Jarl Clem - Slow Play

Jarl Clem – Slow Play

Today I wanted to touch on a topic that every one of us is guilty of at some point. I am not saying that everyone has intentionally slow played at some point so calm down. What I am saying is that sometimes we take too long during our turn even if we are honestly not meaning too.

“But 8th edition has made the game faster with easier mechanics and no scatter die”

Index 8th edition was much faster, but with every Codex that has come out, another wrinkle is added to the mix which could possible add more time to the match. This past year I played all five games at the American Team Championship to a natural conclusion (which was less than a month into 8th ed.), then matches started slowing down a bit and probably went to about 70/30 completion up until War Zone Atlanta in November. After that, I do not believe that I have played in a game that came to a natural conclusion but a hand full of times since then. What happened, I am not really sure.

Regardless I need to push myself and push my opponent to play faster. This has the stigma of being a jerk, but I plan on going into each match with the understanding that I am going to be more aggressive in this.

How I will approach time for now:

1.     At the beginning of the game let my opponent know that I am going to keep and write down how long we are taking by turn. Example below for 3 hour rounds:

a.     20 Minutes to go over list, set table and deploy both armies.

b.     20 Minutes to each players First Turn (total 40 minutes) TOTAL TIME 1 hr

c.     15 Minutes to each players Second Turn (total 30 Minutes) TOTAL TIME 1 hr 30 min

d.     15 Minutes to each players Third Turn (total 30 Minutes) TOTAL TIME 2 hr

e.     10 Minutes to each players Fourth Turn (total 20 Minutes) TOTAL TIME 2 hr 20 min

f.      10 Minutes to each players Fifth Turn (total 20 Minutes) TOTAL TIME 2 hr 40 min

g.     10 Minutes to each players Sixth Turn (total 20 Minutes) TOTAL TIME 3 hr

2.     Try using the GW Dice app for large dice rolls. Yes some people could be against this, and I will always ask first and keep it fair.

3.     Staying organized on my tray to make deployment easier.

That time line for a 3 hour rounds looks scary, and I don’t know if I can even play that fast. Maybe with some practice I can have it happen.

Another thing that people are discussing is using a chess clock. This idea is extreme but making it a countdown with each player getting 1.5 hrs is a true way to be fair. Once you are out of time, you can no longer play. I am purchasing a chess clock on amazon now, and look forward to giving it a shot in some practice games.

Let me know your thoughts on slow play because I feel this will be a huge topic for the foreseeable future. 

Jarl Clem - Salamander Tactics

Jarl’s Tactics

Man was LVO a fun event! I would say it is a great atmosphere to play in, and will be a go to event for me every year now!

Every list that I played against was nothing that I normally see in the local community, and I want to discuss one of those today.

My first opponent was Dan May from TZC.

Space Marines – Salamanders

HQ – Captain on Bike w/ Power Fist & Combi-Grav

HQ – Vulkan He’stan

HQ – Harath Shen

TR – Scouts w/ 1 Missile Launcher

TR – Scouts w/ 1 Missile Launcher

TR – Scouts w/ Cloaks and Snipers

TR – Scouts w/ Cloaks and Snipers

TR – Scouts w/ Chainswords and Bolt Pistols

TR – Scouts w/ chainswords and Bolt Pistols

EL – Company Ancient w/ Relic Standard of the Emperor

EL – Veterans w/ Chainswords and Storm Bolters

EL – Veterans w/ Chainswords and Storm Bolters

FA – Assault Squad w/ 2 flamers

FA – Assault Squad w/ 2 flamers

FA – Scout Bikes

FA – Scout Bikes

HS – Devastator Squad w/ 1 Heavy Bolter

HS – Devastator Squad w/ 4 Multi-Meltas

HS – Devastator Squad w/ 4 Multi-Meltas

DT – Drop Pod

DT – Drop Pod

Overall looking at this list, it seems pretty standard Space Marine Brigade unfortunately I did not know how to properly prepare myself for it since we don’t have one of these lists in the Gulf Coast.

Salamander Chapter Tactic of re-roll of a single failed to hit and failed to wound roll per unit when it shoots or fights is really strong.

Deployment:

With 6 scout squads, this list is going to deploy all over the board. Definitely the goal is to get scouts in a position so you cannot avoid the drop pod strike. Using the close combat squads as the front line units, snipers hiding in ruins and the missile launchers holding backfield objectives. The other units are spread out in the deployment zone to block any deep strikes and objective control.

Movement / Deep Strikes:

After deployment, the scouts are pretty much stationary for the remainder of the game unless they need to move for objective control. The scout bikes are used to move around as needed. The two drop pods come in together carrying 2 units of Devastators w/ Multi-Meltas, 2 units of Veterans, the Company Ancient, Vulkan, and Harath Shen. Finally the 2 units of Assault Squads are used as needed to shore up any area on the board.

Shooting:

First I will focus on the Drop Pod strike. With two units of veterans with Storm Bolters, any screening / soft targets are just peppered with a ton of shots, then the 8 Multi-Meltas take out whatever big stuff needs to be handled. Vulkan and Harath Shen give Guilliman style re-rolls to the Salamanders which drastically increases the damage output.

After all of that Alpha Strike, you have to deal with it quickly in the next turn. As you position your forces for the kill, the Company Ancient is standing there to make you pay. Having the Relic Banner, on a 3+ the model that was killed gets to shoot again before being removed from the battlefield. The idea is that yeah those units will probably die, but you are going to pay for it with more Multi-Melta and Storm Bolter shots.

Along with the Drop Pod strike, all of the small units holding control of the board also has a fair amount of shooting to add to the situation. 2 Missile launchers, 8 Sniper shots, and several bolter shots come in to pick off a few more models from your army.

Melee:

This army is not built for a huge Melee damage, however Vulkan and the Captain on Bike can do a lot of damage to big targets. The two assault squads can do some work against softer targets.

Keys to beating this list:

1.     Deployment is key. Understanding where the likely areas where Drop Pods can come in first and pre-measuring to keep critical units outside of 24” Multi-Melta range.

2.     You have to handle that unit but be prepared for the Relic Banner to let them have more shots. Keeping mindful of the 24” Multi-Melta range you have to dedicate enough of your forces to ensure their destruction, and be able to take losses from out of sequence shooting attacks.

3.     Be able to affect the back field units. The list makes you focus on the big scary while picking up progressive objective points with everything else. Use fast moving units to move in and take out the soft scout squads.

4.     As always play the mission. Before you act make sure that the purpose it to gain victory points and win the mission.

Let me know what you think and how you would play against this list. Keep throwing dice, don’t be a jerk, watch out for slow play, and have fun.