This is the answer to: Task 4 Fight powerful enemies and deny them their retaliation
Category Archives: Tactics
Tactics Quiz – Task 3 How to tie-up far away enemies – Answer
The Castellan – what does it do?
I created this analysis a few weeks ago for my Bulgarian buddies who have not fought against it. We don’t really have that big of a community here so we haven’t really seen it in games a lot. This is a translation of the text.
I started reading the Imperial Knights codex in detail to get to know it better. I have not seen Castellan in play, but I think I tracked the optimal option (it’s not very hard).
It has these weapons:
A Knight Castellan is a single model equipped with a plasma decimator, volcano lance, two shieldbreaker missiles, two twin meltaguns, two twin siegebreaker cannons and titanic feet.
It can replace one of the siegebreaker cannons but it will probably not.
These weapons kill big things. Quite a few big things a turn actually.
Castellan is House Raven, but not so much because he can run and shoot normally (not that it’s bad, not at all), but because of this stratagem:
3CP Order of Companions (BigFAQ)
“Use this Stratagem at the start of your Shooting phase. Pick a HOUSE RAVEN model from your army. Until the end of the phase, re-roll all rolls of 1 for that model (this includes hit rolls, wound rolls, damage rolls and rolls made to determine the number of shots fired by weapons that make a random number of attacks).”
Since it has a lot of weapons, those weapons have variable shots, high strength and variable damage this stratagem makes all of those shots highly optimal.
The Castellan has the Warlord Trait (1CP – Exalted Court), which is called Ion Bulwark and gives him 4++ (two pluses mean invulnerable save for the non-illuminated). For 3CP you can “Rotate Ion Shields” and get +1 more to the save (3 ++). 3 points is a lot, but I doubt he will use it more than once because after his first shot everything that could hurt it should be dead (in theory).
The relic is Cawl’s Wrath. For 1CP (to get a relic) it upgrades the Strength, Ap and damage of his Plasma Decimator by 1. Ouch!
If you can shoot at it and bring it down a one or two levels, it’s can for 1CP envoke Machine Spirit Resurgent which makes him shoot as though he’s not hurt.
If your army is mostly a horde, it almost does not bother you. Kill the guard/machanicus around him and score points(not too easy, but possible). But if you rely on the vehicles, monsters or another knight … you’re in trouble. If you cannot kill him for one turn, or you cannot save something that can finish him off in the second turn, do not waste your shots – shoot anything else.
The Castellan is worth 604pts to you or your opponent. Enjoy.
Happy Wargaming
Tactics Quiz – Task 3 How to tie-up far away enemies
I thought it would be easier to make videos of the tasks and explain instead of write it… Not sure it was but here is Task 3.
As usual expect the answer in a few days.
Tactics Quiz – Task 2 Answer
Here is the answer of the second Quiz: “The Predator has to be locked in combat and the Dire Avengers must survive. Overwatch is done. The charge dice have been rolled and the result is 7. Can the Dire Avengers do it?”
The tricky part here is to position the Dire Avengers to have the central Intercessor be the closest model. They move about 5″ forward and gang up together. If the Dire Avengers were five models or had bigger bases the task would have been impossible or at least trickier.
Then it is time for the Dire Avengers to FIGHT. They Pile-in and go basically behind the Sergeant but just a bit closer to the Ancient. He is now the closest model to ALL Dire Avengers. The Dire Avengers can attack but no more than four attacks should be directed at the Ancient (you could get really lucky and kill him).
After the attacks the Avengers can consolidate. Since the Ancient is the closest model to all of them they just go around him and lock the Predator in combat.
The Intercessors are now more than 1″ from the Avengers and cannot be chosen to Fight. Only the Ancient and the Predator can. You have to be really unlucky for the Dire Avengers to die here. The tank will (almost certainly) not shoot next turn.
Tactics Quiz – Task 2
Here is the previous Tactics Quiz Task 1 if you’ve missed it.
Here is the second task. It is similar to the first but needs a little bit more finesse to work.
The Predator has to be stopped this turn. You really need to get it into close combat as its four lascannons are a problem you could not deal with during your shooting phase. You’ve charged the Intercessors and got a 5+2 for the charge range. The Overwatch is over. The Ancient is a 1.5″ away from the Intercessor sergeant and about 1.5″ from the Predator. Can you use the charge and the fight phase to survive and lock the tank in combat for just one turn?
