Sunday 27 May 2012

Conga lines do we like?

Interesting development or contentious flubergastory? Warhammer, I have always believed in playing represents a battle field on the table top and thus my utter fascination with it and where I get my enjoyment factor from the game. Granted it's set in a Fantasy world it still needs to represent aspects that follow the realism of the combats to maintain that interest. Some of the rules changes in 8th edition Fantasy have really added value for me and is covered extensively in this blog here. So it brings me to the Humble Conga line which is to some a gamy piece of wtf and others a tactical fomage of  intellectual acumen. I took 2x5 Whitelions with a champion in conga line formation recently to find out what all the fuss was about.

We'll all line up behind the big fella. Since he's a champion When we charge into a mass of enemy troops in a big line they won't be able to attack any of us but him and we'll be stubborn/unbreakable ftw. Example of Igor's superior intellect overwhelming factual physical reality.

Suffice it to say my conga lined Whitelions assassinated his general and held up his two blocks of Saurus for a sizable win. My opponent was all good with the tactical conga-line even as I ran him through the possibilities at the beginning of the game and made him aware of the nuances in combat. He wasn't sure after the game when squishy 5 elves became the doom of his army. It left me with a very mixed feeling and a taste of after cheese which means I'll not do that in a hurry again.

Tactical acumen or gamy thuggery gents?

6 comments:

  1. Personally I don't like the conga line or stuff like that which for me kind of spoils the feel of the battle. Same as stuff like the combat reform into buildings or any of those other "yes it's legal in the rules but it just doesn't feel right" and it's pretty clear it's an unintended loophole in the rules.

    I like to take it a step further and try to play things more according to how I think they should be instead of how I can bend the rules as much as possible. For example I play Skaven which, bless them, love a good sneaky underhanded advantage but I try not to abuse the rules or feel of my army. For example I could take 15 point engineers for cheap throwaway redirectors but I never have as the idea of a Skaven deliberately charging off to sacrifice himself for the greater good is completely against the entire fluff of the army.

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  2. Maybe not game thuggery, but completely wrong in my view. I've never had one sprung on me, but I'm not sure that I'd react in a positive and enlightened way if one was.

    If Warhammer is a form of chess, where the models are just counters, then conga lines are fine.

    If Warhammer is a wargame, which depicts a battle between armies using edged weapons with magic and shooting in support, then they're unsporting at best and utter bollocks at worst. The notion that a single file is a viable formation in any form of combat (outside of a tunnel fight) destroys my sense of Warhammer as a fantasy battle game and makes it a farce. I might as well play snakes and ladders with the figures.

    I guess I wouldn't be very mature and grown up about it at all. Hopefully no-one does pull it on me.

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  3. I'm in the same opinion that Warhammer is not Chess and especially gamy rules such as the Conga line is not really with in the spirit of the Battle depicting game we all play. It is in my opinion that it is the responsibility of the TO to make sure that he rules consistantly if any situations like this arises at a tourney. I've known about the existance of the conga line from when I started warhammer but have never had it pulled on me except once last year so it's not common and I hope it stays that way.
    Thank you very much for your constructive comments gents and if a Skaven player thinks it's too underhanded then I will definitely not be drilling my troops in a single file.

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  4. Personnally i don't have a problem with it, in most instances.
    Usually the person who conga lines , Will lose. Regardless.

    Champions at the front work fine... until a character with a higher init stat takes either a challenge or kills the guy first.

    Also why can't my fast cav go into a snake like formation.?

    It's not a common occurence and shouldn't be worried about. However if someone is going to stick a large number of points into a killy bus of some form. Well Basically that is not my idea of having fun either, getting steam rolled. So i will conga infront of something I CANNOT deal with.

    It works both ways for me. Don't build a stupid bus and I won't conga

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  5. G'day PaW,

    I understand your point about dealing with buses/deathstars, and the frustrations that can lead to. I just don't like such a gamey technique as a counter. If nothing else, it's what chaff is for.

    Regarding fast cav, of course they can go into single file; it's the most efficient formation for moving fast (on a real battlefield anyway). But it is not and never can be a combat formation. In simple terms you don't generate enough combat power to the front, and with open flanks, the unit should get destroyed. That it doesn't in Warhammer is down to the rules abstracting unit-on-unit action, to prevent models not in base combat from attacking.

    Personally, I'd allow lapping around, or at least playtest the idea. There are downsides to this of course (deathstars always getting full attacks...), but there is a reason why wide lines rather than deep blocks were the historical norm. I know it's a game of wizards and daemons and dragons and stuff. But while we don't know how that stuff works, we do know how mass hand-to-hand combats played out. And conga lines weren't part of it.

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  6. I consider 5 men to be chaff don't you?

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