If you haven't read the backlog of excellent IF online magazine articles, do so now.
Ok. You are now probably a better player.
One of the things that I believe (as per one of the articles in said mag) is that as one improves as a player, the more one is able to think ahead. When I started out I was really micromanaging and agonising over every little decision (long-term opponents will recall this method of play which nearly led to me being nicknamed Indecisive Dave or D-d-d-d-Dave because I kept changing my mind) without a view to the overall battlefield and flow of the game. Sooner or later you move from this stage into looking at the bigger picture of the whole turn where you attempt to impose a plan on the enemy. Then you start thinking about your opponent's turn.
Then... a long way down the track... you start thinking 2 or 3 turns ahead. About this time you've started to realise how incredibly complex this game can be and how good the top players really are!
In my most recent game I achieved it - the Zen of Thinking Three Turns Ahead. And it was a beautiful, glorious thing.
I played DE Phil (hereafter known as Phil3*) yesterday at his place (which was awesome - we played in his carpeted garage in front of a masive projection screen as SA shattered Australian cricket by winning their first test in Oz EVER - excellent). For the first two turns I looked to be in the red but stuck to my guns. Phil3's army is a fluffy covering with a solid and deadly centre of 2 Chariots and 24 Witch Elves with the Cold One Banner accompanied by a Hag BSB with the Standard of Slaughter (+D3 to combat res). The whole plan involved taking a charge with Unbreakable Spearmen, counter-charging on one flank with the Free Company and charging into the other flank in the next turn with the Flagellents in turn 4.
Miraculously that is exactly what happened! Except that, one their way in the Flagellents beat the snot out of some interposing DE Spearmen and the Free Company, instead of hitting the Witch Elves, ended up beating up some Dark Riders.
While the Reiksguard swept majestically into the Shades and Assassin and then, shortly after, the RXB Warriors my brave lads went to work on the Witchies. A dead Hag BSB and a score of dead Witch Elves later and they were headed for the hills. With a chariot and 10 Corsairs remaining (the victorious Flagellents and Spearmen would have overrun into the surviving Sorceress) Phil3 called the game.
Of course, he also helped things along immensely by miscasting with his General and rolling the legendary double 1s. Nice work Phil :-)
What was extra great was that I played this game with version 3 of the fluffy Empire list in which I've dropped the Arch-Lector and Helblaster for a Warrior Priest and 10 Huntsmen. The list worked really well - practically the whole army is Ld8 (characters spread around parent units and Knights - parent units providing leadership to detachments). Ld8 is NOT awesome, but in this game it worked remarkably well. Further playtesting will prove the folly of this assumption I'm sure but for now things are humming along nicely :)
Now if only every game consistently had a turn four plan...
*Phil1 - Star Dragon Phil aka Philfy aka self-proclaimed establishing leader of that shoddy ADC outfit
Phil2 - other High Elf Phil, shortly to be Wood Elf Phil, aka Wouster7 aka Jolly Asian Phil
Phil3 - Dark Elf Phil... what the heck is it with guys named Phil playing various Elven races???
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