The Season 10 ITS book says: • Each player must deploy one HVT model at the beginning of his Deployment Phase. I find most people are pretty relaxed about when they put their HVT down, and mostly do it at the end of their first deployment phase (if going first this would be before the opponent starts putting anything down). Do any of your metas enforce that the HVT has to be placed before putting any models down, and that it can't be moved once you've started putting down your other units?
I would say the only reason to enforce it is that it's easier to forget placing the HVT at all otherwise.
Mostly in my meta, people try to deploy HVT first but often forget and deploy it whenever in they deployement they remember I never met an oponent who had a problem for deploying the HVT after all troops except reserve because I forgot it
Yeah. The only effect this has is if you have troops which roll for their deployment, so technically HVT should go down before this. I try to remind everyone about it, but in a relaxed "this is technically how you should do it" way.
In our meta we start the deployment phase for one player - he deployes his troopes at the table. Thinking. Maybe shifting things. Then he declares his stuff deployed and is done (besides the reserve). The other player starts deploying.... There is no actual timing in the deployment phase the way we play it.
We intend to, try to, but don't always. Yesterday I saw a post (on a blog maybe?) about being organized and one the recommendations was only bring the models you are going to use. This is helpful with the hvt because at least you can see that all of the models in the box need deployed.