Objective Secured; Don’t Forget It!

 

Howdy fellow gamers, Mr.MoreTanks here.  I’m back with another article spouting seemingly clever ideas to me that are likely obvious ideas to everyone else.  Today, I want to talk about something that thanks to the new way ITC mission Secondaries are scored, seems more important to me than ever before, Objective Secured.

Objective Secured might be one of my favorite rules in the game, likely because as my two favorite armies (IG and White Scars).  My Troops are my workhorse and make up the vast majority of my list.  Unfortunately, too many armies simply don’t have good enough Troops to consider bringing primarily that force org slot exclusively if they want to be competitive in a tournament environment.  But screw those guys, they’re stupid.  C’mon guys, get better Troops, better Heavy Supports and Elites were so 4th ed.

 

 

There are a few reasons why Ob Sec units have distinct advantages over other units in the game.

1.  First and perhaps most obvious is their ability to hold an objective over any other unit bar another Ob Sec unit.

2.  Ob Sec units prevent any other unit from scoring an objective.  If you can’t have it, the next best thing is preventing your opponent from having it.  Never has the toddler mentality been so useful as it is in wargaming.

3.  Ob Sec units are the most plentiful in a CAD, giving you a reward on top of the reward of having Ob Sec, the CAD gives you the opportunity to take the best units in its detachment, plus, it carries over to your Allies detachment.  That’s pretty dang neat.

4.  Ob Sec units tend to have access to the widest range of Transports, adding more Ob Sec units to your army for cheap as well as providing significant mobility.  On top of all of that, it also adds a layer of defense to your precious Ob Sec units.

5.  Your opponent is forced to target your Ob Sec units in order to have any chance of holding objectives, thus giving you an advantage in know where and what your opponent will be targeting.

6.  Ob Sec favors multiple build types and strategies.  MSU or huge blobs can cover the board in bodies that can be extremely difficult for your opponent to shift either enough or these entire units off the board.  Rhino rush I think is better than ever, especially in the ITC.  I myself am looking at a 60 Marine BA army in fast rhinos.  That’s 18 Ob Sec units, one of which can move 24in. in one turn!  Guard, Bugs, or Orks can put huge blocks of bodies that push into the mid-field or even back field and deny areas simply through models.  It’s quite impressive to see lists with over 100 infantry models on the board.

7.  Many Ob Sec units can be buffed or designed to either break Morale issues or ignore them.  Think 25pts. Priests that give Fearless, Synapse, ATSKNF, Bosspoles, squad leaders w/ higher leadership values, etc. This keeps these units where you need them and usually forces your opponent to actually kill off entire units, which is a crucial distinction as opposed to simply knocking a unit below half strength as in previous editions.

8. If you play ITC or Malestorm (shudder), you’ll know how important it can be to be able to snag and hold onto objectives throughout the game.  You can snag objectives out from under the enemy and able to continually grab them throughout the game.  With Secondaries being worth 4pts total now in ITC missions, and the objectives being scored at the bottom of the turn, quick Ob Sec units have never seemed so important to me in the ITC format.

9. Ob Sec counters Deathstars.  Even the mighty weapons of the Empire and Sith can be curtailed by a single Ob Sec model within 3in. of an objective.  Sure, you’ve got to live long enough, but if you can, either through massive bodies or MSU, that Deathstar will be as useful at the end game or bottom of the turn in ITC/Malestorm missions as a unit still in Reserves.

See, if these Red Shirts were in a CAD instead of the Star Fleet Engineer Crops Detachment, these Terminators wouldn’t be such a big deal.

As more and more 7th ed Codexes creep out, we’re starting to see a trend of more and more unique and Codex only detachments and formations that gain other buffs in lieu of Ob Sec.  Some of these buffs and different detachments are freaking sweet, looking at you Decurion, but let us not forget the humble yet useful CAD.  Imperial armies certainly have the advantage here, no doubt about it, but I stink just about every army can build a force that can really take advantage of Ob Sec while bringing the guns to mess up the enemy.

 

What do you guys think?  Is Ob Sec something you thinking about when list building or doing tournament prep?  Do the new detachments in Codexes make the rule obsolete?  Talk it out in the comments.  Also, tell us some great stories about when Ob Sec won you, or maybe cost you a game!