Tournament Army Composition

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Underway
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Post by Underway »

DA, thanx for that long post to show us a practical example of the theory that we have been throwing around on this topic. As everyone can see DA uses the ideas of REDUNDANCY and TAG TEAMING to make his units and his tag teaming redundant. Very creative. Also he shows that by having alot of possible dangerous combination attacks that will keep his opponent guessing.

So I guess now we have to look at the list over the course of the game, use the TIME dimension. As DA said his list is valuable in every phase of the game, magic, movement, shooting and combat. This balanced and REDUNDANT approach allows him to dominate armies that are only good in one or two phases of the game, say shooting and magic. If he plays to his strengths in these types of games (movement and combat) he may very well give a good kicking to those people who can't match him. Most armies that dominate a certain phase rely on that phase to keep the other phases in check. Say a shooty army relies on its shooting to reduce the enemy to the point were it is no longer dominant in combat. This is a very risky proposition because a few dice rolls or a bad terrain generation and your whole plan is shot. DA's list is able to deal with these disadvantages and still have a fighting chance.

The other TIME factor is turns. As the game goes on can you dominate in turn 1 thru 6. Shooty armies dominate in turns 1,2 and sometimes 3. That means that they have half the game to do lethal damage to an opponents army. You are taking yourself out of half the game by doing this. However as shown by DA he can cast spells and shoot in the first couple of turns and then in the last 3 turns he can combat his enemy to death. Similarly a combat army like chaos cannot dominate the first 3 turns easily because they have no shooting!!

Also REDUNDANCY will allow your army to still be a coherent after it has taken casualties in the first 3 turns and still be an effective force.

Thanx again DA for your post, it really helped me make my point (are your ears burning) ;)
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Jeffleong13
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Post by Jeffleong13 »

An important thing to keep in mind is that your "teams" may well shift as the tabletop situation changes. I have seen far too many players who slavishly stick to predetermined "teams" of units long after they have lost their effectiveness. Tag teaming the enemy is often the only way that DE can win combat decisively, just don't forget to keep the teams as fluid and situational as possible.

J
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Drakken
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Post by Drakken »

The other facet of Tag teaming the enemy that can be crucial is remembering it doesn't just have to be Close combat units you pair off with. I've found one of my most damaging combos so far has been a Crossbow Regiment, Executioners, and a Sorceress; They've proved more than capable of taking almost anything that comes there way with a bit of effort on my part. Sometimes its the odd pairing that confuse and confound your enemy enough to make him make a mistake.
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Goricexii
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Post by Goricexii »

Good, sensible thread. And one which runs directly counter to the trend of DE tactics when I first logged on.

Last year, it seemed that the major issue was whether to blow 20% of your points and a character slot on an extremely expensive unit of cold ones, or 40% of your points and two character slots on an insanely expensive unit of cold ones.

I just thought it all seemed a little inflexible, and bought chariots instead and warriors instead. Because nobody liked them back then.

Oh, and the Keith Richards theme won't work.

You can't get the Armour of eternal Servitude and the Deathmask on the same person.
Hmmmm...two cold ones in a chariot drawn by dark elves. That's never a good sign...
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Deathblade
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Post by Deathblade »

Nor do we have an item to make you fly really "high".
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Goricexii
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Post by Goricexii »

And finding a decent way to work in Anita Pallenberg was quite beyond me.
Hmmmm...two cold ones in a chariot drawn by dark elves. That's never a good sign...
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Jeffleong13
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Post by Jeffleong13 »

GoriceXII wrote:Last year, it seemed that the major issue was whether to blow 20% of your points and a character slot on an extremely expensive unit of cold ones, or 40% of your points and two character slots on an insanely expensive unit of cold ones.

I just thought it all seemed a little inflexible, and bought chariots instead and warriors instead. Because nobody liked them back then.


I tried the good old "all eggs - one basket" strategy for a bit with a Highborn in a unit of Cold Ones. It was either a win big or lose big proposition ... if the Cold Ones went stupid, it got ugly.

I very quickly dropped the Cold One Knights and went to troops and chariots. Been playing that way for well over a year now ... far more effective.

J
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Drakken
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Post by Drakken »

I wouldn't say nobody liked them, I'd just say people had little patience with them. Paying 97 points for something that the odds are very good will meander foward 3.5 inch 1 per game can be aggrivating. That being said, Chariots rock. They always have rocked, and the rock more now than before.
We stand now on the precipice of something monumental and perhaps even capable of boggling the mind in its myriad potentials and possibilities. Try not to drool too much…
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Quota
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Post by Quota »

Someone (can't remember name, sorry) said that he'd have to rethink his whole army now. I kinda feel the same way. Great thread, took awhile to read it all, but being a newbie to Druchii it really helped me think in the right lines; at least I hope so ;)
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Russ
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Post by Russ »

Ive not really played many tournaments but i must say i HATE it when ppl mark ppl down coz they r so bitter.
But a little surprise i had i know someone who generally issomeone who tries every dirty play in the book and questions everything and when he was my oponant in a tournament i thought ewww but it was the best game i played. It was all very relaxed good fun and we had a great game, i massacred him but it was a good game :)

I honestly think that u covered most of what is needed in a tournament army. I would add i think a good bit of background is needed and to name your characters.
Nothing better than having that to add the dimension to game which makes it more enjoyable.

In terms of army selection i think its important to have a battle plan, a rough idea what role each unit will ful fill and also play testing the army would be a good idea.
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Post by The avenger »

I think you should remove your HB for a noble. He's not so good in combat, but with a manticore he's very hard. Then i think you should remove your assassin and shades instead. if your assassin shall be deployed as scout and attack warmachines+++, shades will do the job just as good and you spare some points. also give your cok's a warbanner so they stay longer in combat and add a chariot or something for some more power of your attacks. if you not field shades, harpies are also great warmachine hunters in a number of 6-8.
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