{ "site": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/", "license": "Unofficial, independent analysis by fans. Not affiliated with, endorsed or licensed by Games Workshop. No rules text is reproduced here — mission cards are referenced by name only, and every judgement on this site is our own.", "scale": { "edgeNeutral": 10, "max": 20, "min": 0 }, "generated": "2026-05-09", "counts": { "byKind": { "codex-analysis": 1, "datasheet-analysis": 1, "layout-analysis": 3, "matchup-analysis": 15 }, "byStatus": { "draft": 20 }, "claims": 185, "listRequirements": 129, "notes": 20, "ratings": 210 }, "matrix": { "disruption": { "disruption": { "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/outmanoeuvre", "note": "disposition-matchup/disruption--mirror", "side": 0 }, "priority-assets": { "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/locate-and-deny", "note": "disposition-matchup/priority-assets--vs--disruption", "side": 1 }, "purge-the-foe": { "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/delaying-action", "note": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--disruption", "side": 1 }, "reconnaissance": { "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/smoke-and-mirrors", "note": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--vs--disruption", "side": 1 }, "take-and-hold": { "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/death-trap", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--disruption", "side": 1 } }, "priority-assets": { "disruption": { "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/extract-relic", "note": "disposition-matchup/priority-assets--vs--disruption", "side": 0 }, "priority-assets": { "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/sabotage", "note": "disposition-matchup/priority-assets--mirror", "side": 0 }, "purge-the-foe": { "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/vital-link", "note": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--priority-assets", "side": 1 }, "reconnaissance": { "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/vanguard-operation", "note": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--vs--priority-assets", "side": 1 }, "take-and-hold": { "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/secure-asset", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--priority-assets", "side": 1 } }, "purge-the-foe": { "disruption": { "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/punishment", "note": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--disruption", "side": 0 }, "priority-assets": { "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/destroyer-s-wrath", "note": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--priority-assets", "side": 0 }, "purge-the-foe": { "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder", "note": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--mirror", "side": 0 }, "reconnaissance": { "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/consecrate", "note": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--reconnaissance", "side": 0 }, "take-and-hold": { "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/unstoppable-force", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--purge-the-foe", "side": 1 } }, "reconnaissance": { "disruption": { "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/surveil-the-foe", "note": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--vs--disruption", "side": 0 }, "priority-assets": { "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/search-and-scour", "note": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--vs--priority-assets", "side": 0 }, "purge-the-foe": { "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/triangulation", "note": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--reconnaissance", "side": 1 }, "reconnaissance": { "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/gather-intel", "note": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--mirror", "side": 0 }, "take-and-hold": { "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/reconnaissance-sweep", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--reconnaissance", "side": 1 } }, "take-and-hold": { "disruption": { "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/determined-acquisition", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--disruption", "side": 0 }, "priority-assets": { "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/inescapable-dominion", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--priority-assets", "side": 0 }, "purge-the-foe": { "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/immovable-object", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--purge-the-foe", "side": 0 }, "reconnaissance": { "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/purge-and-secure", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--reconnaissance", "side": 0 }, "take-and-hold": { "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/battlefield-dominance", "note": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--mirror", "side": 0 } } }, "notes": [ { "id": "codex/thousand-sons", "kind": "codex-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Thousand Sons — the real codex is 34 sheets", "subjects": [ "faction:TS" ], "keyFinding": "The book prints 60 datasheets; 26 are Legends and cannot touch a tournament table, 6 more are daemons locked behind 1 detachment. The codex you actually play is 34 sheets, 1 attachment market, and an army rule that lands 83% of the time.", "ratings": [ { "metric": "ceiling", "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "computed", "rationale": "The best builds move real numbers: a Terminator Sorcerer turns Scarab Occult fire into +113% expected damage into vehicles — the codex's only S, and it only exists once that leader steps in." }, { "metric": "floor", "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "computed", "rationale": "The Battleline core is self-sufficient: Rubric Marines at 100 points carry 10 control per 100 points and cost the enemy 391 points of shooting to remove, before any leader joins them." }, { "metric": "complexity", "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The army rule asks for a target choice, a caster choice and a warp-charge gamble every Shooting phase, on top of an attachment market with 7 priced pairings — the codex rewards sequencing more than most." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "computed", "rationale": "The engine wants a caster within reach of the right enemy every turn, and 1 casting attempt in 6 backfires into your own unit — a running cost in bodies as well as in sequencing." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Scope is the first finding: 26 of the 60 printed datasheets are Legends (not matched-play legal) and 3 of the 9 detachments belong to a different game mode — both excluded from every number here. 6 daemon sheets carry the Scintillating Legions keyword instead of the faction's own and are legal only inside Changehost of Deceit." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The army rule is 4 effects behind a 2D6 test: the cheap one lands 83% of the time and grants army-wide rerolls of 1 to hit against a chosen victim; the expensive one lands 28% of the time and sharpens armour penetration against it. Rolling doubles backfires for mortal wounds — about 1 attempt in 6 — so full-throttle casting has a body count." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Attachment is the codex's real currency: a plain Sorcerer adds +92% expected anti-vehicle damage to Rubric Marines through lethal hits, and a Terminator Sorcerer does the same for Scarab Occult at +113%. The letters on the tier board move exactly where a leader steps in." }, { "type": "cost", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The bottom of the matched-play board is the Heldrake at 3/20: 1.7 expected damage per 100 points, 0 objective control, and it still concedes kill points when it falls. The doom-engine hulls above it (Helbrute 15/20, Maulerfiend 15/20) do its job for fewer points." }, { "type": "list-building", "phase": "list-building", "text": "The cheapest real scoring in the codex is Tzaangors at 70 points: 14.3 control per 100 points, 601 enemy points to remove per 100, and a Shaman upgrade worth +33% output. Nothing else in the book buys board presence at that rate." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gallery": "1.0.0" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The verdict\n\nYour codex prints 60 datasheets. 26 of them are Legends — they cannot touch a\ntournament table. 3 of the 9 detachments belong to a different game mode.\nAnd 6 of the \"your faction\" daemons refuse to join a normal list at all.\n\nSo the real codex is **34 sheets, 6 detachments, 1 attachment market**. That's\nnot a downgrade — that's clarity. The pruned book is genuinely good: a\nBattleline core that's cheap to hold ground with and brutal to remove, a short\nlist of leaders who don't fight so much as multiply, and an army rule that\nasks 1 question every Shooting phase — *which enemy unit would you like the\nwhole army to be better against?*\n\nThe trap isn't bad units. The trap is buying the wrong half of the book.\nWe measured which half. Here's the math.\n\n## The cut, so you never learn it the hard way\n\n- **26 Legends sheets** — every Sicaran, the Falchion, the Leviathan, the\n Thunderhawk, the Lord on his flying frisbee. Gone from every number and\n every tier on these pages. If a list guide rates them, close the tab.\n- **3 detachments** printed for a different game mode. Devoted Thralls is not\n a matched-play choice. It never was in this edition.\n- **6 daemon sheets** — both greater daemons, Horrors of both colours,\n Flamers, Screamers — carry the Scintillating Legions keyword, not yours.\n They exist for exactly 1 detachment, and we rate them there, behind the door.\n\n## The army rule, priced\n\nEvery Shooting phase your casters roll 2D6 against a warp-charge bar,\narmy-wide, aimed at 1 victim. The printed bars, converted to honesty:\n\n- **The cheap ritual lands 83% of the time** and grants rerolls of 1 to hit\n against the victim, army-wide. Reliable enough to build every turn around.\n- **The armour-sharpener lands 28%.** That's a lottery ticket, not a plan —\n until Ahriman or Magnus casts it, and the ticket becomes 42% and 58%.\n- **The direct-damage ritual lands 58%** for about 1 mortal wound. Its real\n job is waking the 2 Predator hulls, whose clauses switch on against\n anything a psychic attack already touched this phase.\n- **Doubles backfire.** About 1 attempt in 6 eats mortal wounds on the\n caster's own unit. Over 5 rounds of greedy casting that's a real body\n count. The cheap caster in every Rubric squad is not a luxury.\n\nThe rule reads as spectacle. It prices as a targeted, army-wide accuracy tax\non 1 victim per turn — with a self-harm clause that keeps you honest.\n\n## 6 detachments, 3 that move numbers\n\n- **Grand Coven** is the damage pick: its boons push the caster roster up\n 26 to 37% — the Shaman, the Sorcerer, Ahriman. If your list is spells with\n legs, this is the one.\n- **Rubricae Phalanx** is the durability pick: +1 armour on Rubricae bodies\n against small arms. The massed-fire half of the incoming spectrum becomes\n paint. The flamer-brick detachment.\n- **Hexwarp Thrallband** pays the characters themselves: +17% on the casting\n elite.\n- **Changehost of Deceit** is not a buff, it's a door — the only legal route\n to the daemon allies below.\n- The other 2 buy things a closed form can't price — a single-die salvage, a\n pact mechanic — and they're flagged on every page rather than silently\n scored at 0. We don't fake numbers. Ever.\n\n## The attachment market\n\nCharacters carry no letter here, on purpose: a leader isn't a unit, it's a\nmultiplier with legs. The market, measured:\n\n| Leader | Joins | What the number does |\n|---|---|---|\n| Sorcerer | Rubric Marines | +92% vs vehicles, +20% vs elites |\n| Sorcerer in Terminator Armour | Scarab Occult | +113% vs vehicles, +46% vs elites |\n| Infernal Master | Rubric Marines | +25% across every target class |\n| Tzaangor Shaman | Tzaangors and kin | +33% across the board for 60 points |\n| Exalted Sorcerer | Rubric Marines | the ward climbs to 4+ for the whole unit |\n\nThat table IS the codex. The same 100-point brick is a B alone and an A with\nthe right passenger — and the only S on the board exists once the Terminator\nSorcerer steps into the Scarab brick. Seriously.\n\n## The board\n\n```figure\nkind: tier-board\nfaction: TS\ncaption: Every matched-play sheet, banded from measured output, durability, control, nerve and what each death concedes. Arrows show where the best measured build moves a letter. Allies sit apart — a normal list cannot take them.\nalt: Thousand Sons tier board, every rated datasheet banded S to D\n```\n\nRead the bottom before the top. The Heldrake is a D at 3/20 — 1.7 damage per\n100 points, 0 objective control, and it still hands over kill points when it\ndies. It is not a bad sheet that skill redeems. Stop playing Heldrakes.\n\nThen read the quiet A-tier nobody streams about: Helbrute and Maulerfiend at\n15/20 — cheap doom-engines that out-fight hulls twice their price. Sekhetar\nRobots at 13/20 with 8.9 damage per 100 into infantry. And Tzaangors at 70\npoints holding 14.3 control per 100 — the best board presence per point in\nthe book, and a Shaman makes them 33% angrier.\n\n## The allies behind the door\n\nPick Changehost of Deceit and 6 daemon sheets unlock. Measured against your\nown codex: Flamers 14/20, Pink Horrors 14/20, Screamers 13/20, Blue Horrors\n11/20 — plus both greater daemons as leaders. That's a genuinely different\narmy, screening and trickery instead of a firebase. Just know the price: the\ndoor costs you every other detachment's rule.\n\n## If you want the numbers\n\nEvery figure above re-derives from the published datasheet model: expected\ndamage per 100 points against a versioned gallery of reference targets,\ndurability as enemy points required to remove 100 points of the unit, control\nper point with nerve scored separately, and the kill points each death\nconcedes. Pairings and detachments are the same model re-run with the printed\nmodifier applied — a combo here is a measured delta, not an adjective. What a\nverdict can't price is flagged on the page it belongs to. The coverage badge\nis part of the method, not a disclaimer.\n\nGo put it on the table. Seriously.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/thousand-sons/" }, { "id": "datasheet/ts-rubric-marines", "kind": "datasheet-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Rubric Marines — stop playing them naked", "subjects": [ "datasheet:TS/rubric-marines", "faction:TS" ], "keyFinding": "100 points of wall that costs the enemy 391 points of shooting to remove — and the guns are a rounding error until you pick the right passenger and the right flamers.", "ratings": [ { "metric": "floor", "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "computed", "rationale": "Alone and unled: 5.3 expected damage per 100 points into infantry, 10 control per 100, 391 enemy points of shooting to remove — the codex's baseline body, above the book's median on every defensive axis." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "computed", "rationale": "Led and sequenced, the same points hit +92% into vehicles under a Sorcerer's lethal hits with the armour-sharpening ritual up — the sheet's guns are average until the codex switches them on." }, { "metric": "swing", "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "computed", "rationale": "The gap between the naked line and the full stack is the point: about half the unit's realistic output lives in decisions made around it — leader, loadout, ritual order — not on the sheet." }, { "metric": "exposure", "value": 7, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "computed", "rationale": "It does its job from ground it wants to hold anyway; the 24-inch boltgun build never has to cross the board. The flamer build trades that safety for +61% up close." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "value": 6, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "It holds, it shoots, it does not chase; the only ongoing cost is keeping the leader alive inside it and choosing the ritual target each turn." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Rubric Marines are the codex's control price-setter: 10 objective control per 100 points on a body that costs 391 enemy points per 100 to remove, with a 58% battle-shock pass rate as the fine print. Every other holding option in the book is measured against this line." }, { "type": "cost", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The squad's compulsory sorcerer is also the army rule's cheapest caster — the unit's real shape is 4 bodies plus a spell platform, and protecting that 1 model is worth more than the squad's guns." }, { "type": "pitfall", "phase": "list-building", "text": "Taken naked as a gunline unit, the sheet underwhelms: 1 expected damage per 100 points into vehicles is bottom-third. Measured tier B at 11/20 naked; A once a Sorcerer steps in. The loadout question is real too: warpflamers buy +61% into infantry up close and pay -48% at range." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gallery": "1.0.0" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The verdict\n\nRubric Marines are a B. Add an 80-point Sorcerer and they're an A. That's the\nwhole review — the rest is me proving it, and telling you which flamers to glue.\n\nHere's the frame: 100 points buys a wall that costs your opponent **391\npoints of shooting** to remove. The guns are a rounding error until you\ndecide who rides inside and what's in their hands. Two decisions. Both yours.\nBoth measured below.\n\n## What 100 points actually buys\n\nThe 5-man brick holds **10 objective control per 100 points** behind a ward\nthat shrugs a third of everything armour-piercing was supposed to fix. Our\ndurability gallery — 6 reference gun profiles, points versus points — says\nthe enemy burns 391 points of firepower to clear 100 of yours. Only the\nScarab brick beats that in this codex, and it costs nearly twice as much.\n\nThe fine print: **58% to pass a battle-shock test.** Space-marine Leadership,\nnothing special. Drop below half strength at the wrong moment and that\nbeautiful control number reads 0 until the next test. Plan the squad count\naround it — 1 squad of 10 puts all 20 control behind a single test; 2 squads\nof 5 never lose more than half of it to 1 bad roll.\n\n```figure\nkind: damage-spectrum\nfaction: TS\nunit: rubric-marines\ncaption: The naked line, default boltguns. Read it as the floor, not the sheet — every loadout and leader below moves these bars.\nalt: Rubric Marines expected damage per 100 points against the three reference target classes\n```\n\nOne more thing the tier board can't say: the squad's sorcerer is the\ncheapest way the army rule gets cast. You're not buying 5 bodies. You're\nbuying 4 bodies and a spell platform. Screen accordingly.\n\n## Flamers or boltguns? Here's the math\n\nThe option box lets any number of the 9 rank-and-file swap inferno boltguns\nfor warpflamers. Per 100 points, into infantry:\n\n- **Boltguns:** 8.6 at range, 8.8 up close. Steady. 24 inches of reach.\n- **Warpflamers ×9:** 4.5 at range, **14.2 up close** — **+61%** where it\n counts, **-48%** where it doesn't.\n\nSo the question is not \"which gun is better\". It's \"where will this unit\nstand\". Boltguns hold the midfield from cover and never move. Warpflamers\nwant the enemy to come to them — and when someone charges your objective,\ntorrent weapons hit automatically in Overwatch while boltguns are fishing\nfor 6s. A flamer brick on a contested marker is a 1CP ambush the charger\npriced wrong.\n\nThe leader changes the answer, and the model measured it. A Sorcerer's\nlethal hits need hit rolls to crit: boltguns gain +8% up close, flamers +3%\n— auto-hits never crit, the buff mostly misses the flamer build. An Infernal\nMaster's extra hits on 6s: boltguns +25%, flamers +8%. **Every hit-roll buff\nin the codex pays the boltgun build first.** Going flamers? You're buying\nthe unit's own wall, not its ceiling.\n\nAnd take the soulreaper cannon in every build: +15% into infantry, +33% into\nvehicles, for free. There's no argument on this one. Glue it.\n\n## Who rides inside\n\n- **Sorcerer, 80 points:** 6s to hit wound automatically — **+92% into\n vehicles**, +20% into elites. The B-to-A button. This is the default.\n- **Infernal Master:** +25% into everything. The flat-rate pick when your\n list already has anti-tank.\n- **Exalted Sorcerer:** the ward climbs to 4+ for the whole unit. The\n anti-tank counter-punch starts bouncing. The durability pick.\n\nThe sequence costs nothing and pays every turn: pick the ritual's victim,\ncast, then shoot the same target. The cheap ritual lands 83% of the time and\nhands the whole army rerolls of 1 to hit into that victim. A unit that reads\nas a Battleline tax is, sequenced, a fire platform your opponent has to answer.\n\n## How you actually play them\n\nNaked 5-man: park it on your home objective and forget it. That's 100 points\ndoing 2 jobs — holding and casting — and it needs nothing from you.\n\nLed 10-man: that's your midfield. Boltguns if it holds centre from cover.\nWarpflamers if your plan is \"come and take it\" — and in **Rubricae Phalanx**,\nthe detachment adds 1 to their armour against small arms, so the massed-fire\nhalf of the incoming spectrum turns into paint while the flamers wait.\n\nThe 1 mistake the sheet punishes: buying them as a gunline and leaving the\nsocket empty. The guns you paid for are average until the codex switches\nthem on, and the switch costs 80 points.\n\nGo put it on the table. Seriously.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/ts-rubric-marines/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/disruption--mirror", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Disruption mirror — Outmanoeuvre", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/disruption", "gdm:primary/disruption/outmanoeuvre" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "disruption", "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/outmanoeuvre", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "disruption", "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/outmanoeuvre", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 10, "confidence": "high", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: identical cards." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 20, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "An escalating per-objective engine (4 then 5 then 6 VP) on top of a recurring 10 VP for the enemy home is the highest ceiling in the matrix." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 20, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Home is excluded from every line, so a player pinned in their own deployment zone scores almost nothing." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Averaged across a card that flips mid-game: rounds 2-3 score at your Command phase (durability), rounds 4-5 at the end of your turn (burst) — see the body and the engine-note claim." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the same mid-game tempo flip applies to each side." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The mid-game timing flip is the single easiest thing to misplay in the whole matrix." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 18, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Your home objective is worth nothing and the enemy home objective is worth 10 VP a turn: every incentive on the card pushes your whole army onto ground the opponent controls. The most expensive card in the matrix to run." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Wide holds tie up bodies, but nothing asks a unit to stop shooting." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 18, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Your home objective is worth nothing and the enemy home objective is worth 10 VP a turn: every incentive on the card pushes your whole army onto ground the opponent controls. The most expensive card in the matrix to run." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Wide holds tie up bodies, but nothing asks a unit to stop shooting." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The hold engine escalates: 4 VP per objective in round 1, 5 VP in rounds 2-3, 6 VP from round 4 — and every line excludes your home objective, so a body sitting at home earns nothing all game." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The scoring checkpoint MOVES: rounds 2-3 score at your Command phase, rounds 4-5 at the end of your turn. Early holds must survive the enemy turn; late grabs pay immediately." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Controlling the opponent home objective pays 10 VP at the end of any turn — repeatable, and larger than 2 objectives at the peak rate." }, { "type": "threat", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their home raid is worth 10 VP a turn to them, and your own home is worth 0 VP to you — you cannot justify a garrison on scoring grounds alone, only on denial grounds." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their home line is worth 10 VP a turn to them and their own home is worth zero, so they will not defend it and neither can you afford to ignore yours. Screen your back line from round 2 — it is the single highest-value defensive investment in the matrix. Then, in rounds 2-3 only, remember their holds have to survive your turn: everything you shoot off a marker before their Command phase is 5 VP denied. From round 4 that window closes, so front-load your denial." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Disruption needs: Speed above all. Nothing on this card rewards sitting still, and your home objective pays zero. A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs. One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line. Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (bands on the short edges) reads 9/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 6/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 4/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 40.2% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 2 and 91.7% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0.9% on Layout 3." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Speed above all", "trait": [ "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Speed above all." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs", "count": 4, "trait": [ "deep-strike" ], "phase": "list-building", "matchupSpecific": true, "why": "A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One cheap screen for your own home", "count": 1, "trait": [ "screening", "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3", "count": 2, "trait": [ "durability" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nThe most explosive card in the game and the easiest to misplay. Your own home objective is worth **nothing**, the enemy's is worth **10 VP a turn**, and the hold engine escalates from 4 to 5 to 6 VP per objective as the game goes on. The trap is in the timing: the checkpoint moves from your Command phase to the end of your turn in round 4, and players who do not notice leave a fortune on the table.\n\n| | Disruption (side 0) | Disruption (side 1) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Outmanoeuvre | Outmanoeuvre |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 18/20 | 18/20 |\n| Activation cost | 12/20 | 12/20 |\n\nA hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means **there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards** — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.\n\n## Playing Disruption\n\n*Your card: Outmanoeuvre. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nRound 1, grab wide — 4 VP per objective. Rounds 2 and 3, hold at 5 VP per objective, checked at your Command phase. From round 4, 6 VP per objective checked at the **end of your turn**, which means a late grab pays instantly and never has to survive a reply. And all game long, 10 VP at the end of any turn you hold their home objective.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nRounds 2-3 demand durability — those holds must survive a full enemy turn. Rounds 4-5 demand the opposite: hold your movement back and take everything on your own turn, because nothing has to live afterwards. Playing rounds 4-5 the way you played rounds 2-3 costs 12 to 18 VP. Exposure 18/20, activation cost 12/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir home line is worth 10 VP a turn to them and their own home is worth zero, so **they will not defend it and neither can you afford to ignore yours**. Screen your back line from round 2 — it is the single highest-value defensive investment in the matrix. Then, in rounds 2-3 only, remember their holds have to survive your turn: everything you shoot off a marker before their Command phase is 5 VP denied. From round 4 that window closes, so front-load your denial.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Speed above all. Nothing on this card rewards sitting still, and your home objective pays zero.\n- A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs.\n- One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line.\n- Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn.\n\n## Playing Disruption\n\n*Your card: Outmanoeuvre. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nRound 1, grab wide — 4 VP per objective. Rounds 2 and 3, hold at 5 VP per objective, checked at your Command phase. From round 4, 6 VP per objective checked at the **end of your turn**, which means a late grab pays instantly and never has to survive a reply. And all game long, 10 VP at the end of any turn you hold their home objective.