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SBG Tactical Dictionary
SBG Tactical Dictionary
“Love it (unspecified author), well written and hilarious. Some useful ones too, which is always a plus.”
- Matt
“ ”
- Jeremy
Special thanks to Scott ‘the legend’ for ongoing use of the GDP logo.
1
Excluding all regions where circulation is prohibited by international treaty.
If you have acquired this document then your first question is an undoubtable ‘why?’. Why
would a group produce such a document? What could inspire madness of this calibre? Well
our reasoning is twofold.
The primary purpose of this document is to aid communication and reduce misunderstanding
in tactical discussion. In fact it is recommended that any true student of the higher tactical
game would have a copy of this document on hand at all times, whether reviewing old
episodes of the GDP or conversing with opponents between rounds at a tournament. This
should not only enable you to more easily follow the technical jargon that is commonly used
in the community, but also give you something to pass the time during the musical interludes
that occur during most episodes. Having this information set down in a written document
should also help to standardise the war gaming accent and prevent the development of regional
dialects and ‘slang’.
The secondary purpose of this document is to generate tactical discussion and facilitate
‘Theory SBG’. So take a look through the tactics listed here and see if there are any that you
can add to your Tactical Tool Box. Note, not all the tactics listed here are good tactics, in fact
many tactics are neither good tactics nor bad tactics, they are simply tactics and their goodness
or badness will be determined by the player in question.
While this is undoubtedly an exhaustive list of all possible tactical options available to a
player, it is possible that it could be more exhaustive than it currently is. To this end if you
can think of a tactic that you don’t see listed, then draw up a diagram and send it in. Your
contribution will be assessed by our impartial reviewers and may or may not be included in
the second print run.
- David.
enemy’s available resources by killing key distract enemy heroes with a compulsion to charge.
characters. A proper Assassination normally See the Halo Array.
involves isolating the target first (either through
magic or Baiting) to allow overwhelming force to Bait and Switch
be brought to bear (see Macro Trap), but this is not The Bait and Switch is a further refinement of the
always necessary. Baiting tactic in which provision is made to rescue
the bait before it can be slain. This can be done by
Assassination Run either using bait that is tougher than it looks,
The Assassination Run is an offensive Position withdrawing the bait through the use of heroic
tactic that utilises the Assassination tactic at a combats or suchlike or by reinforcing the bait faster
range beyond which the opponent though likely. than your opponent though likely.
This is traditionally done by either extending the
movement of your assassinating heroes through Big Hero Burnout
heroic combats or other trickery or by convincing 1) The Big Hero Burnout is a defensive Resource
the target to unwittingly move closer through the Management tactic directed against a single enemy
use of magic, Baiting or using Deception to character of exceptional power. This is done
mislead your opponent as to your army’s true through the focused application of the Burnout
Tempo. tactic to reduce the hero’s Heroic Resources.
2) The Big Hero Burnout is an offensive Resource
Attrition Management tactic that uses a single powerful hero
Attrition is an offensive or defensive Resource to rapidly inflict damage upon the enemy’s
Management strategy in which one player directly Resources. This is a more focused application of
matches their opponent’s tactic but with greater the Shock an Awe tactic.
Resources. This tactic accepts that the enemy will
inflict proportional damage upon your Resources Blaze of Glory
and should only be used in situations where you The Blaze of Glory is the term that is applied to the
have a clear advantage in all of the Relevant situation in which one player suffers a stunning,
Resources. crushing, even humiliating defeat in the final round
of a competitive series of linked games
Avoidance (tournament) but still achieves a podium placing.
Avoidance is a Position and Tempo playstyle that This doesn’t happen frequently, but when it does it
attempts to use an army with superior is glorious.
manoeuvrability to mitigate an opponent’s
advantage in combat by indefinitely avoiding Blunting
combat. If done correctly an Avoidance playstyle 1) Blunting is a defensive Resource Management
can provide a player with potentially infinite and Position tactic which is used to mitigate the
rounds of shooting with which to apply the effect of a powerful enemy hero. This is done by
Whittling tactic. See Anti Shade Stratagem #1, placing a highly survivable model or series of
Kiting and the Crescent Moon Formation. Care models in the path of the enemy hero. See Burnout.
should be taken before applying an Avoidance 2) Blunting is a defensive Position tactic in which
playstyle in the face of significant enemy shooting the defending army chooses a Position that will
assets. hopefully reduce early casualties. This can be
achieved through use of terrain against cavalry,
Avoidance Bubble line of sight obstructions against shooting and or
The Avoidance Bubble is a defensive Position positioning models to place the correct defence
tactic for countering large heroes with restricted values against the correct strength values.
movement. See the Halo Formation. 3) Blunting is a defensive Resource Management
tactic in which a magic user is tasked with reducing
Baiting the damage output of an enemy character. See
1) Baiting is an offensive Resource Management Shutdown.
