Dealing with fast units and alpha strike

[Arven_Kar]

Hey everyone, I had my first game of 8th the other day with my Word Bearers/Daemons (30 bloodletters, khorne herald, 20 csm, khorne prince with wings, apostle, some flames of tzeentch, bloodcrushers, warp talons, bikes and termies) against a Dark Angels force that was about half Ravenwing and half Deathwing (Sammael, Belial, two units of termies, unit of Deathwing Knights, big unit of Black Knights, unit of bikes, attack bike).

 

I ended up losing pretty handily more or less from turn one. Having a list full of footsloggers I expected his bikes to kite me but the new Terminators/stormbolters and consolidation into new combat really took me by surprise. My bloodletters were pretty much gone before my first turn and my CSM blob got locked in combat for the rest of the game.

 

Disregarding that my list was far from optimised, was this just a bad match up or is there something I could have done differently to mitigate the damage of his alpha strike?

Edited July 3, 2017 by Arven_Kar

[WarriorFish]

There isn't much you can do, directly. Things can move quickly in 8th, the only true protection is killing them before they arrive - much easier said than done. As a Guard player I have long used pickets of cheaper squads to hold the line, protect more valuable assets and generally get in the way of things. Damage output is useful here but their main purpose is to be cheap so it's not much of a loss, you also want your better units nearby to take advantage of this so the enemy is forced to make a very expensive exchange.

 

The same principles will work with any army, and still work in 8th. Just be sure to keep a bit of a gap to prevent consolidation. Don't forget that your cheap and nasty unit can also fall back from combat to leave the enemy exposed to return fire. Overcharged plasma is very useful for that extra pip of Strength to wound Marines on a 2+, and the Damage 2 will pop a Terminator per shot. A Lord nearby to grant the ever useful re-rolls to hit on 1s makes this quite viable.

 

Fast units of your own can help too, to either swoop in to do the same first/intercept or to pile in and turn the tide. If your unit can hold on long enough for you to guarantee the charge on your turn that will make a difference. Last but not least 8th is a very different beast and plays quite differently - you'll get the hang of how it works with a couple more games under your belt

[Sception]

cultist screens / bubble wraps to keep chargers at bay for at least a turn is pretty critical.  Transports can serve a similar purpose for infantry units.  You could use reserves of your own or summoning as well.  TBH it's something I'm still struggling with as well, though, so grain of salt and all.