Email in: ROCKS!

"Just flicking through the blog as always (and cursing at my lovely Australian internet for not loading the comment boxes, or just eating every post I make) and I came up with a good question. That is the best way to deal with rock units (eg TH/SS termies)."

This is from The Wolf's Lunch. We covered this a bit before here but let's look at it more in-depth. Rocks (or super units, deathstars, etc.) are generally lynchpins for an army. If they fold, the army folds. They are generally expensive and not always the jack of all trades they are made out to be. Examples include Seer Councils on bikes, TH/SS Termies in Raiders, Nob Bikers, Command Squad Bikers, Swarmlord + Guard, TWC, etc. Notice that most of these units are all based around combat but they generally have a weakness as well. For example, Nob Bikers aren't that great against Mech and are so expensive the rest of their army is useless. Councils rely on psy powers (any super unit that relies on Psychic powers for the majority of it's offense or defense is really not viable anymore). Etc. Let's therefore look at ways to handle rock units and how to minimise their effect on the game.

Super units are generally super effective (although not always efficient) at combat and generally have excellent defenses (usually relying around multiple rolls such as FNP, re-rolls, etc.). Before you decide what to do about these units you must identify their defenses. What guns are most effective in taking them out? Generally high S or low AP to either negate FNP, better armor saves or multiple-wounds but these weapons are generally thin for most lists (if you do have lots of these weapons...well there you go). Once you have identified their main weakness look at the rest of their army. Is the rest of their army scary (i.e. Biker list, Dual Raider list, etc.)? If it is are you more capable of taking down the super units or the rest of the army? As stated before, not all super units can deal with everything and if you use measures talked about later and their supporting cast is gone, well you've won a game. Finally, look at your army. Can you go toe to toe with the super-unit in combat or will you have to block and sacrifice units to slow it down? Oh and if you've got an "anti super-unit" ability or spell, use it (i.e. Weaken Resolve).

Once you've identified the super units weaknesses, best guns to level at them, what their supporting cast is like and whether or not you can go toe to toe with them, it's time to deal with them. If their supporting cast is weak and they are a huge point sink, it's generally best to delay super units through blocking or sacrificing and remove their support (i.e. Nob Bikers). By feeding/blocking super-units and destroying their support, you will eventually overwhelm the super unit through firepower and too many targets. Make sure to not get multi-assaulted though. What about a super-unit with a good supporting cast? The same thing really applies but it's going to take you longer to remove the supporting cast (i.e. Biker Marines). Block/delay the super unit as much as possible, particularly with units which may delay it significantly (i.e. TH/SS don't like Stubborn hordes, Command Bikes don't like Dreads, etc.). Again, once the opponent's army is neutralised you can begin to focus on the super-units and by this time you should still have a superior army to the super unit as they are overwhelmed by incoming firepower and targets.

It's pretty simple to say this though but harder to execute. Sometimes you simply cannot deal with your opponent's supporting cast or you run out of units to sacrifice/block with. This is where super-units come into their own. They will start to chew through your army very quickly and once your defenses are stripped away, you may not have a chance of stopping them. It is therefore advised you plan beforehand your blocking/sacrifice units. Bubble-wraps layered up are invaluable against super units as it can take time for them to chew through them. This gives you the time to re-mobilise or continue destroying their support core. Fast units which can move out into midfield/their deployment zone can also significantly delay the super-unit's movement.

Overall, try and strip away some of their defenses by using appropriate guns but at the same time, don't focus solely on them unless you have the firepower to put them down or your guns are just as effective against them as the support army (i.e. Hive Guard against a Biker army). At the same time, spreading your firepower across the super-unit and the support army is diluting your strength so you need to ensure you are maximising your potential damage. And I can't state this enough, blocking, sacrificing and bubble-wrapping are all essential skills needed in 40k. These tactics will win you games.