Tactics Quiz – Task 1 Answer
And here is the answer of the first Quiz: “How can you still go and kill the Spiritseer? The Spiritseer has 1 wound left and the overwatch is done. Charge roll: 7”
This is the initial position.
The Reivers in the front go forward just enough to be a little less than 1″ away from the Dire Avenger Exarch. They should not overextend and move closer in the Charge phase.
In the Fight phase the front Reivers consolidate 3″ towards the Spiritseer. They move so they end up just a bit closer to the Dire Avenger Exarch (you have to end up closer to the closest model). Since the Spiritseer is 2.5″ away from the Dire Avengers that 3″ move should be able to get at least two Reivers within 1″ of it.
Another two Reivers move in the gaps between the Dire Avengers ending their move closer to the Exarch and within 1″ of the first two. They can also strike at the Spiritseer.
The final Reiver is not able to hit the Spiritseer and must target the Dire Avengers but his four Reiver friends will surely kill the Spiritseer.
Bonus points: Since one Reiver must target the Dire Avengers the Exarch in the middle could die but the lone Reiver cannot kill the three closest models on his own (4 wounds). So there will always be at least one Dire Avenger left (to the left or right) that can be caught between 3 Reivers after consolidation and not move away.
Additional bonus points: If the Dire Avengers were spaced so that the Reivers could not pass between them (less than 32mm from one to the other) the Spiritseer would not have died.
Tactics Quiz – Task 1
I decided to do a tactics quiz to help my bulgarian mates learn some of the interesting rules of this game but decided to post it here for everybody. This is the first tactics quiz (task 1). If people like it I will do more.
You really want to kill that Spiritseer (9.5″ away), but that 7″ charge roll is just not going to cut it . You can still kill those Dire Avengers (6″ away) but it’s just not what you wanted. That character kill is a must this turn. How can you still go and kill the Spiritseer? The Spiritseer has 1 wound left (Snipers got him) and the overwatch is done.
Bonus points – get the Dire Avengers stuck in combat for next turn.
Additional bonus points – what could the Dire Avengers have done to prevent this?
Write your answers in the comments. I will post the answer on Monday.
My Rules of Engagement
There are a few things I’ve learned over the years about how to win and have fun with our favorite Warhammer 40K and I want to share some of them with you guys and galls. Maybe you can use them to make your generalship better:
Wipe them out. All of them.:
When you start shooting at or assaulting a unit. Make sure you allocate enough forces to wipe that unit out. I’ve won many battles against opponents who left 1-2 models from my units alive and moved to other more ‘tasty’ targets. Most of my army is dead but almost no units are. And Warhammer 40K games are won mainly by capturing objectives and staying in the game.
These are seven one model units that can ruin your victory
Don’t underestimate your opponent:
Let’s say you’ve brought a top-notch Top Tier list to the club. Your opponent has been playing his list for ages but it’s from an old codex and the Internet says most of the units he or she uses are more than sub par. You are not even sure if you should throw all the dice your weapons allow to not table this fluffy bunny turn one… Next thing you know it is almost turn five and your forces are nowhere to be found. An experienced player can show a much stronger list what’s what.
A similar thing can happen against a new player that doesn’t really know what to do with the forces in his list but has a bit of luck. The dice gods can make a new player reign victorious.
Do not underestimate your opponents, even when it seems you’ve won. You haven’t until the game actually ends.
Never give up. Never surrender.:
It is the third game turn and you feel like nothing is going your way. Your awesome units are all but dead and you’ve hardly made a dent in your opponent’s army. It’s high time you surrendered. Well… don’t.
Not only is the hope not all lost, but you could also have a bit of fun even if you lose the game.
The dice gods may start favoring you or (which usually happens) your opponent may start feeling like a winner thus underestimating your forces. Big mistake – see above.
Or you could just have fun by trying to prolong the inevitable and have yourself a Last Stand scenario. You could have lots of fun with a losing game. Your models might become heroes in your eyes when they finally die or even survive after a hard battle where they accomplished something extraordinary.
