Quasi's Weekly Articles
I hope to share my oppinions on tactics and any other info I think you may value
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July 17 2001 Everything is cramped and terrain is everywhere. Your enemy could be anywhere. Antagonist troops are moving down a central corridor, your guys are ready to ambush at any time and thats when it hits you. 2 transports and a heavy tank pull up a street on your flank, you've commited too many troops to the ambush and now you are doomed. Only in a city fight. You may as well throw standard tactics out the window folks. Few people have the terrain for a city fight. It requires many buildings at least 2-5 floors tall, all spaced about 2-8 inches appart. The more cramped the better, but remember you DO need room for tanks and stuff to move around. The main problem tacticians face in a city fight is maneuvering. Eldar and ther dark kin begin to gain a distinct advantage with their many troops that ignore terrain. Commanders lacking jump capable troops should invest in mortar style weapons. Anything that can lob a big nasty wad of hurt on an enemy you don't have line of site too is your Iron Fist. Otherwise try to sit out in the open. It sounds silly but you MUST draw your enemy where you can see them, otherwise they will snipe you to death.(hit and run jetbikes and crystal targeting matrixes=bad medicine). Also, if you can climb to a rooftop or two put some shooty units up there to defend from anything that may be using a bit too much geurilla warfare. On the other hand if you have access to troops that are jumpy(ignore terrain features, such as jetbikes, landspeeders, jump pack troops, stuff with wings) take as many as possible. You will have the option to jump from rooftop to rooftop, out of enemy fire until you feel you are in position for an optimal assault or perhaps some good hit and runs. Another favoured rule is that anything with rules stating a certian amount of agility or accrobatic capability can jump gaps up to 4 inches. (assasins) Another thing you may want to change is your wargear. We all know that flamers are a one shot wonder, you fire em once before you assault and then probably never again. But in a city fight you probably ony fire ANY gun once so the auto hit and reasonably good strenght of the flamer becomes a true asset. Also, melta weapons. Their range is normally a serious hinderance. They are only truely effective at short range. Once again though city fight makes their STR 8 attack far more than usefull. Plus chances are by the time something comes into range you will be close enough for the 2d6 penetration. Other good weapons are bolters and all pistol weapons. Although Mortars and barrage weapons truely show their worth, lobbing their payload over the intervening terrain, smashing troops to bits. New rules I suggest you allow in City fights would be the ability to destroy your own vehicles. Sometimes an immobilised rhino creates walls you may not want. Also, decide what happens when a chaos dreadnaught goes crazy and charges off the roof of the building it started on(2 warpspiders weren't happy when we decided it was in character to have the dreadnaught and them die, they failed an initiative test.) A last word of advise. Normally you can go into a battle with a plan and act upon it pretty well. In a city fight you and your opponent will spend more time trying to outmaneuver each other and gain some sort of advantage. If you go into battle with a plan, just be prepared to lose it by the second turn. Anyway though, city fights are a tacticians heaven. Moves and countermoves, guerilla warfare and above all, tons of assault! Its certainly worth the time it may take to create enough scenery for a good city fight. Quasi
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