AoS Homework: Intel Preparation Part 1

Strap in, this one is going to be a doozie. Luckily, the bulk of this concept is something you do not do while you are playing, but a task you perform when you are no doubt lying in your bed, anxious and unable to sleep because you are ruminating about this engrossing game. Before we get into it, I just want to encourage you to hit that follow button so you can receive regular updates on this blog. I plan to make several posts a week until we finish examining US Army doctrine then we will dive into some faction-specific analyses. If you want to see a specific topic or have any other feedback, leaving a comment or emailing me is a great way to get in touch. That being said, let's get into it.

Today we will discuss Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment (formerly known as Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield). Refer to ATP 2-01.3 if you want it from the horses mouth. This is the process of giving yourself the most information possible to make informed decisions. This process has four sub steps that we will break into separate posts for further examination. They are: Define the Operational Environment, Describe the Environmental Effects on Operations, Evaluate the Threat, and Determine Threat COAs. Today we will examine the first two steps of the process.

Define the Operational Environment

Defining the Operational Environment (OE) in wargaming is quite straightforward. We do not have to request intelligence collection assets, consider multiple domains of warfare, or argue with commanders about conflicting areas of operations. Our OE is a 44"x60" space with about eight pieces of (usually poorly placed) terrain. 

Let's take another look at a complex figure to glean some insights for AoS. The two pieces to give our consideration are the Enemy and Features (there isn't really a distinction in AoS for Natural and Man-made ones). The rest of these factors either do not really exist in the game, or they exist solely in a few battleplans. In short, when it comes to considering weather or ASCOPE, imagine it as the "Limited Resources" battleplan in the GHB 23-24 book: each turn you control an objective, it affects the operational environment as if it were a weather factor or a civil consideration. 

We can divide the enemy characteristics even further for a better understanding: 

Identity

Luckily you will not have to contend with insurgent forces blending into a local populace, deconflicting to avoid fratricide, or any of the other horrific aspects of identifying the enemy and mitigating collateral damage. The significant takeaway here is that we know with perfect as soon as we get the pairing what we are playing into. I'd argue the only case that you don't know really know the entire identity of an army is when they have the capability to summon from a pool of units. But that really is quite limited and won't change the identity of the army. What this means for you is that you can study the capabilities that every single army has. The only limitations are the amount of time you are willing to dedicate and your ability to retain and recall the information. 

Location

This is understandably easy to conflate with disposition. In short, there are some things your opponent generally cannot really hide about their intentions. The location of their forces on the battlefield is one of those things. Is your opponent lined up in close proximity to two narrow pieces of terrain? Their location is likely betraying their intentions, because it's likely their aim is to control that piece of terrain. Are they lined up so they have two fast flanking units on the edge of their territory? They're likely using them for a battle tactic (e.g. Surround and Destroy in GHB 23-24) or a flanking maneuver to impede your movement in subsequent rounds. Depending on turn priority and when these locations are changing throughout the game, this gives you the opportunity to respond in kind and reseize the initiative. 

Size

This is not as applicable for the purposes of matched play as there is a point limit that each commander is permitted to bring to the table. One may be tempted to cite the relative size of formations on the battlefield, such as when a player sets up a "castle" in a tight, regimented formation, that this would be their size. This is really, however, a better fit for disposition. One factor to consider for size, though, is the physical space, the footprint that an army can occupy. This can affect your ability to mass and concentrate forces if they have a means of projected area denial over large portions of the battlefield. 

Disposition

This characteristic can reveal a great deal of information about your opponent and their intentions. Warhammer operates in quite restrictive spatial distances. When a commander can maneuver their forces while simultaneously maintaining a formation that allows them to grant bonuses and issue command abilities, they have a greater chance for success. In this sense, it operates quite similarly to principles of command and control at the tactical level. The effective commander must reel in their forces so they don't get spread too thinly, lest they lose control. It also reveals portions of their plan. Are the opponent's main damage-dealing pieces lined up as close as they can be within the deployment zone with no screens and they have the turn priority? They're telegraphing that they are going to attempt and alpha-strike (an immediate decisive engagement to attempt destroying or defeating you in a single turn). Have they deployed in a corner, staying as far away from you as possible? They are anticipating or fearing that you might conduct an alpha-strike. The manner in which your opponent arrays their forces will usually give you an indication of their intentions. With more experience, however, players can obfuscate their plans and use deceptive formations that allow them to flexibly adapt to different plans. 

Describe the Environmental Effects on Operations

The products of this step in the IPOE process are the Modified Combined Obstacle Overlay (MCOO) and a Threat Overlay. The US Army uses sheets of acetate or digital layers that go on top of the basemap and Area of Operations maps to provide a holistic understanding of the situation. 

MCOO

The MCOO is homework that you complete in a couple of different ways. Let us liken the GHB Battleplans as our Area of Operations maps. These clearly outline with no margin of error exactly where you and your opponent can start the game and where each of the primary objective will lie and how the points are scored (one, two, more, or another system). From this, you can perform some analysis on how your capabilities will match up to the battleplan. Are you using an army that has comparatively slow movement? It probably isn't worth pursuing an objective point that would take you more than one turn to get to. You can do the math before you even get to the table so that you definitively know what you can and cannot do, thereby reducing the amount of decisions you have to make and helping you perform with a clearer head. 

Now for the MCOO itself, this is an additional overlay that describes the effects that terrain impose on operations such as restricted and severely restricted terrain, key terrain, and areas in which you cannot operate, amongst other factors. For our purposes, you can generate a hasty MCOO in your head by analyzing where the terrain is, whether its impassible or garrisonable, and assess what areas you want to consider key terrain. Objective markers also should factor into this analysis. Contesting objectives is tantamount to retaining key terrain .

This example MCCO illustrates how it provides more context on how the environment effects operations. The terrain restricts and shapes your ability to maneuver and limits options for both commanders. It also helps you identify, since you aren't sure which side of the map you'll be on, how one deployment zone may be more advantageous than another. Terrain rules in Age of Sigmar are not profoundly impactful, unfortunately, or at the very least they can be inconsistent from one tournament to another. So, do not ruminate too long on this step.

Threat Overlay

"The threat overlay depicts the current physical location of all potential threats [...] the overlay includes the identity, size, location, strength, and AO for each known threat location," ATP 2-01.3, p.4-3. 

This example shows how an enemy commander has arrayed their forces, the composition of those forces using NATO Joint Military Symbology, and the effective range they can influence. This is the sort of framework you can use to understand the limits of what your opponent can accomplish. For instance, you see that your opponent has deployed a unit that can move 6" and fire 24". This means that if you are within 30" of that unit, it can fire upon you. This simple example illustrates how you can fundamentally discern information about your opponent. Next consider how far they can move and cast the next turn. If you move to a certain position, can you contest an objective without allowing them to receive a buff? If you attack a screening unit of Kairic Acolytes, will that Lord of Change back there be able to turn you into a Chaos Spawn? Your opponent cannot surprise you with new technology or ambush you from hidden spots. You know with perfect information what their capabilities are, and if you can train yourself to learn their capabilities and combine it with their disposition, you can more reliably predict what your opponent's options are and interact with them. 

Thank you for joining me in the war room today. Next time we will discuss the final two steps of the IPOE process and things will get much more exciting. If you'd like some more explanation of these examples, or for me to provide some more specific scenarios with warscrolls and in-depth analysis, leave a comment or drop me a line and we'll take a closer look. If you don't want to miss future articles or just want to keep up to date on what the Sparkle Team is up to, give us a follow. Until then, Stay Sparkly.