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Thinking Competitively – Attributes of Game Changers

By Rob Baer | June 3rd, 2013 | Categories: 40k News & Articles, Editorials, Tactics

Hey guys, Rage of Khorne here from The Order of Chaos and today I’d like to talk about the fundamentals of winning games of Warhammer 40k at tournaments. 

If you don’t attend tournaments or never plan on attending them, this article might not be for you as I’m simply analyzing army lists based on their performance from a score sheet perspective. 

I do play for story, variety, and just plainly to paint some cool models but that stuff I reserve for campaigns and friendly pick-up games.

 I’ve been playing 40k for a little over 15 years now and in the past 5 years my gaming group and I have attended the largest standard tournaments in our area (Southern Ontario, Canada): Warmasters 40k Challenge and Conquest Toronto. 

I’ve gathered a few basic ideas I use when determining my tournament capable army lists (for standard 40k). This article is not about the strategies I use, but rather a process of elimination on what works in a tournament list. I use 5 criteria to decide what to take, and you’d be surprised how well it works if you apply it to an army list you use (good or bad).
5 Criteria for Judging Tournament Worthiness
Value
Space Wolf Grey Hunter
 Value is the generals’ perceived worth of a unit in relation to what they’re willing to spend on it. The value of a unit, upgrade, or ability is the perceived worth to the general in what he is willing to spend in points. Determining perceived value is one of the hardest parts of building a successful army list; this is because there are so many variables to consider: statistics, armour, war gear, special rules, morale, etc. To help me determine value I simply take what I think is the best unit of a similar type in the game at that point in time and match it up against the unit I’m testing. For example, I believe Space Wolf Grey Hunters are one of the best (or the best); at 15 points a model, you get Frag/Krak Grenades, Close Combat Weapon, Bolter, Bolt Pistol, And They Shall Know No Fear, and Counter Attack – few other units can compare to how well rounded this unit is.
A common balanced unit is:

9x Grey Hunters
Equip: Meltagun , Wolf Standard
Wolf Guard
Equip: Power Fist, Combi-Melta
Transport: Rhino or Drop Pod
Total: 228 Points

Use this as the comparison unit, take an infantry unit in your army (troop choice or not) and match it up against the Grey Hunters point for point. I’ll take 14 Necron Immortals as an example and match it up against the Grey Hunters using some basic characteristics as criteria (I’m aware the unit can’t be that large so for arguments sake let’s say two units of 7).
Survivability – The Necron Immortals have the better survivability with their similar toughness, saving throw, larger number and reanimation protocols.
 Damage Output – Their damage output is dependent on the weapons they take but it is generally better than that of the Grey Hunters. They can harm vehicles with their Gauss weapons which is a nice bonus for the Immortals but when it comes to outright destroying tanks the Meltas of the Space Wolves are more effective.
 Combat Ability – The Immortals have a fairly strong stat line for combat against most opponents, but against the Wolves they will lose the fight almost every time. Against vehicles the Wolves also have more than one option for cracking open armour where the Immortals do not – a Power Fist on the Wolf Guard and Krak grenades on all the Hunters.
Both groups have comparable pros and cons and so would be considered high value units. An example of a low value unit would be something like Possessed Chaos Space Marines. If you compare them on the basis of their basic stats and abilities for their cost in points you can see how little value you really get from them. They are expensive, are not troops and can’t shoot.  A judgement I like to use when play testing a unit for tournament games is whether the unit kills its points cost of enemy models or not. If it can eliminate its point cost in enemy units, it is effective, if it can regularly destroy more than its points cost, it is highly effective.
Flexibility
Chaos Obliterators
                This is a comparison of how autonomously the unit can function without support from characters or other units. You can tell a unit is flexible if it can kill any type of unit type (tank, infantry, flyer, etc.) in the game or respond to any threats you might see on the battlefield. I would say the unit of Space Wolves from the previous section is an example of a particularly flexible unit due to the fact it can fight, shoot, kill tanks, and will generally do what you want it to. Flexible units are hard to counter and have added value beyond simply what you’re paying the points for.
Appearance