and Position tactic in which a portion of your
army’s Resources are sacrificed to lure a greater Bodyguard Duty
portion of the enemy’s Resources into a Position Bodyguard Duty is a defensive Position tactic that
where they can be dealt with. This tactic is utilises an adapted form of the Buddy System to
traditionally used as a setup for a second, more protect a powerful hero from Assassination. In this
aggressive tactic such as an Assassination Run, the situation a moderate to powerful hero is assigned
Jaws of Victory or the dreaded Donut of Death. to accompany the powerful hero. In addition to the
2) Baiting is a defensive Position and Tempo tactic regular benefits of the Buddy System, should the
used to either delay slow moving enemy heroes or powerful hero be threatened by assassination the
hero on Bodyguard Duty will attempt to heroic
inferiority in situations where Tempo is not Formation. In this case, as the enemy attempts an
required. See the Halo Defence. encirclement of your formation, the swept wings of
the Inversed Crescent Moon are drawn further back
Changing Horsemen until the two extreme tips meet, thereby forming a
Changing Horsemen (or to give it its full name, defensive circle. See the Halo Defence.
Changing Horsemen mid apocalypse) is a
defensive mistake that frequently occurs when a Counter Attack
player miss reads the opponent’s Tempo while 1) The Counter Attack is an attempt to recover
trying to adjust their Position as part of the Tempo control of a game after the enemy has achieved
Change or Reform the Line tactics. In this situation superior Position, Tempo and has firm control over
the player is panicked by a new development and the Perceived Confidence Advantage and the
attempts to adjust their Position without Initiative of play. This is most frequently done by
considering the number of turns that are required gathering whatever resources you have left and
to Reform the Line. This mistake results in the throwing them against the enemy in the vague hope
defending player being caught between Positions that something will happen.
leaving them unable to effect either strategy. This 2) The Counter Attack is a devastating offensive
frequently occurs when an inexperienced player is Position, Tempo, Psychological Warfare, Resource
faced with an opponent that possessed the Management and Perceived Confidence
Perceived Confidence Advantage and who is Advantage tactic that can be used in situations
employing a strategy that is not within their where the opponent has reason to doubt the
Tactical Tool Box. This situation can be avoided competence of the commanding general. This is
by carefully considering the relative Tempo of both achieved by convincing the opponent that they are
forces. firmly in control of the game without sacrificing
your position, Tempo or too many of your
Charging the Dice Resources. Once this has been achieved you can
Charging the Dice is the technical term for lure your over confident opponent into over
attempting to manipulate a dice roll by appealing extending their lines and leaving critical areas of
to powers greater than that of simple chance. their formation lightly defended. At this point your
Common examples include appeals to theme Counter Attack can slice through these lightly
(shouting “come on, you’re Aragorn, you will not defended areas and inflict massive damage upon
die to one little goblin”), aesthetics (choosing dice your unsuspecting enemy. This tactic requires a
of the correct colour), fate (“look, this will work, I detailed understanding of the principles of
can feel it”), tradition (“this is my lucky captain, he Deception no Deception and can be considered
never lets me down”) or beer (“well looks like I’m Baiting or Misdirection on a grand scale.
losing, better have more beer”). Other players
prefer to use more physical means of manipulation Counter Charge
and this can take the form banging the dice on the 1) The Counter Charge is a defensive Position
table to wake them up before rolling, rolling the tactic in which Resources are placed to discourage
dice off the table a few times to sneak in a few an attack upon a nearby formation. This is done by
practice rolls and or rolling as many dice as ensuring that the Counter Charge is in Position to
possible at the same time since even dice need the Encircle or otherwise inconvenience any enemy
positive reinforcement provided by their friends. force that charges your primary formation.
2) The Counter Charge is an anti-cavalry tactic that
Charge of the Light Brigade seeks to reduce the combat effectiveness of the
The Charge of the Light Brigade is an offensive opponent’s mounted resources. This is done by
Tempo strategy in which one player attempts to holding your own cavalry in reserve to counter any
mitigate the effect of a vastly superior shooting attack from the enemy cavalry by charging them.
force on a board with no meaningful terrain and an
objective that requires them to close with the Crash and Burn
enemy. This is done by rushing at maximum speed The Crash and Burn is the term that is applied to
in a straight line directly towards the enemy. This the situation in which a player that had previously
will minimise the number of turns in which the been doing well suffers a sever defeat that prevents
opponent will be able to utilise their shooting them from achieving a podium during a
advantage. competitive series of linked games (tournament).
This is frequently linked to Energy Reserve
Collapsing Crescent Moon Management or Day Two Fade.
The Collapsing Crescent Moon is a transitional
defensive Position tactic that is used when the Crescent Moon Encirclement
enemy’s numerical superiority has proven two vast The Crescent Moon Encirclement is an offensive
to be handled by the Inversed Crescent Moon Position tactic that represents the final stage of the
offensive use of the Crescent Moon Formation. See manoeuvred by its more agile opponents. This
the Crescent Moon Formation. tactic is normally favoured by army’s using the
Double Bubble style of force construction as the
Crescent Moon Formation high Unit Density of the formation allows for
The Crescent Moon Formation is a Position tactic greater overlap of the relevant radiuses, but it can
that can be used either offensively or defensively also be used by pike blocks or particularly cautious
by armies with a significant shooting advantage. opponents.
