During 4th of July week I ran into John Willingham a teammate of mine for the European Team championship. We started to discuss the warhammer 40k list that the Europeans are using and just had a great laugh. I feel confident that we are going to do very well over there but I started to think lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. I can't judge a list by its cover entirely.
I don't want to go into list strengths, building redundancy, focusing on shooting or assault phase but why doesn't anyone ever talk about the movement phase? Personally its one of the most important phases in the game and once you have a better grasp around it it can make a huge difference in a game.
For example understanding your space between say a Leman Russ Demolisher and the range of the Demolisher cannon being 24 inches to 30 inches. If I know I can maneuver my unit around that distance I can effectively take that unit out of the picture and worry about other threats. The same goes for melta guns or the distance that transports can deliver those units. The thing I am saying is you can mitigate the damage in the movement phase and understand when you are taking risk you can focus and break down your opponents list much better then just going crazy with no plan. javascript:void(0)
Everyone loves the Psyker hoods on the Librarians and I find it amusing now. I have put players into this position multiple times even with Psyker Battle squads understanding the range on their weaken resolve or even their soulstorm blast is 36 inches. Every time I target a unit or fire soul storm I always make sure that the librarian is 24 inches away and he doesn't even have a chance of stopping the power.
So I guess I wonder do people ever consider the smaller intricacies of the movement phase or do they really understand how much actually happens during that time?
I definitely agree that this is one of the least talked about phases, and it has such a huge impact on the game. You are laying the foundation for basically everything you will be doing in your "killy" turns, as well as what the opponent might do in their next turn.
ReplyDeleteMoving units in the most strategic order (i.e. being able to compensate for a bad difficult terrain test, or a vehicle that immobilizes itself)... Being aware of the opponent's threat distances and positioning for maximum benefit and minimal risk... These are all critically important elements of the game that often seem glossed over in most internet discussions. A search of BOLS front page (not lounge) for "movement phase" seems to show no serious posts or discussions of that topic in over 6 months.
Perhaps this is one of the harder points of the game to learn? People seem to figure out target priority and the like pretty early on. But your example about the psychic hood, and being fully aware of what it does, and using maneuver (not shooting, not assault) to maximize your abilities while reducing the enemies is a very critical point for winning games.
The 4 melta guns you took aren't getting you anywhere if the opponent isn't letting you reach targets.
Is there any way for non etc players to see the lists that people are taking
ReplyDeleteI largely agree.
ReplyDeleteCertainly, you are right to point out that it is a topic rarely discussed - but I think in large part that is because it is contingent upon Deployment, which is the single hardest topic to discuss in any meaningful way on the internet.
It is easier to discuss the relative merits and successes of certain mid-European Right Wing Governments than it is to begin to cover Deployment.
you can find lists of ETC 40k on www.40kings.de
ReplyDeleteInteresting:
ReplyDelete"Yeah, we had here in Poland a moment of wild surprise at some of US lists. 20+ noise marines? Come on, it’s sucks so hard we’re thinking about doubling the bet we have with Your team about Yanks. I’m more and more convinced Yanks are going to hit european wall so hard there will be nothing left of them at the end of the event:P
I find best Yours and our lists to be honest. Swedes are damn aggressive in their builds but that may be their undoing, especially in DoW mssions. They can hit hard and push other armies off the obj with field controlling deathstar units but if you know how to handle those hard hitters you’r home. French went into mech, which can be their undoing as well, as mech is easy to counter. There’re some other countries with good lists but I think we can overcome them by pure skill, so probably can You.
It seems it’s again gonna be us, You, Swedes and French fighting for domination in Europe, as some of the Yanks lists are simply so weak it’s gonna be difficult for them to win rounds with such a “burden builds” loosing battle after battle. Maybe though some other nations will jump in to the top, who knows, we have quite a few newcomers this year."
I guess we will have to see how it pans out. I wouldn't throw the US out just yet but like I said in my post don't judge a book by its cover. Seems like you guys are doing that to us already :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's not the European lists themselves, but the entire meta-game you Americans need to knack to place well in the ETC. Hardly anybody doubts your exp. and skills at the table, but your results will greatly depend upon how quickly will you be able to adapt to new conditions- ones that might not be present in the States.
ReplyDeleteI wish you best luck- you're gonna need it as well as flexibility.
One thing is sure: the US team's progress will be closely watched in Europe.
I just started playing a few months ago (actually I spent 6 months assembling an army and have only played one game). I'd like to see what their terrain was like that they played on at ETC. I went to the 40kings website but I can't read german so I was only able to read one of the articles written in english. It sounded like the terrain was the US's down fall. Very crowded.
ReplyDeleteGives me some hope though as I play Necrons - it would be fun running three units of wraiths where ever I wanted. Not that I'd win or anything but it would be fun.