My last post talked about list and strategy building by assigning models to teams that work together to execute a battle plan. The process I talk about in this post is a bit more nebulous: identifying an army's strategic themes, maximizing their strengths, and minimizing their weaknesses. Again, I'll use my 25pt list for May as an example.
A strategic theme describes one way a particular army maneuvers in WM/H.* Models and units in the army contribute to which themes it uses most strongly, and which themes are weak. Here are the themes I generally consider when building an army. There may be a few others out there, but I haven't run into them much.
-Speed: The ability to get to the enemy quickly and do significant damage when you hit.
-Flexibility: The ability to ignore normal rules constraints, like difficult terrain, to gain extra maneuvering options.
-Attrition: The ability to absorb attacks, especially when compared to the enemy's.
-Direct Interdiction (Denial): The ability to add constraints to the enemy, denying them maneuvering options.
-Damage Interdiction (Threat): The ability to deny maneuvering options by making certain decisions dangerous. Both melee Threat and ranged Threat contribute to Damage Interdiction, although melee Threat is also tied into Speed.
When I build a list from themes, the first model I look at is my Warlock. In this case, it's pMorghoul. His biggest theme is Speed. Not only is he personally fast, but his workhorse spell, Abuse, contributes to his army's Speed theme by buffing both Spd (get to the enemy faster) and Str (do more damage when you get there). He also has a very strong Denial feat, and a great Flexibility/Attrition spell in Admonition. I'm calling Admonition Flexibility because it let's you ignore some of your opponent's Damage Interdiction. PMorghoul doesn't add much else to his Army's Flexibility, and has a weak Attrition theme overall. He'll be doing damage to his own beasts in exchange for more Speed and greater Fury Management (Flexibility). When I'm building my list, I'll be looking to emphasize Morghoul's strong themes (Speed and Denial) while shoring up his weaker ones (Flexibility and Attrition).
A titan gladiator enhances an army's Speed, and adds a significant element of Flexibility with its animus, Rush. Apart from that, Gladiators contribute to both Speed and Attrition with their multiple melee attacks, Grand Slam/Follow Up ability, and their innate toughness. Also adding to my Speed is my Cyclops Savage, which has Spd 6 and Reach to play with. Paingivers also add to my army's Speed with Enrage.
These models are the core of my Speed Theme. Almost all my models can be Speed models because of Abuse, but these are the ones that really fortify the theme.
The Titan Cannoneer adds a little Attrition, both by being a heavy and with its animus, Diminish. The ability to attack at range also adds Flexibility and a Threat range longer than my average charge. The Extoller adds Flexibility by granting Eyeless Sight and Magic Weapons. The Krea adds Attrition against Ranged attacks, and Denial against living models. The Agonizer adds a lot to either Attrition or Denial depending on whether I'm facing WM or Hordes. Finally, the Paingivers add a lot of Flexibility and some Attrition with Condition and Medicate respectively.
These models give me the ability to play more than just a Speed game. Attrition is now a major theme. Between Diminish, the Agonizer's Gnawing Pain, the Krea's Paralytic Aura, and my general Beastliness, my army can soak a lot of damage. Plus, Spiritual Affliction can give me a second solid turn of Denial against Warmachine armies.
So my army has a pretty decent balance of Themes. It's primarily a Speed army, with a decent amount of Flexibility and Attrition built in, plus one to two turns of solid Denial. In terms of a plan, my Speed will be my main offense. My Savage, Gladiator, and Cannoneer can all expect to launch into melee with high movement and damage buffs. My Denial game exists to help set this up, while my Attrition and ranged Threat games give me the option to let the enemy come to me.
For me, Theme building and Team building are equally important parts of the list building process. Theme building helps me work out my army's core strengths, while Team building gets me the specifics of my battle plan, and ensures that everyone is doing something productive.
