Elysian Tactics - ITC missions

ITC missions seem to be where a lot of tournaments are heading, at least here in Brisbane Australia. I don't go to many tournaments and have only attended one ITC tournament.

This was my first experience with ITC scenarios, including the few practice games I played for the event. Now I have already posted about the tournament, but now I intend to talk about ITC scenarios from an Elysian perspective, especially given that the ITC missions have just been updated this week.

Here are the details of the recent updates. https://www.frontlinegaming.org/2018/08/10/itc-2018-mid-season-mission-updates/

Now first up I find it quite useful that the start of the ITC scenario pack goes through the pre-game sequence step-by-step. This is great for making sure you don't forget anything, and everything is done in the correct order. And now they include the deployment maps in the pack as well.

Primary Missions

So there are still 6 scenarios. They have dropped the least popular one and added in an interesting replacement. Each player round you get 1 point for killing at least enemy unit and 1 for holding at least 1 objective. Also each battle round you get a point if you killed more that your opponent, and 1 if you hold more objectives than your opponent. Each Scenario also alloows you to gain a bonus point if you fulfil a certain condition. As Elysian forces usually have more units than their opponents, going 2nd is often the case. This can be an advantage in ITC missions as it makes it a lot easier to score more objectives the the opponent, and even with the kill more units point you know how many units you need to kill.

An important note for Elysians is that Flyers cannot hold objectives, but can score the secondaries.

Scenario 1 - Seize ground

6 objectives placed as shown, with the bonus being to hold 5 or more objectives. Now unless you are getting tabled you should be able to hold at least 1 objective, however it's going to be difficult to get 5 but will really depend on your opponents force.
When playing this mission I would hold back some deepstrikers, looking for opportunities to grab and hold undefended objectives. Many armies will not have multiple units to spare to sit and hold multiple objectives so you should be able to pick up a few without too much problem. However remember you only get the point is you hold 5 of the 6 so don't throw units away.

Scenario 2: Cut to the Heart

Each player places one objective, and the third is placed in the centre. You score the bonus if you control the centre and your opponents objectives. So the only reason to sit on your own objective is to score the at least one objective bonus, and to deny it to your opponent. Depending on your opponent either his one or the centre may be easy to take. Taking both will usually be an issue, but again widespread access to deepstriking units will help.

Scenario 3: Nexus Control

To score the bonus in this scenario you need to control all 4 objectives. Not going to be easy as you opponent will usually have a significant force at one of the objectives at least. Best to work on denying your opponent the opportunity to grab all 4, and maybe go for the bonus if the opportunity opens up.

Scenario 4: What’s Yours Is Mine

This is the new scenario, and each player places 2 objectives, one anywhere to be placed they like, and the other in their opponents deployment area. And to score the bonus you need to control both objectives you place. This can make for some very interesting results, like putting both in your opponents deployment. For an Elysian force it would probably be best to spread them out as much as possible, keeping the away from your opponents objectives as much as possible to try and force your opponent to spread out as well as there is a lot to cover with taking your own objectives and defending the opponents.

Scenario 5: Precious Cargo

There are 4 objectives, and before the game started each player chooses one as a priority objective, and scores the bonus if they manage to hold their opponents priority objective at the end of their turn. With this scenario it is important to split your efforts between attack and defence, most likely into 2 separate forces. The other 2 objectives can be ignored as they will only come into play if you lose both the priority objectives, and in that case Elysians should have no trouble travelling far enough to seize at least one of the spare objectives.

Scenario 6: Crucible of Champions

This scenario is a bit different, as to get the bonus you need to hold 3 objectives with characters. In ITC people often limit the number of characters in their force as one of the secondaries is all about  killing characters, so it is usually a good idea to have at least 3 in case this mission comes up. Not as much of an issue for Guard as we often have more characters then other armies, although they are more fragile.

Summary

I have not really gone into much detail on how to achieve these primary missions as it is so dependant on your and your opponents force composition, and they really boil down to the same thing, taking and holding objectives. The main thing is to always keep in mind the need to destroy one unit each round, and hold at least one objective. Failure to do this for even one round can quickly put you behind in points.

Secondary missions

The Secondary missions are where it gets interesting however, and while the bulk of your points usually come from the primaries the additional 12 available from the secondaries are vitally important. You should even have them in mind when writing your list so as to deny as many as possible to your opponent, although I have found that this is harder to do with Guard that it is with other armies. This new update in part is trying to make list design for secondaries less of a factor however, but it is still important.

I will go through the secondaries one by one, and talk about how to design a list to minimise their effectiveness for the opponent, and when to choose it to take. Each secondary can yield a maximum of 4 points, and new in this update a single unit cannot count to more that one of a certain set of objectives, marked with a *.

*Headhunter: 1pt for each enemy Character that is destroyed.

This is a very popular choice for our opponents as Elysians will rarely have less than 4 characters. However people often underestimate how easy it is to kill them as there are usually many troops between the characters and the enemy forces, and the officers can run away pretty fast with move-move-move if required.

