Against the Flyers
I despise large flyers (unless they are mine!) and small flyers for that matter. Their superior mobility makes them the kings of the battlefield. They dominate the movement phase not only of their own side, but of your forces as well. Every Kings of War player needs to learn to counter flying models or they will dominate your army.
First the Rules:
Units that have suffered at least one point of damage in the melee phase are Disordered – mark them with an appropriate counter.
Units will remain Disordered until the end of their following Turn, when the Disordered counter is removed.
Units that have suffered at least one point of damage in the melee phase are Disordered – mark them with an appropriate counter.
Units will remain Disordered until the end of their following Turn, when the Disordered counter is removed.
The unit can move over anything (Blocking Terrain, Enemy units, Friendly units when charging, etc.), and may pivot while above anything, as long as the flying unit’s entire move ends clear of any units or Blocking Terrain. The unit does not suffer Hindered charges for moving over Difficult Terrain or Obstacles, unless it ends the move within or touching them.
While Disordered, this unit cannot use the Fly special rule. In addition, if a unit with Fly also has the Nimble special rule, then the Nimble special rule is also lost while the unit is Disordered.
The key to most anti-flyer tactics is to “disorder” the flyer keeping it on the ground or “grounded” as most folks call it. The flyer loses the ability to “fly” and also loses “nimble” .Sometimes spells or abilities can also “ground” a flyer, but most of them disappeared when 3rd edition appeared.
“Missiles”
“Missiles” are simply lone characters, usually mounted, that are used to try and at least “ground” enemy flyers. Often times they are armed with an inexpensive magic weapon such as the Blade of Slashing or the Mace of Crushing. A bigger threat is to give them the Blade of the Beast Slayer.
Having some sort of transport is best. A mounted character may have up to a 40” area of influence depending on the race. The best “missiles” are individuals since they have the most flexible ability to charge.
Multiple “missiles” are the best. If they charge into a flyer and “ground” it, the flyer can only attempt to kill one of them in return. Many “missiles” have armor 5 and usually at least average leadership. As a rule of thumb, a 10 swing large flyer, will hit, 6.66 times, and wound armor 5, approximately 4 to 5 times. Tough missiles such as what I call “Lord” level characters can survive all but the toughest of flyers for one turn keeping them “grounded”.
Charging them with two “missiles” can keep them grounded even longer. Even if they kill one of the “missiles”, the flyer must still deal with the other one, provided of course they managed to “disorder” the flyer. The key part of the strategy is to keep the flyer “grounded” until a melee unit can come to help. Normally it takes at least a turn to get an infantry unit into place but faster cavalry units or tough characters can get there even quicker.
Proper deployment is a key to using “missiles”. If you simply do not know where to put them just put them behind your lines. I try to put them near my most valuable units as they tend to attract the most attention. You must know your “missiles” threat range. An average mounted “missile” will have a 36” threat range. That mean you have a lot of latitude on their placement. Ideally, you should try placing them after the enemy flyers have been deployed. Use the knowledge of your large threat circle and the knowledge of which units are most vulnerable to place your “missile”.
Counter Flyers:
One of the best tactics is to simply take your own flyers. Even lowly flyers like a Pegasus or Gargoyles are still a threat to ground other flyers. Often there is an intricate dance early in a game to see which flyer is the first to blink and commit to being charged. Multiple cheap flyers can hold their larger brethren at bay for a long time.
A good example of a “counter flyer” would be one of your own flyers with the Brew of Haste or Wild Charge. I have been victimized by enemy flyers that can out charge my own flyers. By including those in your own army just about guarantees that you will counter their flyer.
Your own large flyers may not be a huge threat to your foes large flyers. For example the General on a Winged Beast from the Kingdoms of Men is not nearly the threat of a Dragon from the Elves. Even though your own flyer might not be as awesome as theirs, they ignore your flyer at their own peril. While their Dragon is off doing Dragon things, even the junior league of large flyers will affect enemy units. If you have also used a “missile”, you may end up grounding that Dragon and use your lesser flyer to get a flank or rear charge thus evening the odds.
“Choot em’”
Putting a few wounds on their flyers will often affect their plans. The odds of taking down flying units in Kings of War are small unless you have “spammed” shooting. However, simply putting a few wounds on them may make your foe change their plans. They may charge sooner than they want and against a non-optimal unit.
The key thing for shooting or magic shooting is to force nerve tests. A lucky dice roll, while not likely, can change the entire course of a game. Shooting is the fastest way to force nerve tests. Every wound counts. Later in the game those 3 wounds caused by a lightning bolt may cause a failed nerve test destroying or wavering your foe.
Feed them:
What does that even mean? It means allowing them to charge you so that you can destroy their flyer. Sometimes that means sacrificing an important unit. As long as you kill their important unit it works out. You have to think of it as trading queens in Chess. Yes, you lose your powerful unit, but so do they.
In a recent game I allowed one of my Orc MorAx units to be flank charged. While it hurt losing that unit, the Great Ax unit behind it easily destroyed my foe's flyer. Both units were about the same point value, but I got rid of his flyer.
