by Peter Ramos
After almost ten years of playing Epic, one factor always stands out after analyzing any given game - if you dont take the objective youll usually lose.
In this article I will share with you some impressions I have accumulated over the years from a wide range of players and playing styles.
A simple fact of life in Epic is that if you dont deploy effectively, youll probably fail in securing your desired goals. Your tactics will be largely determined on how well you deployed at the battles start.
The first thing to do for an Epic game is to assess the battlefield and determine where the objectives will be and depending on your army, how realistic it will be to actually secure them. It is very important for the Epic player to realistically judge if he is physically able to secure desired objectives. Dont be shy or dubious of ignoring some objectives in order to concentrate on those that you deem can be secured properly. It is generally not a good idea to commit a single detachment or model to take a far away objective when their services can guarantee the securing of a closer objective.
Of course, it is easier for some armies to spread out" more effectively and in this case being precise and making runs for objectives with good support will be the key, since the army with more troops can perhaps squander some forces in order to contest all the objectives.
Let's look at some suggestions for deployment and tactics of Epic armies to maximize their objective taking.
Their strength is the speed at which they can move after deployment.
The Rhino, although it may not seem that way, is a mighty offensive weapon.
It permits the Marine player to reach objectives quickly and efficiently. Caution
however, this ability to cover a lot of ground will usually outpace your support and it is
easily to get isolated and destroyed piecemeal. Always go to your selected
objectives in force, dont send one detachment in Rhinos - send two or three
detachments to ensure proper support. It is helpful to mix up these detachments,
send tactical troops supported by assault troops or even devastators, this provides
support on multiple levels.
I like to field Marines in "strike packages" each with its own artillery support in the form of Whirlwinds, Thudd guns or Tarantulas. Each package is assigned one or two objectives that are close together (so as to maximize the supporting units target selection). At its heart is usually a battle company. The devastators will hang back in a safe place and provide cover fire, while the assault troops will wait in nearby woods or buildings (not the actual objective) within charge distance. The tactical troops do the dirty work of actually taking the objective. In this manner each component of the strike package can easily support the other without placing them all in the same objective and submit itself to concentrated fire.
Remember that Marines are not numerous enough to attack all the objectives in this well-supported manner. By necessity you need to consider which objectives to ignore initially.
If you do need to go after an objective with little or no support, Terminators are a good choice as well as robots and dreadnoughts. It is wise to at lest support them with a medic or techmarine to ensure the maximum possible chance of survival.
Thunderhawks are excellent for rapid deployment, but this is usually not worth it because you will be operating alone. This means if they do not accomplish their goal they will be overwhelmed and destroyed. It is wiser to use these troops in support of objectives your Rhino-transported troops have taken to strengthen your hold. The best move I have ever seen was a player who brought in Thunderhawks a whole devastator company to support tactical troops in nearby objectives. These troops were immediately available for firing in the advance fire phase and provided ample close-in cover fire. Also it is by far a better ploy to land troops in Thunderhawks en masse on one or two closely packed objectives, thus overwhelming the local defenders.
Use your superior mobility! Obligate your enemy to defend those objectives he has already taken by deploying fast striking units like Landspeeder and bike detachments. This will make him wary and hesitant to release reserves from taken objectives to those you are currently contesting. A Thunderhawk in reserve, even if you dont use it, can have the desired effect of keeping your opponent too cautious and hesitant.
The Marine player dictates the pace and play of the battle. Make your opponent react to your moves and keep him off balance by attacking lightly defended areas with fast units and throw your full supported attacks at more defended areas before he has fully deployed.
Speed is on your side - use it!
The Guard is one of those armies like the Orks and Tyranids that can physically occupy a large segment of the battlefield. Of course the large number of troops is needed to offset the poor quality of the units. A careful selection of infantry and their corresponding support is perhaps more crucial in case of the Imperial Guard due to their large dependence on adequate support.
At its core an IG army must deploy massive amounts of infantry. This is easily done since the company cards available are cheap and provide an enormous amount of troop stands. Individually they arent much but their sheer numbers makes it a daunting task for the opponent to tackle.
