Beginners Guide: Squad Composition

[Fraggel vonHelldiddler]

Now that I have experimented and tested thoroughly, admittedly only against AI, I felt that I should post a quick guide on squad-compositions and general tactics associtated with those compositions.


Let's start with my first successful composition: The Dark Angels.
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/950715002203998560/F4D640D0B6A63A7ED24644E9A3B4993E9613C510/
Composition: Librarian, Apothecary, 2x Autocannon, 1x Plasma Cannon.

This is the least card-heavy set-up I have managed to be successful with.

Librarian: He is your central focus, and the one character with whom you win or lose. Use his CC ability correctly, and you stand a high chance of success. Remember, the +Psi points for kills is generated no matter who makes the kill.

2xAutocannon: These guys are your defensive overwatch masters. They get a 70% successrate as a base. Save their ammo and only use it for overwatch, or if the situation demands it. A grand total of 20 shots with no risk of jamming, and a total of 40 shots should be more than enough.

Plasma: Ever felt that the GeneStealers are swarming? Well, that is why you bring this guy with you. Activate a Plasma Buff card that reduces the risk of the plasma weapon exploding to 0%, transfer Librarian AP to him, and convert a card for as much Squad AP as possible, and this guy can lay down the hurt. I have gotten him 12 AP, which nets me a total of 6 shots of AoE glory. GeneStealers like standing around corners? Who cares, two plasma-bolts of the Emperor's wrath made manifest is usually enough to clean that up.

Apothecary: You can go for a Sarg instead, but I find that the apothecary has better cards. And since you should never have to deal with melee, then cards is better.

WHEN TO USE
Smaller maps that you have a working knowledge and established tactic. These guys will empty the map of GeneStealers far more easily than any other. Just be mindful that your AutoCannons will eventually fail, so be quick about it. And make sure you get as much benefit form the +Psi cards as you can. The most I have managed myself in an actual match is near 30 Psi points. Far more than enough.

[Fraggel vonHelldiddler]

My second setup is also ranged. Based on the Ultramarines Chapter, these guys are tactical and use cards like they had a strict Asian dad giving them compliments. "You used 3 cards, why not 4. Only 5 cards? A good son would use 7 each turn".


https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/950715002203998899/AFE1F0745B2594D7D6C0C185CF4AC09EAAF4C058/
Composition: Librarian, Apothecary, 3x Heavy weapon with bolter and Powerfist.

The primary tactic is to use as many cards as you can fit into the turn. It does not matter if you actually need them. Use them anyways. The Ultramarines have so many cards that give + Command Points and reshuffle the discard pile back in that you will never run out of cards. The "Draw the terminators cards whereever they are" is a godsent. Just make sure you have as few cards left as possible before using this as the total max of cards you can have is 6, and the draw of cards is random.

Each class is self explanatory if you read the Dark Angels composition. Avoid Melee, and you should be fine. The 2CP + to ranged is used when you need to advance on the enemy. the 1Cp + to ranged is used when you go on overwatch.

WHEN TO USE
Longer maps that you have no established tactic for. Keep the enemy at long distance, and make sure you either have the No Risk of Malfunction cards played on your Overwatching termies, or you save enough Squad AP to unjam the bolters. Fear the close encounters.

[Fraggel vonHelldiddler]

And finally Melee focused. Blood Angels Chapter.

Before we go through the composition, here is a bit of stats on the Sarg with a thunderhammer against a base Gene Stealer.
Base (Win/Draw/Fail)
+0 58% 15% 27%
+1 73% 12% 14%
+2 86% 09% 05%
+3 95% 05% 00%
+4 100% 00% 00%
Defensively he can easily be made to have 0% risk of losing a melee. Just be hopeful that the enemy does not have and play a reduce-melee card. As long as he gets a total of +6 he cannot fail.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/950715002203998728/7B36F9536A30FE1BFAFA978D1C908A10B1A5091A/

The composition: Sarg with thunderhammer and shield, Apothecary, Librarian, 2x Lightningclaws. (Note, in the screenshot, the Assault are using bolters and chainfist. I am unsure if this is better or not. The cards you get are worse, but the bolters do allow you to move and shoot doors with 2 more marines).

