The initial phases before the battle: setting up terrain and deployment are just as important as a good strategy and tactics since they are the phases that will dictate the rest of the game. Terrain effects the movement of troops. If there is difficult, very difficult, or impassable terrain on the battlefield, units will do well to avoid it and will alter their movement to avoid penalties otherwise incurred. Other terrain, such as hills, forests, and buildings can block line of sight meaning that a unit is protected from many sources of damage that will weaken its close combat potential. Terrain therefore dictates how and when your army will most likely meet the enemy in combat and crucially where they will meet each other in combat. It goes without saying that if one can 'read' the lay of the terrain better than the opponent then one will have a significant advantage over him. Once terrain has been laid out and table sides have been chosen, deployment can begin. This is the phase of battle where one's selected strategy and reading of the terrain will be put into effect. Units are deployed on the battlefield so as to maximize the chosen strategy in accordance with the lie of the land. A good deployment can present significant advantages throughout the battle and its effects can even be noticed late in the game.
1. Terrain
- 1.1 Types of Terrain
- Code: Select all
Type Block line of sight Block or hamper movement Category
Hill Yes No 1, 2
Rock, boulder field No Yes 2, 3
Cliff Yes Yes 3, 4- Code: Select all
Type Block line of sight Block or hamper movement Category
Marsh, stream No Yes 2
Pond, lake No Yes 2, 3, 4
River No Yes 3, 4- Code: Select all
Type Block line of sight Block or hamper movement Category
Shrubs, hedges No Yes 1, 2
Woods Yes Yes 2
Thick Woods Yes Yes 3, 4
Jungle* Yes Yes 2, 3, 4- Code: Select all
Type Block line of sight Block or hamper movement Category
Fences No Yes 1, 2
Ruins Yes Yes 2
Buildings, statues etc Yes Yes 1, 2
Walls & keeps Yes Yes 4
Before one can start to read the lie of the land on the battlefield it might be necessary to once more review the various types of terrain and their implications. Terrain can either: block line of sight, block or hamper movement or it can do both of these things. In the Warhammer rulebook terrain is categorized as one of 4 possibilities: Open terrain (1), Difficult Terrain (2), Very difficult terrain (3) and Impassable terrain (4). In open terrain, no restrictions apply to either movement or sight. Difficult terrain can hamper movement and line of sight. Very difficult terrain can seriously hamper movement and line of sight. While impassable terrain can deny movement and line of sight.
- Land Features
Land features are most common upon the battlefield. Here are some examples of such terrain and their implications (though these can vary due to agreements before the start of the battle):
Water Features
Water features are not too common upon the battlefield, mostly due practical reasons, such as modeling difficulties and carrying size restrictions. However, they will feature prominently in tournaments and scenarios.
Flora
Warhammer Flora usually consists of normal woods (luckily for us Wood Elves!), though in scenarios expect to find jungle, thick woods and other interesting stuff.
* Lustria rules can add additional threats, such as maneating plants
Structures
Structures are a welcome addition to the battlefield. They offer much needed colour and flavour and tactical advantage. Structures can confuse your opponent, since quite often he will not know the rules governing buildings (see ArchMagosAlchemys’s excellent article on buildings). Being up to date on these rules can open significant opportunities to your strategies. Also, due to the face that WE can field large amounts of scouts and skirmishers, we have very little problems in moving through clumps of buildings, effectively treating them as open ground in many cases.
1.2 Significance of Sight vs. Movement
- As you will notice there are a number of terrain features that do not block line of sight, but do have impact on movement (water features, hedges etc). These features lend themselves to being good for defensive positions, due the fact that you can comfortably shoot at the enemy, while being safe from enemy advances. Placing ranged attack units close to these features will give you a significant advantage over your opponent.
1.3 Some Important Concepts
- Fire corridors
Fire corridors involve the enemy being ushered through a funnel in which they are pounded by magic, shooting and warmachines. In these corridors there is little cover and no room for retreat, allowing your ranged units to inflict maximal combined damage to a unit without being touched.
