Defended Obstacles: Tactic of the week

Thought I might spend a post talking about Defended Obstacles. They changed quite a bit from last edition. Last edition people needed 6's to hit you if you were behind a defended obstacle. So it was good no matter who charged you.

Not so this edition. This edition there are several units that ignore your obstacle or are even helped by the obstacle. Knowing when to defend it and when not to, can help you.

First lets look at the primary rule on defended obstacles.

"Models charging an enemy behind a defended obstacle do not get any of the bonuses normally associated with a charge and instead fight as if they were already engaged in the combat from a previous turn."

So any chargers lose their right to swing first. This is great if you are a unit of spear elves, or skaven gutter runners with initive 5. But a unit of dwarfs with initiative 2, this does nothing for them unless a unit with great weapons is bearing down on them.

But the more important side of things is the loss of bonuses associated with a charge. This includes things like strength bonuses from lances and spears on cavalry and chariot impact hits. In fact a chariot charging an obstacle takes hits on itself as if it moved through difficult terrain. (I may need to check that, thats coming from my faulty memory. I'm sure you readers will correct me if I'm wrong.)

*** So lets look at units a wall helps most against if he charges you:
Low initiative troops. If his troops are low initiative or have great weapons you get to swing first.

Chariots. Obviously chariots will avoid charging any unit behind a wall. But definetely draw out those frenzied chariots into that charge. Or setup pursuits or overruns into them.

Knights with lances/spears. If a unit of Empire knights run up to you, they are a bunch of strength 3 guys swinging at you.

A Bretonian Lance. With no charge bonuses, this means they do not get the extra attacks from the guys in the back ranks. So only 3 models are attacking you and no lances either. Even their Questing knights are now swinging last. So this helps against any Bret knight lance formation.

***Units that pretty much ignore a defended obstacle. The following units will simply not care that there is an obstacle there and all it is doing is keeping you hemmed in.
Flyers: flyers all ignore walls, etc..

Chaos knights: No charge bonuses, high initiatives, they are going to kill you and the wall definetely will not stop them.

Units that do no wounds and count on static combat res to win combat. So a big block of strength 3 troops with a banner, bsb, warbanner runs up an hits you and does no wounds, they don't care. They have +7 combat res to your 3 or 4.

Any unit not listed in section 1, if you have great weapons.

**** Units that actually helped by you being behind a wall.
Spear/Pike units. Since we are treating it as if the unit did not charge. Then spears and pikes get their full compliment of attacks when they hit you.
Let's say a unit of spear elves with initive 5 hits you. They will probably still swing first but get all 3 ranks attacking you instead of just 2. Pikes with all 4.

*** Other questionable items:
Things like Flails and maces are not really covered. Are flails still considered to have their +2 strength bonus. Its not a charge bonus, its a 1st round of combat thing. The spear rank is a charge thing.

I would say, yes, those items still get their strength bonus the 1st round of combat.

And finally, if a unit charges a unit behind a defended obstacle and wipes it out, does it get to overrun? Is that a charge bonus?? I would think so.

I hope this has been helpful to you.

Until next time...