Random Charge Distance: The Pros

Especially when 6th came out, a lot of people were discouraged by the newly added mechanic, random charge length. Many people point to how it makes assault units unreliable, nerfing cc armies. However, there are also some good sides to it. How has random charge distance changed the nature of cc units/armies?

Premeasuring allows us to decide just how far away we want to be from a given target. When you are playing a cc unit, how far away does your opponent come with his troops? Does he go for the safety of 18.1"? Probably not, but how close would you go? I think a lot of people see 16" as a fairly safe distance. The charging unit needs to roll 10 on his 2d6 to make it into combat. But lets compare this to threat ranges in 5th. A basic infantry unit had a threat range of 12". It was a sure 12" but it is still clearly less then 16". CC units in 6th make strong area denial units, because your opponent will generally prefer to avoid coming too close, even if the risk of actually getting charged isn't so big.

This doesn't mean that a pure cc list is epic winning, but a combination of cc threats and shooting is very viable. I'd say you generally want a cc unit that can still provide range firepower (shoota boys are hot in 6th). I tried experimenting with foot th/ss. It sure provides are denial, but is too much points for what it's bringing. If the cc unit has a larger threat range (jump infantry, beasts etc.) then It's even better. Perhaps then having a dual function as a shooting unit is not as important (e.g. spawns, wraiths, scarabs).

In a game where are control generally wins you the mission, cc units are still very potent. The nature of cc units has somewhat changed for sure, but in a supporting role cc units are important, and got a nice boost in 6th imo. On top of that, the new way assaults work in 6th are very interesting, and the assault phase is imo the most interesting one.

Orks/Eldar 1.85k list for tournament

wip rats for the horde.

Suddenly my space rats have multiplied! I've been working out what I wanted to play at the upcoming ETC Finland Invitational Tournament. Pretty soon I hit upon a green tide, working out different kinds of allies for them. I played around with nullzone + a thss squad. A little extra reach with biomancy buffs and nullzone incase I run into daemons. However, this is what the final list looks like.

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PLAYER NAME: Aleksi Lehtiö

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PRIMARY DETACHMENT: Codex Orks

HQ1: Big Mek, kustom force field, warlord = [85pts]

ELITE1: 9 Lootas = [135pts]

ELITE2: 9 Lootas = [135pts]

ELITE3: 9 Lootas = [135pts]

TROOPS1: 28 Ork Boyz, shootas, 2 big shootas = [178pts]

TROOPS2: 28 Ork Boyz, shootas, 2 big shootas = [178pts]

TROOPS3: 28 Ork Boyz, shootas, 2 big shootas = [178pts]

TROOPS4: 28 Ork Boyz, shootas, big shoota = [173pts]

TROOPS5: 10 gretchin, runtherd = [40pts]

TROOPS6: 10 gretchin, runtherd = [40pts]

HS1: 3 Big Gunz, lobbas, 3 ammorunts = [84pts]

HS2: 3 Big Gunz, lobbas, 3 ammorunts = [84pts]

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SECONDARY DETACHMENT: Codex Eldar (desperate allies)

HQ1: Eldrad Ulthran = [210pts]

TROOP1: 5 Eldar Rangers = [95pts]

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FORTIFICATIONS:

Aegis Defence Line, quad gun = [100pts]

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TOTAL = [1850pts]

Desperate allies have their place. The key thing is to work ways around one eye open. Infiltrate is nice for that. Eldrad gives you alot. psydefence, doom, misfortune. We'll see how it goes, the tourney's next weekend.

Potential vs Probability

I've talked a lot about probability and how important it is when building a list and making decisions in game. However, potential is something that is often more difficult to interpret, because it relies on you going against the expected value.

Potential has less of a significance in list building but there are certain cases in which it can be utilised. Generally units that rely on potential are referred to as fear factor units, and it is the basis of deathstars. Deathstars in itself don't go against the expected value, they have the ability to dish out a lot of damage and soak up some in return. However, if you consider the entire game as one big probability tree, relying on single units can start to turn slightly risky. That's why nobody advocates pure deathstar lists, you always need supporting units. This leads to an interesting playstyle. We can take the American ETC 2012 Ork list as an example (I believe the guy also won the ESC). It's a green tide with a big squad of nob bikers and warbosses. He forces his opponent to deal with the deathstar (and pretty fast) whilst the 120 or so boys push up and are still a problem to your opponent. Your opponent has to destroy that unit because it has the potential to rip his entire army apart.

This can also be utilised on a smaller scale with units such as leman russ executioners or shokk attack guns. They aren't so crazy, but still something your opponent has to play against (e.g. spread out his units to minize the amount of hits) because they can potentially harm him pretty bad. It's a fine line between having a good potential unit and a shit army. Still, it's good not to be too fixated on pure probability.

In game decision making is even more linked with potential. There are always the "easier" options, and I see people often advocating destroying the easy targets first with target priority. However, in my opinion the probability of success should always be contrasted with the benefit of a given outcome. I played a game against Jabbdo a couple of days ago where I forced a morale test on his destroyer lord and immortals. He failed ld10 twice in a row and ran off the table. Then I was able to use his scarabs as a springboard for troops and coupled with deepstriking reserves I was suddenly all over his objectives. The destroyer lord and 10 extra immortals might have made all the difference. Now I was able to win with max points.

It wasn't very likely that he would fail ld 10 twice in a row, but what did I lose by trying? A couple of random shots that probably would have killed the same amount of models from other units. It's good to know your probability but you shouldn't read it like the bible. There are other factors that should be weighing in on your decisions.