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Shades & Melee Swarm

by 42up

Harassment can be a tough concept to get perfected. I have seen many people on the boards scoff at the Shade in their melee armies because they assume that they do not need them. This is inherently a product of inexperience.

I have seen many strategy posts that are broad and can cover much material. But for sake of convenience, I am going to cover one aspect in-depth: The Role a Shade Plays in Melee Swarm.

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Concepts Behind Melee Swarm

1. Must Be in Base to Base to Score Points

This is something that one must realize when playing swarm. You cannot win sitting around trying to heal or waiting for another formation to catch up.

Many players like to include a healer in their swarm. This is a mistake. You score 0 points healing a figure and you waste 1-2 whole turns healing. If one formation needs to be healed, the other should hold back so the swarm can reach optimal efficiency.

Healing is a wasted point slot in swarm.

Swarms also need to be of equal speed with one another. You cannot have one formation moving 8” and another moving 12”. This thins out your forces and does not focus your attack.

2. Swarms Need to Be as Efficient as Possible

Swarms do not need to waste points on things that do not support/strengthen the swarm (a.k.a. healing). When using support, you want to increase mobility. A swarm needs to be maneuverable.

• KI and Orcs do this via Force Marchers
• Atlantean Guild performs this by adding a Techno/Scorpem
• Piper/Bearer increases the speed of formations for increased mobility
• Techno can ML figures
• Scorpem negates the fact that A.G. is inherently slow with no FM figure

Dual figures are added weight in swarm. Figures like the Battle Queen and Steam Golem are too point costly and unfocused for a swarm. This also applies to large uniques.

3. Swarms Need to Achieve Maximum Value Out of a Formation

A swarm army wants to make every formation count. Having one strong formation and a weaker one is quite the antithesis of swarm.

• Smaller figures need to be in groups of 5
• Larger figures can work in groups of 3
• A swarm formation needs to be around 100 points or less—any more and maneuverability is lost (exception: High Elf General with an elf contingent)

Formations should be difficult to take down and redundant. Redundancy provides for increased formation potential if one figure is injured critically. This also has practical reasons in that some figures are stronger than others—the ** Brute is stronger than the *** Crusher greatly, and thus one would not play the Crusher over the Brute.

4. Actions Are Everything in a Swarm

The swarm wins by going into base to base. When in B2B, actions become vital. Each attack will add points and take away from the effectiveness of opposing figures.

Redundancy provides that actions can mimic those of another—the action used to attack with an Elf at Arms can be repeated. Every move is vital; anything that takes away from the actions of a swarm army should be rethought.

When in B2B it will come down to who uses his/her actions more appropriately. Failing to maximize action potential will often lead to defeat.

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Minor Points

1. Swarms need no bodyguards
2. Large uniques are not needed in swarm (exceptions: HEG General, Wraith, Taskmaster, Whelp Master)
3. Blitz forms of melee are now unworkable (blitz being Rivvens supported by chargers or Crystal Bladesmen swarm)
4. Swarms need to push often
5. Swarms usually outnumber opponents but this is no excuse to use the swarm recklessly
6. Swarms are aggressive and should not be played defensively

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Solid Melee Formations

Elf Formation

• *** Elf at Arms
• *** Elf at Arms
• *** Elf at Arms
• *** Rivvenguard
• * Standard Bearer

Utem Formation

• *** Utem Guardsman
• *** Utem Guardsman
• *** Utem Guardsman
• *** Utem Guardsman
• *** Utem Guardsman

Tribal Brute Formation

• ** Tribal Brute
• ** Tribal Brute
• Taskmaster
• * Clurch Piper

Half Troll Hacker Formation

• ** Half Troll Hacker
• * Half Troll Hacker
• * Half Troll Hacker
• Taskmaster
• * Clurch Piper

(In orc formations, the Taskmaster can readily be dropped without replacement)

Blade Golem Formation

• *** Blade Golem
• ** Blade Golem
• ** Blade Golem

High Elf General Formation

• High Elf General
• *** Elf at Arms
• *** Elf at Arms
• *** Rivvenguard
• * Standard Bearer

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The Purpose of a Shade in Melee

1. To Give Point Advantage by Tying Up Part of an Opposing Army

This is perhaps the most vital quality of the Shade. By tying up part of an opponent’s army, the rest of your army has a significant point advantage. This advantage gives fewer losses and thus you lose fewer points while taking advantage of outnumbering an army.

Many people have been raving about the new push off damage given by mounted. Never be afraid to gain an action/point advantage by tying up the mounted figure. Mounted figures are usually costly, especially the uniques. If you can remove their mounted figure from the game for 2 turns, then the point of damage the Shade takes is worth the cost.

Divide and conquer, the old saying goes. This has no greater impact than to a swarm army. This will usually decide the mirror match as well.

2. Tie Up Range Units

This applies especially to the Orcs. The KI can usually out-range an army and the Guild is packing a Techno and/or Scorpem Gunner.

This is one of the more obvious uses of the Shade. Just remember to tie up a range formation prior to attacking. This applies greatly when you are swarming an opponent’s figures and they have range in position to fire once their comrade has been disposed.

3. To Block Line of Sight

The Shade has the inherent ability to push and acquire Stealth. This ability can be invaluable when facing multiple range targets or a figure with 14” range.

The Shade can also elect to block the LOS directly without pushing. This is helpful when you have a specific target you want to strike first and an opposing range formation that you must bypass.

4. Ability to Move Free with 12” Speed

This is an extremely vital part of the Shade which makes him the pièce de résistance compared to other harassers. Quickness is so much more important to swarm than flying. Actions are greatly important and must not be used wastefully or ineffectively.

5. To Tie Up Opposing Harassment/Support

Tying up harassment is much more vital than tying up support. A figure cannot heal when an enemy figure is in base contact with the target.

Tying up a bodyguard (a.k.a. *** Centaur LT or * Heavy Cavalier) for a turn or more can often ensure victory. Negating the first strike capability is very important to the health of your figures.

Tying up a supplemental figure like a Scorpem, Techno, Rammer, Piper, etc. is also important though not vital. A Technomancer is an often-seen support figure. Remember: when he is MLing your Shade away, he is not MLing one of his own warriors.

Tying up harassment is extremely important—I cannot stress this enough. If an opponent can slow you down, force you to waste actions, or break a formation, you are at a serious disadvantage with a swarm army.

Tying up an opposing Shade with your own is very reasonable and I cannot condone it more.

6. To Pose as a Threat to Figures with Low Defense

The Shade can also attack in a pinch. Most range figures and support have low defense. Use this to your advantage to force your opponent to take notice of the Shade.

The Shade can also be used to kill/capture a weakened figure if you must move your swarm out.

7. To Cause an Opponent to Waste Actions

If a Shade causes part of an opponent’s army to attack it or move against it, that means they have to temporarily ignore the swarm. This is where everything ties together.

Causing an opposing army to waste actions on a 12-16 point figure will win you games indirectly. While they are trying to deal with your Shade, they also have to consider the swarm. Both are threats:

• If an opponent elects to neglect the Shade, they have consequently removed part of their army from the game
• If they use actions to deal with the Shade, you have a free turn or two to do as you please

Actions translate into attacks which in turn translate into points. Using a low point figure will usually net you a greater amount of points.

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Hope that helps. Please note that this is a theory post and feel free to give constructive criticism. If this goes well, I might post a melee swarm primer for the KI and A.G.

—42up (maraxus710@hotmail.com)