Pimpcron: Use Real Warfare Strategies in Warhammer! Part 2

4 Minute Read

Jun 20 2020

Pimpcron has a second list of strategies; it’s pretty neat as far as lists go.

So for those of you who are new to this 2-part article about real-world tactics used in Warhammer, this is the second part in a 2-part article about real-world tactics used in Warhammer. This is part two of two. The first part that posted last week was part 1, as you may expect. This is the sibling article to accompany the first article. Together they make one larger article on the same topic. The look on your face says you’re still not getting it, so never mind. The first part (of a two-part series) can be found here.

Feint

A maneuver designed to distract or mislead. Ever heard of the term Distraction Carnifex? As a Nid player, sometimes it’s fun to run a Carnifex straight into the enemy along with your other units. If they let the fear of the Carnifex get to them, they will pour fire into the Carnifex which leaves other units intact. If they ignore the Distraction Carnifex, then they have a Carnifex in their face to deal with. Another thing I do is Feint with an expendable unit and sometimes the opponent goes after it and takes the bait. Then you are manipulating your opponent into doing what you want.

“Surprise!”

Human Wave Attack

An unprotected frontal attack where the attacker tries to move as many combatants as possible into engaging close-range combat with the defender. Nids. Guard. Daemons. Orks. All of these armies can easily and effectively use this tactic. Drown the enemy in your soldiers’ blood. Swarms of weak models flood the army in a tidal wave of group protection. I think this explains itself pretty well.

Refusing the Flank

Holding back one side of the battle line to keep the enemy from engaging with that flank. The refused flank is held by smallest force necessary to hold out against the enemy’s attack while concentrating the main battle force against the enemies’ center or other flank. Man, this was so well-said that you should immediately be able to see where this applies to Warhammer. Matter of fact, I just did this last night to my opponent who had held 1/3 of his forces in reserve. (Silly, I know.) I just spread out with a bunch of my forces I could do without and voila! He ended up deploying his forces about 4” from his deployment zone. I laughed behind closed doors.

Shock and Awe

A military doctrine using overwhelming power to try and achieve rapid dominance over the enemy. There is also a psychological element to this tactic as well. The way it applies to Warhammer is instances like the following: Your forces deal some decent casualties to an enemy unit from ranged attacks. You know your opponent does not have a way to auto-pass this unit for morale, or you want to force them to spend the CP on it. You start focusing even more firepower on this unit to cause the morale check to be devastating. Boom. They have been shocked and are now in awe.

Zerg

To overwhelm a base by sending all available units, in hopes to overwhelm their base. Now I know what you’re going to say, ‘isn’t this just Human Wave Attack?’ Well, yes and no. It is but I want to use this instance to explain another tactic that this strategy puts to good use. Board control. You execute a sweet Zerg on the foe and fill the board with your units, they are limited to where they can go because all your dudes are chilling, squatting everywhere.

This may seem like I’m overstating it, but this game requires model to be able to stand on the table when they finish a movement. Nowhere in the rulebook does it say you can Jenga model on top of other models. Ergo, you can physically stop your opponent from getting somewhere if you can fill the space enough that his models can’t be placed. Even flying models have a problem when you’re getting’ your Zerg on real hard. Loitering for the win!

Win Without Fighting

Sun Tzu argued that a brilliant general was one that could win without killing anybody. Sometimes you can demoralize your opponent so badly, they just call it quits. That when Sun Tzu smiles down on your from the clouds and slowly nods. You can also win if they have to reschedule, get sick, or if there is a power outage. Also in instances where you eye a stranger and say to yourself, “I could take that guy in Warhammer” but don’t actually challenge him. That’s a win too.

There it is! Did I miss one?

Hey! This article is brought to you by my top-tier Patreon supporter Mike Cowley!

Thanks Michael, smooches!

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