The Assault Phase

The notion of analyzing problems to find the best solution is something that I enjoy doing. I think there is something in every guy that finds this interesting and fun. And I think this is an aspect of War-Gamming that we often do when we are playing but don’t think about in terms of problems and solutions.

            Here is what I mean…When you are creating a list for your army or trying to decided what unit and HQ to include, don’t look at it like a simple model or troops choice, but instead look at it like a possible solution. Every game and battle we face and play in has its own set of problems. I.E. the mission objectives, the terrain, your opponent, your teammate…coughcough..Simon cough, deployment, etc. Now look at your army and tactics as the solution. Hopefully this will put a slightly different spin on the game. Now when looking at a unit in your army, think of it as a solution to a set of problems you might face on the battlefield.

            This can be a very helpful approach to someone trying to make a competitive army or really anyone desiring to win in tabletop war games. So when you look at your army list think about all the different problems you might face in battle, if you don’t have a solution for them, then I would expect defeat or pray to the dice gods for a match up you can handle. 

            The better of a player you are the more you will be able to incorporate into your solution when figuring out how to beat your opponent. For a beginner, their solution will be found by looking at their army for an answer to the problem of “how am I going to win this game”. They will see the mission objectives and look at their Army list for how to achieve them. The intermediate player will begin to look beyond their army for solutions. They will incorporate terrain and deployment and think about how to use the field itself as a means to achieve victory. The most competitive players will go even further. The will intentionally use not only terrain, deployment and their army as solutions, but they will also use turn and time control (this means playing for the turn you will actually be ending on, so if you know the game is 2 and half hours long and you will probable only make it to turn 4, realize you have 4 turns to win or loose). They will use their opponent as a weapon against himself, goading him/her into making mistakes in order to capitalize on the laps in judgment. This just gets more and more complicated.

            No matter where you are in your War – Gamming carrier the principle is simple. Problem/Solution. The problem is “how am I going to win this game and get the most points possible”, the solution is found in what army and experience you bring to the table.

Joshua

Hello friends…long time no chat.

         Well this month is going to be fun for me, because as of right now I am going to get to come and play in the 40K team event. Because of that I have been thinking about how to best formulate a list and a few tactics that might come in handy when playing with a partner.
         When I was working for the school system here in charlotte I heard several people tell me over the years a simple and annoying solution to problems I would bring up at work. They would say, “well maybe you should think outside the box”, and I would say “well maybe I should kick you in the ear”….not out loud, but I said it all the same. And you know what, I came to a resolution when thinking about this supposed “box” I was being told about. And that’s that everything outside the box doesn’t matter, cause you have absolutely no control over it whatsoever. Not even a little bit. And if you think you do, then you my friend are living in a little place called Delusion, which I think is at the corner of Fantasy and NiceTry. But what does this have to do with 40k Joshua? I’m glad you asked Assaultphase readers. A team tournament is something in which there are a lot of elements that are going to be out side of your box. Who will you be paired with? What type of army will they have? Will they bring troops or all heavies? Should I bring assault units or my big guns? What if they all deep strike? Should I bring reserves? What if I roll all 1’s the whole day and a black warp tears down the fabric of time and space and all my dice get sucked into the time warp and then pop back out a second later BUT they’re all showing 6’s now! Is that CHEATING! IS IT!YOU KNOW THAT COUNTS! (then we all turn into orks)WAHHHHHG!
Sorry, all I am trying to say is, that when thinking about how to play in a game that already has a lot of random whosits and whatsits gallor, the best way to handle the unknown thing-a-ma-bobs is by keeping it simple.
          1) Stick to what you know. If you have a unit that you rock face with, use it.

          2) Make a balanced list, that way no matter who you are teamed up with you can complement their list to help their strengths AND you will be able to fill in where they are weak.

          3) Attitude. I hate harping on this one, but there is going to be a lot of unknowns and crazy 40K Shenanigans in a team event, so don’t freak if the two heavy hitters in the event get paired together, crap happens. You might get paired with your nightmare bizaro-world teammate OR you might get the guy (or girl, I’m looking at you Mrs.Nid) of your dreams. Either way, the picking of your teammate is outside of your control (outside your box) so don’t freak y’all.

         4) Have fun trying for crazy combos you have never had the chance to get. I.E. the Tau player who gets paired up with the Ork Mob OR the Daemon player who is fighting WITH the Grey Knights! Weird….yes, possible…likely.
Either way, enjoy the day the best you can because Team events at this level of play don’t happen often. So savor battles, relish running hand in hand with your sworn enemy for the afternoon and……with your powers combine(the rest is up to you).

Josh

Shaking things up, the next club day will instead be a Team Tournament with randomized pairings.  Games will be played in typical tournament format.  3 games, top seeds playing for 1st.  Missions will also be something different, geared to team format.

