Do you backfield? The competitive meta of 40k 8th edition has some “requirements” that should be met in units. Let’s check out why now these squads are a must.
8th edition ITC format-playing usually runs tight lists with hardly any wiggle room on anything. Players are expected to be able to hold an objective and kill a unit each turn. Because of this, some units do things better than others. Looking at the backfield, you want something that can protect against deepstriking with the 9″ bubble, sit on objectives, and still be a relevant factor.
Why Would You Need Something in the Backfield?
With a decent backfield unit, you’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone… actually more like three. If you take Basilisks, for example, you’ll be able to deny the opponent any way of deepstriking in your deployment zone assuming you deploy correctly. On top of that, you can put them on objectives so they’ll technically be holding them until an enemy unit comes along (you’d probably want to back away and not get your artillery tied up). Lastly, you can always shoot at targets that need to be popped.
You obviously wouldn’t drop 200+ points on a 5-man Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Terminator squad to have them sit in the far corner of your deployment holding an objective.
Essentially you want to look for these three things:
- Long Range firepower
- Cheap/durable unit
- Take the max amount (three) as you’ll probably have three objectives close to your deployment if not IN it (and it can fill out your brigade)
Ignoring Line of Sight is $$$
Backfield units get even better when you don’t have to worry about Line of Sight. If you can put them in the bottom floor of a building on top of objective and STILL have them shoot at anything in range, that’s value-town as far as points go. Some of these good units are:
- Hive Guard for ‘Nids
- Mortar Teams
- Manticores
- Quad Mortar Teams for Space Marines
Of course, this isn’t a complete list, but you get the idea. Even assault armies would be pressured to take some kind of backfield shooting unit simply because they’re doing around four things at once by just existing. You’ll want to keep them relatively cheap because the enemy more than likely won’t be trying to kill them first. They may have other targets like a Knight or Mortarion to worry about first.
What are your thoughts on backfield units? What faction do you play? What backfield unit is your favorite? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials:@RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