Dice gods… Worship them
Be patient young grasshopper:
Some times you know that you can shoot at something but it will not be very effective because you’re not close enough. Like Tactical Marines shooting 24″ instead of running for a better position (or cover). Or deciding not to leave a good reserve unit to come in later just because you want the unit to act immediately when the game starts. Take your time. Think about your options. It can feel like if you don’t use them now they will not do a lot later but that is seldom true. Unless you have an Alpha Strike list a little bit of patience can make a difference.
A little bit of Shooting in the Assault list:
Maximizing on what you are good at (shooting or assault) has always been a favorite among 40K players. I tend to go with a more moderate approach and it has rarely hindered me. Quite the opposite actually.
Consider this first list (to the left) below. It looks like it will get into close combat. It has a lot of close combat models and it will be hard for a shooty army to kill off. But that does not mean you will win. Just hurdling your models towards the enemy rarely wins games. You need any edge you can get.
Now consider your opponent has a bunch of Eldar War Walkers. Not that hard to kill but they do A LOT of damage. You will probably not get to them before the end of the game. At that point (5-7 rounds of shooting) the War Walkers will have devastated your army probably killing much more than their points worth.
Now if you replace just a few of your assault units (10-15%) with something good at shooting (like the Hive Guard in the second picture) you could become a real problem for those War Walkers. Turning your disadvantage into an advantage.
A little bit of Assault in the Shooting list:
This is similar to the previous point.
Necrons for example, have a bit of a problem with close combat. It isn’t easy to kill off a lot of Necron Warriors or Immortals. But you can make them fail a morale test and ‘leave’. Much harder if there is an Overlord with a Scythe in the unit (an Overlord with a Staff of Light does close to nothing in the assault phase). And nearly impossible if there are Canoptek Wraiths near by to counter charge.
Bolter AND Chainsword
So fellow wargamers, these are some of my thoughts on how to be better at trying to win games while having fun. Tell me what you think. Do you want more of these? Are my thoughts worth anything or should I just shut up and keep updating the List Builder?
Happy Wargaming,
Reepy
The “Slingshot” Maneuver
Hello again War Masters,
This assault maneuver has been explained a lot by many other wargaming sites but if you have missed all those or are new to the game…
Let’s talk about the “Slingshot” maneuver:
Basically one Independent Character gives boost to a unit that would otherwise not be able to get into Assault.
A squad of Assault Marines and a Captain with Jump Pack are close to a big squad of Termagants. The Captain alone will only be bogged down by the Termagants. How do we handle the situation:
1: The Assault Marines Move forward 12″.
2: They are 10″ away from the Termagants. No way are they going to make that roll in the Assault Phase. Without any re-rolls even as they have used their jump packs in the Movement Phase.
3: The Captain with Jump Pack goes in front of the marines and joins the unit giving them additional 3″.
4: Now at 7″ away the Assault is more than doable.
Or the other way around:
A Tyranid Prime and some Termagants are close to a unit of Tactical Marines. The Termagants are no match for the super humans of the imperium. The Tyranid Prime however could make mincemeat out of the Marines with his Boneswords:
1: Tyranid Prime moves 6″ to get into position.
2: Almost 11″ away. A Tyranid Prime can hardly make that charge.
3: Position the Termagants so that they are close to the prime (joining the two units) and close to the Tactical Marines.
4: Even a good Overwatch will hardly save those Marines.
What do you guys think? Will you use this maneuver? Have you tried it before?
“Hammer and Anvil” Battle Tactic
Hi guys. First post here. I am Reepy and I am a long time Warhammer 40K fan.
I am one of the two guys that created the “Web Army List Builder” and I am the one answering your mails when you send bug reports. I also add all the data so… I am the one whose mother you mention in your thoughts when something is missing or wrong.
My favorite army has always been Eldar though I tend not to use them the way tournament players do. I play Banshees, Scorpions, Eldrad, WraithLORD, Guardians, Jet bikes without Scatter Lasers and so on. I also play a lot of Dark Angels and Tyranids, and at one point had a Necron army and I’ve always tried to play what I like and not what is fashionable. I think that makes you a better general at the end – winning with what you have.
So, after that long preface – let’s talk about HAMMERs AND ANVILs.
A few years ago I read a series of Eldar tactics in a Warhammer forum. I think the poster was named “Irisado” and it was on “40KOnline”. It was tactics for 4th edition Eldar but I believe they work very well now too, so I’ve been applying them in some of my games with good outcomes (mostly) and not just with Eldar.
