Force Selection Help

[Ivoryskull]

I backed the Strike Ops III 3rd Kickstarter and have all the CAV's from that. I was hoping to get some feedback from those in the know about some good squad combinations that can be made with them? The more info about the choices (abilities, synergies, etc.) to explain would b e very helpful. I know the updated colour cards are being done in #sku order so they will be last to appear (I am enjoying the new look colour cards).

[The Red Baron]

Let's make an attack squad.

• You'll want 1 Recon unit with the SA: EST. This can be the Spartan or the Shadow.
  • I'd take the Shadow but either will work.
    • Role: move, hide and give your squad mates EST or APA2 as needed.
      • Pros
        • APA2 makes squad mates hit extra hard.
        • EST allows them to TARGET LOCK for free
        • SA: Chameleon makes you harder to hit at LONG+ ranges
        • SA Superior Mobility lets you get to those hiding spots faster
      • Cons
        • You are a high priority target!
        • Your weapons have a huge minimum range.
        • No SA: ECM to fight against enemy ECM.
• After that you'll take anywhere from 3-5 models with the attack role depending on how many points you want to spend - we'll go fewer points.
  • Personally, I'd take 3 Duelists.
    • Role: Shoot stuff early and often, roll crits, do so from cover if possible.
      • Pros
        • They are very versatile - with their 6 light MACs they can customize their fire to suit the target.
        • Take 6 separate shots when facing a model with low/damaged armor.
        • SALVO them together when you need to punch through armor or hit something buried in cover.
        • They crit on an 11 or 12 rather than the standard 12.
          • You have 6 shots to fish for crits. 🙂
      • Cons
        • Their defenses are very 'mid' and they will go down after a few hard hits.
        • Their offense is very dice dependent. If your dice are even a little above average they are great below and they are a little impotent.
        • They CANNOT damage soft targets at all in anyway.
        • Their weapons have an 8" min range.

This squad is a bit of a glass cannon. They want to go first and they don't like being shot at. Use terrain to limit your enemies ability to shoot you and enhance your ability to shoot them. They do not like enemy models that can 'rush' them and do damage. They hate soft targets - aircraft are their bane.

The really advanced player will use the Shadow as bait to feed enemy models to the Duelists. It is very high risk so caveat emptor. 🙂

Happy to answer questions if you have any. 

[Ivoryskull]

That is great The Red Baron, such a great amount of info to use, thank you.

Recon style units seem to be very popular, but I cannot see a reason to place them all in one unit due to the fact that their sharing abilities are only squad based and not army wide. But, the Active Phase Array is very good. Good enough to boost a full recon squad? Not so sure, but I am only going on paper stats for the moment. Do you field full recon units?

Only 3 Duelists? Is it not best to have the largest squads as possible to activate and maximize options?

Also, I am a sucker for a good quad and love the look of the Haunt. The non-coloured stat card lists it at just under 600 points. Do you feel this is a good unit for the points? There are quite a few rockets mounted on it. 🙂

[The Red Baron]

1 hour ago, Ivoryskull said:

That is great The Red Baron, such a great amount of info to use, thank you.

Recon style units seem to be very popular, but I cannot see a reason to place them all in one unit due to the fact that their sharing abilities are only squad based and not army wide. But, the Active Phase Array is very good. Good enough to boost a full recon squad? Not so sure, but I am only going on paper stats for the moment. Do you field full recon units?

Only 3 Duelists? Is it not best to have the largest squads as possible to activate and maximize options?

Also, I am a sucker for a good quad and love the look of the Haunt. The non-coloured stat card lists it at just under 600 points. Do you feel this is a good unit for the points? There are quite a few rockets mounted on it. 🙂

 

A Recon squad has one unique ability that can be very impactful. The Recon squad can once per turn decide to put a just revealed initiative card on the bottom of the deck forcing the players to draw another. This can let you influence the tempo of the game. Sometime going first is great other times you don't want to go first. They are used in tournament play for sure.

