Unit Strategy Review: How to use the Einar Imperium

[Tai-Pan]

In a head to head battle, the Sentinals and Minions always come out ahead of the Imperium, so how are the Imperium worth more than their cousins? The answer would seem to lie in what they can do to other units. I've seen them lay down some massive hurt with their six attacks per order marker, but I've also seen them ruthlessly mowed down before doing anything. In my experience, the Sentinals or Minions could do the same job, taking out the same number of figures, costing less, taking a little more time, but then surviving and moving on to bigger and better things. I like the Imperium, but they don't really seem to justify their cost when compared to the other kyrie squads. That being said, they still see a lot of play time in my playing circle because we often play thematic or general-based armies. And we try to spread the love by using some of the not-quite-Q9-caliber units.

[hero9510]

Hi,
I first played with them in a random deck game and fell in love with my "Fabios with wings" as my fellow scapers called them. I just recently played a game where the EI were responsible for the deaths of several heros and one squad. When these guys rocked the battle. They quickly became targets, and with the stealth flying, flew to the highest points and sliced and diced everyone who came near. That was until they were taken out by Syvarious. They caused over 300 ponts of damage in 4 turns. Well worth the investment, in my opinion.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I think they are ideally suited to use with Phantom Knoights:

280 EI x 2
140 PKs x 2
80 Raelin
500

[Legacy prices the EI at 110, PKs at 80, Raelin at 100, Atlaga at 100 Kiova at 70, Deathreavers at 55]

[killercactus]

I watched a squad of Einar Imperium backed by Kiova completely rip apart Major Q9 the other day. It was flabbergasting.

[flameslayer93]

Originally Posted by killercactus

I watched a squad of Einar Imperium backed by Kiova completely rip apart Major Q9 the other day. It was flabbergasting.

That sounds beautiful! I guess it makes sense because Kiova does make it harder for Q9 to kill EI(thanks to a typical 1 or 2 skulls, and a heightened chance for 1 or 2 shields).

[Taeblewalker]

We should probably update this to include Atlaga.

[Robotunit197]

Atlaga 90
Marcus 190
Einar Imperium x2

470pts

Speedy little ninja kyries that drop like flies. Hit hard, die fast.

[Megapower999]

Units to avoid: Braxas
Strange, I shredded Braxas in one turn in my 2000 point brawl.

[Owlman]

Originally Posted by rai12

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Unit Strategy Review
Unit: Einar Imperium
Author: Rai12 (w/ extensive collaboration with the Strategy Review Authors)

The Einar Imperium conjure up images of sword wielding avenging angels swooping down from the sky to slaughter all enemies of Einar. What is the best way to utilize the Einar Imperium to achieve this beautiful massacre? Below we shall delve into the details that make this squad an offensive force to be dealt with and the weaknesses that make them frustrating to use.

Let’s begin with his base stats:.

Analyzed Statistics:
Cost – 140 - Knight Class
Size – Medium - Vulnerable/ Semi-Concealable
Squad - 3 - Average
Move – 5* - Average
Range – 1 – Melee
Attack – 3 - Average
Defense – 3 - Vulnerable
Double Attack: Each unit may attack twice per turn marker. - High Tactical Advantage
*Stealth Flying: Disengage with Flight. - High Tactical Advantage

In-depth Analysis:
We shall now look carefully at The Einar Imperium’s statistics, and draw strategies from our conclusions. Let us start with cost. Below is an explanation of Agatagary's cost classification:

Pawn class (expendable, units that can be useful, but are not worth enormous trouble to protect)
Bishop class (more useful than a pawn, but still somewhat expendable)
Knight class (units that are interestingly powerful and can have a significant impact on the game in of themselves. It is advisable that they be kept alive, but if absolutely necessary they may be sacrificed)
Rook class (units that almost inevitably have a significant impact on the game, and whose death should be avoided as much as possible)
Queen class (devastatingly powerful or important units that should be protected at all costs)

Class:
At 140 points the Einar Imperium are currently the most expensive squad unit that exists. This alone would suggest a Knight Class rating. It is their assault ability of six attacks per turn that confirms this rating.

