How to Win at Warhammer 40,000
by Tom Setzer and Erik Setzer
The following article is a primer on how to win games of Warhammer 40,000 consistently. Even though the article is somewhat aimed at beginners, the advice contained within can also be used by more advanced players. This is the same advice I've been giving to gamers for many years, many of whom became successful playing 40K. I hope you enjoy the article and can take something from it as well!
Choosing an Army
First off, you need to know what army you should be playing. To do this, you must learn which is best for you. Not every army will work for you, so you need to find out how your tastes and how you play the game will apply to choosing an army that works for you.
Go to your local store or gaming club and watch several people play. Ask a few players to borrow their armies and play a few games with them. This will help you learn the strengths, weaknesses, and playing styles of different armies. Try to do this with all of the armies if you can. This will give you a pretty good idea of which army suits your style of play and your particular learning curve, as some armies are more oriented to a certain playing style and some may be harder to learn than others.
Don't choose an army solely on the basis that you like the way it looks. Also, don't listen to the hype about an army. Hype is just that: people talking up an army because they have a certain bias toward it. Just because a friend thinks an army is cool and works well for him doesn't mean you'll have all that much fun with it. Similarly, an army that looks 'cool' may not be all that much fun to play, and you could wind up losing with it more often than you win (which is fine if your goal isn't winning consistently, but not if you're playing the game to win as well as have fun modeling, painting, collecting, and socializing).
Make sure you get an army that suits you, so that your style of playing and your mind set will complement the strengths of the army and downplay its weaknesses. If you're more into the feel of hand to hand, one on one combat, don't go with an army that uses a lot of firepower. In the end, you'll only lose a lot of games and have very little fun while you're at it. If you decide to pick an army that is biased toward hand to hand, remember that it will still need some troops able to lay down fire support for the hand to hand types. The winningest armies are those that combine both firepower and close combat.
Knowledge is Power
The phrase may be cliché, but it's also very true. The more you know, the better prepared you will be to face an opponent and win. It's important not only to know your own style of play and your own army's abilities, but also those of your opponents.
You should do all that you can to learn the strengths and weakness of the armies you'll be playing against. Play a few games with and against each of the armies, using a different army at every opportunity. Borrow from a friend if you need to, or just use proxy figures if your friends will let you. This will allow you to learn what works best for those armies, and how they win, as well as what weaknesses they may have. The best way to learn an army's strengths and weaknesses is by commanding that army.
Even if you can't play an army, you should try to get a copy of its codex. Having all of the codices and army lists will allow you to study their rules, including the stats of their troops and vehicles, and any army special rules. Borrow a friend's book or magazine if you need to. If you have the money, buy them yourself. Having a complete library of the 40K game books and all articles applying to 40K in White Dwarf is very useful, as you can remind yourself often of what a certain army can do.
Do your reconnaissance! Just like real military commanders, you need your intelligence. Don't stumble blindly into a battle. Take every chance you can to observe your opponents playing. Learn what their favorite tactics are, their special troops and weapon combinations, how they use terrain. This will let you counter their tactics more easily. Question other players who have beat them, so you can find out what works against them. Find out every bit of information you can about your opponent, and take that knowledge into battle with you.
In the words of Sun Tzu, "Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself you are certain in every battle to be in peril."
Designing a Balanced Army
As any player can tell you, it takes a well balanced force to win a tournament or campaign. When you're preparing to play in a competitive environment such as a tourney or campaign, use the knowledge you have obtained to design an army that can meet most, if not all, threats it will face. To do this, you must build an army with a good combination of firepower and assault capabilities. You'll also need to put together a good mix of anti-tank and anti-infantry weaponry and units, as well as vehicles, dreadnoughts, and fast attack units.
Your elite troops are not always the best troops to have in your army. Most of the time, the best units in your army will be the ones you're required to take, sitting in the Troops category. Even though most armies do not have specialists as Troops choices, no army can win without basic troops. Space Marine Tactical Squads, Imperial Guard Infantry Companies, and Eldar Guardians are all flexible units that can be used in a number of roles. They can plug a gap in your line, lend supporting fire, assault should the need arise, and hold objectives.
Remember, vehicles are there to support your infantry. For this reason, you should select vehicles and armaments that complement the abilities of your foot soldiers. It's no good having an anti-infantry tank when almost your entire army is already anti-infantry. Conversely, if you already have an abundance of anti-tank weapons then it's worth giving your vehicles some anti-infantry firepower.
Tactical Studies
One of the best ways to learn how to win with your army is to increase your knowledge of tactics. The quickest and easiest way to do this is to hunt down every tactics article you can find that applies to your army, playing in certain situations, or just the game in general.
Take what you read with a grain of salt until you try it out. You find a lot of tactical gems in the articles scattered across the web and in Games Workshop publications, but there are also some rather silly and, dare I say, stupid ideas out there. You might find a trick that will win game after game for you, but you're also likely to find a number of idiot moves that will only get your troops slaughtered. Avoid cheesy and overpowering combinations of wargear. Those will never win you games, and will only earn you the scorn of your opponents.