To do this the army adopting this formation will
deploy in a concave crescent formation with the Death by a Thousand Cuts
wings extended toward the opponent. When used The Death by a Thousand Cuts is an offensive
offensively the army will use their shooting, the strategy that depletes enemy Resources through the
terrain and the relative position of the armies repeat application of individually insignificant
during deployment to bring the enemy into the losses. This is most frequently used by Avoidance
centre of the crescent so that the wings can armies that can use their superior mobility to
envelope and trap the attacker in an Encirclement control the Initiative and Tempo of the game and
(also known as Crescent Moon Encirclement). provide a large to indefinite number of turns for its
When used defensively the army deploys in the shooting units to gradually reduce the enemy’s
same manner but instead of encircling, the wings Resources. The Death by a Thousand Cuts can be
and centre pull back when threatened to avoid considered an army wide application of the
combat while the rest of the crescent pours fire into Whittling tactic.
the enemy’s exposed flanks. See Avoidance. Both
the offensive and defensive elements of this tactic Death Wave
are particularly effective against Death Ball The Death Wave is an offensive army selection,
formations. Resources and Tempo tactic that involves the use
of multiple sources of area effect damage that can
Damage Mitigation remove enemy Resources with a minimum of
1) Damage Mitigation is a counter tactic in which interaction with your enemy. A well-executed
a player accepts that they are unable to win a game Death Wave will leave the opponents army
and instead adjust their strategy to maximise the devastated without allowing the opponent to roll
points that they can still achieve. This is dice or otherwise influence their fate. Examples
traditionally done as part of a competitive series of included Mumakil, targeting warriors with
linked games (tournaments) in an attempt to channelled area effect magic and or massed camel
salvage some points from an otherwise lost game. damage.
2) Damage Mitigation is a defensive counter tactic
in which one player determines that they are unable Deception
to fully counter their opponent’s tactic given the Deception is the basic principle of Psychological
Resources that they have available. In this situation Warfare. The term Deception can be used to
the player instead choses to mitigate the enemy’s describe any activity that has the intention of
tactic and improve the exchange of Relevant convincing your enemy that your intentions are
Resources. See Blunting. different than they are. This can be done by moving
surplus resources into nonsensical positions,
Day Two Fade careful measuring irrelevant distances, asking
The Day Two Fade is a Energy Reserve detailed questions about terrain features that you
Management mistake in which a player have no intention of entering or making idle
overestimates the energy boasting potential of a comments that would suggest that you are more or
single night’s sleep at a multiple day competitive less aggressive than you actually feel.
gaming event and finds themselves forced to play
the second day while Running on Empty. This can Deception no Deception
sometimes be mitigated through the use of various The principle of Deception no Deception is the key
consumables. to maximising the effect of the Deception element
of the Psychological Warfare strategy. This
Death Ball maximisation is based upon the understanding of
The Death Ball is an offensive Position tactic that the limits of the Deception strategy in any given
is favoured by armies that loose effectiveness when situation. This is because if you always apply the
spread out. To this end the Death Ball tactic same Deception tactic your adversary will
involves gathering all of your strength into a single eventually catch on. However if you vary your
mighty formation and throwing it straight into the Deception tactics then your opponent’s belief that
opponent’s teeth. Due to the limited manoeuvring they have seen through your Deception can be used
options available to such a large concentration of to further disguise your intent. In a properly
troops the Death Ball is prone to being out managed Deception no Deception strategy the
opponent should never be sure if what they see is Resources against smaller pockets of the enemy’s
real or if it is merely what you wish them to see. If Resources.
you hear the phrase, “but what if they know that I
know that they have determined that I suspect Digging In
that…” then the Deception no Deception plan has Digging In the term for the defensive Position
succeeded. decision in which a defending commander choses
to attempt to hold a critical area of the battlefield
Decision Management against a superior enemy assault. If a commander
Decision Management is the meta strategy that choses this approach they will maximise the
refers to the process by which a player selects the defensive use of terrain and then wait for one of
strategies and tactics that they will apply to a given three occurrences, either the game will end (see
situation. This can be competitively focused (see Glorious Last Stand), the position will be
Objective Based Strategy), theme based (see reinforced or the enemy will be forced to redeploy
WWGD) or influenced by personal bias (see their Resources to respond to other developments.
Standard Combat Procedure). Gaining insight into If none of these events occur the defending
an opponent’s Decision Management process is a Resources must be eventually withdrawn or they
vital part of the Deep Deception Tactic. will be lost.
correct Position. This tactic is most commonly Wall and as such a Fortified Line cannot normally
used against Shield Walls, defended obstacles, and be broken without disproportional Resource
other formation with a clear intended facing. expenditure. The weakness of the Fortified Line is
that it is a stationary Position that therefore
Flash Kill completely surrenders the Initiative of the game to
The Flash Kill is a Resource Management tactic the opposition and is vulnerable to Flanking and
that seeks to reduce the effect of the enemy’s Encirclement tactics.
