This is something I’ve been trying to put into words for a long time.  It’s a skill that, like pacing control, is something only the best players do.  Poker players do it, they look at the availability information and try to guess their opponents actions.  Some games make this skill even more important.  Aeronautica uses it as the core game mechanic!

So what is Opponent Reading?  It’s the ability to look at your opponents army list, the mission objectives, the deployment and the terrain and know what your opponent is going to do.  Or at least decide what his best options are and prepare for them.

With 40k there are no hidden lists, secret cards or big surprises.  Instead random dice rolls tell us when pre-determined things happen… so it’s as big a surprise for your opponent as you!  This makes enemy reading a practice not in psychology as much as strategy.  Sure if you know you’re friend ALWAYS drops his monolith center field then you can prepare for that, but why not deal with some more complex situations?

Opponent Reading is rough in 40k, but when done properly it’s worth learning the skill.  So how do we learn it?  Practice.  Here are the things we are trying to train our brain to think about instinctively.

1) How has my opponent built his army.  What does he expect it to do?

2) How will it achieve this missions objectives?

3) How does his army stop my armies effectiveness?

4) How will he deploy  or move to best achieve the mission objectives?

5) What is his target priority?  What in my army makes him want to act quickly?

6) How can I prevent him from doing that with my actions?

Now that we have a little checklist we should examine each.  This can be really difficult since every situation in fluid at best.  You have to assess each situation fresh.  It’s not like tactics, where you can prepare them in advance and know what units work well against others.  You have to know EVERY army and how it achieves objectives!

This is just one of those things that only comes with practice.  If you don’t think about them you won’t ever make this change happen, however.  Many players get mired in routine.  They just continue doing what is comfortable to them.  Try running a completely different army list than you usually use.  This will help you break out of your routine and makes asking yourself these questions much easier.

1) When the game first begins look at your opponents army list for at LEAST 1 minute.  Time yourself if you need too.  Read every line of the list.  What would YOU do in his situation?  Does he want to go first or second?  Is he running a big “hammer” unit?  Is he controlling pacing with reserves?

2) Look at the table and now figure out how you would deploy his army.  How will you deploy to compensate for that?  Can you deploy first and disrupt his armies plans?  Is he using lots of Drop Pods?  Can you tighten your foot print to bring your entire army to bear on each of his units as they arrive piecemeal?

3) What in his army list can yours mine down?  What key elements to your plans is he going to try to bring to bear early.  What can you do to prevent him from being perfectly effective?  What can you sacrifice to gain extra turns of power?  Is your scout unit useless against his Terminator army?  Can you position them to act as a stop gap to protect your vindicator and give it another round of shooting?

4) If you had his army list, what would you do at deployment?  Does he need to focus on killing you the entire game and only worry about objectives in the last couple rounds?  Is his army slow but powerful, moving towards objectives early on?  How can I stop him from reaching his objectives?  Can you assault his ork hordes from the side in waves and drag them away from objectives?  Can you play a ranged kill point denial game against Khorne Marines?

5) What is he going to go after early on, how can I protect it without lowering it’s combat effectiveness?  How will he prioritize my list on the table?  Are his Space Wolves going to outflank to kill your Basalisks?  Will he combine fire to wither away at your hordes of Gaunts?  What kind of tank hunting and horde hunting does he have?

6) How can you deploy and move to make his next turn as difficult as possible?  How can you control his target options?  What terrain or distance can you take advantage of?  Do you need to kill threats to your army quickly?  Can you deploy a sacrificial unit to give you more range, or lure your opponent forward by leaving open fields for your reserves to enter play.  Do you need to see his deployment so that you can react?

So the next time you play, give all this a thought before the game even begins.  Repeat some of it at the beginning of each turn.  Stop acting instinctively and start asking these questions.  It will become instinct on it’s own very soon!

So here is part II of our “Training New Players” segment. This one focuses on Target Priority. The goal of course if for new players to know what they are shooting at and why! They should be choosing the right things to kill at the right time. Now some armies may not need this sort of training but it’s good for them to understand anyway. After all their enemies will be doing it!

TRAINING DAY 2:

Veteran Force: The Veteran player has a force of 750 points that must have 4 or 5 units matching the following description. 2 identical units with at least 10 models (and as low an armor save as possible), 1 unit with a transport and 1 or 2 units with a shooting range of at least 36″.

New Player Force: The new player builds a list (without knowing what the veteran player is taking) of 750 points and should focus on shooting.

Terrain: Place 1 objective 12″ from the New Players board edge. There should also be 2 or 3 pieces of line of site blocking terrain on the board, covering about 25% of the board.

Setup: The veteran player deploys his forces in the noted locations. The new player then deploys his force within 12″ of his board edge.

Game Play: The Veteran player takes the first turn, moving his entire force onto the table from his board edge.

Make sure the new player is aware of every unit you are throwing at him. Explain what it does and what you are planning to shot at on the next turn… and why!

I talk a lot with players who want to become better strategists and tacticians (there is a subtle difference) but they don’t really know where to start. Sure we all know that “practice makes perfect” but if you’re just playing a bunch of games then you’re not really finding out anything new. Often you reinforce old habits. New players are often over whelmed with all the rules. After a game or two they quickly start to understand the mechanics of the game but they still aren’t thinking about the game tactically. They don’t think about deployment or unit role yet. So it’s time to fix all that!

I sat down with the guys tonight and we brainstormed some of the things we see new players missing when they play. The first part teaches new players Deployment and Unit Roles. They will begin thinking about the jobs their units must do and how to get them into position from the beginning. This scenario is designed for one veteran player and one new player. The veteran is acting more as a game master than anything else and should be losing on purpose.

Let me say that again. THE VETERAN PLAYER SHOULD LOSE. It’s a tough thing to break yourself of too. People do NOT learn more from failure than success. They learn more from seeing the right choices succeed!

TRAINING DAY 1:

Veteran Force: The Veteran player has a force of 500 points that must have 3 units matching the following description. One ranged infantry unit: This unit should have a mix of 2 or 3 weapons if possible, such as a Devastator Squad. One volume unit: This unit should have at least 10 models but no upgrades, such as a tactical squad. A vehicle unit: This unit should have 12 or 13 from armor, such as a predator or dreadnought. The Veteran force does not follow the force organization chart.

Terrain: The three objectives should be pieces of terrain that provide cover saves but do not fully block line of site. Forests, rubble or destroyed vehicles work great for this.

Setup: The veteran player deploys his forces in the noted locations. The new player then makes a 500 point army list containing 1 HQ and 2 Troops with the goal of taking 2 of the 3 objectives. The veteran should help, asking him questions about why he is taking things and making suggestions. Don’t use phrases like “you should take tankbustas to kill the predator” instead try phrases like “If you’re looking for tank hunting options, take a look at tankbustas. You can also give your nobs power klaws and assault the tank.” Discuss the pro’s and con’s of each unit they are considering. This could take longer than the game but will really help! They aren’t just discussing theory, they are putting it into practice!

The new player then deploys his force and takes the first turn. Do not attempt to seize the initiative.

So there you go! Give that a shot with the new player in your life. It’s a lot of fun and is a pretty short game!