Shot in the dark?

[MikkelPetersen]

Fellow DBMM'ers,

Much as I am endeared by my charming and valliant Ming Chinese Shot, I am struggling to put them to good use. They seem to me expensive, and - worse - struggling to stay alive against most opponents (elephant are, admittedly, a possible exception. I haven't tried them against those yet). I hope I am doing something wrong, as I would hate to leave them in the box.

Can anyone offer me some advice on how to keep my poor Shot alive?

Kind regards,

Mikkel

[toby]

The trouble with Shot is that they appear in so few lists that there aren't going to many people with much experience of them. As you say, they only quick-kill Elephants so they are relying on their high factor to hurt things before they end up in close combat (when they are just going to die). What did the ming use them against? Did they put them in the centre against infantry or on the flanks against cavalry?

Toby

[MikkelPetersen]

Thanks.

I think I'll have to try something "clever" involving portable obstacles (or temporary fortifications, even!). The problem is, of course, that their range is too short to be useful. Most enemies I've encountered simply move from beyond firing-range to close combat in one go. This is probably realistic enough, though. It's the way that Shot completely fall apart in close combat that has me bothered the most. I find it difficult to rationalize why Shot are so much more brittle than, say Bw(I) or Ax, in close combat.

Perhaps I should try fielding them in a mixed group - with alternating columns of blades and shot. Doing so might stiffen the Shot a bit, but I doubt it would accomplish much.

Anyway - thanks for the feedback! Any new ideas that might please the Ming are still welcome - and I'll be sure to let you know if I discover a clever way to keep them from being slaughtered.

Yours sincerely,

Mikkel

[Barritus]

A friend made good use of a lone Shooter under an earlier version of DBM, with a West Sudanese army (all right, it was Artillery (X) back then).

Funnily enough, before the comp in question, he'd gone around the club and asked people whether they'd spend the points on a Shooter or more Bow. I, along with everyone else, said to leave out the Shooter and take the extra Bow. He ignored us all and took the Shooter.

And weren't we silly. There were a couple of times when opponents simply couldn't avoid getting in front of the Shooter, and they paid for it, especially when they were assisted by nearby Bow. Much more effective than a couple more Bows.

So the key may be not to make too much of an effort to *use* them, but simply to integrate them into your army, and take advantage when your opponent's troops get in the way. Also, consider how many PIPs your opponents may use trying to avoid the Shooters, such that they waste PIPs which could be used elsewhere, even if the Shooters don't get many shots in. This suggests they shouldn't be massed, but split up among massed Bow.

The overall effect therefore shouldn't necessarily be judged solely on how many casualties they cause, but how their presence plays on the minds of your opponents - they get so obsessed dealing with one threat that they forget about all the others.

[toby]

Very good point. Its like Exp - the value isn't in the damage they cause but in the amount of disruption they cause to you enemies plans. I had a line of Cv(S) that were hit by 4 Exp(O) in a game the other day. They only killed 2 in the end, for the loss of 2 Exp(O), but my line of 8 Cv(S) ended up as groups all over the place as they struggled to deal with them and were easy meat for the Kn(F) that were coming in behind.

The advantage of troops like Exp(O) and Shooters is that people have rarely fought them so don't have a feel for how dangerous they are and a lot of people err on the side of caution when it comes to the unknown.

[MikkelPetersen]

Excellent analysis, and very sound advice.

Youre' probably right. I should worry less about the inability of Shot to survive an extended melee, and place more emphasis on the "no-one-expects-the-Spanish-Inquisition"-effect. The comparison with Expendables makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it. And I agree that during a battle, there might be situations where a couple of well-placed elements of Shot could be a real nuisance. 

I - and my loyal Ming - thank you.

Sincerely,

Mikkel

[Barritus]

I'd just like to add that this player made excellent use of the West Sudanese's stampeding cattle as well, in much the same way as Toby describes. He said he never spent more than 1 PIP a turn on them, but expected most opponents would spend a lot more dealing with them, and those PIPs spent there were PIPs not spent elsewhere.