Astra Militarum Tactica - Deployment Considerations

[gunnyogrady]

Deployment Considerations for AM/IG

 

The following is a Warhammer 40k Tactics/Theory Discussion. The goal is to provide a basic system and a few basic templates for considering how to deploy Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum. We'll begin with some ideas about Guard in general. We'll then move on to evaluating the objectives and enemy prior to the battle. Then, we discuss some rough outlines for ways to deploy your men on the field.

 

Playing Guard

Common knowledge of IG/AM would tell us that the Guard rely on numbers and shooting. Unfortunately, these ideas are fairly abstract, if no less wise. To put those terms in a more useful light, I'll refer to them as Unit Redundancy and Target Priority. Of course, “numbers” means more than Unit Redundancy, and “shooting” means more than Target Priority. However, in the context of Guard, focusing on these two more tangible definitions can help us to make better choices.

 

First, we'll talk about Unit Redundancy. This is more of a list-building consideration. In this context, I mean to say that successful Guard armies do not rely on a few good units rolling well. Instead, they rely on many units rolling poorly, but rolling average often enough to destroy the enemy.

 

To put it simply, and as the common wisdom goes, “two Russes are better than one.” This is for several reasons, not the least of which is that one Russ can and will often miss. Two Russes will miss less often, and three less often still. Choosing units redundantly in this way increases the odds of your unit-type successfully doing what you paid the points for. Yes, Guard units are cheap. But to make them effective at their job, you should take multiples.

 

Taking multiples also helps to offset the casualties that you will take. Unit Redundancy is part of the Guard playstyle because acceptable losses are part of the Guard playstyle.

 

In addition to that, I would say that part of Unit Redundancy for Guard is also Unit Saturation. To put it simply, give your opponent more to shoot at than he has the ability to shoot. With mech-guard, for example, if you can face your opponent with a wall of AV12+ from the top of turn 1, he's going to have a big Target Priority problem. Does he shoot you Melta-Vets, your Demolishers, or the Chimera quietly ferrying ObjSec units to the objectives? If Unit Saturation is done correctly, your opponent is always choosing to target the greatest of several evils, rather than the obvious choice (for example, the lone Russ in an otherwise all-infantry list).

 

Target Priority is simple enough. For Guard, you need to focus on the biggest, baddest thing around, one thing at a time. Don't split your fire, hoping to ping several vehicles to death by turn 2 or 3. Choose the thing which threatens you most from the outset, and throw every gun at it until it dies. Then choose the next thing. With other armies with buffs and higher BS, shooting every which way but loose can work. For the Guard, take it one target at a time. Put simply, deploy in such a way as to facilitate your Target Priority.

 

Factors to Consider

So now we have a working understanding of what I mean by Unit Redundancy (and therefore Unit Saturation) and Target Priority. We now move on to the two most important questions to ask yourself, in your own head or out-loud (like an insane person) before every game:

 

“What do I need to do to win?”

 

The first question asks us to consider your objectives in the game. In a specific sense, how do you intend to secure objectives, slay the warlord, draw firstblood, and/or end with a linebreaker? An important part of this question is “which of my units can achieve each of those things?”

 

We often see or state generalized strategy statements like this: “I'll move forward and capture objectives while shooting at my enemy's dangerous units and objective-scorers.”

 

What we should give is a specific Scheme of Maneuver like this: “I'll push forward aggressively with my Hellhounds and Melta-Vets to target my opponent's Rhinos and Infantry, while my Lascannon Heavy Weapons Teams sit in cover and shoot high AV targets. My Infantry Platoon will advance through cover to Objectives 4 and 5. One Infantry Squad will sit on Objective 2.”

 

The first example is a general idea. The second is a plan. The first example is one-size-fits-all. The second example is tailored to your units, your opponent's units, and this game's objective locations. Of course no plan survives contact with the enemy (because the other guy gets a say, too!), but this does not mean you shouldn't start with a plan to begin with.

 

We'll call this statement of specific intent your Scheme of Maneuver. Say it out loud several times before the game, and write it down so you can read it quickly before each turn to remind yourself. Remember that your Scheme of Maneuver includes: specified friendly units, targeting specified enemy units, and/or moving towards specified objective points.

 

“Which of my opponent's units are the biggest threat?”

