Roles: What needs to get done on the battlefield?

[jesselowe]

I was getting set to knock out a post on flexible vs. focused units when I realized I couldn't write that without defining the roles that units focus on... and there, I got stuck. Here are some initial thoughts, but more thinking is definitely needed - what do you think?

 

Roles are objectives that your army needs to achieve to win the game. A short and incomplete list of roles I’m pretty sure about, with examples of marine units that can fulfill that role. (Given the nature of Space Marines, most units can fulfill multiple roles.)

 

• Neutralizing* heavy armor (AV 13-14; most tanks) Example: Attack bike with multi-melta
  
• Neutralizing medium armor (AV 11-12; most transports) Example: Predator with autocannon and lascannon sponsons.
  
• Neutralizing light armor (AV 10; many fast attack units) Example: Predator with autocannon and heavy bolter sponsons.
  
• Killing monstrous creatures (Toughness 6+, often with an armor save of 4+ or better, and 4+ wounds) Example: Assault Terminators with thunder hammers and storm shields.
  
• Killing (or breaking)** heavy infantry (MEQs – T4-5, armor 3+) Example: Command squad equipped with four plasma guns.
  
• Killing (or breaking) light infantry (GEQs – T3-4, armor 5+) Example: Whirlwind.
  
• Holding objectives Example: Tactical squad in Rhino.
  
• Contesting objectives. Example: Bike squad.
  
• Support (making your other units more effective in their roles) Example: Librarian.
  
• Disruption (screwing with your opponent’s plans or army functions) Example: Thunderfire Cannon.
  

 

*Neutralize: To remove a unit as a factor from the game. A vehicle suffering a Crew Stunned result, unable to move or shoot, is almost as good as vehicle that has been destroyed.

 

**Breaking: A unit that’s pinned or falling back might as well be destroyed for many purposes. However, with 40k’s morale system, either result is unlikely, and since the plurality of armies out there are marines – which regroup automatically – killing a unit is still extremely desirable.

 

I have excluded "roles" like assault, ranged, or durability because I don't think these are objectives, but means: They are how units accomplish objectives, so they occupy a different layer of tactical thought. So you might have a Hammernator squadron with the role of killing MCs and heavy armor, which it accomplishes through assault and durability.

[spartan249]

If I were to define objectives that I want to accomplish to win a game, I'd do it thusly:

 

1: Remove the opponent's mobility. This means transports and flagships.

2: Remove the opponent's ability to threaten you. This means prioritizing targets that can do a lot of damage to your army in short amounts of time. I.E. War walkers or MM/HF land speeders.

3: Deny objectives to the enemy. Contesting with fast vehicles, throwing a random vehicle onto objectives to prevent opponents from claiming it, claiming more objectives than your opponent, etc.

 

Your idea of roles is not exactly correct. Roles are classifications of abilities that elements in an army have and how said elements should be applying their abilities. Roles are used to determine what that unit will do to further your fulfillment of the overlying objectives.

[Koremu]

The most important thing to destroy is the enemy's plan.

[Ryjak]

I'd say a unit's role is what it does best. If you have a MM Landspeeder, its role is "tank-hunting" and ususally High AV tank hunting. It has a secondary role of shooting Monstrous Creatures and lone Special Characters, and a tertiary role of contesting objectives. However, you don't need units to fulfill every role as you have defined them to win, as just about every unit has a multi-role capacity.

 

Roles as you have listed them are more like "Tactical Missions," things any unit can attempt to do THIS turn. What Spartan249 has listed are "Strategic Objectives", which give your army a goal to accomplish. His Objective List won't necessarily work for every army, or against every opponent. However, what's great about it is it breaks up his overall strategy into an early game objective, middle game objective, and late game objective. Sure, you can target mobility turn 5, but it's infinately more useful to do this turn 1.

 

Finally, while some units certain have a Support Role, it might be handy to define this support role in terms of the roles they are supporting. For example, a Librarian is usually filling an "anti-infantry support role" and a "disruption support role", and sometimes a "mobility support role".