What is a "tarpit" and how do you use it?

[regleant]

I noticed that I frequently disagree with the forums as to what "tarpit" they use, and I think it's because I'm using a different definition. Being new to the game and the lexicon, it's entirely possible that I've just been thinking about it all wrong.

Which of the following definitions is a "tarpit"?

1) A unit that you use to block / delay your opponent's actions. e.g. block charge lanes, absorb the alpha strike, tie up threats. This unit tends to be durable and expendable. TFG tend to do this.

2) A unit that you use to quickly threaten your opponent's key models so that he must deal with them, taking attention away from larger threats. This unit tends to be expendable. Daughters tend to do this.


When I look for a tarpit, I tend to use definition 2. The first has a number of flaws per my playing style, such as:
- too passive
- marginal damage output
- allows the opponent to stay on the offensive and have more choices


Or is the "right" answer some combination of the above, to be flavored by player preference? Just curious on thoughts.

[Hashmal]

I use definition 1. I term fast-moving units with immediate threat/ability to reach lines from a mile away "jammers." Daughters aren't resilient enough to survive for a very long time - they exist in my lists to delay actions or movement for a turn, tops. Tarpits like the TFG and the Errants I usually stack with Rhupert/Covenant to create a quagmire of infantry that doesn't go away, no matter how hard you try.

Sometimes, my jamming unit is also my tarpit unit. When playing Trollbloods, my Fennblades take this role frequently - fast enough and hard-hitting enough to threaten Turn 2 (with Jarl it gets even more ridiculous), but Tough and the inability of Impact attacks/Slams to clear them out limits opponent responses.

Maybe it's me, but the word "tarpit" communicates a "stuck" feeling, which I just don't get from the Daughters. I think it's just semantics, though, and what one person would consider a tarpit, another doesn't.

[jandrese]

IMHO, a tarpit is a model that inhibits enemy actions/movements yet costs more resources to remove than their price would suggest. IMHO, the definition is fluid depending on the situation. A minimum unit of TFG that you stick in front of your army as a picket can be a significant tarpit to a McThrall swarm, especially if you're putting defenders ward and Dirge of Mists on them. On the other hand, if the other guy just tags the dude on the end with Chain Lightning and wipes them out in one spell, then they're not really a tarpit.

Some units are better suited for "tarpit" duty than others for sure. TFG are excellent, as are Daughters. KEE can be good with the right buffs and can tarpit models that would otherwise wipe out TFG and Daughters with little effort like Doomreavers. KE are pretty poor at Tarpitting, as they never really get tough enough to survive, as are our medium base troops IMHO. Idrians are probably the worst, as they fold up like wet tissues whenever anyone attacks them in melee.

[regleant]

Good to see that the first two posts don't align on some units (e.g. Daughters). That makes me feel good about the variation of play.

Note - I'm assuming neither definition leads to a "better" style of play. Just one more suited to the player. And if I find tactics / ideas that I can use to improve my game, all the better!

[Snipafist]

For me, unit type #1 are tarpitters and unit type #2 are jammers. Similar but different, although some units can do both (TFG can run-engage 14", which is pretty handy for jamming when you need them to). While it's nice to imagine that you will always be the agressor and never on the defensive, I've found that in practice it can be very useful to have a tarpit style unit available so you can attack elsewhere and then shield your weak extended elements with a tarpit unit. If you think of their function in that fashion, they're less a purely defensive unit and more of an aggression-enabling unit.

[Hashmal]

Springing off jandrese's point, when designing a list I usually assign a role or roles to every entry in my list and have a clear idea of whether or not roles overlap and what each piece is going to do. I rarely throw in pieces "just because" - this is reserved for the Allegiant ("just because" I haven't fielded him in a while and he makes me giggle) and the Mechanik (point-filler). In his example, I would assign the minimum TFG unit the role of "tarpit," understanding that an errant Chain Lightning or the like can reduce them to slag.

My views on Daughters are skewed - I play against a lot of Cygnar. When Deadeye exists with Gun Mages, Daughters just don't tarpit at all! More than that, though, I just think it's a terminology difference. You say potato, I say table leg.