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Mobious
10-27-2009, 08:51 PM
Alright so I have been playing 40k since May with my Mech BA and I have had lots of success so far, only losing a handful of games. I feel like I have a good grasp on the game for the amount of time I have been playing, but of course there is an infinite amount of possible improvement. Seeing as I believe that deployment and movement are the biggest parts of the game, I think it is the best place to start improving. It usually takes me a while to set up because I am not sure what I want to do and I am a perfectionist when it comes to things like this. So the questions are . . .

What is a good deployment strategy? What should be kept in mind when we are trying to deploy our forces? And how do you usually deploy?

I know there are a ton of things to take into consideration, but I feel that discussing this issue would be great for a lot of players out there (not to mention me).

Confuddled
10-27-2009, 09:56 PM
Goodness. There ARE a ton of things to consider, but some of the more important factors are:
1) Knowledge of both sides’ capabilities,
2) The mission objectives and deployment type
3) Terrain
4) Who gets first turn.

Going a little more in-depth, it gets complicated.
1) There are certain “stock” deployment options to counter specific specialised army types (Daemons, drop pods), though it also depends on your army.

For instance, its almost doctrine that you counter Daemons and drop pods by keeping your army in reserve.
If, however, you have enough cannon fodder to set up a protective shell around your key units, then going into reserve isn’t strictly necessary.



2) If :
- the other guy has a large army with lots of long-ranged shooting,
- It’s a Spearhead objective-based mission,and;
- you’ve got a relatively fast, elite army,
then you’d usually want to keep stuff in reserve and hopefully go second.

Say, however, that it’s a Spearhead deployment with one specific quarter that has minimal terrain – the other 3 quarters are well-covered.
He’s got a relatively static gunline with lots of units (Guard being a prime example).

If you get the chance, going first with units on the table might actually be a good idea, since you can:
- Force the other guy into the open quarter
- Limit the amount of space available to him.
- Avoid the risk of defeat in detail.

Ultimately, I’d say that when it comes to deployment, the most important things would be to internalise all the various factors and to stay flexible. By all means, have a plan or three, but keep the ability to adapt - to the mission, the terrain and the opponent.

PhoenixFlame
10-28-2009, 01:14 PM
Here's the newest deployment method I'm using, as quoted from my battle reports thread:


Deployment
Logan + Squad 1 deploy w/Land Raider slightly off of center
Both Ven Dreads Deploy in flanking positions to the Land Rader
Long Fangs deploy in razorback behind Land Raider

Lone Wolf deploys to the other side of the deployment area
Squads 2-4 deploy behind him

First Turn/General Tactics
Land Raider is there to soak fire and get Logan et al into assault range
Dreadnoughts are there to soak fire
Razorback is mobile anti-armor
Long Fangs stand back and drop blasts / pick off armor or ICs
Logan + 1st Squad dive into a scoring unit, rinse repeat
I expect to lose all of the above force except maybe Long Fangs

Lone Wolf heads down the board edge to mix it up with the first scoring unit or IC he can find and generally mucks up the works, I expect to lose him also (surprise :rolleyes: )
Squad 3 caps the nearest objective and digs in
Squad 2 moves toward the next nearest objective and digs in (if occupied stays at the edge of firing range and pours fire into anything there
Squad 4 moves up lightly to the inside of the Lone Wolf and supports him waiting for the chance to cap or contest an objective.


Obviously this is a very loose starting method which will be morphed as deployment and each turn unfolds.


All entries listed as "Squad #" are scoring wolf guard units with at least some, if not all, TDA.
Scenarios are mostly Objectives based. So that gives you the broad strokes of what I'm working with.
For all the finite detail take a look at the thread.

The strip down of the Psychology here is that since I'm playing objective based games with this list all of my non-scoring units become 'expendable' and should be killing and contesting as potently as they can even if that gives them a 100% fatality rate but turn 6.
Meanwhile I need at least 2-3 scoring units to survive the game and be in position to contest/cap so I can claim the win or at least force the draw.
With that in mind I'm putting the bulk of my force to one side so that either it can meet the bulk of the opposing force or it can roll up the opposing flank while my Wolf Guard back peddles to stay out of range and pounds away with their assault cannons.

GreenMarines
10-29-2009, 08:38 AM
Some general remarks:

Very obvious but worth to mention it: While building your army list, you have a idea or better a plan for every single unit. Always have this plan in mind, when you deploy.

Some units like predators with side sponsers work best when the don't move cause only in this case they can use the complete weaponloadout. When you deploy other units next to this "immobile" one, be awere that you don' have to cross LOS of this "immobile" unit.

