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BT 101 Update: Suggestions?

3/31/2011

8 Comments

 
Hey everyone.  Let’s get back in the saddle shall we?  It’s been a slow couple of weeks, partially due to life hitting me like a sack of bricks, as well as lack of interesting topics to blog about.  With a codex that is as old as ours, material becomes a bit redundant and overused after awhile.  It’s one of the reasons I’m going to start blogging about DE soonish, as I’m going to start putting my crap together.   They have been sitting in boxes for a good while, as my attention has been on my Nova Open BT.

Speaking of which, I think I’ve nailed down the final list.  If you’ve been following along at all, then you’ve kind of seen my progression and evolution of my Nova lists.  I started with my Gunline list, but as competitive as that list is, it still has some inefficiencies in it.  It’s a very good list, but I don’t think it’s a champion list.  So I wanted to create something more efficient and powerful.  And with everyone’s input and discussion, I believe I have something that can do this.  In my last Nova post, I gave two options for lists.  Ultimately, the list I went for was the first one.  I wish I could squeeze 45 more points out of it to give me some melta, but you can’t have everything can you?  It just feels more balanced and gives me more options against a wider variety of opponents.  More on this later.

Anyway, let’s get on with the real topic shall we?  As mentioned previously, I’ve had plans to freshen up the BT 101 guide.  I’ve now gotten dozens upon dozens of responses to my Reader Satisfaction Survey, and I plan to put all those comments to good use.  Some of the suggestions simply aren’t feasible for various reasons.  Others, I simply do not agree with (e.g. explaining the virtues of the “Black Tide” army) so will not be included.  But there were numerous comments regarding format and flow, as well as requests for expansion in some areas of the guide.  Even reading the information listed now, I can pick out sections that need addressing to clarify certain aspects of list building or tactical game play.  I believe I’m also going to include a new section featuring common beginner questions, primary taken from various forums I frequent, as well as the great many emails I’ve received.

Because the BT 101 guide is just that, a beginners guide (hence the 101), I don’t go into extreme detail on many of the tactics and thought processes in list building.  They give a basic overview and I let my blogging and various other articles explain the rest.  Unfortunately, the problem with the blog is that good information quickly becomes difficult to find as I pump out more articles.  Because Weebly doesn’t have a refined way of searching for previous post, this is somewhat of a problem.  So I’m going to start producing a BT 201 guide, which includes more advanced articles regarding the Black Templars and their use in game.  This will include sections that are very similar to my “How To:  Defensive Drop Pod Army” tactical article.  I’m not entirely finalized on what will be included, but some of the ideas include: advanced target priority, what makes a list good at different points levels, and how to beat some of the current “metagame” army lists.  I will also go much more in depth into why I run the army archetypes that I do, which is at the moment, primarily gunline-oriented. 

Alright, to finish this post off, I’m going to give everyone the opportunity here to voice their opinions on what they’d like to see included in the BT 101 guide.  Any suggestions for how it should flow, anything information that you believe to be lacking, etc.  In addition, do you have any suggestions for specific material for the BT 201 guide?  It does me no good to have an article filled with information that no one needs, or already knows.  The BT 201 guide is going to be geared towards the more experienced players.  Not quite veterans, but players that have played a few games and need just a little bit more to get them on the right track.  Hopefully it’ll be useful for players out there.

As always, thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you all!  :D
8 Comments
Cory
3/31/2011 04:28:09 am

I'd say take one of your preferred lists and take us through some tactics against common power builds for each army for example target priorities, what to stay away from, common traps etc. Obviously nothing beats experience but I think this would be a valuable tool for a lot of people

Reply
Algesan link
3/31/2011 06:11:37 am

Heh, I'd hate to write that one, because its "do this, unless that is going on, or this happens, or that other thing shows up".

Although actually it isn't a bad idea though. As long as you deal with one list at a time. I could do it for most enemies: 1-3 Speeder squadrons start on the board. Probably the Terminators. Everything else into the Pods. Target priorities are Transports, Long Range Template shooters and AT. Rule of thumb, kill what gets you a KP easiest first and work your way down the list.

Drop Bolter Crusaders close to the enemy where they can crawl into cover, drop BP/CCW Crusaders a bit back to buy them a turn so they can assault later. Of course, suicide melta drop if you need to.

Make sure you don't have big CC outflankers coming in and if you do, stay our of range of the sides of the board. Shoot first and then the bayonet brothers.

