Failure

Short entry today, about how not to lose. This won't win you games, but it will keep you from losing them. This is a topic near to my heart because it's my biggest weakness in the game and a problem I've struggled to overcome.

This is a game about assassination. We're trying to kill the opponent's caster. People erect defenses to protect their caster, and a good assassination is not just about preparing a model to kill the opponent but smashing aside those defenses to let him (or her) do his (or her) job.

Sometimes, you can't do enough. Sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes it fails. Recognizing this and responding to it appropriately is key. When you've started setting up an assassination and something goes wrong, you're at a serious risk of failure if you continue. You need to evaluate. "If I abandon this plan now and pull back, will I lose too much? Am I too committed?"

The concept of "sunk costs" in economics applies here. If you already activated a model, its activation is done. You can't undo it. You may be tempted to forge ahead so that that activation wasn't "wasted" but if your chances of success are slim, you are just wasting more activations. Instead, see what else you can do. Did you hand out buffs? Why not strike against a portion of the enemy's army, dealing some damage? Why not pull back and turtle up, limiting the damage he can do and biding your time until another chance comes along? Think about your options. Don't be afraid to play aggressively and go for an assassination, but if the dice betray you, be pragmatic. Re-evaluate constantly. Recognize failure as soon as it occurs and don't throw good money after bad, but move on to Plan B rather than struggle fruitlessly to complete Plan A.