Armoured Digital Players International

So we’ve talked about how to hammer your enemies and how to go forth to attack. How, then, should you defend your area? How should you play your forces in such a way that your enemy will come to you? This week, we will be talking about how to defend in Armoured Digital.

To defend, the first and most important thing you will need is to pick your ground to defend. The best ground has some LOS-blocking terrain that you can hide some of your forces behind, a bit of high ground that you can put your long-rangers on, and some scattered cover that you can hide behind but still see and shoot over.
The next most important thing you will need is the right mix of defenders. Aim for the longer-ranged units like the Centaur and Rhino, backed up with Elephants for when the enemy gets closer. Support units are essential, and the Porcupine, Jackal and Meerkat each have an important role to play. If you have room, grab one raiding tank like the Wolf or the Cheetah to use as a rapid-response unit.

Your long-range weapons should hold the high ground and command as much of the battlefield as possible. As these guys can out-range the enemy, use them to get as many hits in as possible as the enemy approaches. Try to deploy them with some form of cover, as when the enemy starts firing back you’ll be easier to hit when you’re standing still and shooting. Consider even reaching for the Precision Fire order if you need a few extra inches to reach the target you’re after. If you’re up against targets with reactive armour, HV Shot is your friend.

As the enemy comes closer, this is when your support units and artillery comes into play. Use your Jackal to hide behind terrain and sensor lock the enemy to guide your artillery and direct-fire drones onto target. If the attacker is smart, they will be using as much terrain as possible to get in close, so picking them out with that Jackal will make any advance towards you a dangerous prospect.

Also use your Meerkat to lay down a Jamming field, as this will help to disrupt your opponent’s approach. Remember that while each order happens in isolation, there are some effects that you can stack to make more of an impact. For example, you can drop a Signal Boost on your Meerkat to make it comms 7 (28”), then follow up with Jamming to make for a massive disruptive effect. Just be careful as that +1 to be hit from Signal Boost makes you a big target as well. Don’t forget, too, that having a mighty comms range is a great tool to drop some System Crash cards on your enemy.

One other sneaky combination you can make use of is your Centaur and the Jackal’s Guided Missiles order. With a sensor pod on top of your Centaur, you’ll be able to lock targets at 20” away and then launch missiles from behind LOS-blocking cover. Even if you’re sitting on top of a hill with your Centaur to add weight of fire, Guided Missiles will enhance your shots with rerolls to hit.

Having a Porcupine that sits behind the lines and within 12” and LOS of your forward units is another winner. Adding 2 save dice to your frontline units will make them hard as nails, and encourage the enemy to try to approach with an energy weapon to take them down. However, this will bring them in range of your Jackal and other forces. Just remember that you’ll want to drop the Defensive Fire card early in the turn to get maximum effect out of it.

Your raiding vehicle, typically a Wolf or Cheetah, should stay to the rear and well-hidden. Make it as non-threatening as possible, but leave some clear avenues to come forward into the fight. Its whole job is to remain in cover and then pop out to destroy enemy units that make it past the main defences. It will typically be Vipers or Wolves that make it that far, so a Cheetah is a great choice with its Explosive weapons to carve up Reflective-armoured attackers.

Finally, don’t forget your humble logistics units. You’ll probably have used your second logistics slot for one of your Support units, so your one transport has to run the gauntlet of fire to get to the Extractor. A Raccoon will give you more speed and better reach to do this, but the other transports can still work for you. Your Wombat should be sitting somewhere in the middle of your formation, as you will want to go for the cheaper option to repair your units rather than replacing them.

Overall, your strategy when on the defensive should be to try to kill as many of the enemy as possible. You’ll probably be ceding them the sectors victory condition, and the commander one is hard to achieve if they keep theirs out of the fight. So go for kills, and choose a faction that supports your defensive position (Templar is the obvious, but others like Bastion, Bushi and Skald could work as well) for your other VC.