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If you use the optional rules from WD301 for Dogfights
and Intercepts, or from Imperial Armour Update 2004
for Fighter-Intercepts, then there are a few tactics to consider
before you get into a dogfight.
One of other main duties of aircraft is to protect ground
forces from other aircraft. Under the WD301 Intercept
and IAU2004 Fighter-Intercepts rules, instead of starting
your Attack Run against ground targets, you can have your
Flyer wait for enemy Flyers to enter the board and then jump
them. This way, you provide air cover for your groundpounders
by forcing your foe to redirect his Flyer attacks against
your Flyers.
The IAU2004 Fighter-Intercepts rule indicates that
if the two Flyers enter from the same board edge, then
the
interceptor is assumed to be on the other Flyer’s tail.
The rules in WD301 don't negate this concept, so
you can do this manoeuvre under those rules. Again, don’t
forget your 45-degree pivot before or after your Attacks.
One of the unique things about Flyers is that you can deploy
them from any board edge, and you should take advantage
of
this ability when dogfighting. You can place your interceptor
on a board edge that you think your opponent will find
tempting
for Attack Run purposes. You’ve forced him to choose
between protecting his Flyer from certain doom and making
an Attack Run on that juicy ground target in your lines.
Somewhat surprisingly, vehicles with anti-aircraft mounts
will have a statistically better chance of hitting Flyers
than just interceptors will. The only real advantage that
interceptors have beyond manoeuvring is the removal of
the
12” normally added to range calculations for height.
Interceptors still need 6’s to hit, and they will
only cause glancing hits if they manage to hit. Therefore,
if you
have a vehicle with an anti-aircraft mount and a Flyer in
your force, you might want to forget about dogfighting
for
now and let the vehicle clean the skies.
Next:
Conclusion
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Combat
Air Patrol
Anti-Aircraft
Mounts