The one I like the most is called “Hammer and Anvil”.
It requires discipline to not break the “formation” but it gives quite the advantage if you do. It’s similar to a simple “Flank denial” but just a bit more complicated.
The main idea of the tactic is to squish a big part of your opponent’s army between the “hammer” and the “anvil” while loosing fewer forces because:
- part of his army is farther away on a desolate flank.
- the main focus of his army is your “anvil” which is harder to kill.
This picture shows the basic idea of the execution:
I used Dark Angels which are, I think, as good as Eldar in this particular battle tactic.
The Hammer
- Company Master with Jump Pack (1)
- Assault Squad with Jump Packs (10)
- Ravenwing Command Squad (3)
- Ravenwing Bike Squad (3)
- Ravenwing Land Speeders (1)
The Anvil
- Interrogator Chaplain (1)
- Tactical Squad (9)
- Tactical Squad (8)
- Deathwing Terminator Squad (5)
- Dreadnought (1)
The Setup
This tactic depends a lot on the initial setup and knowing where your opponent will setup his forces. That means that you probably want to be second most of the time. Some armies can redeploy (using scout for example) which gives them the opportunity to deploy most of their forces in the middle and then decide which flank the Hammer will go to when they execute this tactic.
Setting up the Hammer
The Hammer must be fast and be able to hit hard. Its meat is the army’s Fast Attack 
options: Bikes, Jetbikes, Jump Infantry, Land Speeders, Skimmers, Dedicated Transports, etc.
Set it up in the corner of your deployment zone, preferably on the side the opponent has less things that can easily harm the Hammer or where they can do most damage.
Prepping the Anvil
The Anvil is there to take central positions and bait the opponent so set it in the middle of your deployment zone.
It is composed of units that are harder to kill or are cheap enough to not make a big difference if you lose them. Those units must be a threat, however, because if the opponent decides to not shoot at them and focus your “Hammer” you will have a bad time.
Space Marines, Terminators, Monsters, Dreadnoughts, Tanks, Wraithguard, Wraithlord, etc. Maybe some counter assault units like Striking Scorpions, Incubi or why not some Possessed?
Don’t be frightened to put your units behind each other, even though some unit may become slower that way. The Anvil is not supposed to go fast. Do not spread the Anvil when you take the center. Keep them closer to the Hammer’s flank but in the center.
The Anvil moves slowly towards the center as shown in the picture above. It must be a threat to whatever is opposite it but it must not “charge” towards it immediately. Do not forget that it is bait. If you can shoot try to focus on opposing units at the center or near the flank of the Hammer.
!Do NOT get cocky and move to the unsupported flank just to grab an objective or to shoot at an exposed unit. If you do you will lose your positioning and will be an easier target for units that otherwise do not have anything to shoot at or assault near them.
Hitting with the Hammer
The Hammer moves fast and aggressive at the flank. Its main purpose is to make mince meat of whatever is there. That flank must be fully secured and overwhelmed. Since most of your army is on either this flank or in the center this should not be too difficult a task.
Focus on units until you kill them fully. Do not leave small survivor units that will bug you and may cost you the game. Your Hammer is fast so it should probably be able to hit first and hit it hard.
Mopping up
If everything goes according to plan you should have a clear flank and most of the center at about turn 3 or 4. Most of the Hammer should be untouched. The Anvil has been shot at and beaten a lot but it should have survived, though probably not without suffering losses. Your opponent’s army should be in trouble – more than half of it gone by now.
At this point the Hammer can go help with securing the center or (if you’ve fared really well) it can go handle the other flank. Do not forget to keep a unit or two near the secured flank so it can grab objectives. Maybe something long range like Vypers or Land Speeders with Typhoon Missiles.
Final words
A really hard hitting tactic that requires you to have built your list with it in mind. When it works it feels a bit overpowered. Makes you think about the synergy between the units. The hardest part of the execution is having the discipline to keep your units in formation.
The Hammer and Anvil does not work against really fast armies which can redeploy and negate your flank denial. Against such armies… do something else *wink*. If your opponent has just a few fast units however (like in most lists) make sure to position your Hammer at the flank those units are at. This negates their speed advantage. Half of your army is fast. Use that. DESTROY THEM!!!
This is all from me for now. Maybe there will be more posts like this one so… tell me if you liked it.
WertStammer 40K 