2x Claws: they are primarily here for the cards they bring to the table, but are still useful, so do no needlessly throw them away. However, don't cry for them either. They are fodder, more so than regular SpaceMarines.

Sarg: Spend all your +1 melee until death on him. You get a total of 4, which gives him a +6 to frontal melee. Sure, that is 8 rounds worth of CP without farming-cards, but it still makes him able to hold any angle, wade through GeneStealers like he is mowing the lawn.

Apothecary: He has more to bring that cards this time, for each round that your Sarg does not have +6 from melee-cards, you have him here for the 5% risk that he will die, which with RNG in games happens 9 times out of 10.

Librarian: This is his least useful placement. There are few cards that give bonus Psi in the Blood Angels, so he is primarily used to reach as many rounds as you can without engaging the enemy. He will eventually be out of Psi, and therefore only marginally more useful than the poor cannon-fodder claws marines.

Primary tactic: Make sure you have no cards left each turn. Your primary goal is to stack +1 melee until death on your sarg. Save +1-3 until next turn for when the GeneStealers are withing 6 squares (7 if they are blips, 9 if you play against a good GeneStealer player who has the right cards).

Use the Librarian CC ability to get to this amount of turns, and pray to RNGesus that your cards will show up in short order. Or you are dead.

WHEN TO USE
Well, even if you are a good player, the map is short, and you have a good tactic pre-established, this is still a very RNG squad. I mostly use it for fun over trying to actually win. So far this is the only viable Melee I have managed to create.

[AirsickHydra]

Personally I find flamer preferable to plasma, it does similar AoE damage but you gain the benefit of gaining another form of area control. when matched with the librarian you suddenly have some great options for covering a retreat or halting an enemy advance.

[Fraggel vonHelldiddler]

Originally posted by AirsickHydra:

Personally I find flamer preferable to plasma, it does similar AoE damage but you gain the benefit of gaining another form of area control.

True, but the plasma has unlimited range and ammo. This guy can shoot AoE damage all day long. And you do not need area control if there are no Gene Stealers left on the map.

[peXmo]

Yeah massing heavy weapons is a reall great build. Not having to rely on bolters is far safer

[Gut]

Interesting post, it's always nice to share and discuss strategy in term of squad choices and composition.

However, considering that there are actually no limits (apart the limit of one max for each of the special classes), I think the pertinence may be quite limited for now. Without limitations (such as a point system already posted here around) to constrain a little the choices, I fear all squad compositions wil tend to a very similar patterns of optimal squad.

That being said, it's true that the card system may balance a little the different weapons and classes between themselves. So I may be wrong, wait & see!

Originally posted by Spelly:

Sarg: Spend all your +1 melee until death on him. You get a total of 4

I have re-checked, with both Blood Angel and Space Wolves, you get only 2 of this cards, one from the Librarian and one from the Apothicary. I dont see how you can have 4 of this cards, please explain.

[(SP)War4Ever]

Originally posted by Gut:

Interesting post, it's always nice to share and discuss strategy in term of squad choices and composition.

However, considering that there are actually no limits (apart the limit of one max for each of the special classes), I think the pertinence may be quite limited for now. Without limitations (such as a point system already posted here around) to constrain a little the choices, I fear all squad compositions wil tend to a very similar patterns of optimal squad.

That being said, it's true that the card system may balance a little the different weapons and classes between themselves. So I may be wrong, wait & see!

Originally posted by Spelly:

Sarg: Spend all your +1 melee until death on him. You get a total of 4

I have re-checked, with both Blood Angel and Space Wolves, you get only 2 of this cards, one from the Librarian and one from the Apothicary. I dont see how you can have 4 of this cards, please explain.

The card can come up more then a single time if the match runs long enough and you're regularly using up your cards and getting more.

[Gut]

Originally posted by (PG)War4Ever:

The card can come up more then a single time if the match runs long enough and you're regularly using up your cards and getting more.

