Written by Spooky, T0nkaTruckDriver, Edited by T0nkaTruckDriver
With their ability to rapid-fire their guns on the dismount, the tactic of running a Devilfish full of Firewarriors up to a target enemy unit and blasting them with a total of 29 Strength 5 shots can have devistating results. However, against hard targets like Marines and Necrons, chances are there'll be a few folks left around even after a barrage of that magnitude. Unfortunately, by dropping our troops within rapid-fire range, we've also just assured our opponent that any survivors will be within charge range on the following turn! The Fish of Fury tactic was developed to provide our fragile Shas'la some additional protection against assault in situations like this.
29 Strength 5 Shots, There Ain't Gonna Be Nothin Left!
While true against Guard, Eldar, and 'Nids, that's not quite the case against Power Armor. Against Toughness 4 and 3+ armor, we can expect to kill 3.25 models with a 7% chance of pinning against Leadership 8. Not great. This means we need to have a back-up plan in case the squad is still around at the begining of the next turn.
Back I Say!
With only 3.25 casualties and a 7% chance to pin, we can't rely on luck in the shooting phase to keep us from being assaulted. There are generally 3 strategies for preventing Marines from being able to assault on their following turn:
- Direct Enough Firepower to Wipe Out the Squad
Throw everything at 'em. You've got Battlesuits, Hammerheads, Pathfinders, use them all to wipe out that squad at all costs! Don't forget that your skimmers don't block line of sight. Mont'ka at its finest.
- Deploy with Range to Only 3 Marines
Casualties from rapid-firing weapons must be removed from within their 12" range. Therefore, if you deploy in such a manner that you only have range to 3 models, and then kill those models, you've just ensured that you will be safe from assault in your opponent's turn.
- Use the Devilfish to Screen the Firewarriors
The heart of the Fish of Fury tactic is using the Devilfish to screen your vulnerable Shas'la from assault. Should the opponent realize that you've cleverly placed one of the widest tanks in the game strategically between his troops and yours and decide to rapid fire into you instead, he'll need to take a leadership check to not shoot at the Devilfish! The key to this tactic is a small entry on page 15 of the rulebook that states, "a model may not move within 1" of an ememy model (ignore wrecked vehicles) during the movement phase." This effectively creates a 1" thick "exclusion zone" around your Devilfish which your opponent must circumvent with his movement. (Note that he can enter the exclusion zone during the assault phase, just not during the movement phase)
If you've deployed your Firewarriors well, the extra movement required to go around the Devilfish will prevent your opponent from assaulting you. A helpful diagram illustrating these points is provided below.
It should be mentioned at this point that in order to be posatively assured that your opponent is out of assault range, you need to be able to gauge that 12" rapid fire distance with 1/2" accuracy. One half inch too close and you can be assaulted while one half inch too far and you're losing shots. While practice can make this easier, it's by no means a sure thing.
29 Shots? That's Not that Impressive...
More robust and less risky than the standard Fish of Fury, is the Double Fish of Fury! Although similar in concept, the use of two Devilfish allows some interesting variation as seen below.
Generating twice the firepower, requiring less accuracy with distance gauging, and providing a greater measure of safety to the Firewarriors involved, this tactic is much preferred over the standard Fish of Fury. Although it requires a greater commitment of tactical resources, the clever placement of units at the begining of the game can make this possible to pull off. Also note that a setup like this can be used with one Firewarrior Squad and an empty Pathfinder Devilfish in order to provide more security if you find that you're not good at gauging 12" with the 1/2" precision that's often necessary for the standard Fish of Fury tactic.
Development Note
Many wonder as to the origin of the name "Fish of Fury." It's frequently tossed around in internet circles, but head to the gaming store and it gets mumbled, confused and dismissed as 'silly' and 'childish'. I guess that's probably true to some extent. I imagine many of those first involved in the tactic's conception would go back and change the name now if given the chance! The name was first coined by VegemiteofDoom and can be seen in the 32nd post of this thread.