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nRounds 2-3 demand durability — those holds must survive a full enemy turn. Rounds 4-5 demand the opposite: hold your movement back and take everything on your own turn, because nothing has to live afterwards. Playing rounds 4-5 the way you played rounds 2-3 costs 12 to 18 VP. Exposure 18/20, activation cost 12/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir home line is worth 10 VP a turn to them and their own home is worth zero, so **they will not defend it and neither can you afford to ignore yours**. Screen your back line from round 2 — it is the single highest-value defensive investment in the matrix. Then, in rounds 2-3 only, remember their holds have to survive your turn: everything you shoot off a marker before their Command phase is 5 VP denied. From round 4 that window closes, so front-load your denial.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Speed above all. Nothing on this card rewards sitting still, and your home objective pays zero.\n- A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs.\n- One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line.\n- Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nDisruption mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | bands on the short edges | 9/20 | 4.6% | 91.7% | 20.4% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 6/20 | 4% | 40.2% | — |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 4/20 | 0.9% | 54.6% | 2.7% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — bands on the short edges, openness **9/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **4.6%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **91.7%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **20.4%**. 46% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **4%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **40.2%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (90% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **4/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0.9%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **54.6%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **2.7%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (92% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 2** is where it is cheapest (40.2% exposure against 91.7% on Layout 1) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- End of round 3 — your last Command-phase checkpoint. Everything after this is timed to your own end of turn.\n- Any turn from 2 — is their home reachable? 10 VP is worth almost any unit you own.\n- Round 5 — grab everything reachable on your own turn. Nothing has to survive.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/disruption--mirror/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/priority-assets--mirror", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Priority Assets mirror — Sabotage", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/priority-assets", "gdm:primary/priority-assets/sabotage" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "priority-assets", "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/sabotage", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "priority-assets", "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/sabotage", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 10, "confidence": "high", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: identical cards." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Per-unit sabotage scoring (3 VP, +2 VP in enemy territory) scales with unit count but has no big single payout." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "A flat 4 VP hold line plus one sabotage a turn is reliable even from a losing board." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Sabotage resolves at the end of your turn, so it rewards pushing forward on your own activation." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Simple engine, but the enemy-territory rider forces a real risk calculation every turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 17, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Sabotage is worth 5 VP instead of 3 in the opponent territory, so the card explicitly pays you to send units where they die." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Each scoring unit spends its turn sabotaging rather than shooting." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 17, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Sabotage is worth 5 VP instead of 3 in the opponent territory, so the card explicitly pays you to send units where they die." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Each scoring unit spends its turn sabotaging rather than shooting." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The hold line is flat (4 VP for one or more objectives, home excluded), so a second and third objective are worth zero — the scaling is entirely in the number of units that sabotage." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Sabotaging inside the opponent territory is worth 5 VP per unit instead of 3, so the mirror is a forward-pressure race, not a home-sitting race." }, { "type": "counter", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Screen your own territory: every enemy unit you keep out of it downgrades their sabotage from 5 VP to 3 VP." }, { "type": "pitfall", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Holding 3 objectives feels safe and scores exactly the same as holding one — the units are wasted." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Screen your own territory. Every enemy unit you keep out of your half turns their 5 VP into 3. That is a 40% pay cut for a job a single cheap unit can do, and it is the highest-value defensive action on this card. Beyond that, punish the sabotage units: they are cheap, they are alone in your deployment zone, and they are not shooting back." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Priority Assets needs: Numbers. The card pays per unit, so three 60-point units beat one 200-point unit every single time. Mobility — the sabotage has to happen in their half to pay full price. One durable holder for the flat 4 VP, and nothing more spent on objectives. A screen along your own territory edge. It denies 2 VP per enemy unit per turn and pays for itself immediately." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 4/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 4/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 39.1% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 2 and 50% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 5.1% on Layout 1." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "The card pays per unit", "count": 3, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "The card pays per unit, so three 60-point units beat one 200-point unit every single time." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Mobility", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Mobility — the sabotage has to happen in their half to pay full price." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One durable holder for the flat 4 VP", "count": 1, "trait": [ "durability", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One durable holder for the flat 4 VP, and nothing more spent on objectives." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A screen along your own territory edge", "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A screen along your own territory edge." }, { "side": 0, "role": "It denies 2 VP per enemy unit per turn and pays for itself immediately", "count": 2, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "It denies 2 VP per enemy unit per turn and pays for itself immediately." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nThe lowest ceiling in the matrix on paper, and the widest army it rewards. Holding pays a flat 4 VP no matter how much ground you own, while sabotage pays **per unit** — and 5 VP instead of 3 when that unit is in the enemy's half. So both of you are paid to push cheap bodies forward and to slam the door on the way back.\n\n| | Priority Assets (side 0) | Priority Assets (side 1) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Sabotage | Sabotage |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 17/20 | 17/20 |\n| Activation cost | 14/20 | 14/20 |\n\nA hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means **there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards** — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.\n\n## Playing Priority Assets\n\n*Your card: Sabotage. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nHold 1 objective, cheaply, for 4 VP a round. Then send units to commit sabotage: 3 VP each, 5 VP each in their territory. Three cheap units in their half is 15 VP a turn, which no amount of objective holding will match.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nEvery sabotaging unit spends its turn not shooting, and the good version of the plan sends it where it will probably die. That is fine — a unit that sabotages in their half has already banked 5 VP before it dies. Losing it is a business expense, not a disaster. Exposure 17/20, activation cost 14/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\n**Screen your own territory.** Every enemy unit you keep out of your half turns their 5 VP into 3. That is a 40% pay cut for a job a single cheap unit can do, and it is the highest-value defensive action on this card. Beyond that, punish the sabotage units: they are cheap, they are alone in your deployment zone, and they are not shooting back.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Numbers. The card pays per unit, so three 60-point units beat one 200-point unit every single time.\n- Mobility — the sabotage has to happen in their half to pay full price.\n- One durable holder for the flat 4 VP, and nothing more spent on objectives.\n- A screen along your own territory edge. It denies 2 VP per enemy unit per turn and pays for itself immediately.\n\n## Playing Priority Assets\n\n*Your card: Sabotage. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nHold 1 objective, cheaply, for 4 VP a round. Then send units to commit sabotage: 3 VP each, 5 VP each in their territory. Three cheap units in their half is 15 VP a turn, which no amount of objective holding will match.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nEvery sabotaging unit spends its turn not shooting, and the good version of the plan sends it where it will probably die. That is fine — a unit that sabotages in their half has already banked 5 VP before it dies. Losing it is a business expense, not a disaster. Exposure 17/20, activation cost 14/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\n**Screen your own territory.** Every enemy unit you keep out of your half turns their 5 VP into 3. That is a 40% pay cut for a job a single cheap unit can do, and it is the highest-value defensive action on this card. Beyond that, punish the sabotage units: they are cheap, they are alone in your deployment zone, and they are not shooting back.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Numbers. The card pays per unit, so three 60-point units beat one 200-point unit every single time.\n- Mobility — the sabotage has to happen in their half to pay full price.\n- One durable holder for the flat 4 VP, and nothing more spent on objectives.\n- A screen along your own territory edge. It denies 2 VP per enemy unit per turn and pays for itself immediately.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nPriority Assets mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the short axis | 4/20 | 5.1% | 50% | 1.6% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 5/20 | 10% | 39.1% | 0% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the long axis | 4/20 | 13.7% | 40.5% | 1.8% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **4/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **5.1%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **50%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **1.6%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (92% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **10%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **39.1%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. 82% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **4/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **13.7%** of the enemy deployment zone. Raiding a home marker costs **40.5%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **1.8%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (96% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 2** is where it is cheapest (39.1% exposure against 50% on Layout 1) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Deployment — how many units can you afford to lose per turn? That number is your score rate.\n- Every turn — push or consolidate? Push, unless it costs you the single held objective.\n- Round 5 — no end-of-battle bonus exists, so maximise simultaneous sabotage on the last turn.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/priority-assets--mirror/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/priority-assets--vs--disruption", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Priority Assets vs Disruption — Extract Relic / Locate and Deny", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/priority-assets", "gdm:disposition/disruption", "gdm:primary/priority-assets/extract-relic", "gdm:primary/disruption/locate-and-deny" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "priority-assets", "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/extract-relic", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "disruption", "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/locate-and-deny", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Verified against the printed cards, not read off them: Extract Relic pays 4 VP for performing a sensor sweep and Locate and Deny pays nothing for the identical action, while Locate and Deny takes only 1 VP more for a kill on an objective. Priority Assets also banks 8 VP a turn from its own half and the centre against 4, and runs 35 VP past the primary cap against 20. The marker clauses look mirrored; the payouts are not." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Sensor sweep, a kill rider and the marker clause stack to a good turn, but nothing pays big alone." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Same shape, with the marker clause under your own control." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The 4 VP hold line and the sensor sweep are dependable; the marker clause is not." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Holding 1 objective plus a self-controlled marker clause is a stable base." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Actions and kills resolve at the end of your turn." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Same shape." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "You have to read the opponent marker plan to know whether half your card is live." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "You choose when the clause is live, but you must also deny theirs." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The marker clause demands exclusive presence inside a terrain area — you must both be there and keep them out." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "A sensor sweep every turn plus contesting a marker area is 2 units permanently occupied." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Your own marker clause is satisfied on ground you choose, which is the cheapest version of this mechanic in the matrix." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Holding a terrain area exclusively means a unit sits in it and stays." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Extract Relic requires that only ONE of the OPPONENT operation markers is on the battlefield — a condition the Disruption player controls, and can deliberately deny by keeping two or more out." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Locate and Deny requires that only one of YOUR OWN markers is on the battlefield, so the Disruption player can satisfy their clause and break the opponent identical clause with the same decision." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Both clauses also require one of your units inside the marker terrain area with no enemy unit in it — exclusive presence in a terrain area, not just proximity.", "refs": [ "rule:13.01" ] }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their marker clause needs exclusive presence in a terrain area: 1 model of yours inside it breaks 4 VP a turn and their 5 VP finish. That is the cheapest denial in the entire matrix, and it should be your first plan, not your last. Meanwhile treat your own marker clause as a bonus you may never get, and bank the sweep and the kill rider instead — those they cannot touch." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Priority Assets needs: Two or three cheap units to sweep on rotation, so a kill does not stop the engine. One expendable model whose whole job is to walk into their marker's terrain area and stand there. Shooting that reaches units sitting near objectives, for the 3 VP rider. One holder for the flat 4 VP." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their identical clause keys off *your* marker count, so run 1 marker when your area is secure and two or more the moment their clause could come online. One decision drives both cards — that is the whole matchup. Their sensor sweep is an action, so killing or engaging the sweeper stops 4 VP a turn. And their 3 VP kill rider needs your units near objectives, so hold from the edge of control range rather than on top of the marker." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Disruption needs: A terrain area you can hold alone — one with a single approach beats a central one. A cheap guard for that area; one enemy model inside it ends the clause. Reach onto their sweeper. Restraint on markers: the count is a weapon, not a fixture." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal halves) reads 6/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 18% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 64.7% on Layout 3 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 6.9% on Layout 1." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Two or three cheap units to sweep on rotation", "count": 2, "trait": [ "action-recycling", "expendable-bodies", "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Two or three cheap units to sweep on rotation, so a kill does not stop the engine." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One expendable model whose whole job is to walk into their marker's terrain area and stand there", "count": 1, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One expendable model whose whole job is to walk into their marker's terrain area and stand there." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Shooting that reaches units sitting near objectives", "count": 3, "trait": [ "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Shooting that reaches units sitting near objectives, for the 3 VP rider." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One holder for the flat 4 VP", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One holder for the flat 4 VP." }, { "side": 0, "role": "1 unit expensive to remove, and concealment for everything else", "count": 1, "trait": [ "concealment", "durability" ], "phase": "whole-game", "vpAtStake": 16, "why": "Their kill clause names WHERE the victim has to be, which hands you target selection: present 1 unit that costs more to remove than it is worth, keep the rest Hidden or in cover, and the 4 VP a turn simply does not fire." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A terrain area you can hold alone", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A terrain area you can hold alone — one with a single approach beats a central one." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A cheap guard for that area", "count": 1, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A cheap guard for that area; one enemy model inside it ends the clause." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Reach onto their sweeper", "trait": [ "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Reach onto their sweeper." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Restraint on markers", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Restraint on markers: the count is a weapon, not a fixture." }, { "side": 1, "role": "1 unit expensive to remove, and concealment for everything else", "count": 1, "trait": [ "concealment", "durability" ], "phase": "whole-game", "vpAtStake": 12, "why": "Their kill clause names WHERE the victim has to be, which hands you target selection: present 1 unit that costs more to remove than it is worth, keep the rest Hidden or in cover, and the 3 VP a turn simply does not fire." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nAlmost the same card, with one word reversed — and that word decides the matchup. Both pay 4 VP a turn and 5 VP at the end of battle for a marker condition. But Extract Relic keys off **the opponent's** marker count, while Locate and Deny keys off **its own**. The Disruption player sets the number for both cards. Edge to Disruption.\n\n| | Priority Assets | Disruption |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Extract Relic | Locate and Deny |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 13/20 | 12/20 |\n| Activation cost | 15/20 | 13/20 |\n\nA hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means **there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards** — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.\n\n## Playing Priority Assets\n\n*Your card: Extract Relic. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP any turn a unit performs a sensor sweep, 3 VP for killing an enemy that started the turn near an objective, 4 VP at your Command phase for holding anything, and 4 VP a turn plus 5 VP at the end of battle when only one of **their** markers is on the board, your unit is in that terrain area, and none of theirs is.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe sweep and the kill rider are cheap and dependable. The marker clause is not a cost problem — it is a control problem, because you do not control the condition. Exposure 13/20, activation cost 15/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir marker clause needs exclusive presence in a terrain area: **1 model of yours inside it breaks 4 VP a turn and their 5 VP finish**. That is the cheapest denial in the entire matrix, and it should be your first plan, not your last. Meanwhile treat your own marker clause as a bonus you may never get, and bank the sweep and the kill rider instead — those they cannot touch.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Two or three cheap units to sweep on rotation, so a kill does not stop the engine.\n- One expendable model whose whole job is to walk into their marker's terrain area and stand there.\n- Shooting that reaches units sitting near objectives, for the 3 VP rider.\n- One holder for the flat 4 VP.\n\n## Playing Disruption\n\n*Your card: Locate and Deny. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP for killing an enemy that started the turn near objectives. 4 VP at your Command phase for holding anything. And 4 VP a turn plus 5 VP at the end of battle when only one of **your own** markers is on the board, your unit is in that terrain area, and none of theirs is.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nGenuinely low: you choose the ground and the timing. The only real demand is holding one terrain area exclusively, all game. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 13/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir identical clause keys off *your* marker count, so run 1 marker when your area is secure and **two or more the moment their clause could come online**. One decision drives both cards — that is the whole matchup. Their sensor sweep is an action, so killing or engaging the sweeper stops 4 VP a turn. And their 3 VP kill rider needs your units near objectives, so hold from the edge of control range rather than on top of the marker.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- A terrain area you can hold alone — one with a single approach beats a central one.\n- A cheap guard for that area; one enemy model inside it ends the clause.\n- Reach onto their sweeper.\n- Restraint on markers: the count is a weapon, not a fixture.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nPriority Assets vs Disruption is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the short axis | 3/20 | 6.9% | 18% | 6.1% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 5/20 | 15% | 35.2% | 1.5% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal halves | 6/20 | 20.3% | 64.7% | 0% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **3/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **6.9%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are soft: walking onto one of theirs exposes you to only **18%** of their zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **6.1%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (95% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **15%** of the enemy deployment zone. Raiding a home marker costs **35.2%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **1.5%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (96% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal halves, openness **6/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **20.3%** of the enemy deployment zone. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **64.7%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (95% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 1** is where it is cheapest (18% exposure against 64.7% on Layout 3) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Deployment — Disruption picks the terrain area it can hold alone.\n- Every turn — Disruption re-evaluates its marker count against the opponent's clause.\n- Round 5 — contesting their marker area is almost always cheaper than satisfying your own.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/priority-assets--vs--disruption/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--mirror", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Purge the Foe mirror — Meatgrinder", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe", "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "purge-the-foe", "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "purge-the-foe", "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/meatgrinder", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 10, "confidence": "high", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: identical cards, so the mission contributes nothing to the differential." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Kill 3 VP plus trade differential 5 VP plus enemy home 5 VP is 13 VP a turn on top of the hold line." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The hold line is a flat 4 VP and the kill rider is nearly free, so 7 VP a round is the realistic floor." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Most of the card scores at the end of your own turn, so alpha strikes and late grabs convert immediately." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The trade differential compares this turn kills against last turn losses, which forces you to plan 2 turns ahead." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The recurring 5 VP for the enemy home objective is the most expensive real estate measured: taking it means standing where up to 74% of their deployment zone can see you." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "One expendable unit for the kill rider, one raid package; the rest of the army fights normally." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The recurring 5 VP for the enemy home objective is the most expensive real estate measured: taking it means standing where up to 74% of their deployment zone can see you." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "One expendable unit for the kill rider, one raid package; the rest of the army fights normally." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Meatgrinder pays a flat 4 VP for holding anything, so holding a second or third objective adds nothing — the VP live in kills, the trade differential and the enemy home objective." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Controlling the opponent home objective pays 5 VP at the end of EVERY turn from round 2, not once at the end of battle — it is the single most repeatable line on the card." }, { "type": "pitfall", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Spreading onto 3 objectives is a trap: it does not raise the hold line and it feeds the opponent trade differential." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Two levers, and both are cheap. First, screen your home from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn, and it dies if they cannot get enough OC within range of the marker. A screen that denies the approach is cheaper than an OC contest — but if they do get a body there, matching their level of control is enough, because equal totals mean neither of you holds it. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts *units*, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15\"." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Purge the Foe needs: One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt. A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability. Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most. A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal halves) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 5/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 32.8% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 3 and 36% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 8.9% on Layout 3." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one", "count": 1, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "damage", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A delivery package for their home objective by round 2", "count": 2, "trait": [ "deep-strike", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5", "count": 4, "trait": [ "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A cheap home screen", "trait": [ "screening", "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A cheap home screen." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Two of them if their list has reserves", "count": 2, "trait": [ "deep-strike" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Two of them if their list has reserves." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nTwo killers, one card. Holding pays a flat 4 VP whether you own 1 objective or four, so board control is almost irrelevant — the points live in bodies, in the trade differential, and in a 5 VP-a-turn bounty on the enemy home objective. This mirror is decided by whoever gets a durable unit into the other's back yard first.\n\n| | Purge the Foe (side 0) | Purge the Foe (side 1) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Meatgrinder | Meatgrinder |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 15/20 | 15/20 |\n| Activation cost | 9/20 | 9/20 |\n\nA hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means **there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards** — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Meatgrinder. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nKill something every turn (3 VP), hold any 1 objective (4 VP), and win the trade comparison — more enemy units dead this turn than friendly units lost last turn (5 VP). Then the big one: 5 VP at the end of **every** turn you control their home objective. A unit that lands there in round 2 and survives to round 5 is worth 20 VP on its own.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe home bounty is the most expensive real estate on the table, and the trade clause punishes over-commitment a turn late. Spend a quiet turn before your big one — losses you take now poison next turn's comparison. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 9/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTwo levers, and both are cheap. First, **screen your home** from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn and dies to one screening unit in the way. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts *units*, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15\".\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt.\n- A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability.\n- Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most.\n- A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Meatgrinder. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nKill something every turn (3 VP), hold any 1 objective (4 VP), and win the trade comparison — more enemy units dead this turn than friendly units lost last turn (5 VP). Then the big one: 5 VP at the end of **every** turn you control their home objective. A unit that lands there in round 2 and survives to round 5 is worth 20 VP on its own.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe home bounty is the most expensive real estate on the table, and the trade clause punishes over-commitment a turn late. Spend a quiet turn before your big one — losses you take now poison next turn's comparison. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 9/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTwo levers, and both are cheap. First, **screen your home** from round 2: their single most repeatable line is worth 5 VP a turn and dies to one screening unit in the way. Second, stop feeding the kill rider — the card counts *units*, not points, so a lone cheap unit left in the open is a free 3 VP for them. Keep everything either out of range or behind terrain, and remember that infantry in a ruin that has not shot is Hidden and cannot be seen past 15\".\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- One expendable unit that can reliably kill something on turn one — fast, enough damage to finish a target, cheap enough that losing it does not hurt.\n- A delivery package for their home objective by round 2: deep strike, or speed plus durability.\n- Sustained damage that is still alive in rounds 4-5. Alpha-strike lists run out of card exactly when the trade clause pays most.\n- A cheap home screen. Two of them if their list has reserves.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nPurge the Foe mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal halves | 3/20 | — | 36% | 4.8% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 5/20 | — | 34.5% | 0.4% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 5/20 | 8.9% | 32.8% | 12.9% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal halves, openness **3/20**. Raiding a home marker costs **36%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **4.8%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (99% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **5/20**. Raiding a home marker costs **34.5%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **0.4%**. 84% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **8.9%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **32.8%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **12.9%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (96% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Round 1 — position for a guaranteed round-2 kill rather than reaching for objectives.\n- Round 2 — commit the raid. Every turn you delay is 5 VP gone.\n- Round 4 — if the raid failed, farm the cheapest targets available; the card counts units, not value.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/purge-the-foe--mirror/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--disruption", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Purge the Foe vs Disruption — Punishment / Delaying Action", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe", "gdm:disposition/disruption", "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/punishment", "gdm:primary/disruption/delaying-action" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "purge-the-foe", "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/punishment", "scoringCheckpoint": "command-phase", "holdWindow": 1 }, "side1": { "disposition": "disruption", "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/delaying-action", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Punishment prints more — a net 13 VP of clauses with no counterpart on Delaying Action, including an 8 VP finish on the enemy home. But 5 of its 9 VP a turn sit behind a kill on ground the Disruption player chooses whether to offer, while Delaying Action banks 7 from its own half and pays 2 VP per body with no cap. A printed lead you have to cross the board to collect is not a lead." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "9 VP a round, 5 VP per turn of condemned kills and an 8 VP finish." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "2 VP per enemy unit killed adds up against a wide army but has no single big payout." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Holding 1 objective and staying ahead on count needs no special condition." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "One central and one expansion objective pays 3 VP a turn on top of the flat hold." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 10, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The condemned clause resolves at the end of a turn; the engine is a Command-phase checkpoint." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Kills and the central-plus-expansion clause both check at the end of your turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 8, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Track objective parity and the condemned units." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 10, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Needs the right 2 objectives, not just any two." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Parity is cheap, but the 8 VP finish requires a unit to survive on the opponent home objective." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Little non-fighting work beyond the raid." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Kills can be taken from cover; only the central-plus-expansion clause requires holding forward ground." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Two well-chosen objectives, and the rest of the army fights." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Punishment pays 4 VP for holding anything and 5 VP for holding more objectives than the opponent — 9 VP a round for a one-objective lead — plus 8 VP at the end of battle for their home objective." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Delaying Action needs one central AND one expansion objective for its 3 VP end-of-turn line: which 2 objectives you hold matters more than how many." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Delaying Action pays 2 VP per enemy unit destroyed, counting units not points — killing three cheap units beats killing one expensive one." }, { "type": "threat", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "An aggressive Purge army feeds the Delaying Action kill counter every time it over-extends; conversely, a passive Purge player loses the tempo they need for the condemned clause." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card scores at your Command phase, so an objective taken on your turn only pays if it survives a full enemy turn (hold window 1) — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their 3 VP end-of-turn line needs one central and one expansion objective simultaneously — not two of anything. Deny either type and it is gone. Their kill line counts units, so your losses are what fund them: do not feed them three cheap units when one big one would have died anyway. Consolidate rather than scattering." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Purge the Foe needs: Board presence for parity — 5 VP a round for 1 objective of lead. Units that die expensively rather than in threes; their card counts bodies, not points. A raid package for their home objective, set up by round 4. Restraint on kills: the condemned clause is a bonus, parity is the engine." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their parity bonus is worth 5 VP a round and needs strictly more objectives than you. Choose your central and expansion pair so that it also matches their count: the same 2 objectives then score your 3 VP and deny their 5 VP, an 8 VP swing per round from one deployment decision. Screen your home from round 4 against the 8 VP finish. And their condemned clause needs specific units gone, so protecting the marked one is worth more than saving a bigger unit." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Disruption needs: Focused firepower that reliably finishes a unit every turn — the card counts kills, not damage. Cheap targets preferred: killing three 60-point units beats killing one 300-point one. 2 objectives chosen at deployment to score AND deny parity. A home screen from round 4." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal halves) reads 7/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 2/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 5/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 14.2% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 2 and 66.8% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 3.9% on Layout 2." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Board presence for parity", "count": 5, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Board presence for parity — 5 VP a round for 1 objective of lead." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Units that die expensively rather than in threes", "trait": [ "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Units that die expensively rather than in threes; their card counts bodies, not points." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A raid package for their home objective, set up by round 4", "count": 4, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A raid package for their home objective, set up by round 4." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Restraint on kills", "trait": [ "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Restraint on kills: the condemned clause is a bonus, parity is the engine." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Focused firepower that reliably finishes a unit every turn", "trait": [ "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Focused firepower that reliably finishes a unit every turn — the card counts kills, not damage." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Cheap targets preferred", "count": 3, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Cheap targets preferred: killing three 60-point units beats killing one 300-point one." }, { "side": 1, "role": "2 objectives chosen at deployment to score AND deny parity", "count": 2, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "2 objectives chosen at deployment to score AND deny parity." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A home screen from round 4", "count": 4, "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A home screen from round 4." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nTwo killers with different accountants. Punishment pays a generous flat rate for objective parity and treats kills as a bonus; Delaying Action pays **2 VP per enemy unit destroyed**, counting units rather than points. Edge to Punishment on reliability, but two well-chosen objectives can swing 8 VP a round for the Disruption player.\n\n| | Purge the Foe | Disruption |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Punishment | Delaying Action |\n| Scores at | command phase | mixed |\n| Hold window | 1 enemy turn | 1 enemy turn |\n| Exposure | 13/20 | 12/20 |\n| Activation cost | 9/20 | 9/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Punishment. Scoring checkpoint: command phase. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\nAt your Command phase, 4 VP for holding anything and 5 VP for holding more objectives than them. 5 VP at the end of a turn when a condemned enemy unit leaves the battlefield. And 8 VP at the end of battle for their home objective.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nParity is cheap. The 8 VP finish is not — it needs a unit to survive on their home objective, which on the boards we have measured means standing in the open. Exposure 13/20, activation cost 9/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir 3 VP end-of-turn line needs **one central and one expansion objective simultaneously** — not two of anything. Deny either type and it is gone. Their kill line counts units, so your losses are what fund them: do not feed them three cheap units when one big one would have died anyway. Consolidate rather than scattering.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Board presence for parity — 5 VP a round for 1 objective of lead.\n- Units that die expensively rather than in threes; their card counts bodies, not points.\n- A raid package for their home objective, set up by round 4.\n- Restraint on kills: the condemned clause is a bonus, parity is the engine.\n\n## Playing Disruption\n\n*Your card: Delaying Action. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n2 VP per enemy unit destroyed each turn. 4 VP at your Command phase for holding anything. And 3 VP at the end of your turn for holding one or more central objectives **and** one or more expansion objectives at the same time.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nKills can be taken from cover, so your exposure is genuinely low. The central-plus-expansion clause forces you to hold two specific pieces of ground, but you choose which. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 9/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir parity bonus is worth 5 VP a round and needs **strictly more** objectives than you. Choose your central and expansion pair so that it also matches their count: the same 2 objectives then score your 3 VP and deny their 5 VP, an 8 VP swing per round from one deployment decision. Screen your home from round 4 against the 8 VP finish. And their condemned clause needs specific units gone, so protecting the marked one is worth more than saving a bigger unit.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Focused firepower that reliably finishes a unit every turn — the card counts kills, not damage.\n- Cheap targets preferred: killing three 60-point units beats killing one 300-point one.\n- 2 objectives chosen at deployment to score AND deny parity.\n- A home screen from round 4.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nPurge the Foe vs Disruption is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal halves | 7/20 | 20.7% | 66.8% | 0% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 2/20 | 3.9% | 14.2% | — |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 5/20 | 8.1% | 46.2% | 2.4% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal halves, openness **7/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **20.7%** of the enemy deployment zone. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **66.8%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. 70% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **2/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **3.9%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are soft: walking onto one of theirs exposes you to only **14.2%** of their zone. 63% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **8.1%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **46.2%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **2.4%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (87% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 2** is where it is cheapest (14.2% exposure against 66.8% on Layout 1) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nPurge the Foe and Disruption must survive a full enemy turn before banking a grab, so **Layout 2** (openness 2/20) is the board where that plan is cheapest, and **Layout 1** (7/20) the one where it bleeds.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Deployment — Disruption picks the central-plus-expansion pair that also contests parity.\n- Every turn — Disruption asks \"which unit can I actually finish?\", not \"what is the best target?\".\n- Round 4 — Purge the Foe commits to the home raid; Disruption decides whether to screen or keep scoring.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/purge-the-foe--vs--disruption/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--priority-assets", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Purge the Foe vs Priority Assets — Destroyer’s Wrath / Vital Link", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe", "gdm:disposition/priority-assets", "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/destroyer-s-wrath", "gdm:primary/priority-assets/vital-link" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "purge-the-foe", "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/destroyer-s-wrath", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 }, "side1": { "disposition": "priority-assets", "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/vital-link", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "keyFinding": "Left alone, both players score exactly 45 — the cap. The printed rate buys margin rather than points, and only 1 of the 2 denials in this matchup removes points at all.", "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Reversed by the cap. Primary stops at 45 and both cards clear it if they run cleanly — Destroyer's Wrath in the fourth round, Vital Link in the fifth — so the printed 17-against-11 rate buys margin, not points. What separates the sides is what each denial actually removes. Matching the objective count is free and automatic for Priority Assets, but it takes Purge the Foe from 18 VP of margin to 2 without costing them a point. Holding both central objectives removes 19 real points from Vital Link, and doubles as the clause that puts Purge at 4 objectives to 3. The only points-removing denial in the matchup belongs to Purge and pays for itself, which is worth more than a free one that only removes slack." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Reaches the 45 primary cap in the fourth round with 18 VP of margin unspent." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Reaches the 45 primary cap in the fifth round, and reaches it without the end-of-battle raid at all." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Still caps with the objective count matched against it, but only in the fifth round and with 2 VP of margin — every clause has to land, every round." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "26 VP if both central objectives are held against them: 2 clauses carry the card and both need a central." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "7 of 17 VP settle at the end of your own turn, and in the fifth round the 10 VP of holding clauses move there too, so a last-turn grab pays with no enemy turn to survive." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The central objective and marker lines pay at the end of your turn; the 8 VP of holding clauses wait through an enemy turn until the fifth round, when they also move to end of turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Deciding by turn 2 whether the far central objective is reachable, then holding 2 objectives more than 8 inches apart that no single unit can cover." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 10, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "A rotation of action-doers, an objective count checked every turn, and a raid that is optional once you know the plan caps without it." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The plan needs a body on the central objective in the opponent's half — 17.2% to 29.1% deployment-zone exposure on the measured boards — but the kill clauses are collected from wherever the guns already are." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 8, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Almost nothing on the card asks a unit to stop fighting; the cheapest plan in the matrix to run." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Central objectives are the safest ground measured (as low as 2%), and the 50% to 79% enemy home objective is optional once the plan is known to cap without it. The doer must still stand visible on a central every turn." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "1 unit permanently performing an action instead of fighting, plus spares — a bill that is paid again on a scoreboard where secondaries are worth as much as primary." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Destroyer’s Wrath pays at 2 different moments: 7 VP of kill clauses settle at the end of your own turn, while 10 VP of holding clauses check at the end of your Command phase — except in the fifth round, where those also move to the end of your turn." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Vital Link rests on 2 clauses that both require a central objective: 2 VP for controlling one and 4 VP because one of the objectives you hold is central. The marker line that makes the card look frightening is bolted onto those, and falls with them." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The trade clause measures enemy units destroyed this turn against friendly units destroyed last turn, so a passive opponent lowers the bar to 0 rather than starving it. Against a stationary army a single kill pays 7, and their engine has to park a unit on a central objective every turn to supply it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Only the 4 VP and 6 VP holding clauses have to survive an enemy turn, and not in the fifth round. Price a grab against those 10 points, not against the whole card." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The action completes only if your unit still controls the objective at the end of your turn, so the doer has to win a summed-Objective-Control comparison, not a fight — and it must stand visible on a central objective every turn to do it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "There are 2 denials and only one removes points. Stalling the marker on the objective they actioned still leaves them reaching the 45 primary cap on schedule. Holding or tying BOTH central objectives leaves them on 26, because both of their carrying clauses need a central. On these boards the 2 centrals are 8 to 9 inches apart, so no single model covers both — and holding both is also what puts you at 4 objectives to their 3." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Match their objective count, do not beat it. Their 6 VP parity clause needs strictly more objectives than you, so equalling it is free and requires no movement. Be clear what it buys: they still reach the 45 cap, but in the fifth round with 2 VP of margin instead of 18, so every clause has to land every round. Do not try to starve their kill clauses — the trade line measures itself against your own previous-turn losses, so playing carefully lowers their bar." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Purge the Foe needs 2 units able to hold a central objective alone rather than 1 that splits, because the gap between the centrals exceeds 8 inches on every board in this pairing and the far one must arrive by turn 2. Add enough Objective Control to match rather than beat, a cheap reliable kill, and a home screen from turn 4." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Priority Assets needs a rotation of 2 or 3 action-doers so a single kill cannot stall the compounding, enough Objective Control on the doer to hold the objective alone, 1 durable holder for the flat 4 VP, and a unit able to keep a central objective against a serious attempt on it. The end-of-battle home raid is optional: the plan reaches the 45 cap without it, so it buys margin rather than score." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All 3 boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured, and every figure is given per side rather than averaged. Layout 1 (diagonal across the short axis, openness 5/20) is the raider's board: an enemy home objective costs 49.1% and 46.3% deployment-zone exposure. Layout 2 (diagonal halves, 5/20) is the most even, with the 2 central objectives 8.2 inches apart and one of them under an inch from the dividing line. Layout 3 (bands on the short edges, 7/20) kills the raid at 70.5% and 79.4% while the far central objective stays cheap at 25.6% and 0%." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "A holder for the central objective in the opponent's half", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Their engine needs only 1 central to pay, so both must be denied. The 2 centrals are more than 8 inches apart on every board in this pairing, which is further than 1 unit can cover without splitting its Objective Control across 2 separate additions and losing both." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A holder for the central objective in your own half", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control", "durability" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "The second half of the same denial, and the cheaper one to keep — measured exposure on your own central runs 0% to 5.2%." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Enough Objective Control to match their total, not beat it", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Equal levels of control mean neither player holds the objective, so denial costs 1 point of Objective Control less than taking — unless they secure it, which requires beating their total instead." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reliable kill every turn, cheap enough to lose", "count": 1, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "The trade clause compares against your own previous-turn losses, so a list that bleeds raises its own bar. 7 VP a turn rests on killing 1 thing while losing little." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A home screen from turn 4, and a counter-charge unit near it", "count": 2, "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "rounds-4-5", "why": "Their 10 VP end-of-battle bonus on your home objective is the largest single number on their card and the only clause that obliges them to come to you." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "The holding clauses check at your Command phase in rounds 2 to 4, so those grabs have to live through a full enemy turn. Taxing the commit is cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A rotation of action-doers", "count": 3, "trait": [ "action-recycling", "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "The marker line compounds, so a turn missed costs its increment for every turn after it. Spares keep the engine running when the doer is killed." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Enough Objective Control on the doer to hold the objective alone", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "The action completes on a summed-Objective-Control comparison at the end of your turn, not on the doer surviving. This is the most common way the card is thrown away." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A holder that can keep a central objective under a real attempt on it", "count": 1, "trait": [ "durability", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Both carrying clauses need a central objective. Losing control of the centrals is the only thing that takes this card 19 points short of the cap, so this unit is the matchup." }, { "side": 1, "role": "1 unit whose only job is to match their objective count", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Equalling their count denies the 6 VP parity clause without moving — 24 VP over the game for the cheapest slot on the list." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A home raid, only if it is cheap", "count": 1, "trait": [ "deep-strike", "speed" ], "phase": "rounds-4-5", "why": "The plan reaches the 45 primary cap without this, so the 10 VP is margin rather than score. It also means standing where 50% to 79% of their deployment zone has line of sight. Worth a cheap unit, never worth a quarter of the list." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "Your doer has to stand visible on a central objective and still control it when the turn ends. Taxing the units sent to contest it is cheaper than making the doer survivable." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nDestroyer's Wrath prints 17 VP a turn. Vital Link prints 11. Left alone, both players score exactly 45 and the difference between the 2 cards is a rounding error.\n\nThat is what a cap does. Primary stops at 45, and both of these engines clear it comfortably — the Purge the Foe player in the fourth round, the Priority Assets player in the fifth. The printed rate does not buy points. It buys **slack**: how much of your plan can fail before you stop reaching the ceiling anyway.\n\n```figure\nkind: vp-curve\ncap: 45\ncapLabel: primary cap — 45\nseries: [{\"label\":\"Purge the Foe\",\"colour\":\"a\",\"values\":[3,18,33,45,45]},{\"label\":\"Priority Assets\",\"colour\":\"b\",\"values\":[3,15,28,42,45]}]\ncaption: Both cards played out clause by clause with nobody interfering, each section opening on the round it is printed to. **They finish in the same place.** Purge the Foe gets there a round earlier, which is the only thing the higher printed rate actually wins.\nalt: Cumulative primary victory points by battle round for both cards against the 45 point cap\n```\n\nSo the question is not who scores more. It is what each player can do to the other, and those 2 answers are nothing alike.\n\nThe Priority Assets player switches off the biggest clause on Destroyer's Wrath — 6 VP a turn for holding more objectives than the opponent — by holding exactly as many as they already hold. It costs no movement and no risk. And it does not cost the Purge player a single point: they still reach 45. What it takes is their margin, from 18 VP down to **2**. They now have to hit every clause, every round, for 4 rounds.\n\nGoing the other way removes points for real. Vital Link runs on the 2 central objectives, and stopping it means standing on both. On these 3 boards they sit between 8 and 9 inches apart, further than any 1 model can cover, and 1 of them is on the wrong side of the table. Pay that price and the Priority player finishes on 26 — **19 short of a cap they would otherwise reach without leaving home**.\n\nOne player can take the other's margin for free. The other can take real points, but has to walk for them. That is the matchup.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Destroyer's Wrath. It pays at 2 different moments, and on the last turn it changes its mind.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP at the end of your Command phase for holding anything that is not your home objective. 6 more — the big one — at the same moment, for holding more objectives than your opponent. 3 at the end of your turn if anything of theirs died. 4 more at the end of your turn if you killed more this turn than you lost last turn.\n\nThat is 17 a turn, and you will never bank all of it. You reach 45 in the fourth round and everything after is decoration. What the 17 is really for is the 18 VP of margin it leaves you.\n\nTwo things about *when* it pays, because most of this article hangs off them.\n\n**Half your card pays instantly.** The 3 and the 4 for killing settle at the end of your own turn. Nothing to survive, nothing to hold. Only the 4 and the 6 for holding ground wait through the opponent's turn.\n\n**On the last turn, the rest of it pays instantly too.** The holding clauses check at the end of your Command phase — *except* in the fifth round, where they check at the end of your turn. Round 5 is not the same game as rounds 2 to 4. Ground you take on the last turn cannot be taken back before it scores.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nLook at that 6 again. **More** objectives. Every board in this pairing splits the middle, so the count starts 3-all: your home, your expansion, your half of the middle, and the same 3 for them. To get to 4 you have to take something of theirs, and they have to fail to replace it.\n\nAn opponent who has read their own card simply matches your count and never moves. You still cap — but on the last round, with nothing to spare.\n\n```figure\nkind: vp-curve\ncap: 45\ncapLabel: primary cap — 45\nseries: [{\"label\":\"nobody stops them\",\"colour\":\"a\",\"values\":[3,18,33,45,45]},{\"label\":\"count matched\",\"colour\":\"a\",\"values\":[3,14,25,36,45]}]\ncaption: **Destroyer’s Wrath** with the objective count matched. It still reaches 45 — 1 round later, and with 2 VP of margin instead of 18. The cheapest decision in the matchup does not take your points. It takes your right to miss one.\nalt: Purge the Foe scoring unopposed against Purge the Foe with the objective count matched\n```\n\n**And now the part that argues against me.** The obvious read is that a passive opponent starves your kill clauses — no targets, no 7 VP. That read is wrong, and it is worth being precise about why, because it is the strongest thing your card has.\n\nThe trade clause compares enemy units destroyed *this* turn against friendly units destroyed *last* turn. An opponent who stands still and shoots nothing kills nothing of yours. Your previous-turn losses are 0. A single kill — any kill, anywhere on the table — clears the bar and pays 4, on top of the 3 for killing at all.\n\nAnd they have to give you a target. Their engine cannot run without parking a unit within range of a central objective and leaving it there until the end of their turn. That unit is cheap, it is visible, and it comes back every single turn. Your kill clauses are not starved by a passive opponent. They are *fed* by one.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir card is 2 clauses in a trench coat: 2 VP for controlling a central objective, and 4 more for the fact that 1 of the objectives you hold is central. Everything else — the marker that compounds, the whole reason it looks frightening — is bolted onto those.\n\nSo there are 2 denials available, and only 1 of them is worth anything.\n\n**Stalling 1 marker does nothing.** Deny the objective they performed the action on and the marker does not land that turn. They still reach 45 in the fifth round. You have cost them margin, not points.\n\n**Denying both central objectives is the game.** They only need to control *1* central for the 2 and the 4 to pay. Hold or tie both and the card collapses to the 4 VP available from any objective at all: 26 over the game, 19 short of the cap, and that is with their end-of-battle raid still landing.\n\n```figure\nkind: vp-curve\ncap: 45\ncapLabel: primary cap — 45\nseries: [{\"label\":\"nobody stops them\",\"colour\":\"b\",\"values\":[3,15,28,42,45]},{\"label\":\"1 marker stalled\",\"colour\":\"b\",\"values\":[3,14,26,39,45]},{\"label\":\"both centrals denied\",\"colour\":\"b\",\"values\":[0,4,8,12,26]}]\ncaption: **Vital Link** under the 2 denials. Blocking the action they performed leaves them capping on schedule. Standing on both central objectives leaves them **19 short**. Almost everyone plays the first one.\nalt: Priority Assets scoring under no denial, 1 marker stalled, and both central objectives denied\n```\n\nThree things about control, because each of them loses games.\n\n**It is not a headcount.** Add up the Objective Control of every model you have within range and compare it to their total. The higher total holds it. 1 model with OC 2 outholds 2 models with OC 1 apiece.\n\n**Equal totals mean nobody holds it.** That is why denying is cheaper than taking — you match their number rather than beat it. Their action-doer is a lone character with OC 1? Any OC 1 model of yours, in range, ties it, and their action fails: it only completes if their unit still controls the objective when their turn ends.\n\n**Unless they have secured it.** A secured objective stays theirs until your control is *greater* than theirs — matching does nothing. If anything in their army secures ground, budget to beat their number, not to equal it.\n\nNow the geometry, which decides whether any of this is available to you.\n\n```figure\nkind: board-map\nboard: purge-the-foe-vs-priority-assets-2\nannotate: centre-gap\ncaption: Layout 2, traced from the official sheet. The 2 central objectives are **8.2 inches apart**, so no single model covers both — control range is 3 inches and the shaded discs are drawn to scale. Splitting 1 unit across the gap splits its Objective Control between 2 separate additions, and loses both.\nalt: Battle layout 2 showing the gap between the two central objectives\n```\n\nYou need presence on 2 objectives that no 1 unit can hold, and 1 of them sits on their side of the line.\n\nHere is the part worth carrying to the table: **that trip is not a tax on your plan, it is your plan.** Standing on both central objectives is what denies their engine — and it is also, on a 3-all board, exactly what puts you at 4 objectives to their 3 and turns your 6 VP clause back on. The same models do both jobs.\n\nWhich is why \"is the 4th objective worth it?\" is not a judgement call. It is worth your margin, and it is worth 19 of their points.\n\nScreen your home from turn 4 anyway. Their 10 VP at the end of the battle for holding your home objective is the largest single number on their card. It will not decide whether they cap — but it is the difference between them capping comfortably and capping on the last clause of the last round.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- **2 units that can hold a central objective on their own, 1 of them fast.** Not 1 unit that splits. The gap between the centrals is over 8 inches on all 3 boards, so the far one needs its own body, and it needs to arrive by turn 2 to be worth anything.\n- **Enough Objective Control to match, not beat.** A tie denies. Budget against a lone OC 1 character on the cheap boards and against a squad total on the rest — unless they secure it, in which case you need 1 more than they have.\n- **A reliable kill every turn that you can afford to lose.** Your previous-turn losses set the bar for the trade clause, so a list that bleeds is a list that raises its own bar.\n- **A home screen from turn 4.**\n- **Nothing else.** Once the count is 4 to 3, a 5th objective pays you 0.\n\n## Playing Priority Assets\n\n*Your card: Vital Link. It pays at 3 different moments, and the last one is insurance rather than income.*\n\n### How you score\n\nWalk a cheap model onto a central objective. Perform the action in your Shooting phase. If you still control that objective when your turn ends, leave a marker.\n\n2 VP for controlling a central objective, plus 1 for every marker sitting on it. So 3 on the first turn, then 4, then 5, then 6, then 7. From the second round on, add 4 VP for holding any objective that is not your home and 4 more because 1 of them is central — that pair checks at your Command phase, and on the last turn at the end of your turn instead.\n\nThen 10 VP at the end of the battle if you hold their home objective.\n\n**You reach 45 without it.** The walk alone caps you in the fifth round. The raid is worth 10 VP of margin, not 10 VP of score — which makes it a decision about robustness, and a very different decision from the one the card's biggest number invites.\n\n### What it costs you\n\n1 unit, permanently employed, doing something that is not fighting — and permanently visible.\n\nRead the completion condition again, because it is not the one people expect. The action completes *if your unit controls that objective* at the end of your turn. Not if it survives. **Your doer does not have to win a fight. It has to win an addition** — and your opponent gets a full turn to work out exactly how much Objective Control they need to bring, because you have shown them where it is standing.\n\nAnd be honest about the second cost: that unit is also the kill your opponent's card is asking for. Destroyer's Wrath pays 3 for any kill and 4 more for killing more than they lost last turn. If they lost nothing, your doer alone clears both. You are not just running an engine. You are feeding theirs, once a turn, on schedule.\n\n### How you break them\n\nDo not race them on breadth. You lose that race, and trying is how you hand them their 6 VP.\n\n**Match instead.** Their parity clause needs *strictly* more objectives than you. Equal counts pay them nothing, it costs you only what you were already holding, and you do not have to move a model.\n\nBe clear about what that buys, because it is not points. They still reach 45. What you have taken is their margin — from 18 VP down to 2. From that moment they need a kill every turn, the trade every turn, and an objective they do not own every turn, for 4 straight rounds. Miss any of it once and they finish short. Your job for the rest of the game is to make them miss.\n\nThen accept what you cannot fix. You cannot starve their kill clauses. The trade clause measures itself against *your* previous-turn losses, so playing carefully lowers their bar rather than raising it, and your engine has to leave a unit on a central objective every turn regardless. The move is not to hide the doer — it is to make it cheap, make it replaceable, and make sure losing it does not stop the engine.\n\nThe clause worth guarding is the last one. On the final turn their holding clauses pay at the end of *their* turn, not at their Command phase, so anything they take on turn 5 cannot be taken back before it scores. Whatever screen you were planning for turn 5 needed to be in place at the end of turn 4.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- **2 or 3 units that can perform the action, in rotation.** A kill that stops the engine for a turn costs you the compounding for every turn after it. Buy the spare.\n- **Enough Objective Control on the doer to hold the objective alone.** The action fails on an addition, not on a casualty. This is the most common way this card is thrown away.\n- **1 durable holder for the flat 4 VP**, which is the most valuable model in your list that never throws a punch.\n- **A unit that can hold a central objective against a serious attempt to take it.** This is where the matchup is decided, not at their home objective.\n- **A home raid only if it is cheap.** It is 10 VP of insurance on a plan that already caps. Spending a quarter of your list on it to reach a total you were reaching anyway is the trap this card sets.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nThis pairing is played on 1 of 3 boards, and they are not the same game. All 3 are transcribed and measured below.\n\nThe measurement is per side, never averaged between them — this matchup turns entirely on which player has to walk, so a number that blends both describes a player who does not exist. The pack does not fix which disposition deploys in which zone, so the 2 zones are named A and B; read the pair, not 1 number.\n\n```figure\nkind: exposure-bars\nrows: [{\"label\":\"Layout 1 — enemy home\",\"a\":49.1,\"b\":46.3},{\"label\":\"Layout 2 — enemy home\",\"a\":58.6,\"b\":50},{\"label\":\"Layout 3 — enemy home\",\"a\":70.5,\"b\":79.4,\"gapAfter\":1},{\"label\":\"Layout 1 — far central\",\"a\":29.1,\"b\":0},{\"label\":\"Layout 2 — far central\",\"a\":17.2,\"b\":12},{\"label\":\"Layout 3 — far central\",\"a\":25.6,\"b\":0}]\ncaption: What it costs to stand where the plan needs you. **Raiding a home objective is 3 to 5 times more exposed than holding the far central objective** on every board — and on a capped scoreboard the far central is the one worth points.\nalt: Exposure by side for enemy home objectives and far central objectives on all three boards\n```\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre gap | Far central (A / B) | Enemy home (A / B) |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the short axis | 5/20 | 8.9\" | 29.1% / 0% | 49.1% / 46.3% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal halves | 5/20 | 8.2\" | 17.2% / 12% | 58.6% / 50% |\n| Layout 3 | bands on the short edges | 7/20 | 9.3\" | 25.6% / 0% | 70.5% / 79.4% |\n\n**Layout 1** is the only board where the raid and the denial cost about the same, and it is also the one where the far central is dearest for side A at 29.1%. If you were ever going to spend a unit on an enemy home objective, it is here.\n\n**Layout 2** is the one to know. The 2 central objectives sit closest together, and 1 of them is under an inch from the dividing line — close enough that both players can contest it without committing. It is also the most even board in the pairing: the 2 sides' figures differ by 6 points or less everywhere. Nobody gets a free half.\n\n```figure\nkind: board-map\nboard: purge-the-foe-vs-priority-assets-3\nannotate: centre-gap\ncaption: Layout 3 — bands on the short edges. The widest gap between the central objectives in the pairing, and the most punishing home objectives on any board here.\nalt: Battle layout 3, bands on the short edges\n```\n\n**Layout 3** settles the argument. An enemy home objective means being seen by 70 to 79% of their deployment zone, the worst figures in the pairing, while the far central objective stays cheap at 25.6% and 0%. Both players should be looking at the middle and nowhere else.\n\nEvery figure is the *best* legal spot within control range of that objective, not the middle of the marker — the way a player actually looks for somewhere to stand.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- **Turn 1, Priority Assets** — walk on and perform the action even under guns. The line compounds, so the first marker is the most expensive one to skip.\n- **Turn 2, Purge the Foe** — the far central objective is either reachable now or it is never worth taking. Commit a body to it or write the plan off; the 1 thing that does not work is arriving on turn 4.\n- **Turn 3, Priority Assets** — count objectives before you move anything. Matching their number is worth more than any grab you were considering, and it is free.\n- **Turn 4, both** — Purge screens home. Priority decides whether the raid is still cheap, and puts the screen for turn 5 in place now.\n- **Turn 5, both** — the holding clauses pay at the end of the turn on both cards. Whatever you can reach, take: there is no enemy turn left to take it back.\n\n## If you want the numbers\n\nPrimary scoring stops at 45, and every curve above is drawn against that ceiling. Both engines clear it if they run cleanly, which is why this article is about margin rather than totals.\n\nThe curves come from modelling each card clause by clause — where it obliges you to stand, whether it needs a kill, when it checks, and the earliest round its own printed section allows. The first round is thinner than the printed rate on both cards, because the 8 VP that hang on holding ground do not open until the second.\n\nThe denial figures are the same model with the denied clauses switched off. Matching the objective count leaves Destroyer's Wrath capping in the fifth round with 2 VP of margin instead of 18. Stalling 1 marker leaves Vital Link capping on schedule. Holding both central objectives leaves it on 26.\n\nThe terrain figures come from the transcribed measurement sheets. For every objective, every legal holding spot within control range is tested against both deployment zones, and the best one is reported per side.\n\nThree limits worth stating. The pack does not say which disposition deploys in which zone, so terrain figures are given as a pair and never merged. Whether a single round has its own scoring ceiling is not something this corpus can confirm; it would change how much margin the higher-printing card has, not which round either player reaches the cap in. And this is a primary-mission analysis on a scoreboard where secondaries are worth just as much — when both players cap the primary, the game is decided by what their primary plan cost them everywhere else, and the plan that permanently employs a unit performing actions is paying that bill twice.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/purge-the-foe--vs--priority-assets/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/purge-the-foe--vs--reconnaissance", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Purge the Foe vs Reconnaissance — Consecrate / Triangulation", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe", "gdm:disposition/reconnaissance", "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/consecrate", "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/triangulation" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "purge-the-foe", "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/consecrate", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "reconnaissance", "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/triangulation", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Cadence, not totals. Triangulation banks 14 VP a turn from its own half against Consecrate's 4, but it is capped at one action per turn and cannot start before round two, so a single denied turn drops the ladder a whole band (29 to 22). Consecrate has no rate limit and can score from round one, and needs only to touch an objective rather than control it. The Purge player sets the clock." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "6 VP for three consecrated objectives, 8 VP a round of hold lines and a 5 VP finish." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 18, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "10 VP a turn at three triangulated objectives plus a 10 VP end-of-battle bonus." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The hold and parity lines pay every round without any special condition." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 10, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "One triangulated objective is only 3 VP; the card is worth little until the tiers stack." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 10, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Consecration checks at the end of your turn, the hold lines at your Command phase." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Triangulation and the finish both reward acting late on your own turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Track consecration and objective parity." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Tiered triangulation plus a hard four-objective finish demands planning several turns out." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Consecration and objective parity both need presence, and the end-of-battle line asks you to reach the enemy home objective." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Consecrating competes with fighting for the same activations." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The tiers need presence at several objectives at once, and the 10 VP finish is a wide late land grab into contested space." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Triangulating spreads the army thin at exactly the moment it needs mass." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Consecrate pays 4 VP for holding one or more objectives and another 4 VP for holding more objectives than the opponent — parity is half the card." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Triangulation is tiered and steep: 3 VP for one triangulated objective, 6 VP for two, 10 VP for three — and 10 VP at the end of battle for controlling four or more objectives." }, { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "The Reconnaissance 10 VP finish requires breadth, and breadth is exactly what feeds the Purge parity bonus — taking objectives early costs the Reconnaissance player 4 VP a round." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their finish is 10 VP for holding four or more objectives at the end of battle. Deny the fourth and you have taken a fifth of their score with 1 unit. Their tier scoring is checked at the end of their turn and needs objectives triangulated — so contest the marginal one rather than fighting for the ones they already own. And every objective they grab early feeds your parity bonus, so let them spread: it costs them 4 VP a round." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Purge the Foe needs: Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead every round — that is 4 VP a round for free. Consecration units that can operate without stopping your army fighting. One denial unit held back for round 5, aimed at their fourth objective. Something that can reach their home objective late for the 5 VP finish." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their biggest line is 4 VP a round for more objectives than you — which means every objective you take early is 4 VP denied as well as gained. But do not over-spread before round 4, or you hand them the parity they want. Their consecration lines need objectives held; contest one and the 6 VP tier drops to 3. Their home-objective finish is worth 5 VP, so a screen at home from round 4 pays for itself." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Reconnaissance needs: Speed and reserves for a single round-5 land grab — the 10 VP finish is worth more than 2 rounds of anything else. Units that can triangulate without committing to holding, since the tiers do not care about control. A home screen for the last 2 rounds. Patience: the card is designed to be behind until it is not." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (bands on the short edges) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 8/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 5/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 47.4% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 65.6% on Layout 2 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0% on Layout 1." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead every round", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead every round — that is 4 VP a round for free." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Consecration units that can operate without stopping your army fighting", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Consecration units that can operate without stopping your army fighting." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One denial unit held back for round 5", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One denial unit held back for round 5, aimed at their fourth objective." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Something that can reach their home objective late for the 5 VP finish", "count": 5, "trait": [ "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Something that can reach their home objective late for the 5 VP finish." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Speed and reserves for a single round-5 land grab", "count": 5, "trait": [ "deep-strike", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Speed and reserves for a single round-5 land grab — the 10 VP finish is worth more than 2 rounds of anything else." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Units that can triangulate without committing to holding", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Units that can triangulate without committing to holding, since the tiers do not care about control." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A home screen for the last 2 rounds", "count": 2, "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A home screen for the last 2 rounds." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Patience", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Patience: the card is designed to be behind until it is not." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nSteady against explosive. Consecrate banks a reliable 8 VP a round from two Command-phase lines; Triangulation pays almost nothing early and up to 20 VP late. The tension is beautiful: the Reconnaissance finish needs 4 objectives, and taking objectives early hands the Purge player 4 VP a round in parity. Slight edge to the steadier card.\n\n| | Purge the Foe | Reconnaissance |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Consecrate | Triangulation |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 13/20 | 14/20 |\n| Activation cost | 13/20 | 13/20 |\n\nA hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means **there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards** — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Consecrate. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n3 VP for one or two consecrated objectives, 6 VP for three or more. At your Command phase, 4 VP for holding anything and 4 VP for holding more objectives than they do. Plus 5 VP at the end of battle if their home objective is consecrated.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nConsecrating competes with fighting for the same activations, and the end-of-battle line asks you to reach their home objective. The parity half, though, is nearly free. Exposure 13/20, activation cost 13/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir finish is 10 VP for holding four or more objectives at the end of battle. **Deny the fourth** and you have taken a fifth of their score with 1 unit. Their tier scoring is checked at the end of their turn and needs objectives triangulated — so contest the marginal one rather than fighting for the ones they already own. And every objective they grab early feeds your parity bonus, so let them spread: it costs them 4 VP a round.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead every round — that is 4 VP a round for free.\n- Consecration units that can operate without stopping your army fighting.\n- One denial unit held back for round 5, aimed at their fourth objective.\n- Something that can reach their home objective late for the 5 VP finish.\n\n## Playing Reconnaissance\n\n*Your card: Triangulation. