Hey, guys! Erik here with all you need to know about how horde armies operate and what goes into playing a horde at the top level in an anti-horde environment!

Where Does the Strength of the Horde Lie?

Although the obvious answer is the model count that comes with being labeled a "horde" army, this masks what its real strength: board control.

All competitive horde lists are built around the idea of having semi-resilient models taken in large numbers that become incredibly hard to shift when they hit a critical mass. This strategy works because we play a game with a limited number of turns. However, in the current state of the game where everything has access to a mass volume of shots, the horde army is forced to adapt to the situation in the form of damage mitigation.

But How Does the Horde Army Project Board Control?

Board control is best done in the form of "tendrils." Despite what most people may believe about horde armies and how they operate, the worst way to run them is in a large grouping of models and just charging forward at the enemy. This is because it makes it impossible to limit how many units/models are able to shoot at each unit. Instead, by moving in tendrils, you dictate what enemy units can shoot at by removing specific models they are drawing line of sight or range. One of the more niche and exciting things you can do with units moving in tendrils is when it comes time to start declaring charges and pinning units. Often, the back end of the tendril is closer to different enemy models than the front end you are using to tag and wrap them. This means you can dictate what direction the bulk of the unit moves in when piling in and consolidating. Sometimes this allows you to tag even more units or grab objectives you could not quite reach during the movement phase.