In this new series of posts, I'll be having a look at the stratagems available to Leagues of Votann armies in 10th edition 40k, both from the core rules and from the index. We'll start out by looking at those stratagems from the core rules that can be deemed offensive, or in other words "meant to increase or enhance damage output in some way".
Today we'll be looking at the Counter-offensive, Epic challenge, Grenade, Tank shock, Fire overwatch and Heroic intervention with regards to how armies of the Leagues of Votann may best use them.
Counter-offensive
The stratagem Counter offensive, colloquially known as "interrupt", is good to know about and straightforward in use. Should you have several combats where the enemy will be fighting before you, and any combat where they have not already fought (and are likely to cause harm to your combat units), you can spent 2 cp to do this.
Generally, using this is easy. If, after your opponent has fought with a unit, using 2CP to fight before his next fight-first unit can make a difference for the battle, you do so. It comes up fairly rarely in my experience, but it can happen when the enemy has charged several units of Hearthguard or Beserks with the right kind of troops.
I find that counter-offensive comes up the most often when you or your opponent is deciding what charging unit to fight with first, to make sure it doesn't get used. Interestingly, you can sometimes use this to bait an enemy to use their CP by sacrificing a unit. Lets say you charged this turn with a unit of Hearthkyn Warriors and a unit of Beserks. Normally you'd fight with the Beserks first, as interrupting to prevent Hearthkyn to fight would only be worth it in the rarest of circumstances. But let say that these combats aren't supremely important to you - but your enemy has some other stratagem that you fear. In such a case you might fight with your Hearthkyn first, and maybe tempt the enemy into interrupting to attack the Beserks before they get to strike.
This will, of course, only work if the Beserks are fighitng something that is likely to kill them. And it won't work against all opponents, you have to judge the player across the table from you. Make sure you're actually being a nice guy - remind your opponent that Beserks can fighting on death. (While you're being nice and making sure he's making well informed choices, this can even work out in your favor if you want him to interrupt, as it might seem you're trying to dissuade him from doing so. Reverse psychology actually works sometimes.)
Epic challenge
A new stratagem in 10th edition, Epic challenge gives Precision to a character model when fighting in melee. This can be used to try to take out an enemy character hiding in the unit they are fighting.
Remember that Precision requires line of sight between the character with precision and the character being targeted. Don't waste your CP.
You should only use this when the character isn't likely to die anyway (through you wiping out the enemy unit), killing the enemy character makes a difference and when the kill by your character is plausible (remember that only your character gets precision, not the entire unit).
Likelihood of you killing the enemy unit
It is hard to say anything general here, and you'll have to judge how many attacks you have and how strong they are versus how tough the enemy unit is. I find, however, that Votann units are very rarely able to one-shot enemy units in melee if they have a lot of bodies. We simply don't have enough attacks - possible with the exception of Beserks, but as no leaders can join them they don't matter in this case. But if you're going into a weakened enemy, you might just bet on killing them all outright.
Making a difference
You shouldn't spend CP if it isn't likely to make a difference. And then the question is if you care that the enemy character lives. Consider these things:
- Does the enemy character buff the enemy army? A Kahl with the Appraising Glare enhancement for instance is likely to be worth taking out.
- Does the enemy character buff his unit in a way which will make their return strikes (assuming they haven't fought yet) much less effective if he dies?
- Does the enemy character buff his unit in a way which will be important later, and they are likely to kill your unit to make use of it?
- Do you currently have the assassinate secondary objective?
If the answer to any of these is yes, then the killing of the character will make a difference.
Plausibility of kill
There's no point in using Epic challenge unless you have a pretty good chance of killing the character you're aiming for. I would consider the following to be likely enough to use the stratagem in most cases:
- Uthar the Destined against almost any target with 4 or fewer wounds
- A Kahl with a Plasma Axe against almost any target with 2 or fewer wounds, or if desperate targets with 4 or fewer wounds that have T4 or less and a save no better than 3+.
- A Kahl with a Mass Gauntlet against almost any target with 3 or fewer wounds.
- An E-Champ with a Darkstar Axe against almost any target with 2 or fewer wounds, or targets with 4 or fewer wounds that have T5 or less and a save no better than 3+.
- An E-Champ with a Mass Hammer against pretty much any target.
- A Brôkhyr Iron-master against targets with 3 or fewer wounds that have no better save than 3+.
There are cases where you might gamble on less likely targets, but there are always exceptions to everything.
Now, if all those three things are in place - use epic challenge.
Grenade
The Grenade stratagem is one of my favorites in 10th edition, especially for the Leagues of Votann. Pick a unit with the Grenades keyword that has not yet shot in your shooting phase (it can still shoot later) and a visible target within 8" of them, then roll 6d6 and every 4+ causes a mortal wound. This is a source of low but very reliable damage against almost any target.
The Leagues of Votann have two units with the Grenades keyword: The Hearthguard Warriors and the Hernkyn Pioneers. Of these, the pioneers are the most likely to be in a position to use the stratagem, but having warriors in a position for it isn't rare either.
My favorite way of using this, is when Pioneers have gotten close to some sort of heavy target such as a tank or monster, that my heavier guns are aiming for. Very often, after one heavy weapon or other has fired, such a unit will be left on only a wound or two. Assuming the Pioneers have better things to shoot at, pop out Grenade to finish off that beastie. It is also great for killing off characters that may have great invulnerable saves but no defense against mortal wounds.