Offense:
The Einar Imperium have a base melee attack of three and a movement of five. This gives them a base threat range of six spaces. These stats, by themselves, are only average--it is their Double Attack and Stealth Flying that make them exceptional. Double Attack effectively gives you six attacks per activation, and Stealth Flying gives you the ability to strike where you want, not where your enemy ties you up.

Survivability:
The Einar Imperium’s survivability factor is average when compared to other lower cost common squads due to their defense of three. Their Stealth Flying can let you get out of sticky situations, but if you let the enemy bring the battle to them, they may not survive the initial assault. This average survivability is the primary reason that the Einar Imperium are not drafted too often. Do not select the Einar Imperium if you are in need of a defensive tank; there are much hardier units out there for less cost.

Strategy:
The Einar Imperium can be a devastating assault unit in any army. They work best when supported by Marcus Decimus Gallus and/or Empress Kiova. They fit well in a soldier army based around Marcus Gallus. This type of army could include the Roman Legionnaires, Sacred Band, 4th Massachusetts Line, and the Airborne Elite. The Einar Imperium are definitely not your typical melee squad used as front line troops. Due to their cost most armies could not afford to draft more than one squad of them. Their assault potential can be devastating and should not be wasted on front line infantry. They can be used to perform surgical strikes against the appropriate units, to quickly clean-up a force that has been thrown into disarray, or simply used to bait your opponent. Do not underestimate the benefit of forcing your opponent to respond to your maneuvers. If you keep the Einar Imperium in close quarters with the remainder of your army your opponent only needs to focus his attacks in one place. If you send them out on their own to establish a longer battle line or to establish a secondary front your opponent has to respond.

Before we look at specific strategies we should look at synergies that make them more effective.

There are two units available that increase the Einar Imperium’s offensive abilities and their survivability. Depending on what your initial strategy is you will want to select one or both of these figures to support the Einar Imperium. Marcus Decimus Gallus is a solid unit that has bonding with two common squads and synergies with multiple units. Unfortunately Empress Kiova only benefits the Einar Imperium.

The first unit that the Einar Imperium benifits from is Marcus Decimus Gallus. The Einar Imperium are the winged soldiers of Einar, and being soldiers they benefit from Marcus’ Soldier Leadership ability and his Soldier Attack Enhancement ability. Due to the nature of the Einar Imperium and the fact that they have no bonding the ability that they benefit most from is the Soldier Leadership. This ability adds +1 to all soldiers’ movement that you control. Since there is no space restriction on this ability the Einar Imperium benefit from this bonus as they fly across the battlefield to perform their surgical strikes. If you keep them close to Marcus they can also benefit from the Soldier Attack Enhancement. This adds +1 to their attack if they are adjacent to Marcus. This increases the double attacks to four for each figure that is adjacent. Remember, the Double Attack is not a special attack so it can benefit from enhancements.

The second figure that the Einar Imperium are boosted by is Empress Kiova. The Gift of the Empress ability lets you re-roll all failed defense dice if the figure is within 5 clear sight spaces of Empress Kiova. This ability greatly increases the survivability factor of the Einar Imperium. If you fail to fend off an attack with your first roll you get to re-roll any dice that failed to roll a shield. Unfortunately this ability has a range of five. Since there is no bonding between the Einar Imperium and Empress Kiova you will need to place order markers on both units to maintain this distance.

Empress Kiova has a unique gift that, if used correctly, can make the Einar Imperium an unstoppable force on the battlefield. As stated before, she gives the Einar Imperium a second chance when defending. The key to making the most of this ability is to make sure that the Einar Imperium are within five clear sight spaces of Empress Kiova, that you take the height advantage whenever available, and that you choose which enemy units attack you. When fielding Empress Kiova do not hesitate to have her get her hands dirty. She is a fairly sturdy character with four defense and five life. Do not be afraid to throw her into the fray. This does two things for you. One: Every attack on her is one less attack on the more valuable, more expensive Einar Imperium; Two: It puts her in position to support the Einar Imperium. If she is the lead unit you do not have to worry about bringing her up once the Einar Imperium are engaged. When in the pitch of the battle it is essential that you make sure only units with an attack of four or less attack the Einar Imperium. With the re-roll of defense dice they should be able to fend off most of these attacks. To do this you will need to eliminate your opponents more offensive units quickly or tie them down with your hardier units. Keep them busy with a pack or Deathreavers, or Gladiatrons, or even the Roman Legionnaires that bond with Marcus Decimus Gallus. This will give you the ability to cut through your opponents mid-level units.

