So I understand that Fidays are HB's Alpha Strikers (AS) but how can I work more than one into a list effectively. Would it make sense to try deploying one into the enemy DZ as the AS and keep one just outside laying mines as support? Or would it be best to deploy both into the DZ and try to have them divide and conquer the best they can? So far I have only use 1 in the DZ and while I stumble with the rules he's been effect and once killing enemy lieutenant first turn. But Alpha strikers are order sponges so running two alpha strikers seems awkward or difficult from "tactical planning" perspective. What do you guys believe?
Well, you could tag-team them.One takes out an elevated ARO piece, the other one sets up a Mine+Shotgun combo on an enemy Fireteam. Or one moves to his target, while the other sets up a mine against those who'd be able to ARO the first one. Or just use both of them to set up as many mines as possible outside of DZ, re-enter IMP-state and wait for their victims.
I only like one as an alpha striker. A second can maybe help for an alpha strike occasionally: - First one dies to a crit. - You're deploying in the DZ (usually not a good idea) and the first one fails his roll. - Opponent leaves out two vulnerable targets on different parts of the board. - The angles are best for one fiday to throw smoke and the other to move in. But those are all edge cases. More often than not, the first fiday will be sufficient for the alpha strike, and you won't have enough orders left over to spend on the second one effectively. 31 points is too many to spend on the off-chance it might be useful, so I usually only take one. I like two in zone control missions, they're great for keeping 68 points in one of the opponent's zones for zero orders.
The biggest mistake I see made with Fidays is to try and force them against a strongly-build defense. If you have two, you can take more ambitious risks first turn, and keep the other one loitering around as a persistent threat to the enemy. In some ways, a Fiday that's still alive after Turn 1 is more dangerous than a Fiday that attacks first turn. On first turn, a player has all of his units alive, and he can prepare for a Fiday using his fill arsenal of defensive tools. If the Fiday is still alive as the game progresses though, the opponent has to choose between attack and defense, and keep a constant lookout for the Fiday attacking his units from behind, or exploiting gaps that open up as the game progresses.
True. I prefer not to take the ambitious risks in the first place. If opponent has castled effectively, the fiday has already done his job. Instead of attacking, he's gonna lurk somewhere scary. So I still only need one :-) It's all preference and playstyle, though. When I used to play HB I always ran three, just because I like them.
I prefer 1 for first strikes, 2 eats up to many orders. and some armies just don't have decent targets. I have had success with 2 in Quadrant Control\Frontline missions. Play them very defensively in an forward zone. It really forces your opponent to spend a lot of orders for what should be an easy zone.