Traps
Traps are places where the terrain can lend an unfair advantage to your units which your opponent did not expect. WE can set traps more easily with the ability to move trees around the board, cutting off support units and isolating units. Though without dynamic terrain it should be possible as well (for instance, casting the hidden path spell on a unit of wild riders can really throw a wrench into somebody's plans).
1.4 The Lay of the Land
- Defensive positions
Support strategies: Bastion, Stepped, Hammer and Anvil
Defensive positions are categorized as places that can easily be defended. Ideally they allow the enemy to approach from one direction, funneling units allowing one enemy unit to enter at a time where they will face overwhelming odds. During the enemy's advance, a host of missile fire and magic constantly harries the enemy. Most of the examples given below are exaggerated in nature and you will rarely see such setups on the battlefield. However the underlying theories can be applied implicitly to different types of terrain. Identifying these elements in your battlefield is what gives you the advantage over your opponent.
High Ground
The simplest defensive position is the high ground, created by hills and cliffs. These positions offer ranged units the benefit of being able to fire in two ranks and combat units the static combat result bonus in addition. Though this may not seem like a lot, imagine attacking a unit of 25 halberdiers on a hill. They will have 3 ranks, standard, outnumber and occupy high ground, thus have +6 CR, before the first blow has fallen. Positioning yourself on high ground can be quite formidable indeed.
The Valley
This is a very clear example of a defensive position. Two large missile units occupy high ground, fully ranked while two heavy hitters lurk in the woods on their flanks. The valley only allows one enemy unit at a time to enter the clearing where they will be faced with potential flank charges, encirclement and fighting rank and file troops occupying high ground. The enemy is outmatched in every sense of the word. Despite the overwhelming advantages this setup has, one has to note the following threat. If any one of the units decides to leave this defensive position and enter the valley, either on own accord or by pursuit, they will find themselves in a similar predicament as their prey. Quickly one’s units can be sucked into straightforward combat in which no other close combat advantages can be attained.
Due to the extreme nature of this type of terrain, it is vital to hold one’s defensive positions and to let the enemy come to you. Leaving this safe haven will have dire consequences for one's strategy. Maintain ranks and positions. Include a cheap pursuit unit to destroy broken enemy units. This type of terrain can work both ways, so be wary of falling for a similar trap on the other side of the battlefield.
Paths in the forest
The same principle can be applied to more wooded terrain. WE have the advantage of being able to move through wooded terrain as if it was open terrain. The enemy, however, may not be so fortunate and will avoid getting bogged down in wooded terrain as this restricts his movement phase. Therefore he will try to move around woods, giving you the advantage of knowing where he will strike.
Bridge over troubled water
Water features such as this river can offer similar advantages as woods or land features. Here you see that enemy units are forced to cross the river at a specific point, the bridge. Once again you know where he will strike and can deal with the threat appropriately. Also you can see that ranged attack units can be placed close to the river with the ability to shoot enemy units without having the threat of being charged, as explained earlier. Beware that the enemy will be able to place his own missile troops to shoot at your ambushing units and have them be equally protected.
Offensive positions
Support strategies: Weighted Flank, Full Press, Breakthrough
While defensive positions offer advantages to the army occupying the position, offensive positions are places that offer advantages to aggressors, while denying them to defenders. Think of an enemy getting trapped in a difficult terrain which you can ignore or attacking through a wooded area (which protected you from ranged attacks earlier on).
The Bog
In the above example the enemy unit has been forced or has decided to enter the marshy area. His movement is limited here, thus making him ever so easy to be picked off by a combined charge. This type of scenario doesn’t occur often and usually needs some form of funneling, terrain wise, to get the enemy units to enter the Bog, or you can use mistress of the marsh to create the appropriate conditions. It can also be done by baiting an enemy unit with a fast unit.
The Valley
Similarly if an enemy unit is situated in a valley with units on two fronts its movement will also be restricted. If he decides to charge one of the units on high ground he will face overwhelming static combat results, causing his charge to fail and leaving his flank open to counter attack. If however he does not attack but remains where he is, a combined charge will also offer the units doom. This setup of terrain can cause severe headaches for your opponent.
