40K EDITORIAL: Creating False Choices
I’ve been trying to turn the idea of choices in 40K into a tactical advantage. Choices are a part of the game, often times at a critical junction there is a good choice and a bad choice to be made. Where should I move? What should I shoot? Same for your opponent, but what if you could manipulate the game so that every choice your opponent makes is the wrong one? The example that I am going to use for said nebulous idea is from a recent game with my Necrons vs. my friends Imperial Fists terminator army led by Lysander himself. Right away my silver robots have a lot of problems from facing 2+ armor save models with no AP 1 weapons to dealing with every enemy model having a power fist/weapon in the assault with that 2+ armor save.
Using difficult terrain and tactically withdrawing my lead warrior squads I figured I could down a few terminators and win the objectives if I could take the army on a unit at a time, bit by bit, but if they marched right at me storm bolters blazing and then assaulted I was done. The key was getting my opponent to play along how I wanted the game to be played, giving him those bad choices- the illusion that there is a “correct” choice but really both are wrong.
So, in the picture above we have terminators deep striking in a “safe” distance away for the scatter as they begin their march forward. Take a look at my warriors to the upper right in ranks to withdraw and then take a look at my destroyers on the bottom left. Ignore the destroyer lord and scarabs since they weren’t there on my opponent’s turn a moment before.
Deep striking in where would you go? Aim for the phase out and throw all your terminators at the mass of warriors ignoring the 18 S6 shots pelting you at 36” from the destroyers? Even with that 2+ save that is a lot of high strength shots that are going to score some wounds.
Do you send a unit or two of terminators to deal with the destroyers who are just going to zip away next turn from your storm bolters leaving that terminator unit(s) stranded on the other side of the table to walk across it to my warriors? I’ve tried to use my deployment, the range/speed of my destroyers, and the weakness of Necrons phasing out to give you two wrong choices that help me either way.
The group of lone terminators to the left and Lysander in the center shows you the choice my opponent made. Was it the correct one?
~So the question is how do you set up false choices for your opponents on the tabletop? Any specific examples of units you use to set up these tactical puzzlers? Are you able to calculate your way through your foe’s false choices or do you fall for them every time? Comments? Feedback? Flames?
