S&M Thoughts: Does Size Matter?

So then, without further adieu let’s jump into this week’s discussion:

Does army size matter? It’s a topic that many don’t think about past the modeling/assembly perspective of the game, but it really makes a big difference not only on the tabletop but in regards to play-style and player mentality as well. What do I mean? Well let’s look at my own armies: Tyranids, Blood Angels, Dark Elves (Witch Cult),  Skaven, Cryx. 

Four of those armies have something in common, can you guess what it is? 

That’s right, all but one of them are horde armies! Well, it can be argued the Dark Elves aren’t, but the way I play them they are, and more so, saying they are helps further the point I’m trying to make!

Now, why is it I choose these types of armies? This was a question posed to me not long ago and I honestly had to take a moment to sit down and think about it. It’s no coincidence that the army I struggle with the most is in fact my Blood Angles/Angels Sanguine, an army that fields drastically fewer models than any of the others listed, but why is that exactly? Does it really come down to a specific mentality or can I just not utilize Space Marine tactics worth a damn? I mean I did everything right: I microwaved the Sergeant of a fleeing squad in front of his peers, I’ve strewn wayward Marine’s appendages across Tyranid bases, I even ran a Dreadnought who was doing particularly well one game right at a unit of Fire Dragons just to break his ego and remind him of his place. I just don’t get it, I can do everything by the books and they still continue to fail me on the tabletop…


That being said, I honestly do believe it comes down to an issue with frame of mind, perhaps I’m just forcing myself into one that’s outside my comfort zone and in doing do creating the issues. Maybe I should stick to the frame of mind and tactics I know best. 

What frame of mind is it, you may ask?

Simple: Life is Cheap.

That may or may not be borrowed from the Skaven Army Book, but the quote still stands. Basically my troops are a resource and the goal of the game is to extinguish my opponent’s resources before mine are depleted; the Imperium has its mighty heroes and legends… I have Hormagaunt No. 742 and Mechanithrall A14.

Is there anything wrong with that? It’s as wrong as my above “motivation tactics”, which is to say not at all. It’s all a matter of play-style and army “comfort zones”. Basically in this regard there are two types of players, the first being the kind who can run an army such as Daemonhunters or Khador, aka a relatively small and elite force of high powered units and troops that can endure most any damage the enemy will throw at them and usually being the players who invest a large number of points into a Special Character (such as a Captain) or Power Unit (like Thunderwolves or Honour Guard). On the other hand, however,  you have people like me, who love to be the master and dominator of a table full of cheap, expendable pawns, always knowing that if the first unit fails at its task then another one will be there to take its place and finish the job properly (as well as the fun of making an example out of the first unit who dared fail you!). 

I find that when making a list, almost regardless of game system, I will lean towards the choices that aren’t -quite- as good as another one but are cheaper, taking mass over power, likewise when decking out a unit (such as Blood Angels Honour Guard) I find that I’ll often end up cutting the “choice” war gear options in favor of innate (aka “free”) abilities, thus again allowing more points elsewhere. It’s just how my mind works: go for the “economical” option rather than the bells and whistles!