Combat Patrol vs. Tau/'nids

[Deleted]

All right, gents.

I played my FIRST game vs. a friend of mine (a closet power player). We played in dense forests, which raped me due to the 6" visibility rule.

However, had I been in a more-or-less even battle with him, how should I go about utilizing my troops to win?

My army: 1 Platoon (CO- P.Weapon/Bolt Pistol, Plasmagun, Lascannon; Squad A- 'nade launcher, heavy bolter; Squad B- 'nade launcher, autocannon), 20-man Conscripts w/ flamers, and a Multi-laser Sentinel w/ Armored Crew Compartment.

His army: 2 Crisis Battle suits/ Gun Drones, 2 10-man groups of Firewarriors w/ Pinning weapons, one of them mounted in a Devilfish.

Also, I'm going to play another friend's Tyranid army. His is as follows- 1 Biovore, 1 Lictor, 4 Warriors, and two 12-strong groups of Genestealers.

HALP!

[Deleted]

Bump, for the love of Mork

[Deleted]

Bumpety-bump

[Rolling Thunder]

H. Flameron the sent, flamers on the scripts and more close-in weapons.

[Deleted]

I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll never be able to get close enough to use those weapons.

[Subtle Blatancy]

Alright... I am, by no means at all, a Master with Imperial Guard. I've not played with them overly long, yet, much to your happiness, a frequent foe of mine is my Friend's Tau Army. I have learned a few things about fighting these technologically advanced deviants.

To start, Your army list needs some (And by some I mean ALOT) of tweaking. I'm going to assume that those are the only models you have:




HQ
Junior Officer - Laspistol/Close-Combat Weapon
Junior Officer(s) Squad - 4 x Guardsmen; Autocannon
Sentinel Support - 1 Mars (Multi-Laser) Pattern Sentinel

TROOPS
1st Platoon
Junior Officer - Bolt Pistol/Power Weapon
Junior Officer(s) Squad - 4 x Guardsmen; Autocannon
A Squad - 1 Sergeant, 9 Guardsmen; Flamer; Light Infantry
B Squad - 1 Sergeant, 9 Guardsmen; Flamer; Light Infantry
C Squad - 1 Sergeant, 9 Guardsmen; Flamer; Light Infantry


You should be able to fulfill this list with minimal Proxy-ing.

Okay, there you go. Here is a brief description of how you should be using your army/patrol:


To start, you must get your mindset off of the 'Bad 6" Rule'. Especially with the Flamer/Light Infantry Upgrade, this will be your greatest friend in the world. The Tau Basic Infantry will have range on your Basic Infantry, Period. Thats a fact of life. What you need to do is eliminate the heavy elements of their army (Mainly the Battlesuits), and use the terrain to your advantage.

You will go about accomplishing this by creative use of the Infiltrating that your Infantry Squads have (Via Light Infantry), the short visibility in the dense forest, and heavy use of flamers.

Sun Tzu (Author of The Art of War) emphasized the point of attacking where the enemy is weak, or where he does not expect it. Also, you have to try and make your enemy believe things that are not true, so that they will bend to your will

Try and put lots of dense forest on the board. It is your friend, and, oddly enough, will open up your deployment zone. try and make the forest patches more than 6" wide and thick.

When you initially deploy, put your two command squads next to one another to concentrate their fire. Do not, however, give them line of sight to the Tau Battlesuits (and, subsequently, take away the battlesuits line of sight to them). Deploy your Sentinel within line of sight and in the open, but within moving distance of some cover.

By placing a target as valuable as a Sentinel in the open, your opponent will want to set up his troops in such a way that they can see him. In this way, you can largely determine where your opponent will set up. Try to make them set up next to a large area of woodland.

When the time comes, move your Sentinel behind cover and out of line-of-sight with the Scout Rule. Deploy (if Possible) all of your Infantry squads within 12 inches of the Enemy, in the forest, using Infiltrate.

This will force your opponent to do one of two likely things. Either option A) Make them move into combat, giving your flamers range to devastate, or B) Force them to move away, into the open.

If you can place your two command squads and Sentinel right, you will force the Tau Battlesuits to move into your line of sight. Then, you have a turn where you get both Autocannons and the Multi-Laser to fire at the valuable units. They can stay in the open and get shot, or move toward cover, where they will get flamed by your waiting Infantry

Essentially, follow this checklist during the battle:

- Hold Squads A-C back for Infiltration.
- Deploy Sentinel out of, but near, forest cover.
- Deploy Your Command Squads behind the cover your Sentinel is near.
- Once your enemy deploys to have a good line of sight toward your Sentinel, take note of the nearest large piece of forest.
- Before the game, move your Sentinel back behind cover using the Scout rule, next to your Command Squads (Again, for concentrated fire)
- Infiltrate your deadly close range units in forest, 12" away if possible.
-When your enemy moves to avoid your close flamer-units, into the open, open fire and try to eliminate them.

And, there you have it. Generally, remember that range is not your friend here, but the cover is. Block the line of sight with forest until you can move up to flamer the enemy. Force the enemy to move where you want him to - play actively, not reactively.

If this was horribly confusing and illegible, I am sorry. Say so, and I'll try and clear things up.

-S.B.

[mccaptain]

Excellent idea.

[Deleted]

Thank you very much, subtleblatancy. I'll give that a shot.

However, I probably should have specified my question better- how can I use the troops I already have (listed ones) against theirs to the best effect?