Heroic Resources upon the developing game. This
is done by identify the key heroes that are carrying Forward Observers
the Heroic Resources and killing them before they Forward Observers is the name given to the initial
can impact the game. A proper Flash Kill should warband drops that are positioned early in the
remove a hero that was at full stats at the beginning deployment phase to observe and report upon the
of the phase, though the term can sometimes be enemy’s deployment. Correct use of reliable
applied to the death of mostly fresh heroes. Forward Observers can provide a significant
Position advantage.
Flat Lining
1) Flat Lining is the term applied to the unenviable Full Bradbury
situation in which a player finds themselves facing 1) The Full Bradbury is a tactic of desperation in
the prospect of scoring zero points in a game. This which a player with a significant disadvantage in
can occur through poor fortune or incorrect Resources, Tempo, Position and victory points
strategy selection. A player who is Flat Lining has carries on in the hope that fortune will cripple their
a choice between initiating Damage Mitigation opponent. Examples can included hopping wizards
strategies or attempting a Full Bradbury. will fail courage tests or that significant portions of
2) Flat Lining is the term applied to the situation in the enemy force will drown. To achieve the Full
which a player has scored no points after several Bradbury the losing player must Position their
rounds of a competitive series of linked games army in such a way that it can take advantage of
(tournaments). At this stage the Player must decide this hoped for misfortune. Due to the exposed
whether they wish to employ the Matt Position required to adopt this low probability of
Sportsmanship Manoeuvre or try for the Full success tactic, this tactic frequently ends with the
Bradbury. losing player in an even worse situation.
2) The Full Bradbury is a tactic of desperation in
Flooding which a player realises that, during the course of a
Flooding is an offensive Position tactic that is used competitive series of linked games (tournaments),
to secure control of vital areas of the battle field that they are no longer in traditional contention
that the enemy is attempting to contest. This is range for the podium. In this situation the player
achieved by applying overwhelming numbers to refuses to back down and carries on in the hope that
the desired position. Flooding is similar to Burying the players above them will wipe each other out in
but it is applied to a location rather than a a series of nil all draws, rage quite due to
miniature. sportsmanship issues, fail to return from lunch or
fall victim to Day Two Fade.
Flying V Formation
The Flying V Formation is the offensive use of the Glorious Last Stand
usually defensive Inversed Crescent Moon The Glorious Last Stand is an offensive Position
Formation. In this formation a player places their and Tempo tactic that utilises the Last Stand tactic
high powered combat Resources forward and to end the game after one player has secured
moves rapidly toward the enemy. The rest of the several objectives but before the enemy can mount
army is placed upon the flanks of this centre thrust, an effective effort to reclaim them. This tactic is
deployed in a swept back manner normally generally employed in situations where one player
associated with the Inversed Crescent Moon if faced with a severe disadvantage in terms of
formation, to cover the flanks of the initial point of Relevant Resources and are therefore unable to
contact and be present to exploit any breaks that defend their objectives using conventional tactics.
form in the enemy line. See Digging In.
intervening terrain. Ideally the opponent should be army in a seemingly exposed position. When the
left unsure if this obstruction was intentional, and enemy attempts to surround this bait, the rest of
thereby part of a cunning plan, or if is simply a your army surrounds them in an Encirclement
coincidence and you never realised that you had manoeuvre. At which point you have them
enter their blind spot. This doubt will hinder your surrounded from both the inside and outside. See
opponent’s ability to plan strategically and the Baiting and Activation Control.
relief at seeing the formation later emerge from the
blind spot can be leveraged by tactics such as Hammer
Perceived Confidence Advantage and Shadow The Hammer formation is the name applied to the
Force. This tactic is only effective against seated offensive portion of a player’s army that is
opponents. intended to provide the majority of the army’s
damage output. This term is normally applied only
Halo Array when the offensive and defensive components of
The Halo Array (also known as Seeding Decoys or the army are deployed separately. See Hammer and
Baiting) is a defensive Position tactic that is used Anvil.
to manage either slow moving enemy heroes or
enemy heroes with a compulsion to charge. This Hammer and Anvil
tactic consist of deploying the Halo Formation with The Hammer and Anvil is a two part offensive
the following exception. One model remains Position, Resource Management and Tempo tactic
within the enemy’s charge range to present the that is used to manipulate the enemy’s Position and
opponent with a choice. They can either not reach prior to the main combats. This is done through the
combat this turn or they can charge in the direction use of an Anvil formation to pin the enemy’s
of your choosing (further weakening the army’s Resources in place while a Hammer formation
Position and Tempo). manoeuvres to exploit any vulnerabilities in their
Position.
