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Seems that one must double the number of bubblewrap in a list to deal with how characters can slip and slide around and through combat turn after turn, invariably tying up the back lines by turn 3 without much to do about it. Going multiple lines of wrap can buy more time, at more cost.

Question is - is bubble out? Is it a divide and conquer a more effective way to dealing with these masses? Seems a matter of efficiency is to think on here... 800 pts on chaff seems like a have price to pay

all the detractors for using so many models (100+) just makes a list yet not as competitive...too...

i mean, in all honesty, why not park small but solid units in spots that require the enemy to engage or deal with - units that say for example have stronger guns at closer range for a cheaper cost (plasma), and when charged die clean and cheap, leaving the opponent wide open for shooting.

I've yet to see a tactic in bubble wrapping that can't be broken with some kind of shenanigan via flyers and psykers and all these funky powers (and frankly, wildly awesome and unexpectable lol) from all these varieties of factions and codex's.

"Don't fight strength with strength, oppose where it hurts" comes to mind in 8th...

Bubble wrap can be countered for sure. The point is not to make an impenetrable shield but rather to make a defense which will require the enemy to expend firepower and/or choppiness in a target that will give him far fewer points killed than if he was attacking your good stuff directly.

Obviously it works primarily against melee and also units entering from Reserves. One reason why it is less important is that the Beta rules have nerfed the Turn 1 alpha strike from Reserves.

Bubble wrap can be broken and often it only takes a turn or so to do it. But if 200 points or so of wrap can buy a turn or two for the rest of your army to fire at full effect before the enemy starts trying to assault them or fry them with melta guns then they have done their job.

Some units are just there to die sufficiently slowly to present your enemy with a speed bump while your good stuff fires at their preferred targets.

So, in effect, it is a way of going about mitigating incoming shots for the most part.

Warp Spiders are a unit I think demonstrates a different approach, to playing shenanigans on the incoming fire and being able to fire back as well. Another good example would be a 5 man sniper team, cheap and camo'd so hard to shoot out - but able to deliver damage to any type of foe.

How combat begins and is initiated plays a big part for bubblewrap, delaying n all that... but seems any real great advantage gained has been nerfed in this edition. I've seen clever players climb through lines of CC as if they were gliding on ice haha

Seems this provides them in effect - TERRAIN haha, stuff I in fact paid for them to *infest*

what of the good ol' fashioned ork trying to take on 2 space marines, it being split up - the SM who he's chasing just runs whereas the SM who isn't being focused shoots... but on a larger scale, mitigate and yes accept losses - but these losses won't be en masse but rather able to divide up and therefore weaken the strength of their line.

imo... and I'm just wondering, anyone else thinking similarly?




Automatically Appended Next Post:
reserves are a "safe bet now...

Hmm sounds like you might be packing your bubble wrap too tightly. Units can only consolidate 3" after melee so make sure your units are more widely spaced. Then enemy attackers cannot simply consolidate from one assault into another.

Being a model has value. No matter how good or bad the saves are for the model or their utility in the game all models have value by sheer existence. Seen from this perspective, a cheap model is better than an expensive model. Any model can score objectives for example, so if it's not destroyed a cheap model will continue to do so. Also, being a speed bump has the most utility if you can block off movement in the movement phase. Chaff units continue to be able to do that. So codexes that don't have cheap units that "exist" suffer like marines do without allies.

Good advice. I sometimes mess this up myself, and a good player will be heading straight for that weakpoint.

Yeah, my "bubble wrap" deploys at least 7" away from the units they protect. I also use Flyers to block movement of non-Fly units.
Bubble wrap is not meant to permanently protect you army, but rather buy 1-2 turns.

I appreciate the advice and the experiences =)

May i offer a question?

If one were to have for the same pts cost as the equivalent bubble wrap:

half as many models
Twice as much firepower
Twice as hard to kill

If it were able to deploy on objective turn 1 as needed, bought a definite turn, would it be just still so lacking in comparison to some derp blob?

For example, tactics such as moving a fast vehicle to park directly an inch from a massive one like a land raider can cause it to effectively not have a move phase by all the additional inches it takes to maneuver but also the shooting it may then allocate to the skiff that is blocking it (tau pirahna tactics for example).

Less pts for in fact a lethal vehicle, deterring their plan

The problem is that without "derp wrap" that additional firepower gets shut down 1 turn early than it would have.

Think of it this way:
For 300pts I can get 2 Dakka tanks, but they might get stuck in melee by turn 2 and would not shot anymore.
For 250pts, however, I can get 1 Dakka tank and 10+ infantry models. If the Dakka tank gets to shoot past turn 3, the investment paid off and for 50pts less.