The most commonly ignored factor when talking about tournament compatibility is the cool factor! How awesome your stuff looks can account for between 20%-and 50% of your tournament score, which can make the difference between taking the top prize and being left middle of the pack. We are part of a unique hobby which has managed to integrate both artistic concerns and a rich gaming system. When attending a tournament, it’s important to remember to cover all your bases. If two different units can perform a similar task for a similar price, I often take the prettier of the two to optimize painting score opportunities (and paint some awesome looking miniatures). Modification and Conversion of your figures gives you the opportunity to keep the best tactical options open whilst making your army attractive to the judges.
Target Acquisition

There is a quality that most tournament players know about but rarely consciously acknowledge and that is target acquisition. What I mean by this is the ability of a unit, tank or infantry, to reach out and touch anything on the battlefield. This is not simply limited to the range of weapons or the speed of a unit however, and includes the ability of said unit to actually kill what it’s shooting at. An example of a unit with a strong ability to acquire and kill a specific target would be a unit of Chaos Marines armed with Lascannons firing at a tank. They have the reliability, strength, and range to pick on and kill most vehicles fairly quickly. Another example would be Hydra Flak tanks firing on flyers or Grey Knight Terminator units with psybolt ammo shooting at Marines.
Cohesion
The idea of cohesion could be best described by assessing how well a unit “plays well with others”.
·         Is the unit integral to the function of your army (eg: Synapse)?
·         Does this unit buff others around it (eg: Blood Chalice)?
·         Does the unit provide morale boosting abilities (eg: Chapter Banners)?
·         Does a certain character modify your Force Organisation (eg: Kaldor Draigo)?
These are all things to keep in mind when calculating whether a unit “fits” in your army and can turn a seemingly weak list into something seriously formidable on the tabletop. There are army lists that’s depend entirely on this factor so it’s one that’s hard to ignore when building for competition army lists and it’s the most important factor to keep in mind when positioning your army on the field. If you pay points for a model that provides Feel No Pain in a 6” bubble, it doesn’t help you to field him on foot if your army is made up of jump infantry or deep striking units. You’re forward units will quickly out stride your support elements and render your purchase worthless.
Closing Thoughts
I generally practice what I preach so here is an example of a list that did rather well in tournament games. It is what some people might call a “spamming” list but it functions because of the flexibility of each of the units in it. 
HQ
Rune Priest 1
Terminator Armour
Living Lightning
Jaws of the World Wolf
HQ
Rune Priest 2
Terminator Armour
Combi-Melta
Jaws of the World Wolf
Murderous Hurricane
These guys really fill in all the topics of what makes a unit really good in
 a tournament list except for target acquisition. These units are really just
 supporting the other elements in my force and appear on the front lines and
 in the backfield to provide reliable and consistent fire power and close combat
punch. I usually switch out their psychic powers for divination powers but if I’m
facing orks I tend to hold onto the basic powers they come with.
Elites
5 Wolf Guard
1x Terminator Armour
1 Combi-Melta
1 Chain Fist
1 Heavy Flamer
The wolf guard are not really a unit on their own but fill the role of adding flexibility
 to several units in the army whilst being very good value. They either hit hard in
 close combat, help add to specialised fire power, or keep your warriors in the fight.
Troops
10 Grey Hunters
Drop Pod
Melta x2
Wolf Banner
Troops
10 Grey Hunters
Drop Pod
Melta x2
Wolf Banner
Troops
10 Grey Hunters
Drop Pod
Plasma x2
Wolf Banner
Power Axe
Troops
7 Grey Hunters
Wolf Banner
Drop Pod
Power Axe
Melta
Wolf Guard w/ Combi Melta and Rune Priest Attached
Troops
8 Grey Hunters
Drop Pod
Wolf Banner
Flamer
Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour Attached
The grey hunters provide the meat of the army and do everything from mowing
down infantry to busting tanks. The main purpose of having almost 50 of them in
 an army is that they provide such good value for how many points they cost and
supply you with flexibility on your mid field, back line, or in your opponent’s
deployment zone that you really don’t need any other troops to grab objectives.
Heavy
6 Long Fangs
5 Missiles
Wolf Guard Attached
Heavy
6 Long Fangs
5 Missiles
Wolf Guard Attached
Heavy
6 Long Fangs
3 Missiles
2 Lascannons
Wolf Guard and Rune Priest 1 Attached
Fortification
Aegis Line
Quad Cannon
I have come to love my back line behind an aegis wall because of the target
 acquisition elements I explained earlier. These guys have versatile weapons and
potential to either reroll to hit or remove cover saves due to the wolf priest using
divination on them. The quad gun adds just that little bit of extra fire power to help
 get rid of most aerial threats and the wolf guard basically put more bodies
 between the guns of my enemies and my pricey heavy weapons. On top of these
things, these guys can really fight; with two close combat weapons and rerolls to    
hit in CQC and with their bolt pistols, these guys become some seriously flexible
 infantry. 

