Bastiladon
Bainbow
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I've played a lot of AoS games since the game released, and I find myself surprised that a lot of people assume that strategy is dead just because the rules are simpler. However my games against as many different and diverse armies as I could get matched against has taught me that not only is strategy still valuable, it's downright necessary to win against some models or units. Now there's still the obvious maneuvering and pre-planned tactics, but a good opponent can easily turn a battle on its head or reveal an ace in the hole. To that end, I find that it's necessary to ensure that your army contains models that are able to fulfill a variety of roles to make sure that you're ready for any eventuality. I'll use example models from the Seraphon and Stormcast armies to highlight how to make use of these roles.
Assassin: The Assassin is exactly has the name suggests, a model or unit that can specialise in sniping enemy heroes. As AoS Heroes tend to give their army's mooks buffs that, especially in bulk, can really make a huge difference when it comes to the armies' deciding clashes, a unit or Hero that can effectively assassinate enemy heroes can often severely weaken the enemy's overall army, turning the tide. At the very least, it can be used to assassinate enemy wizards and the Command Ability-wielding general, which all armies typically have. To this end, Assassins must have either the ability to very suddenly close in on a target and deliver massive amounts of damage in one turn before reinforcements can arrive or the Hero can escape, or the ability to reliable chip away at enemy heroes' wounds constantly.
Assassins include Lord Kroak thanks to Comet's Call, Salamanders w/ Handlers that can be summoned to deliver powerful D6 damage ranged attacks on a single target that's more than capable of killing heroes, Engine of the Gods' D6 mortal wounds at 25". Highly Valuable
Monster Hunter: The Monster Hunter does exactly what it says on the tin, hunts monsters. In 8th, cannons were how people dealt with monsters. However now in AoS, cannons are more appropriate for damaging larger grouped units, so when that big scary monster comes a-calling, it's up to the Monster Hunter to take it down. These models are similar to Assassins in that they require the ability to deal massive damage to a single target before the target can fight back, but Monster Hunters don't require the same level of maneuverability since, more often than not, monsters will come to you. All you require here in terms of maneuvering is that your Monster Hunter is in the Monster's path, and that it attacks first to at least weaken the Monster's retaliation with the damage table, if not kill it outright. Some units and models do have special abilities that makes them ideal for killing monsters, but these are relatively rare and don't exist in every army, so such abilities are not required.
Monster Hunters include Carnosaurs thanks to their ability to pin enemy monsters (Kroq-Gar is best for this as his Carnosaur hits at damage 3 rather than D3, making it more reliable,) Paladin Protectors with their anti-monster abilities, Salamanders thanks to their powerful ranged attacks again, Stegadon w/ Skystreak Bow. Highly Valuable
Crippler: Some monsters are, quite frankly, far too strong and capable of dealing insane levels of mass destruction. These are things like the Ogre Thundertusk, whose frost breath causes an instant 6 Mortal Wounds, or the Chimera which automatically causes D6 Mortal Wounds to a target unit, both of which can instantly kill most heroes, and are ranged attacks and don't need to get dangerously close to their victims. However such units are typically bound by a common weakness, that these OP abilities are weakened very quickly as the monster suffers wounds. And that's the Crippler's job, to weaken these rare but exceedingly dangerous monsters quickly and safely before the enemy has a chance to devastate your units with them. Cripplers must be able to deal a very quick burst of damage from a safe distance to weaken the enemy monster before it devastates your front line, allowing the Monster Hunters to finish it off safely. This must be done as quickly as possible in order to be effective, though often one only needs to deal around four wounds to do the damage. While these monsters are rare and Cripplers may be extremely specialised in their role, they are invaluable should you be unfortunate enough to encounter such a monster and can easily be the difference between victory and defeat.
Cripplers include Lord Kroak with his Comet's Call able to cherry tap and cripple monsters from across the map before they are able to be used, The Knight-Venator for his D6+3 Damage Star-Fated Arrow, Salamanders again (seriously, these things are awesome and easy to summon, take them for your Lizards.) Downright Necessary
There are other roles, such as the anti-horde units and the tanks, but they're easier to figure out on your own. Feel free to add any more roles that you think need to be fulfilled.
Assassin: The Assassin is exactly has the name suggests, a model or unit that can specialise in sniping enemy heroes. As AoS Heroes tend to give their army's mooks buffs that, especially in bulk, can really make a huge difference when it comes to the armies' deciding clashes, a unit or Hero that can effectively assassinate enemy heroes can often severely weaken the enemy's overall army, turning the tide. At the very least, it can be used to assassinate enemy wizards and the Command Ability-wielding general, which all armies typically have. To this end, Assassins must have either the ability to very suddenly close in on a target and deliver massive amounts of damage in one turn before reinforcements can arrive or the Hero can escape, or the ability to reliable chip away at enemy heroes' wounds constantly.
Assassins include Lord Kroak thanks to Comet's Call, Salamanders w/ Handlers that can be summoned to deliver powerful D6 damage ranged attacks on a single target that's more than capable of killing heroes, Engine of the Gods' D6 mortal wounds at 25". Highly Valuable
Monster Hunter: The Monster Hunter does exactly what it says on the tin, hunts monsters. In 8th, cannons were how people dealt with monsters. However now in AoS, cannons are more appropriate for damaging larger grouped units, so when that big scary monster comes a-calling, it's up to the Monster Hunter to take it down. These models are similar to Assassins in that they require the ability to deal massive damage to a single target before the target can fight back, but Monster Hunters don't require the same level of maneuverability since, more often than not, monsters will come to you. All you require here in terms of maneuvering is that your Monster Hunter is in the Monster's path, and that it attacks first to at least weaken the Monster's retaliation with the damage table, if not kill it outright. Some units and models do have special abilities that makes them ideal for killing monsters, but these are relatively rare and don't exist in every army, so such abilities are not required.
Monster Hunters include Carnosaurs thanks to their ability to pin enemy monsters (Kroq-Gar is best for this as his Carnosaur hits at damage 3 rather than D3, making it more reliable,) Paladin Protectors with their anti-monster abilities, Salamanders thanks to their powerful ranged attacks again, Stegadon w/ Skystreak Bow. Highly Valuable
Crippler: Some monsters are, quite frankly, far too strong and capable of dealing insane levels of mass destruction. These are things like the Ogre Thundertusk, whose frost breath causes an instant 6 Mortal Wounds, or the Chimera which automatically causes D6 Mortal Wounds to a target unit, both of which can instantly kill most heroes, and are ranged attacks and don't need to get dangerously close to their victims. However such units are typically bound by a common weakness, that these OP abilities are weakened very quickly as the monster suffers wounds. And that's the Crippler's job, to weaken these rare but exceedingly dangerous monsters quickly and safely before the enemy has a chance to devastate your units with them. Cripplers must be able to deal a very quick burst of damage from a safe distance to weaken the enemy monster before it devastates your front line, allowing the Monster Hunters to finish it off safely. This must be done as quickly as possible in order to be effective, though often one only needs to deal around four wounds to do the damage. While these monsters are rare and Cripplers may be extremely specialised in their role, they are invaluable should you be unfortunate enough to encounter such a monster and can easily be the difference between victory and defeat.
Cripplers include Lord Kroak with his Comet's Call able to cherry tap and cripple monsters from across the map before they are able to be used, The Knight-Venator for his D6+3 Damage Star-Fated Arrow, Salamanders again (seriously, these things are awesome and easy to summon, take them for your Lizards.) Downright Necessary
There are other roles, such as the anti-horde units and the tanks, but they're easier to figure out on your own. Feel free to add any more roles that you think need to be fulfilled.
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