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP at your Command phase for holding anything. Then the tiers, at the end of your turn: 3 VP for one triangulated objective, 6 VP for two, 10 VP for three or more. And 10 VP at the end of battle for holding four or more objectives.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nTriangulating spreads the army thin exactly when it needs mass, and the finish demands a wide land grab into contested space in the last turn. Exposure 14/20, activation cost 13/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir biggest line is 4 VP a round for **more objectives than you** — which means every objective you take early is 4 VP denied as well as gained. But do not over-spread before round 4, or you hand them the parity they want. Their consecration lines need objectives held; contest one and the 6 VP tier drops to 3. Their home-objective finish is worth 5 VP, so a screen at home from round 4 pays for itself.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Speed and reserves for a single round-5 land grab — the 10 VP finish is worth more than 2 rounds of anything else.\n- Units that can triangulate without committing to holding, since the tiers do not care about control.\n- A home screen for the last 2 rounds.\n- Patience: the card is designed to be behind until it is not.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nPurge the Foe vs Reconnaissance is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | bands on the short edges | 3/20 | 0% | 47.4% | 0% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the short axis | 8/20 | 44.3% | 65.6% | 0.4% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the long axis | 5/20 | 10.8% | 58% | 0% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — bands on the short edges, openness **3/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **47.4%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (85% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **8/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **44.3%** of the enemy deployment zone. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **65.6%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **0.4%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (95% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **10.8%** of the enemy deployment zone. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **58%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. 63% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 1** is where it is cheapest (47.4% exposure against 65.6% on Layout 2) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Round 3 — Reconnaissance judges whether 4 objectives are reachable and holds reserves accordingly.\n- Round 4 — Purge the Foe picks which objective to deny; the one they need fourth is worth 10 VP.\n- Round 5 — the grab happens on their turn, so the denial must be in place before it.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/purge-the-foe--vs--reconnaissance/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--mirror", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Reconnaissance mirror — Gather Intel", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/reconnaissance", "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/gather-intel" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "reconnaissance", "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/gather-intel", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "reconnaissance", "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/gather-intel", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 10, "confidence": "high", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: identical cards." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 19, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "7 VP per unit completing Extract Intelligence is the largest per-event number in the matrix and it scales with how many units you can spare." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 19, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 8, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "If no unit is free to act, the card collapses to a flat 4 VP hold line." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 8, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Actions and the round-1 central grab resolve at the end of your own turn." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Action economy, unit count and marker placement all trade against each other every turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "An acting unit must be alive at the end of the turn to score, so the 7 VP is only banked if it survives in place — and it cannot shoot back." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 18, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Every 7 VP costs a whole unit-turn of doing nothing else; this is the most activation-hungry card in the matrix." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "An acting unit must be alive at the end of the turn to score, so the 7 VP is only banked if it survives in place — and it cannot shoot back." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 18, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Every 7 VP costs a whole unit-turn of doing nothing else; this is the most activation-hungry card in the matrix." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Extract Intelligence pays 7 VP per completing unit and is uncapped in the card text, so the mirror is decided by how many units each army can take off the board for a turn." }, { "type": "threat", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "An opponent who kills your action units before the action completes denies 7 VP with a single activation — action units need cover or distance, not just spare bodies.", "refs": [ "rule:13.09" ] }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Kill the actor before the action completes — 7 VP denied for one activation, the best exchange rate on the board. You do not even need to kill it: forcing it to move, charging it, or making it worth its while to fall back all cancel the action. Hunt the cheap unsupported units, not the scary ones. And keep them off the centre in round 1: that first 6 VP is worth a full round of their engine." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Reconnaissance needs: Bodies you are happy to waste. Three or four cheap units whose only job is standing still and acting. One fast unit for the round-1 central grab. Reach: something that can threaten an isolated action unit anywhere on the board, because they will hide them in ruins. Enough of a real army left over to hold 1 objective all game." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 4/20 for openness, Layout 2 (bands on the short edges) reads 9/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 6/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 38.9% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 3 and 91.7% on Layout 2 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0.4% on Layout 1." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Bodies you are happy to waste", "trait": [ "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Bodies you are happy to waste." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Three or four cheap units whose only job is standing still and acting", "count": 3, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Three or four cheap units whose only job is standing still and acting." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One fast unit for the round-1 central grab", "count": 1, "trait": [ "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One fast unit for the round-1 central grab." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Reach", "trait": [ "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Reach: something that can threaten an isolated action unit anywhere on the board, because they will hide them in ruins." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Enough of a real army left over to hold 1 objective all game", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Enough of a real army left over to hold 1 objective all game." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nThe card pays **7 VP per unit** that completes Extract Intelligence. That is the biggest single number in the entire matrix, it is per unit, and it is uncapped. So this mirror is not about objectives at all — it is an arithmetic contest over how many units each of you can afford to take out of the fight for a turn.\n\n| | Reconnaissance (side 0) | Reconnaissance (side 1) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Gather Intel | Gather Intel |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 15/20 | 15/20 |\n| Activation cost | 18/20 | 18/20 |\n\nA hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means **there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards** — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.\n\n## Playing Reconnaissance\n\n*Your card: Gather Intel. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nRound 1 pays 6 VP for a central objective at the end of your turn — reach it and take it. From round 2, hold any 1 objective for 4 VP and then convert every spare unit into 7 VP of intelligence. Two acting units a turn is 14 VP; the hold line is a rounding error by comparison.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nAn acting unit does not shoot, does not move, and must be alive at the end of the turn or the action scores nothing. Every 7 VP is a whole unit-turn of doing nothing else, which is why this is the most activation-hungry card in the game. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 18/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nKill the actor before the action completes — 7 VP denied for one activation, the best exchange rate on the board. You do not even need to kill it: forcing it to move, charging it, or making it worth its while to fall back all cancel the action. Hunt the cheap unsupported units, not the scary ones. And keep them off the centre in round 1: that first 6 VP is worth a full round of their engine.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Bodies you are happy to waste. Three or four cheap units whose only job is standing still and acting.\n- One fast unit for the round-1 central grab.\n- Reach: something that can threaten an isolated action unit anywhere on the board, because they will hide them in ruins.\n- Enough of a real army left over to hold 1 objective all game.\n\n## Playing Reconnaissance\n\n*Your card: Gather Intel. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\nRound 1 pays 6 VP for a central objective at the end of your turn — reach it and take it. From round 2, hold any 1 objective for 4 VP and then convert every spare unit into 7 VP of intelligence. Two acting units a turn is 14 VP; the hold line is a rounding error by comparison.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nAn acting unit does not shoot, does not move, and must be alive at the end of the turn or the action scores nothing. Every 7 VP is a whole unit-turn of doing nothing else, which is why this is the most activation-hungry card in the game. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 18/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nKill the actor before the action completes — 7 VP denied for one activation, the best exchange rate on the board. You do not even need to kill it: forcing it to move, charging it, or making it worth its while to fall back all cancel the action. Hunt the cheap unsupported units, not the scary ones. And keep them off the centre in round 1: that first 6 VP is worth a full round of their engine.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Bodies you are happy to waste. Three or four cheap units whose only job is standing still and acting.\n- One fast unit for the round-1 central grab.\n- Reach: something that can threaten an isolated action unit anywhere on the board, because they will hide them in ruins.\n- Enough of a real army left over to hold 1 objective all game.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nReconnaissance mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the short axis | 4/20 | 0.4% | 55.6% | 3.3% |\n| Layout 2 | bands on the short edges | 9/20 | 4.6% | 91.7% | 20.4% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the long axis | 6/20 | 4.1% | 38.9% | — |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **4/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0.4%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **55.6%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **3.3%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (92% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — bands on the short edges, openness **9/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **4.6%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **91.7%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **20.4%**. 46% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **4.1%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **38.9%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (90% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 3** is where it is cheapest (38.9% exposure against 91.7% on Layout 2) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Round 1 — can you reach a central objective? 6 VP is worth over-extending for exactly once.\n- Every turn — how many units can act AND survive? An interrupted action is worth nothing.\n- Round 5 — 10 VP of end-of-battle marker scoring is often easier than one more action. Plan the marker positions 2 turns out.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/reconnaissance--mirror/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--vs--disruption", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Reconnaissance vs Disruption — Surveil the Foe / Smoke and Mirrors", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/reconnaissance", "gdm:disposition/disruption", "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/surveil-the-foe", "gdm:primary/disruption/smoke-and-mirrors" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "reconnaissance", "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/surveil-the-foe", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 }, "side1": { "disposition": "disruption", "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/smoke-and-mirrors", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Surveil the Foe strips operation markers on ANY move that ends within range — no control, no survival, a doomed charge does it — so the denial is close to unstoppable and the 5 VP clearing line stays live. Reconnaissance also banks 9 VP a turn from its own half against 6 and runs 30 past the cap against 5. The dataslate that pushed the central terrain into the far territory narrowed this, which is why the reading is held at medium." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "8 VP a round of hold lines plus 4 VP surveillance and 5 VP marker denial." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "4 VP per decoyed objective in enemy territory, capped by a 10 VP finish for four decoys." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The hold and parity lines pay regardless of the marker war." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Decoys are cheap to place but the finish needs four of them to survive." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Surveillance and marker denial check at the end of your turn." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Decoy scoring checks at the end of your turn and can be rebuilt." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The marker war runs alongside the objective game and both have to be tracked." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Decoy placement has to anticipate a dedicated marker-clearing opponent." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Clearing enemy markers means going to where those markers are, which is rarely safe ground." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Marker hunting is a full-time job for at least one fast unit." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Decoys are worth double in the opponent territory, and they have to survive there until the end of battle." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Placing and protecting four decoys is most of an army plan." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Surveil the Foe pays 5 VP at the end of your turn when NONE of the opponent operation markers are on the battlefield — the same action that scores also switches off the Smoke and Mirrors engine." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Surveillance itself is negated when the surveilled units sit within range of objectives that have operation markers near them, so the marker war cuts both ways." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Smoke and Mirrors doubles for decoys placed in the opponent territory (2 VP plus 2 VP) and finishes on 10 VP for four or more decoyed objectives." }, { "type": "pitfall", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Both players can over-invest in the marker war and lose the objective game that quietly pays 4 to 8 VP a round to whoever bothers." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Every marker you clear is 5 VP for you and roughly 4 VP a turn denied to them — plus their 10 VP finish, which needs 4 objectives decoyed at the end of battle. That is the best two-for-one on the board. Prioritise markers in your own territory, because those are worth double to them. And their hold line is flat, so out-holding them by one is worth 4 VP to you at no extra cost." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Reconnaissance needs: One fast, expendable marker hunter. Not three — the objective game still pays 8 VP a round. Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead. Reach into their half, since that is where the double-value decoys sit. Nothing exotic: this card rewards a normal army that can travel." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their 5 VP marker-denial line is all-or-nothing: it needs every one of your markers gone. So spread them — a decoy they cannot reach this turn is worth more than a decoy in the perfect spot, and a single survivor denies the whole 5 VP. Their surveillance line is also negated when the surveilled units sit near objectives with markers in range, so cluster defensively. And match their objective count to deny their second 4 VP line." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Disruption needs: Speed and spread — decoys must be placed where 1 turn of movement cannot clear them all. Some decoys accepted at half value in your own half, because they survive to the end of battle. A holder for the flat 4 VP. Reach, not guards — their removal trigger is any move that ENDS within range of the marker, so a bodyguard changes nothing and a doomed charge still strips it. Buy the distance instead: place decoys outside their move-and-charge envelope." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 6/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal halves) reads 7/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 38.3% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 61.5% on Layout 2 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 5.8% on Layout 2." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "One fast, expendable marker hunter", "count": 1, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "speed", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One fast, expendable marker hunter." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Reach into their half", "trait": [ "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Reach into their half, since that is where the double-value decoys sit." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Speed and spread", "count": 1, "trait": [ "screening", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Speed and spread — decoys must be placed where 1 turn of movement cannot clear them all." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Some decoys accepted at half value in your own half", "trait": [ "durability" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Some decoys accepted at half value in your own half, because they survive to the end of battle." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A holder for the flat 4 VP", "count": 4, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A holder for the flat 4 VP." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Reach, not guards", "trait": [ "reach", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Reach, not guards — their removal trigger is any move that ENDS within range of the marker, so a bodyguard changes nothing and a doomed charge still strips it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Buy the distance instead", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Buy the distance instead: place decoys outside their move-and-charge envelope." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nThe marker war. Smoke and Mirrors *is* its decoys — every line but the flat hold depends on them being on the board. Surveil the Foe pays 5 VP a turn precisely for there being none. One player's scoring action is the other player's off switch, which is why the theoretical edge sits with Reconnaissance — with a caveat we state plainly below.\n\n| | Reconnaissance | Disruption |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Surveil the Foe | Smoke and Mirrors |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 1 enemy turn | 1 enemy turn |\n| Exposure | 13/20 | 15/20 |\n| Activation cost | 14/20 | 14/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Reconnaissance\n\n*Your card: Surveil the Foe. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP at the end of your turn for surveilling enemy units. At your Command phase, 4 VP for holding anything and 4 VP for holding more objectives than them. And 5 VP at the end of your turn if **none** of their operation markers are on the battlefield.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nMarker hunting is a full-time job for at least one fast unit, and the markers will not be somewhere convenient. The two Command-phase lines, though, are ordinary board play. Exposure 13/20, activation cost 14/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nEvery marker you clear is 5 VP for you and roughly 4 VP a turn denied to them — plus their 10 VP finish, which needs 4 objectives decoyed at the end of battle. That is the best two-for-one on the board. Prioritise markers in your own territory, because those are worth double to them. And their hold line is flat, so out-holding them by one is worth 4 VP to you at no extra cost.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- One fast, expendable marker hunter. Not three — the objective game still pays 8 VP a round.\n- Enough board presence to stay 1 objective ahead.\n- Reach into their half, since that is where the double-value decoys sit.\n- Nothing exotic: this card rewards a normal army that can travel.\n\n## Playing Disruption\n\n*Your card: Smoke and Mirrors. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n2 VP per decoyed objective, plus 2 VP more for each decoyed objective in their territory. 4 VP at your Command phase for holding anything. And 10 VP at the end of battle if four or more objectives are decoyed.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nPlacing and protecting four decoys is most of an army plan, and the double-value ones sit in their half where they are hardest to keep. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 14/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir 5 VP marker-denial line is all-or-nothing: it needs **every** one of your markers gone. So spread them — a decoy they cannot reach this turn is worth more than a decoy in the perfect spot, and a single survivor denies the whole 5 VP. Their surveillance line is also negated when the surveilled units sit near objectives with markers in range, so cluster defensively. And match their objective count to deny their second 4 VP line.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Speed and spread — decoys must be placed where 1 turn of movement cannot clear them all.\n- Some decoys accepted at half value in your own half, because they survive to the end of battle.\n- A holder for the flat 4 VP.\n- Reach, not guards — their removal trigger is any move that ENDS within range of the marker, so a bodyguard changes nothing and a doomed charge still strips it. Buy the distance instead: place decoys outside their move-and-charge envelope.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nReconnaissance vs Disruption is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the long axis | 5/20 | 13.8% | 38.3% | 0.4% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the short axis | 6/20 | 5.8% | 61.5% | 11.5% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal halves | 7/20 | 19% | 56.5% | 7.9% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **13.8%** of the enemy deployment zone. Raiding a home marker costs **38.3%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **0.4%**. 67% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **5.8%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **61.5%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **11.5%**. 77% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal halves, openness **7/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **19%** of the enemy deployment zone. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **56.5%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **7.9%**. 76% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 1** is where it is cheapest (38.3% exposure against 61.5% on Layout 2) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nReconnaissance and Disruption must survive a full enemy turn before banking a grab, so **Layout 1** (openness 5/20) is the board where that plan is cheapest, and **Layout 3** (7/20) the one where it bleeds.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Round 2 — Disruption chooses spread over value, or value over spread. Spread usually wins.\n- Rounds 3-4 — Reconnaissance decides how many units the hunt is worth. One fast unit, not three.\n- Round 5 — the 10 VP finish is checked; Reconnaissance needs a clean board on its last turn.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/reconnaissance--vs--disruption/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/reconnaissance--vs--priority-assets", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Reconnaissance vs Priority Assets — Search and Scour / Vanguard Operation", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/reconnaissance", "gdm:disposition/priority-assets", "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/search-and-scour", "gdm:primary/priority-assets/vanguard-operation" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "reconnaissance", "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/search-and-scour", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "priority-assets", "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/vanguard-operation", "scoringCheckpoint": "command-phase", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Search and Scour banks 7 VP a turn from its own half and the centre against Vanguard Operation's 4, but the printed clause diff runs 6 VP the other way and published competitive readings call this cell slightly Priority-favoured. A slight Reconnaissance edge, held loosely, and the first cell to revisit once games exist." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "4 VP per objective plus a central bonus, a kill rider and a 5 VP finish." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "A 10 VP finish plus 4 VP a turn of actions and a flat hold line." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Per-objective scoring rewards the board play the army is already doing." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The flat hold and the action are reliable; the finish is all or nothing." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The main engine is a Command-phase checkpoint." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Actions and kills resolve at the end of your turn, and the finish rewards a last-turn strike." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 8, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Standard objective play plus one end-of-battle sweep to remember." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Action every turn plus a carefully timed raid." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "A per-objective engine rewards ordinary board play, and the end-of-battle sweep of your own territory happens on friendly ground." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "1 unit must be kept back for the final sweep." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "A vanguard operation every turn plus a 10 VP end-of-battle raid on the enemy home objective — the most exposed square measured on these layouts." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "One acting unit per turn, plus the reserved raid package." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "end-of-battle", "text": "The two end-of-battle clauses are in direct opposition: Priority Assets scores 10 VP for controlling the Reconnaissance home objective, Reconnaissance scores 5 VP for having no enemy unit wholly within its territory. 1 round-5 sweep decides a 15 VP swing." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Search and Scour is the only Reconnaissance card with a per-objective Command-phase engine, so unlike the rest of the deck this build genuinely wants breadth." }, { "type": "pitfall", "side": 0, "phase": "rounds-4-5", "text": "The Reconnaissance player who commits every unit forward loses both their own 5 VP finish and 10 VP to the raid." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card scores at your Command phase, so an objective taken on your turn only pays if it survives a full enemy turn (hold window 1) — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their finish is 10 VP for holding your home objective, and yours is 5 VP for having their units out of your half. Those are the same fight, worth 15 VP together, decided in round 5 — so keep a fast unit uncommitted for it and do not spend it earlier. Their other half is the vanguard action every turn: kill the actor, or engage it, and 4 VP a turn stops. Their hold line is flat, so contesting beyond their first objective achieves nothing." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Reconnaissance needs: Board presence — this card scales, so bodies on markers pay. One fast unit held back specifically to clear your own territory in round 5. It is worth 15 VP of swing. Reach into terrain areas for the 2 VP kill rider; their action units will be sitting in cover. A home screen, because their finish targets it." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their engine scales at 4 VP per objective, so every marker you contest is worth a full 4 VP — unusually, contesting pays you as much as holding. Their 5 VP finish needs no enemy unit wholly within their territory, so even a surviving cheap unit that fails to take the objective still denies it. Send two threats if you can: one to take the objective, one simply to exist in their half." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Priority Assets needs: A deep-strike or fast package for the round-5 raid, protected all game. A second, cheaper body that only has to be alive in their half at the end — it denies 5 VP by itself. Two or 3 units able to perform the vanguard action on rotation. Just 1 objective holder; the hold line is flat." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (bands on the short edges) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 4/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 4/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 27.1% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 2 and 38.5% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 1.6% on Layout 2." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Board presence", "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Board presence — this card scales, so bodies on markers pay." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One fast unit held back specifically to clear your own territory in round 5", "count": 1, "trait": [ "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One fast unit held back specifically to clear your own territory in round 5." }, { "side": 0, "role": "It is worth 15 VP of swing", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "It is worth 15 VP of swing." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Reach into terrain areas for the 2 VP kill rider", "count": 2, "trait": [ "concealment", "damage", "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Reach into terrain areas for the 2 VP kill rider; their action units will be sitting in cover." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A home screen, because their finish targets it", "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A home screen, because their finish targets it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A deep-strike or fast package for the round-5 raid", "count": 5, "trait": [ "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A deep-strike or fast package for the round-5 raid, protected all game." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A second", "count": 5, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A second, cheaper body that only has to be alive in their half at the end — it denies 5 VP by itself." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Two or 3 units able to perform the vanguard action on rotation", "count": 2, "trait": [ "action-recycling" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Two or 3 units able to perform the vanguard action on rotation." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Just 1 objective holder", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Just 1 objective holder; the hold line is flat." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "1 unit expensive to remove, and concealment for everything else", "count": 1, "trait": [ "concealment", "durability" ], "phase": "whole-game", "vpAtStake": 8, "why": "Their kill clause names WHERE the victim has to be, which hands you target selection: present 1 unit that costs more to remove than it is worth, keep the rest Hidden or in cover, and the 2 VP a turn simply does not fire." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nSimilar totals, opposite shapes — and a genuinely dramatic ending. Reconnaissance gets the scaling engine, 4 VP per objective checked every Command phase. Priority Assets buys its points with actions and one enormous finish. Both end-of-battle clauses ask the same question from opposite sides, and 15 VP rides on whether a single unit is still standing in the Reconnaissance player's half in round 5.\n\n| | Reconnaissance | Priority Assets |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Search and Scour | Vanguard Operation |\n| Scores at | mixed | command phase |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 1 enemy turn |\n| Exposure | 12/20 | 15/20 |\n| Activation cost | 11/20 | 15/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Reconnaissance\n\n*Your card: Search and Scour. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n3 VP any turn you hold a central objective, 2 VP for killing an enemy that started the turn inside a terrain area, 4 VP per objective at your Command phase — the only Reconnaissance card that genuinely rewards breadth — and 5 VP at the end of battle if no enemy unit is wholly within your territory.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nOrdinary board play, which is why this is the most comfortable Reconnaissance card to run. The one discipline is keeping enough mobility back to sweep your own half on the last turn. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 11/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir finish is 10 VP for holding **your** home objective, and yours is 5 VP for having their units out of your half. Those are the same fight, worth 15 VP together, decided in round 5 — so keep a fast unit uncommitted for it and do not spend it earlier. Their other half is the vanguard action every turn: kill the actor, or engage it, and 4 VP a turn stops. Their hold line is flat, so contesting beyond their first objective achieves nothing.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Board presence — this card scales, so bodies on markers pay.\n- One fast unit held back specifically to clear your own territory in round 5. It is worth 15 VP of swing.\n- Reach into terrain areas for the 2 VP kill rider; their action units will be sitting in cover.\n- A home screen, because their finish targets it.\n\n## Playing Priority Assets\n\n*Your card: Vanguard Operation. Scoring checkpoint: command phase. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP any turn a unit performs a vanguard operation, 2 VP any turn something of theirs dies, 4 VP at your Command phase for holding anything, and **10 VP at the end of battle for holding their home objective**.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nOne acting unit per turn, plus a reserved raid package that spends the whole game not fighting. Your recurring scoring is safe; your finish is not. Exposure 15/20, activation cost 15/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir engine scales at 4 VP per objective, so every marker you contest is worth a full 4 VP — unusually, contesting pays you as much as holding. Their 5 VP finish needs **no** enemy unit wholly within their territory, so even a surviving cheap unit that fails to take the objective still denies it. Send two threats if you can: one to take the objective, one simply to exist in their half.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- A deep-strike or fast package for the round-5 raid, protected all game.\n- A second, cheaper body that only has to be alive in their half at the end — it denies 5 VP by itself.\n- Two or 3 units able to perform the vanguard action on rotation.\n- Just 1 objective holder; the hold line is flat.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nReconnaissance vs Priority Assets is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | bands on the short edges | 5/20 | 4.6% | 38.5% | 10.2% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 4/20 | 1.6% | 27.1% | — |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 4/20 | 2.6% | 28.5% | — |\n\n- **Layout 1** — bands on the short edges, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **4.6%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **38.5%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **10.2%**. 74% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **4/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **1.6%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **27.1%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (87% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **4/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **2.6%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **28.5%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (94% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 2** is where it is cheapest (27.1% exposure against 38.5% on Layout 1) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Rounds 2-3 — Reconnaissance takes ground, Priority Assets banks actions.\n- Round 4 — the raid deploys; Reconnaissance identifies its sweeper.\n- Round 5 — plan the order of activations, not just the moves. Both finishes resolve here.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/reconnaissance--vs--priority-assets/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--mirror", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take and Hold mirror — Battlefield Dominance", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/take-and-hold", "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/battlefield-dominance" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "take-and-hold", "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/battlefield-dominance", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 }, "side1": { "disposition": "take-and-hold", "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/battlefield-dominance", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 10, "confidence": "high", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold the same card, so the edge is decided by army and execution, not by the mission." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 17, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "3 objectives including home pays 3x3 + 2x2 = 13 VP per Command phase, the highest sustained hold rate in the matrix." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 17, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Home alone still pays 3 VP per round with no action, kill or marker requirement." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 5, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The whole engine scores at the end of YOUR Command phase, so what matters is what survives the opponent turn, not what you grab on yours." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 5, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 6, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "One clean rule to track (objective count plus the home rider); the difficulty is board control, not bookkeeping." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 6, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The engine pays rent on your own home objective, which is the cheapest square on the board to occupy — but every other objective must be physically held through an enemy turn." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Objectives are held by parked units; the rider on home means 1 unit is committed there for the whole game and never fights." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The engine pays rent on your own home objective, which is the cheapest square on the board to occupy — but every other objective must be physically held through an enemy turn." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Objectives are held by parked units; the rider on home means 1 unit is committed there for the whole game and never fights." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Battlefield Dominance is the only primary card that pays for your own home objective (3 VP), and holding home also unlocks +2 VP for every other objective you hold." }, { "type": "threat", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Losing home is a double hit: minus 3 VP for home itself and minus 2 VP for every other objective held. A three-objective player who loses home drops from 13 to 6 VP per round." }, { "type": "counter", "phase": "rounds-2-3", "text": "Raiding the enemy home is the highest-leverage play in the mirror even though the card pays nothing for holding it: contesting it alone erases their rider." }, { "type": "pitfall", "phase": "rounds-4-5", "text": "Trading your home garrison away to grab a fourth objective is usually VP-negative once the rider is lost." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Go for their home. You score nothing for holding it, and it does not matter — contesting it deletes their rider. A three-objective opponent drops from 13 VP a round to 6 the moment their home is contested. One cheap fast unit parked in their back line is worth more than any objective you could take instead. Do it by round 3, before they have spare bodies to clear it." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Take and Hold needs: A cheap, tough home garrison you are happy to never move — objective control matters more than damage here. Two mid-board units that can survive a full enemy turn standing on a marker; wounds and saves beat damage output. One fast, expendable unit whose entire job is to reach the enemy back line by round 3 and refuse to die. A screen against deep strike: your home objective is worth 5 VP a round to them if they take it from you." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 6/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal halves) reads 6/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 63.2% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 2 and 88.7% on Layout 3 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0.5% on Layout 2." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "A cheap, tough home garrison you are happy to never move", "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "durability", "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A cheap, tough home garrison you are happy to never move — objective control matters more than damage here." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Two mid-board units that can survive a full enemy turn standing on a marker", "count": 2, "trait": [ "durability", "damage", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Two mid-board units that can survive a full enemy turn standing on a marker; wounds and saves beat damage output." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One fast", "count": 1, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "speed", "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One fast, expendable unit whose entire job is to reach the enemy back line by round 3 and refuse to die." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A screen against deep strike", "count": 5, "trait": [ "deep-strike", "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A screen against deep strike: your home objective is worth 5 VP a round to them if they take it from you." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nBoth of you hold the only card in the game that pays rent on your **own** home objective — 3 VP a round for a unit that never moves, and it unlocks +2 VP on every other objective you hold. Nothing separates you but armies and nerve. The whole mirror comes down to one question: whose home breaks first.\n\n| | Take and Hold (side 0) | Take and Hold (side 1) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Battlefield Dominance | Battlefield Dominance |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 1 enemy turn | 1 enemy turn |\n| Exposure | 11/20 | 11/20 |\n| Activation cost | 13/20 | 13/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Take and Hold\n\n*Your card: Battlefield Dominance. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\nGarrison home and never let go. With home in hand every other objective is worth 5 VP instead of 3, so 2 objectives pay 8 and three pay 13. That is the entire card. Round 1 and 2 also hand you 2 VP for simply being ahead on count, which is free if you took home first.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nYour scoring checkpoint is your Command phase, so everything you grab has to live through a full enemy turn before it pays a single point. You are not taking objectives, you are renting targets. Budget for a unit that can eat a round of shooting, not one that merely reaches the marker. Exposure 11/20, activation cost 13/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nGo for their home. You score nothing for holding it, and it does not matter — **contesting** it deletes their rider. A three-objective opponent drops from 13 VP a round to 6 the moment their home is contested. One cheap fast unit parked in their back line is worth more than any objective you could take instead. Do it by round 3, before they have spare bodies to clear it.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- A cheap, tough home garrison you are happy to never move — objective control matters more than damage here.\n- Two mid-board units that can survive a full enemy turn standing on a marker; wounds and saves beat damage output.\n- One fast, expendable unit whose entire job is to reach the enemy back line by round 3 and refuse to die.\n- A screen against deep strike: your home objective is worth 5 VP a round to them if they take it from you.\n\n## Playing Take and Hold\n\n*Your card: Battlefield Dominance. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\nGarrison home and never let go. With home in hand every other objective is worth 5 VP instead of 3, so 2 objectives pay 8 and three pay 13. That is the entire card. Round 1 and 2 also hand you 2 VP for simply being ahead on count, which is free if you took home first.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nYour scoring checkpoint is your Command phase, so everything you grab has to live through a full enemy turn before it pays a single point. You are not taking objectives, you are renting targets. Budget for a unit that can eat a round of shooting, not one that merely reaches the marker. Exposure 11/20, activation cost 13/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nGo for their home. You score nothing for holding it, and it does not matter — **contesting** it deletes their rider. A three-objective opponent drops from 13 VP a round to 6 the moment their home is contested. One cheap fast unit parked in their back line is worth more than any objective you could take instead. Do it by round 3, before they have spare bodies to clear it.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- A cheap, tough home garrison you are happy to never move — objective control matters more than damage here.\n- Two mid-board units that can survive a full enemy turn standing on a marker; wounds and saves beat damage output.\n- One fast, expendable unit whose entire job is to reach the enemy back line by round 3 and refuse to die.\n- A screen against deep strike: your home objective is worth 5 VP a round to them if they take it from you.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nTake and Hold mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the long axis | 6/20 | 1% | 84% | 0.4% |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the short axis | 5/20 | 0.5% | 63.2% | 3.8% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal halves | 6/20 | 0.9% | 88.7% | 1.7% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **1%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **84%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **0.4%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (92% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0.5%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **63.2%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **3.8%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (94% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal halves, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0.9%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **88.7%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **1.7%**. 70% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 2** is where it is cheapest (63.2% exposure against 88.7% on Layout 3) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Round 1 — home first, count second. The 2 VP for being ahead is nice; losing home to grab it is not.\n- Round 3 — if their home is still unraided, you are playing for a draw. Send something.\n- Rounds 4-5 — count objectives at the END of their turn, not yours. That is when your score is locked in.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/take-and-hold--mirror/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--disruption", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take and Hold vs Disruption — Determined Acquisition / Death Trap", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/take-and-hold", "gdm:disposition/disruption", "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/determined-acquisition", "gdm:primary/disruption/death-trap" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "take-and-hold", "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/determined-acquisition", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 }, "side1": { "disposition": "disruption", "card": "gdm:primary/disruption/death-trap", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Death Trap banks 9 VP a turn from its own half and the centre against 5, runs 15 VP past the cap while Determined Acquisition projects 5 SHORT of it, and its trap action completes immediately — the body that places it does not have to survive. Determined Acquisition doubles objectives in enemy territory, so the card that pays for pressure walks into the card that is paid for punishing it. Published readings disagree on this cell." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "3 VP per objective plus another 3 VP for each one in enemy territory, plus 2 VP per newly taken objective." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "5 VP per trapped objective area, largely independent of who holds what." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The base 3 VP per objective is safe, but half the card value sits in enemy territory." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Trapping does not require winning fights, which makes the floor unusually stable." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Newly taken objectives score at the end of your turn, the main engine at your Command phase." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Traps are checked at the end of your turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Simple engine, hard risk management." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Trap placement, terrain-area boundaries and enemy movement all interact." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Objectives in the opponent territory are worth double, so the card pays you to stand in the half of the board where their whole army can shoot you." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Rotating pressure between forward objectives ties up mobile units that would otherwise be fighting." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Trapping is done to terrain areas rather than to contested objectives, so much of the card can be scored from your own half." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Trap duty consumes activations that would otherwise shoot." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Determined Acquisition pays 3 VP per objective and another 3 VP for each objective in the opponent territory — a forward objective is worth exactly twice a home-side one." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Death Trap scores off terrain areas rather than objectives, so the Disruption player can bank VP without ever winning the objective game — but 3 of the 5 VP per area come from trapped areas that hold objectives." }, { "type": "threat", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "A Take and Hold player who refuses to push scores half rate — but a player who pushes into trapped areas donates 3 VP a turn." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their kill rider only fires on units that started the turn inside a trapped terrain area, so route around trapped ground and never end a turn parked in one. Their hold line is flat, so contesting their single objective is worth as much as taking three. And traps take time to set: pressure them early, before the board is prepared, because their card gives them no reason to come to you." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Take and Hold needs: One deep target you can genuinely screen and keep — a forward objective is worth 6 VP a round, as much as two at home. Mobility to rotate pressure between two forward objectives for the flip bonus. Enough screening to hold that deep ground through an enemy turn. Avoid slow, expensive units. This card wants tempo, and trapped ground punishes standing still." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their engine doubles for objectives in your territory, so a screen along your territory edge halves their scoring rate — the single most valuable thing you can do all game. Their hold checkpoint is their Command phase, which gives you a full turn of shooting to clear a marker they took on their turn; anything you remove before then never scores. And their 2 VP flip bonus rewards them for taking new ground, so holding ground firmly denies it twice." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Disruption needs: Cheap screens along your own territory edge — they are worth 3 VP a round in denied doubling. Units that can operate in and around terrain areas, since that is where your card scores. One holder for the flat 4 VP, nothing more. Damage that can punish a unit sitting on a forward objective at their Command phase." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (bands on the short edges) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (bands on the short edges) reads 6/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 21.1% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 76.5% on Layout 3 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0% on Layout 3." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "One deep target you can genuinely screen and keep", "count": 1, "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One deep target you can genuinely screen and keep — a forward objective is worth 6 VP a round, as much as two at home." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Mobility to rotate pressure between two forward objectives for the flip bonus", "count": 2, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Mobility to rotate pressure between two forward objectives for the flip bonus." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Enough screening to hold that deep ground through an enemy turn", "trait": [ "screening", "durability", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Enough screening to hold that deep ground through an enemy turn." }, { "side": 0, "role": "This card wants tempo", "trait": [ "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "This card wants tempo, and trapped ground punishes standing still." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." }, { "side": 0, "role": "1 unit expensive to remove, and concealment for everything else", "count": 1, "trait": [ "concealment", "durability" ], "phase": "whole-game", "vpAtStake": 12, "why": "Their kill clause names WHERE the victim has to be, which hands you target selection: present 1 unit that costs more to remove than it is worth, keep the rest Hidden or in cover, and the 3 VP a turn simply does not fire." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Cheap screens along your own territory edge", "count": 3, "trait": [ "screening", "expendable-bodies" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Cheap screens along your own territory edge — they are worth 3 VP a round in denied doubling." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Units that can operate in and around terrain areas", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Units that can operate in and around terrain areas, since that is where your card scores." }, { "side": 1, "role": "One holder for the flat 4 VP, nothing more", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One holder for the flat 4 VP, nothing more." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Damage that can punish a unit sitting on a forward objective at their Command phase", "trait": [ "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Damage that can punish a unit sitting on a forward objective at their Command phase." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nThe most aggressive Take and Hold card meets the card built to punish aggression. Determined Acquisition doubles the value of objectives in enemy territory, so the holder is *paid to over-extend* — and over-extension is exactly what Death Trap taxes. Slight edge to Disruption, because the opponent's own card pushes them into the trap.