[It just occurred to me that @CAVBOSS worked on an newer initiative system. I can't recall if he ever made it official so take the above with a grain of salt.]

Fyi, the effect of APA is force wide so long as the models are in it's range.

Recon units are rarely powerful enough to get into the middle of the fight but they are good at sniping wounded models and making indirect fire units unhappy.

I picked 3 Duelists because they are expensive in bulk. That squad is a little over 2000 points and has some flaws - see the CONs section. Tournament games are 4500 - 5000 points normally. Casual games whatever you want to play but rarely much more than the tournament games in my experience.

About having the largest squads... Having more squads allows you more opportunities in the initiative system so sometimes volume is good. One of my favorite things about CAV is that there are a lot of ways to build and play a force.

The Haunt is a great looking model and perfectly fine in a force with a plan to use it. That said indirect fire (IDF) models are, imo, hard to build a force around. They are great supplements but their flaws are exploitable. You'll want a good screening force for sure. Problem with me giving this kind of advice is that the scenarios you'll find yourself in are all over the place. 

When it comes to IDF the very best have both SA: Chain Fire Pod and SA: Fire Control System - the cream of the crop also include SA: Counter-Battery. 🙂 Take a look at the Outlaw an IDF tank and work your way through what it's Special Abilities do.

Happy to help!

[Ivoryskull]

11 minutes ago, The Red Baron said:

Fyi, the effect of APA is force wide so long as the models are in it's range.

Hmmm... On page 40 of Armored Might 1.5v pdf for Active Phase Array is says: 'Requiring a Special Action to activate each turn, SA: APA-equipped models provide this enhanced targeting data to any friendly model in their squad.' Has this been updated to include the entire force now?

Good advice about the squad sizes, I will keep that in mind. I have no doubt that the tournament scene brings out some rather spicy force lists. I enjoy tournaments because I always learn something new about force building and strategy. Something I would love to build up here in Perth, Australia.

A good screening unit for IDF squads could be the Crusader? The miniature looks pretty cool so I had a peek at the stats and this looks like it can hit pretty hard, although with an almost certain weapon cool down afterwards.

Had a look at the Outlaw as you suggested and am reminded once again that I regret not backing the vehicles too, although in my defense at the time I was more excited by CAV miniatures. With armour of 3 it is very brittle, but those abilities and weapons have some range to them which is nice. I could find room to have one or twelve in my collection considering you do get a pair per blister. But, how viable is an all vehicle force, assuming a standard playing field of some hills and woods, etc?

[The Red Baron]

"...any friendly model in their squad."

 

You're right. I get caught by the differences in the Strike Operations and Armoured Might rules. 😇

[Ivoryskull]

8 hours ago, The Red Baron said:

"...any friendly model in their squad."

 

You're right. I get caught by the differences in the Strike Operations and Armoured Might rules. 😇

All good mate. I suspect the change may have something to do with feedback over the years? After thinking about both rules I like the idea of it being squad based rather than army wide. The Active Phase Array 2 with 30" range is good, even though you can get some pretty large playing areas based on the actual longer weapon ranges. Looking forward to finding out how it plays.

I am going to sit down with my gaming group and see if we can come up with two opposing squads from my Strike Ops III 3rd Kickstarter collection to try and make a fun game of it rather than to win. The group was interested in doing some YouTube videos of our journey so hopefully that proves entertaining. Anyone who wants to chime in on this with game and unit suggestions/tips to help us until then please do so here. 🙂

[Ivoryskull]

During our first 'Channel Update' video I talk for a few minutes about where our group is up to with selecting and painting the two demo game squads. Selection was made based on a number of factors from 'that looks cool' to 'how much damage can it do!?'. Sadly, no Duelists yet which The Red Baron has sold me on. Ah well... For the first games I think we will find out soon enough what strategies and future CAV units will help expand both forces moving forward.

Force 1
2x Butcher
2x Starhawk V

Force 2
2x Obake
2x Crusader

Anyway, it starts at 11:45 min mark if you wish to skip straight to it. 🙂