more detailed information about the units.
A vertical line along the left hand side of the infantry/armored symbol means the unit is mounted inside the vehicle.

So, there you have it.

Some things to keep in mind...

Still learning Gimp.  It's a lot less user friendly than Photoshop was, but, then again, I like the whole "free" thing.

Anyways, I'm devoting this post to a few things that I learned over the years, and are acronyms used in the real military, and will help you during game set-up.  The first is commonly referred to as "Sergeant Major Eats Sugar Cookies," but it stands for Situation, Mission, Execution, Service and Support, and Command and Signal.  This breaks down for your whole army deployment, the following way:

Situation: as I said previously, really look at the terrain, how it's set up, and start figuring out how to set your guys up so it protects them and doesn't hinder their movement.

Mission: What are your objectives?  This can change how you want to set your guys up drastically.

Execution: How do you want to achieve the mission?  You should have a plan of everything from movement to taking the objective to the end turn of the game planned out when you deploy.  This being said, use this as a rough draft.  If you take objective A, your opponent will try to take it back.  How are you going to deal with it?  How are you going to take it in the first place?

Service and Support:  How are your anti-tank/crowd control units deployed?  Do they have clear LOS? Are they in cover? Will they be able to shoot effectively at enemies attacking your objective takers/holders?  What about buffing units?  Officers? Are they within good range to get the most out of their abilities? Are they going to give adequate support?

Command and Signal: This I reserve for your reserve units/infiltrating units.  Are your infiltrators stranded in the middle of enemy territory, or are you going to be able to support them?  Where do you want to deep strike/flank with your reserves?  You should have this clearly in mind at the beginning, going into the execution mission, where can you drop/deploy them so that they best support your existing units?  Have a list of places, that way the scatter/outflank dice won't hurt too bad.

The other thing I want to clarify is for individual unit placement.  This acronym is OCOKA.  This can apply, not only to setup, but also throughout the game.

Observation/Field of Fire:  Make sure you have a good LOS and can react/shoot clearly at approaching targets.  You want to make sure that any enemies left in the open can be quickly mowed down.

Cover and Concealment: What's your cover save/when your opponent moves, will he get a clear shot at your squad?

Obstacles: Ranged units: make sure there's something your opponent has to move around to assault you.
Assault units: make sure there's nothing to go through to assault your opponent.

Key Terrain: How are your units situated around objectives?  If they are on the objective, can they defend it and still follow the rest of the rules?

Avenues of Approach: How can enemies get to your units, and how can your units get out of dodge?  A tactical retreat can be necessary, and knowing these lanes of movements may save your squad.

So, yeah... hope that stuff helps.  Just little things like that, when you set up and move your armies, keep them in mind.  Basically, you want to be able to move freely and attack anything you want, while making sure your opponent can attack nothing. Next week I may go more into detail about how to use individual types of units, or start going into other tactics.  It depends on how comfortable I am with Gimp by then.  So, yeah, see you then.

Some miscellaneous things...

Alright, before I get into advanced things, I need to learn to use gimp a bit better (I kind of need to make images to demonstrate some things I have to say).  So, for now, leaving these arguments:


Mechanized vs Light:
Before I begin this rant, I need to clarify that Space Marine Drop Pod and armies I classify as "Mechanized," and you will see why in a moment.

Mechanized Armies use vehicles and armor to bring their troops to the front.  Light armies use base troop movements (in the actual services known as Leather Personnel Carriers), as well as dropping them in via deep strike or by Valkyries or other methods, where once the troops are on or near the objective, there is no need for the vehicle to stay, if there is a vehicle model on the board at all.
Both Armies have their strengths and weaknesses, and I will demonstrate that here.

Mechanized Armies allow your troops to get to the objective much, much faster, as well as giving your squads protection, firing platforms (firing points), and support by fire.  The downside is points cost.  In some cases this is worse than others.  For example, a Space Marine Rhino or Drop Pod costs 35 points base.  A squad costs roughly in the vicinity of 150+ points, so this is not so bad.  You are sacrificing some points that could be used for Support units or upgrades, but in the scheme of things, having 3 units of Space Marines delivered (relatively) harmlessly to the objective/within range of your opponent.  In an Imperial Guard army, a Chimera costs 65 points.  Granted, you're getting a lot more than a Rhino, but most troops squads cost about 50 points.  Depending on how you wish to field your army, that can add up very quickly, and prevent you from playing some things you want.  Also take note that there are several vehicles in the game that do not have firing points, making deploying your troops from them essential to maximize your firepower (Just do a google search for Fish of Fury). All that being said, you can still move most vehicles up to 6" and still fire one main gun and anything under Str 5 at your enemy, so they can also give you a much better movement and shooting phase overall.  I count the space marine drop pod in this because of the extra points (1), and the fact that it can still create an obstacle and support by fire for your units.

