Kill the Krav!

The ability of a unit to absorb attacks does much more than just make them durable. It makes them beneficial to other units in your army. How? Because those attack absorbing units usually warrant attention which can allow you to get other units into the fray or into position. The Krav Maga are a good example of this. Their reputation proceeds them and they are often the target of attacks just because they are the Krav Maga. The more they are attacked the more likely they will whiff their defense roll. Most players approach fighting the Krav with that in mind. This increases the chances that they will be attacked even when their threat is minimal. It also creates situations where you can use them as decoys or as bait. I know what you are thinking: the Krav as bait? An expensive piece of cheese, for sure, but if you have already lost one of them, it can potentially benefit your entire army to play them in a decoy or baiting role.

Once a single Krav Maga is lost their power is greatly reduced. That is just a simple fact of playing a unique squad or single common squad. However, even when hobbled, 2 Krav are still capable and dangerous. Losing the first Krav will be a pivotal point in the game but it doesn’t have to be the beginning of the end. If the remaining two are in position, they will be hard for the opponent to ignore, regardless of where markers are placed or where you are at in the round. The idea here is to let Stealth Dodge absorb some attacks while you get other units in the mix.

• As a decoy or half decoy: If you put 2 markers on the hobbled Krav, it appears that you are going to try to get the most out of them before they die off. That is certainly a legitimate way to play them, but if one of those markers is the X, it still gives the appearance that the Krav have the bulk of the work again, when they do not. If your 1 was on the Krav and you did some damage and you still have an unrevealed marker on them, your Krav will have the attention of the opponent. You want your opponent focusing on the limping Krav while you work on something else with your 2 and 3. This can put the opponent in a tough spot. The Krav are hobbled but still in position to do so damage. They see markers on them so they want to finish them off. Sometimes letting the Krav absorb some attacks while you regroup or reset can make all the difference in the game. However, this is only accomplished by placing markers on the Krav even if it is just the X. Keep the opponent mindful of them by keeping them in the marker mix.
  
  
• As bait: It isn't that attacking the Krav is a bad move; it is almost always a good idea when there are 2 or 3 on the board. However, as the Krav player, you need to be aware of their in game value and when it is starting to teeter. This can allow you to bait a player into a trap or at least a bad position. If the Krav are in a favorable position and have marker(s) on them, the opponent will make a run at them if they can. The desire to engage the Krav may entice a player to take some risks, like disengaging or if you are playing Nakita, an engagement strike. You can bring in a heavy hitter to complete the trap or maybe the trap is simply that you aren’t activating the Krav at all. The opponent spent markers, attacks, and maybe even took some risks trying to get the Krav when they were never the real threat of the round. By using the X on them, you can embrace that possibility and perhaps hit the opponent with something they were not anticipating.

Any attention paid to your remaining Krav can help to get your other army cards going. Your fate in the battle does not have to hinge on the fate of the Krav. For me, the Krav are typically an early to mid game unit. As such, I fully expect to lose one by mid game. Once that happens, I will continue to put at least a marker on them but I may not even activate them, depending on what I have left in my army. For example, if I have full health squads or units but I am down to 2 Kravs, I typically activate the full health unit more often that round. The death of one Krav doesn’t have to mean the death of your army; just make adjustments for the situation and decide if their ability to absorb some attacks can help you transition to other units or tactics. Most times the best thing to do is to just stand and fire with them, but there will be times when using them as bait or as a decoy works to your advantage.

What you expected something more profound? It’s the Krav Maga!
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For the next entry, I am going to go into some detail about the highly misunderstood specials of the Nakita.