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Entry Fee: 10.00

Army composition is per standard force organizational chart per person (not team)
Army Size, each person will need a 1000 point army

Rules clarifications

• Transports cannot carry models from a teammate.
• Army wide abilities that are “Chapter Tactics” or affect “Your Army” such as Vulcan’s ability to reroll melta shots do not confer to a teammate. (They aren’t part of your army after all)
• Abilities that target or benefit “Friendly Models” such as Pedro Kantor’s Inspiring Presence ability will confer to your team mate.
• Independent Characters cannot join units from your teammates army.
• You can’t shoot your teammate.  No matter how funny it would be.

Team Tournament Hints/Tactics

• You do not need to load up on troops.  Since each army needs a typical 2 troop choices, there will be a guaranteed minimum of 4 troops per team.
• Watch out for “Your Army” vs. “Friendly Units” wording.  Post here if you have a question about any rule.
• Chaos marines and Chaos Daemons both have “Chaos Icons” and can be used between teammates if you are lucky to be paired together.
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  If you plan a horde army it does not play well with a gun line blast marker firing army.  You’ll shoot your own guys.

If you have other questions about rules or want to share some tactics help, please post in the forum.

Tournament Scenarios

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Time: April 24th.  Registration begins at 10am, games begin at 10:30am
Entry Fee: 10.00

This months tournament will be different than normal.  Be sure to read the details below!

Now for the details!
1776 Points (very bicentennial)

No Named Characters

FOC
1 HQ
4 Elites
4 Fast Attack
2 Heavy Support
3 Troops

Elite Units can hold objectives / Troops cannot hold objectives

Troops are without number (not transports)

Game ends at end of turn 5 on roll 1-3, automatically on 6

1st round – HQ Hunters!!! (pitch battle setup)

No more than 50% reserves

Killing opponents HQ 10pts

Wounding opponents HQ 5pts

HQ unwounded 10pts

HQ wounded 5pts

2nd round – Acid Atmosphere!!! (spearhead setup)

All AP weapons are -1 (ap 3 becomes ap 2)

5pts for every unit in opponents deployment zone (table quarter)

3rd round – Massive Battlefield!!! (dawn of war setup no sight penalty)

Open terrain is difficult terrain, difficult terrain is dangerous. Everything has FLEET.

5 objective markers (1st player places first objective then alternate)

7pts per objective

Games will have a strict 2.5 hour time limit.  There will be 1 hour between the 1st and second game, 30 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd game.

You must have a clean written army list with you to show your opponent. It’s unfortunate that this needs to be reminded to people.

You can help us plan by preregistering at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne before the event.

Forum Link

By rjstreet

On March 13th, we’re going to try something a bit different at PBKW and help out your local Second Harvest food bank at the same time.  We’re hosting a charity 40K tournament where your entry fee is paid in cans of food donated.  But we’re not going to stop there…oh no…  In addition, we’ve devised some rules to allow you to tip things in your favor during the course of your game (for a few more cans of food)…of course, your opponent can do the same thing, so you should stock up.  In all seriousness, this is a great way to help support your local community and enjoy a fun afternoon of some 40K to boot.  The full flyer is available at this link and details are below.  We hope to see you there!

Where: PBKW Comics
 & Games
Entry Fee: 5 Cans of Food
Points: 1500
When: March 13, 2010
Time: 11am-6pm
More Info: rjstreet@newmyths.org

Prize Support
Best Win/Loss: 
$50 in GW credit @PBKW
Runner-Up: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
Most Cheating in a Game: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
*Ties will be resolved through kill points

FoodHammer is a unique event where you get the opportunity to throw down with some of the best Warhammer 40K gamers in the region and contribute to a good cause.  When you donate a can of food to Second Harvest at the event, you get can points (1 for veggies, 2 for fruits and soups) that you can spend to bend and break the rules to your advantage – or stop your opponent from doing the same!  Its all in good fun and for a good cause!

Cans – Benefit

1 – Reroll any attack or armor save roll (yours or your opponents) or prevent a reroll (by matching the bid); the cost to use this cheat increases by one every time it is used during a turn

1 – Measure the distance between any two models

2 – Reroll any morale or vehicle penetration roll

3 – Move terrain 5″ before start of game (may only be used once)

3 – Ignore difficult terrain roll (take maximum possible result)

5 – Prevent deep strike scatter (no roll required)

5 – Grant one unit a cover save (usable once per turn)

10 – Force opponent to deploy a reserve or deep striking unit as a standard unit (usable once prior to start of game)

Stop by the forums to read more and respond: http://www.assaultphase.com/assaultphase/?page_id=76/warhammer-40k-1/foodhammer-charity-tournament-pbkw-on-march-13th/#p1904