*This is another concept I took from Macharia's Battle Glade. What I call strategic themes, Macharia called Phases of Maneuver. Because WM/H uses a more fluid movement system than WFB, I feel that slightly different terminology is called for.
A strategic theme describes one way a particular army maneuvers in WM/H.* Models and units in the army contribute to which themes it uses most strongly, and which themes are weak. Here are the themes I generally consider when building an army. There may be a few others out there, but I haven't run into them much.
-Speed: The ability to get to the enemy quickly and do significant damage when you hit.
-Flexibility: The ability to ignore normal rules constraints, like difficult terrain, to gain extra maneuvering options.
-Attrition: The ability to absorb attacks, especially when compared to the enemy's.
-Direct Interdiction (Denial): The ability to add constraints to the enemy, denying them maneuvering options.
-Damage Interdiction (Threat): The ability to deny maneuvering options by making certain decisions dangerous. Both melee Threat and ranged Threat contribute to Damage Interdiction, although melee Threat is also tied into Speed.
When I build a list from themes, the first model I look at is my Warlock. In this case, it's pMorghoul. His biggest theme is Speed. Not only is he personally fast, but his workhorse spell, Abuse, contributes to his army's Speed theme by buffing both Spd (get to the enemy faster) and Str (do more damage when you get there). He also has a very strong Denial feat, and a great Flexibility/Attrition spell in Admonition. I'm calling Admonition Flexibility because it let's you ignore some of your opponent's Damage Interdiction. PMorghoul doesn't add much else to his Army's Flexibility, and has a weak Attrition theme overall. He'll be doing damage to his own beasts in exchange for more Speed and greater Fury Management (Flexibility). When I'm building my list, I'll be looking to emphasize Morghoul's strong themes (Speed and Denial) while shoring up his weaker ones (Flexibility and Attrition).
A titan gladiator enhances an army's Speed, and adds a significant element of Flexibility with its animus, Rush. Apart from that, Gladiators contribute to both Speed and Attrition with their multiple melee attacks, Grand Slam/Follow Up ability, and their innate toughness. Also adding to my Speed is my Cyclops Savage, which has Spd 6 and Reach to play with. Paingivers also add to my army's Speed with Enrage.
These models are the core of my Speed Theme. Almost all my models can be Speed models because of Abuse, but these are the ones that really fortify the theme.
The Titan Cannoneer adds a little Attrition, both by being a heavy and with its animus, Diminish. The ability to attack at range also adds Flexibility and a Threat range longer than my average charge. The Extoller adds Flexibility by granting Eyeless Sight and Magic Weapons. The Krea adds Attrition against Ranged attacks, and Denial against living models. The Agonizer adds a lot to either Attrition or Denial depending on whether I'm facing WM or Hordes. Finally, the Paingivers add a lot of Flexibility and some Attrition with Condition and Medicate respectively.
These models give me the ability to play more than just a Speed game. Attrition is now a major theme. Between Diminish, the Agonizer's Gnawing Pain, the Krea's Paralytic Aura, and my general Beastliness, my army can soak a lot of damage. Plus, Spiritual Affliction can give me a second solid turn of Denial against Warmachine armies.
So my army has a pretty decent balance of Themes. It's primarily a Speed army, with a decent amount of Flexibility and Attrition built in, plus one to two turns of solid Denial. In terms of a plan, my Speed will be my main offense. My Savage, Gladiator, and Cannoneer can all expect to launch into melee with high movement and damage buffs. My Denial game exists to help set this up, while my Attrition and ranged Threat games give me the option to let the enemy come to me.
For me, Theme building and Team building are equally important parts of the list building process. Theme building helps me work out my army's core strengths, while Team building gets me the specifics of my battle plan, and ensures that everyone is doing something productive.
*This is another concept I took from Macharia's Battle Glade. What I call strategic themes, Macharia called Phases of Maneuver. Because WM/H uses a more fluid movement system than WFB, I feel that slightly different terminology is called for.
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