Differences Between 1000, 1500 and 2000pt games
by the AngelR

Differences between 1000,1500 and 2000pt games  Note: This guide isn't really much to do with BA, but hopefully it will help all the new BA players. In each section it is broken up into small bits: Overview
Game Trends
How to prepare your forces and use them

Since there's been a lot of armies being posted, I thought a quick rundown on how different points restrictions affect your army would be handy. It's always good to have more troops than you need. This way you can tailor your force better. Still you'll always find something that you don't have dispite spending hundreds of pounds! Oh and if you're stuck on selecting an army because you have all the units you need and still have some left over points, add troops. More numbers is always better.

1000pt games:

Overview
In a 1000pt game, your force needs to be picked carefully since your force is comapcted. These games are what I play the most as it often requires a lot of thinking and stratergy,(thankfully not spelling!) even more so than 2000pt games. This pts game be very gruelling on the player!

Game Trends
Most 1000pt games that I've seen have had the player choosing units that can destroy much more than their cost. This is called cost effectiveness. If you buy a unit that costs 100pts and it destroys 200pts, that means that unit has been cost effective(by 100%). If you buy a unit that is 250pts and it only destroys 25pts it hasn't(it made up for a mere 10% of it's cost).

Difficult to understand, but it's vital to learn. Anyway don't be suprised to see hordes of basic troops on the board. Since most specialised troops are too expensive to use, troops are the best way to go. They are versatile, can fill in the roles needed and are equipped to do various tasks. A good unit for BA players to take are BA scouts. At 130pts for 10 men all equipped with CCW weapons charging in gives you 30 attacks(if they all get in base to base,not likely but still) at S5 and I5! That is pretty impressive, since our vet BA assault squads aren't likely to be on. So the basic game trends are that troops are the best way to go, all players make sure their units will be cost-effective and squeeze the lists to get the most out of it.

How to pick your army:
Lots of troops are vital as you've seen. Eqiup each one differently so they can perform different roles. Still don't shunt out all your nice units. A small specialised squad can really swing a game in your favour! Never use anything as flak when playing. You can't afford to do so. Don't spend much pts on wargear, it's not going to make up its points worth. All I can really say is make the most of your units and make sure you have a solid core of troops!

1500pts:
Overview

The pts value that the 3rd ed rules were made for. In this list, you can afford those lovely expensive models. This is probably the most common pts game played since it's used at tourneys. Your army now is not compacted as it once was, so army selection is not as vital. Overall these games will probably be the most fun.

Game Trends:

With the extra 500pts, troops won't be so vital. Granted you still need them as a core, but you can lesser the burden on them by using some nice dedicated units. Usually most armies in this region have a selection from all the sections and are designed to be balanced(in the sense that it can take a lot of armies on and do well). This is unlike 1000pts games were commanders rely on troops to do things, they have their own dedicated units to do things. Troops just set things up.
So now you should understand how 1500pt games work.
 

How to pick your army and use them:

A nice core of troops is good to have. Give them a heavy weapon and let them take care of the more mundane tasks like softening the enemy up. A heavy support unit is a good choice to provide the heavy firepower you'll need and and an elite choice is handy for those situations where you need some high-quality troops. Pick an army which can shoot and assault,you'll to be able to do that. To use your army do the classic tactic "Shoot da close combat stuff, close combat da shooty stuff". Granted it isn't as simple as that, but you can adjust your battle plan around it. Taking on a balanced army is hard, so if you're having difficulties, slant your army slightly towards shooting or CC depending on the race.

2000pts games:
Overview:

Oh yes! These games are seldom played in tourney's and GW but at home you may end up playing a mammoth battle of 2000pts! In this battle each armies special units come out and play. You have to reflect your chosen armies style in this game since you can afford to do so and it will work best.

Game trends:

In these games armies are equipped to play by the stratregy you chose in a full-blown manner. A BA army would have lots of assault troops. Tau would have lots of shooty weapons. You can now afford to put full-effort into this since the pts are very generous. Troops are still good, but only as support. Their lives as front-line battlers has gone completly. The main shooting is left to the Heavy Support and assaulting to the HQ and Fast attack. Elites take command for holding positions and providing shooting and assault support. On the battlefield whatever tactics they had are now being used in full-effect. Those are the basic trends of a 2000pt game.

How to pick your army and use it:

Phew! A core of troops is always good. They won't be as important as before but they can provide support for whatever part of your army which is very good. Otherwise pick an army which suits your tactic best. An BA army would need a large number of assault troops! On the battlefield you have to use your tactics, a force this size cannot work properly without. The Gorkamorka style play for Orks at 2000pts is one such tactic played at full effect. Look at WD 235(UK) for Adrian Wood using his Orks in this way.

Phew! That just about sums this all up! I bet you someone will disagree! I hope you find this handy, it might be good to keep it somewhere safe.

AngelR: Member of the Tactica Imperium!

Edited by: TheAngelR at: 4/4/02 2:41:01 am