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I like to play horde armies. That means moving a lot of models. In the past I would tend to just grab the entire unit and move it as a clump rather than spacing things out, but that meant templates really did a number on me.

I was thinking about putting together some movement trays. Not like the old WHFB ones, but more like the smaller, circular ones with spots for three spaced out models like the ones in The Other Side by Wyrd. Or maybe do 4-5 in a row or cube.

They might have to ditch them when moving through terrain (the circular ones seem like they would be better for that) and they would definitely have to ditch them when getting into close combat, but it seems like it could speed up the first few turns by quite a bit.

It seems like a good idea to me, but is there any problem with doing this that I'm not thinking of?

It's a bit fiddly but does speed things up for larger games and apocalyptic games where there is often not too much terrain.

http://www.litko.net/categories/Movement-Trays-%26-Inserts/Horde-Trays/

I mean logistically if you play on uneven terrain that could be problematic.

Yeah, I figured while moving them through terrain I would have to leave the trays behind.

My Goffs have lots of kans and dreads they can run behind, so they might not be in cover as much. I was thinking my IG would be somewhat similar, but with Leman Russes instead of walkers. Not really competitive strategies, but I play mostly for fun. If I finish my Snake Bites I was thinking about a Green Tide (I'm about halfway there).

I was looking to start with Tyranids, and I like the idea of tons of 'gaunts, but since they have move through cover not taking advantage of terrain would be a real waste.

Seems like it could be troublesome for moving around terrains and stuff but I love the item of them in Fantasy with rank and files. Also it makes movement phase simple, fast and accurate. And removes the inch crawl that some people do to get their models to move an inch or half an inch more than they are supposed. to

I've seen it done by a spawn-heavy Nid player (guy brings 3 Tervigons.) Saves him hours of moving Gaunts accords the table.

Bother to make it look nice and it's cool.

 n0t_u wrote:
Bother to make it look nice and it's cool.

I was thinking about finding some clear plastic to do it. A thin bottom layer so that the models don't appear to be floating, and a thicker second layer with holes cut in it that the bases fit into to keep the models in place and give it rigidity.

I was thinking that way it would match whatever terrain was underneath it and I'd never had weird situations like green flock running across the desert.

Well I figured since the same happens with bases anyway, unless the bases are clear too it might work better with it done the same way. Just trying to picture it tho, not sure how it'd look in person.

Changing the definition of a unit from "between 3 and 35 models" to "between 1 and 6 small movement trays" could be the most exciting change the game has seen in 20 years and would help drive home what scale the game is meant to be played at, rather than the current system where power swords are differentiated from power axes while formations of Titans stomp around the table.

There are of course issues with complex terrain that need to get worked out, but I don't think they're insurmountable, and making horde armies less painful to play would definitely be worth it.

 n0t_u wrote:
Well I figured since the same happens with bases anyway, unless the bases are clear too it might work better with it done the same way. Just trying to picture it tho, not sure how it'd look in person.

Good point. I might have to make a bunch of different versions and see what looks best.

Don't need those since I play 2nd ed rules. Apart from bonus of having superior rules to play with model count stays manageable making movement less of issue and allows for more space to move(=more tactics) without requiring football for table!

I need them for demon summoning. It takes too long to place models during the psychic phase.

I'd love to just have trays of pink horrors or bloodletters ready to go.

I like the idea of them, but I've never really seen them work out. All you need is one board w/the appropriate amount scenery and the trays are useless. For my hoard armies; I've always had better luck just learning how to place and move them very quickly. The key is to realize it's aboard army and you don't need to be as precious with them. This give you a little more freedom in terms of just moving them up field without worrying whether or not every model is carefully hugging every piece of scenery.

If you do end up w/a solution that gives you some success please post it! I'd love to learn from it.

I think most 40k games tend to go for scenery heavy tables, and most armies tend to aim for scenery/terrain as often as possible which would mean you'd have lots of instances of not being able to use your movement tray

I've had more flak for using trays in AoS than I have in 40k.

Lately,I've been thinking the units that are on the cheaper-per-mini side should be 3 to a base, with a rule I've mentally dubbed Quantity is Quality - 3 wound model, fights and shoots to full effectiveness till dead, templates automatically get three hits if they touch the base, blasts automatically get 3 hits if the center circle is over the base, otherwise do one, immune to Instant Death. That'd help speed the game up for horde players.

So, the typical IG Infantry Squad would consist of two 3-wound bases, a 2-wound heavy weapons team, a special weapon trooper, and a sergeant, the latter two being on individual bases.

I've often considered creating them for my Guard, but the threat of templates as well as the density of multilevel terrain we typically play with has always dissuaded me.

In principle - why not? go for it.

In practice, I move my lead figure the right distance, move any special weapon models the right distance, then fill up from the back. Quite often this means the first row or two don't actually move, but the squad does. Doesn't take long, and works for me.

Seems like the type of thing to make custom silicone trays for. that way it bend up to terrain, maybe even small tray so that you can move like 3-4 models (4-5 if 30+ squad) with max spacing to move up and take away front trays as models drop