Halo Defence
The Halo Defence (also known as Circling the Henry Kerr
Wagons) is a defensive Position tactic that is used The Henry Kerr is a counter strategy that can be
for mitigating crushing numerical inferiority in deployed against almost any tactic and can be used
situations where Tempo is not required. This tactic to recover from most initial setbacks or early
consist of forming your models into a ring shape losses. This is achieved by simply rolling more 6’s
with spears, banners and support pieces on the than the opponent has dice. Successful
inside of the ring and the enemy on the outside. See implementation of this strategy can only really be
Collapsing Crescent moon. countered by the use of Death Wave tactics or by
pure movement objectives.
Halo Formation
The Halo Formation (also known as the Avoidance Heroic Resources
Bubble) is a defensive Position tactic that is used 1) Heroic Resources are the expendable attributes
for countering large heroes with restricted that a hero has than can be used to influence the
movement. This tactic consist of keeping as much ongoing game. This can include might, fate and
of your army as possible outside the enemy hero’s will but also includes smoke bombs, magic hats
charge range. The enemy cannot kill what they and other limited use abilities. The correct
cannot catch. management of Heroic Resources is critical to the
Resource Management aspect of the game.
Halo Tactic 2) Heroic Resources are the heroes that form the
The Halo Tactic (also known as the Spray and core of your army’s ability to perform heroic
Pray) is a defensive Tempo management tactic that deeds. This can be because these heroes are
is used for mitigating the effect of large mounted themselves carrying Heroic Resources, but it can
heroes. This tactic consist of pointing every also be because they have other powers, items,
available bow, throwing spear, rock or other abilities or they simply have really good stats.
ranged weapon at said hero and hoping something
succeeds in removing the hero’s steed. This loss Heroic Slaughter
will reduce the hero’s speed and damage output Heroic Slaughter is a Resource Management tactic
and in turn damage the opponent’s Tempo. that focuses upon accelerating the Tempo of the
game beyond the point at which the enemy can
Halo Trap redeploy in response to the changing situation. See
The Halo Trap (also known as the Donut of Death) Shock and Awe.
is an offensive Position tactic that focuses upon
manipulating enemy movement. This tactic consist
of leaving a seemingly vulnerable section of your
Hidden in Plain Sight Management. The player who holds the Initiative
Hidden in Plain Sight is a Psychological Warfare has tactical control of the game and can instigate
and Deception tactic in which one player seeks to the tactic of their choosing. This includes deciding
draw the opponent’s attention away from a vital when and where combat will be reached, which
section of the battlefield and leave them unaware sections of the board will be used and how the
of a developing situation. To achieve this a player overall game will be played. The player who has
must convince their opponent that their own focus lost the Initiative will have no choice but to
is elsewhere and that the critical location is not respond to the first players decisions.
worth considering. This is achieved by being seen
to pay minimum attention to the important area. Inversed Crescent Moon Formation
The Hidden in Plain Sight tactic is frequently The Inversed Crescent Moon Formation is a
combined with the Apparent Focus tactic to form a defensive Position tactic that is used against
unified Deception no Deception strategy. opponents with a vast numerical superiority. An
army deployed in this formation will have a strong
Hit and Wrap centre that will make initial contact with the enemy
1) The Hit and Wrap is an offensive Position tactic but the flanks of the formation will be swept back
in which a numerically superior army attempts to away from the enemy to increase the distance that
maximise their advantage. This is done by moving the opponent must move if they wish to encircle
excess models around the enemy formation to you. Depending upon the extent of the enemy’s
attack the vulnerable sides and rear. See Flanking. initial numerical advantage and the effectiveness of
2) The Hit and Wrap (also known as Lightning your first contact group to reduce this advantage, it
War) is an offensive Tempo strategy that seeks to is usually necessary to begin transitioning to the
bypass enemy formations during pure movement Collapsing Crescent Moon. A variant of this
objective mission. This is achieved by making formation can be used offensively, see the Flying
contact with an enemy formation to keep it in place V Formation.
but then taking every opportunity to move around
the enemy formation. This is similar to Flanking Jaws of Victory
but the intention of the lateral movement is to The Jaws of Victory is an offensive Position
disengage with the enemy rather than increasing strategy in which a formation attempts to envelope
their combat potential. an enemy formation while the enemy formation
attempts to withdraw. See Pincer Movement, Hit
Horns of the Bull and Wrap and Crescent Moon Envelopment.
The Horns of the Bull is the technical term for the
two forward elements used to encircle the enemy Kiting
position during the Crescent Moon Encirclement, Kiting is an offensive Position and Tempo strategy
though it can also be applied to any other in which one force uses Avoidance tactics to inflict
Encirclement strategy. Whittling damage to the entire enemy force. A
Kiting force requires superior movement and
Horse Shoe Formation shooting to stay mobile and avoid enemy Flack
The Horse Shoe Formation is a generic term for Fire.
any of the curved formations, such as the Crescent
Moon, Inversed Crescent Moon and Flying V Kylie Special
Formations. The term Horse Shoe Formation can The Kylie Special is an offensive or defensive
also be applied to smaller formations down to and Position, Tempo and Resource Management tactic
including single warband size. in which one player sacrifices their long term
mobility to achieve a once off Position and Tempo
Hunkering Down advantage. This is done by voluntarily dismounting
Hunkering Down is a defensive Position tactic that a hero. While the dismounting hero loses their
is used to counter unexpectedly deadly shooting. steed, they gain an extra inch of movement and a
This is done by heading towards the nearest patch smaller base size. Under the right circumstances
of terrain that can provide either cover or, this can allow the hero to access areas of the board
preferably, block line of sight all together. Note, more rapidly than the opponent through likely.