Read up on some battle reports and watch a few games involving your army. Don't just check out battles in which your army wins. You can learn something from winning, but more often than not you will learn a great deal more from losing. Only by experiencing defeat will you find out how to overcome it with consistency. Don't be afraid to talk to people who've lost with the army you're playing. Most players are humble enough to discuss their losses and what they've learned from them.
Missions and Scenarios
There's not enough room in this article to discuss what to do if you're the attacker or defender in every mission and scenario in Warhammer 40,000, so this section is dedicated only to giving you some general advice for such games.
The first rule in any mission or scenario is to never forget the objective. Don't let yourself be distracted by your opponent and his troops. If you allow yourself to be drawn into a firefight, it is very possible that you will forget about grabbing table quarters or jumping on a Take & Hold objective until it is far too late. Likewise, don't go off attacking units that are not your main target if you can help it. If you must, only dispatch a small portion of your army to take out these threats. Your main force should concentrate on achieving your objectives. In many missions, you can have 75% casualties while your opponent has only 10% casualties, and you will still win if you follow the mission's guidelines. However, if you can take out opposing threats while still achieving your main objective, it's advisable to do so.
Most missions have special rules. It's important to know these special rules and how to compensate for them. For example, you could be fighting a night fight against an assault-oriented army with an army based around firepower. To compensate for the short range, try to keep moving your troops around and set them up so that any squad that comes in range of one of your squads will also be in range of one or two others, giving you a better chance to take apart your opponent's force as it shows up in the night. Whenever you have spare points, don't hesitate to buy a searchlight either.
Another problem is infiltrating or deep striking troops, though you might have some yourself. Don't count on these rules always popping up. If you have troops that use these rules, make provisions for having to use them without their abilities. If your opponent has access to such troops, try to have a few units that will help combat them, such as a backline unit ready to fire upon or assault any unit that appears too close to your line.
Even though it was stated above, it's worth repeating. Never, ever, forget your mission objectives! If you do, you are bound to lose the mission, no matter how much death and destruction you rain upon your opponent's forces. Never has a battle been won in the history of warfare by forgetting why the battle is being fought. The same is true for Warhammer 40,000.
Terrain
Many great battles have been won or lost on the involved generals' ability to exploit the terrain of the battlefield. Woods, rivers, hills, swamps - they all provide a tactical advantage waiting to be exploited. Terrain can have many effects, from slowing down troops to giving them cover or a better position from which to fire upon their enemies.
Difficult terrain slows your movement. Difficult terrain is generally an impediment to the advancement of your troops. However, it can also be used to slow your opponent's advance. When possible, be sure to position units in such a way that your opponent will be forced to cross difficult terrain to reach them, unless he chooses to take a wide path around it. This can be very helpful in protecting your firepower units (provided the terrain doesn't block line of sight). Some forms of difficult terrain, such as craters, can also provide a bit of a cover save.
Woods are a special type of difficult terrain. Not only do they slow movement, they also provide cover and block line of sight. Woods should be used to move units through and around, giving them an extra layer of protection against opposing troops. This can help your assault troops reach the opposing army more safely, as well as protect troops that are holding table quarters or other important objectives.
Hills are also a very important type of terrain. Squads and support weapons placed on a hill gain a better view of the battlefield, allowing them to fire at units they wouldn't normally be able to see. Hills also block line of sight to units behind them, which protects your units from harm while they move around.
Impassable rivers are looked upon by many players as being useless obstacles, but are really quite useful. Both sides are blocked passage across it, so you can use a river to either prevent access to certain units or artillery entirely, or you can at least channel troops wanting to attack them through a predictable route. This is very useful for protecting heavy weapons units and any objectives in the area. Even if the river isn't impassable, it should slow down units trying to get to your yours.
Obstacles give you a defensive point, so use walls and hedges where possible to provide defense for units behind them. Heavy weapons units work well behind obstacles, because they won't fall apart so easily if charged. Buildings are basically sniping vantage points. Use them to position troops with a good view of the opposing army. The cover provided by the building, as well as its height, will be of great assistance to your troops. Bunkers are similar to buildings, with the exception that they can take more of a beating and don't give you as much of a height advantage (and most of the time are important to the scenario in which you are playing).
Remember, used correctly terrain is like a second weapon in your hand, equal in use to your forces. A small force can take on a larger force by channeling them between impassable terrain, or by attacking them piecemeal as they trudge through difficult terrain. Ambushes can be set up using terrain, and flank attacks are made easier. However, remember that a crafty opponent will also be looking for ways to use terrain to his advantage, so you should watch for these same tricks from him. A few indirect fire and flame weapons should help discourage too much hiding.
Conclusion
I hope you've learned something new from reading this article, and gained some insight into how to build a winning army and take it to victory in Warhammer 40,000. As you gain more experience and get better at winning, try out a few other armies and give them a shot. Winning consistently is fun; doing it with a variety of armies is even more fun!