Greetings!
I decided to end my blogging hiatus with a somewhat different post, by trying to invade an area that is difficult to write about; tactics.
The difference between tactic and strategy has been oft debated and rarely explained in a satisfactory manner, but in this post I will use tactic to refer to a set of positions, unit movements and measures one uses to achieve a limited goal. While my strategy might be to concentrate my forces and take three out of five counters, tactics are the smaller steps I use to achieve those larger goals.
In this post I will explore one tactic for creating opportunity to advance regardless of the threat of faster opponents. Most of us have been at the receiving end of fast units and pinned down with very limited movement options due to the simple fact that the enemy is so much faster. It can often be difficult to find avenues of approach without taking near suicidal risks or the advance getting bogged down to a snail's pace.
Fast units, such as flyers, are often used for just such a purpose: threaten the opponent, force them to either accept unfavourable charges or back down and win the game by pressuring the opponent to yielding more and more ground.
The key to solving the issue lies partially in the fact that flyers, like Dragons, Elohi, and so on are expensive. That means they are often outnumbered and thus are under pressure to achieve local superiority in a fight of their own choosing. Keeping that in mind is important, as it means it's easier to see flyers and other fast striker units for what they are and what they need to achieve. They're not all-powerful super units, but rather very expensive units that need to be able to achieve board control in order to function. If that is denied, they become relatively easy to manage.
In this blog post I will go through and explain one tactic for wresting initiative from a more mobile force without accepting extremely poor odds.
Note that the examples given aren't neutral points-wise, and should be viewed as illustrations of a concept rather than as a match-up of specific units.
Initial situation: Basilean threat
In this situation the Basilean flyers have moved up to threaten the Wights on the left. They are safely outside the charge ranges of all Undead units and the Elohi are positioned so that the Wights can't escape their field of view, while the Dragon is lined up to threaten all three Undead units.
This puts the Undead in a precarious situation. They can't strike at the Basileans this turn, and moving up against them seems very dangerous; a combined charge from those units is enough to knock out any one of the Undead units with even a modicum of luck. They can't stay as they are, nor can they effectively withdraw.
However, the Undead can adopt a relatively simple tactic to overcome this type of a situation, one that I call "the Shadow of the Wyrm" and it revolves around the very simple mechanic of unit Height. By advancing very aggressively with the Wyrm, which is Speed 7 and height 6, directly towards the Dragon, the Undead can create a "shadow" on the field in which it is safe for the Revenant Cavalry to advance and close the distance between themselves and the Basilean units. Meanwhile the Wights pivot slightly and move up, escaping the Dragon's Line of Sight.
Undead follow-up: Throwing shade
The initial problem with flyers and units that outdistance one's own is simple: you can strike at me, but I can't strike at you. This move doesn't seek to change that in itself, but rather forces the Basileans to either accept very, very risky charges or to reposition themselves, changing the situation to something more like "you can strike at me, but do you really want to?"
The Basilean units are still the ones to get the first blow, but the risks involved make other options seem more inviting.
* There's a slight movement error in the Wights' position, they should be 0.1" to the left in order to escape the Dragon's LoS. The move is possible, so the situation remains unchanged.
The Basileans are far from trapped, but their powerful combined charges have been denied for this turn and the Undead have managed to signicantly advance on the board. Is the game over? Not by a long shot, the Basileans have plenty of options open, but their strongest move has been blocked. Did the Undead conduct a winning move? Maybe, depends on what's going on elsewhere on the board. That's why this is a tactic, not a strategy.
This move will not, on it's own, win the game. It's one way to scale the obstacle of being threatened by units with superior movement. I find this move particularly good on the flanks where flyers often tend to congregate in order to dislodge their opponent's centre, as when confronted on the flanks, the flyers have far less options for escaping an unfavourable frontal assault.
There are a few key things to look for when trying to set up a LoS shadow on the field:
- You must be able to move up sufficiently close to the unit you want to block, because you want a wide shadow that results from proximity to the enemy
- Make sure you have retaliating units ready to pounce on any frontal charges the flyers may make
- Only advance if it benefits you, don't go forward for no reason!
- Advancing against flyers is dicey, make sure you can deal with them trying to sneak over your lines
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