Surgical Strike
The Surgical Strike is a simple straight forward strategy that the Einar Imperium are perfectly built for. This surgical strike is designed to be used as a mid-game strategy. The key is to select the unit(s) that will get you the greatest return on your investment. Target your opponents Queen or Rook class units. This could be Unique Heros with low defense like Braxas, Juton, Cyprien Esenwien, Su-Bak-Na or even those key support characters like Raelin the Kyrie warrior, that your opponent depends on. Your opponent may have multiple units that you want to target. To make this strategy work you need to be patient and wait for the opportunity. When targeting units like Braxas, Juton, and Cyprien Esenwein that can easily eliminate the squad, it is wise to launch the attack when they are "sleeping" (no turn markers on them) or after they have already been injured. Let your opponent open up his formations. Set up some decoy attacks or flanking maneuvers to get his units in a poor tactical position. For a surgical strike to be most effective your opponent cannot see it coming. When you activate the Einar Imperium, if you cannot reach your primary target, on the first turn, send them in to clean up some lesser units. When you are in range send them to their primary target. The six attacks can decimate most low or average defense heros in one turn. Once the primary target has been eliminated keep attacking until the Einar Imperium are eliminated. Their Stealth Flying will help in this strategy. It would also be wise to have Marcus Gallus in your army to gain the extra movement. This strategy needs to be well planned prior to implementation. You should have your opponent’s ranged squads and multiple attack units tied up with some distraction troops before sending in the Einar Imperium. Remember Major Q9's, Braxas’, and Nilfheim’s special attacks all have a range of six or less. With Marcus Gallus in your army the Einar Imperium need to be seven spaces away from their target to gain adjacency on their next movement. Tie them down with three pawn units and they will think twice about moving. If your opponent happen to get a few shots off and take out one unit all is not lost. You will still have four attacks to tak your target out with. When you field the Einar Imperium your opponent will be expecting this tactic. Take your time. Leave the Einar Imperium back taunting your opponent. They are too lethal for your opponent to ignore until the end of the battle.

Clean-Up
This leads into the secondary role for the Einar Imperium. They are the perfect clean-up units. They can easily take out the straggling remnants of your opponents army. If you plan on using them as clean up you need to plan for this strategy through out the battle. You will want to utilize your shock troops or assault forces to break up your enemies formations. Target your enemies ranged and fast moving units as quickly as possible. As the battle progresses and your assault units have left a path of carnage across the battlefield activate the Einar Imperium to clean up the loose ends. Finish off the stragglers and the routed squads. Give the Einar Imperium some light duty work until it is time for them to sweep across the battlefield and eliminate the remaining enemy forces. Just knowing that you have a squad of Einar Imperium sitting back to perform clean-up will give you the freedom to commit the remainder of your troops to the front line with no reservations. It is always a good idea to have Marcus Decimus Gallus in your army for this strategy. Let him see some fighting, but do what you can to keep him alive until the end. The extra movement enhancement is lethal at the end of the battle.


