How Gondor Trebuchets Get Accurate for Free

Hey Reader!

So in our TMAT Talks episode on Big Honkin' Things (mostly siege weapons and war beasts, but also things that act like siege weapons), one of the negatives that was mentioned about Gondor Battlecry Trebuchets was that they scatter 6" instead of 3", making it harder to hit the target that you want. And this is not uncommon: you see this critique in most forums, Facebook groups, and I'm sure gaming groups across the globe, and thus why the treb doesn't tend to rank as high as other siege weapons.

And while yes, the rules say that it doesn't have the Accurate special rule, as I got to thinking about it, I began to realize that, with good tactics and some training, you can get the effects of Accurate on your trebuchet for free a good bit of the time, so you're not actually at that great of a disadvantage.

This post is my argument for why this is the case.

I.  Siege Weapon Rules and Uses

To get us started, I should note that the purpose of a trebuchet is not to one-shot high-end enemy heroes. You might (as direct hits do happen, in which case it's fantastic), but that's not what trebuchets are for. We use trebs to 1) whittle down enemy warriors, as the S5 splash hit will likely wound on 5s or better and the center hit will likely wound on 3s with an auto-kill, 2) to slow down the advance of an enemy formation by knocking critical elements to the ground, and 3) deter people from crossing specific areas of the board (area denial).

There are four rules that we need to remember about siege weapons:

1. Crews have to draw line of sight unless the weapon has Volley Fire (which trebs have), in which case you may draw line of sight from any of your models on the board (so hiding from trebs is hard), 
2. After rolling to hit you have to roll to scatter, with a 6 hitting the target, a 2-5 targeting an opponent's model within 6" (and if there are no eligible targets it counts as a miss, so don't go headhunting a single model with a treb or any other scattering siege weapon for that matter), and a 1 targeting one of your friendly models withing 6" (and if there are none in range, it counts as a miss). Siege weapons with Accurate drop the radius to 3" (which the trebuchet does not have, hence this post), 
3. The central hit is an auto-kill if not blocked by Fate or dealt to a target with 10+ Wounds or D10, and all other hits do not auto-kill (in the case of the trebuchet, this is a S5 hit to targets within 2" of the primary target), and
4. Models that are hit are knocked prone if they do not die. Some siege weapons don't knock people down, but in most cases (including the treb) you get the knock down.

So in the case of the treb, we have a S10 hit (with S5 splash damage) after rolling to hit (4+), scatter (don't get a 1), and then roll damage. After resolving damage, all targets that didn't die are knocked prone while casualties are removed.

So now that we know how the rules for the trebuchet work, let's look at how, in most cases, you'll typically scatter within 3" even though you don't have Accurate. We will do this quasi-scientifically, considering various case studies of formations with various troop and hero combinations to prove the hypothesis.

This also means that this will low-key be a tactical post about how to fight a trebuchet or catapult, as some formations hold up better than others, so you should use them when fighting a treb or catapult.

II.  Common Enemy Elements and Formations

Formation 1: The Pike Block

I'm starting with the pike block because it's often seen as the ideal formation to attack with a treb for two reasons (though I contend it's not - more on that below). First, your opponent only gains their bonuses if they are close to each other (which optimizes your "splash damage" when you hit), and second purchasing pike blocks is relatively expensive, so they don't tend to be extremely long, and there tends to be only one of them in an army.

I posit that there are two types of pike blocks we must use for case studies. The first is a pure pike block which only involves pikes supporting a front line (typically including 1+ heroes), potentially with a banner in the mix as well (especially as there is no rule saying you cannot use a banner and a pike at the same time - the formation below doesn't have one because Amdur, Lord of Blades, counts as a banner and is applying the bonus to his warband already):

In this case, select a target in the front rank within 4" of the end of the pike block, and I guarantee you that your opponent will give you the effects of Accurate most of the time, as he will choose a target on the periphery of the pike block rather than someone near the center. For most pike blocks, though, it's rare to see one longer than 10 persons across (as 30 persons tied up in a pike block is a lot of models for any army with pikes), so it's very likely that your opponent will be giving you the effect of Accurate purely due to the length of the pike block, as a 3" radius covers most of the pike block.