 

The second question asks us to form an idea of our Target Priority from the beginning of the game. Start by taking a look at your stated Scheme of Maneuver. Another way of asking this question is, “which of my opponent's units stand the greatest chance of preventing my plan from working?”

 

Usually, the answer to this question is one of three things: 1) a big nasty CC unit, 2) a big nasty dakka unit, or 3) some kind of big nasty vehicle. Sometimes, it's two of those things. Sometimes (god save you) it's all three of those things.

 

This is where the idea of Target Priority comes in. Before the game begins, choose the most dangerous thing on their list to your units/Scheme of Maneuver. Then, take a look at the firing lanes provided by the terrain. Compare these lanes of fire in relation to the range of your weapons that can destroy this most dangerous thing. Deploy your men in such a way as to have range and a lane of fire to that unit. On turn 1 or 2, kill it dead. It sounds like deployment 101, but thinking through deployment in this methodical way can be very beneficial for Guard players.

 

Be sure to also pick a #2 and #3 most dangerous thing, as sometimes terrain/circumstances do not permit you to adequately target their most threatening unit. In this case it is better to fully target and destroy #2 or #3 rather than split your fire and kill nothing. Things like this come up. Maybe your opponent hides your preferred target so you have to dakka your second- or third-string bad guy. This is okay. Simply shoot the thing you can kill. Frame it this way: if your opponent is hiding things that would otherwise threaten you, then you are dictating the tempo of the battle.

 

Other times, the opponent will deepstrike, drop pod, jet-bike, or otherwise get in your grill very quickly. In this, and any other case, it is okay to shift Target Priority, but only if you do so completely. Just because there's a big nasty unit still lurking in the backfield as well as jet-bikers at your lines doesn't mean you can abandon a core tenet of the Guard and start splitting your fire. Choose your target, accept the fact that you will take casualties no matter which one you choose, and maintain your damn Target Priority. Casualties are part of playing Guard. These casualties should already be accounted for because of the Unit Redundancy you built into your list. When the immediate threat is destroyed, shift Target Priority back to your planned targets.

 

Deployment 'Templates'

We'll now discuss some general templates from which you can structure a specific Scheme of Maneuver. Feel free to add suggestions, and we'll compile it all into a living document of IG/AM deployment ideas!

 

Gunline

Perhaps the most classic IG/AM deployment. It is a favorite of beginners because it fits well with our strengths of Unit Redundancy and Target Priority. What it lacks in mobility and flexibility it attempts to make up for with dakka, to varying degrees of success.

 

The basic idea is to take a list with long range and heavy redundancy. Create a line loosely hugging the most convenient source of cover (Aegis Defense Line works brilliantly here) and dare your opponent to cross the line in the sand.

 

Strategically, there's not much going on. The hope is that you can sit on home objectives and utterly destroy anything on the wrong side of the table.

 

An example 1850 list might include:

Pask Squadron with Punisher and Executioner

CCS w/ Lascannon

Primaris Psyker

Veteran Squad w/ Lascannon

Infantry Platoon w/ 5 Squads, 1 HWS, all with Lascannons

2x Vendetta

2x Leman Russ Battle Tank

Aegis with Quad-Gun

 

Strongside

The Gunline of Mech-Guard. It essentially entails choosing a table half and totally dominating it at the expense of leaving the other half pretty bare. Doing this affords you some control over the terrain your vehicles are fighting around in order to maximize your use of firing lanes and cover, for your big guns and fragile hulls respectively.

 

If deploying first, simply choose a side. I would recommend “strongsiding” the half with the least objectives, forcing your opponent to meet you in an area with less objectives for him to score. Guard usually have more scoring units to spare, so you can deploy a unit or two of inexpensive troops to quietly claim objectives on the “weakside” while your less-numerous opponent is drawn to the “strongside.”

 

If deploying second, choose the opponent's weaker side. By applying unbalanced pressure to the opponent's equally spread-out force, you can make them to react to you. Once you have your opponent in reaction to your movements, you can start to claim objectives while they deal with your aggressive action.

