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Old January 3rd, 2009, 11:03 AM
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Why You Should Have a Plan

I've found that, sometimes, there's one glaring point that stands out separating average players from good players, and even good players from great players - planning. Strong players know how to dictate the flow of the game, and can make average players play right into their hands. This is because they have a plan, and the other player is simply reacting.

I'm a CPA, and right now my firm is a little behind schedule. Our managers have always worked with a certain philosophy - set a meeting with the client and work backwards to be prepared for that meeting. Even though we're understaffed and overworked, that same expectation is placed upon us. Constantly, we find ourselves scrambling trying to react to meeting dates that were set without planning who or when the work would be done. Had we been proactive and planned out the work before we set the meeting, there might be a lot less scrambling around.

How does this relate to Heroscape? You can be proactive in many different ways when it comes to winning battles in Valhalla. I'll talk about three different aspects of planning in Heroscape - your pre-game battle strategy, plan against certain units, and plans for the map.

The first plan you should have is a general battle strategy. This comes into play before you even finish selecting your army. Your general strategy needs to consider many things - what can your units do? How do they work together? Who is going to start the battle for you? What are you going to do if/when they go down? Are you going to have a cleanup unit? What types of units does your cleanup excel against?

That seems like a lot of questions to ask yourself before playing a game or tournament, but once you do it a couple of times, it becomes second nature. Instead of building armies and then coming up with a plan, you'll find yourself coming up with a plan first, and building an army that can accomplish that plan - now you're being proactive. If you have this general battle plan, you'll find that you know where your Order Markers are going to go at each point in the game, and minimize the amount of turns you lose due to a unit dying or being out of position.

Note that I'm not suggesting you always come up with a plan first. If you want to use a certain unit in a game or tourney, use that unit as a starting point and build from there. If you want Nilfheim to be the cornerstone of your army, figure out what you want Nilfheim to do for you, and add units that will help him accomplish that, or that can bring something else to the army.

Here is an example of coming up with a general battle plan and executing:

Recently, I played in a 540 point tournament. With the point level fairly high, I figured most armies would have at least one expensive hero. I came up with a plan of sending an assassin in to injure or kill that big hero early, then follow up with a solid force that can excel against the weakened army. If my force did go down, I needed a strong cleanup unit to make up the difference. I came up with this:

Knights of Weston x3
Finn, Thorgrim and Eldgrim
Theracus
Krav Maga Agents

Here was my general battle plan:

Opening: If a strong glyph was on the board within 10 spaces of the starting zone, my 1 goes on the Knights to Overextend Eldgrim to the glyph. My 2 and 3 go on Theracus, carrying Finn into battle. Theracus can fly deep into enemy territory quickly, and uses Finn's boost to try and injure their biggest threat or key unit.

Mid Game: Once Theracus dies, my markers go almost exclusively on the Knights. As long as Finn is alive, I'm bonding with him to wreak havoc in the starting zone. If he goes down, Thorgrim joins the fight. When each of the Vikings die, their spirits go on the Agents. I could bring up the Agents early if I needed some big attacks on a tough hero.

Cleanup: The Krav Maga Agents, with possibly +1 Move, Attack and Defense, can compete with nearly any unit in the game. Once the Knights had weakened the force, the Agents should be able to mop up whatever was left.

I built my army around the general plan, found a way to get some great synergy out of units that you don't normally see together, and maximized their potential. I usually had the element of surprise against my opponent, who was on their heels (being reactive, not proactive) against my Opening moves with Theracus.

Now - you've come up with a general battle plan and built an army that can achieve it. At this point, assess the weaknesses that your army or your plan has, and figure out which opposing units can exploit those weaknesses. Have a plan to deal with those units so, if you sit down across from the unit you were hoping to avoid, you still know what you're going to do. If you're going into a tourney, make sure you know how you're going to deal with the A+ units, because you're sure to see them. Also, if you sit down across Valhalla from a unit you know has a weakness you can exploit, adjust your battle plan to exploit it.

Here are some examples of having a plan B for certain units, and exploiting a unit's weakness in your opponent's army:

At GenCon, I played this in the main event:

Nilfheim
Major Q10
Zetacron
Deathreavers x3

My general battle plan was to get the Deathreavers out quickly, claim glyphs and tie up enemy units. I would follow up with Nilfheim and bounce him around the map killing enemy units behind the Rat screen, starting with those not engaged that were a threat to me. However, if my opponent began the game with Raelin and/or Major Q9, I would bring Zetacron out first to get some big shots on the two heroes. Also, if my opponent was playing the 4th Mass or 10th Foot, I would bring Major Q10 behind the reavers instead of Nilfheim, so I could use his 7 and 8 range attacks to stay out of Wait then Fire range.

