Goatboy’s 40k Thoughts – Is Foot Really Viable?
Goatboy here again – breaking all foot loose style on the dance floor of 40k. Today I want to get into the ideas of Foot being a viable choice in the upcoming tournament season.
As we all know Mech is king in the current battlefield of 40k. Treads, tanks, flying pirate ships, and robots not in disguise rule the tabletops. This obvious shift has created a different type of game. I know this is all pretty obvious if you have been playing 40k in the new edition so I won’t go over all of it again. Just know that most likely you will have to blow up a few boxes during a game and get the golden goodies inside.
So what I want to talk about and discuss a bit; is there a chance to actually make a foot army viable? I know that there has been a lot of chatter about certain foot based builds sucking a lot. With talks about terrible players or just pure luck allowing such lists to win in this futuristic box car game. I know not everyone can do well against a foot army as is obvious based on the number of people complaining about the lists or scratching their heads when they end up on the losing end of the table. Heck, even Brent had an article talking about the kicking he got :). So lets look at what makes foot something that could be viable.
1. Ease of Getting that Cover Save
Troops get cover a heck of a lot easier then a vehicle. Cover is a frustrating thing at times. If you take averages as an example you will most likely have half of your “heavy” fire neutralized by some kind of wall, tree, or building in a game. The ease with which a foot army can stretch out and get half of their guys in some kind of bush is a great advantage. Now vehicles can still get cover, but their method of achieving it is a lot harder. With the new push for some larger oversized terrain this advantage might go away.
2. Capturing More then One Objective
A large squad of plastic dudes can easily stretch to hold two objectives. Yes a vehicle can sit on something and hold it from torrents of fire but they can usually only get one. A big group of guys can easily grab two or more and help you push for that win. Since most vehicles cannot hold a large amount of guys it gets harder to jump out and stretch to get the win.
3. Utilizing more USR’s
Vehicles don’t get to utilize a lot of the rules that can generate some great advantages. Look at the change to Stealth in the FAQ and now you can see ways to create units that are a lot tougher to take off a game piece then ever before. A vehicle won’t let you generate a pain token either.
4. Ignoring Heavy Weapons
Without vehicles a lot of your opponents firepower is just an overcosted bolter shot. With cover and the ability to ignore half of the shots that wound you a heavy weapon is not nearly as good. Now of course some firepower units have alternative fire-modes and those are some of the reasons why certain army builds *cough missile launcher spam* tend to be better then others. Walking around on foot also makes an army with a ton of Melta look sadly at the decision to not field some plasma guns instead.
5. Creating Traps
I have seen this happen a lot of some of the foot builds. Creating situations where an opponent comes in, kills the bait, and then gets crushed as the true power responds with massed aggression. An effective counter attack is what wins a lot of games as well as effective usages of baits and traps.these traps are a bit easier to setup and spring with foot lists based on most folk’s not being familiar with the builds.
6. Confusing the Opponent
A lot of the game can be won by confusing an opponent. Ever hear this: “Obviously foot is inferior to mech so I will just easily coast through this game”. It happens all the time and you will see players misjudging an army’s effectiveness. Having a non “optimal” build can be an advantage as your opponent has trouble figuring it out.
7. Challenging to Play
An army that is hard to play is a great way to up your playing skills. It also creates a new avenue for game play that will help freshen up your game. I know I can only play so many Rhinos, Razorbacks, or Raiders so long. I do never get tired of the Battle Wagon though :).
Now I am not saying that Foot armies are the wave of the future I am just saying that there might be some merit in creating foot lists. We all know that the Tyranids are basically a foot army – but most other armies can create some kind of foot monster for the table top. There is something about running 60 marines slowly walking up the field laying down rains of bolters and other firepower.
What do you think of foot lists? What are some foot lists you have found to be effective?
