Ratkin - Reacting to the Meta

Here in New Zealand as in the rest of the world, the current meta appears to be focused on placing 1-2 Hordes of Archers with enhancements - you choose....+1 to hit, +1 Piercing or +12" range. This is usually backed by a Bane Chanting Mage and then flyers to provide punch.

Part of the reason for this is that there are a lot of new people to the game and let's say that this setup is very forgiving. The build lets people do something in all phases of the game and while opponents are also learning their armies rewards any hesitancy in enemy play.

In my Ratkin up until now I have been using a lot of Hordes....or in the case of Tunnel Slaves, even a Legion. I've learnt the basic mechanisms and now the time has arrived to start applying tactics. Because the meta is currently so heavily weighted to the shooting horde plus Flyer punch, I've made some changes to my list. Lightning Bolts and piercing breath weapons have been added to keep flyers honest and the Legion of slaves has been dropped.

Instead of the Legion I now have five Regiments of Slaves. These cost only 60 points each and have two key functions. First, they increase the total number of deployment drops.....my first six represent a grand total of 345 points. This gives me a chance to see where the enemy deploys before I make any significant "tells". Second, they are cheap and fast but still have to be dealt with.

Rallying means that the Nerve is commonly 16 so if I push them aggressively forward then the still have to be dealt with. Yes, they have low Defence but you still need to be doing 10+ wounds to have any certainty that you'll pop them - more if inspired. These guys don't need to do damage they just need to get in the way, be it by absorbing fire, blocking paths or setting up a counter.

So my approach is starting to evoke as I approach my 20th game. Loving the journey.

Posted with Blogsy