General Tactics

There are some general rules of thumb, that I have often heard explained in great detail, but I never understood why no one boiled it down to the very basics. So here's my take.

Rule #1
Don't be something you're not.
Usually, the obvious approach, is the better of the two. Whereas Khorne Berserkers are fantastic in CC, Tau firewarriors, not so much.

Rule #2
Power armor is a bitch (blessing)
if you're opponent is space marines, just know that 66% of whatever you shoot at him, is going to bounce off. aka, you're gunna need a lot of dakka.

Rule #3
Don't overvalue your army
In other words, if your friends want to play a 1500 point game, and your army is really 1300, don't just throw in useless stuff for 200 points. You WILL lose.

Rule #4
Nothing Fancy
lets say you're Space Marine Tac squads are fighting orks. Don't beat around the bush with fancy maneuvers, just start shooting as soon as possible. Or vise versa, if you're orks, don't wait for anything, CHARGE, do hug cover, but don't ever slow down.

Rule #5
Lone Vehicles Don't Last
if you have one tank, or one dreadnaught, or one sky ray missile defense gunship, DON'T expect it to last. Not that you shouldn't field it, just deploy it with forethought, like reserve it, or put it in cover or something creative. Here's why: every army has anti tank power, and guess what, that whole section of anti tank, has nothing to shoot at, but your one vehicle, so yeah.

Rule #6
Total War
every unit, every model, every single weapon, must fire whenever possible, don't forget a unit, and try not to preoccupy the unit with silly little things like running, or anything like that. Just working for it's part in destroying your opponent.

Rule #7
Bastards win tournaments, but they lose friends
Be nice. If you're winning, and your opponent makes a small mistake, go ahead and let him have a do-over. Or say you know that your opponent will be utterly crushed if you do something, don't do it. Just have a good time, and remember, it's a GAME. played for FUN.

7 simple rules to game by.