The second type of pike block is a spotter pike block, which is a pike block with a smattering of models on the sides or rear designed to be the scatter targets for trebs and catapults. This is the only way that a pike block can reliably prevent the treb from gaining Accurate, as it intentionally keeps models within 6" but far from the formation to absorb area attacks:

And honestly, that's okay: if the spotter dies, someone else must become the new spotter, requiring the pike block to either lose men to become spotters or carefully place the remaining spotters (or new models from outside the formation) within 6" of all members of the pike block (lest you choose a target not within 6" of a spotter).

The result is your opponent ties up a large number of points (even beyond the cost of the pike block itself, assuming spotters) on a small section of the field, which is ideal for Gondor armies (which relies on elite troops and quality heroes to tear people apart). So if you opponent wants to deny you access to Accurate, that's fine. But if they want to protect themselves against the threats of your whole force, there's a good chance they will give you Accurate for free.

Formation 2: The Shieldwall 

A shieldwall is similar to a pike block, except that it is two ranks deep instead of three. This means that they are generally less expensive (most pike blocks are less expensive per file than an Army of the Dead shieldwall file, but they are the exception to the rule), so they can generally be longer than a pike block, or you can run multiple shorter shieldwalls at various parts of the battlefield.

This shieldwall employs archers and Clansmen on the end to cover
the flanks or wrap around the enemy formation

This is big, because it means that unlike a pike block, a shieldwall can easily be over 12" long (as you see above), making it easy to deny you the Accurate special rule. Or is it?

If you face a long shieldwall, select a target in the front rank 4" from the edge, as the targets 4-6" away will land the shot in the middle of the battle line, which will affect more targets. So there's no real "danger" in them not giving you Accurate. And if they give you Accurate to mitigate losses you start whittling away the edges of the shieldwall, forcing the hits closer and closer to the center (where the heroes often are), and knocking people down if not also wounding them, adding to the time that a shieldwall takes to cross the field to your trebs (which means more shots for you!), because a shieldwall doesn't work well if people are lagging 3" behind each other.

Now, of course, you can run spotters on a shieldwall as well, just like with a pike block, and, since shieldwalls are generally less expensive, you can afford more spotters (move the Clansmen and/or archers out from the block above, for example). But since shieldwalls are generally longer than pike blocks, you end up with a similar issue: there comes a point where spotters have trouble covering 6" from everyone in the shieldwall, meaning that eventually you're directing hits to the edge of the shieldwall, which will only be 3" away. Which is Accurate for free.

So shieldwalls take longer to get to Accurate than a pike block, but it still happens reliably. And, to reiterate, by putting more spotters near the shieldwall, your opponent is just devoting more points in a concentrated part of the map to protect them from your trebs, which is exactly what Gondor wants.

Formation 3: The Schiltron

The schiltron basically guarantees you get Accurate all the time. Since schiltrons (or the "porcupine" formation we've discussed in the past on this blog here and here) rely on a tight formation designed to not give your opponent a flank, they are not particularly wide, and thus do not present a good opportunity for sending an attack far from the initial target:

Murin leads a troop of dwarves, all of whom have been converted

You can run spotters with a schiltron, but truthfully you don't see this often because the point of running a schiltron is to present no vulnerable model, and a spotter on his own is, well, quite vulnerable, :P But technically you could, and if that's the case, similar to the pike block and the shieldwall, your opponent will eventually be forced to either detract from the formation (which is not good, as schiltrons start to break down when they fall below 7 models) or forego a spotter, which is very dangerous for the formation.