Not usually a worthwhile option to take as in ITC people often limit their characters to a minimum specifically due to this secondary, or have them well protected otherwise.

*Kingslayer: Choose an enemy model that is a Character.
Earn 1 point for every 2 wounds of damage it loses, cumulatively.
In the instance where a Character may regenerate wounds or resurrect during the course of the game, total wounds it loses over the course of the game are counted towards this mission.
If the model selected has the Character and Vehicle or Monster keywords, you earn 1 point for every 4 wounds it loses instead of 1 for every 2.
If the Character is also your opponent’s Warlord, earn 1 additional point if it is destroyed.

This one is often not too hard to score, particularly if the opponents warlord has 10 wounds or more.

I find my opponents will rarely choose this one against me as while my warlord is squishy, he is also well back and hard to get to, and other secondaries are more attractive. also a Company commander will only yield 3 points, and people like to try for the maximum of 4 points from each secondary.

*Marked for Death: Choose 4 of your opponent’s units with a Power Level of 7+. Earn 1 pt for each of these units destroyed.

This is a new one to replace an unpopular old one. Our opponents will either take this one or Big Game hunter as both apply to our flyers, although this one also applies to units of multiple Tauros's.

 Probably a good choice for us to against armies that have avoided Reaper and Big Game Hunter.

*Big Game Hunter: 1 point for every enemy model with the Monster or Vehicle keyword and 7+ wounds destroyed.

This is a popular choice, if we have 3 or more flyers out opponents will probably take it, although Marked for Death is now a viable alternative. People will not usually take bot against use due to each unit only counting for one secondary.

*Titan Slayers: For every 8 wounds lost by enemy units with the Titanic keyword in total throughout the course of the game, earn 1 point.
Example: One enemy Titanic model loses 4 wounds turn 1, and a different enemy Titanic unit loses 12 wounds turn 2 for a total of 16 wounds lost in total to enemy Titanic models. You earn 2pts towards this objective.

If you have a Marauder or similar expect this one to be taken against you.

Similarly if the the opponent has knights or other Superheavies it is a good choice. Just check to see if his big units do in fact have the titanic keyword, as not all do.

The Reaper: For every 20 enemy models destroyed, earn 1 point.

Big change from how it used to be, but still very likely to be taken against us.

Similarly, a really good option against horde armies.

Recon: Have a unit at least partially in each table quarter at the end of your player turn. A unit may only count as being in one table quarter at a time for the purposes of this rule. 1pt per turn.

Not that popular in general, except among other fast-moving armies.

However this is an easy one for an Elysian force to get. Even easy to get turn 1 with a flyer moving up each flank. I'd call this a must-take unless you have a good reason not to.

Behind Enemy Lines: If at least one of your units is wholly in the enemy Deployment Zone at the start of your turn, earn 1 Point. A unit is wholly in if every model in the unit is at least partially in the enemy Deployment Zone.

Similar to Recon, only really popular among other fast moving armies.

Also a very good choice for Elysians, just not as easy to achieve turn 1.

The Butcher’s Bill: Destroy 2+ enemy units during a player turn to earn 1 Point.

Another new secondary, and is very likely to be very popular among our opponents. Going to be hard to mitigate too, although they have to keep it up for four rounds, and missing a round or two can make a real difference.

Whether to take this really depends on the opposing army, and not hard to work out whether to take it or not.

Ground Control: Earn 1 point for each objective held at the end of the last Battle Round played.

Another new one, and fast moving armies will be more likely to take this one. If you opponent chooses this one make sure to finish off any small units that can be used as objective grabbers later on.

Not hard for us to achieve, but will depend on the Scenario. Also going second makes this one easier to achieve.

Old School: Earn 1 point for the following:

• First Strike: An enemy unit is destroyed in the first Battle Round
• Slay the Warlord: The enemy Warlord is destroyed at game’s end
• Linebreaker: Have one of your models within your opponent’s deployment zone at the end of the game
• Last Strike: An enemy unit is destroyed in the last Battle Round played

Pretty straightforward, and a popular choice. Generally taken if not enough other secondaries seem easy to achieve.

Summary:

In general I would expect the main secondaries to be chosen against an Elysian force similar to I plan to take which is a mixture of infantry, flyers and support units are as follows.

Reaper, Big Game Hunter/Marked for Death and Butchers Bill

Other strong possibilities are Headhunter and Old School

To mitigate this via list building consider the following points:

• Only taking 2 or 3 flyers at most to limit Big Game Hunter and Marked for Death
• When taking units of multiple Tauros's and Sentinels check to see if that takes the unit over 7PL
• Conversely try to take Tauros's and Sentinels in multiples if they come to less than 7PL to limit the number of units that can be killed each turn
• Don't take more characters than absolutely necessary

And some more points for during the game.

• Kill at least one unit every turn and keep hold of one objective. I know I have already said this but it is really the most important point.
• Keep your characters out of harms way.
• Make liberal use of the stratagems to keep decimated units from being destroyed, and try and retreat them to a safe spot.
• Finish off enemy units

Well, that's it for now. Feel free to post any points or questions in the comments.