Welcome back to Firefight Fridays. Last week in the third article we discussed the battle grid and terrain in Firefight Tactical. At this point we have looked at most of the essentials of how the game works, so let’s start talking about the fun stuff that is built on top of the game’s engine. Specifically, this week we are talking about the five core squad types of Firefight Tactical, how they differ, and how they should optimally be used.

So Many Flavors to Choose From

I first want to address a design choice I made when it comes to infantry. There were obviously many ways I could have done things, ranging from historically accurate representations of divisions to generic one size fits all representations based on experience level. What I chose to do, at least for the core game, is a much gamier depiction, where individual infantry units are defined by their skill and order focus.

This is transparently not the most historically accurate representation, but I elected to do it anyway for the following reasons. Firstly, as I have stated many times, I aspire for Firefight Tactical to serve as an olive branch between the more euro type gamers and us hardcore wargame types. Having historically accurate unit names instead of “Recon Squad” would be counterproductive to that aim. Further, I wanted the bread-and-butter units of the game to be substantially different, to add more nuance to the action menus for the dice draft.

Squads in Firefight Tactical are defined by their function. This doesn’t limit any squads’ ability to perform the intended role of another squad (with one notable exception), but it does mean that Sentry squads are better at holding down a fixed position than others who might performi that mission.

As I have mentioned before, all basic infantry share the same 3 standard actions: Fire, Move, and Take Cover. Infantry units are differentiated by their stats, and more importantly their special actions. So, let’s take a closer look at those.

All About Firepower

The first squad type I will cover is the Fire Squad. In many ways these are the closest the game comes to a generic rifle squad. They are equally represented in both offensive and defensive setups, and are often critical for both. A Fire Squad’s first special action is a bonus Fire action, which when paired with the right die makes them exert even more firepower and can make them decidedly deadlier.

The Fire Squad’s second special action is Suppress. The hardest bit about using a Fire Squad effectively is choosing between that additional Firepower and Suppressing the target zone. Suppression is very powerful in Firefight Tactical, so this is in fact the most valuable tool the Fire Squad brings to the game. Suppressing fire works very similarly to standard Fire actions, but with several key differences. First and most notably, Suppress has a large Firepower bonus associated with it, making it very likely to hit. Second, however, Suppress cannot cause a casualty reduction for any reason. As a result Suppress is very likely to pin, but you will frequently be tasked to choose between the more likely pinning action and the less likely possibility of casualty reduction from the bonus Fire action. The final difference is that Suppress leaves a special Suppression counter in the target zone, regardless of whether it hits or not. For the remainder of the Game Turn all Fire checks coming from that zone will have their Firepower reduced by 1, and any unit entering the zone must make a standard Morale Check or else become pinned. All of this is to say that whilst they can be used to lethal effect, Fire Squads are most valuable for their ability pin the enemy and passively deny them mobility options.

Into the Breach

The next squad type I will cover is the Assault Squad. The Assault Squad is almost as common as the Fire Squad, and represents your more mobile forces. They are always useful because of their two very different special actions.

Firstly, Assault Squads can conduct Assault orders (surprise!). Assault allows them to fire on the move. They can perform the Fire portion of the action either before, during, or after the movement portion. This is exceptionally powerful due to the ability to pace the timing of the action. When resolving Assault, each time the active unit enters a new zone the unit has the option to declare the Fire action before the opponent has the option to declare Opportunity Fire (OPFire). This means that they can usually preempt OPFire, and potentially pin the enemy before they even get the chance to fire back. This represents “leapfrogging” type tactics, and is even more valuable when Assault Squads are moving to engage in Melee combat. This is true because while Good Order units are entitled to Final Protective Fire before an enemy moves into their zone to engage them in melee, this is again preempted by Assault. So Assault Sqauds can Fire into a position they are charging on their way in, in the hopes of pinning the enemy and denying them defensive fire.

Added to this powerful aggressive option, Assault Squads’ second special action is their ability to pop Smoke. Due to how Line of Sight and terrain works in Firefight Tactical, smoke terrain overlays are very powerful. When performing a Smoke action, the active player simply takes a Smoke terrain overlay and places it on top of the active unit’s zone or an adjacent zone. It temporarily replaces the underlying terrain, and remains there until the end of the Game Turn. In other words, with the correct dice, Assault Squads can selectively drop in obstructing terrain, breaking enemy Line of Sight, and enabling safe advances (or retreats) by other units.

