Multiple Common units = Cannon Fodder?

[Rythos]

Not having played with multiple common units yet (It's just me and my son out here in the sticks) are they simply just cannon fodder to ensure that the unit can continue to act at full capacity if a member dies? This would seem to be the case, as you can only activate the number on the card each turn no matter how many you have on the board.

Rythos

(Who like to extend a warm welcome and a humble bow to the search option from our previously information accessibility challenged community )

[Aldin]

Yes and no. The ability to absorb damage without losing potency is certainly a key aspect, but there is also a great deal to be said for positioning. Two squads of Deathreavers (to use a favorite unit of mine) can simultaneously hold a glyph, block a path and have a full squad free to advance. Common squads have the manpower to plant a unit in a convenient spot and then forget about them.

~Aldin, en masse

[AgentX-127]

Consider the fact that all figures on the board have a common power that is always active: they create an engagement zone that affects all the hexes around them, up to 6 hexes for just one figure!
Secondly, they "fill up" that hex, so that your opponents figures cannot move through it (without any special powers, of course.)
Together, these factors can be used to control a battlefield. Positioning a line of common squad units can be a great way to protect your Syvarris, for example, and the engagement zone and movement blocking effects operate even when the figures are not active.

On top of all that, some like the Drones and the Zombies obviously allow you to move more than one card's worth of units, and that can be a powerful thing. And as Aldin has pointed out, the Deathreavers can work wonderfully with very few activations.

Fielding multiples of a common squad can help you with those Order Marker decisions. If you have a bunch of common units spread around the board, your opponent will have a harder time outmaneuvering you, because you can choose to activate any of them per turn.

Also, be aware of this subtle rule clarification direct from CVN which offers another advantage to using the common squads:

a. 4 figures are activated by the order marker.
b. You reveal which figures are active by moving and/or attacking with the figures.
c. You need not designate which figures, if any, "move zero spaces."
d. You may attack with the figures you "actually moved" one or more spaces, and/or -- if you "actually moved" less than 4 figures -- attack with any "zero move" figures (which could be any among the original 8 not "actually moved"), the total number of attacks not exceeding 4 (4 being the squad size for the Mass Line).

When you move, you would move any figures you want up to the number of figures listed on the Army Card. Once you are done moving, you can now attack. Obviously, you can also only attack with up to the number of figures listed on the Army Card, but any figures that moved that turn would take up one of those (for lack of a better word) "Attacking Slots". So if you have the Mass 4th (4 figures per card), and you move 2 of them. Once you start to attack that turn you may attack with the 2 that you moved, as well as ANY OTHER 2 Mass 4th figures that would have moved 0 spaces. You do not have to decide before you start to attack which figures are attacking, since the outcome of the first few attacks may dictate who, or what the other figures are attacking.

Finally, attacking common squads can dilute your opponents attack strength. For instance, if your opponent's Sgt. Drake must slog through a host of Vipers to reach Syvarris, his attack of 6 is mostly wasted until he finally does reach the Elven Archer.

[Jexik]

There's also something to be said for tactical flexibility. If you've got 4 squads of 4th Massachusetts line or Aubrien Archers spread throughout the map, you can activate any that you choose on your turn. This makes it much harder for your opponent to run away, and ensures that you'll waste very few turns.

When you activate Major Q9 or Nilfheim, their potential threat range is much smaller than a horde of commons littering the entire map.

[Hero Hot Hatch]

All that was said above took me a few games to figure out. In some common squads with bonding, and you might want to place the order marker on those when you have them, bonding is more effective with at least two common squads in many if not most circumstances. You might not want to risk placing order markers in a squad with only one unit left alive if you intended to use the bonding in a given round. That's just one example. You also have more chances of getting your points worth by having a common squad at capacity during more turns than having half a squad after a couple of turns. The Roman legionaires last longer with two squads because you are more likely to benefit from Shield Wall than with one squad. The Ashigaru Yari is another example. You don't get to use Encircle Special Attack if you have less than 3 alive and those die fast. Figuring this out will cost me a lot of money because I want at least two squads of commons when a few weeks ago I thought that I did not need them. In some cases like the Marro Drones or Zombies it is more obvious why you want more than one squad of commons. I'm just happy that you get 6 Zombies in one set vs. only three Drones in one set with the Minions. I like the Minions, but I don't need 9 of them, while I wanted 9 Drones to maximize their potential utility.

[guido]

Originally Posted by AgentX-127

Five is RIGHT OUT. Sorry, I had to.

Also, what are some common squads that work well with only one or two squads? I realize the effect of multiples, but often do not have the wealth to purchase them. In fact, the first time I owned two of the same common squads was when I bought SotM.

[Jexik]

Originally Posted by guido

Five is RIGHT OUT. Sorry, I had to.

Also, what are some common squads that work well with only one or two squads? I realize the effect of multiples, but often do not have the wealth to purchase them. In fact, the first time I owned two of the same common squads was when I bought SotM.

Deathreavers work pretty well in any size group. Kyrie squads (Minions, sentinels, imperium) are all so expensive and powerful that you can get by with just one set. Most squads work pretty well with 2 (like Arrow Gruts, Knights of Weston, Warriors of Ashra, Glads/Blasts, etc.) but they work better with 3. WoA are actually one that I would probably very rarely want more than 2 of. Zombies and drones of course need at least 3.

The higher the defense or point cost of the squad, the safer it is to go with just 2. Again, Knights of Weston, Heavy Gruts, Valiant 4th Mass, cuddling romans, Omnicron Snipers, etc, are all pretty good with just two. In a small game, I've seen one squad of Snipers absolutely wreck faces.

I wrote something about budget scaping... Link.

[guido]

The link was very helpful, thank you.

[Dredd Stev]

I think that for 50 points the Ashra can be pretty effective at x3 or x4, even more so with Acolarh in the back ranks. They come with all those rats anyway so I suppose it's a moot point, like what on earth to do with 5 sets of Minions...

I wrote a little overview of the current waves there the other day, it's worth a read if you are unsure of what commons to start doubling (and tripling and quadrupling) up on.

http://www.heroscapers.com/community...815&highlight=