Back To Basics: Part 2: Shooting

I've had a couple of busy weeks in RL so this article has been on hold for a little while. I've wanted to do an article on this for a little while now so let's hope it isn't total fail. For this episode I want to take a little look at the shooting phase. Again, it's at a pretty basic level and looks into shooting in reasonably fine detail.

Kirby has done some fantastic articles in his 'basics' series (Part 3and 4 are some of my favourite articles, but for some reason the series is not in his 'useful articles' list) and I hope everybody remembers Stelek's NECMOD series over on YTTH. I'd recommend them to you all if you've not read them yet, but I will hopefully be summarising some of the points from part 3 and 4 of Kirby's basics articles.

Shooting is something I completely (and I mean completely) failed at when I first got back into the game. I still make some stupid mistakes - ask Kirby, I'm sure he remembers the incidents with the Land Speeders and the Predators - but as the song goes, I got by with a little help from my friends.

Shooting starts before any dice have been rolled... and I mean the ones for mission and deployment. Get your opponents list and have a look. A good look. This is really not done enough and I'm guilty of it as much as anybody. Have a think, what is going to ruin you day and do it quickly? It needs to be killed and early.

I was having a chat with somebody I'd consider an 'e-friend' a little while back about his game (using Orks - *facepalm*) vs CSM. He stated to me how he was pleased that'd he taken down 2 Daemon Princes shooting in turn 1, but then the CSM Oblits ripped the heart out of his list and continued to punish him for the rest of the game. I asked why he chose the Princes for first turn shooting and he stated he knew they were nasty. I then asked if they could hurt him at range/in transports (no) and if they could've been dealt with a little later in the game (yes). I stated to him the oblits had the ability to de-mech him and ruin his day (which they did) and so should've been a higher priority turn 1. If he'd have dealt with them turn 1 and the Princes turn 2 would he have won? Who knows... but he'd likely have had more of a chance. Target Priority IS important!

One of the most difficult parts though, is deciding how to deal with said threat. You need to be realistic in what you can do which comes down to knowing your own list. If you have nothing that can reliably take down AV 14 at range, don't make a Land Raider top of your priority and throw all of your str 8 weapons at it (less pew pew and more ping ping). You're better off crippling the support and thinking of something else to hold-up the AV14 (see blocking). With deployment and movement you should be lining up those shots you want and avoid blocking firing lanes. If you can, try to get 2-3 targets in your sights for shooting, but don't sacrifice a good shot at 1 for average shots at 2-3 (regarding cover and armour facing).

So you know what you want to shoot and you're all lined up ready to roll some dice... but where to start? I'm sure many people won't think much about this and will start on one side of the board and work their way across so they don't forget anything. This isn't the worst way of doing things - at least you fire everything, which is more than I can say for some of my opponents - but it is certainly not the most effective way of doing things.

One of the finest pieces of advice I've ever been given is 'shoot what has the fewest targets first'. Inevitably some of your units will only have one target as an option. But remember, transports should count as 2 targets as if you open them up, you can shoot what is inside. Always keep your target priority at the forefront of your thinking, but there is no point in busting something up when it is the only target available to another one of your units. And always think what each one of your units has to offer, including the ability to assault.

I've got a very basic example. I don't completely expect this to ever occur in a game but it helps me show my point so :P. Let's take a look.

So for some reason the Chimera with the melta Vets has found it's way to the top of your target priority list - let's say it's on course to mess up your Terminator's ride. The sentinel is meh, but you don't want him to bust up your ish (family freindly remember Chumby)! So first off, let's look at number of targets. The speeder (out of MELTA range btw) only really has one. Even if the chimera is opened up, it is unlikely he will be able to see the troops to shot them with the melta and will be out of range for flamer action. He cannot see the sentinal due to the BLOS terrain. The Crusader squad has multiple options, shooting and/or assaulting both the Chimera and the unit inside should it go up in smoke. The Laserback can shoot the chimera, potentially the squad or the sentinal so 3 potential targets.

A little while ago, I'd have shot the crusader squad because I heart MELTA, but this is duh! You'd waste the speeder shot and possibly the bolt pistols, which could be going into Veterans. But, ALWAYS remember, you may not want to shoot the Vets, nobody likes their victims running away before you're finished with them.

So now let's use my friend's rule of shooting the unit with the least number of targets first. So the speeder has just one target so let's use him first. He shoot's and misses. I always roll 2s to hit with my melta weapons so this isn't surprising! Next up we'll go for the crusader squad as they just have 2 targets. Pew Pew! and the Chimera goes up in smoke! W00t! The squad get out of the rear hatch and are really pooping their T3 pants. Now the laserback shoots the sentinal and despite scoring a penetrating hit, just rolls a 2 on the vehicle damage table (Boooo!). At least he's not going to duff me up next turn. Assault phase comes round and my crusader squad assaults the newly emerged vets.

Did that work out better than my übern00b way of doing it? Well, I'm not going to lie, in this situation it probably didn't. But... it could easily have done so. Several times I've genuinely face-palmed because of the order in which I've shot my units! A couple of missed hits or some wasted dakka can make a big difference and a little amount of thought prior to rolling dice can really go a long way.

So, we're at the end of part 2 of Back to Basics, I hope it was worth your time. Comment away!

p.s. I promise I won't keep you waiting as long for part 3.

p.p.s. Who am I kidding, who 'waits' for this kind of rubbish?