                               

Total – 1849
This next army functions well for a very different reason; it has less flexible units but each one either has a strong amount of target acquisition, value, or cohesion. This is what most people would call a “balanced” list. It has at least one unit for everything; fighting, shooting, living, anti-air, anti-tank, and capturing.
HQ
Chaos Lord
Mark of Khorne
Juggernaught
Axe of Blind Fury
Sigil of Chaos
Veterans of the Long War
This guy hides in the unit of 18 space marines and essentially provides a deterrent
for any units looking to charge it. He can also be used to run out of the unit and kill
 entire units on his own if needed.
Troops
18 Marines
2x Melta
Veterans of the Long War
These guys are the bulky mid-range force that provides covering fire and moves
 into place to capture objectives in the middle of the battle field.
Troops
10 Cultists
Stubbers
Heavy Stubber
These guys are basically a backup plan for the space marine unit. In the case
the marines take heavy casualties or flee, these guys are a last ditch duck and
cover option to try and grab mid field objectives.
Heavy
3 Obliterators
Veterans of the Long War
Mark of Nurgle
The obliterators are the epitome of anti-tank/anti- infantry/anti-elite flexibility.
 They can do anything I need them to aside from grabbing objectives.
Heavy
7 Havoks
4 Lascannons
Veterans of the Long War
Heavy
7 Havoks
4 Missiles
Veterans of the Long War
The Havoks are basically there to crack transports, hit opportune blobs of guys,
 and essentially harass anything they can see. They are hard to kill behind the
 aegis line and can man the quad gun with one of the extra guys in their squads.
Fast
5 Spawn
Mark of Nurgle
I’ve found spawn to be my favourite hit and hold units. They are super-fast, hard
to kill, and when they hit something it’s either them or their enemy. They are vital
to keeping bulky enemy infantry units out of play.
Fast
Heldrake
Baleflamer
The heldrake isn’t the best anti-air unit out there but what he lacks in killing air,
he more than makes up for his opportunistic ability to completely remove 3+
armour units.
Fortification
Aegis Line
Quad Cannon
Allied HQ
Imperial Guard Command Squad
Auto Cannon
Troops
10 Veterans
Auto Cannon
The imperial guard portion of the army is partly for appearance and partly for
 functionality. They really help hold the back line for grabbing objectives but they
 also support the marines advance with some light fire power. The army is a word
 bearer’s army so having cultists manning the lines seemed appropriate and it adds
some variety to the look of the army.
Fast
Vendetta
Heavy Bolter

Whenever I get the chance to field a vendetta I take it. Armed with heavy bolters
and lascannons it’s amazing how much firepower these units can pump out for their
 points. They add amazing flexibility to my army by allowing me to remove aerial
 threats and harass tanks and infantry.
 Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more gaming and painting articles from The Order of Chaos.
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About the Author: Rob Baer

Virginia Restless, Miniature Painter & Cat Dad.
I blame LEGOs. There was something about those little-colored blocks that started it all… Twitter @catdaddymbg

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