Seeing the path
Sometimes terrain can offer protection from enemy ranged attacks, due to the limitations of sight and movement. However your units can see the enemy units and do not suffer from movement restrictions, allowing you to engage the enemy quite easily. The figure above shows two examples of this. In the first a unit of glade riders can see a large unit of archers. These archers have a hard time targeting the glade riders due to the wood in between. Only a couple of archers on the fringes of the unit can target the glade riders. With that being the case, your opponent will often target other units, which he can focus all his archers on, instead of just a small fraction. The glade riders can see the archers however and suffer no movement penalties through the woods, thus allowing them to charge.
In the other example the unit of archers is placed behind some buildings. This ensures that only a handful of archers can actually see the skirmishers. However, due to skirmishing nature, they should be able to charge the archers in their turn.
1.5 Placing your wood
- Placing your wood may seem like a trivial and compulsory rule for WE, but nothing can be farther from the truth. It is an integral part of your battle plan and so should be carefully considered!
What does a wood create?
It is important to recognize what benefits and dilemmas a wood can create. Woods are treated as difficult terrain and thus hamper movement, they restrict sight and also are nasty places to be in when facing a WE army. The free forest also provides a great place to deploy a unit of Scouts or Waywatchers, so the chance to place it where it can do the greatest good is critical. Opponents do well to avoid them and maneuver around to get to you. Herein lays one of a wood’s greatest strength, so what should the aims be when setting it up?
Aims
After the terrain has been set up and you have chosen sides, take a minute to survey it all. Identify the key areas on the battlefield. Where are the fire corridors? Where is space limited? Where are the defensive and offensive positions? Take a piece of paper and draw a rough sketch of the layout and with a pencil go through possible positions of the wood. (Don't take too long in this process, or your opponent may get annoyed. It might be handy to tell your opponent that you need a minute or two to give this some thought). When deploying the wood it's good to think of the following:
- 1. What will my strategy be? And how can my army use the wood to maximize this? Maximize your positional strengths on the battlefield
This is a big reason why it's important to be aware of what your army is capable of and what it's not capable of. Also for this reason, lists that can execute, sustain, and transition between multiple strategies excel in Warhammer.
2. What will my opponent's strategy likely be? Will he sit back and shoot? Will he fight a weighted flank?
Try to deny your opponent a key advantage he may have gotten with his terrain, forcing him to reconsider his battle plan and making him react to you!
3. Keep your lines of fire open. There's nothing as bad as leaving your opponent shielded from your missiles by the very wood you have placed
4. Create a nasty bulwark around which your opponent will have to manoeuvre. Splitting his forces up creates flanks and creates opportunities.
Placing other terrain
Some tables have fixed terrain and on others, the terrain is paced by an impartial third part. However, sometimes you get to select and place your own terrain using the procedure in the front of the Warhammer Fantasy Rulebook. In these circumstances, you do not need to read the terrain as much as you need to create it. When you get to choose and place terrain, you can swing things even more in favour of your Wood Elf army. You can choose to place woods to provide comparatively safe fire bases, or you can place other terrain, especially woods, to block the lines of fire and sight for the hills and ridges that users of war machines tend to favour. If you are facing lots of cavalry or monstrous flyers, like Bloodthirsters, buildings provide you a safe haven.
Against a fast, but poorly armored army, like Ogre Kingdoms, extensive areas of difficult terrain, like swamps, slow the enemy to give more turns of shooting while, at the same time, do not provide protection from that shooting. Even stone walls can provide that hard cover you need to protect your archers while they shoot down the enemy battery of Repeater Bolt Throwers. An interesting idea ArchMagosAlchemys promoted in his thread Terrainhammer 101, is the idea of hill placement outside of one's deployment zone. Asrai have lots of move and shoot units, so placing a hill in front of the deployment zone will allow cover during the first turn (should the enemy receive that) and grant a great strategic location in the middle of the battlefield from which to launch those deadly strength 4 missiles.
