Goatboy’s Warammer 40K: Practice Your Terrain Deployment – Here’s Why
Many don’t like the idea that something as simple as terrain defines gameplay, but it truly does. Here’s what you need to master about 40K terrain deployment.
As 2023 starts to reach its end, we can look back and reflect on some things in the current landscape of competitive 40K. One of the biggest “issues” we have in any of these games is, of course, how the tabletop terrain truly controls your army’s destiny.
The Terrain Scene is Variable
Personally, I expect events to slowly transform into the same sort of coverage we see in GW-based events. Whether they continue to utilize older sets of terrain, or we see wholesale shifts in table loadouts in hopes of balancing things for different kinds of armies – trying to get every table covered is a huge task for any TO. Heck, it is a huge ask as just trying to get all those terrain pieces, maintain them all, and shift them based on changes in 40K rules. Don’t forget having to store it all is a big pile of pain. Terrain is probably the biggest cost we see in anyone running an event right now.
This, of course, leads me to think about how a player “adjust” their armies to correctly compete with these terrain changes. What do you do? Or really, what should you do? This game ain’t cheap so trying to shift your list to match the overall amount of walls we have covering our damage-dealing plastic toys is a foolhardy expense most of the time.
How is Terrain Placed? Practice for Both!
The first question you should ask yourself is – is this player-placed or locked-in-place tabletop terrain? This is important because you can plan both methods pretty well beforehand. If you know your army needs staging to get into range to do damage, then you should practice setting up your locations with player-placed terrain. If everything is locked-in-place you should also know how to set up your army in all deployment options too.
Both of these things will ensure you have a lot of time to actually play the game – as those shifts are things you control fully and aren’t dependent on getting the right roll to get there. This is one of the other “secret skills” of Warhammer 40K that people don’t always talk about. The whole concept that setup is where you could win because you can effectively control the movement phase – is not well discussed.
Beyond Terrain, Plan for Missions as Well
Which then all rolls back into – making sure terrain does as much for you as you need it to. You need to plan for things before going to an event, make sure something won’t just screw you instantly, and practice the things that make this event different. Things like player-placed terrain, specific shifts of mission types, and just overall tweaks TOs like to do in their events. Plan your terrain and development placement in the context of the missions you expect to see as well.
Or you could just wing it and go have fun. This is all just thoughts towards the competitive side of your playing, that wants to win more than lose. Dice will get you at some point, but having all your initial ducks in a row means that only dice and better armies wreck you in the end. The more aspects of the game you plan and practice for, the less you will be surprised.
I hope everyone at the GW World Champs has a great time. I like the GW terrain as it feels like the pressure-style armies I enjoy playing love that type of setup. A lot of friends are going to the Narrative side of things too and I hope everyone has a great time there. I think there is some room in Narrative play. We just need someone who runs events to figure out the best style event to let new people in, be fun to play, and be easy enough to pull more people in.
Until next time – Death to the False Emperor!