By necessity, due to their command structure they must be fielded relatively close and therefore they must attack a common objective. The idea is to assign a single tactical company for every two objectives this provides for an attack that is still high on numbers for each objective.
The key for objective taking success for the guard is what detachment you select for supporting your "grunts". Excellent choices are Roughriders and bike companies. They can easily keep up with the infantrys advance and possess high close assault factors. The important thing to keep in mind is that these support units are expendable. Their goal is to keep the enemy away from the infantry that is holding the objective. Do not worry if they get annihilated, thats their job. Other alternatives are assault troops and Ogryns, but in essence they accomplish the same job as the Roughriders and bike companies - serve as a shield and a sacrificial offering. They must die so the infantry can do their job - hold the objective!
One big disadvantage for the IG is their lack of mobility. There are few ways of remedying this. A notable solution is the use of tunnellers. Under Net Epic, tunnellers have been improved and now companies with attached IG infantry are available. This provides a quick and relatively safe method of deploying the IG. Caution however, they must still be supported effectively or else they can be eradicated quickly. Another choice is Gorgon companies. They posses excellent armor and can wither devastating fire usually making it to the objective. They are slow, however.
Heavy infantry units should be used in your baseline and provide support fire. They are cheap so you can get many. Concentrate fire around the objectives. Avoid needless potshots that have a low yield. Its the objective that matters.
One important aspect to the IG success is artillery. You have the best there is. Long range, hard hitting and massive - thats IG artillery! Keep them deployed in the back and defend them with Tarantula robotic guns. Under Net Epic these units may snap fire without penalty so you can pick off the enemy as it charges in (since once its engaged it has already done you damage by keeping your artillery busy!). Ogyns are good monitors to keep guard on your precious artillery. One slick strategy I have come across was to leave a detachment of Roughriders or bikes in reserve and counter charge any threat that comes close.
Superheavies and knights provide lethal punch to the IG and should be used as anchor points. Knights are fast enough to keep the pace with infantry and can handle the opponents tanks and other armored units. Knights specialized in close combat should go for large expensive units that threaten an objective. Keep them into reserve until that crucial moment in the latter segments of the game. Avoid sending them early in the battle since they are few and can not withstand a concentrated attack. These heavy units are expensive so go for the enemies big units. In Net Epic these units have improved survival and can resist several shots before they explode so dont be afraid to push them - they can take it!
The bottom line for the IG is attrition. You can and will suffer casualties. Throw what you have into the meat grinder. Your support units are expendable, if they die and your infantry holds their objectives you win. Otherwise you lose and big! Go for ALL the objectives. The IG has the resources to do so. Use tunnellers for those objectives far away and support them with Roughriders and bikes. Gorgons and Ogryns can be used to support those IG companies closer to your baseline. Give as good as you get, in the end given an equal amount of loses per side, IG will be victorious because youll control more objectives!
Imperial Guard has many resources - dont be afraid of using them! Attrition is on your side.
The Eldar are an army of specialists. They have the fastest attack units (jetbikes), the most powerful close combat troops (scorpions and banshees) and excellent armored vehicles with good armor, accuracy and speed. Their biggest problem is their small size and frailty. Most support cards are broken with just two casualties and almost invariably the Eldar are outnumbered.
Like the Squats, the Eldar need pay extra attention to what objectives to go for and which to ignore. Simply put, you cant challenge them all so dont try! Even those you will attempt to capture youll be outnumbered. The smartest Eldar players I have met have totally baffled their opponents by deploying exclusively on one region of the battlefield. They proceeded to bring their full force upon one segment of the opponents army and thus gaining "local" superiority. Once that segment is destroyed they then face the remainder of the opponents army on equal terms. There is danger in this approach, if the attack on the outnumbered flank is less than total you may find yourself in a sandwich - with you as the filler!
Once you decide what objectives are to be captured select the troops
best suited for the job. Since your army is small to begin with you need bulk.
