The Art of War- And How it Relates to Heroscape

[Bothi]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first, and then seek to win.

The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
and How it Relates to Heroscape

The Art of War, written by Sun Tzu, consists of thirteen chapters detailing the larger-scale science of war. In this guide, I shall cover ? of these chapters, as the other ? do not relate to Heroscape in any legitimate way. Most if not all quotes from here on out are paraphrased and are the intellectual property of an old dead Asian guy. This guide is not here to generate any form of profit and is for educational purposes only.

~

Chapter 1: Planning

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

In your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise...

1. Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?

2. Which of the two Generals has the most ability?

3. With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
The "advantages of Earth" refers to distances, close versus far, open ground versus scattered obstructions, danger versus security. The majority of Heroscape maps are symmetrical, eliminating this concern at least until the battle has begun. However, once the war is waging, considerations should be made as the formation and location of all armies are constantly changing.

4. On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?

5. Which army is stronger?

6. On which side are officers and men more highly trained?

7. In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

What Sun Tzu says about planning and preparation holds true to Heroscape. It is very likely that if you are about to challenge a fellow 'Scaper, or have been challenged, that you have some sort of relation to them, no matter how small. Perhaps you know them in person, and the skirmish is to take place in person, or maybe you simply posted in a thread that you are looking for an opponent, and they were browsing the same thread. It is then, in this way, almost impossible for someone that you have no and can find no information about will challenge you.

There are certainly many preparations to be made when building your army, but many go about it the wrong way. Rather than going with "an old stand-by", it is much more efficient to first find what your opponent will likely be using, and draft an army to counter it. For example, let us say, in this instance, that Matthias Maccabeus, who I have never played and have barely spoken to, was to message me asking for a quick match in a few hours. Although I have no past experience fighting Matthias, a quick sweep through the forums tells me that his Avatar is a knight, with the title "Don't need range in the Knight-time". From this I can make the assumption that he will more than likely field a Jandar knight-champion bonding army. Although this is only an assumption, it is much more of a lead than simply "winging it". You may also look for past tournament records, Battle-Reports, and the like.

It is many times simplified when challenging another player in person that you have had experience with, as you not only know what they are likely to field, but you know what they are able to field. Unless a player owns the perfect amount of all Heroscape, you can find what armies they simply aren't capable of fielding. Inversely, you can find the structure of all competitive armies that they ARE capable of playing. If 'Player B' has many sets, and a wide variety of figures, but no duplicates of commons, than you know that fielding many hero-killer commons will quickly end the match. The opposite is also true. If your opponent is in no possession of competitive heroes, just one Squad-Killer such as Q9 or Braxas should just about clean up the board. Also, for both physical and online matches, it is easy to determine what may not be played by either side based upon point, space, and rule restrictions.

Once you have thought out what your opponent may play, you must next consider what you are skilled and familiar with. Although you may have been destroyed or seen someone destroyed with a bunch of goblins does not mean you should blindly attempt to use that same army for that tourney you are about to sign up for. It is fine to step outside your comfort zone during casual and practice play, but it is advised that you stick to what you know during competitive matches.

Next, know the (possible) terrain. Before most matches one player will select or build the map, letting the other player know the details. When this is the case, it is easy to look at an image or the description of the map and know what figures you can and shouldn't field. In hilly, curvy maps avoid using multiple double-based figures, as it is difficult to navigate them, and you can end up creating an obstacle for your own army. On maps containing large amounts of water and little obstructions, range dominates, whereas a jungle map with ruins and other various LoS blockers it is easy for strong melee units to control the field. Castle maps and cliffs favor the flying, and most special terrain has a related unit that performs much better when on or around it. If the map is to be chosen from a list at random, the same general concepts apply, but do not rely on a certain map(s) to be chosen.

Finally, have a basic plan of action. What will you do if they field an army completely different than what you expected? What if your main hero is cursed early on? Could you survive and still win after a key figure is taken out in Round 2 by Dead Eye Dan? If not, you may want to rethink your army and your plan.

[Bothi]

Chapter 3: Attack by Stratagem

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

The highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

I believe this quote o be rather self explanatory; it is best to beat the enemy by ruining their plans, while the worst is attacking a well defended enemy head-on. Keeping the enemy from working together is then above attacking their main forces head-on.

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

The rule is, do not besiege protected cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more.

