So, you’ve been playing the game for awhile now, managed to win a game here and there, but the good players in your area still beating you down on a regular basis. You are beginning to look for that little extra edge that will help propel you into the next level of 40K domination. That is what 40K Tactics 101 is all about! These generic tactics will help you step up your game and make you a better 40K Player. A training course designed for new to mid-ranged 40K players.
This week we are going to review the wrap around technique. This tactic is used to kill a transport vehicle and the entire crew within the transport in a single assault phase, and without a single attack back. Now, keep in mind some transports are big, really big, and this particular tactics may not work on all transports, like a Land Raider. However I have had good results when assaulting rhinos, wave serpents, and chimeras. So here goes...
This technique has two basic forms, one where your troops are in their own transport and can use it to help block off exit points, and one where they are without and must do so themselves. We will explore the later first.
Essentially these techniques uses two basic rules from the 40K Rulebook, the emergency disembark rules and the ‘no enemy model within 1 inch’ rule, to force the unit within the transport to have no legal place to go once the transport is wrecked, and hence are destroyed outright.
Method 1 – Surrounded by Troops:
Basically all you need to do to get this trick to work is to surround the transport completely in the assault phase, having every model base to base and in contact with the transport, and completely covering every exit point. It is easier to pull off with Fleeting units, as it gives those extra few inches to reach the furthest points on the vehicle. This trick is a little hard to pull of if you run low model count armies, but is still feasible. Once the vehicle is wrecked the rules kick in to your favor:
1) The unit inside must exit immediately from the vehicles exit points, up to two inches away. By surrounding the vehicle, each exit point is cut off and hence the models inside can not exit from these points.
2) If they can not exit the vehicle in this manner, they may emergency disembark from the vehicle, anywhere within 2 inches. Here is where the kicker is, even if the model could manage to get to 2 inches away from the transport, they would still be well within 1 inch of your models and could not legally be able to place them there. 3) with no other method of escape, the models inside die.
Method 2 – The Drive Around:
This is essentially the same tactics as method one with one minor exception, using your transport to block an exit point. Basically at the beginning of the movement phase you would disembark your unit from their transport. Once this is complete, your transport is free to move its full distance in the movement phase and hence could swing around to the back or side exits and sit 1 inch away, blocking and exit point. Your troops would do the same as above, and surround the vehicle, assault it, and with any luck, kill every model inside.
Heads Up: So, you did just a bit better then you were hoping, you exploded the vehicle and the troops inside as now located inside the difficult terrain that is left behind. Maybe they took a few wounds in the explosion, maybe not. But now you can’t assault them. Now, if you were lucky and had popped the transport in the shooting phase, and I recommend you at least try this before assaulting if you can (my god what are meltaguns for anyway, you would be able to assault the unit that spills out. So be warned, if your guys are a bit over zealous, they might rob you of the kills inside. (That being said, the unit inside is still probably screwed, lets face it.)
Okay, I want to take a moment to give full credit where full credit is due, I just learned method 2 last night as my buddy DJ schooled me with this tactic. I thought it was so great that I’d write about it today. Thanks DJ!
This tactic or technique rather, is so much easier to show someone then tell them. So I will toss up a video demonstrating this tonight:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEvilEd209
Got and idea for a 40K Tactics 101 article? Let’s hear it. Post a comment here and if your tactic is selected for a weekly article you will be given full credit for the piece!
Good info about auto transport.
ReplyDelete