Greetings Readers! My name is Emanuel also know on the Privateer Press forums as Bloodrath. I am a Press ganger in the Cleveland area and one of the hosts of the podcast Removed from Play. Welcome back to another issue of Graduate Level Gaming. If you did not read issue 1 I highly recommend on going back to that issue Here before continuing on. Is this article we will be covering constructive learning. My intent is to take the questions we answered in issue 1 and breaking them down into categories. This is to help us better understand our play style and grow our game. This growth will be achieved through adapting our strategy based on the information we gather

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ”
-Albert Einstein

The first part of learning as a player is gathering the information you need to define what your needs are to grow. Growth is accomplished through inventing or adjusting your methods. My method is to break down the grander concepts of the game into its parts. First I think it would be beneficial if I explained how I view those parts. I believe there are two types of adjustments a player can make. I call these Macro and Micro adjustments. Macro adjustments are the most encompassing categories that define the game. Most of your major adjustments will fall into this category. Micro adjustments are small tweaks that don’t require drastic change and are typically just an adjustment to your current methods. Macro breaks into two sub categories, Play style & Planning. Play style adjustments are made to change or adjust the way you interact with the game during play. Planning adjustments are made to help you be more prepared for each game. All of the questions above will fall into these categories and allow us to further dissect and learn from them. Below I will offer an example to explain my meaning using some of the questions from Issue 1.

Play style

What is my standard opening: Most of my army runs. I disperse my upkeeps try to get my army across the table

Question: Has this tactic been effective for you every game?

Answer:  not every game. Some games I advance into my opponents shooting range and louse pieces that could have been saved by better positioning.

Solution: at the beginning of the game reviewing my opponent’s army and cards to familiarize myself with their capabilities. By doing this I can make a more accurate judge safe board positioning during my opening.

Summary: by tweaking my opening and not running everything I have I can reduce my casualties

When learning something new that I want to actively try to change I like to write my summery down on a note card and review them before and during games. There is an old saying the best way to remember things is to write it, read it, and say it. I practice this religiously and will often offer suggestions for you to do the same. Being a proactive player is the best way to rise above our own limitations.

Planning

Do I have a plan for each part of my army? I just put things into the list that draw synergy from the rest of the list. But sometimes when one part of that synergy is destroyed the list begins to have problems.

Question: do you think that creating a role in your army for each piece will allow you to give them purpose even if the direct synergy is interrupted?

Answer: I often see a list as a whole and haven’t thought about breaking it down into its individual parts.

Solution:  take a second and write each piece of your army on a sheet of paper separately and below write down their roles so you understand what the purpose of each piece in the army is.

Example Model/unit purpose Goal Ghetorix Anti armor Seek out enemy warjacks/warbeast. Druids of Orboros Board control Aid in scoring control points/ open lanes in the enemy lines. Lord of the feast Anti infantry Disrupt the enemy units/ divert enemy away from true intentions.

Next we are going to look at micro adjustments. Micro adjustments are often an adjustment that you make mentally that will change the way you play the game. Micro adjustments break into two categories as well, strategy and tactics. The first thing I want to address before moving on is the difference between “tactics, and strategy” many people confuse these two or often times are unaware of the difference.  This is so that as I refer to them you can identify what I am talking about. In a later article I will explore the concepts that go into creating and applying these two in depth. For now let’s stick to our foundation.

Tactics – The military science that deals with securing objectives or locations, especially the technique of deploying and directing troops. A procedure or set of maneuvers engaged in to achieve an end, an aim, or a goal

To simplify tactics are individual plans for specific parts of your army such as how you intend to use a unit or what spells you intend to apply and when. Example: When I need to get a heavy a few inches closer I can cast hellmouth at some infantry near him to pull him in the direction I need. Then I can charge with a woldguardian to ram him in the direction I want him to go to get him out of the zone.

Strategy – The art of military command as applied to the overall planning and conduct of large-scale combat operations.A plan to apply tactics intended to accomplish a specific goal to achieve the overall victory.

I like to make the analogy to other players that strategies are like football plays and create your overall game plan that you can apply each turn like a play by play break down. Unit (A) is going to flank to cause disruption and target support, warbeast (A) will apply pressure from the opposite flank to push the enemy away from the scenario zone. Unit (B) will advance up the middle and be the bait to draw the enemy toward my lines and give me an extra turn to set up in the scenario zone.

Many of the questions you answered in issue 1 are questions that pertain to your tactics and strategy. In my next article we are going to explore the concepts creating tactics and strategy. Until then I want to challenge you to go back to your questions and the answers you gave and split them into these categories. Next follow the methods used above to develop your plans and play style to improve your game

-BloodRath

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