The guardian companies are your first choice, although if you desire more
flexibility you can bring the guardian and Falcon companies as separate companies. Aspect only armies are
too brittle and should be avoided. This may seem as a good idea, but it is easy for
an experienced Epic player to concentrate on killing the two stands needed to break the
detachment. You will quickly find your army in shambles due to this. Most one
turn knockouts I have seen or experienced were due to players fielding "aspect
only" armies. The Eldar need some backbone and guardian companies provide
that. Another seemingly great idea is to deploy massive amounts of Spirit hosts in
the belief that since only the slaying of their warlock earns victory points and these are
command units it will make earning those points very difficult. Not true! All
armies have ways around the command unit restriction, flyers, psychic powers or special
cards. These are numerous enough to make you regret this approach. Remember, 1
dead warlock = 6 points to the enemy!
After deploying guardian companies support them with specialist troops. These can be divided into two groups. Those that will physically accompany the guardians and those you serve as spearhead to clear the objective out before they reach it.
Striking Scorpions and Howling Banshees are the best troops to field as spearheads. Transport them via a Wave Serpent and have them engage immediately. This way they can't be targeted effectively by barrages and if they draw more enemy troops into close combat so much the better. They can break many times their worth in close combat before they are destroyed. Never deploy these in open ground that is a waste of their skills! Also they may be transported by Vampyre carrier and strike deep into enemy territory.
Dire Avenger and Fire Dragons are excellent units to place with the guardians in the objective. Their superior firepower is a good adjunct to their shuriken catapults. Dark Reapers provide excellent local air defense and can be deployed to critical areas.
Deployment of Tempest tanks and Falcons is crucial. A turn spent on advance fire is a turn ill spent for these units. Much thought should go in to their placement. Usually behind the objectives is the good thing to do.
Although attrition is the bane of the Eldar army there is one exception. Jetbikes and Vypers. Their great speed makes few targets not accessible to their strikes. However, do not throw them in the first turn as is often the case. The effective way is to place them on charge behind the objectives and then charge any threats before they make contact. The Wind Host is large enough to provide support for many objectives. It is wise to keep a detachment or two on reserve to attack unguarded objectives or vulnerable artillery. Use them to confuse and harass.
The classiest use I have ever seen was an Eldar player who kept these behind objectives on first fire orders and shot up infantry as it came in! Remember that their weapons have better "to hit" values than bolters and Vypers have 2 attack dice! That was the only time I ever saw the Wind Rider Host finish a game unbroken!
Many times the Eldar player will have to take a gamble and attack objectives with few units and unsupported. The best units for such a task are Spirit Hosts, Scouts, Exarchs and Harlequins. These units are powerful enough to face almost single handedly a wide range of foes and defeat them. Care should be taken to assess that they do have a chance on completing their task. Do not throw them in just for the sake of doing so!
You have the best of all worlds! Never stand still, keep moving and make the enemy move to you! Hit and the run, avoid battles of attrition - they can only hurt you. Go for the throat early in the game, before the opponent has fully deployed then flutter away!
Like the Eldar, they suffer from a small force restriction and to worsen things they are slow. They, of course, have the highest break points in the game and some of the most powerful artillery units and giant superheavies.
No army, even the Eldar, have more a difficult time at deployment than the Squats. Where you place them, simply put, will either make or break you. As a rule you will never go for all the objectives. As a matter of fact you should go for an average of 3 objectives, perhaps 4, no more.
You will never cover most of your baseline, dont even try. Concentrate your force on those couple of objectives nearest you and get there as quick as possible. Then sit down and pound your opponent to oblivion!
Remember your opponent also recognizes you weakness. It is paramount for you to take and hold those few objectives you are after, every one you lose is more work for you in the form of destroying more of his forces.
Squats are better in defense than offense so convert the battle into a defensive one as soon as possible by taking the objectives quickly and then going on the defense. How to do this if Squats are so slow? There are a number of ways. Use tunneller companies. The Squat tunnellers are more accurate than the imperial equivalent and thus will surface close to the intended point. Support this thrust with the biker companies, their high CAF will usually come out on top.
