I just attended Ragnarok 2019 in Vancouver, BC, run by the lovely Adam (avanst), Ryan (halfjackz), and their crew. While there, I was talking to some folks from a small town in Canada who are relatively new to the game and were having some trouble with deployment.

Nothing unusual, just bunched up link teams, leaving ~50% of their troops standing and in LoF to ARO in the reactive turn, that sort of thing. All of us are either in this phase of our Infinity development or were at one point! I definitely remember getting my Alguacil link shot off the table by a Volunteer HMG more times than I care to admit. I suggested that they do some deployment exercises to help them improve their game. On further reflection, I thought this is something that we can all benefit from, regardless of our skill and experience with this game, so here we are proposing it as a Bromad Academy mission!

The Mission

November is all about deployment. Here’s the mission:

Pick a game scenario (ITS, 20×20, TACOS, YAMS, whatever). Deploy as normal. Play only the first two player turns! (First game round) Take notes on how your deployment worked, how it didn’t, and how the way your position developed to set up for Turn 2. Re-deploy, same scenario, same table sides, and play the first two turns again. Take notes on how your deployment worked, how it didn’t, and how the way your position developed to set up for Turn 2.

This should take you about the same time as a normal game, so you can get it done during game night at your FLGS or over beers on a weekend with your gaming buddies at home.

Write in with your notes (with pictures if possible) to report@bromadacademy.com for a chance to win a blister of your choice or a Bromad Academy patch, your choice! As always, all factions are welcome and encouraged to participate!

Some Thoughts on Deployment

I’ll run through a few key points on deployment:

The 4th Turn – There are four turns in this game. Deployment, and the three game turns. Make sure you invest time and thought into your deployment, just as you do when moving your models around.

Have a Plan – Where are your forces going to move to at the end of your first turn? Are your specialists near the buttons they need to push? Are they protected? Who is going to open a hole in the enemy defense for them to go through? Do you have enough orders to retreat them?

Under the Bus – Expect to lose whatever you leave out to ARO. If you need it in your active turn, don’t leave it out!

Defense in Depth – Don’t assume you’re going to get to declare multiple, simultaneous AROs to an active model. If you’re leaving multiple things out to ARO, try to predict likely paths of advances and force your opponent to fight through layers of AROs.

Control your Rangebands – You don’t need to contest a long firelane all the time. Consider contesting approaches that are < 16″ with a combi or similar weapon. HMGs lose their +3 BS, which is roughly equivalent to losing a burst.

Avoid Template Formation – Bunching up fireteams or even cheerleaders in a vanilla faction is very common, as is lining them all up against the side of a building. When you deploy your models, try to attack your own deployment with a shotgun or chain rifle. Where are the problem spots? Can you adjust the placement of your models to break LoF between them?

Doors and Corners – Does your opponent have AD? Superior Infiltration? Impersonation? Where are these troops likely to come from? Are you covering table edges against airborne deployment with mines or at least a rifle or two? What happens if something gets behind your guy facing forward at the 12″ line?

In the mid-month update, I’ll use some real-world examples of deployments from my battle report library and dissect them in more detail. I suggest you have a look at the mission series on Limited Insertion as well for a discussion of board presence.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone! Good Hunting!