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| Does this man have too many guns, or just enough? |
As anyone who has
played this game will know, Dropzone Commander is a game of balance.
Unlike other wargames there are certain parameters within your army
that must be filled; anti-tank, anti-air and enough infantry to win
you the game. This particular balance is part of what draws most of
the gamers in, as it forces people to field a very even spread of
units. The question I pose is: is it possible to 'spam' units and
remain competitive, and if so, should it be?
Don't get me wrong, I
don't want to break the game. Far from it! I want to show that an
army can't be spammed with 'the best' units, or at the very least
that it doesn't work quite as well as a balanced list. Part of this
comes from the fact I have been a long term 40k player and the way the game has gone has more or less made me stop playing. A wargame
should be about balance and tactics and not about having one squad
with an overflowing beard, or 2 models in an army that stomp on
dreams and happiness, causing mothers to cover their children’s
eyes and the men to start shouting "I can't take any more, please
stop!" through tears and sobs. This happening in any game is complete
balls. Swollen, hairy, smelly balls.
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| Does this woman have too many cats, or just... No, no it's too many. Poor example, my bad. |
The Shaltari army I
currently use is very balanced and has severed me very well so far. I
have 4 Tarantulas
for AT, 3 Kukri's for AA and 2 Jaguars for a bit of
both (as well as other units, gates and such) and I have no complaints with it. The
unit which has been performing consistently well for me has been the
Tarantulas. These beautiful little bullies are always earning their
points back and deal with the armour issue Shaltari have been
suffering with since day one. So, I have written this little piece of
tactical literature to try.
Shaltari 1500 point
list
Command
Coyote (Warchief CV4) =
205
Armour
Tarantula x 4 = 220
Kukri x 3 = 135
Armour
Tarantula x 4 = 220
Kukri x 3 = 135
Infantry
Braves = 64
Braves = 64
Infantry
Braves = 64
Braves = 64
Special
Yari with Light Ion
Cannon x 3 = 81
Gates
Eden = 45
Eden = 45
Spirit = 40
Spirit = 40
Spirit = 40
Haven = 15
Haven = 15
This list ticks all the
typical boxes, it gives me:
- 6 battlegroups
- 4 squads of infantry
- Enough gates to efficiently deploy my army
I'm pretty sure this
list can work well against all the races, and especially against PHR
and UCM. I have AA, I have infantry, and I have a lot of anti-tank.
What have I lost? A solid fire base in the form of some Jag's and a
template weapon from my Firedrake. I don't expect this list to do
spectacularly well, and to be honest part of me hopes it doesn't work
at all. It doesn't feel like it is written in the spirit of the game
and the way Hawk intended.
Ultimately this
exercise may prove nothing, but it has to be worth an experiment!
Toodles!
This kind of prove why I like DZC. Spamming in DZC is having 2 battlegroups that are the same. Not three or five. Two.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't really consider that spamming. I have calculated some on the Tarantula. Is it really that good? Of course I'm playing scourge and 4 Tarantulas will only kill one Hunter (if I have understood it correctly). Assuming best of worlds.
Or is it because they are very good against massive DP units?
I've gone for 8 Tarantulas as I don't feel 4-6 Jaguar's would really be that over powered, as they lack the AT to really prove a threat. Also gate mechanics would be a nightmare! The Tarantula's are great, they are a unit that you need to look past the maths with. They always retain a threat to more or less every unit, which creates a psychological benefit to you. People will avoid them, or focus on them leaving the rest of your army to whiz about how you like.
DeleteThey are defo best against multiple DP units or anything armour 10 (4+ damage instead of 5+ from Gaus). Truth be told I haven't played against any light tanks or skimmers so it will be interesting to see how it works out. You shouldn't need 4 to kill a Hunter, 4+ to hit and 4+ to kill. You also get a 4+ / 6+ chance with the micro laser.