Goatboy 40k – Flow Control
Goatboy here again trying to give some 40k thoughts to help take your game to that next level. We all know how this game can be a fickle lover with amazing batches of 6s mixed with strings of 1’s. Lets look at ways we can control the flow of the game that aren’t based on our dice rolls.
Board Control
Having board control can turn a win into a loss rather quickly. This could mean turning the terrain to your advantage, cutting off opponents firing lanes down, or just finding a way to make an opponent work to hard to get an advantage. All of these are ways we can win by just having board control. One of the more devious ways to get board control is to waste some bait units to create a desirable spot. Objective placement is a great way to start this and one of the few things we can truly control in the game.
Opportunity Control
Whenever I play the game, I present my opponent with options to try and dictate their aggression. Sometimes hiding an obvious offensive unit can throw off players, forcing them to blast lesser units and making them over-commit early on. When you can get an opponent to think that one of your units is “too” important then you use that to your advantage. I have sacrificed a lot of supposedly good units, to just give me that 2 turn advantage to get the rest of my army into position and unleash the Space Goat Battle Cry of “Spoon!”
Turn Control
We all know some tournaments have a random game length added to them. This means you have to keep a good track of the turn so you know when you have to throw your butt out onto the objectives and hope to “win” the game. This also lets you know when to go for the throat and when to just playing the keep away game. I have lost a great deal of games to the loverly “Fritz gameplan” before. Knowing the turn and what you need to do during each phase of the game is a great way to “win” the game above the tabletop.
Wave Control
This is another new one as the latest armies become bigger with more and more units hitting the table top. A lot of the time sending your army in waves is a great way to create advantage. Making an opponent throw everything at you in one fell swoop for only a few units is a great way control the game. When all their hand is on the table you know exactly what you need to do. Giving an opponent one wave to deal with is a great way to pull them out and into your trap. I do this with Space Goats with the super Wolf Lord unit. I pull you into a crazy assault, most likely my guys and all their doggies are dead, and you are left with your pants around your ankles as my trash guys come in with the second wave and clean up the mess with Melta, Bolter, and Chainsword.
A Sample List to Test Game Control
Let’s look at my current Daemons army I am in the process of finishing. I added a new unit so as usual the army is never finished. But you can see how this army is designed to try and control all aspects of the game. I have multiple wave units with the Fiends and Seekers. I mix this in with a few heavy hitters to come in and hopefully hit one squad to take out and mix this with units that do pretty well with sticking and surviving the initial assault.
HQ: Herald of Tzeentch, Master of Sorcery, Chariot of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch, Breath of Chaos
HQ: Herald of Tzeentch, Master of Sorcery, Chariot of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch, Breath of Chaos
HQ: SkullTaker, Chariot of Khorne
HQ: Herald of Khorne, Chariot of Khorne, Fury of Khorne, Unholy Might
Elites: Fiends of Slaanesh X 6, Unholy Might
Elites: Fiends of Slaanesh X 6, Unholy Might
Elites: Fiends of Slaanesh X 6, Unholy Might
Troops: Plague Bearers X 5
Troops: Plague Bearers X 5
Troops: Plague Bearers X 5
FA: Seekers of Slaanesh X 10, Chaos Icon
Heavy: Daemon Prince, Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze
Heavy: Daemon Prince, Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze
Heavy: Daemon Prince, Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch, Daemonic Gaze
2000pts on the Nose.
The only thing I worry about is the real lack of troops and the inability to use them for anything else then holding onto a random objective on the board. I might be adding a Daemonette unit to the group, as it would be great to have something that can not strike last when I blow up some lovely metal box with squishy guys inside.
Have anyone else had any good luck with Daemons? Comment away and if you have a question, shoot me an email. So what are your tricks for controling the flow of the game?
