INTO the EYE
An investigation into the deepest and darkest nooks of the GW Universe
By Mike Brandon [August 2006]
Welcome to the fourth volume of ‘Into the Eye’, a look into the finer parts of the GW
hobby.
‘What was that noise?’ – the art of infiltration in 40k
Infiltrate – by definition allows a squad to be deployed after both armies
are on the table and be anywhere on the battlefield outside of Initiative distance of
opponents. A powerful skill, but somewhat handicapped when you consider that
these are typically the lowest quality troops in an army, or in other cases work in a
very different manner. Still, players tend to pick infiltrators and simply put them
anywhere, consequently causing little damage and offering up a host of easy VP’s
for their opponents – it is an expensive skill after all. A few games with this
happening and players begin to ignore these potentially plan vital troops, so in
response the following few paragraph’s will give some ideas of how to use these unique troops.
Objective Line – Infiltrators can be a perfect target for a section of your army to move up
to. They can be a real thorn and provide a heavy base of fire that your opponent will need to swat.
Advance your army up in support and you’ll have not only a covered advance, but a heavy
position that’s perfect for mounting late attacks in the game. This also keeps your focus and is
ideal for situations when you really can’t think of a decent plan and wish to see how the battle
pans out. Of course if they are killed early it could end in disaster, so the trick is to keep them
hidden and ready to cover the troops advancing in their support- use overwatch.
Thorn – There’s nothing more annoying than having to turn elements of your army
around to deal with a problem that arises. Assault based troops that can keep moving and cause
damage are ideal for this role, your opponent will have to deal with them and this can allow you
to exploit specific weak points. Its all about positioning and timing, keep those troops hidden
until your battle is joined on all quarters. Once your opponent is stretched unleash the infiltrators.
It’ll instantly weaken whatever section of battle line their attacking and should allow you to
exploit and break that particular point, in a sense like German Storm Troopers in World War One
trench fighting.
Denial – Infiltrators are very good at forcing your opponent to do things, especially if
they are easily rattled. Let them know your infiltrators will be there and they may end up
positioning near covered positions in a very paranoid manner, this disrupting their deployment
and strategy. Once the battle begins infiltrators can continue in this role, especially with good
lines of sight. They can stop troops hiding and proved a massive distraction. It’s hard to sue this
tactic effectively, which is essentially using infiltrators as eyes rather than as a weapon but if you
can crack this you’ll be on your way to causing your opponent unlimited headaches.
So that’s it, a brief foray into ways of using infiltrators that you may not have thought of
before. They are certainly not just troops that are deployed in a different way and fight in the
same manner. They require careful thinking, patience and a unique approach to how they are
used. Most of all, their very different nature to that of the rest of your army can make them very
fun to use, try a light and inexpensive unit and treat them like a small army in their own right and
build up the ideals weapons base for you. Customising each model etc makes for a unique unit,
and most of all you’ll care about it more, use it better and ultimately create new kinds of logistical
chaos for your enemies…..‘Who’s footprints are these?’
Strange Visions
New creatures for the Games Workshop universe
Wander
This month, the hero of the legendary Shadow of the
Colossus, Wander and his faithful mount, Agro
Wander is searching for great mythical beasts that he is
instructed to slay, as such Wander can appear in any
human army that is fighting large creatures such as
Greater Daemons and Dark Elf monsters.
Wander and Agro will use up a Hero and a Rare slot
and cannot lead an army
Troop Type
M
WS
BS
S
T
W
I
A
LD
Save
Points
Wander
4
6
6
4
4
4
6
3
10
6+
110
Agro
8
3
0
3
4
2
3
1
10
-
Weapons – Mystical Sun Blade (Doubles Wander’s Strength against targets with a Toughness of 5
or higher & reveals all magic items within 24”, used as a shooting attack
)
Armour – Light Armour (6+ save, increased to 5+ w/ Agro)
Special – Immune to Psychology, Kindred Spirits (Can fire Longbow 360 degrees even whilst
Agro is running at -1 to hit)
Legal bit – Wander and Agro appear from Shadow of the Colossus and are the intellectual property of Masamai Ueda of Sony
Computer Entertainment