 

An example 1850 list might include:

CCS in Chimera w/ Meltas

3x Primaris Psykers

2x Veteran Squad in Chimera w/ Meltas

3x Veteran Squad in Chimera w/ Lascannons

3x Demolisher

2x Vulture w/ TL Punisher Cannons

 

Reactionary

Usually best used in conjunction with a Gunline or Strongside of some kind, a Reactionary deployment works best if deploying second. Essentially, you wait to see where your opponent places their big bad unit at the top of your Target Priority list. You deploy in cover with good lanes of fire to that unit specifically. Weather your opponent's first turn of shooting, and respond by gutting his force with your first turn of fire.

 

This deployment strategy is what most new players do by default. It can be a pitfall because it puts you on the backfoot – you are reacting to the opponent's choices rather than controlling the tempo of the battle yourself. A skilled player, however, can use this deployment style to succinctly eliminate a few key units in the early game, and then mop up in the mid- and late-game.

 

An example list for this kind of strategy might include:

Either of the lists from above, or a well-balanced list

 

Lords of War

A list built around a Lords of War will naturally center around that unit's deployment. The basic Scheme of Maneuver will usually include intimidating the hell out of your opponent with the big guy while smaller units do damage and claim objectives relatively unnoticed. Deploy the Lord of War in such a way as to suck up fire, allowing a smaller and more mobile force to do it's thing Guard-style (ie Target Priority/Redundancy).

 

An example 1850 list might include:

Doomhammer w/ Sponsons

2x Techpriest Enginseer (inside Doomhammer)

6x Servitors (inside Doomhammer)

CCS w/ Lascannon

3x Primaris Psyker

2x Veteran Squad w/ Lascannon

2x Veteran Squad w/ Meltas and Chimera

2x Demolisher

2x Vendetta

[WarriorFish]

This is a good read, a nice complement to the Tactica Generalis in the resources topic :tu: It is an extremely important part of the game so deserves a good stab at breaking it down, so you've got a good start here but I think it would benefit from more.

[Jacinda]

Target Priority is simple enough. For Guard, you need to focus on the biggest, baddest thing around, one thing at a time. Don't split your fire, hoping to ping several vehicles to death by turn 2 or 3. Choose the thing which threatens you most from the outset, and throw every gun at it until it dies. Then choose the next thing.

I do this for any army I play. Partial units do not count as Kill Points, can claim objectives as easily as a full unit, give cover saves to units behind them, soak up Overwatch by charging first and all in all still have tactical benefits the opponent can exploit.

 

The only time I move to a new target is when I force the current target to jink. To me that means it is neutralized for a turn so I can then re-evaluate target priority and possibly proceed to the next target.

[march10k]

 

Target Priority is simple enough. For Guard, you need to focus on the biggest, baddest thing around, one thing at a time. Don't split your fire, hoping to ping several vehicles to death by turn 2 or 3. Choose the thing which threatens you most from the outset, and throw every gun at it until it dies. Then choose the next thing.

I do this for any army I play. Partial units do not count as Kill Points, can claim objectives as easily as a full unit, give cover saves to units behind them, soak up Overwatch by charging first and all in all still have tactical benefits the opponent can exploit.

 

The only time I move to a new target is when I force the current target to jink. To me that means it is neutralized for a turn so I can then re-evaluate target priority and possibly proceed to the next target.

 

This...only, you have to think in strength bands...I have three:  That which S5 can deal with (and the multilasers go against these targets), that which requires autocannon fire, and that which requires demolisher, vanquisher, and lascannon fire.  I usually don't worry about AP...heavy bolters and multilasers work great on termies and MEQs, and stuff like riptides and wraithknights is going to get bumped into the tough category based on toughness, so it gets AP2/1 fire by default, since I don't field missile launchers.

 

Oh, and the doctrinal term for "strongside" is "refused flank."  Actually, I can field a mechanized gunline that covers the board from edge to edge (nine chimeras, four tanks, and a few sentinels), so your premise here is totally wrong.  That said, there is a place for a refused flank.  It generally works best when deploying second and the enemy has spread slow forces across the entire breadth.  Clustering on one flank lets you face a fraction of his force with your entire army, and watch his "reinforcements" dribble in a unit at a time to get their fair share of abuse.  Refused flank deployments have some utility for low model count armies when deploying first, but IG should have enough stuff on the board that it's rarely useful if you have to do it first and let the enemy react to it as he deploys second.