Optional Strategy
Unit Maneuvering Example 1: “Imperium Flank”
If you are fielding Empress Kiova with the Einar Imperium the Empress will be a primary target for your opponent. Use this to your advantage. This team makes a good flanking unit. They are fairly maneuverable and can be a deadly force. If you perform a wide flanking maneuver with the Empress and the Einar Imperium it will force your opponent to respond in kind. Your opponent will have to commit some forces to his flank. Typically it will be a ranged squad. His goal will be to eliminate the Einar Imperium as quickly as possible. The Einar Imperium can engage most ranged squads once they are in range to be attacked. The exception would be a Laglor or Deathwalker 9000 boosted squad. In any case with Empress Kiova within five spaces and a height advantage the Einar Imperum should be able to fend off one round of ranged attacks with no problem. The purpose of performing the wide flanking maneuver was to get your opponent to send a ranged squad out on their own with no support. After your enemy performs the first attack send your Einar Imperium to eliminate the ranged squad. They should be able to eliminate a squad of three or four units with little problem. The following turn you need to send Empress Kiova up to regain the advantages of the Gift of the Empress Aura or withdraw the Einar Imperium back to safer ground.

If your opponent mistakenly sends melee units after you the Einar Imperium will more then likely get the first attack. If you are confident that the Einar Imperium can eliminate the melee figures send them in, otherwise send in some ranged units as back-up.

Unit Maneuvering Example 2: “Front-line Decoy”
This maneuver can be a little risky. You will need Empress Kiova in your army and it would also help if you had Raelin. This maneuver works best against opponents that are fielding a bunch of melee squad units along with support units like Raelin, Taelord, or Marcus Decimus. You will set up the Einar Imperium as your front rank of melee units. Supported by Empress Kiova and possibly Raelin the Einar Imperium should be able to withstand one round of melee attacks if needed. The Einar Imperium are typically one of the primary targets on the board. So your opponent will send what he can against them, hopefully along with the best support units he has. Once engaged or close to engagement activate the Einar Imperium. The best scenario is that you would have multiple targets to choose from. Either stand your ground and slice through your opponents melee squads, or utilize your Stealth Flying and perform a surgical strike against one of your opponents key support figures. If your opponent did not bring out any key hero units you need to make a decision based on his turn marker placement. If he is focusing all of his markers on his frontal melee assault you may want to consider flying the Einar Imperium across the board to take out any hero figure that will not be activated this round. You will need to have established a second line of melee units to protect your support units. The Einar Imperium can cut their way through your enemies units until they reach the primary target. This can be a devastating attack if your opponent was holding back a major unit for clean up.

Unit Maneuvering Example #3: Scatter Screen
Draft Kiova, 2 squads of Imperium, and 2 or more squads of Deathreavers. Use the Deathreavers to take glyphs and engage enemy units (preferably ranged figures). This will prevent them from attacking your Kyrie while you fly them into position. Use the Deathreavers' Scatter ability to move more rats into engagement, to tie them up further. Then, when your Kyrie are in position, fly them into the melee, using their Double Attack to quickly kill enemy figures before they get a chance to fight back. It's actually better to position your Einar Imperium to minimize counterattack chances, rather than trying to maximize your attacks. For example, don't try to engage two figures at a time unless you are confident that you can kill both, or unless you know that both will be in a position to counterattack. This way, your expensive Imperium are more likely to survive to later turns.

Units to Avoid:
Braxas: A major danger to such an expensive squad, her deadly Acid Breath can eliminate a squad of the Einar Imperium in one turn. Since it is an automatic destruction ability, even Empress Kiova cannot help them. Of course, Braxas is still a good target for a surgical strike by the Einar Imperium--due to her low defense--but you will want to tie her down with some low cost expendable units first, giving the Einar Imperium a chance to get the first strike on her...which could be all you need to take her down!

Major Q9: This Soulborg is another unit that is dangerous to the Einar Imperium. Unlike Braxas, Major Q9 is not a good target for the Einar Imperium to go after. His high defense alone makes it tough for the Einar Imperium to do much damage, and should they score a hit his life of 4 means he'll probably live long enough to retaliate. Major Q9 should be avoided unless you have no other units that can do the job by themselves.

Samurai Squads: All the Samurai are also poor targets for the Einar Imperium. The Tagawa Samurai, Izumi Samurai and Kaemon Awa should be avoided especially--their high defense and Counter Strike make them a risky units to engage. Kaemon Awa also has his Quick Release, which can take out two-thirds of your squad.

