Post by Fadril Adren on Jan 21, 2018 9:39:08 GMT -5
Duality of Death is one of Warhammer Age of Sigmar’s most unusual battleplans, allowing only Heroes and Behemoths to score. Building an army that’s prepared for this, and playing well, is key to winning your games of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, whether you’re competing at your local club or trying for some glory at a tournament. Russ “The Face” Veal is back with another handy guide:
This scenario is all about the Heroes and Behemoths, effectively protecting these scoring models is the key to winning this battleplan. I usually think about this mission whenever I write a matched play army list to ensure that I can win if and when it comes up.
Key points to consider:
* Only Heroes and Behemoths can capture objectives in this scenario
* Non-Behemoth Heroes heal when they score points in this scenario
* These units only claim an objective when you end a move within 3” of an uncontested objective, or by killing the enemy model holding the objective and being within 3″ of the objective.
* The longer you stay on the objective the more points you score.
* You cannot capture an objective while retreating.
* A set up is not a move, so you cannot use Lightning Chariot or similar abilities to capture objectives.
* Your territory is only the area you can deploy in and most of the table is neutral (this is important for abilities which work “in your territory”).
Setting a plan for the game
Getting the choice of first or second turn, having the right models to capture the objectives and being prepared to take board position early will really help you in this scenario. If you have an army with lots of 5 and 6 Wound infantry Heroes, this will be a tough battleplan for you, but there are ways around this! Your opponent’s army might have a superior range threat or a way to kill your Heroes early, so keep your scoring models alive and kill your opponents! Sounds easy, right?
Plan 1 – Here I am! Come and ‘ave a go!
If you can take turn 1, and have a high wound, flying or fast moving Hero or Behemoth with a decent save in position to claim an objective turn 1, then this is a move which can win you the game early on! Throwing your Stardrake with mirror shield onto an objective, with a screen of Liberators dropping from the sky to surround it, will provide a tough nut to crack for any army; not only are you resilient to shooting due to the mirror shield and most likely Staunch Defender, but you’re also screened from any combat threat.
Lots of armies have access to this tactic; the Sylvaneth, for example, can send a Spirit of Durthu surrounded by Kurnoth Hunters or Dryads through the Realmroots, using the Wyldwood you craftily deployed near the objective before the game started. Using spells like Mystic Shield to help keep you safe, and Re-growth ready to heal any damage the Spirit of Durthu will take in subsequent turns can make this almost impossible to counter for some armies.
Any character with defensive abilities and lots of wounds (Archaon, anyone?) will be tough for your opponent to remove, especially when backed up by a defensive suite of abilities, spells and artefacts.
Be wary of armies which have a way to deal with your character at range, especially mortal wound output, like a Lord of Change’s Infernal Gateway. Some abilities can move your model away from the objective, such as the Slaughterpriest’s Blood Bind prayer. When you move to take the objective, ensure to be mindful of these abilities and stay outside of threat range.
You should also bear in mind that taking the objective early could mean your “super” character will be sitting things out for much of the game (well, other than winning you the major victory!). Playing around this objective and denying your opponent the other marker will see you to victory, but be wary overextending and giving up your super character early. If you have a more fragile Hero or Behemoth but have a fast moving unit which can surround it, then you can create a protective ring of troops to bubble-wrap your scoring unit.
Plan 2 – Alpha Strike!
Maybe your army can just kill all the enemy characters before they can earn any points or claim a single objective point; if you do this it’s game over!
Kharadron Overlords Barak-Zilfin armies are deadly at this; usually, they can dictate the turn, drop in with Aetherspheric Endrins in turn 1, bail out and lay down a hail of fire killing all the enemy scoring units to win. Remember they have to move to claim an objective. However, a canny Overlord could simply deploy the Ironclad (maybe redeploy with Fleetmaster) then use their once-a-game hero phase move before bailing out and getting within range to eliminate the heroes.
Plan 3 – Bait and Smash
Let them take the objective and then simply kill the scoring models, claim the objectives and, if you have the first double turn, end up on 6 points to 2 with your scoring units in a great position. This can be a bit risky, as unless it’s your scoring unit that kills the opponent’s, you need to move your Hero or Behemoth in after the model has been killed.
There are a few tricks to this, such as using abilities in the Hero phase. If you can charge an offensive unit and a scoring unit into the enemy objective holder, you could dispatch the enemy with the unit and, because you made a successful charge pile in your scoring model (even with no enemy within 3″), capture the objective at the end of the move. You could also use ranged attacks to kill the objective holder, before charging a non-scoring enemy unit near the objective to claim it.
Plan 4 – Chain Gang
Another strategy is setting up reserve fighters ready to take position if the enemy kills your scoring units. You can patiently place Heroes outside of range, ready to move or run in, and use your other units to surround and block the objectives. This relies on your earning points bit by bit, this is very hard against someone who has a lot of mobile ranged threat, but you might be forced into this play style by nature of your army selection. I have used this strategy with my Bloodbound, as I usually have 6 Heroes this gives me plenty of options to score with.
Plan 5 – Change in Management
This is a bit of a strange one, but it’s so powerful it needs its own section. It relies on having The Changeling in your army. This unit is amazing in this battleplan, as it can deploy hidden but still scores as your model – remember you cannot deploy this guy outside the enemy territory, so if they can block it from an objective turn 1 to foil this strategy. But remember, it can also slow down enemy scoring units with Puckish Misdirection to stop them being able to reach an objective.
Putting it All Together…
Essentially, keep your scoring units alive and on the objectives; remember that standing on the objective scoring points is winning you the game. Try to avoid charging away with your big beasty character to score kill points when standing on the objective is more effective. Of course, it’s definitely worthwhile if you give up the objective and eliminate an enemy unit that’s scoring especially if you have another Hero ready to pick up the abandoned point (remember you score more points the longer you stay on it).
Don’t get caught out by using a setup or special deployment to take the objective, as this does not count as a move. Plan your deployment around the scoring unit movement, and try to deploy ranged units so they can threaten any unit taking up position early if you can’t take the first turn.
Hope you found this useful and look forward to hearing your tales of victory!