INTO the EYE  An investigation into the deepest and darkest nooks of the GW Universe By Mike Brandon [September 2006] Welcome to the fifth volume of ‘Into the Eye’, a look into the finer parts of the GW hobby. Alternative Tanktics This month I’d like to focus on a few things that never seem to make it into the average tank commander brain in the 41st Millennium. Firstly we need to set the scene, whereas tanks are ideal for zooming around open plains and dominating battlefields were there are plenty of lines of sight they are completely different once we enter the realms of city fighting. In closed terrain a tank can no longer move quickly, otherwise it’ll plough into a building, its lines of sight are vastly reduced, its movement choices are restricted and it is very vulnerable to hidden heavy weapons (having Initiative 0) and close combat. With all those downsides, tanks seem near useless in dense terrain with tall structures, however this is where we the finer arts of tank deployment come into effect. Basically when tanks are so restricted there relatively cheap points values compared to heavy weapons squads makes more sense and that infantry becomes king. Yet an up close tank is  always going to be a nightmare so to really drive it home the usual tanks and infantry alone train of thought needs to be discarded and instead a more symbiotic relationship needs to take place. As a start a tank can be protected from close quarter attacks by infantry and also infantry can be used as spotters, using their Initiative to detect models that can be bombarded with a tank’s blast marker weapons.  At the same time infantry can make a lot of use of a tank. Firstly the pillbox method of setting a tank in place and then putting it on over watch. The enemy really don’t want to get into positions to hit your infantry if their going to be struck by a tank first. This allows you to get into the positions you want, then move the tank up to really fortify the position. This tactic is slow but is a very safe and reliable way of getting what you want. Alternatively you can move the tanks along with the infantry, the tank gains the benefits as described above, but more importantly the tank is providing mobile cover, in most cases you can gain at least light cover for your squad by being with the tank, this can provide an invincible wall of metal along with trickier to take out infantry that are fully mobile and so can exploit the enemy positions. With infantry in position you can even have them cover a tank and let it go and hammer an enemy position from up close, although this does leave your tank still slightly exposed. To really make tanks work the way they were intended you need a battlefield with plenty of dense covered areas be they cities or forest tracks. Tanks should not be allowed to dominate a battlefield but should instead be more difficult to use but of course, if executed well they can be skirmish turners. You can always leave some clearing and fields to give players a chance to move tanks through ground they can dominate quickly, thus if such a flank is left unguarded you can cripple the unfortunate recipient. I hope this article has you thinking about how to get tanks working in your games, if you can get the battlefield right, it’ll make games a whole lot more strategic and challenging where armour is concerned! Strange Visions New creatures for the Games Workshop world Detritus This month we have Sergeant Detritus of Ankh-Morpork City Watch. Basically a cultured troll, Detritus’ intelligence is based on the weather, however he does carry a giant crossbow to deal out justice with, affectionately known as the ‘Piecemaker’. Detritus is a Dogs of War and is ideally suited for city militia’s in the Empire or Tilea. He will occupy a hero and a rare choice slot and obviously cannot lead an army. Troop Type M WS BS S T W  I  A LD Save Points Detritus 6 4 3 5 5 4 3 4 9 5+ 140 Weapons – Piecemaker (Fires like a single bolt from a bolt thrower. May not be used to make a stand and fire reaction ), Truncheon (Hand Weapon) Armour – Heavy Armour (5+ save) Special – Cause Fear, Regenerate, Stone Troll (Magic Resistance 2 & when fighting in desert or hot climates Detritus’ Initiative is reduced to 1) Legal bit – Detritus is the intellectual property of Terry Pratchett, The Detritus art is drawn by Stephen Briggs and is also the intellectual property of Terry Pratchett