Freeguild - Historical Shooting Tactics in AoS

[arka0415]

New player here! I started a Freeguild army and got too many sets at my local GW. I know gunlines aren't very competetive in AoS, but I want to try some historical ranged combat tactics in AoS. I feel like Freeguild are at a disadvantage in objective games, since we need to stay stationary to be effective. So, I'm looking at historical tactics to try and solve that problem. What do you think?

Pike Box - A dense block of ranged troops stands in the center, surrounded on all sides by a melee screen. The formation would be deployed very aggressively, with a threat range over a large part of the board. It can shoot enemy targets through the melee screen, and charging enemies will activate the Pipers and trigger counter-battery.

Platoon Firing - Two melee units back up two ranged units. One "side" of the formation (one melee unit and one ranged unit) could advance while the other side fired from a stationary position. More of an MSU formation since smaller units are needed. Flanks and rear are exposed.

[Nin Win]

I'm super curious to see how this goes.  I love Renaissance warfare as a historical and gaming subject.

[Taffster]

A variation of the Pike Box is a solid tactic that works well, generally you won't need to surround your ranged troops, a front screening of melee usually does the job and you'll want to use Swordsmen as your front line as they're very resilient.

I usually run 3 units of 10 Swordsmen as my front row with 3 units of 10 Handgunners just behind. This setup allows you to incorporate Platoon Firing as well since they're setup in 3 columns. 

[arka0415]

5 hours ago, Taffster said:

A variation of the Pike Box is a solid tactic that works well, generally you won't need to surround your ranged troops, a front screening of melee usually does the job and you'll want to use Swordsmen as your front line as they're very resilient.

You'd get more offensive firepower by surrounding, say, three sides of your unit with melee troops. How likely is a rear charge in AoS anyway? Most armies footslog it looks like, but I've seen Ork and Elf armies go absolutely incredibly distances especially with a double turn.

Breaking down into groups of 10 does add more mobility but you miss the buffs from massed firing. How have the small squads worked out for you?

[Taffster]

4 hours ago, arka0415 said:

You'd get more offensive firepower by surrounding, say, three sides of your unit with melee troops. How likely is a rear charge in AoS anyway? Most armies footslog it looks like, but I've seen Ork and Elf armies go absolutely incredibly distances especially with a double turn.

Breaking down into groups of 10 does add more mobility but you miss the buffs from massed firing. How have the small squads worked out for you?

I usually have a unit of Demigryphs and a Steamtank covering my flanks that deny my opponent a flanking move.

The bigger concern is units 'teleporting' behind your lines. Best counter to this I've found is a couple of Gryph hounds positioned behind my Handgunners so if something does drop in behind then there's a good chance my Handgunners will get a free shot at them. 

My usual list also incorporates a Hurricanum as well just behind my gunners giving them another +1 to hit, meaning I'm still hitting on 3s when I've not moved my units, but even the 4+ hit when they have moved seems to do just fine. 

[arka0415]

2 hours ago, Taffster said:

The bigger concern is units 'teleporting' behind your lines. Best counter to this I've found is a couple of Gryph hounds positioned behind my Handgunners so if something does drop in behind then there's a good chance my Handgunners will get a free shot at them.

This is concerning! I'm an old Tau Empire player so I'm not fond of deep-striking units. I have two Gryph-Hounds so they should go a long way helping out on that front.

2 hours ago, Taffster said:

My usual list also incorporates a Hurricanum as well just behind my gunners giving them another +1 to hit, meaning I'm still hitting on 3s when I've not moved my units, but even the 4+ hit when they have moved seems to do just fine. 

I've seen the Hurricanum in play and it's powerful no doubt about that. I'm a bit of an old-school player though and I'm not a fan of the new flashy models that GW is putting out. Putting a model of the solar system just wouldn't do my gritty men of Hochland justice I feel. But I do admit it's probably the most competitive unit in the old Empire roster.

[Taffster]

3 hours ago, arka0415 said:

This is concerning! I'm an old Tau Empire player so I'm not fond of deep-striking units. I have two Gryph-Hounds so they should go a long way helping out on that front.

Yeah can be quite decimating to artillery. One of the reasons I've not been taking any. 

3 hours ago, arka0415 said:

I've seen the Hurricanum in play and it's powerful no doubt about that. I'm a bit of an old-school player though and I'm not a fan of the new flashy models that GW is putting out. Putting a model of the solar system just wouldn't do my gritty men of Hochland justice I feel. But I do admit it's probably the most competitive unit in the old Empire roster.

It's pretty much at the point that you need a Hurricanum to be competitive in most games. I know what you mean, I somewhat get away with it as part of my Nuln esque army.. 

Oh you should defiantly check out this thread:

 Lots of discussion about Empire there.