You means by cycling the deck one time to re-draw the 2 +1 cards again. Ok, but not sure if it's really the meaning behind "You get a total of 4" from the OP.

[Danagus]

With the Blood Angels you get the plus 1 to melee until death cards from the Apothicary, Librarian and the lighting claw assault.

[Gut]

Originally posted by Danagus:

With the Blood Angels you get the plus 1 to melee until death cards from the Apothicary, Librarian and the lighting claw assault.

The Lightning Claw Assault give a +1 but only for one turn.

[Fraggel vonHelldiddler]

Originally posted by Gut:

You means by cycling the deck one time to re-draw the 2 +1 cards again. Ok, but not sure if it's really the meaning behind "You get a total of 4" from the OP.

Well, I created a test-map that was just about killing the enemy. I wanted to see what the game actually would do, you know, how often that 3% risk of fail would crop up. As Terry pratchett said, one in a million chance tend to crop up 9 times out of 10.

Anyways. Running this map over and over again I managed to get 4 +1 melee until death cards. So my conclusion is that we get double each card in the deck. Which means that we get 50 cards in total. Which makes sense, since if you want to run an entire 20 turn mission, you would run out of cards if you played 2.5 cards each round.

... or you play UltraMarines, in which case you just reshuffle cards and never run out. Ultra Marines are the best chapter on that basis alone.

EDIT

I just published the map if you want to test out the different chapters. It is called DrSpellysTest with the tag: Mechanicstest

It is rather simple. Each door is operated by a console, which means you get to block the GeneStealers when you feel like it. And there are two 1 square rooms with some higher level GeneStealers to check and compare.

[Gut]

Originally posted by Spelly:

Originally posted by Gut:

You means by cycling the deck one time to re-draw the 2 +1 cards again. Ok, but not sure if it's really the meaning behind "You get a total of 4" from the OP.

Well, I created a test-map that was just about killing the enemy. I wanted to see what the game actually would do, you know, how often that 3% risk of fail would crop up. As Terry pratchett said, one in a million chance tend to crop up 9 times out of 10.

Anyways. Running this map over and over again I managed to get 4 +1 melee until death cards. So my conclusion is that we get double each card in the deck. Which means that we get 50 cards in total. Which makes sense, since if you want to run an entire 20 turn mission, you would run out of cards if you played 2.5 cards each round.

... or you play UltraMarines, in which case you just reshuffle cards and never run out. Ultra Marines are the best chapter on that basis alone.

EDIT

I just published the map if you want to test out the different chapters. It is called DrSpellysTest with the tag: Mechanicstest

It is rather simple. Each door is operated by a console, which means you get to block the GeneStealers when you feel like it. And there are two 1 square rooms with some higher level GeneStealers to check and compare.

Ok, thanks for precision.

From what I understand from your test, it means that either we have double each card in the deck, or (and I think more of this) it's just that once the entire deck has been cycled you re-draw it. Meaning, with a dedicated 'cycling strategy', you would be able to draw quite quickly the key cards you seek.

It would usefull to have some confirmation from the dev on this, to know precisely the %age of draw.

[Fraggel vonHelldiddler]

As for strategy I would think it just boils down to use as many cards as you can as quickly as possible. The issue I find with the Blood Angels is that they get certain cards that have little to no value.

They will ALWAYS get a flamer card, no matter if they have a flamer on the team or not. Similarly, they will ALWAYS get a Thunderhammer/lightningclaws card. These two cards can only be discarded by converting them. Since they cannot be played even if you have the spare CP, they do put a massive road-bump on your card-burning campaign.

This is why I prefer Dark-Angels and Ultramarines above all. Tbh, in skirmish or PvP (though I have so far not been able to find a match), you do not want Melee either way, since that setup is so easy to outposition.

Perhaps the Blood Angels can get the ability to discard cards. Something like 1 card per round. Or, since I prefer any mechanic that requires some effort from the player, killing 2 GeneStealers in one turn with 1 terminator, gives the option to discard one card. Idk tbh, all I know is that Blood Angels is the best Melee chapter, and it still falls far short imho.