Hunkering Down does not deal with shooting, it
merely buys time for you to develop a new plan. Lasso
The Lasso is an offensive Position tactic in which
Initiative one player Positions their opponent’s models so
Initiative is terms that is used to refer to the player that it can be caught by a Macro Trap. This is
that controls the pace of the game. This can be usually achieved through the use of magic but
achieved through any combination of army some monsters have other Lasso abilities. The
selection, Position, Tempo and or Resource Lasso is a common Assassination technique.
Combats. A Micro Warbands army is well suited unsure of the correct counter strategy that they
to Shock and Awe manoeuvres and strategies that should employ. This tactic is frequently used by
require high Resource Density. experienced players who have developed extensive
Tactical Tool Boxes.
Mind Games
Mind Games is the generic term applied to all of Pealing Combats
the intellectual elements of Psychological Warfare. Pealing Combats is defensive trick used to rescue
This includes the Voice of Saruman and Deception valuable Resources from multiple combats in the
no Deception. enemy’s favour. This is done by charging
additional models into the enemy’s multiple
Misdirection combat to split it into several smaller combats. This
Misdirection is a Psychological Warfare tactic in is particularly useful in situations where the
which one player uses the Position of their counter charge can remove the enemy’s fight value
Resources to convince the opponent that their plan advantage from the main combat. Pealing Combats
is different than it is. This can be done by also works on spearmen.
deploying leaders in a sacrificial force (in the hopes
that the VP gained through the misdirection will be Perceived Confidence Advantage
greater than those lost by the death of the leader) or The Perceived Confidence Advantage is an
by deploying a large cluster of archers to convince important element of Psychological Warfare, in
the opponent that you intend to use a Rolling which one player displays strong confidence in the
Arrow Storm or Fire Nest strategy. inevitability of their victory. The player who
enjoys this advantage can use it to control the
Net Present Value Initiative of the game through forcing the opponent
Net Present Value is a Decision Management tool into a conservative or reckless approach by
that enables player to make effective Resource convincing them that that tactic is their only
Management decisions when comparing chance. This tactic can also be used against a player
alternatives with a significant temporal difference. by convincing them that their victory is assured as
This can occur when a player must decide if they part of a long term Deception plan. See Deception
wish to spend Heroic Resources, commit reserves no Deception.
or deploy ambushing forces now or hold them for
later. This is done by comparing the relative value Picard Manoeuvre
of the current event with the discounted relative 1) The Picard Manoeuvre is an offensive Tempo
value of the future event. For example if you take and Deception tactic that seeks to convince the
an action now it will kill one enemy warrior but if opponents subconscious that a mounted hero is
you use it five turns from now you can engineer a slower than it really is. This is done by moving the
situation where it kills three. However if that one mounted hero in a group with a selection of slower
enemy model kills four of your models during the troops. The hero must always be seen to be moving
intervening turns then delaying the attack produces faster than the troops but must never use its full
a lower Net Present Value. Calculation of Net speed. Once the enemy sees the hero outpace the
Present Value should consider Position, Tempo, slower troops they will assume that the mounted
Initiative, the potential for Psychological Warfare hero is displaying their full speed and this will
and the balance of Relevant Resources. affect the enemy’s ability to judge the Tempo of
your hero should they attempt to eyeball (guess)
Objective Based Strategy their threat range later in the game.
Objective Based Strategy is a competitive Decision 2) The Picard Manoeuvre is an offensive Tempo
Management tool that focuses upon achieving and Deception tactic in which one player attempts
mission objectives with maximum efficiency. This to disguise the intended Tempo of their army. This
is done by assessing the relative points breakdown is done by not using heroic marchers or other
of points per objective as well as the end conditions movement enhancing abilities on turn one when
of the game to determine the optimum strategy that your opponent is trying to gauge your army’s
will result in a winning situation at the end of the overall strengths and weaknesses. This initial show
game. of sluggishness at this impressionable stage will
cause your opponent to underestimate your army’s
Path Less Travelled mobility and adjust their strategy based upon this
The Path Less Travelled is a Decision Management flawed data.
tactic that seeks to deliberately unbalance the
opponent through selecting an uncommon strategy Pincer Movement
or tactic. In this scenario the player attempts to The Pincer Movement is an offensive Position
identify a tactic that the opponent is unlikely to tactic in which a player attempts to trap enemy
have encountered recently and therefore will be Resources between two portions of their own army.
