Strategic reserves - best use?

[GuardDaddy]

So we can now bring on strategic reserves (not just Tallarn) for CP after turn 1.

 

1-9 Power Level = 1CP

10-19 = 2CP

20-29= 3CP

 

etc

 

So what are best uses for this new mechanic?

 

With Power Level changes you can now for example bring in 3 Command Squads and 3 Special Weapon Squads for 1 CP (21 plasma/melta....)!!! for 327pts

 

With plasma that can be within 12" so rapid fire.... thats 42 plasma shots.

With melta its 21 lascannon equivalent...

 

other ideas?

Edited August 16, 2020 by GuardDaddy

[sairence]

I've been bringing 2 squads and one platoon commander in for 1CP once or twice now and it's worked out very well. Not to kill anything, the only upgrade is a vox caster that I have on all my squads currently, but simply to keep them safe until turn 3 and then jump in on the opponents edge or reinforce my own.

 

First time I used them like that they helped me deny my DG opponent full primary points from turn 3 onward.

Edited August 17, 2020 by sairence

[Warhead01]

I'd thought about a deathstrike missile in reserves until turn 2 or 3 roll on and have a chance to fire it and not take it as a loss on turn 1.

[GuardDaddy]

yeah its the guaranteed protection turn one that is as interesting as the damage output.

[Warhead01]

Haven't spent much time even looking at army construction. When I started my IG project I had the idea to look for a way to keep my Knight of the table and even hopefully out flank with it.

I guess it really depends, My friend was excited to outflank with hellhounds, might be doable. Ogryn too could drop right where you want them.  Punisher tanks? 
I think having enough held of the table to move it on in two chunks could be quite strong, depending on points ect. And assault unit to clog things up and fight and a supporting shooting unit for the turn after. 

[Diagramdude]

Are units arriving from strategic reserves unable to make a normal move or advance the turn they come on? If so it dramatically limits the use of infantry plus officers using move move move to snatch an objective

[sairence]

They count as having moved their fill distance and cannot advance that turn. It's been the similar in 8th after an early FAQ

[Shamansky]

Are units arriving from strategic reserves unable to make a normal move or advance the turn they come on? If so it dramatically limits the use of infantry plus officers using move move move to snatch an objective

The 1.3 FAQ, answering the question about 'MMM' after falling back, stated that it cannot be used as unit can't advance after Fall Back and by the order a unit must advance. Similarly Advace is prohibited after coming from reserves, so logically MMM can not be used, but it was not officially stated so.

[Gothical]

I think there are a few units that can benefit from Strategic Reserves:

 

Veteran Squads - carrying decent firepower but no alternate means of deployment means these guys jump at the opportunity to come on a flank or behind the enemy. 3 Meltaguns or Plasma Guns (optional Heavy if you really want). The same applies to Special Weapon Squads (and to a small extent Command Squads but the matched play rules limit those shennanigans), but I find they are better in my lines than waiting for a sneak attack.

 

Ogryn - Bullgryn are useful on the table to draw fire from other units, and whilst the humble Ogryn got a few decent boosts they are still too vulnerable. Relatively independent, they bring reasonable firepower and decent melee capabilities.

 

Leman Russ Demolisher/Punisher - the short-ranged variants might get swamped too quickly on the new smaller game boards, not to mention being massive turn-1 targets. These guys aren't going to be amazing the turn they appear since they can only shoot the turret once, but having an armoured monster rolling up your flank can be utterly devastating. My currently favoured set-ups (with 9th Edition weapon changes) would be a triple-Flamer Punisher (get into combat with me, I dare you, hell I may even charge you!) and a Demolisher packing Multi-Melta sponsons (nice tank/elite army you had there, shame I had to melt it). For flanking solely I would also run the Demolisher with triple-Flamers, like I would in the current edition, just in case the opponent has someone to tie you up, whilst the MM build gives you the option of flanking if you want to. Bonus points if you already have armour on the board so all the opponent's Melta-style anti-tank has rushed to the wrong end of the board for these guys' arrivals.

 

Sentinels - a single Sentinel, of any variant, can be a nice little Strategic Reserve. Pop one of these guys into each table quarter and watch the opponent get really annoyed at having to hunt down such a cheap model that can rack up secondary objectives.

[GuardDaddy]

Goonhammer did a statistical analysis of the first few 9th edition large scale tournaments. The initial conclusion was that going first confers a significant advantage. Not just from a traditional alpha strike perspective, but also in terms of moving onto mid board to control objectives. In addition 40% of player that goes first turns happen before the command phase where second player can score (start of their turn 2). 

 

Therefore balancing what is on the board at the start, and what is off the board coming on is crucial - as coming in late means its definitely not dead!

 

Reserves have not traditionally been a big part of guard play style (scions being exception), but if list building needs thinking about.

[zero88]

The big issue is that you decide before knowing if you are going first or second. My opinion is to not hold much "hitting" stuff in reserves because if you go second that is a huge mountain to climb to punch your opponent off of objectives that late. For Guard the best use I see is a simple squad or two of regular infantry. The CP and point cost is minimal, and most importantly they are obsec bodies causing mayhem and potentially stealing objectives from Havocs/Eliminators. The result is something that is causing a headache that HAS to be dealt with that in the grand scheme of things isn't costing you many resources

[Gothical]

The big issue is that you decide before knowing if you are going first or second. My opinion is to not hold much "hitting" stuff in reserves because if you go second that is a huge mountain to climb to punch your opponent off of objectives that late. For Guard the best use I see is a simple squad or two of regular infantry. The CP and point cost is minimal, and most importantly they are obsec bodies causing mayhem and potentially stealing objectives from Havocs/Eliminators. The result is something that is causing a headache that HAS to be dealt with that in the grand scheme of things isn't costing you many resources

 

To counter that argument a little, the "alpha-strike" in this game can be extremely powerful and wipe out units before you get a chance to use them. It may be an uphill struggle trying to force an opponent off objectives and make up the VP-difference, but having a Demolisher or Punisher survive to do said forcing (potentially after you have killed off the nastiest anti-tank like Eradicators etc) can be a massive mid-game shift in your favour that the opponent cannot come back from.

 

It really will be a careful balance of keeping enough stuff on the board early on to prevent your opponent getting a big VP lead if they go first, and having a decent enough Reserves force that it was worth spending the CP to reserve them in the first place.

 

A Tank and an Infantry Squad could be a neat combination to outflank (hey, a use for the Commissar Tank stratagem!) to get the best of both worlds, something that punches hard and something that ObSecs, but that does become a CP-heavy investment due to the Power Levels involved.

[GuardDaddy]

 

..... but that does become a CP-heavy investment due to the Power Levels involved.

 

 

Yep... and thats the idea behind the thread. What are good combos, useful considerations that are good value for the CP.

 

The original post is 42 plasma shots for 1 CP - a good option to consider.

 

I wondered if people had other ideas - it would be useful to post the CP cost when chucking ideas out