\n\n| | Take and Hold | Disruption |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Determined Acquisition | Death Trap |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 1 enemy turn | 0 enemy turns |\n| Exposure | 16/20 | 12/20 |\n| Activation cost | 13/20 | 13/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Take and Hold\n\n*Your card: Determined Acquisition. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n3 VP per objective at your Command phase, plus another 3 VP for each of those inside their territory — a forward objective is worth exactly two safe ones. Plus 2 VP for every objective you take that you did not hold at the start of your turn, checked at the end of your turn, so late grabs still pay.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe doubling clause sends you into their half, where their army is, and your holds still have to survive a full enemy turn. This is the highest-exposure Take and Hold plan in the game and it is not optional — playing it safe halves your rate. Exposure 16/20, activation cost 13/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir kill rider only fires on units that **started the turn** inside a trapped terrain area, so route around trapped ground and never end a turn parked in one. Their hold line is flat, so contesting their single objective is worth as much as taking three. And traps take time to set: pressure them early, before the board is prepared, because their card gives them no reason to come to you.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- One deep target you can genuinely screen and keep — a forward objective is worth 6 VP a round, as much as two at home.\n- Mobility to rotate pressure between two forward objectives for the flip bonus.\n- Enough screening to hold that deep ground through an enemy turn.\n- Avoid slow, expensive units. This card wants tempo, and trapped ground punishes standing still.\n\n## Playing Disruption\n\n*Your card: Death Trap. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n2 VP per terrain area you trap, plus 3 VP more for each trapped area that holds an objective — 5 VP a piece. 3 VP when an enemy that started in a trapped area dies there. And 4 VP at your Command phase for holding any 1 objective.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nModest, and that is the point. Much of the card is scored from your own half, and trapping does not require winning a fight. Your exposure is chosen, not forced. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 13/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir engine doubles for objectives in **your** territory, so a screen along your territory edge halves their scoring rate — the single most valuable thing you can do all game. Their hold checkpoint is their Command phase, which gives you a full turn of shooting to clear a marker they took on their turn; anything you remove before then never scores. And their 2 VP flip bonus rewards them for taking new ground, so holding ground firmly denies it twice.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Cheap screens along your own territory edge — they are worth 3 VP a round in denied doubling.\n- Units that can operate in and around terrain areas, since that is where your card scores.\n- One holder for the flat 4 VP, nothing more.\n- Damage that can punish a unit sitting on a forward objective at their Command phase.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nTake and Hold vs Disruption is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the short axis | 3/20 | 0.4% | 21.1% | — |\n| Layout 2 | bands on the short edges | 5/20 | 3.3% | 42.4% | — |\n| Layout 3 | bands on the short edges | 6/20 | 0% | 76.5% | 5.9% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **3/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0.4%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **21.1%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (94% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — bands on the short edges, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **3.3%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **42.4%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (85% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — bands on the short edges, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **76.5%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **5.9%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (88% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 1** is where it is cheapest (21.1% exposure against 76.5% on Layout 3) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nTake and Hold must survive a full enemy turn before banking a grab, so **Layout 1** (openness 3/20) is the board where that plan is cheapest, and **Layout 3** (6/20) the one where it bleeds.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Round 2 — Disruption traps objective-bearing areas first; they are worth 5 VP each.\n- Rounds 2-4 — Take and Hold picks one deep objective and screens it properly rather than skirmishing over several.\n- Round 5 — the flip bonus still pays on a last-turn grab even if it cannot be held.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/take-and-hold--vs--disruption/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--priority-assets", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take and Hold vs Priority Assets — Inescapable Dominion / Secure Asset", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/take-and-hold", "gdm:disposition/priority-assets", "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/inescapable-dominion", "gdm:primary/priority-assets/secure-asset" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "take-and-hold", "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/inescapable-dominion", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 }, "side1": { "disposition": "priority-assets", "card": "gdm:primary/priority-assets/secure-asset", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Both cards run flat hold lines and both project 25 VP past the cap, so the cell is decided by who can score without moving: Secure Asset banks 12 VP a turn from its own half and the centre against Inescapable Dominion's 9, and its action pays without the ground having to survive to the end of the turn. The count bonus that looks like the Take and Hold edge is the clause that obliges it to leave." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Flat lines cap the card: 9 VP a round plus a 4 VP stretch and a 5 VP finish." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "8 VP a round when holding three, plus the asset action and a kill rider." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "2 objectives and a lead on count is the whole card, and it needs nothing else." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The 4 VP hold is safe, but half the card depends on completing the asset action." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 7, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The engine is a Command-phase checkpoint." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The asset action and the kill rider both resolve at the end of your turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 5, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "2 objectives, stay ahead on count. The simplest card in the matrix." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Action timing against a three-objective threshold." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "2 objectives and a count lead can be built from safe ground; only the late home raid puts a unit somewhere hostile." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Flat thresholds mean you commit exactly enough and no more — the cheapest holding plan in the matrix." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Securing the asset and reaching 3 objectives both require forward presence held through an enemy turn." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The asset carrier is a dedicated unit, and 3 objectives need three garrisons." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Inescapable Dominion does not scale: 5 VP for two or more objectives and 4 VP for being ahead on count is a hard 9 VP a round, so the fourth objective is worth nothing." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Denying the opponent third objective is worth 4 VP to the Take and Hold player (the count bonus) — denial and scoring are the same action." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Secure Asset pays 4 VP for holding anything and another 4 VP for holding three or more, so the Priority Assets player has a real threshold at exactly 3 objectives." }, { "type": "pitfall", "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Both players lose VP by over-committing to a fourth objective: neither hold line pays for it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their second bonus needs exactly 3 objectives, so denying their third is worth 4 VP to them and 4 VP to you at the same time — contest, do not expand. Their other half is the asset action, so kill the carrier: a unit performing an action is not shooting back and usually not moving. And note that your count bonus is checked at *your* Command phase, so they can take an objective on their own turn and still deny it — count at the right moment." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Take and Hold needs: Two durable holders. That is the whole engine. 1 unit dedicated to contesting their third objective — it does not need to hold it, only to deny it. Threat on their asset carrier: reach, or something in reserve. One late raider for the 5 VP finish; you will have units spare by round 4." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their card is flat: 5 VP for 2 objectives, 4 VP for being ahead on count. So matching their count denies 4 VP for free — you do not need to out-hold them, only to tie. Their 5 VP finish wants your home objective, so screen it from round 4. And the fourth objective is worth nothing to them, which means anything they commit beyond two is a unit you can ignore." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Priority Assets needs: Two or three cheap units able to perform the asset action on rotation, so a kill does not stop the engine. Just enough board presence to reach 3 objectives — not four. A home screen for the last 2 rounds. Shooting that can reach models sitting on central objectives, for the 2 VP rider." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (bands on the short edges) reads 11/20 for openness, Layout 2 (bands on the short edges) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 7/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 41.1% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 2 and 63.9% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0% on Layout 2." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Two durable holders", "count": 2, "trait": [ "durability" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Two durable holders." }, { "side": 0, "role": "That is the whole engine", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "That is the whole engine." }, { "side": 0, "role": "1 unit dedicated to contesting their third objective", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "1 unit dedicated to contesting their third objective — it does not need to hold it, only to deny it." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Threat on their asset carrier", "trait": [ "deep-strike", "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Threat on their asset carrier: reach, or something in reserve." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One late raider for the 5 VP finish", "count": 1, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One late raider for the 5 VP finish; you will have units spare by round 4." }, { "side": 0, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." }, { "side": 0, "role": "1 unit expensive to remove, and concealment for everything else", "count": 1, "trait": [ "concealment", "durability" ], "phase": "whole-game", "vpAtStake": 8, "why": "Their kill clause names WHERE the victim has to be, which hands you target selection: present 1 unit that costs more to remove than it is worth, keep the rest Hidden or in cover, and the 2 VP a turn simply does not fire." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Two or three cheap units able to perform the asset action on rotation", "count": 2, "trait": [ "action-recycling", "expendable-bodies", "damage" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Two or three cheap units able to perform the asset action on rotation, so a kill does not stop the engine." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Just enough board presence to reach 3 objectives", "count": 3, "trait": [ "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Just enough board presence to reach 3 objectives — not four." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A home screen for the last 2 rounds", "count": 2, "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A home screen for the last 2 rounds." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Shooting that can reach models sitting on central objectives", "count": 2, "trait": [ "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Shooting that can reach models sitting on central objectives, for the 2 VP rider." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nTwo flat cards, so neither of you scales with board control — this is a game of thresholds, not accumulation. Take and Hold needs 2 objectives and a lead on count for a dependable 9 VP a round. Priority Assets needs 1 objective, an action every turn, and exactly 3 markers for its second bonus. Reliability favours the holder.\n\n| | Take and Hold | Priority Assets |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Inescapable Dominion | Secure Asset |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 1 enemy turn | 1 enemy turn |\n| Exposure | 12/20 | 13/20 |\n| Activation cost | 12/20 | 14/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Take and Hold\n\n*Your card: Inescapable Dominion. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP any turn you hold three or more objectives; then at your Command phase, 5 VP for holding two or more and 4 VP for holding more objectives than your opponent. A flat, dependable 9 VP a round that asks nothing of your army but standing still. Plus 5 VP at the end of battle for their home objective.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nLow. 2 objectives on safe ground and a count advantage can be built without ever exposing much — the only risky play on the card is the late home raid, and that is optional. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 12/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir second bonus needs **exactly 3 objectives**, so denying their third is worth 4 VP to them and 4 VP to you at the same time — contest, do not expand. Their other half is the asset action, so kill the carrier: a unit performing an action is not shooting back and usually not moving. And note that your count bonus is checked at *your* Command phase, so they can take an objective on their own turn and still deny it — count at the right moment.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Two durable holders. That is the whole engine.\n- 1 unit dedicated to contesting their third objective — it does not need to hold it, only to deny it.\n- Threat on their asset carrier: reach, or something in reserve.\n- One late raider for the 5 VP finish; you will have units spare by round 4.\n\n## Playing Priority Assets\n\n*Your card: Secure Asset. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP any turn a unit secures the asset, 2 VP for killing an enemy that started near a central objective, and at your Command phase 4 VP for holding anything plus 4 VP for holding three or more.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe asset carrier spends its turn on the action, and reaching 3 objectives against a dedicated holding army means committing bodies you would rather keep. Half your card depends on an action completing. Exposure 13/20, activation cost 14/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir card is flat: 5 VP for 2 objectives, 4 VP for being ahead on count. So **matching their count denies 4 VP for free** — you do not need to out-hold them, only to tie. Their 5 VP finish wants your home objective, so screen it from round 4. And the fourth objective is worth nothing to them, which means anything they commit beyond two is a unit you can ignore.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Two or three cheap units able to perform the asset action on rotation, so a kill does not stop the engine.\n- Just enough board presence to reach 3 objectives — not four.\n- A home screen for the last 2 rounds.\n- Shooting that can reach models sitting on central objectives, for the 2 VP rider.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nTake and Hold vs Priority Assets is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | bands on the short edges | 11/20 | 19.7% | 63.9% | — |\n| Layout 2 | bands on the short edges | 3/20 | 0% | 41.1% | 0% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 7/20 | 17.3% | 60.8% | 8.4% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — bands on the short edges, openness **11/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **19.7%** of the enemy deployment zone. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **63.9%** of their deployment zone. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (100% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — bands on the short edges, openness **3/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **41.1%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. 83% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **7/20**. The middle is contested ground — the best holding spot on a central marker is still visible to **17.3%** of the enemy deployment zone. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **60.8%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **8.4%**. 72% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 2** is where it is cheapest (41.1% exposure against 63.9% on Layout 1) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nTake and Hold and Priority Assets must survive a full enemy turn before banking a grab, so **Layout 2** (openness 3/20) is the board where that plan is cheapest, and **Layout 1** (11/20) the one where it bleeds.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Rounds 2-3 — Priority Assets goes for the third objective or settles for actions.\n- Round 4 — Take and Hold releases a unit for the home raid; Priority Assets screens home.\n- Round 5 — the count bonus is checked at the Take and Hold Command phase, so a last-turn grab still denies it.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/take-and-hold--vs--priority-assets/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--purge-the-foe", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take and Hold vs Purge the Foe — Immovable Object / Unstoppable Force", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/take-and-hold", "gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe", "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/immovable-object", "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/unstoppable-force" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "take-and-hold", "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/immovable-object", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "purge-the-foe", "card": "gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/unstoppable-force", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Both cards run a per-objective Command-phase engine, but Take and Hold pays 5 VP per objective against 4, and adds a free 3 VP a turn for any central objective; Purge the Foe claws most of it back with near-unconditional kill and flip riders." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "5 VP per objective across four checkpoints plus 3 VP a turn for a central objective." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "4 VP per objective plus 3 VP kills, 3 VP flips and a 5 VP finish." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The engine only asks you to keep holding what you already hold." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The kill rider is nearly free, but the flip bonus needs you to take ground from a dedicated holding army." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 7, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The hold engine scores at your Command phase in rounds 2-4 and only flips to end of turn in round 5." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Kills and flips both resolve at the end of your own turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 7, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Hold, keep a central objective, remember the round-5 timing change." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Needs a kill every turn, a flip most turns, and a central objective by the end of battle." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Central objectives measure at 0% deployment-zone exposure on all three transcribed layouts, so the 3 VP rider is nearly free; the per-objective line still needs bodies standing still." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "2 objectives held hard, plus 1 unit kept back for the round-5 grab." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 12, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Flipping an objective every turn means repeatedly moving onto ground the opponent is already holding, and staying there through their turn." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 10, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Flip duty ties up one mobile unit per turn." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Take and Hold out-scales on the shared engine: 5 VP per objective against 4 VP, which over four checkpoints at 2 objectives is an 8 VP swing before any rider." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "rounds-4-5", "text": "Immovable Object flips its checkpoint in round 5 from the Command phase to the end of your turn, so the last round rewards a late grab — Unstoppable Force keeps scoring at its Command phase and cannot answer it." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Every objective the Purge player takes from the Take and Hold player is a 8 VP swing: minus 5 VP for them, plus 4 VP hold and 3 VP flip for you." }, { "type": "pitfall", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Trading a held objective for a kill is VP-negative for the Take and Hold player at almost any stage." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Their flip bonus is the danger: each objective they take off you swings 8 VP (your 5 lost, their 4 + 3 gained). So screen against flips rather than chasing kills. Deny the cheap kill too — they get 3 VP for killing anything, so do not leave a lone chaff unit parked where it dies for free. And match their level of control on a central objective at the end of the battle: control is summed OC, not a headcount, and a tie means neither player holds it — so denying their 5 VP finish costs you 1 point of OC less than taking the objective would." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Take and Hold needs: 2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase. Wounds, saves, and objective control — not damage. Screens on the approaches to your objectives; the flip bonus is their whole tempo plan. One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab, when your card scores after your own move. Nothing spent on a third objective you cannot defend." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Do not try to out-hold them; you lose that race by 1 VP per objective per round. Instead, take 1 objective off them a turn: it denies 5 and pays you 7. Their engine is at their Command phase in rounds 2-4, which means everything you remove during your own turn never scores at all — you have a full turn of shooting to empty a marker before they bank it. In round 5 that window closes and they grab after their move, so do your denial early." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Purge the Foe needs: A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one — fast, damaging, and cheap enough to trade away. One flipping unit per turn: enough speed to reach a held objective and enough staying power to still be there at their Command phase. Reserves are excellent here — arriving on a marker is the cleanest flip there is. Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 6/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal halves) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (bands on the short edges) reads 5/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 36.2% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 55.6% on Layout 2 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 2.4% on Layout 3." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase", "count": 2, "trait": [ "durability", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Wounds, saves, and objective control", "trait": [ "durability", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Wounds, saves, and objective control — not damage." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Screens on the approaches to your objectives", "trait": [ "screening" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Screens on the approaches to your objectives; the flip bonus is their whole tempo plan." }, { "side": 0, "role": "One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab", "count": 1, "trait": [ "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab, when your card scores after your own move." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one", "count": 1, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "damage", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one — fast, damaging, and cheap enough to trade away." }, { "side": 1, "role": "One flipping unit per turn", "count": 1, "trait": [ "durability", "speed", "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One flipping unit per turn: enough speed to reach a held objective and enough staying power to still be there at their Command phase." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Reserves are excellent here", "trait": [ "deep-strike", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Reserves are excellent here — arriving on a marker is the cleanest flip there is." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish", "count": 5, "trait": [ "durability" ], "phase": "list-building", "matchupSpecific": true, "why": "Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nTwo per-objective engines pointed at each other, but at different rates: Take and Hold banks 5 VP per objective, Purge the Foe only 4 — and adds a kill rider that is nearly free against an army standing still on markers. Take and Hold wins the arithmetic; Purge the Foe wins the tempo. Slight edge to the holder, and it inverts against a genuine alpha-strike list.\n\n| | Take and Hold | Purge the Foe |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Immovable Object | Unstoppable Force |\n| Scores at | mixed | mixed |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 1 enemy turn |\n| Exposure | 11/20 | 12/20 |\n| Activation cost | 12/20 | 10/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Take and Hold\n\n*Your card: Immovable Object. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n3 VP any turn you hold a central objective — nearly free, since centrals are the safest ground on every board we have measured. Then 5 VP per objective at your Command phase in rounds 2-4, and the same 5 VP per objective at the **end of your turn** in round 5. That last-round switch is your ace: in round 5 you score after your own move and they cannot answer it.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nRounds 2-4 you are renting targets — every objective must survive a full enemy turn against an army whose card pays it 3 VP just for killing something. 2 objectives held properly beats three held loosely, every time. Exposure 11/20, activation cost 12/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nTheir flip bonus is the danger: each objective they take off you swings 8 VP (your 5 lost, their 4 + 3 gained). So **screen against flips rather than chasing kills**. Deny the cheap kill too — they get 3 VP for killing anything, so do not leave a lone chaff unit parked where it dies for free. And match their level of control on a central objective at the end of the battle: control is summed OC, not a headcount, and a tie means neither player holds it — so denying their 5 VP finish costs you 1 point of OC less than taking the objective would.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- 2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase. Wounds, saves, and objective control — not damage.\n- Screens on the approaches to your objectives; the flip bonus is their whole tempo plan.\n- One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab, when your card scores after your own move.\n- Nothing spent on a third objective you cannot defend.\n\n## Playing Purge the Foe\n\n*Your card: Unstoppable Force. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n3 VP a turn for killing anything — against a holding army, targets are always available. 4 VP per objective at your Command phase, 3 VP for taking an objective you did not hold at the start of the turn, and 5 VP at the end of battle for a central objective.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nFlipping means moving onto ground they already hold and staying there through their turn. That is the most expensive way to take an objective, and it is your main scoring line — price it before you commit. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 10/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nDo not try to out-hold them; you lose that race by 1 VP per objective per round. Instead, take **one** objective off them a turn: it denies 5 and pays you 7. Their engine is at their Command phase in rounds 2-4, which means everything you remove during your own turn never scores at all — you have a full turn of shooting to empty a marker before they bank it. In round 5 that window closes and they grab after their move, so do your denial early.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one — fast, damaging, and cheap enough to trade away.\n- One flipping unit per turn: enough speed to reach a held objective and enough staying power to still be there at their Command phase.\n- Reserves are excellent here — arriving on a marker is the cleanest flip there is.\n- Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nTake and Hold vs Purge the Foe is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the short axis | 6/20 | 7.7% | 36.2% | — |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal halves | 5/20 | 8% | 55.6% | 0% |\n| Layout 3 | bands on the short edges | 5/20 | 2.4% | 42.7% | 11.9% |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **7.7%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **36.2%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (89% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal halves, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **8%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **55.6%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (89% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — bands on the short edges, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **2.4%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **42.7%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **11.9%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (88% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 1** is where it is cheapest (36.2% exposure against 55.6% on Layout 2) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Rounds 2-3 — Take and Hold decides whether a third objective is defensible. If not, it is a liability.\n- Every turn — Purge the Foe picks the 1 objective to flip, not the most objectives to contest.\n- Round 5 — Take and Hold grabs late; its checkpoint is now after its own move.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/take-and-hold--vs--purge-the-foe/" }, { "id": "disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--reconnaissance", "kind": "matchup-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take and Hold vs Reconnaissance — Purge and Secure / Reconnaissance Sweep", "subjects": [ "gdm:disposition/take-and-hold", "gdm:disposition/reconnaissance", "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/purge-and-secure", "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/reconnaissance-sweep" ], "sides": { "side0": { "disposition": "take-and-hold", "card": "gdm:primary/take-and-hold/purge-and-secure", "scoringCheckpoint": "mixed", "holdWindow": 0 }, "side1": { "disposition": "reconnaissance", "card": "gdm:primary/reconnaissance/reconnaissance-sweep", "scoringCheckpoint": "command-phase", "holdWindow": 1 } }, "ratings": [ { "metric": "edge", "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Take and Hold runs 20 VP past the cap against 5, and its 6 VP kill rider triggers on exactly the exposed bodies Reconnaissance Sweep obliges the opponent to feed into three and four table quarters every turn. Published competitive readings put Reconnaissance ahead here; the disagreement turns entirely on whether the Reconnaissance list can afford that bleed, so the edge is stated slight rather than clear." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 0, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "4 VP per objective plus two 3 VP kill riders and a 3 VP flip." }, { "metric": "ceiling", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "6 VP a turn for the four-quarter spread plus 1 VP per kill adds up, but nothing on the card pays big." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 0, "value": 15, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Holding objectives is the whole plan and it is what the army is built for." }, { "metric": "floor", "side": 1, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The spread bonus is all-or-nothing: three surviving units in three quarters, or four in four." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 0, "value": 9, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Hold at the Command phase, kills and flips at the end of turn." }, { "metric": "tempo", "side": 1, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The spread is checked at the end of your own turn, so it can be rebuilt each turn." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 0, "value": 7, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Familiar objective play with kill bonuses attached." }, { "metric": "complexity", "side": 1, "value": 14, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Table quarters, a 6 inch exclusion around the centre and \"wholly within\" all have to be tracked per unit, every turn." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 0, "value": 13, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The kill riders only pay for fights that happen at objectives, so the card pushes you into the contested middle rather than letting you shoot from cover." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 0, "value": 11, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "Killing is work the army wants to do anyway; only the holding is dead weight." }, { "metric": "exposure", "side": 1, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "The spread bonus requires 4 units alone in four corners, more than 6 inches from the centre — isolated, unsupported and individually killable." }, { "metric": "activationCost", "side": 1, "value": 16, "confidence": "medium", "basis": "theory", "rationale": "4 units are permanently assigned to geometry rather than to fighting." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "engine-note", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Reconnaissance Sweep has the weakest hold line in the matrix — 3 VP flat — so the Reconnaissance player cannot win the objective game and should not try." }, { "type": "engine-note", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Both of the Take and Hold kill riders trigger on objective fights (a kill made by a unit within range of an objective, or a kill of an enemy that started within range of one), so they cost nothing extra to earn." }, { "type": "pitfall", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Contesting the centre costs the Reconnaissance player twice: it breaks the \"more than 6 inches from the centre\" condition and walks into the opponent kill riders." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "cost", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "This card scores at your Command phase, so an objective taken on your turn only pays if it survives a full enemy turn (hold window 1) — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.", "refs": [ "rule:13.08", "rule:14.02" ] }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 0, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "Hunt the quarter-sitters. Every isolated unit you kill is 3 VP for you and knocks them from the 6 VP tier down to 3 — a 6 VP swing for one activation. They need 4 units alive in four different quarters, more than 6\" from the centre, so breaking one corner is enough. Do not chase them into the centre: they are not allowed to be there." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 0, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Take and Hold needs: Two solid objective holders, and no more. Reach — something that can kill a lone cheap unit in a far corner. Fast attacks, deep strike, or long-range fire. Enough spare activations to hunt every turn; this is where the game is won. Do not over-build for the middle. They are not fighting you for it." }, { "type": "disruption", "side": 1, "phase": "whole-game", "text": "You will not out-hold them, so do not try — deny instead. Their kill riders both require fights at objectives, so simply not contesting their markers switches off half their card. Meanwhile their 3 VP flip bonus needs objectives to change hands: hold nothing they want and there is nothing to flip. Your 1 VP per kill is small but real, and it is best spent on whatever they leave screening." }, { "type": "list-building", "side": 1, "phase": "list-building", "text": "Reconnaissance needs: Four cheap, fast, survivable units. Survivability here means terrain, not toughness. Units that can hide: infantry in a ruin that has not shot cannot be seen past 15\". That is what keeps a lone corner unit alive. One holder for the 3 VP line, kept away from their kill riders. Resist buying anything expensive. The card pays for presence, not power." }, { "type": "layout", "phase": "deployment", "text": "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal halves) reads 6/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 21.2% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 55.8% on Layout 2 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0% on Layout 1." } ], "listRequirements": [ { "side": 0, "role": "Two solid objective holders, and no more", "count": 2, "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Two solid objective holders, and no more." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Reach", "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "damage", "reach" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Reach — something that can kill a lone cheap unit in a far corner." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Fast attacks, deep strike, or long-range fire", "trait": [ "deep-strike", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Fast attacks, deep strike, or long-range fire." }, { "side": 0, "role": "Enough spare activations to hunt every turn", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Enough spare activations to hunt every turn; this is where the game is won." }, { "side": 0, "role": "They are not fighting you for it", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "They are not fighting you for it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Four cheap, fast, survivable units", "count": 4, "trait": [ "expendable-bodies", "speed" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Four cheap, fast, survivable units." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Survivability here means terrain, not toughness", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Survivability here means terrain, not toughness." }, { "side": 1, "role": "Units that can hide", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "Units that can hide: infantry in a ruin that has not shot cannot be seen past 15\\\"." }, { "side": 1, "role": "That is what keeps a lone corner unit alive", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "That is what keeps a lone corner unit alive." }, { "side": 1, "role": "One holder for the 3 VP line, kept away from their kill riders", "count": 1, "trait": [ "damage", "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "One holder for the 3 VP line, kept away from their kill riders." }, { "side": 1, "role": "The card pays for presence, not power", "trait": [ "objective-control" ], "phase": "list-building", "why": "The card pays for presence, not power." }, { "side": 1, "role": "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something", "count": 1, "trait": [ "reactive-deterrence" ], "phase": "rounds-2-3", "why": "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." }, { "side": 1, "role": "1 unit expensive to remove, and concealment for everything else", "count": 1, "trait": [ "concealment", "durability" ], "phase": "whole-game", "vpAtStake": 24, "why": "Their kill clause names WHERE the victim has to be, which hands you target selection: present 1 unit that costs more to remove than it is worth, keep the rest Hidden or in cover, and the 6 VP a turn simply does not fire." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The matchup in a nutshell\n\nOpposite geometries. Take and Hold wants mass on the middle and is paid for killing anything that comes near it; Reconnaissance wants 4 units scattered to the four corners, explicitly away from the centre, and holds the weakest hold line in the game — 3 VP flat. The holder is favoured, because hunting corner-sitters is both their scoring plan and their denial plan at the same time.\n\n| | Take and Hold | Reconnaissance |\n|---|---|---|\n| Card | Purge and Secure | Reconnaissance Sweep |\n| Scores at | mixed | command phase |\n| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 1 enemy turn |\n| Exposure | 13/20 | 16/20 |\n| Activation cost | 11/20 | 16/20 |\n\nA hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means **you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it**. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.\n\n## Playing Take and Hold\n\n*Your card: Purge and Secure. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.*\n\n### How you score\n\n4 VP per objective at your Command phase, plus two kill riders that trigger on fights you were going to have anyway: 3 VP for a kill made by a unit near an objective, 3 VP for killing an enemy that started the turn near one. Then 3 VP for taking an objective you did not hold at the start of your turn.\n\n### What it costs you\n\nThe kill riders pull you into the contested middle rather than letting you shoot from safety, and the hold line still asks for bodies standing still through an enemy turn. Exposure 13/20, activation cost 11/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nHunt the quarter-sitters. Every isolated unit you kill is 3 VP for you and knocks them from the 6 VP tier down to 3 — a 6 VP swing for one activation. They need **four** units alive in four different quarters, more than 6\" from the centre, so breaking one corner is enough. Do not chase them into the centre: they are not allowed to be there.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Two solid objective holders, and no more.\n- Reach — something that can kill a lone cheap unit in a far corner. Fast attacks, deep strike, or long-range fire.\n- Enough spare activations to hunt every turn; this is where the game is won.\n- Do not over-build for the middle. They are not fighting you for it.\n\n## Playing Reconnaissance\n\n*Your card: Reconnaissance Sweep. Scoring checkpoint: command phase. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.*\n\n### How you score\n\n3 VP for 3 units in three different quarters, 6 VP for four in four — all more than 6\" from the centre and checked at the end of your turn, so a broken spread can be rebuilt. Plus 1 VP per enemy unit killed, and a thin 3 VP for holding anything.\n\n### What it costs you\n\n4 units are permanently assigned to geometry instead of fighting, and they stand alone where they are easiest to kill. That is the whole cost, and it is heavy. Exposure 16/20, activation cost 16/20.\n\n### How you break them\n\nYou will not out-hold them, so do not try — deny instead. Their kill riders both require fights **at objectives**, so simply not contesting their markers switches off half their card. Meanwhile their 3 VP flip bonus needs objectives to change hands: hold nothing they want and there is nothing to flip. Your 1 VP per kill is small but real, and it is best spent on whatever they leave screening.\n\n### What your list needs\n\n- Four cheap, fast, survivable units. Survivability here means terrain, not toughness.\n- Units that can hide: infantry in a ruin that has not shot cannot be seen past 15\". That is what keeps a lone corner unit alive.\n- One holder for the 3 VP line, kept away from their kill riders.\n- Resist buying anything expensive. The card pays for presence, not power.\n\n## The three layouts\n\nTake and Hold vs Reconnaissance is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.\n\n| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Layout 1 | diagonal across the long axis | 3/20 | 0% | 21.2% | — |\n| Layout 2 | diagonal across the short axis | 5/20 | 0% | 55.8% | 9.7% |\n| Layout 3 | diagonal halves | 6/20 | 1% | 54.7% | — |\n\n- **Layout 1** — diagonal across the long axis, openness **3/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **21.2%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (87% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 2** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **0%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **55.8%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **9.7%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (100% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.\n- **Layout 3** — diagonal halves, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **1%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **54.7%** of their deployment zone. 77% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.\n\nIf your plan needs enemy ground, **Layout 1** is where it is cheapest (21.2% exposure against 55.8% on Layout 2) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.\n\nReconnaissance must survive a full enemy turn before banking a grab, so **Layout 1** (openness 3/20) is the board where that plan is cheapest, and **Layout 3** (6/20) the one where it bleeds.\n\nNumbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.\n\n## Decision points\n\n- Deployment — Reconnaissance commits to four quarters or settles for the 3 VP tier.\n- Rounds 2-3 — Take and Hold chooses between a third objective and corner-hunting. Hunting is usually worth more.\n- Round 5 — Reconnaissance rebuilds the spread one last time; it only has to be true at the end of the turn.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/take-and-hold--vs--reconnaissance/" }, { "id": "layout/sweeping-purge-1", "kind": "layout-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take & Hold vs Purge the Foe · 1 — what each objective costs to hold", "subjects": [ "gdm:layout/take-and-hold-vs-purge-the-foe" ], "ratings": [ { "metric": "exposure", "value": 5, "confidence": "high", "basis": "simulation", "rationale": "Taking the enemy home objective on this layout means holding a spot up to 23.5% of their deployment zone can see — measured with the engine's line-of-sight over every legal holding position within control range." }, { "metric": "exposure", "value": 2, "confidence": "high", "basis": "simulation", "rationale": "The central objective(s) can be held from a spot at most 7.8% of the enemy deployment zone can see, making central-scoring lines unusually cheap here." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "centre: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 5% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 7.8%. Nearest deployment zones are 8\" and 8\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "home0: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 20.2%. Nearest deployment zones are 0.6\" and 25.6\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "home1: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 23.5%. Nearest deployment zones are 25.6\" and 0.6\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "exp0: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 12.2%. Nearest deployment zones are 16.5\" and 3.5\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "exp1: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 14.3%. Nearest deployment zones are 3.5\" and 16.5\" away." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The board\n\nA Sweeping Engagement board: the deployment zones run along the long edges, which shortens every threat range and makes the expansion objectives the real battleground. Deployment style: Sweeping Engagement.\n\n## What each objective costs to hold\n\nEvery figure below is measured, not estimated. The engine walks every legal holding position within control range of the marker (3\" — you hold an objective from *near* it, not from on top of it), and for each one counts how much of a deployment zone can draw line of sight to it. The reported number is the **best** spot available, because that is the one a real player uses.\n\n| Objective | Seen by P1's zone (P0 holding) | Seen by P0's zone (P1 holding) | Seen from anywhere | Spots in cover | Spots that can hide | Distance from DZ0 / DZ1 |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| centre | 7.8% | 5% | 17.3% | 100% | 100% | 8 / 8 |\n| home0 | 0% | 20.2% | 10.3% | 100% | 100% | 0.6 / 25.6 |\n| home1 | 23.5% | 0% | 8% | 100% | 100% | 25.6 / 0.6 |\n| exp0 | 12.2% | 0% | 18.1% | 100% | 100% | 16.5 / 3.5 |\n| exp1 | 0% | 14.3% | 16.8% | 100% | 100% | 3.5 / 16.5 |\n\n## How to read it\n\nAn objective with a low number for its owner and a high number for the invader is **structurally defensive**: cheap to keep, expensive to steal. That asymmetry is invisible in the mission cards, which price an objective the same wherever it sits.\n\n\"Spots in cover\" is the share of legal holding positions inside a terrain area, which grants Benefit of Cover to INFANTRY, BEASTS and SWARM. \"Spots that can hide\" is the share inside an area holding dense terrain, where an infantry unit that has not shot this turn or last is Hidden and cannot be seen beyond 15\". On these layouts the objectives sit inside ruins by design, so both are high — which quietly favours whoever is already holding.\n\n## Limits of this measurement\n\nLine of sight is not the same as threat: nothing here weights weapon range, so these are upper bounds on who can actually shoot you. Deployment-zone exposure describes the opening turns; the \"from anywhere\" column is the mid-game picture once armies have moved. And exposure is only half of a real decision — the other half is what the mission card pays you for taking the risk.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/sweeping-purge-1/" }, { "id": "layout/tipping-mirror-1", "kind": "layout-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take & Hold Mirror · 1 — what each objective costs to hold", "subjects": [ "gdm:layout/take-and-hold-vs-take-and-hold" ], "ratings": [ { "metric": "exposure", "value": 15, "confidence": "high", "basis": "simulation", "rationale": "Taking the enemy home objective on this layout means holding a spot up to 73.7% of their deployment zone can see — measured with the engine's line-of-sight over every legal holding position within control range." }, { "metric": "exposure", "value": 0, "confidence": "high", "basis": "simulation", "rationale": "The central objective(s) can be held from a spot at most 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see, making central-scoring lines unusually cheap here." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "home0: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 73.7%. Nearest deployment zones are 0.6\" and 28.3\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "home1: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 71.9%. Nearest deployment zones are 28.3\" and 0.6\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "nml0: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 29.2%. Nearest deployment zones are 5.7\" and 21.3\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "nml1: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 31.9%. Nearest deployment zones are 21.3\" and 5.7\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "centre0: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 0%. Nearest deployment zones are 8\" and 12\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "centre1: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 0%. Nearest deployment zones are 12\" and 8\" away." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The board\n\nThe mirror board, transcribed from the measurement sheet: two safe centres, and the most punishing home objectives measured anywhere in the set. Deployment style: Tipping Point.\n\n## What each objective costs to hold\n\nEvery figure below is measured, not estimated. The engine walks every legal holding position within control range of the marker (3\" — you hold an objective from *near* it, not from on top of it), and for each one counts how much of a deployment zone can draw line of sight to it. The reported number is the **best** spot available, because that is the one a real player uses.\n\n| Objective | Seen by P1's zone (P0 holding) | Seen by P0's zone (P1 holding) | Seen from anywhere | Spots in cover | Spots that can hide | Distance from DZ0 / DZ1 |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| home0 | 0% | 73.7% | 27.7% | 100% | 100% | 0.6 / 28.3 |\n| home1 | 71.9% | 0% | 25.6% | 100% | 100% | 28.3 / 0.6 |\n| nml0 | 0% | 29.2% | 15.7% | 100% | 100% | 5.7 / 21.3 |\n| nml1 | 31.9% | 0% | 14.7% | 100% | 100% | 21.3 / 5.7 |\n| centre0 | 0% | 0% | 12.4% | 100% | 100% | 8 / 12 |\n| centre1 | 0% | 0% | 11.9% | 100% | 100% | 12 / 8 |\n\n## How to read it\n\nAn objective with a low number for its owner and a high number for the invader is **structurally defensive**: cheap to keep, expensive to steal. That asymmetry is invisible in the mission cards, which price an objective the same wherever it sits.\n\n\"Spots in cover\" is the share of legal holding positions inside a terrain area, which grants Benefit of Cover to INFANTRY, BEASTS and SWARM. \"Spots that can hide\" is the share inside an area holding dense terrain, where an infantry unit that has not shot this turn or last is Hidden and cannot be seen beyond 15\". On these layouts the objectives sit inside ruins by design, so both are high — which quietly favours whoever is already holding.\n\n## Limits of this measurement\n\nLine of sight is not the same as threat: nothing here weights weapon range, so these are upper bounds on who can actually shoot you. Deployment-zone exposure describes the opening turns; the \"from anywhere\" column is the mid-game picture once armies have moved. And exposure is only half of a real decision — the other half is what the mission card pays you for taking the risk.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/tipping-mirror-1/" }, { "id": "layout/tipping-recon-1", "kind": "layout-analysis", "lang": "en", "title": "Take & Hold vs Reconnaissance · 1 — what each objective costs to hold", "subjects": [ "gdm:layout/take-and-hold-vs-reconnaissance" ], "ratings": [ { "metric": "exposure", "value": 9, "confidence": "high", "basis": "simulation", "rationale": "Taking the enemy home objective on this layout means holding a spot up to 46.7% of their deployment zone can see — measured with the engine's line-of-sight over every legal holding position within control range." }, { "metric": "exposure", "value": 0, "confidence": "high", "basis": "simulation", "rationale": "The central objective(s) can be held from a spot at most 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see, making central-scoring lines unusually cheap here." } ], "claims": [ { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "centre: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 0%. Nearest deployment zones are 10\" and 10\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "home0: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 46%. Nearest deployment zones are 0\" and 31.6\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "home1: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 46.7%. Nearest deployment zones are 31.6\" and 0\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "exp0: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 6.5%. Nearest deployment zones are 4\" and 23\" away." }, { "type": "terrain", "phase": "deployment", "text": "exp1: the side that already owns this ground can hold it from a spot only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see; the side taking it from them faces 8.3%. Nearest deployment zones are 23\" and 4\" away." } ], "dependsOn": { "corpus": "2026-05-09 23:42:21", "gdmPack": "GDM" }, "status": "draft", "sources": [], "body": "## The board\n\nA Tipping Point board where the centre is effectively free real estate and the flanks decide the game. Deployment style: Tipping Point.\n\n## What each objective costs to hold\n\nEvery figure below is measured, not estimated. The engine walks every legal holding position within control range of the marker (3\" — you hold an objective from *near* it, not from on top of it), and for each one counts how much of a deployment zone can draw line of sight to it. The reported number is the **best** spot available, because that is the one a real player uses.\n\n| Objective | Seen by P1's zone (P0 holding) | Seen by P0's zone (P1 holding) | Seen from anywhere | Spots in cover | Spots that can hide | Distance from DZ0 / DZ1 |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| centre | 0% | 0% | 12.7% | 100% | 100% | 10 / 10 |\n| home0 | 0% | 46% | 14.6% | 100% | 100% | 0 / 31.6 |\n| home1 | 46.7% | 0% | 12.5% | 100% | 100% | 31.6 / 0 |\n| exp0 | 0% | 6.5% | 13.3% | 100% | 100% | 4 / 23 |\n| exp1 | 8.3% | 0% | 12.2% | 100% | 100% | 23 / 4 |\n\n## How to read it\n\nAn objective with a low number for its owner and a high number for the invader is **structurally defensive**: cheap to keep, expensive to steal. That asymmetry is invisible in the mission cards, which price an objective the same wherever it sits.\n\n\"Spots in cover\" is the share of legal holding positions inside a terrain area, which grants Benefit of Cover to INFANTRY, BEASTS and SWARM. \"Spots that can hide\" is the share inside an area holding dense terrain, where an infantry unit that has not shot this turn or last is Hidden and cannot be seen beyond 15\". On these layouts the objectives sit inside ruins by design, so both are high — which quietly favours whoever is already holding.\n\n## Limits of this measurement\n\nLine of sight is not the same as threat: nothing here weights weapon range, so these are upper bounds on who can actually shoot you. Deployment-zone exposure describes the opening turns; the \"from anywhere\" column is the mid-game picture once armies have moved. And exposure is only half of a real decision — the other half is what the mission card pays you for taking the risk.", "url": "https://hive-perdita.vercel.app/analysis/tipping-recon-1/" } ] }