Tactics question of the week #8
Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 6:03 am
Here is the next issue of the Tactics Question of the Week!
For those who don’t know what it means: every week someone presents an interesting situation with two forces somewhere in the middle of the battle (usually, featuring not full armies but just parts thereof). The situation is usually described with a picture, and some accompanying explanations regarding the units, their rules, distances and anything else that the person presenting the situation deems necessary.
All people who read this forum are then welcome to present their “solutions” to the situation – i.e. explain what they would do in such a situation, as well as the reasoning behind certain steps. In a nutshell, this is an attempt to give substance to discussion revolving around tactics and share the common battlefield experience.
The links to previous issues of “Tactics Question of the Week” threads can be found below:
#1: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60560
#2: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60625
#3: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60840
#4: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60931
#5: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=61022
#6 http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=61131
#7: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=61217
And now, finally the question:
Previous Tactics Questions focused mostly on fairly isolated situations, where a lot of attention has to be paid to small details, and where many things could be calculated with a fair degree of certainty. This time, the question is a bit different: it shows the whole battlefield, and it is the very start of the game, where Lizardmen have made their first turn, and Druchii are yet to make theirs.
Small explanation of the lists
Druchii (from left to right):
5 DR with musician, no RxB
5 DR with musician, no RxB
10 Crossbows with shields
20 warriors, shoields, FC
RBT
Chariot
20 warriors, shields, FC
=> the general is inside, with MR2, Blood armour, SDC and GW
=> the assassin in inside with ahw, +d3A, KB and re-roll 1's to wound
5 harpies
20 warriors, shields, FC
=> scroll caddy is inside, Level 1, 2xDS, has chillwind
10 corsairs, Frenzy banner
5 DR with musician, no RxB
Also, in the wood on the lizardman side is a single surviving shade with a hidden assassin, who has ahw, manbane, rending stars and the gifts that reduces the attacks of the enemy in base contact by 1
Lizardmen (from left to right):
10 skinks with blowpipes (skirmishers, M6, BS3, 12" range weapons with 2x multishoot and poison)
10 skinks with blowpipes (same)
15 Saurus warrirors with banner (M4, T4, S4, 2A, have spears and shields and scaly skin 5+)
=> inside is the saurus with Great weapon, shield and light armour (he has the bound Steed of Shadows with Power Level 5 - this is known, as he attempted to use it last turn but was dispelled; also he is 4A, S5, T5 with 5+ scaly skin)
18 saurus warriors with banner
=> inside is a Level 2 Skink priest with Portent of Far (unit re-rolls all 1's to hit, wound and armor; 5+) and Forked lightning (no range, need LOS, unit takes 1d6 S4 hits; 6+) - this skinks has already used a One Use Only magic item worth 25 points that makes an enemy take a T-test or suffer a wound and take another, until he passes one; it was dispelled with the Druchii general's MR2
5 Cold One Riders with banner (they have S4, T4, 2A, spears; cold ones are identical to Druchii ones, but riders' Ld is 8 cold-blooded)
Ancient stegadon with a skink priest with engine of Gods (Steg is T6 W5, A3, S6, AS3+, M6, ItP, Stubborn Ld4 with 5 Ld6 skinks on top with AS2+ and the priest who can use engine's blessings int he same way as we use cauldron's but at the start of the magic phase; there are three blessings:
1. Every enemy unit within 2d6" suffers D6 S4 hits, no AS
2. All units within 12" have 5+ ward against shooting from outside 12"
3. All casting values from one lore are reduced by 1
Last turn it has fried some shades with first blessing; the skinks on top has three spells: Portent of Far (explained already), Uranon's thunderbolt (any unit within LOS suffers D6 S4 hits with no AS; 9+) and Comet of Cassandora (RiP, caster nominates the landing spot of comet; at the start of each player's turn the comet hits the ground on a roll of 4+; the area of effect is d6" multiplied by amount of turns waited till the comet struck the ground, and all units within area suffer 2d6 S4 hits)
3 terradons (flyers who can fly into woods; they have the ability to drop rocks once per battle, and they have already used it on the shades - so I don't need to explain what it does)
3 kroxigors (ogre-sized infantry with A3, S4 WS3, 4+ scaly skin and GW)
10 skinks with blowpipes (already explained)
12 skinks with 2 kroxigors (ranked unit; kroxigors can reach and be reached over one rank/file of skinks)
---
So, thoughts are welcome on how the Druchii general should be proceeding in this battle. I'd note that a special attention should be given to conditional planning - i.e. what happens if something else happens, as this is the very beginning of the battle, and many things can still happen that affect the outcome drastically.
