We have all been there. Have to get this power off… or else! *roll dice* DAMN! I needed one 4+ and did not get it with (insert number here) dice! . It is frustrating to say the least, irritating if you are banking on it going off. But, what do you do when all the carefully laid out plans fall against you?
Play to the mission.
In this little article I am going to quickly touch on the reliance of powers within 40k to win games. The “brain phase” was added to the game, and with it a whole new context within the game. The “psy deathstar” is still at large out there, but it is a lot less reliable than what it used to be. Dice can be fickle. Banking on getting invisibility, or some other buff can win you the game if it all works out. Sometimes you dont get what you want, but dont get frustrated! Your deathstar, or units can do fine with no buffs on them at all. I will illustrate this with an example.
I had a game last night against a centurion star, with tiggy, coteaz and a GK libby. In the pre-game, no gate, no invis… I was up to a good start. But, my opponent Matt did not get phased by this. Now! In a game that lasted 7 turns, thats 7 “brain phases” for my opponent. He had at least 3 of them where almost nothing went off… even with his massive +14 or +12 power dice. And then with the few dice I had, I was able to challenge or deny one of the powers that did go off. Now, to a less experienced player this would have meant his doom… BUT Matt played to the mission, kept the pressure on, and even with just the strength of the unit in the center of the table, was able to push up and do a lot of damage, to the point where the game was extremely close at the end! So close! It was a nail biter, and it was the use of good generalship that allowed him to mitigate the loss and disappointment of the so called “brain phase”.
So! How is it that you do the powers in warhammer 40k? Tactically speaking, do you cram as many power dice as possible to increase your odds, or do you even take a psyker at all? Or do you not care. Let me know in the comments!
Cheers - Skari - out.