Monday, April 30, 2012

List Building Part 1: Team Building

Way, way back when Warhammer Fantasy 6th edition was just starting up, I stumbled upon a tactics website for Wood Elves (my army) called Macharia's Battle Glade.  There, I ran into some advice that's helped me out in all my army lists and all my games since: When including a unit in your army, think about what jobs it will be doing, and what other units it will be teaming up with.

Seems a little obvious, put that way, but it can be deceptively easy to lose track of.  In Warmachine/Hordes, for example, I'll sometimes get distracted by mechanical synergy.  I'll build a list with lots of synergy, but no teamwork, and like the villains in a Saturday morning cartoon,* I'll lose.  When I'm not distracted, thinking about Team Building is an integral part of building lists that work well, have tactical as well as mechanical synergy, and fight according to a battle plan.

One of the nice things about Warmachine/Hordes is that lists, even within the same faction, can work in completely different ways.  I'm going to outline the team-building process with the 25pt list I'll be using in the escalation league this coming month.  A lot of the jobs and concerns I mention will be common to most armies.  Some will be distinctly Skorne, or even distinctly pMorghoul. The list I'll be running is:

Master Tormentor Morghoul (+7)
-Titan Cannoneer (9)       4 Paingiver Beast Handlers (2)
-Titan Gladiator    (8)       Agonizer (2)
-Cyclops Savage   (5)       Extoller Soulward (2)
-Basilisk Krea       (4)

So what are the jobs I want to be able to accomplish?
- Kill Heavies
- Eliminate Solos and Support
- Clear Infantry
- Bait Charges and Counterattack
- Engage and Hold enemies
- Alpha Strike**
- Capture and Contest Objectives (though we're just playing Kill Box in the league)
- Assassinate

Here's a model by model analysis of what everyone can do, starting with the combat models, then moving on to support, and finally my Warlock.  It'll seem like everyone does everything at first, but I'll try to sort out the various teams in a second look.

-Titan Cannoneer: Kill Heavies, Eliminate Solos and Support, Clear Infantry, Bait Charges and Counterattack, Capture and Contest Objectives, Assassinate.

-Titan Gladiator: Kill Heavies, Alpha Strike, Bait Charges and Counterattack, Clear Infantry (by slamming), Capture and Contest Objectives, Assassinate.

-Cyclops Savage: Eliminate Solos and Support, Clear Infantry, Alpha Strike, Engage and Hold Enemies, Capture and Contest Objectives, Assassinate.

-Basilisk Krea: Engage and Hold Enemies, Capture and Contest Objectives. (Support): Bait Charges and Counterattack, Eliminate Solos and Support, Assassinate.

-Paingiver Beast Handlers: Engage and Hold Enemies, Capture and Contest Objectives. (Support): Eliminate Solos and Support, Alpha Strike, Bait Charges and Counterattack, Assassinate.

-Agonizer: Capture and Contest Objectives. (Support): Alpha Strike (against Warmachine), Bait Charges and Counterattack (against Hordes).

-Extoller Soulward: Capture and Contest Objectives. (Support): Alpha Strike, Eliminate Solos and Support, Assassinate.

Master Tormentor Morghoul
Clear Infantry, Assassinate
(Support): Alpha Strike, Assassinate, Bait Charges and Counterattack, Kill Heavies, Engage and Hold Enemies
Now I have to split my models up into teams.  I want a list that's equally adept at baiting the enemy and charging in to smash them.

For this list, I'll be baiting charges with the Titan Cannoneer.  She's a bit more durable than the Gladiator with Diminish up, a little more expendable than the Gladiator for the end game, and can still benefit from Admonition.  Most of all, however, she can draw opponents in with her cannon.  She can keep picking off support models, and damaging warjacks/beasts while I set up good charges.  Most opponents won't be able to afford to let me do that.  If Candes is the Bait, the Gladys gets to be the Counterattack.  A Gladiator will wreck most heavies without too much trouble, and Gladys has the additional option of slamming and following up if that works best.  Gladys also supports Candes with Rush, giving her some extra movement, and the ability to hang out in rough terrain.  This is the core of Team 1.  The Extoller is there too, because Eyeless Sight make Candes' gun vastly more threatening to a lot of targets, and because it combos well with Rush, giving either Titan the option to charge unhindered through forests.  Team 1 can deal with a wide variety of threats, and is my army's strategic heart.  It will do the heavy lifting against enemy Beasts, Jacks and support models.  The biggest assassination threat will also come from Team one.

