Re: [Epic] E40K- Counter Assaulting

From: C.Sinclair <csi_at_...>
Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 14:31:54 +0000

At 03:44 AM 3/5/98 PST, you wrote:
>Tu as �crit :
>
>>
>>I was under the impression that you would Assault with one >detachment,
>then
>>assault with another. So in the example above, Player A charges,
>>fights a
>>CC with Player B's first detachment, THEN Player B gets his first
>>Assault
>>and charges Player A with his second detachment. At least that's the
>>way
>>I've played it.
>>
>
>Your way of playing the Assault Phase is quite interesting but in the
>"official" rules : player A plays ALL his assaults (then the firefights
>are played) and after that, player B can make ALL his assaults (and then
>the firefights are played).
>
>But once again, your way is interesting (I think it comes from your
>Space Marine experience).
>
I think it makes for a better tactical game. If there is a threat of
immediate counter assault/firefight then you have to be careful about just
charging your close combat monsters into the enemy line. While I accept
that the standard method (I honestly never interpreted the rules in that
way) still encourages the use of supporting flanks and a tactical reserve to
an extent, I feel that the way I've played results in more tactical
manoeuvering.
And you're probably right. Didn't read the rules in their entirety (still
haven't!) when I fist played. The way we ran the Assault phase just gelled
with me and my regular opponents and we never thought that there was any
other interpretation. This is the way it generally works in other wargames.
As an afterthought the method I've used isn't the slave to initiative
(except for critical assaults) that the actual method appears to be. In the
rules all the initiative winning players movement, close combat and
firefights are done before his opponent gets a chance to react. This seems
to me (all other things being equal) that the initiative winner gets an
enormous advantage. The way I've played will give an advantage to the
initiative winner for a crucial (possibly battle-winning) assault phase but
nowhere near the colossal advantage the rules as they stand seem to.
I'm open to other people's thoughts on this particular point, as I have
never played by the rules :-) WRT the Assault phase and so my opinion of the
advantages of initiative and tactical positioning are almost entirely
supposition.

Cheers,
Colin

******************************
Colin Sinclair
Department of Economics
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow
G4 0BA
Scotland

Tel: +44 (0141)331 3350
Fax: +44 (0141)331 3293
E-mail: csi_at_...
******************************
Received on Thu Mar 05 1998 - 14:31:54 UTC