I'm going to be making this a "multi-part post kit"(get it?) because i think it would get too long if i were to include all that i wanted. In any case i will be moving on now.
When building an army it's important to ask yourself what kind of an army you want it to be. Fast, Big Guns, Scoring units, Elite? Fluffy? Themed? Furry? Anything goes really. But if you want to play to win, then i guess a simple "Take All Comers" kind of list is the most reasonable.
Whatever the type of list you want to play, there will still be some "rules of thumb" that could help your army perform that little bit better, Why am i saying this? Because when it all comes down to it, you would very much like to win, I can't really say that i've heard of anyone that plays to lose.
Get on with it!
When you want to build an effective army, there are many steps you should think through beforehand. I find that one of the better ways to do this would be to make a list of all the things you should take into consideration.
One thing i see alot is that many players focus only on the codex that they play and don't really think that much about the rulebook itself. How come the Rulebook is relevant? Well, for starters, that is where the game is actually at! Think of the Phases that comes and goes in the event of a game.
-Mission
-Deployment
-Scout/Infiltrate
-Seize The Initiative
-First Turn
-Movement
-Shooting
-Assault
-Reserves
All of these things is something you should keep in mind when building your army, how do you take advantage of these things, or how do you stop your opponent from gaining the advantage from these things? Advantages you have are most likely never the same when you play different opponents, so it's important that the list can be played with a few alterations in deployment and how you move your units, very often, timing is key.
When it comes to missions in 6th Edition, there are some differences that make for an interesting game, You have 6 missions where 5 of them are objective based, and one is kill point based. That means that Troops should be in abundance, if not then you need to have survivable troops that can weather it all throughout the game.
Mission special rules that come into play is sort of important, if you think of night fighting then the first turn may be very eventless with lots of great cover saves. But all in all you shouldn't rely too much on it, afterall there are armies that ignore cover alot or armies that ignore night fighting, such as C:SM and Dark Eldar respectively.
- Big Guns Never Tire and The Scouring: These missions have some extra rules that could be to your advantage just as well as to your disadvantage. In Big Guns the heavy support units become scoring, but gives the enemy a victory point if it gets killed, and in The Scouring it's the same just with Fast Attack Choices. So in "Big Guns" Your long fangs are going to be even more of a fire magnet than usual.In addition there are secondary objectives, which can have alot to say when the game reaches it's end.
-First Blood! This one can really be a game winner, because only one of the players can achieve it. Making an army with durable units would make First Blood harder to achieve for your opponent. But this is not the only way to thwart your opponents plan. There is something called Deployment, and it's a great tool that you should use to the best of your advantage. Of course, this can also be one of the hardest parts of the game, but keep at it and you should get good at it quite fast.
-Slay The Warlord! This is something you need to think a bit about, but don't let it control you. If you want a warlord that isn't too survivable, then you just need to find a way to protect him, either through supporting units or simply through deployment.
- Linebreaker: As a Space Wolf player you should have a fair chance to achieve linebreaker through having a strong midfield presence. which would also mean that you should have a fair chance of denying your opponent as well. With a Gunline army, i'd say you'd have a hard time achieving Linebreaker, but even easier to deny your opponent. Of course this as well shouldn't control you entirely, but it is nice to keep it in mind from the start of the game instead of turn 3 or 4.Now that i've gotten your braincells to work a little bit extra, i would like to move on.
Analyze The Meta:
When i talk about the meta, i don't mean all that net list crap. Sure cron air and double heldrakes are a pain in the ass, but i rarely come across them. Heck, i rarely come across any flyers anymore, people around my local area have abandoned them for other things that they'd rather use.
That's why i say you should analyze the local "meta", because that's where most of your games will be taking place. That 100 point Aegis defence line that you have lying around, sprayed black, but not a speck of paint on it? what if you didn't need it anymore? It could be another Rune Priest in your army instead, if there aren't any flyers to be met, you would be better of with him.
Some small and simple things you should try to ask yourself:
-Do i have enough Ranged Fire?
-Do i have something to counter assaults?
-Do i have enough AP2/AP3?
-Do i have enough Anti-Tank?
-Do i have enough scoring units?
-Do i have enough Anti-Infantry units?
-Do i need Anti Air?
-Will my units survive long enough?
Finally when you feel you are pleased with your draft, you can ask yourself two more questions...
-What are my strengths?
-What are my weaknesses?
When these things have been thought through, it is time to put it to the test, play with a friend and see how you do. After the game , you can discuss tactical errors or flaws in the list and see what worked well for you and what didn't work at all. Which unit was highest on your opponents "Takedown- List"?
Analyze the game yourself and see if there was something that didn't fit your style as well, some people are great at playing speed armies that just goes in for the kill with pinpoint target priority. They can be few in numbers, but when in the hands of a master strategist, they can really put the hurt on things.
Don't be afraid to try out new things as well, it helps to develop your own generalship as much as it helps keep the game more interesting, don't be afraid to lose a game now and then. I have been on both sides often enough, and i can say that tabling someone isn't a great feeling, it's just about as bad as being tabled.Next time i will go a little more in debt with an example list to work with, and tell you what i believe
it's strengths are, maybe i'll even show you some weaknesses as well.
Any thoughts? Anything you want to add to the checklist of armybuilding? I'd love to hear 'em people :-)