2. Deployment
With your strategy chosen, terrain set up, side chosen, wood deployed and spells chosen it's time for one of the most important phases in battle: deployment. For most armies the deployment phase can make or break an army. A good deployment allows an army to implement its strategy, whilst still being able to react to any enemy reactions. Vice versa, a bad deployment will tilt the scales the other way and create a mess from which few generals can arise. Getting this phase right is crucial!
- 2.1 Things to keep in mind, constantly
Run through this list with the placement of every one of your units:
- 1. Will the placement of this unit help achieve my strategic aims?
2. Will it deny the enemy strategic benefits?
3. Can the unit provide support to other units and receive support when needed?
4. Is the unit in range of spells you need to cast? Or will it be in a number of turns?
5. Is the unit making the most of the lie of terrain?
6. Anticipate where the key battle will be fought and deploy your units with that in mind.
2.2 Tips and tricks
- With 24" separating the two armies, you know exactly how many turns his units will take to get across and how far they can get into your deployment zone. For instance a standard unit of infantry M4, will take 3 turns on the march to reach the edge of your deployment zone. Similarly, a unit of knights with M8 will be able to reach you in 2 turns and will also be able to penetrate quite deeply into your deployment zone. Thus if you want your glade guard to maximize the number of turns they get to shoot at an enemy, don't place them right at the edge of the deployment zone, 24" from the enemy. Glade guard can shoot 30", so place them back at least 1" or more as a buffer for any movement spells. That way his units will have to take four turns to reach your glade guard, all the while you are pummeling him with arrows. When facing cavalry, make sure your glade guard are positioned deep within your own territory, at least 9" in for the same reasons.
Don't overreact to an opponent's deployment. A lot of times his deployment could be a bluff to get you to react and fulfill his strategic aims, don't fall for it. Stick to your strategy and make sure you deny him any advantages by doing so.
Be sneaky, you are Wood Elves after all. Mislead your opponent by placing highly maneuverable units first. Cavalry and flyers can very quickly change position on the first turn. Try setting them up on one flank, across from your opponent's infantry. He will presume an attack by them on his slow units, but on Turn 1 you simply move all these units to the other side of the battlefield, stacking your entire army on only a portion of his army. His infantry will have a terrible time trying to react.
Psych out your opponent. While deploying, mumble your 'plans': Dryads over here, Glade Guard on the hill so, Glade Riders go here. Then of course, when you deploy your Dryads and Glade Guard, don't place them in those areas, but somewhere else. Make him react to you in every way! This will upset his plans and benefit yours.
Count on going second. This means deploying your Glade Guard behind a hill and not on it, denying your opponent the advantage of being able to target them in Turn 1. Then when you are able to move, move them up so you can start shooting. Set units up in cover and keep formations close, this keeps potential targets to the minimum and will also create points to which your enemy will advance to.
Provide your opponent with a juicy target. (A lone unit of Eternal Guard with Battle Standard Bearer works wonders here.) Make it look like this unit is unsupported and there to fend for themselves. Your opponent will be keen to take out his unit due to the high Victory Points concentration, and will therefore send a couple of unit this way. This allows you to dictate where the crucial battle will be fought and allow you to funnel his units in a particular direction.
Never act surprised. Whether you anticipate your opponent's every move or not, never let your opponent see that you were caught off guard. Instead, act as if every move he makes has been anticipated and perhaps that you were even hoping they would make that particular move. This will often lead to your opponent second guessing themselves and can lead to errors in judgment.
Always have a backup. Deploy with a specific plan in mind, but never get so caught up in one strategy that if something doesn't work out like you planned, that you don't have a backup. One of the worst things that can happen to you in the middle of a game is to get sucker punched by a move or ability that you didn't anticipate. This can often lead to bad decisions which lead to more mistakes causing your army to suffer a cascading series of failures. Having a backup plan can give yourself a chance to recover and even turn a mountain of a setback into merely a speed bump.
Written by: Elbereth
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