2) The Straight Up Henry Kerr is a term that is used aggression. The Sunk Cost Theorem recognises
to describe the successful execution of an that it is not always possible to save everyone every
impressive, high damage, high risk, low time. This means that by the time you have
probability manoeuvre through the simple recognised your opponent’s offensive intention
expedient of rolling the required number of sixes. and begin to formulate a response some of your
3) The Straight Up Henry Kerr is the successful Resources may already be beyond saving. In this
adoption of the Henry Kerr counter strategy as an situation the mistake of committing extra
initial strategy. Resources to support a formation that is already
dead will simply increase the losses that you take
Strategic Raid without returning any substantial reward. It is
The Strategic Raid is an offensive Position tactic in therefore vital to carefully consider how your
which one player sends a small fast moving force Resources can be best spent to recover as many
to eliminate key strategic Resources deep in the assets as possible without throwing good troops
opponents back field. This is usually requires some after bad.
form of Air Superiority or Air Supremacy. The
exact nature of the raid will depend upon what Tackle Box
Resources the enemy has left in the back field but The Tackle Box is a cut down version of the
this can included horn blowers, body guarded Tactical Tool Box that a player keeps close at hand.
heroes or lightly defended objectives. This Tackle Box will contain the tactics and
strategies that are most commonly employed by the
Striping the Willow player, including fundamental playstyles and
Striping the Willow is a defensive Position tactic favourite tricks, Mind Games and Deceptions. The
that is used to rescue threatened heroes from Tackle Box can be viewed as the middle ground
multiple combats. See Pealing Combats. between Standard Combat Procedure and the full
Tactical Tool Box.
Submarining
Submarining is a high risk strategy that seeks to Tactical Tool Box
weaken a player’s strength of schedule during a The Tactical Tool Box is a term that is used to refer
multi game competitive event. This is done by to the tactical and strategic options available to a
deliberately failing to win the first game of the player in a given situation. The extent of a player’s
event and thereby lowering your position entering Tactical Tool Box is dependent upon the available
the second round. From this point onwards the Resources, Position, Tempo, mental flexibility and
submarining player hopes that the added victory the relative skill difference between them and their
points that they can score against the weaker opponent. Having a larger Tactical Tool Box than
opponents are sufficient to offset this initial loss. the opponent will aid a player in controlling the
This tactic should not be attempted at events when Initiative of the game and can be used in Deception
the player count to number of rounds ratio is such battle plans if you have a tool that the opponent did
that multiple contestants can finish on full wins. It not realise was available to you.
is sometimes possible to accidently submarine.
Tag Teaming
Surprise Tag Teaming is a Resource Management tactic in
1) Surprise is one of the five fundamental elements which two heroes of roughly even power (such as
of existence and is responsible for the interactions the elven twins) are kept together to provide mutual
and progression of the other four (citation needed). support (see Buddy System and Bodyguard Duty).
The correct recognition of the uncertainty that
Surprise introduces into probability and chance is Target Oversaturation
a vital part of any successful Theory SBG or Target Oversaturation is a counter strategy that
Decision Management based strategy. seeks to overcome an opponents through the
2) Surprise is what occurs when a player application of multiple threats. This is done by
mistakenly believes that they have identified their applying more threats than the opponent’s
enemy’s intentions and plans accordingly. This is resources can deal with. This counter strategy is
most frequently seen as part of a Deep Deception particularly effective against Blunting and
strategy but can it can also occur when one player Shutdown tactics.
utilises a tactic that their opponent was previously
unaware of (see Tactical Tool Box). Tempo Shift
The Tempo Shift is a transitional strategy that is
Sunk Cost Theorem used when a player decides that the current Tempo
The Sunk Cost Theorem is a Decision of their army is no longer acceptable. In this
Management tool that seeks to optimise Resource situation the player abandons their current strategy
Management decisions when responding to enemy in favour of one with a higher or lower Tempo.
This is frequently done towards the end of games points and therefore will win if time is called. A
with time pressure or to match an opponent’s player with the Tempo Advantage can afford to
change in Tempo. The Tempo Shift does include utilise more time consuming tactics, such as
an element of risk as the adoption of a new strategy Turtling Up, as they are no longer forced to seize
will frequently require the adoption of a new the initiative. Unfortunately some unimaginative
Position and this can create a window of players are unable to devise genuine ‘in game’ time
vulnerability (see Reform the Line). Examples of a consuming tactic and are forced to go grab a drink,
Tempo Shift include switching from Wait and See mysteriously receive urgent phone calls, attempt to
tactics to a Shock and Awe approach or distract their opponents with humorous anecdotes
transitioning from one Burnout strategy to the or otherwise ‘Slow Play’. Slow Play is sportsman
other Burnout strategy. like and should never be considered under any
circumstances.