There is no better support than the famous thunderers. Their presence alone will send your opponent for ingenuous ways of disposing of them. In the meanwhile feel free to use their massive firepower to wipe your opponent from the field!
Squat artillery is powerful and long ranged. Keep it far behind your lines guarded by Tarantulas and robots, they do a good job. A bike detachment in reserve can also counter charge any pesky fast attack units before they close in. Use your artillery effectively, go for infantry, especially in buildings. Let them know theres no place to hide! Never permit the opponent to reach your infantry in force, concentrate your fire on them from the beginning. Only stragglers should make it in and then send in your berserkers!
Overlord gunships should always form a part of your army. Their annoyance factor alone will make the enemy send tons of shots into it that otherwise would be giving your infantry a bad day. In addition the line of sight they provide will teach your opponent that the wrath of squat artillery is never far behind! Gyrocopters also form a good adjunct and should be used to harry enemy artillery and vulnerable targets. They are good for deep strikes to distract the enemy from your goals.
Giant superheavies (Praetorians in Net Epic) form the cornerstone of your force providing massive artillery and conventional fire support. No doubt your opponent will waste massive amounts of firepower on them, let him, all the less shots aimed at your vulnerable forces! In Net Epic these mighty monsters possess hit location templates like Titans and are VERY resistant to damage - a match for most Titans! If possible, field them in pairs, the crossfire from two of them will usually destroy any likely opposition.
Defense is your best offense. Take the objective quickly and then obligate your foe to come to you. Use your artillery as he comes in. Overlords and Gyrocopters will harry his forces all over the battlefield distracting you opponent. Any opponent foolish enough to go into a shooting match with you will lose!
Youre tough! The high break point is your enemys worst nightmare. You have resilience and fortitude - a stone that all armies hit upon until they break!
The Orks are perhaps the largest army in Epic. Attrition is the name of the game. More so than the Imperial Guard. The Ork player is shielded by massive break points, but equally massive victory point loss. Their firepower is relative short ranged but plentiful. Their weapons are varied and somewhat unreliable. They are fast and slow at the same time, but once the tide reaches its goal, more often times than not, they take the objective! The problem is getting there.
Like the IG you can easily cover the battlefield and go for most if not all objectives in some way. The clan structure obligates you into tight formations so each clan should try to capture one or two objectives that are closely placed.
Ork deployment should take into account terrain so as to use it for cover and avoid incoming barrage fire as they close in on the objective. Move through as many buildings as possible taking maximum use of cover, but avoid placing to many in any structure that may easily collapse.
Orks should deploy clans that move quickly like the Evil Sunz and Kult of Speed. These clans serve as "entertainment" for the opponent as you move in larger slower clans. Dont worry about losses, you can afford them.
The
ork infantry should charge, charge, charge until the objective is taken. The
vehicles in support should always be on advance orders to support this charge and pick off
targets as they close in. The key is to close ground fast. You have minimal
artillery support so dont count on it to save the day. Once you are in charge
range of the objective go in head first. It's harder to shoot or bomb you if you are
engaged.
Nobz are you greatest asset. Deploy as many as you can afford. Keep them behind your troops, they are your "green screen". Let them soak up firepower as your Nobz comfortably pick off targets. The massed firepower of many Ork Nobz is daunting (especially if you give them kustom weapons!) and will give your opponent pause.
Spread your custom cards. Avoid concentrating them. The loss of a clan with many cards assigned to them is a great blow to your objective taking efforts.
The first turn is usually not a good turn for Orks, you take a lot of incoming fire that can be avoided or retaliated against. Clench your teeth and run in. Close combat is your goal, shooting is a means to get to it. Never get into firefights that will only distract you from reach the objectives. Concentrate your firepower in the immediate vicinity of your clans. Pave their way!
You are a green tide nothing can stop! Dont get distracted until you make it to your goal. First fire is not an order you should regularly use for your clans. Advance or charge is the only way to cover ground. Your support vehicles should close follow your troops on advance to pick off anything in its direct path. Pot shots are a waste of good firepower.
