By Zach Shephard

As players continue speeding down the Road to Gen Con, preparation becomes a powerful ally. Since I’ve had a chance to see the competition, what they’re using, and how’re they’re winning, I could compile this data into a pie graph that would surely lead all of my readers to certain victory in their games to come.

Sadly, pie graphs were cut from the Worlds Apart budget last year, in favor of a cotton candy machine in the break room.

Pictorial assistance aside, we can still take a look at what the playing field is shaping up to be, according to past tournament results. With that in mind, the last tournament showed us one thing: the Road to Gen Con is paved with units.

Almost all of the top eight decks were packing units for one reason or another, and many were clearly using them as a primary avenue for victory. So what does this mean to you, an aspiring Road to Gen Con tournament winner?

Bring some unit defense, if you want to make it to the final round in one piece.

Unit defense can be found in a variety of places, but let’s just look at some cards that can be splashed into any deck, regardless of which vehicle a player chooses to use.

MANEUVERS – The Deadly Dual-Purpose

Anti-unit maneuvers can be used defensively in more ways than one – their game texts can thwart the opposing army, and they can be swerved for speed on defense. Blind Fury devours weenies faster than a fat man at a barbeque, downing dozens of small units in a single stash. Squash, in addition to being the only fruit named after a sport (assuming the sport came first), has the ability to thin your opponent’s ranks without even being stashed. Thread the Needle can do the same, but will work on more than just infantry. Be forewarned, however, that it will only have any effect if your opponent plays units of more than one faction.

TACTICS – The Element of Surprise

Tactics, although generally not reliable as a permanent defense, can be used to catch your opponent off-guard after they’ve committed to a major attack. Outflank can be used to swerve an opponent’s unit, disallowing it from using swerve abilities, nullifying its damage bonus, and make it so dizzy that it will reconsider ever attacking again. Zig Zag is a great card in just about any deck, as you can’t go wrong with extra speed unless you’re in a school zone. Similarly, Escape Route can be a game-breaker, giving additional speed for each unit your opponent sends your way.

UNITS – Fight Fire with Fire

If there’s one sure-fire way to stop units, it’s by throwing their own kind in front of them – having dedicated meat shields is never a bad thing (this is advice that can be applied to all aspects of life, mind you). The Pikes have a few excellent candidates for the sacrificial position, as that tends to be what they do best. Ashblaster is a cheap means of blocking the attack route and taking something down in the process. Duster can do the same thing, leaving a bloody trail behind when it’s destroyed (despite the fact that its name would imply that it relieves messes, rather than makes them). Lastly, if you’re just looking for something to take the hits for a temporary fix, try a few copies of Sucka – for only one power, he’ll valiantly defend your honor for about three seconds before being annihilated. On top of that, he’s got a combat bonus of thirty-five, so what’s not to like?

There you have it – a handful of options for defending against the ever-popular unit brigades. Before I sign off, I’d like everyone to remember these words of wisdom: sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. Other times, the best defense is a good defense. It is very rare, however, for the best defense to be a bad defense.

Think about that.

(Even though it’s probably better if you don’t.)