Top 3 Things You Should Be Doing When You Play 40k

Hello ladies, everyone’s favorite Pro 40k player here to talk to you about some quick and easy ways to improve your game. There are tons of ways to improve in 40k, but most of them require hours under the blanket with a flashlight reading rules or warming your dice in a microwave, so I’m here to give you a quick lesson on three easy ways you can to help you become a PRO without getting frustrated trying to memorize how many shots a bolter gets.
 Premeasure Everything!: I premeasure everything that might even have the slightest hint of mattering later that turn so I know exactly how far everything is from each other, that way there are no unexpected surprises later in my turn. In my movement phase i essentially determine how far each of my units is from enemy units for both shooting and assault, this not only helps me plan, but announcing it to your opponent means if the table gets bumped or some drunk guy comes over and spills his beers all over the place you know how far everything is from each other so you can accurately repair the game state. When managing aura buff characters like chapter masters and shadowseers it’s a good idea to move them first and then move everything else around them. This way you don’t run into the issue of rolling a 6″ advance for a unit and moving it 12″ and then having the captain roll a 1″ advance and not being able to keep up for his aura buffs. At its core 40k is a game of risk management and the mitigation of luck, and removing the variable of unknown distance is a huge part of limiting potential problems with your strategy.

Charge For Distance Not Damage: This is definitely something more top players will do, but the average gamer doesn’t. How does one charge for distance and not damage you might ask? Well the first thing you need to do is realize that when a unit charges something successfully it is eligible to activate in the following fight phase regardless of whether there is an enemy unit within 1″ of it. To paraphrase the rulebook- “A unit may be selected to fight in the fight phase if there is an enemy unit within 1” of it OR IF THEY MADE A SUCCESSFUL CHARGE IN THE PREVIOUS CHARGE PHASE!!!  So how can you apply this? Imagine a large unit of grotesques and 2-3 small wrack units all within charge distance of an enemy unit of scouts that infiltrated close by into the middle of the table. The rest of the enemy army is a whole of bunch Space Marines way back in their deployment zone. You can charge your grotesques and all the wracks into the scouts. You’ll want to activate the grotesques first since they’ll completely decimate the scout unit. After they’re done attacking they will get a 3″ consolidate towards the nearest enemy model, which will be in the general direction of forward in this case. So each grotesque can move 3″ closer even though no enemy is nearby. But wait there’s more! Each wrack unit that charged in earlier can still activate. When a unit is chosen to activate in the fight phase it may make a 3″ pile in towards the nearest enemy model, make its attacks, and the consolidate an additional 3″ towards the nearest enemy model. In this case since the nearest enemy model(s) are in the general direction of across the table, each wrack unit will get a 6″ movement closer (3″ pile in + 3″ consolidate). All the sudden that scout squad your opponent thought was a speed bump turned into a highway straight towards him! And if you thought that was cool, think of how you could implement with some of the more unique assault units in the game like khorne berzerkers who naturally fight twice, and can fight up to three times, or Hormiguants who pile in and consolidate 6″!

Take Your Time: This is something I see even top players skip over all the time, but it can literally be the difference of winning and losing some matches. When i say take your time i don’t mean play super slowly and meticulously for no reason. There’s a difference between slow playing and thoughtful, deliberate playing. I’m talking about the latter. Make sure every move you make has a real purpose and adds value to your overall strategy, you may end up saving time by not even moving certain units if they’re already where they need to be! If you don’t have a good plan of what to do in your turn when you start your movement phase don’t just start moving stuff “because you feel like it makes sense” or “because you’re supposed to”. Take your time and come up with a comprehensive plan after evaluating the situation. You’ll understand the tactical depth of the game better, you’ll grow as a player, and you’ll see that you win more games!
One thing i personally do which i strongly recommend to everyone is take a minute at the start of your turn to survey the battlefield and go over your plan. It’s true that you should always be thinking about your next turn during your opponents turn, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the only time you’re allowed to plan. Even if I’m 99% sure my plan is clear and obvious going into my turn i always take that minute to really double check myself to make sure I’m coming up with the best move available. Many times you end up sticking to the plan you have, this is more like a double check your work step, not a second guess yourself step. If your plan is good have confidence in it and don’t hesitate to implement it. 9 times our of 10 i just go ahead and execute the plan I had in mind, but every now and then taking this extra minute has allowed me to see the game in a different perspective and come up with a new plan. This little adjustment to how i play has literally won me GTs before.

These are just 3 easy tips you can implement right now to your game to see dramatic improvement in how you play. I also offer a personal coaching program where i share many more insights and teach you in a hand on and interactive way, so you too can win GTs. Check it out at http://page.nightsatthegametable.com/procoaching Now there’s also a less intensive package available for just $37/month too, called Nights PRO lite: https://page.nightsatthegametable.com/litepro So don’t wait, sign up now, and become a PRO!