At NHSD this year, I played this army:

Aubrien Archers x4
Major Q10
Deathreavers x2
Otonashi

My general plan here was to lead out with the Deathreavers and follow with the Aubriens, who could outrange nearly everything. Q10 was cleanup, and Otonashi was there to charge out and engage Braxas or maybe a couple Stingers. In Round 1, I played against a Nakita/Skahen army. In that game, I brought Q10 out first behind the Reavers, so I could use his Special Attacks to bypass Smoke Powder.

OK, so you have a general battle plan, and you know what you're going to do against certain units. The next thing you should be thinking about is the terrain - how will that affect your army and your plan? On each map, is there a certain place on the map that you could use to your advantage? Is there a certain place that would hurt you if controlled by the enemy?

I tend to wait until I sit down on a map to plan out any additional strategy that I might use on the map. Based on the terrain, I'm considering where to place my units in the starting zone (I want Raelin on the top of that hill in one move - where can I place her to make it there? Where do I need to put Eldgrim so he can make it to that glyph on Turn 1? Can my Q9 climb this hill next to my starting zone in one move?), and I'm also considering where I want to be setup a Round or two down the road.

Some players will take this a step further, and plan out what they will do on each map weeks before a tournament! If they're playing Raelin, they know where they want to land her and set up around her. If they're playing Zelrig, they know which maps he can reach the starting zone in one move, and where they have to start him / land him to get there. They know which maps they can set up on height and which maps they need to deny height from the opponent first. Whichever way you do it, be prepared to adjust your battle plan to take advantage of the terrain you're faced with.

Here's an example of adjusting to terrain:

In my last tourney (Uniques only), I played this:

Major Q9
Raelin
Sonlen
Kaemon Awa
Isamu

My general plan was to set up Raelin on high ground or next to a Jungle Tree towards the middle of the map, and follow with Q9. Once Raelin was dead, I would bring out Kaemon Awa to split markers to make sure I didn't lose too many turns when Q9 died. Sonlen and Isamu were for cleanup. My last match was on Feylund Fountain, which features turrets in either corner. I knew my Q9 had superior range to his army, so I decided to set up shop on the turret next to my starting zone. Since I was planning on setting up my army so close to my starting zone, I decided to save Kaemon for cleanup this game, and use Sonlen 2nd because Raelin and Q9 would be in range of Dragon Heal if I needed it. So, I set up all my units on one side of the starting zone, and put Sonlen all the way over so he was within 4 spaces of the top of the turret. With Q9's range, my opponent was forced to come to me, granting me height advantage all the time.

So, hopefully I've shown how planning can help you win games of Heroscape. You want to be the one dictating the flow of the game. You want your opponent reacting to you, and playing into your plan. If you're being proactive, you'll find that your army isn't scrambing around, trying to meet the deadline they weren't prepared to meet.

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Last edited by killercactus; January 3rd, 2009 at 04:25 PM.
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  #2  
Old January 3rd, 2009, 12:49 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

Very interesting read. Thank you.
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Old January 3rd, 2009, 01:07 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

I noticed that in the game we played at the last tourney, you had me coming to you the whole time. My plan was now your plan. I knew it at the time, but I had, what seemed to be, no control over it. I reacted for most of the game. And lost.
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Old January 3rd, 2009, 01:17 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

Smart post. Barring the effects of luck and the unexpected (which I do not underestimate), I've often felt like a game is won or lost before it begins, due to the army match up, the map, and the respective plans.

The difference, for me, between casual play and more serious play is how much time I choose to invest into honing an army and having a plan (both in general for the army, with contingencies built in, and in specific for a given map and opponent, once I know these).

I enjoyed the read--thanks!
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Old January 3rd, 2009, 01:37 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

This post has a lot of great stuff in it. Some nice guide lines that could help me a lot. Keep up the good work!!
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Old January 3rd, 2009, 04:24 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raudulfr Shieldcrusher View Post
I noticed that in the game we played at the last tourney, you had me coming to you the whole time. My plan was now your plan. I knew it at the time, but I had, what seemed to be, no control over it. I reacted for most of the game. And lost.
Yeah - I felt like that game was a good example (and didn't mean to bash your play in any way - I think you played it well, and almost pulled it out in the end!). Q9's range allowed me to basically force the issue. You can't really ignore an attack of 5 from 8 range. With Q9 and Raelin on my side, I knew you would have to come close to use your big specials with Q10 and Kaemon, or to get Raelin who was further back.

