Harassment can be a tough concept to get perfected. I have seen many people on the boards scoff the shade in their melee armies b/c they assume that they do not need them. This is inherently a product of inexperience. I have seen many strategy posts that are broad and can cover much material. But for sake of convenience, I am going to cover one aspect in-depth. That is- The Role a Shade Plays in Melee Swarm.

First of all, I would like to get some basic melee ideas and formations.

Concepts behind melee swarm-

1. Must be in base to base to score points.
This is something that one must realize when playing swarm. You cannot win sitting around trying to heal or waiting for another formation to catch up. Many players like to include a healer in their swarm. This is a mistake. You score 0 points healing a fig and you waste 1-2 whole turns healing. If one formation needs to be healed, the other should hold back so the swarm can reach optimal efficiency. So in other words-Healing is a wasted point slot in swarm. Swarms also need to be of equal speed with one another. You cannot have one formation/fig moving 8 and another moving 12. This thins out your forces and does not focus your attack.

2. Swarms need to be as efficient as possible-
Swarms do not need to waste points on things that do not support/strengthen the swarm (a.k.a. healing). When using support, you want to increase mobility. A swarm needs to be maneuverable. KI and Orcs do this via Force Marchers and A.G. performs this by adding a techno/scorpem. The Piper/bearer increases the speed of the formations to provide increased mobility. The techno can ml figs and the scorpem negates the fact that the A.G. is inherently slow and has no FM fig. Dual figs are added weight in swarm. Figs like the battle queen and steam golem are too point costly and unfocused for a swarm. This also applies to large uniques.

3. Swarms need to achieve maximum value out of a formation-
A swarm army wants to make every formation count. Having one strong formation and a weaker one is quite the antithesis of swarm. Smaller figs need to be in groups of 5 while larger figs can suffer 3. A swarm formation needs to be around 100 or less. Any more and maneuverability is lost (exception being the high elf general with an elf contingent). Formations should be difficult to take down and redundant. Redundancy provides for increased formation potential if one fig is injured critically. This also has practical reasons in that some figs are stronger than others. The **brute is stronger than the ***crusher greatly and thus one would not play the crusher over the brute.

4. Actions are everything in a swarm-
The swarm wins as I have said by going into base 2 base. When in base 2 base, actions become vital. Each attack will add points and take away from the effectiveness of opposing figs. Redundancy provides that actions can mimic those of another. In other words, the action used to attack with an elf at arms can be repeated. Every move is vital; anything that takes away from the actions of a swarm army should be rethought. When in base 2 base it will come down to who use his/her actions more appropriately. Failing to maximize action potential will often lead to defeat as not enough points were acquired.

Minor points-

1. Swarms need no body guards
2. Large uniques are not needed in swarm (the HEG general is an exception along with the wraith and taskmaster. The new whelp master would be included but he really has nothing to work with.)
3. Blitz forms of melee are now unworkable (blitz being rivvens supported by chargers or crystal bladesmen swarm)
4. Swarms need to push often
5. Swarms usually outnumber their opponents but this is no excuse to use the swarm recklessly
6. Swarms are aggressive and should not be played defensively

Here are what I consider solid melee formations-
***elf at arms
***elf at arms
***elf at arms
***rivvenguard
*standard bearer

***utem guardsmen
***utem guardsmen
***utem guardsmen
***utem guardsmen
***utem guardsmen

**tribal brute
**tribal brute
Taskmaster
*clurch piper

**half troll hacker
*half troll hacker
*half troll hacker
Taskmaster
*clurch piper
(in orc formations, the taskmaster can readily be dropped without replacement)

***blade golem
**blade golem
**blade golem

High Elf General
***elf at arms
***elf at arms
***rivvenguard
*standard bearer

Now that we have established some melee basics, it is time to focus on the shade.

The purpose of a shade in melee-

1. To give point advantage by tying up part of an opposing army
2. To tie up range units
3. To block line of sight
4. Ability to move for free with 12" speed
5. To tie up opposing harassment/support
6. To pose as a threat to figs with low defense
7. To cause an opponent to waste actions

1. To give point advantage by tying up part of an opposing army-
This is perhaps the most vital quality of the shade. By tying up part of an opponent’s army, the rest of one's army has a significant point advantage. This advantage gives fewer losses and thus you lose fewer points while taking advantage of outnumbering an army. Many people have been raving about the new push off damage given by mounted. Never be afraid to gain an action/point advantage by tying up the mounted fig. Mounted figs are usually costly, especially the uniques. If you can remove their mounted fig from the game for 2 turns, then the point of damage the shade takes is worth the cost. Divide and conquer the old saying goes. This has no greater impact than to a swarm army. This will usually decide the mirror match as well.

2. Tie up range units-
This applies especially to the orcs. The KI can usually out range an army and the guild is packing a techno and/or scorpem gunner. This is one of the more obvious facts of the shade and needs little explanation. Just remember to tie up a range formation prior to attacking. This applies greatly when you are swarming an opponent's figs and they have range in position to fire once their comrade has been disposed.

3. To block Line of Sight-
The shade has the inherent ability to push and acquire stealth. This ability can be invaluable at times when facing multiple range targets or a fig with 14" range. The shade can also elect to block the LOS directly without pushing. This is helpful when you have a specific target you want to strike first and an opposing range formation that you must bypass.

4. Ability to move free with 12" speed-
This is an extremely vital part of the shade which makes him the piece de resistance to other harassers. Quickness is so much more important to swarm than flying. Actions, like I said, are greatly important and must not be used wastefully or ineffectively.

5. To tie up opposing harassment/support
Tying up harassment is much more vital than tying up support. A fig cannot heal when an enemy fig is in base contact with the target. Tying up a bodyguard (a.k.a. ***centaur LT or *heavy cavalier) for a turn or more can often insure victory. Negating the first strike capability is very important to the health of your figs. Tying up a supplemental fig like a scorpem, techno, rammer, piper, etc. is also important though not vital. A technomancer is an often seen support figure. Remember, when he is MLing your shade away, he is not ML one of his own warriors. Tying up harassment is extremely important; I do not know how much I can stress this. If an opponent can slow you down, force you to waste actions, or break a formation, you, the player, are at a serious disadvantage with a swarm army. Tying up an opposing shade with your own is very reasonable and I can not condone it more.

6. To pose as a threat to figs with low defense-
The shade can also attack in a pinch. Most range figs and support have low defense. Use this to your advantage to force your opponent to take notice of the shade. The shade can also be used to kill/capture a weakened fig if you must move your swarm out.

7. To cause an opponent to waste actions
if a shade causes part of an opponent’s army to attack it or move against it, which means it has to temporarily ignore the swarm. This is where everything ties together. Causing an opposing army to waste actions on a 12-16 point fig will win you games indirectly. While they are trying to deal with your shade, they also have to consider the swarm. Both are threats. If an opponent, elects to neglect the shade then he has consequently removed part of his army from the game. If he uses actions to deal with the shade then you have a free turn or 2 to do as you please. Like I said before, actions are everything to a swarm army. If you can cause your opponent to in a sense lose actions then you gain an action advantage on your opponent. Actions translate into attacks which in turn translate into points. Using a low point fig will usually net you a greater amount of points.

Hope that helps. I could make most of the minor points in the swarm section into major but I just wanted to cover what I thought to be the vital theory of swarm. Please note that this is a theory post and feel free to give constructive criticism. If this goes well, I might post a melee swarm primer for the KI and A.G

- 42up
maraxus710@hotmail.com

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