So a schiltron, short of large numbers of spotters, gives you Accurate for free very quickly. This is also the ideal formation you want for a treb, as you can basically hit the whole formation all the time no matter who is targeted, because the formation gains its strength from maximizing firepower in a small space, and thus they tend to be within 2" of each other, and thus are all knocked prone and hit by the splash damage of the treb.

Formation 4: The Skirmisher Wing

The skirmisher formation places models roughly 1" apart, so that if the front line gets engaged the second or third lines can rush in to fill the gap, thereby pulling off attackers. It is an excellent formation for people with throwing weapons who may want to get out of a situation quickly as it's hard to trap them and you don't have to worry about allies heavily blocking line of sight:

This is not an ideal formation for a treb because it has a lot of dead space in the formation itself, but it's not a bad one either because it makes it harder (ironically) to use a spotter because keeping someone within 6" of everyone is hard to do when they are spread out. So select a target in the front rank within 4" of the edge of the formation, and make your opponent make a choice: hit someone on the periphery (which will likely still hit a few people with the area of effect damage) or try to send it to the back ranks to avoid losing range on throwing weapons. Either way, you're good.

"But Centaur," you say, "what if you put people more than 2" apart? Doesn't that cancel the chance of doing splash damage to people in a skirmish formation?" Great question: that's Formation 6. Hang tight, as we'll get to that.

Formation 5: The "Biker Gang"

The "biker gang" is a term I use to describe a group of cavalrymen (or fast-moving non-cavalry in the case of wargs, pony riders, eagles, etc.) that work together to take down opponents. This may be only 2-4 riders designed to take objectives or see off a troop of archers harassing your main lines, or riding down troops of non-spear-supported troops by taking advantage of the extra attacks you get on the charge, or it could be larger depending on how many points your opponent wants to put into fast attack troops:

Two Biker Gang examples: a troop of fell wargs in a skirmisher
wing, and a shieldwall square of Easterling Kataphracts

This could take various forms - a wedge, a shieldwall in the case of the Easterlings above, or a skirmisher wing - but we mention it separately because 1) bases tend to be larger, which changes things slightly for its application, and 2) generally you get less turns to shoot at them, so it changes the math on how effective you can be against a small force.

In this case, aim 4" away from the end of the cavalry unit (seeing a trend here?), with the reminder that the 4" measurement only needs to clip the furthest base, not completely include it. This gives your opponent a chance to choose someone on the edge, but still threatens the core of the riders.

Because cavalry bases are larger, though, the 2" radius of the hit is larger than if it's centered on an infantry base, so you have a good chance to hitting other targets if you hit a cavalryman. And worst case scenario, even if you don't wound him, you're dismounting him and other horsemen near him if they are hit by the splash damage. So even a single treb shot against a biker gang can severely mitigate the effectiveness of the formation, if not decimate/obliterate it.

And because cavalry are relatively expensive (both in points and actual cost), you don't tend to have a lot of horsemen in a biker gang, making it less likely to scatter far from the original target. So very good chance you get Accurate when you shoot at a biker gang.

Formation 6: The Anti-Dragon Drill

I once went to a tournament where I was afraid I'd face a dragon with a Shire army, and let me tell you, that is terrifying. Even if the dragon is only D7 you're not having a great time wounding it, and charging it, while not impossible, is not that easy either. And if it can breathe fire, that's even worse as he can whittle down your numbers very quickly with fire.

This led to the creation of what I called the Anti-Dragon Drill: spacing your troops just beyond 2" of each other so that he only hits 1 person at a time with fire, thereby wasting those 50 points on that upgrade because dragons who take this upgrade are punks and deserve to die ( :P ):

Pippin leading 15 Tookish Hunters in an Anti-Dragon Drill

This is a very effective formation against area of effect weapons (magical effects, dragon fire, trebuchets and catapults, Iron Hills Siege Ballistas, etc.) as it dramatically reduces the number of persons affected. But, since the formation still has models within 3" of each other, the treb may still gain Accurate for free - the question is whether a single target 6" away is worth more or less than a target within 3" as the scatter damage makes no difference: only one target is being hit. In the case above, it really doesn't matter who gets hit as long as it isn't Pippin, as they are all the same.