Since Team 1 is so important, I don't want it getting gummed up.  This is where the Cyclops Savage (Adam) comes in.  Adam is Team 2.  Team 2's job will be to run interference.  If there are some infantry who look like they'll tie up Candes and Gladys, I'll charge them with the Savage to hold them up.  If a ranged unit is in a position to outshoot me, I'll run Adam over to tie them down with his 20" engagement range.  Lobbing a Savage down the enemy's throat won't just let me advance unimpeded.  It will also let me set up an effective alpha strike.  Even if Adam only lasts a single round, it will often be enoungh for Team 1 to get into an optimal charge position.  A Cyclops Savage also has the speed and accuracy to end games if the enemy leaves their caster open.  A 15" threat range, charging for free at P+S 17 with Future Sight is a force to be reckoned with.

Team 3 is Warbeast Support, and consist of Morghoul and the Painivers.  The Paingivers get to manage Fury, heal, and when the time comes, Enrage my beasts.  They'll focus on Team 1, which contains most of my fighting strength, but Team 2 will also be supported in the early turns.  Morghoul will focus on handing out Abuse, Rush, and when it's needed, Admonition.  It'll also be their job (ok, mostly Morghoul's) to help kill off any infantry that does happen jam Team 1.  Finally, Morghoul gets to help me Alpha Strike and Bait Charges with his feat.  Denying the ability to spend focus or be forced will greatly reduce damage from either an enemy alpha strike or counterattack, and will keep Team 1 safe while it works.

Now we get to the Krea and the Agonizer.  Both of these models will switch Teams 1 and 2 depending on what my opponent is capable of.  Against serious shooting, I'll want Kreanardo with Team 1, increasing their resistance to ranged damage.  If there isn't much enemy shooting, she'll play foreward and to the side with Team 2, blocking enemy infantry and debuffing Def for the Cyclops.  In either team, she can use Spiritual Paralysis on a Warbeast to stop it from running/charging, and to make it easier for my other beasts to hit.  The Agonizer goes in Team 1 against Hordes opponents, where its Gnawing Pain Agony will keep Candes and Gladys safe from enemy warbeasts.  Against Warmachine opponents, the Agonizer joins Team 2.  It will run up early and put a stun on enemy Warjacks by denying them focus allocation on the turn before I charge in.

So to recap, here are my teams and their jobs.

Team 1:  Titan Cannoneer, Titan Gladiator, Extoller Soulward
Jobs:  Kill Heavies, Eliminate Solos and Support, Bait Charges (Cannoneer) and Counterattack (Gladiator), Alpha Strike, Assassinate,  Capture and Contest Objectives.

Team 2:  Cyclops Savage
Jobs:  Engage and Hold Enemies, Eliminate Solos and Support, Clear Infantry, Alpha Strike, Assassinate, Capture and Contest Objectives.

Team 3:  Master Tormentor Morghoul, Paingiver Beast Handlers
Jobs:  Support Team 1, Support Team 2, Enable Alpha Strike.

The Basilisk Krea and Agonizer will support Teams 1 or 2 as circumstances require.

Team Building is a good way to organize list building according to a battle plan.  My plan for this list grew out of my thoughts on Team 1, my offensive and Defensive powerhouse.  It is this:

My Cannoneer will stay in front, with Admonition up if necessary.  She'll have full use of her gun, while the rest of my army will be somewhat behind her.  Early on, she'll focus on removing any support or flanking models which might give me trouble.  In the mid-game, she'll bait charges, backed up by the Gladiator.  I want my opponents to either charge in and fail, or back up and be charged.  The Savage will block or attack anything causing trouble for Team 1.  The idea is to set up a full-effect charge from my Titans with little to no effective reprisal, then mop up any remaining threats on my next turn.  The Krea and Agonizer add durability, and Morgsy and the Paingivers add speed and hitting power.

*The Skorne are like the villains in a Saturday morning cartoon in a lot of other ways, too.  They hurt baby animals, and they look like Hordak from She-Ra.
**Alpha Strike is in pretty common usage on the PP forums to mean getting the first charge in on the enemy, and doing significant damage.

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