Leading the Way

The next squad type is my personal favorite: the Recon Squad. The Recon Squad is almost exclusively represented in offensive setups (obviously). Where other squad types are all largely focused on their interactions with other units, the Recon Squad is much more oriented towards terrain and the battle grid.

The first, special action the Recon Squad has is their ability to Scout. I have talked about this before, but in essence while scouting a Recon Squad that would cause a new terrain card to be revealed will get to view two terrain cards and choose between them. The importance of this action cannot be overstated. Usually, the “bad” terrain in Firefight Tactical comprises less than half of the deck. Therefore, while it is not impossible, it is generally unlikely you will draw two terrible terrain cards at a time. So scouting is very important. The Scout action is frequently the difference between finding a fantastic approach to an objective, and getting stalled out whilst you try to navigate around marshlands or wire for multiple turns.

The Recon Squad’s second special action is Advance. While simple, it is also a game changer in the right circumstances. A unit that uses Advance moves exactly one zone, but cannot be subject to either OPFire or Final Protective Fire during that move. This means that they can both get themselves out of sticky situations without receiving punishment AND sneak up on enemy positions to stick them in melee without reprisal. Assault squads rush in, Scout squads creep forward.

Hold Until Relieved

The next squad type is the MVP for defensive setups: the Sentry Squad. The Sentry Squad is the bane of movement, as befits their role. When playing on offense during a scenario, one of your core priorities is to ascertain the positions of the Sentry Squads and try to either pin them, or else draft their dice options so you can advance more safely. Why? Sentry Squads have a massive bonus OPFire action.

OPFire is frightening to an attacker already. You add a Sentry Squad bonus to an avenue of fire, and an attacker has to specifically plan their approach around it. The only limit is that OPFire is always contingent on the unit’s facing, and position. As a result, once you know a Sentry Squad’s facing and position you can simply avoid them. But this brings me to their second special action.

The Sentry Squad can also Conceal. Normally, for a unit to become concealed once they have been revealed, they will need to entirely break Line of Sight with all known enemy positions. With Conceal, a unit only needs to be in hindering or obstructing terrain. Not only that, the Conceal action also creates an additional Dummy counter which is also placed as Concealed. The two are then shuffled and placed either together or separately in the original zone, or an adjacent zone that also contains hindering or obstructing terrain. Suffice it to say, this keeps your opponent’s guessing and can make the game’s Fog of War a factor deep into the scenario. Hit and run, anyone?

The Chaperone

The final squad type is easily the most unique: the Support Squad. The Support Squad is your HQ squad, and their job is to make sure that everyone else is doing what they need to. At first, they will seem like the least threatening piece in the field, but as usual in Firefight Tactical what seems innocuous is actually your biggest problem.

The Support Squad’s first special action is the aptly named Support. Support allows you to remove a die placed on another unit in the same zone with the Support Squad. This renders them available, and they can be used again the next impulse draft. This action can be a nightmare. There are a lot of actions in Firefight Tactical that can prove pivotal. Even more if they can occur twice. A mortar getting to fire twice in one Game Turn, a leader getting to Coordinate twice, your Sentry Squad in the best position getting to OPFire twice? Any of these, chosen at the right time, can turn the tide of the game.

The Support Squad’s second special action is to Facilitate. Facilitate lets you immediately activate an available unit in the same zone as the Support Squad without assigning a die to it, provided the die corresponding to their chosen action is in the dice pool. Like Support, this enables you to use the same unit twice in one turn. Unlike Support, the targeted unit can be used in two consecutive impulses. And you can mix and match. Use a Support Squad to Facilitate a Leader to Coordinate a move forward, and your Leader can be kept free for some other action. Perhaps even to Command that same Support Squad to Facilitate something else!

Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork

All these squads (to say nothing of support weapons, leaders, vehicles, etc.) are integral pieces of the puzzle the game presents to players, and can be required to achieve victory. Learning how to deploy and leverage these different squads properly, and in conjunction with one another, will be the first hurdle both to learning and later mastering Firefight Tactical.

Now that you understand squad types, next week we will make our last stop in the realm of core mechanisms and talk about the big three checks: Fire Checks, Morale Checks, and Rally Checks. See you there!

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Previous Articles:

Firefight Friday #1: Dice Driven Gaming

Firefight Friday #2: Ordering from the Menu

Firefight Friday #3: Dynamic Battlefields