When playing Mech heavy don't bulk your tanks to much. It is not fun to see your first line of tanks getting immobilized and not be able to move the line behind/ lose one round for moving arround the immobilized tanks.

What worked well with my army (1500 SM: Libarian, Landraider w 5 TH/SS-Termis, 2x 10SM w Razorbacks, 10SM w Rhino, Predato w TL Lascanon, Landspeeder w Rockets):

In most games I deploy the LR a bit left or right of the center of depleyment-zone, the Predator at the center and use the Razorbacks and Rhino on one flank. I personal like the idea of not throwing all my units right into the face of my opponent and with a part of my army in his flank he also has to spilt his units.

weeble1000
10-29-2009, 12:55 PM
When I was first getting into the game I found deployment to be one of the toughest elements. I want to get my models on the table in a timely manner, but making a mistake in deployment can throw off an entire game.

I've found that having a general deployment strategy has helped a great deal. Granted, my strategy isn't perfect, but it helps me get my guys on the table in a reasonable amount of time. For me its been better to keep my deployment fast rather than perfect. This sort of learning as I go as opposed to trying to make each deployment perfect has allowed me to keep speed while slowly improving the quality of my deployment.

I play guard, so this won't be 100% applicable in your circumstances, but these are the sort of guidelines I use when deploying.

Vehicles first, infantry second. When I first started, I routinely blocked in my tanks because I covered the deployment zone with infantry. I also consistently forgot to screen important squads with my transports.

Static elements before dynamic elements. I like to deploy static elements like heavy weapons before more dynamic and mobile elements because these static elements generally require the choicest pieces of terrain. Heavy weapons need to have good firing positions and decent cover and since they won't move much, they need to be in a good position from the get go. This also applies if I want to move my static elements into better positions at the start of the game. They need to be in the most advantageous positions in order to minimize the number of turns it takes to get them in position.

Don't leave anybody without backup. When I put models on the table, I try to imagine what threats they can expect to encounter. With that in mind, I deploy units and gear that are able to respond to those threats along with any other models on that part of the table. For example, if I want some infantry squads to hold an objective on the left half of the table and my opponent has deployed walkers on that side, I make sure to put down a squad that's packing a meltagun or an autocannon. If I expect a second turn assault on my tanks, I make sure to spread out an infantry squad in front of them.

This is easier to do when deploying second, but when I deploy first I try to make sure that each half of the table has enough gear to be reasonably self-sufficient. My army isn't very mobile, so if all of my flamers are on the wrong side of the table it isn't likely I'll be able to move them to where they need to be.

Lastly, I generally pick a part of the table that I want to have control of by turn 5. This may be the strongest concentration of objectives, the enemy's deployment zone objective, or a part of my deployment zone in which I want to shelter my most vulnerable kill points. Whatever it is, I pick that spot before I put a model on the table and I try to deploy my forces to maximize my ability to own that realestate at the end of the game.

Confuddled
10-29-2009, 07:52 PM
Heh.


Come to think of it, the two most important deployment strategies?


1. Keep a level head and don’t panic.

It’s all very well and good to have all sorts of plans and tactics gleaned from hours of discussion and practice and whatnot, but its no help whatsoever if it all goes out the window the moment you actually start putting units on the table.


2. Be flexible

Having a plan (or plans) can be handy but don’t be afraid to just wing it. Just because it works against one army doesn’t mean its universally applicable to all opponents.



One particular anecdote that really stands out in my mind?



Was using mechanised Imperial Guard in a game against a veteran Dark Eldar player with a heavily mechanised army a couple of months back.

Trick is:
1) This was his first game against the new Guard.

2) He was used to playing against infantry-heavy Marines


So, before the game started, we spent half an hour talking about the various units available to the new Guard (Manticores and Hydras figured prominently in the discussion, seeing as how I was fielding them!).

We talked about how Raiders would absolutely hate the volume of fire I could throw out, and how staying in reserve was a GOOD thing, and how his best bet would be to concentrate on one flank and hit it really hard instead of just swarming forward and engaging the entire line of Chimera chassis and so on and so forth… … great discussion!

Game finally starts, we roll off and get a Dawn of War deployment, with me going first.

I do the usual – couple of Chimeras deployed far forward, everything else rolls on from my table edge.


What does he do?


He promptly drives every single Raider at flat-out speed right down the middle of the table on turn 1, whilst the Ravagers cruise on and try to take pot-shots at the Manticore over 30” away… …

So much for the pre-game discussion, eh? He was quite sheepish about it once his second turn rolled around too….


My shooting was a little above average (3 Storm Eagle templates landing right in the middle of his Raider wedge was a thing of beauty), but the game was pretty much over by the close of turn 2 with 3/4 of his Raiders reduced to smoking wrecks.