Artillery with 11 points to spare

[ravenflight]

Hi All,

I created a list which included a BG of 2 Medium Artillery pieces. After mucking around a bit I had 11 points to spare, so was toying up between using the 10 points to increase the Mediums to Heavies.

Now, really I've never seen much advantage in Heavy Artillery. Sure, you can't 'hide back' in the initial stages of the battle... you're going to be shot at from the get go - but my mediums shoot nearly every turn anyway, so don't think that's MUCH of an advantage. You DO have a pretty major disadvantage, however, in that you must CMT to pivot.

How big a disadvantage do you see this as being?

Would you sacrefice the 10 points and take Mediums or would you spend it and take Heavies?

[timmy1]

One advantage of heavies is that you can prevent your opponent corner sitting / deploying far back to wait and see - or at least still hit him. If you don't play opponents like that I would save the 10 points.

[kevinj]

I'd take the heavies every time. A smart opponent will deploy outside the range of your mediums but the heavies will force a response.

[ravenflight]

I'd take the heavies every time. A smart opponent will deploy outside the range of your mediums but the heavies will force a response.

I'm tending to agree. You can also deploy within 1 movement of the supporting foot (if you wanted to support them) or indeed on the back edge of the battlefield if you're pretty confident the enemy will advance.

[hazelbark]

You can set the Heavies off to one side so the fire at an angle allowing you to advance and the guns keep firing as well. 10 points left its a good deal.

[quackstheking]

Remember though that if you deploy the Heavy Artillery near the back edge of the board, to keep them at least 6" away from the baseline as they would then have a "Threatened Flank"!

By virtue of p174, any "foot battle troops" within 6" of the base edge count as having a threatened Flank and from p22 you will see that Artillery count as foot. This means if you set up your artillery within 6" of the base, then any CT's you have to take will have a -1 for threatened flank, but more importantly any shooting by the artillery at Foot Battle Troops will have a further -POA for Threatened Flank in addition to the usual -1POA and therefore only hit foot troops on a 6 - not good!!

You have been warned!

Don

[hazelbark]

excellent point about back edge which is why the angle is so helpful.

[ravenflight]

By virtue of p174, any "foot battle troops" within 6" of the base edge count as having a threatened Flank and from p22 you will see that Artillery count as foot. This means if you set up your artillery within 6" of the base, then any CT's you have to take will have a -1 for threatened flank, but more importantly any shooting by the artillery at Foot Battle Troops will have a further -POA for Threatened Flank in addition to the usual -1POA and therefore only hit foot troops on a 6 - not good!!

I don't think this is right.

They are foot, but not Foot Battle Troops.

[timmy1]

Ravenf.

Don is correct by my reading.

P25 'Battle Troops
any troops other than light troops
mixed battle groups partly of light foot'

The definition of light troops on P24 does not include artillery.

Have checked v1.09 Errata as well.

Artillery are 'Foot Battle Troops'

[ravenflight]

Ravenf.

Don is correct by my reading.

P25 'Battle Troops
any troops other than light troops
mixed battle groups partly of light foot'

The definition of light troops on P24 does not include artillery.

Have checked v1.09 Errata as well.

Artillery are 'Foot Battle Troops'

Hmm, I remeber discussing foot with Regimental Gun out in the 12" field of death. I was sure RBS confirmed that the Regt Guns would be shooting at 0 because they weren't battle troops where the infantry IS battle troops *shrug*. I may have misremembered.

[timmy1]

Ravenflight

The Reg. Gun is not a battle troops and is always 0 because it is a marker rather than a base. Your memory is correct. Artillery we are discussing here refers to those that are bases. A Reg. Gun firing from the baseline does not suffer the -1.