Sacrificing units can be a way of defending against flyers. You just have to decide which one has the least value to your plan and let it go.
Mathhammer:
So what is “mathhammer”? It is simply knowing the odds of something happening. For example if I allow a Dragon with 13 swings to charge me in the flank, what is the probability of my unit surviving and countercharging? While it might be zero if a Dragon did it, it may be fairly high if a General on a Winged Beast did it. Knowing the odds will help a lot.
That same dragon charging a unit in the front is WAY less fearsome. Your goal is, if the enemy is charging you to try and get the “mathhammer” in your favor. If you look around there are tools to help with your “mathhammer” but a spread sheet is very easy to make. During a game having a rough idea of a units output is always a good idea. For example, I know a horde of Shield Wall against armor 4 will do roughly 6 wounds. It could do more or less, but the average is what you use in your calculations. So if I’m fighting a unit of armor 5 Orcs, I know it drops down to 4 wounds. In other words you may not have to defend against a flyer if the math is in your favor. It just depends on the flyer.
Much like the “feed them” maneuver sometimes the only way to take them down is to allow them to charge your unit. That only works to a point. Charging units with 7 swings will normally not break any horde. However it get dicey once they get to 10 swings (mathhammer: 10 swings double; hit on threes equals about 13 hits, basically 10 wounds. The units with 13 swings though can “one-shot” a horde (26 swings; about 17 hits, and about 14 wounds) if they charge you in the flank. That would put most hordes in the danger zone at a bare minimum. Countercharging “might” do something, but with so many swings the big flyer with 13 attacks should finish off your horde on the following turn.
Time and Space:
What? You ask? The game is played with a limited number of turns. What your task is to do is to minimize the number of turns an enemy flyer can be used. That means combining many tactics to achieve your goals.
Often the first turn of a game is uneventful. Your job is to make it eventful by instantly moving to counter their flyers. They are so fast you cannot delay taking action. Try and simply take up “space” giving them no place to land. Try and threaten any terrain that they might use for screening (if possible)
Any turn you negate them is a win for you. You simply do NOT want enemy flyers in your flanks or behind your lines. Your foe normally has a significant point investment for those units.
Your own flyers can help maximize space and time. Simply lining them up opposite of the enemy flyers creates a “standoff” off situation. Neither of you can afford to move closer thus getting charged first. Lower level flyers are not that lethal such as the General on Winged Beast but if it gets in the charge first, it is very equivalent.
The next key is to master “space”. Space simply means not giving them good places to land. Sometimes I give them a place to land, but it is part of my scheme to destroy them. How do you do that?
Avoid being “hopped”. Hopping is when the enemy flies 20” over your army and makes a “nimble” turn at the end. They can only make a single 90 degree pivot, but that is usually enough to expose flanks or rears to attack. Most flyers cannot deal with even a regiment one on one, unless they get at flank or rear. Flyers never want to attack the front unless it is a combined charge with a very powerful unit.
The way to avoid “hopping” is to slow your movement enough to prevent their movement. You do not need to stay out of their charge range, but you do need to stay out of their “hopping” range until you deal with their flyer. By doing this you are mastering “time” negating the flyer once again. Often times your foes will be baited into a rash charge simply out of frustration.
If I allow the enemy unit to “hop” you can bet I have a plan. Lagging your “missile” units behind or holding back your own flyers can prevent “hopping” even if it is possible. In a tournament I had three Ratkin Weapons teams and a Warlock with LB 5, just waiting for an Elf dragon to “hop” my lines.
Terrain:
Terrain is an enemy of flyers. You can use impassible terrain to defend a flank. The edge of the board is always there and always available to prevent the enemy from reaching your flank.
You have to be careful as flyers can hop terrain and are NOT hindered when doing so. Your best bet is to be “in” impassible terrain so the flyer is “hindered”. For example, a flyer can charge over a wall or unit to hit you. All they need is line of sight (LOS).
Terrain though is their friend too! Because a flyer is so fast they can move up and hide behind the terrain, and potentially angle for a follow up move. Things like towers and woods are the best for them. That simple maneuver will have to be countered somehow or they will deny your entire army moving. I managed to do this in a recent game on turn one. If my foe did not move to counter my flyer, I could have charged any of three units in the flank on turn 2.
Summary:
One of the things I do when I create lists is to weight potential threats against my army. Some armies are all but immune to flyers like Undead. The Undead player can simply turn a unit and use the “surge” spell to ruin the flyers day. Some armies are very vulnerable to flyers but have tools in their army list to help them out. There are a couple of armies like Dwarfs that simply must build flyer defense into their strategy due to their otherwise slow speed. Armies that have access to gargoyles or harpies can simply buy a cheap unit to assist in flyer defense. They will usually buy you a turn anyway.
Flyers are a vital part of the game. Who would want a fantasy game without a flying dragon or wyvern? You simply must learn to deal with them and if you have flyers master the use of your own.
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