Chaos Interviews; The Man Behind the "Joe Maneuver" Part II

Hey there Chaos fans! We're back with the second part of our interview with Joe- a man both respected and feared in our gaming circle... A tough opponent who has a rather annoying strategy. Let's get it on! 

Q: How would you describe your approach to building an army list? That is, BEFORE a battle. In other words, what do you take into consideration when preparing a list?

 The first thing that I look at is the points limit, everything in a list stems from this. It must. Since we usually set a point limit advance, this is my first consideration. The second thing that goes through my head is what army will I be facing. I generally tailor my list to counter-act what I know are my adversaries strong points. Some would say this is reactive rather than pro active.  After I've dealt with that I begin to pick units that are general purpose as opposed to specialist ones...

      Q: Why do you do it that way?

 You see, while specialist units are great at one thing, they are next to useless outside of that special role. To me, that is a massive drawback. I prefer "tactical" units that can accomplish several roles if called upon, rather than the single role specialization offers. Of course, specialization can also be bad because specialized units tend to be points heavy; I'd rather spend the points elsewhere. I also avoid units that will be automatically targeted for no other reason than they were once devastating in a previous game like attack bike...

Q: Why don't you explain that nugget to our readers...?

In a game a long time ago, I used Black Templar attack bikes on you to rather devastating effect. The next game, you deliberately went after the bikes. And you've done that ever since. In fact, you always go after the bikes without regard to objectives or other considerations. As a result, I don't bother with them.

Q: Haha! Perhaps it's revenge for the dreaded "Joe Maneuver"... Speaking of, what kind of tactics and strategies do you employ? How would you classify yourself as a player?  

 I have always studied history, particularly military history.I would say that I favor a blitzkrieg  warfare bringing a large amount of firepower or manpower down on a single unit in quick time. This has been called the "Joe Maneuver" and those who use that term seek to be-little it without realizing its underlying intent...

Q: Joe- you've sent more than 3 units to kill of a unit that would be dead in a turn anyway... that's what I and others have termed the "Joe Maneuver"...

1.      As I was saying, the so-called "Joe Maneuver" seeks to always bring about a victory in combat while holding back casualties on my side, so when combat is over they are still viable units that will tough for you to deal with. Aside from that move, I tend not to go into a game with any sort of master plan. I believe that no plan survives contact with the enemy, and I seek to leave all my options open to exploit any openings that I might see. This is why I dislike specialist units that have only purpose. One style that is  frequently associated with myself is that I feel it is better to attack than to hold back seeking to gain those openings. You must grab the openings, but you can't wait forever. I would say that I agree with Napoleon when he said you must not simply defeat your enemy but destroy him. If I see an opening I will exploit it for all its worth. I think one of my weaknesses is the urge to create maximum destruction and confusion at the expense of an objective... that has cost me more than one game.

That's it for this one folks. We'll have Part III of this interview posted in a bit. Joe will discuss his favorite (and embarrassing) gaming moments, as well as what he'd like to see in 6th edition. Until next time...

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