Light armies rely on troops for movement, or Deep Strike, or, generally, anything that gets them there and leaves them there.  The strength here is in numbers.  Now, while the numbers on the Space Marines is not all that impressive, there is another factor to consider.  If you want to add an individual character to your Rhino, you need to remove a model from your squad to fit him.  Which, in turn, can seriously adjust how said unit is set up.  There are upgrades that only work if there are 10 models in the squad, and removing them changes your squad's overall  flexibility.  And as far as imperial guard goes, those 65 points can do a lot with them.  (that's 13 grenade launchers right there).  To give a most extreme example, myself and a couple of friends theorized about taking no upgrades and just maxing out on units for an IG army.  The end result is 1 company command squad, 4 platoons with 1 platoon command squad, 4 infantry squads and one full conscript unit, and 1 platoon with just 1 command squad and 4 infantry squads.  At 2,000 points that gives you 30 squads and 430 individual models on the board, which, despite the fact that there is no specialized units or anti-..., well, anything, you make up for that with sheer numbers.  Yes, they killed your squad.  you only have 29 more where that came from. Now, that is not a tournament-playable army, as almost half of it is conscripts, but it still would be a tough army to face.

Conclusion: Mechanized armies provide protection and a little extra fire, Light armies provide numbers and extra upgrades.  I'm not telling you one is better than the other, just highlighting the pros and cons of either side.

Reserves vs Troops on Table:

Before I begin, I would like to illustrate the points that I, personally, do not like to use reserves, and when I speak of reserves, I speak of those that can either outflank or deep strike.  That being said, I understand why someone would use them, and why they are beneficial.

Reserves are placed outside of play, and come into play at a later point in the game.  The reason using them is a boon is that you don't have to have your entire army set up, rigidly, at the beginning of the game.  It allows you to bring them in later, positioned as you wish, where you wish, etc., etc., and adapt easier to the ever-changing tabletop.

Troops on Table means just that: you play with all of your models on the board, from turn 0 onward.  This makes it harder to change tactics halfway through a game, but at the same time, the dice gods are fickle and cruel.  The reason I prefer this is for several reasons.  One, you cannot be sure when your troops will show up.  Two, you cannot always control entirely where they are placed.  When using Deep Strike, they can scatter into terrain or an enemy squad, when using Outflank, they can appear on a table edge you do not want them on.  This option allows it to be simple, straightforward, and stupid.  If at all possible, I prefer to prevent murphy's laws from impacting my games.

Conclusion: In the end, one allows you greater flexibility (which is always the best thing to have). And the other gives you dependability (which is also always the best thing to have).  Again, I am not telling you to take one or the other, just highlighting the pros and cons of both.

So, there you have it.  I'll figure something out, it may be a bit for my next post, as I have squads to paint, images to photoshop/gimp, but I will go into greater detail about how to use the different types of units that I discussed in the last rant.

Getting Started...

Alright, first post on my real purpose here. Let me get started by saying that Warhammer is a fun game, and should be treated as that: a game.  Whether you win or lose, what does it matter, as long as you had a good time, right?  Treat each game as that and a learning experience and you will play better each game.  Also, do not blame your opponent's victory that his army is broken, or cheap.  Every army is "broken" in its own way, it's up to you to figure out how best to exploit that.  Instead, whenever you lose (and you will), relish the game and figure out what you could have done better.  There's very little wrong things to do in the game, just some things are not as effective as others.  Now that my intro rant is complete, time to start the actual topic.

Step 1: Pick your army
When you pick your army, it should be something that speaks to your personality.  If you tend to use brute force and smash your way through problems, the tactics of the Eldar or Tau will be completely alien to you, and you will likely not play as well as a result.  I personally suggest if this is your first army, start with codex Space Marines.  This is because they have survivability, good attacking power, and otherwise are extremely tactically flexible and adaptable to almost any kind of play.  Another reason is that 4 out of 9 armies in the game use Imperial weapons, and odds are almost any given game is going to involve an army using Imperial weapons, so it's best to learn them early on.  Third, space marine armies are generally smaller, and easier to paint, so you can get out there faster and start playing earlier. Lastly, there aren't a lot of special rules or unit types that you have to learn to play them, you learn the basics, and can move up from there.
If you have been playing, and nothing seems to work with your army, before chalking it up to the dice gods, or other players for abusing the rules, take a look at how you play.  Record a game or two if need be.  It could be that your particular style is either not how you think it is, or you're not sure exactly how to translate it.  Figure out how it is you play, and find the army that best fits that.

