The Words of Faeit is a weekly post, dedicated to my thoughts on the strategy and tactical side of the game. They are not to be written in stone as "No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength" (or "no plan survives contact with the enemy"). Quoted from Helmuth von Moltke.
Scout (USR)
First off, there is a little confusion going on with a couple of the missions. Its not really confusion, its just not realizing what are considered special mission rules, and what are not. Especially regarding "scout" in mission #2 .
Scout is a USR or Universal Special Rule alongside infiltration, feel no pain, relentless, stubborn, and more.
Mission Special Rules are the following; Reserves, Outflank, Deep Strike, and Night Fighting.
Note the following are not Mission Special Rules; Seize the Initiative and Random Game Length. They are standard in any game, unless the mission says not to or do something else.
The point is, that unless a mission says a USR is not allowed, it is. The same goes for Seize the Initiative and Random Game length. Anything different on these must be listed as not allowed. Standard Missions include all the Mission Special Rules, and if the mission is not standard, these should be listed to include them in the mission.
What it comes down to, is that although not listed, Scout is usable as it stands in every mission. However, when it comes down to mission number 2, Outflanking is not. Its pretty clear once you lay it out.
Please remember though that at a tournament, the judges call supersedes the rules. Check with the location you are playing at.
Ard Boyz
In general Ard Boyz is not about those close match ups, or about those tight games you pull out at the last minute. It is a battle point style of tournament, that punishes armies that just win every game. To do well in Ard Boyz, you must crush each opponent you get and maximize your battle points, and the end game battle point modifiers.
So forget about just winning your games, that does not do well here. Your strategy must be to have a nasty crushing list, and play it tactically without error. Dominate our opponent and adhere to the game objectives. Every opponent you face, will make or break you. To opponents matched up evenly against each other is a sure way to not win at Ard Boyz.
Mission #1 Git dat dirty git!
Im not listing the missions, they can be found here 40K_Ard_Boyz_Prelim_Scenarios_08.01.11
This is an odd one with a funny twist. Quite unfair for some armies, and already there are plenty of people talking about how to take a tactical advantage on this one.
Score as many kill points as you can and try to kill the traitor. The funny part is that the traitor comes from your troop choices. Imagine handing over a Deathwing Terminator while your opponent gives you a warrior acolyte worth 4pts. Then the funny part is, they become independent characters with the following profile.
WS 4 BS 4 S 4 T 4 I 5 W 2 A 2 LD 10 S 4+/5+, and is worth 5 kill points to your opponent.
So now my Warrior Acolyte of 4pts becomes a stud, and your Deathwing Terminator of 40+pts becomes an idiot. Not to mention he loses fearless, while the warrior acolyte gains Ld 10. I think its hilarious. Remember that the traitor is now infantry, so do not plan on attaching him to jumppack'rs etc.
Taking advantage of this scenario.
Lower leadership units will love this one. Attach this "traitor" guy to your unit, and it now gains a leadership of 10. Guardsmen, Dark Eldar Warriors, and even Spacemarines will love this one. Where ever you put this guy, keep him alive. The enhanced leadership will help, not to mention he has two wounds.
Next, take that full 10 man unit maxed out with special weapons, and then take away one of the standard guys. Hey!, Look I now have room in rhino for my HQ. Lots of ways to take advantage of this one. Example: Grey Knight Strike Squad of 10 takes two psycannons (1 per 5 guys). Take one away, and throw in your independent character. Dark Eldar load out with Two special weapons and 10 guys in a raider, remove one and place Independent character here.
While the advantages are small, everything makes a difference, and I am sure there are even more army specific examples of how to take advantage of this one.
As for the mission. You need to win this buy 10 kill points or more to full points. Without taking out the Traitor this will be very hard with some army lists with low kill point values.
1. Kill your opponents units
2. Protect the Traitor on your side, and kill the opponents
3. Get the Traitor to opponents deployment (its worth a +3 battle point modifier)
4. Control Terrain and kill the Opponents HQ
The first round is night fight, so do not forget. This gives you shooting armies only 4 clear rounds of fire in a random length game. (my luck never holds on these, they always seem to end on 5)
There is a lot going on in this mission to get all the modifiers. Be clear though, your first job is to kill units in your opponents army. Get the easy ones quickly ie transports or anything else that can be knocked out quickly. It should be common sense to place the traitor with a unit that is going to be able to hide easily. Your opponent will do the same, so figure a way to get him.
A few things to not forget.
The traitor is leadership 10, so will be first on the execution list of commissars.
The last FAQ's clearly define when to attach independent characters to units. (its at the start of your deployment before any units are placed on the board). Do not forget this, or a rules nazi is not going to let you join him to a unit during deployment. (it is a tournament after all, and I've warned you).
I am sure there is more going on with this mission, so if you have something to add, please do so in the comments. Mission #2 and #3 are coming next.
edited for a couple of mistakes regarding fearless and librarians in terminator armour. Thanks for the correction notes.