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Devjon
3/31/2011 06:36:47 am

It would be nice if there were some sort of complete analysis for each unit. Such as a close look at the advantages and disadvantages comparing various upgrades and what each brings to the list. You already have this a little in the additions made by Marshal Wilhelm and Bigdunc but they don't cover all of the units, nor all of the upgrades, nor is it easy to look for a specific unit.

I really like the idea of a Black Templar 201 Guide. It will help with bringing more people to read it and should help anyone who has read the 101 guide but still doesn't have everything quite down. I look forward to reading it myself.

Reply
Marshal Laeroth (Admin) link
3/31/2011 11:16:13 pm

The goal was to take one of my more competitive lists and base the tactics off of that. While they wouldn't fit in all circumstances, for all opponents, you'd be able to fill in the blanks based on what was written. Of course, this section will be a living document, as I am not perfect, and may need to edit some things as I improve (yes, even I improve). ;)

@Alegesan
Yeah, its a lot of work. My father seems to think I should be charging for what I do here (he made the comment after finding out the stat numbers for the website). Fortunately, there isn't a codex on the horizon for at least 9 months, so I can afford to go one section at a time until its complete.

I really don't look forward to having rewrite the entire site after a codex update/new edition, however. lol!

@Devjon
This is something that I'm actually currently working on. I've wanted to do it for a very long time, so I could reference my own material, but it is understandably a huge undertaking to accomplish. That is why there are only two players that I know of that has done such an in depth analysis on our units (Bigdunc and Marshal Wilhelm). :)

Reply
Algesan link
4/1/2011 01:54:40 am

It would be nice to have a collected site. Speaking philosophically, the problem with unit descriptions is that they tend to come from a certain point of view. For example, our Commander and Chaplain choices are not bad, but a bit costly and depend on other choices. If I'm using AACNMTO, then Chaplains are less useful because that vow overwrites the Litanies of Hate, but if I'm using Witch, then it is great for any squad that might have a CC tasking.

Also, under certain conditions a Commander with his Rites of Battle can be crucial to insuring the success or safety of an army. Take the gunline lists Marshal Laeroth is planning on using. If (yes, IF) the Crusader squads are set up within 7" of the edge of the board, it might be worth my time as his opponent to shoot as many as possible to achieve at least one kill each. Why? Because I have ~16% chance of forcing each squad off the table if they roll a 9+ on morale and 7+ on fall back. It would drop to ~10% with a Castellan and ~5% with a Marshal. Useful, yes? Worth a chance...between either of my 2k Deep Strike lists...maybe. Definitely if I get a good round of shooting vs the Lazorbacks for the second turn.

Of course, this can be mitigated by setting up further forward (or in the Lazorbacks), but both of these options also have their negatives, especially since a squad in a Lazorback isn't shooting anything and won't be until the turn after they disembark.

I only bring that one up since I've seen the morale failures happen during RZ checks. Once was annoying, the other few were actually "Ha Ha!" moments since the squad in question was about to get smashed in CC and ran far enough away so that they rallied and shot the CC units the next turn and in one case joined in the assault on the enemy unit.

Reply
Devjon
4/1/2011 04:07:30 am

I got just 4 sentences into your newest post and had another idea. You have your lists on here and you say so yourself that they aren't completely optimized. You could adjust them so that they are less optimized and then offer to critique anyone who wants to try to improve them.

I'm not saying this very well, but it would be an opportunity for anyone who wants to try and improve their list building skills. They would email their version along with the tactics for it (as you have them) and you would give you opinion on if their adjustments were beneficial or not and how.

Just an idea, and not very well put, but it works similarly to your list building exercises but gives anyone who wants to a chance to practice what you've shone them.

Reply
Marshal Laeroth (Admin) link
4/1/2011 11:26:50 am

@Devjon
That's an idea. I understand what you meant. Its actually kind of fitting that you mentioned this, as I just got an email that did exactly as you said: attempted to improve an already existing list. I think they did a pretty good job of it, so I might post it up pending their permission.

Reply
Marshal Laeroth (Admin) link
4/1/2011 11:30:35 am

@Algesan
That is a good point. Unit reviews are almost always skewed towards the perspective of the player who does them. But that is also one of the reasons I want to do one for myself. So I can skew it my way. ;)

If I did one, I would take in account the varying archetypes available to the army. That way the analysis would be more thorough and you can get an idea of what the unit will do in a particular army style.

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