Step 2: The unit types
I'm not referring to HQ, Troops, Fast Attack here, I'm talking about the battlefield role of said unit.  We know that this is Troops, but how does it get to the objective?  How does it deal with enemies?  What type of enemies is it best against?  These are the questions to ask yourself, and I have broken them down into some basic types for you:

• Objective Clearers: Objective clearers are units that cannot hold objectives themselves, but can eliminate enemy squads/hold off enemy squads in the time necessary for you to get to the objectives with your takers/holders.
• Objective Takers: Take the objective, and hold the line for your holders to come on place.  These are the guys you want there on turn 1 or 2.
• Objective Holders: Once the objective is taken, use your holders to keep a presence there for the rest of the game.  These are the guys you want there on 4+.  Some units can act as both takers and holders.
• Shock: Your dedicated assault units.  You use them for either counter-assaulting enemies attacking your objectives or striking at your enemies in assault to keep them from getting to your objectives. Note: a shock unit is usually specialized for either infantry or tanks.
• Crowd Control/Area Denial: Your long-range, heavy, anti-infantry units.  Use them to redirect your enemies, whittle down their numbers, and basically make your enemy change his movements.
• Anti-tank: Pretty self explanatory.
• Support: Any unit whose points cost goes to more than just a model and weapon on the table.  I.E., special characters, units with buffing abilities, etc.

As a sidenote, sometimes a unit may fall under multiple types, or have the ability to be specialized in one way or another.  Unless you can combat squad a unit, or do not have another choice, I believe in making sure a unit is dedicated towards one purpose, with defenses against other threats.

Step 3: Watch your points:
Most people who start the game young go through a "Timmy Power Gamer" period.  Avoid this.  I'm not saying you can't have an army with 1,500 points of Terminators, I'm saying that If you whittle your points away on upgrades and overpriced units, the next thing you know, you're playing with 3 squads, and your enemy simply sits back and let his massive army slowly grind yours to nothing with cheaper, more efficient equipment and choices.

Step 4: Read:
I know this is the boring part, but take a look at books on historical strategy and battles.  There's a reason Erwin Rommel, George Patton, Che Guevara, and Sun Tzu's books are still in print, and our current militaries still learn from their writings.  It won't make you a tactical genius overnight, but if you take the time to open your mind to what's in those books, it will help make you a better player.

Step 5: Learn to read your surroundings:
This one is kind of hard, and not something you get overnight.  It takes practice, but there is a lot to be said of this ability, both in the game and in your life.  Learn to read your opponent's reactions, how he approaches the tabletop and plays, and you can use that against him. Does he always Deep Strike his Terminators and immediately assault the enemy HQ?  Toss an additional shock unit or two close by, and as soon as they land, rush them. You get the idea.  The other idea, which is harder, is to read the terrain.  This goes more than setting your long range or poor close combat units on a hill.  Look at the table, and use the terrain against your opponents.  For example, if he fields his army with lots of close combat and very little long range, make sure your Crowd Control units are positioned around the deployment zone so that he can't just charge them through the open.  Make them slow down through Difficult terrain, and, even though they get cover saves, you can still slowly chip away at them as they try to trudge through it, and they'll emerge and assault in lower, more manageable numbers.  This last step, as I said, takes time, and patience, but can pay off more than the rest of this post combined.

Welcome to the suck...

Hello, and welcome to Tactica Imperialis.  This is a blog designed to discuss, review, and give insight on tactics in Warhammer 40,00 for the new players and players who just need a little help getting their army off the ground. My blogs are here and I will try to enter them weekly, going over tactics, strategies, and ideas for all the armies of the game.  Please avoid leaving rude/offensive comments/questions/advice, as I work really hard to keep my own comments clean, but if you have any, feel free to leave them.  I will try to answer them or respond to them as quickly as I can.  I will try to take an objective view of all armies, but no promises, as there are certain armies I just hate too much.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.