Ninjas of the North Wind: The Ninjas are a particular nuisance to the Einar Imperium. The Disappearing Ninja ability allows them to run away from the initial attack and completely avoid the Double Strike. Ghost Walk prevents any attempt to tie them up or slow them down, unless you are fielding the Gladiatrons. Finally their base attack of four can bring the Einar Imperium to their knees.

High Defense Units: In general, the Einar Imperium should initially avoid any units with high defense (5 or 6 and above). They should focus primarily on eliminating the Unique Heroes with low defense and cleaning up the average squad units. If these units have been eliminated or if you have a tactical reason to go after the high defense units then go ahead and use the Einar Imperium. After all, this squad is not designed to just sit back and watch. Once you activate them or they in range of the enemy, they should be utilized until they are eliminated or until the enemy has no one left standing.


For additional information see the Book of The Einar Imperium.[/QUOTE]

The article SHOULD say, "Stay away from ALL ranged units, unless you have a deathwish."


Seriously, these guys are arguably the most over priced squad in the game. Yes, they can be nasty in close quarters, But in a standard 500 point competitive match, it's almost a given you'll NEED the Empress for re-rolling defense. So let's see: 140 x 2 + 90 = 370. (Only 130 points left over.Not enough for a third squad.)

I'm sorry, but IMHO, under 3 squads just won't cut it, unless your opponent is running an all melee army. Honestly, the designers royally screwed these guys up.

How I would've done it:

Make them 110 smackers for their abilities as is, OR:

Make 'em 110 points, give them starting 4 defense, the Counter Strike ability, and a +1 to Speed, (Take away Kiova's re-roll trick and Double Attack completely) THEN they'd be worth their salt, IMO.

So Move 6, Range 1, Attack 3, Def. 4, Stealth Flying and Counter Strike. Kiova should give all Imperium within 4 clear sight spaces +1 Defense and Attack dice. (I'd make her an even 110 points.)

Now let's get to the article's "Front Line Decoy" trick. A fun trick to pull off, but in an uber competitive 500 point match, NOT a good idea. You need Raelin (80), Kiova (90) and 2 squads of Imperium. (280!)... That leaves what, 50 points left?? So say hi to the Marro Warriors.

In a super-competitive matchup, not the greatest team, unless Like I said before, your opponent has no range in his army. (I dunno about you, but that's quite rare.)

The article mentions something along the lines of the "Imperium should be able to fend off ranged attacks as Kiova within 5 spaces", yadda yadda... Um...? First of all, multiple units with 3 attack can decimate this strategy. The Empress does not have a Bonding ability, so the Imperium and Empress will take multiple turns to get into position. Meanwhile if you're opponent is playing smart, he'll have taken the high ground with his Krav, Microcorps, 4th Mass, whatever.

As cool as these guys are, they are simply horrendously over priced. Period.

The article further mentions "Clean up units". Why in the holy hec would you put 140 points (nearly a third of your 500 point army) into clean up?? Just a complete waste of points.



NOW: For higher point home games? Disregard everything I've said, and go nuts!

That's all I got for now.

[TheAverageFan]

If you can squeeze in Marcus and Atlaga, these suckers'll have 7 Move, making it hard for them not to get the first strike. Other than that, I mostly just use these guys as bodyguards for cheerleaders so that I don't have to move Empress first. If they had the 4 defense, they'd be worth every penny.

I do like the Empress though.

~TAF

[Foudzing]

Originally Posted by Owlman

Imperiums are bad.

Yes we all know that, stategy articles are not about rating an unit but about how to use it the best way.

For example, you should make a strategy article on Morsbane, you seems to field him even if he's really really bad and even if he'll be useless in the game.

[dok]

Originally Posted by Foudzing

Yes we all know that, stategy articles are not about rating an unit but about how to use it the best way.

For example, you should make a strategy article on Morsbane, you seems to field him even if he's really really bad and even if he'll be useless in the game.

I think we should un-ban Devil's Advocate so he can make a Morsbane article. He felt Morsbane was heavily underrated and made a decent argument for the elf.