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:
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.
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.
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.
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