40K Tactics: Outflanking for Objectives
Probably the single most important change between Fifth Edition and previous editions is the change in how Line of Sight and Area Terrain interact – if you think you have an argument for something else being bigger, I’d love to hear it. I don’t think there is a lot to say about that, though – it’s no longer possible for most armies to get into knife range without taking any enemy fire.
The changes to the Assault Phase, specifically removing consolidating into a new enemy unit and the much more significant morale modifiers that can be generated, are also very important, and change the game in fundamental ways.
Compared to these two, the changes to deployment when Infiltration and Reserves became standard in every game and both Infiltration and Scouting allowing a new ability, Outflanking, seemed minor at first reading. Now that we’ve all become accustomed to the changes in Line of Sight and the Assault phase, mastering the changes to deployment and Reserves are crucial to going from a competent to a good general. The amount of complaints and grousing I see when someone Reserves their force during one of our video battle reports tells me there are a lot of people who are not developing this facility to their best advantage. I will discuss some basic situations and consider how specific units might best be deployed and used in these situations. In all cases I will discuss the case of going second; going first is a different situation altogether, so apply these concepts to going first at your own risk.
Situation 1: Multiple Objectives, Mechanized Imperial Enemy (Completely or Nearly Completely Deployed).
The most common enemy I face in Fifth Edition is mechanized Marines and Guard. In general, these armies have a lot of firepower and will bring it to bear against you on turn 1 in such a way as to hamper your battleplan. I find it best to hold everything or nearly everything in Reserve against these armies in this situation. Determining which units should Outflank is usually dependent on the number and location of objectives and the side armor value the vehicles. Spearhead deployment should also change the calculations; coming from normal Reserve should net you plenty of side arc shots in this situation. In any case, if you got the chance to deploy objectives after your opponent, place one so that it is diagonally as far from one of the enemy objectives as possible. If you have diagonal placement, Outflanking will be effective, either in reinforcing your own position or putting pressure on the opposing far objective. Some specific units:
Genestealers – you can Outflank these, and being scoring and fairly killy, you can get some good value out of them. Look for whichever deployment most likely results your being able to close effectively on round 4 or so.
War Walkers – Everyone hates Scatter Lasers in the rear arc. War Walkers are often best Guided, so you’ll have to look and see if the enemy deployment provides an opening (such as Lascannon Predators) that should be exploited via Outflank, or if there likely to be a better target later via normal Reserves. You army’s ability to halt or delay the enemy units is something you will have to judge – if you’ll have the enemy out of transports walking across the field, those Scatter Lasers are probably going to be best used on troops from your own deployment Board Edge.
Chaos Chosen – I almost always Outflank these against Imperials. Meltaguns coming from the edges will funnel the Imperials towards the center, meaning that the rest of the army has less ground to cover and can more effectively concentrate and devastate units without leaving important gaps in your own lines.
Situation 2: Multiple Objectives, Largely non-mechanized enemy.
In response to the burgeoning numbers of Mechanized armies out there, I am seeing a resurgence in Foot armies that depend on few mechanized elements and lots of bodies to be effective. In these cases, it is often too dangerous to not deploy units; there are so many coming your direction that all of your firepower has to be brought to bear from the onset. I would still consider Outflanking with Genestealers, if only because hordes are likely to be near both board edges. The same holds true for Striking Scorpions and Chaos Possessed, or any other units that depend on knife work to get their job done.
Situation 3: Two Objectives, Any enemy force.
If there are only two objectives, I decide based on the comparative strength and mobility of the enemy force, almost completely. If the battle will largely occur in my deployment zone, holding units in normal Reserve is my preference. If the enemy’s deployment zone will be where the action is, Outflanking is a gamble, but one more than likely to pay off. Two Outflanking units have a 45% chance of BOTH ending up where you want them; that seems like fair odds to me, and more likely than walking across the board to get apply pressure.
Also consider the Outflank Reverse, where you hold scoring units off and Outflank them to get at the opposing objective after his forces have come towards your objective. Ideally you can get some units to turn back towards home, too late to effectively support defending their home objective and crippling the assault on your objective as well.
There are, of course, countless other situations, and the specifics of your force versus a given opposing force will require you to play the game and learn what works for you. I would be glad to address specific questions regarding outflanking with various units and missions in the comments, and provide whatever guidance I can.
