Hey all,
The RWMG initiative system is unique amongst wargames and mastering it will give a general a huge advantage. With that in mind, I've been tinkering with a few tactics based on gaming initiative. I hope you all will share some of your ideas on the matter!
In a lot of threads, I'm seeing comparisons about whether one unit is better than another, say, Waiqar archers being better than Oathsworn. These debates hinge largely on comparative statistics, and which unit is capable of inflicting or surviving more damage.
But it's pretty obvious to me that a thoughtful general will be able to avoid some of the most serious threats, or create great opportunities, by mastering initiative and positioning.
I'd love to hear your examples, but here's a few I'm thinking of.
Cav Rush the Archers! The concept of this one is to use movement and initiative to get a unit of Oathsworn into melee with Waiqar Archers without getting them shot. I think this one works the best if you do not have the initiative on the first turn. Your cavalry starts between range 5 and 9 from the archers on turn 1. Since archers shoot at initiative 5, all you have to do is dial up your move 4 action, because at initiative 7, you won't move into range until after the archers fire. If you're closer to the archers when you start, say between range 5 and 8, your cav can dial up a defense or skill action modifier in turn 1 to help keep you safe from other threats or use your skill. If you start between ranges 8 and 9, you'll need to use the +2 move action as your skill modifier in order to close enough distance to make your turn 2 charge. In turn 2, you have the initiative and you can charge up to range 3 before he will be able to shoot at you. Charge, crush, destroy!
Where can Cav Rush the Archers! go wrong? Well, for one thing, if I'm the Waiqar general, I will probably choose to shift my archers back in turn 1 when I know I won't have a shot anyway. If the starting distance is range 7 or greater, then a 2 distance shift backwards should make it so that he can't close with my archers before I get a shot in. Another way to defend against the Cav Rush is to simply move a unit into the way of the rushing cav. The cav needs two turns to close the distance, so if you anticipate Oathsworn rushing your archers, it shouldn't be too much trouble to move a block of reanimates into its way. Finally, I may just offer the archers as a sacrificial pawn and set up an irresistible counter charge with reanimates, Carrion, or Ardus. The archers and Oathsworn are close enough in value that it's not a super beneficial trade, but depending on what one needs to accomplish elsewhere on the field, trading archers in order order to destroy the opponent's cavalry could be worth it.
The Bait and Switch . With the slowest move action in the game, the Rune Golem can be an amazing, late-turn counter charger, especially in combination with the relatively quick spearmen. The assumption here is that your opponent would rather charge a Rune Golem than be charged by one. Here is your set up:
Here the Carrion Lancers are set up to charge the Rune Golems. They need to be more than than 2 distance away for this to work for the Daqan general. The Spearmen dial up a an initiative 4, move 2 with a shallow turn action modifier. The Rune Golem (RG) dials up a move 2 with a charge action modifier. Because the Carrion don't charge until initiative step 5 or 7, this allows the Spearmen to block the path to the Rune Golem with one of their corners. The Carrion Lancers will have to charge by step 7, because that is their slowest move. But it's still faster than our lumbering rocky pal's initiative 8 counter charge into the Lancer's side!
Where can Bait and Switch go wrong? Well, obviously if the Lancers are at range 2 of the rune golem, they can charge before the spearmen can get in the way. However, if that's the case, then the smart Daqan General would just dial up a turning charge action modifier instead of a charge. And who wants to get a block of spearmen to the side of the head? The other place this could go wrong is if the spearmen are too weak to withstand the charge. Anything that's strong enough to charge a Rune Golem might not be upset about charging spearmen either. The spearmen's turn modifieer prevents them from dialing up defense, so the spearmen block needs to be pretty strong from the outset, perhaps with a shield wall card and/or a front line Rune Golem of their own. They also need to be big enough and not worn down by casualties from earlier in the game to have the strength to survive the charge. Lastly, if the Waiqar player still has plenty of archers on the table, there is no reason for him to charge at all. He may just want to sit there loading you up with Blight Tokens while his archers work you over with arrows. It may mean that you have to maneuver and charge him, which then becomes a whole different ball game.