As always, only use the strat when 2-3 mortal wounds makes a difference to the battle, such as by taking away an important asset from the enemy or giving you Bring it down or Assassination.
Tank shock
You should never discount the value of charging a vehicle into the enemy, if for nothing else than force them to stay in place or fall back. The tank shock stratagem lets you do some extra damage in such cases. When using the stratagem, pick one melee weapon your vehicle is equipped with, roll a number of D6 equal to that weapons strength characteristic (or 2 more if the targets Toughness is lower than your strenght). Every 5+ deals a mortal wound.
The Sagitaur has a strength of 6, meaning you will roll 6 or 8 dice. You can expect to do about 2 mortal wounds with this. The Land Fortress has a strength of 8, so you roll 8 or 10 dice, and you can expect to do 2-3 mortal wounds.
I find this stratagem rarely worth it, unless the vehicle charged something that only has one or two wounds left, or you also charged it with a more significant melee unit and every point of damage is important.
It's a good tool to know about, but very conditional. Less good than Grenade because it is much rarer that you have the right unit in the right position to use it in a situation where it affects the battle significantly.
Fire overwatch
Fire overwatch is perhaps the most discussed stratagem in 10th edition 40k, allowing a unit to fire in the opponents turn when the enemy:
- Start a Normal, Advance, Fall back or Charge move within 24" of the overwatching unit
- End a Normal, Advance, Fall back or Charge move within 24" of the overwatching unit
Your unit has to be eligible to shoot, meaning normal shooting limitations apply. For instance, if a unit falls back and you want to overwatch before they move, or they charge and you want to overwatch after they move, you have to be able to shoot in or into melee.
Finally, you're only going to hit on natural 6s. The only exception to this in the Leagues of Votann army is Brokhyr Thunderkun, who hit on natural 5s or 6s. Modifiers and BS do not matter to overwatch.
Note also that this stratagem is limited to once per turn - not the usual once per phase.
Fire overwatch has been discussed a lot because it synergizes extremely well with some types of weapons such as flamers (that always hit), or armies such as Aeldari who can use their Fate dice to auto-hit, or armies that have a lot of re-rolls to increase their output. You will notice that the Leagues of Votann have none of these, meaning that Fire Overwatch is less useful to us than it is to many other armies.
In general, you want to overwatch with units that fit one or more of these criteria: High number of shots (because more shots mean more 6s), sustained hits (because extra hits on 6s means any hits in overwatch can do more) and/or hitting better in overwatch (for obvious reasons). For the Leagues of Votann, I would normally consider overwatching with these units:
- Hekaton Land Fortress against targets with 2 or more wounds per model. Assuming my recommended loadout, the Hekaton has 2 powerful shots with sustain D3, 6 medium power shots with sustain 1 and 6 medium power shots without sustain. It is going to be very swingy, but on average you can expect one third of a powerful shot, and 3 hits with medium power shots. Against targets with 2 or more wounds where 1 or 2 casualties (or 2-4 damage) will make a difference in the battle, this can be worth it.
- Hernkyn Pioneers. Assuming a unit of 3 with a HYLas rotary, you'll get an average of 2 hits with the HYLas rotary, and 1.5 hits with the Magna-Coil - and if you're within 12, 1 hit with the shotguns. If 1 or 2 damage will make a difference in the battle, this can be worth it.
- Einhyr Hearthguard led by a Kahl. Being led by a Kahl is important here, as it means 6s will be lethal - not requiring a wound roll. As all your damage will come from 6s, and most of it from the low-strength grenade launchers, this is important. You'll score an average of less-than one plasma hit or 2.5 volkanite hits, and about 3 grenade launcher hits. You can count on this doing 1 damage into most targets.
- Brokhyr Thunderkyn. 3 thunderkyn with graviton cannons, the weapon you are the most likely to take, will land 3.5 hits (more if blast is in place). You can rely on them to do 2-4 damage (in 2-damage bursts) against most targets.
But in general, you should be wary of using Fire Overwatch as the Leagues of Votann. It can be very tempting, and it is sometimes the right decision as swinging high with the rolls can delete an enemy unit, but you have to consider if the effect on the battle is likely to be significant, and if the cost is worth the risk. In general you can't expect to do more than kill one or two infantry models, or putting a couple of points of damage on another target.
I find myself using it more than I probably should.
Heroic intervention
Heroic intervention used to be a rule in previous editions, but has changed entirely. This stratagem now lets you roll a charge with a unit if an enemy unit ends a charge move within 6" of it. This charge does not give you a "charge bonus" however - meaning you do not get to fight first.
As the Leagues of Votann aren't a predominantly melee army, this isn't going to come up very often for us. But keep it in mind if the enemy does charge something near your Beserks or Hearthguard, and getting into that melee right away will change the course of the battle.
The most important thing is to remember that the stratagem exists and can be used by your enemy. End your charges well away from dangerous melee threats... unless you want to bait those enemies into intervening into you so you can hit them a bit instead. (At least I can't find any rule against hitting an intervening enemy.)
Closing thoughts
Efficient use of stratagems is very important to the Leagues of Votann, as we don't have many other tricks. As we'll see when we get to defensive and utility stratagems, and the offensive stratagems specific to the Votann, we do have some good one that we want to use all the time. I would avoid using most of the offensive stratagems from the main rules unless you're certain they'll make a difference, such as using Grenades to finish off a damaged enemy.
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