|
|
|
|
|
General Tactical Considerations
|
|
Leadership:
|
As a new Beasts player who played Dwarfs for several years before, I can tell you
that beyond a doubt the biggest downfall of this army is low leadership. You pretty
much cannot count on your beasties to do anything you want them to if there's a
Leadership test involved. This list may well be expanded in the future, but here's
the current list of ideas:
- Mark of Chaos Undivided: This has proved rather
effective on the few troop types that can take it. It's unforunate that Beast Herds
can't have it, and that only one Bestigor regiment can take it as those
are the meat of my army. On the plus side, its free: so I take it whenever I can!
- Mark of Slaanesh: As the army grew, this baby shone like
a beacon in the darkness. Now my Bestigor, Minotaurs, and characters are guaranteed to
pass all those pesky LD tests, and Spawnie hauls! The more I play with MoSlaanesh, the
more I like it.
- General Proximity: This is a rather ineffective
tactic unless you have a Beast Lord, considering a Wargor has the same Leadership as
the Bestigors(including the ones in the Chariots) & Foe Renders. This tactic could help
those worthless War Hounds, but since their job is supposed to be getting out and around
the enemy: you've removed their prime benefit of cheap mobility in implementing it. It still
pays off on turn one though if you set up the hound units near the Lord general. No more
fleeing off the board from shooting before they get to even move!
- Battle Standard Bearer: Rerolling failed break tests
is always a good thing, especially when I seem to fail every one that I roll. This guy has
proven worth his weight in gold, and will continue to accompany the Bestigor.
|
|
|
Mobility:
|
This is one of the best benefits to the Beast Army. Movement 5 min on everyone is great!
Years of playing Dwarfs taught me one thing: reactionary movement is the only movement
necessary. That definitely does not hold true for Beasts. It's great to run circles
around the enemies, make them react to what I'm doing, and what they think I'm going to
do next turn. The Beast Herd's ability to travel fast through woods and other terrain add
that much more to the effect. I'm always mindful in the terrain deployment phase to set
up some tree clumps in the center area of the board for that very reason. Centigor are
great for that as well, 16" march, and Move Through Woods gets them far despite
the terrain. This has been one of my favorite things about the Beasts, after living with
short Dwarven legs for so long!
|
|
|
Ambush:
|
Ambush is a bit of a double-edged sword. Its great when it works, but there's always
the chance that the necessary
Leadership tests will not be passed. There's still a decent chance that the Ambushers
will appear in a useful location, but you cannot count on it. Its definitely worth
Ambushing a unit or two against less mobile opponents, just to worry them. Some players
do bizarre things when they know there will be a unit or two appearing behind their
lines, and those bizarre things can often cost them the game. Even if they keep a level
head, they'll still have to adapt their plan to account for your Ambushers therefor
breaking up your opponents battle plan is always a good idea!
It isn't too often that I bother with Ambush now that I have some experience. I
found that I simply couldn't pass the LD tests often enough to be able to count on things.
I prefer to simply deploy my troops and let it go from there. That way I can rest assured
they'll be where I want them when I want them (minus the occasional failed Unruly
roll. I don't think I can recommend using Ambush at this point.
|
|
|
List Variety:
|
I feel I have to comment on this. This has been another great thing about Beasts. You
can make a fast jukey list to run around and cause trouble for your opponent. You can make a
list full of big monsters and hard hitters to pummel your opponent into the dirt. You can go
super magicky, or with nothing but a scroll caddy. There are so many possibilities! So far
what's appealed most to me is a mix of fast stuff and monsters. That seems to be the best
take-all-comers list yet.
|
|
|
|