So your opponent is giving you the effects of Accurate for free some of the time (possibly all of the time, depending on what you target) due to his own formation. He's not taking extra hits, but he's also potentially giving you the Accurate upgrade for free because the location of the hit doesn't matter anymore. So there's no reason to send it wide over sending it short.

Formation 7: The Heroic Hip Hop Routine

Okay, I could have found better ways to word this, but seriously once the idea came to mind of the Fellowship, Thorin's Company, or Rangers of the North performing on stage in a dance-off, how was I supposed to say no to a name like that?

Rangers led by Aragorn performing a Heroic Hip Hop Maneuver

This formation places the heroes beyond 6" apart, insuring that only 1 person gets hit with any trebuchet shot (or dragon fire) and most likely scatter off entirely without hitting anyone at all.

This is arguably the hardest formation to shoot at, as it is specifically designed for combating trebuchets (as it's overkill against dragon fire), but even in this scenario guess what: you're still scattering less than 6" away. Yes, you're not hitting things when you scatter, but a siege engine with Accurate would have the exact same issue. So you're not actually at a loss for not having Accurate. You're actually at an advantage, as you didn't pay points for something that is not being used.

More than that (and this is why I say this is pretty much limited to hero-only armies), this is really only possible if your opponent has low numbers. The sheer amount of space you need on the board to pull this off makes it nigh impossible to do this with more than 15 models, and even if your opponent does do this, you're Gondor: opponents spread far apart and possibly not able to help each other due to the width of that spread is exactly the combats you want. It's exactly the archery targets you want for your Citadel Guard or Rangers of Gondor, and the targets you want for your shieldwall. This is the ideal formation to face, not for your trebs but for your army as a whole.

And this is why trebs do great at battlefield control: you either play to the strength of the treb, give it a free upgrade, or make it nigh impossible to beat the rest of the army as they whittle you down with arrows and then take names as the shieldwall closes. So by all means, let your opponent run the Heroic Hip Hop if they want to mess with your trebs. Your chances of winning will go up.

Conclusion

So, based on the above case studies, I contend that a treb in practice (not in theory) actually gains Accurate for free quite a bit of the time, and if a person doesn't know to run spotters, you get it a lot more often than you'd expect if you target the right person (aim 4" from the end of a formation). And in the few situations that would keep it from getting the effects of Accurate the opponent is intentionally sabotaging their chances to win against a standard Gondor force, or the effect of not having Accurate makes no difference.

I suspect that the reason that people don't notice this is because they aim at heroes. Since heroes tend to be in places surrounded by troops (because we don't want them getting shot to death), we are used to seeing wounds from trebs being sent far from where the hero is, so we keep thinking, "Man, I wish I had Accurate on my trebuchet so I'd have a better chance of hitting a hero." In reality, though, they just chose the wrong target: they should have chosen the person 4" from the end of the formation so that the right or left flank of the formation gets knocked down/killed, shrinking the line and slowing it down (as it knocks them to the ground) until the hero is now in danger of being hit themselves.

We all want the one-turn "Ha - I hit your main hero, prepare to die" moment, and rightly so. But this tends to lead to bad tactics with trebuchets, which should be presenting that situation on Turns 4-5 rather than Turn 1. You will kill more people and will create actual threats to the big hero if you target 4" from the edge. I promise. And you'll get an upgrade for free a decent bit of the time.

But did I miss a formation? Is there a deployment of troops that proves this wrong? Let us know in the comments! We look forward to seeing them.

Watching the stars,

Centaur

"I watch the stars, for it is mine to watch." ~ Glenstorm, Prince Caspian