It's been a couple months since our
last dedicated post on maneuvering, but after doing so many
theory-crafting posts on army lists recently, and with Tiberius about to launch a new series on Shooting, I thought it was high time to dust off some models, move them around the table-top in a photogenic-esque fashion, and see if we could get them to do interesting or unexpected things.
We're kicking off the first post of
our new series on tactical maneuvering with what tends to be (for most armies, at least) the default battle-line in the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game: a front rank of warriors with shields (and sometimes the occasional front-rank hero) backed up by a rank of warriors with spears. This Shield-Spear formation (not to be confused with a
Viking Shield Wall formation, which lacks spears, or a
Shieldwall formation, which also gets a +1 defense bonus based on its position when strikes are made) generally tends to be pretty static. But that needn't be the case. As with
Shieldwall, your Shield-Spear formation can be a dynamic and flexible formation, setting you up for the next turn, frustrating your opponent's plans, and even transforming "unwinnable" combats into salvageable ones.
If that sounds intriguing to you, read on for five simple tactics you can employ to accomplish just that! (No, that doesn't sound click-baity at all...)
Warning: lots of text, photos, and maths ahead. But it's the weekend, so it's not like you have anything better to do, right? ;-)
Photo Credit: VaderFan2187
