I've watched more games than I can count. I have read the rules. I have even played more than a couple games (granted, more than 15 years ago). I STILL do not understand deployment.
It seems pretty important- Sandwyrm over at theBack40K says his single biggest piece of advice is to practice. I've read countless battle reports where deployment appeared to have a hand in the win/loss outcome. I understand that it's got a crucial part to your strategy and approach to the game.
I just simply don't understand it. For all proactical purposes the whole "get your guys on the board" section of the game might as well be written in Sanskrit by Einstein. Deployment is akin to anything with an "8" in it for me.
I'm sure that explaining it in comments is likely "unpossible"; so if you could send me to 40K for idiot's school, or point me in the direction of a good website with clear and easy to understand descriptions of what to do when and WHY; maybe I'll learn something. [Maybe.]
This kinda depends on the objective of the mission - what types do you tend to play?
ReplyDeleteIf you need to cap objectives, you need a plan to bring troops to them, but also keep the troops alive and keep your opponent off them / contest with other units.
If you're just doing a straight out kill mission, play a little rock, paper, scissors. You've got units good at different ranges and good at killing / defending against different enemy units.
This' somewhat terrible advice, because it approaches the game defensively and I've found I do lots better with an offensive plan in mind - However, I think it's a good place to start until you have a better idea of your army's place on the field.
I play defensively, and while I have a somewhat...uneven...track record because of it, it makes for a fun, strategic game. Even people who beat me regularly say I'm a hard opponent.
ReplyDeleteI castle. Not always, but often enough if the board setup and objectives allow it. This is deploying to one side with terrain and/or vehicles keeping your crunchy center (troops) alive long enough to do something in the later turn of the games. This works best if you play a team with good firepower (I learned it playing Tau). As such, I am not sure if there is a way to develop it well for Black Templar, but because it seems to work well for good players of other older codices (Tau, Necron, Eldar) it might be worth an examination.
Wow, sorry, long comment.
Deployment can indeed make or break a game for you but really there's little definitive advice. There's just so many factors to consider to give out all encompassing advice: what type of mission is it, what army are you facing, what army are you playing, how do you think your opponent will try and achieve victory, what's their weakness, what's your weakness, are you deploying first or second...on and on and on.
ReplyDeleteDeployment really starts with what you have for a force and how your synergies are set up. For example, if two of your units need to work together to be truly effective then obviously you'll deploy them close together. Now, where you put them exactly is variable, as mentioned above, but you at least know they need to be together. Do you have a unit that's a glass cannon that needs some protecting? If so you'd deploy them in a position that helps counter their weakness, say putting a shooty unit that sucks at assault into terrain so a charging unit has to roll to get into the terrain and/or suffer fighting at I1 for doing so. Maybe you assign a unit as a bodyguard instead.
Those are the type of considerations that go into deployment. Obviously those are just a few but I think you get the idea.
Don't worry about it!
ReplyDeletePlay friendly games and get debrief points from your opponent and/or observers either at the end of each turn or at the end of the game.
Better still, play an 'open hand' game against someone you can trust - ("If you put them there I'll be able to charge them first turn...why not place them back a few inches...?") and discuss it as you go.
Yes it'll change depending on your army/units/playing style/mission, and yes it really can be a game-winning factor, but who cares? - it's a game! There's no rush to play to win, so play to learn for a while and don't sweat it.
Remember that it's still a game of dice.
Sandwyrm's right: practise until you feel better informed.
Dave and CF: I think I'm likely to play pretty balls-out to start, just based on my eventual army. However, I am sure I will do a lot of second guessing and stupid-mistake making.
ReplyDeleteThor and Drax: Thanks so very much for your great advice. I'll keep both ideas in mind when I finally get to the table.
Yeah, I think for non tournament players, it is a matter of preference and what works for you. I am not that good, and I play with what I have, rather than what is 'best'
ReplyDeleteCastling is the only thing I have found that works at least semi consistently. The plus for an army like yours is that you are either fighting half their army at the beginning, or they have to deploy to you. Either way, you make them dance to your tune right from the beginning, never a bad thing.