The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

In this quote, let "Cities" translate to any favorable position, such as higher ground, jungle terrain, glyphs, etc. For example, let us say that I have only one squad of Deathreavers remaining, and Matthias has one squad of 4th Mass sitting on a hill. Assuming I am just out of range, I could run and engage in two turns(they are on a hill, remember), but they would still have height, and would be stronger on the offense next turn. However, if I lay in wait, get to a more opportune location to advance, and make the 4th mass come to me, yes, they will get the first round of attack, but I can then scatter up the hill, and the 4th Mass, having moved downhill, will have lost height and Wait then Fire. After I have waited for them to move and attack once, I can literally walk around them to the higher ground, giving myself a reasonable attack of 1-2 for my defense of 4-5.

Going back, if I had attacked head on, I would have had to endure more rounds of fire as I advance, and I would not have had the higher ground during any of those, so my defense would still be 4 with an attack of 1, but the 4th Mass would have an attack of 4 and a defense of 3.

Some may argue that this only then applies to Deathreavers and those with Scatter, but that is not true, it is just a bit more complicated when you can not move each turn.

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army...

1. By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.
If you are engaged in melee, and have no means to disengage, it is usually best not to do so. It is also unwise to send a melee unit half-way within range of a ranged unit. Know how to move your forces, do not attempt an all-out attack or an all-out retreat.

2. By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds.

3. By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

Yes, only one of these can be said to hold true or matter, but it does hold true all the same. The last two do not need to be worried about, as the units have neither restlessness nor confidence, just plastic.

[Bothi]

Chapter 4: Tactical Dispositions

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

It is obvious that it can never be known whether or not you and your forces will be able to beat the enemy, but it is much simpler to make it very difficult for the enemy to beat you. Although you should have some offensive force, defensive ability is much more important, as you don't how the enemy will react to your advance, but there is only one thing the enemy may do in response to your defense, and that is to advance themselves.

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.

Waiting for the enemy makes them spread their forces, while yours are in formation While laying in wait your defense is at it's acme, and the enemies attack is lessened. Think the sacred band. Not that one. That one. Once their forces begin to dwindle, take the opportunities to attack that are presented, while remaining in an advantageous position and formation.

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep.

[Bothi]

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Spot holders are done. I should hopefully have this done before the weekend is out. Thoughts? Should I keep going?

EDIT: It is nearly 2 am here, I will continue tomorrow, good night.

[wriggz]

I wish you well on your journey. You are not the first to undertake the Art of War with relation to heroscape, but each interpretation brings its own value.

I would note that creating 8 posts as spot holders seems a bit redundant since with proper formatting you could alter your first post.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing more.

PS Given my avatar and title what army do you imagine I would bring?

[Bothi]

Originally Posted by wriggz

I wish you well on your journey. You are not the first to undertake the Art of War with relation to heroscape, but each interpretation brings its own value.

I would note that creating 8 posts as spot holders seems a bit redundant since with proper formatting you could alter your first post.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing more.

PS Given my location and title what army do you imagine I would bring?

Thank you kind sir, and I was and am planning to have each spot be a different chapter, just to make it easier to navigate. I will delete any excess when I am done.

[Sir Yeshua]

Hmmm... Interesting. I have read The Art of War, and have learned a lot from it. I look forward to reading more of your work. However:

1. Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?

I would argue that this should not be crossed out. The Moral Law is, in essence, how well your army listens to your orders. While this might not seem like it applies, (When was the last time Ne-Gok-Sa tried to mindshackle you?), the Moral Law is also your efficiency. In this case, your order marker efficiency.

Keep it up! +rep

~Sir Yeshua

P.S. So what would I field?

[Bothi]

Originally Posted by Sir Yeshua

Hmmm... Interesting. I have read The Art of War, and have learned a lot from it. I look forward to reading more of your work. However:

I would argue that this should not be crossed out. The Moral Law is, in essence, how well your army listens to your orders. While this might not seem like it applies, (When was the last time Ne-Gok-Sa tried to mindshackle you?), the Moral Law is also your efficiency. In this case, your order marker efficiency.

Keep it up! +rep

~Sir Yeshua

P.S. So what would I field?

Huh, I never thought of it relating to Order Markers, as I had always thought it as the troops thoughts themselves. If I do not work them in late in the article, I may add that in there.

I'm not telling you what to field, but how to field




And nice signature.