game plans

just out of curiosity do you guys plan what you are going to do before hand, then alter the strategy according to the secerio you get. or do you just do whatever when the game starts. i try and plan mine out beforehand but it never works because its hard to predict the senerio and terrain.

i usually play the game and then go, "man I should have done that..." even when I win.

I find that having a plan before you start a game can be a sad and frustrating thing before the all mighty dice gods. As such, the most forthought I tend to put into my games is making sure I have performed enough ritual sacrifices to please them. No easy task to say the least. Those gods are greedy buggers.

When I make a list, I design it with a plan of how I want the units to perform in scenarios and combat effectiveness. On the table top I'll have generic units that shoot stuff and hand-to-hand stuff. Then I'll have my specialist units that are kind of like my "ace in the hole" (in my mind) - Things that suprise, take objectives, perform suicide missions, etc... I like to have an idea of how I want my specific units to perform against different types of armies (horde, mech, MEQ, etc.) and scenarios. The actual plan of action doesn't take place until finding out whether I go first or second and the terrain. Of course once the game starts anything can happen.

I find that the most important thing is to know your opponents codex. It is impossible to properly plan and prioratize if you dont know what does what. Then i build a list that takes into account some of the more prevalent and effective units, but try to keep some balance. The actual game strategy dosent unfold for me until the game starts. I usually have a decent idea what i want to do from turn 1, but you always have to be able to adjust as the game progresses.

I tend to try to take out the heavy hitters first. Gang up on them or point all guns at them. The theory is that this will make it easier for your grunts to clean up the other stuff.

With guard however the #1 priority is to immobilize the enemy!

When building an army I always consider being able to fight certain types of units: hordes, terminators (and other 2+ saves) monsterous creatures, and vehicles. The last 3 points are why you will see plasmaguns more than any other special weapon in an imperial guard army.

The moment I see my opponent's force and/or the terrain on the table is when I start planning my game. The terrain allows me to think where I want to place objectives and figure out avenues of approach and choke points. When I see my opponent's force I break it down into troops and threats. Threats are the really killy stuff that I need to neutralize before they eliminate me, and then I size up the troops. If it's not a kill-point game can I kill all of my opponent's troops? If so he's playing for a draw at best. If he has too many to wipe out, then I will have to play a maneuver game. Going second is definitely good in this case.

Darksfear wrote:I find that having a plan before you start a game can be a sad and frustrating thing before the all mighty dice gods. As such, the most forthought I tend to put into my games is making sure I have performed enough ritual sacrifices to please them. No easy task to say the least. Those gods are greedy buggers.

not the ones you pray too :'( all they ask of you is for farsight to live.....