For those who don’t know what it means: every week someone presents an interesting situation with two forces somewhere in the middle of the battle (usually, featuring not full armies but just parts thereof). The situation is usually described with a picture, and some accompanying explanations regarding the units, their rules, distances and anything else that the person presenting the situation deems necessary.
All people who read this forum are then welcome to present their “solutions” to the situation – i.e. explain what they would do in such a situation, as well as the reasoning behind certain steps. In a nutshell, this is an attempt to give substance to discussion revolving around tactics and share the common battlefield experience.
The links to previous issues of “Tactics Question of the Week” threads can be found below:
#1: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60560
#2: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60625
#3: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60840
#4: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=60931
#5: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=61022
#6 http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=61131
#7: http://www.druchii.net/viewtopic.php?t=61217
And now, finally the question:
Previous Tactics Questions focused mostly on fairly isolated situations, where a lot of attention has to be paid to small details, and where many things could be calculated with a fair degree of certainty. This time, the question is a bit different: it shows the whole battlefield, and it is the very start of the game, where Lizardmen have made their first turn, and Druchii are yet to make theirs.
Small explanation of the lists
Druchii (from left to right):
5 DR with musician, no RxB
5 DR with musician, no RxB
10 Crossbows with shields
20 warriors, shoields, FC
RBT
Chariot
20 warriors, shields, FC
=> the general is inside, with MR2, Blood armour, SDC and GW
=> the assassin in inside with ahw, +d3A, KB and re-roll 1's to wound
5 harpies
20 warriors, shields, FC
=> scroll caddy is inside, Level 1, 2xDS, has chillwind
10 corsairs, Frenzy banner
5 DR with musician, no RxB
Also, in the wood on the lizardman side is a single surviving shade with a hidden assassin, who has ahw, manbane, rending stars and the gifts that reduces the attacks of the enemy in base contact by 1
Lizardmen (from left to right):
10 skinks with blowpipes (skirmishers, M6, BS3, 12" range weapons with 2x multishoot and poison)
10 skinks with blowpipes (same)
15 Saurus warrirors with banner (M4, T4, S4, 2A, have spears and shields and scaly skin 5+)
=> inside is the saurus with Great weapon, shield and light armour (he has the bound Steed of Shadows with Power Level 5 - this is known, as he attempted to use it last turn but was dispelled; also he is 4A, S5, T5 with 5+ scaly skin)
18 saurus warriors with banner
=> inside is a Level 2 Skink priest with Portent of Far (unit re-rolls all 1's to hit, wound and armor; 5+) and Forked lightning (no range, need LOS, unit takes 1d6 S4 hits; 6+) - this skinks has already used a One Use Only magic item worth 25 points that makes an enemy take a T-test or suffer a wound and take another, until he passes one; it was dispelled with the Druchii general's MR2
5 Cold One Riders with banner (they have S4, T4, 2A, spears; cold ones are identical to Druchii ones, but riders' Ld is 8 cold-blooded)
Ancient stegadon with a skink priest with engine of Gods (Steg is T6 W5, A3, S6, AS3+, M6, ItP, Stubborn Ld4 with 5 Ld6 skinks on top with AS2+ and the priest who can use engine's blessings int he same way as we use cauldron's but at the start of the magic phase; there are three blessings:
1. Every enemy unit within 2d6" suffers D6 S4 hits, no AS
2. All units within 12" have 5+ ward against shooting from outside 12"
3. All casting values from one lore are reduced by 1
Last turn it has fried some shades with first blessing; the skinks on top has three spells: Portent of Far (explained already), Uranon's thunderbolt (any unit within LOS suffers D6 S4 hits with no AS; 9+) and Comet of Cassandora (RiP, caster nominates the landing spot of comet; at the start of each player's turn the comet hits the ground on a roll of 4+; the area of effect is d6" multiplied by amount of turns waited till the comet struck the ground, and all units within area suffer 2d6 S4 hits)
3 terradons (flyers who can fly into woods; they have the ability to drop rocks once per battle, and they have already used it on the shades - so I don't need to explain what it does)
3 kroxigors (ogre-sized infantry with A3, S4 WS3, 4+ scaly skin and GW)
10 skinks with blowpipes (already explained)
12 skinks with 2 kroxigors (ranked unit; kroxigors can reach and be reached over one rank/file of skinks)
---
So, thoughts are welcome on how the Druchii general should be proceeding in this battle. I'd note that a special attention should be given to conditional planning - i.e. what happens if something else happens, as this is the very beginning of the battle, and many things can still happen that affect the outcome drastically.