Deeper Strategy – The Generalship Factor

Today we continue our journey through the USMC Warfighting Documents, this time with a discussion on the human aspect of warfare.

This particular element of war has a lessened impact in the limited scope of wargaming. This is simply because our soldiers will usually do as they are told. Most game systems make some attempt at representing this aspect of a soldier’s will, but they fall short in many ways. The human condition, our fear of mortality, and our heightened emotions under the duress of combat all work together in ways that sometimes cause fighting forces to act in an irrational or unpredictable manner. In tabletop gaming, they more or less do as they’re told.

Instead of focusing on the aspect of soldiers and civilians in a theater of war, we are going to focus on the most human element involved in the process: the players themselves.

Your Opponent is not a Machine

War is shaped by human nature and is subject to the complexities, inconsistencies, and peculiarities which characterize human behavior.

-Marine Corps Doctrine Manual on Warfighting, p.13

In the eternal Internet war to determine the most optimal Warhammer 40,000 forces, there is an idea that the units within the game form some sort of complex paper-rock-scissors chain, and that the only way to become a successful general is to play only the units at the top of this chain. This is unfortunately a great falsehood that has seen much of the flavor and originality torn out of the game, in favor of building “optimized” lists.

I will go ahead and ward off the arguments that reduce my point to absurdity; I’m not saying a list with four Riptides will be thoroughly trounced by an Unbound army of nothing but Pyrovores! Rather, I’m suggesting that to buy into such lies takes the skill of the player largely out of the equation.

If any of you have the opportunity to play against a wide variety of opponents, you know that human emotion can have a big effect on the outcome of any game. In normal warfare, human emotion should be exploited to cause the maximum amount of benefit to your own forces. I’m not nearly Machiavellian enough to suggest that you should attempt this at the table; we all get together to play this game and have fun, and to attempt anything else is to take it far too seriously.

My point is that the best-laid enemy plans and armies can be felled by a moment of tragic misfortune. I’ve seen tournament outcomes changed in an instant, simply because something didn’t go the way it should have on the table. This cascades into a bad attitude that causes more mistakes to be made. Even if the frustration is never shown outwardly, the distraction can cause even more mistakes to be made.

If you’re prone to irritation when your carefully laid plans are cast aside by bad luck, you’re in good company. I’ve struggled with this myself over the years, and I’ve lost several games because I allowed previous turns to stick inside my head and interfere with damage control as I attempted to get things back in order. I’ve tried to be more self-aware in this regard, and I advise the same to each of you. Keep your mental game in check, and focus on what can be done going forward. Looking back before the game is over invites disaster.

This mental aspect doesn’t stop at attitude. It also extends to the realm of being overwhelmed, and in this area I thoroughly encourage you to mess with your opponent! Think through your actions in their turn and then strike hard and fast in your own. Move through the turn quickly, getting your units into position and plowing ahead with your plan. The only time to stop is when rolling dice; don’t create the illusion that you’re cheating! Push the pace, and your opponent will feel mentally crowded, giving him less time to plan his own turn.

This also plays into general tactics on the table. Causing target confusion, giving your opponent bad match-ups, and ensuring that they’re making the best decision among several bad decisions, all work to cause mental overload. When your opponent has his attention continually broken down and pulled in multiple directions, he will be more prone to making small in-game mistakes, opening the door for you to cause more mayhem to his future plans.

Focus on causing this confusion and strengthening your own mental game; playing to these aspects of the game will make you a more complete player. There are more ways to strengthen your game than simply knowing the rules in and out.

Never reduce enemy forces to the power of their constituent components.

No degree of technological development or scientific calculation will diminish the human dimension in war.

-Marine Corps Doctrine Manual on Warfighting, p.14

This point hearkens back to the idea of the Internet’s rock-paper-scissors formula. There are certain units you take, they say, and certain units you don’t even consider. Spam is normally the name of the game, and anything less is less than efficient.

While there are some truths to this idea, I feel that it has been played up and exaggerated into a caricature of the truth. While some units are inherently better than others, almost all units in the game can adequately fulfill their role in prosecuting your will on the battlefield.

I feel that any army building efforts directed to including the “most powerful units” is destined to be less effective than a goals-oriented approach. When constructing an army, I prefer to think about the different missions my forces will be called upon to complete. We roll for the missions we play immediately before we deploy, so it is most beneficial to bring a balanced, all-comers list.

While this does mean including units that are effective at neutralizing enemy powerhouses, that is far from the extent of list building. Instead, each part is selected to function to a nominal mission. The cogs all do their work quietly and efficiently, making it much harder for an opponent to identify a backbone that they can rip out. This means that, sometimes, my forces will be outclassed. Usually, though, I have sufficient force to gang up on these superior (more expensive) units and beat them through weight of fire. If not, the tactically balanced approach ensures that I can play laterally around the problem.

Focus on your own mind as part of your chosen game system, because you are as essential to success as the stats on your Bloodthirster. Focus on strengthening your mental resiliency to play through games that are going against you, because a strong mind to command is an aspect of your army that can only be taken out by enemy units or bad dice when you allow it to happen.