Tempo
1) The Tempo of an army is the term used to refer Theory SBG
to the integral of the army’s velocity towards its Theory SBG is the technical name for conducting
objectives, namely their position relative to time, a TEWT (Tactical Exercise Without Troops). The
with time in this war game measured in turns, purpose of such an exercise is to examine the
rather than minutes. This means that to understand merits of given tactics and counter tactics without
an army’s Tempo a player is forced to consider not the distraction of actually playing the game. The
only ‘where’ their troops are but ‘when’ they are, ability to rapidly conduct Theory SBG during the
how long it will take them to be where they should brief period between seeing an opponent’s army
be and what is likely to occur during the and rolling for deployment is vital if you intended
intervening turns. Tempo based tactics can be used to deploy in a way that will support your ongoing
to generate a Tempo Advantage through either strategy in the rest of the game. When conversing
offensive means, decreasing the number of turn with the wider gaming community it is not
required for your army to fulfil and objective (E.G. uncommon to hear this idea referred to as
Shock and Awe), or defensively, increasing the ‘Theoryfaux’, ‘Theory Hammer’ or ‘Theory K’.
number of turns that the opponent will require to
achieve their objective (E.G. Blunting). The Three Deep
understanding and control of Tempo is one of the Three Deep is a modification of the defensive
fundamental aspects of the game. Position and Tempo counter tactic Two Deep, in
2) The Tempo of a game refers to the speed at which one player attempts to prevent Breakthrough
which two players can make decisions, move tactics through the establishment of redundant
troops, roll dice and generally play the game. If the lines of troops. In situation where the enemy
Tempo of a game falls too low in a tournament intends to heroic combat (see Shock and Awe), the
setting then it is unlikely that the game will finish. two lines of troops utilised by the Two Deep tactic
are insufficient to provide security against the
Tempo Advantage break through. This is because a heroic combat can
1) The Tempo Advantage refers to an army’s punch through the first line and kill the second in a
ability to achieve a desired outcome in less turns single turn, at which point the Breakthrough will
than their opponent can. For example if a model is succeed if the player can win an Actual Priority. To
three turns away from an objective but the enemy reduce this problem place a third line of troops, this
can reach it in one then the enemy has a two turn will provide the Tempo necessary to respond to
Tempo Advantage in securing that objective. your opponent’s Breakthrough attempt.
Likewise if two armies are attempting to break one
another and one army can achieve this is three turns Tiger Claw
but the other requires ten then one side has a seven The Tiger Claw is an offensive Tempo and
turn Tempo Advantage. See Shock and Awe. Research Management tactic which utilises the
2) The Tempo Advantage refers to one player principle of Baiting to disperse enemy Resources.
being comfortable playing at a faster tempo than To do this one player detaches small groups of
their opponent. By keep the tempo of the game fast troops from their main formation and sends them
the more experience player seeks to encourage away from the main action. At this point the
their opponent into make rushed decisions and opponent has a choice, they can either ignore these
ultimately mistakes. Light use of the Tempo detachments or respond in kind. If they do nothing
Advantage is to be encouraged as it help players then the detachment is free to conduct Strategic
develop their critical reasoning skills but heavy or Raids or effect an Encirclement. If the opponent
forceful use of this advantage is sportsman like and responds with a force that is smaller than your
should be avoided at all costs. detachment, you can employ Defeat in Detail. If
3) The Tempo Advantage refers to the situation they send a larger force then your detachment
where one player takes an early lead in victory
WWGD
WWGD is an acronym for the theme based
Decision Management tool What Would Gandalf
Do (or sometimes What Would Gothmog Do)?
This tool is based upon the understanding that
theme does not end at army selection and that the
themy-ist list in Middle Earth turns to cheesy
garbage if not played in a manner consistent with
its theme. To this end the player makes a conscious
decision to select tactics, strategies and playstyles
that are consistent with their chosen army. The
obvious example is to not power up Gandalf or
Bard with Alfred the Councillor as it beyond all
belief that either of these individuals would ever
trust Alfred’s advice. The prime benefit of
adopting WWGD over other Decision
Management tools is the knowledge that,
regardless of the actual outcome of the game, in a
thematic sense (which is the most important sense)
you have already won.
Yoyo Attack
The Yoyo Attack is an offensive Position, Tempo
and Resource Management tactic that is used in
situations where a hero wishes to engage a target
that is protect by a potential next turn Counter
Charge. This is achieved by calling a heroic
combat and using the extra move generated by the
successful kill to withdraw beyond the range that
the potential Counter Charge can reach. This tactic
is most often used by characters with replenish-
Armoured Company – An Iron Hills dwarf list with two or more chariots.
Bash Brothers – A Gondor list with both Boromir and Faramir (any versions).
Divine Wind – An elven army with a minimum of two Storm Callers.
Filth List – Any list that uses troops from different list for mutual support without developing a justifying theme.
Fish of Fury – A double bubble Lake Town hoard army.
Gunline – Any army with more ranged weapons than mobility.
Magic Hat List – Any army lead by Thranduil.
Rhino Rush – Any army with a minimum of two Great Beasts of Gorgoroth.
Shade List – Any army that includes one or more shades.
Smaug List – Any army that includes models from the Desolator for the North army list.
True Hoard – Any army with at last 10 models per 100 points2.
Will No One Think Of The Children – Any army that contains one or more random warbands of Hobbits.
2
Note, this ratio was established prior to the inclusion of warbands. Update pending…