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Blood Vow

Happiness is success... (Buddha)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Perfection in battle is a mirror of Heaven




This is my first serious anti Grey Knight tactica article for Descent of Angels armies. The title was taken from an ancient warlord from Asia. The warlord grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and amazingly enough was an excellent tactician of war without having once set foot on the field of battle. His life turned for the better when finally he insisted upon taking part in actual war. What he saw changed his life and he became an advocate of peace interestingly enough. His post war doctrines have been attributed to Greek philosophers and some consider him the first modern man. Only through the most powerful defense can any state truly live in peace and enjoy their prosperity. The same can be said for winning on a consistent basis in wargaming. There will always be change and we must adapt if we want to continue to prosper.

I believe that the basic DoA army has all the tools necessary to beat Grey Knights. DoA thrives upon aggressive play, an overly ample amount of melta weapons, mobility and very strong assault. Grey Knight armies will thrive upon strong shooting and superior assault but their main weakness is the overall lack of mobility and small numbers. To be beat Grey Knights you will have to continue to play aggressively and use your much superior mobility. Grey Knights have a lot of special abilities that are very powerful but these abilities cannot be manifested throughout the army.

If we look at how to beat Space Wolves as an example this serves an a good exercise in also how to beat Grey Knights. In my mind currently the best Space Wolf armies consist of the following:

Wolf Lords mounted on Thunderwolves
Thunderwolf cavalry
Grey Hunters mounted in rhinos or drop pods
Long Fangs

The Thunderwolves/Wolf Lords are highly mobile, resilient and excel in close combat
Grey Hunters are a midfield unit that excel at holding objectives
Long Fangs are an excellent backfield unit that excel at shooting

The combination of the three provides the synergy to win on a consistent basis against any army. To beat this army you must be able to neutralize the Long Fangs in the beginning of the game and also beat the Wolf Lords/TWC at any point in time during the game. DoA armies on the other hand excel at mobility overall, short ranged shooting that is very effective and are also a powerhouse in close combat.

Because Grey Knight armies will invariably be small (35 models in total or less) by quickly engaging their weaker units such as Strike squads and Purifiers you will deny the more powerful units from winning the game. Grey Knights will be able to field the best assault units but it will come at a very high premium - extremely expensive point wise and not very mobile. The key to beating Grey Knights is destroying the weaker units first then relying upon your superior mobility to win the main objectives. It's just that simple.

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