The forces of chaos are like two armies in one. One portion consists of the Chaos Marines and its related equipment. This part of the Chaos army functions as a regular Space Marine army and much said under that section applies to Chaos Marines. Of course they have extra skills that make them more effective than their counterparts, but their smaller size balances it out.
Demons and other minions form the other group. These have much in common with the Orks. T hey have few long ranged weapons and must close distance with the enemy quickly to have any chance of success. They can be quite a large army if many minions such as trolls, beastmen and minor demons are taken so they may actually try to vie for most objectives.
The key is to balance the Chaos Marine part with the demonic part. The Marines have the responsibility of fast deployment to the objectives and engage the enemy keeping it busy until the demonic reinforcements arrive. Demonic forces can be supported with demon engines and artillery, most of which is short range. Covering ground is key as well as full use of the terrain. If the Chaos Marines do their job, little fire will be directed at them in the first turn.
Once marines secure the objective they should go into first fire and let the demonic forces engage in close combat. Some Marines, like the World Eaters for example, may forego this since their close combat expertise is superior to most minor demons. Although Chaos can shoot better than Orks, they too are a close combat army. Therefore shooting is a means to facilitate engaging in close combat. Usually firing into the objective to soften up resistance before the demonic troop assault.
Chaos is also a "second turn" army. Try to keep your demon engines safe so they may capitalize on the second turn when they have closed range.
Remember that your demons are immune to first fire shooting as they charge in. Use this to your advantage when you attack well defended objectives.
Chaos cards should be used to guarantee assaults are successful or to protect units defending objectives. Cards used other than for objective defense are wasted. Dont spend enormous amounts of cards on saving demons. If it has completed its task or is irrelevant to a current objective let it die. Those cards wasted there could determine the fate of an objective elsewhere.
You have many weapons in your arsenal, Chaos Marines and demons. Each has a different task but all share the same magic. Buy for time with your Marines and then honor them service by defending them with your demons and minions. Dont hoard your magic, use it freely or that big payoff your saving it for may never materialize.
Tyranids can field a fairly big army. Their deployment is not so much for the objectives but towards engaging the enemy. Make no mistake Tyranids should take objectives but not for the same reasons as for other armies.
Tyranids receive no victory points for taking objectives, but can deny them to the enemy. In there lies the tyranids strategy for deployment.
By negating these objectives to the enemy it gives more game time to the Tyranids to bring more of their close combat troops to bear and break or wipe out more units earning many victory points. Long games invariably favor the Tyranids and its in the Tyranids players best interest to prolong the game as best he can to guarantee his units can kill more and thus ensure victory. The opponent will find it next to impossible to win if he does not secure his share of objectives, therefore he plays into the Tyranids' hands by coming to you!
An army with many stands is better for the Tyranids to field so as to cover the battlefield. Termagant broods as well as Hormagants and Genestealers are important to take in good numbers. Support them with Hive Tyrants and Tyranid warriors. They have good support firepower and are able to control their natural instincts. Heavy support from Carnifex broods and Malefactors are also helpful.
Use shock tactics. Throw in masses of Harridans with Gargoyles deep into enemy territory and contest even the closest of objectives to their lines. Remember, casualties mean nothing if you wipe out full units. These earn you double victory points. Use Lictors to sit on objectives and obligate your opponent to close in for close combat (Lictors cant be shot by units more than 25cm away). Attack - there is no such thing as defend for the Tyranids. Never be idle, your troops should hunt the enemy down, never ignore broken units. Wipe them out and earn victory points faster.
Your big units like the Dominatrix and the Bio-titans should attack similar enemy units since they yield the greatest amount of victory points for the least effort.
As you advance, leave objectives behind where all resistance has been quashed. Even one enemy stand can secure an objective - dont let it happen!
Objectives are a means for targets, either take them to obligate your foes to face you on your terms or attack them to kill and then deny them those points.
Keep the Tyranid maxim in mind: "the longer it lasts the better!"
These have been some general guidelines for all armies to maximize deployment and tactics to secure objectives. Of course, only a very few options have been covered. In depth articles on specific armies will cover more details - so stay tuned!
Happy Gaming and
Take those Objectives!