Glad everyone in enjoying the read so far!

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Old January 3rd, 2009, 06:47 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

Do I really look like a guy with a plan, killercactus? I don't have a plan...

Professionals have plans, Heroscapers has plans. You know what I am, Killercactus

I'm a dog chasing cars.. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. I just do things. Im the wrench in the gears. I hate plans. Yours, theirs, everyone's. Jexik has plans. Aldin has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I'm not a schemer, I show schemers how pathetic there attempts to control things really are.

Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a Knight of Weston will get shot, or a truckload of Deathreavers will be blown up, nobody panics. Because it's all part of their plan. But when I say that one little old Ralien will die, everybody loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order and everything becomes chaos.

~The Joker

I completely agree. When I make an army I chose the most flexible figures out there; the Ashigaru, Solen, Aubrien Archers. Not only are these figures the some of the most flexible ever, but when someone plays against them they go crazy all because playing against them was not according to plan. As soon as I mold there plan I see fit they go from crazy to completely insane.

Last edited by zcythe; January 3rd, 2009 at 06:56 PM.
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Old January 3rd, 2009, 09:56 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

I think this was a great article. Honestly, planning is one of my favorite aspects of Heroscape. Whenever I am making a competitive army, I constantly think of what my army will do against several match-ups and how I can counter. If I don't have a counter, I change my army.

For example, last NHSD I wanted to use a blade grut army. I started by picking 3 squads and Grimnak. I have decent swarming capabilities and glyph control, but have no good counter to range, no heavy hitter, and would suffer a huge loss by losing Grimnak. Next, I chose Nerak to boost the survivability of my orcs and give another bonding option. I still don't have a range counter or heavy hitter. With 210 points left, I pick Charos. My plan in drafting Charos was to send him in to engage ranged figures and/or take out other power houses. If he engaged ranged figures, my orcs would have a much easier time reaching them. The prime reason I drafted him was to defeat Q9. I could have picked Nilfheim or Krug, who are much more offensive, but I also wanted a unit that could tank.

Thanks again for the article.
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Old January 3rd, 2009, 10:16 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

Love this article...

A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.
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Old January 4th, 2009, 12:23 AM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

Nice thread, Killercactus.

This topic has been discussed before. I'm surprised that some that had chimed in then are not doing so now. Spider Poison was in agreement with me (and would be with you, I presume) regarding the importance of planning. Others, however, felt that planning was an utter waste of time. Please click on my name and check out the thread regarding what makes players masterful (titled: "mastering the game") if you're interested in finding out what they had to say. It was...interesting. Sort of.
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Old January 4th, 2009, 10:42 AM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

Nice! I like how you included those examples. This thread relates to my piece, Tempo, in that you want your opponent to react to your moves constantly.

The dice help those who help themselves.
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Old January 4th, 2009, 02:21 PM
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Re: Why You Should Have a Plan

This was actually very comprehensive. I mean, I've been told to plan games, but I never quite understood... how exactly.

I actually think the best thing about the article was the examples you provided. They actually clarified what you were saying in a way that I could understand.

Like, I think "Make your opponent play into your hands? What?"

Then you mention the word "assassin", and it clicked.

Anyways, for whatever my rep is worth, you have it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zcythe View Post
Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a Knight of Weston will get shot, or a truckload of Deathreavers will be blown up, nobody panics. Because it's all part of their plan. But when I say that one little old Ralien will die, everybody loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order and everything becomes chaos.
Y'know... I know you were just trying to quote the Joker, but... that's not half bad. Somebody (not me- someone who knows what they're talking about) ought to write a strategic analysis on the effects of using the element of surprise in a heroscape game, or rather... taking out key (or maybe just unexpected whether or not they are key) figures to mess with people's plans or maybe even just to mess with their heads.

Like... is heroscape Jokerism effective or not?

Maybe I'm just talking like a loon, but it'd be fun, at least for me, to read an article on that.

Look, I'm sorry, but if you don't have the commom sense to be afraid of the Marro Warriors, someone's gonna have to teach you a lesson in humility, and it's probably going to be them who do it.
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