A Complete Dropless Grey Strategy Guide

[OpixMK]

This guide is for both beginners and those mediocre players that want to elevate their dropless grey game to the next level. It is rather lengthy, but I’ve managed to (somewhat) organize it into a logical sequence. Note that this guide is for dropless grey, so I won’t be covering any strategy or whatnot that includes multi-witch rushes or multi chanty / barrier ward sets.

Note - Anything with a (B) is what the beginners should read. Make sure that you master all the basics before moving onto the different areas.

Dropless Grey

I. Styles (B)
a. Corner Anti-Rush / Turtle (B)
b. Center Anti- Rush / Turtle
c. Grey Rush
II. Units (B)
i. Stats (B)
a. Cleric (B)
b. Knight
c. Assassin
d. Scout (B)
e. Pyromancer
f. Witch
g. Barrier Ward
h. Lightning Ward
i. Enchantress (B)
III. Strategy
a. Beginner (B)
b. Advanced

--------------------------------------------------------------------------I. Styles (B)

There are basically three different types of dropless grey styles. The two of the more common are the anti – rush and the center. I consider the anti-rush and turtle to be the same for greys, as they have many characteristics in common. The dropless grey rush is more of an advanced topic, so I don’t suggest beginner’s to attempt that.

a. Corner Anti Rush / Turtle
For starters, what is a corner anti-rush? Basically it’s a corner formation with the cleric most likely on the back rank in a corner well defended by his allies. Why corner though? Well, a formation placed on the corner of the map only has two fronts to cover, the front and one side. The other two sides are both the black space off the arena that units can’t go on to. The concept of an anti rush is to provide a formidable fight against formations that are same sided, while also making sure not to be flanked – attacked from the side.
All too often I see newer greys put a mass of units on the front of their anti rush, as if there was no such thing as flanking. It’s best to make sure your defenses are balanced, both from a flank and a frontal assault.
You have twelve units. The most common anti – rushes I’ve seen around greys involve taking out the two pyromancers for a lightning ward and a barrier ward. The cleric is often tucked into the back rank corner, the safest spot. A lightning ward or knight is often placed 4 spaces to the front of the cleric, for a reason that will be discussed later. The enchantress, a rather delicate unit, is also placed near the cleric, with a barrier ward nearby to protect the enchantress in case she paralyzes some stray units.

b. Center Anti-Rush / Turtle
Why center? Well, if you are center, remember that you can be attacked from 3 sides. However, remember that flanks against center rushes are often weaker, since there is less room to flank from, and your attempt to set up an attack on a flank will often be interrupted by the units from the center.
In a chess game the King starts out in the center and can later castle to either side – moving to a corner of the board away from the central action. The concept of the central cleric is quite similar. Keep in mind that a cleric placed on the bank-rank center may retreat to either corner when attacked.
The general setup of center forms can vary, since there is more room to move about in. Normally the cleric is still bank rank, somewhere centralized. Again, a lightning ward or knight is placed 4 spaces in front of the cleric. It’s not too uncommon to see a pyromancer in center sets. Being able to attack multiple units, pyromancers are good at dropless grey flanking. If the center anti-rush does have an enchantress, it should be well protected.

c. Dropless Grey Rush
If you are a beginner, don’t try to make dropless grey rushes. These consist of a formation that often has 2 or 3 mages that try to stockpile as much damage as possible, with the knight / scout / assassin trying to flank and destroy the cleric and enchantress. If you are a beginner, don’t attempt this, as you’ll probably end up making a very disorientated line of units on the front. Without the skill to properly flank a grey rush won’t be very powerful.

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[OpixMK]

II. Units (B)
As a dropless grey you are limited to 9 different types of units, each of which will be covered in depth. You have 12 units total, 3 knights, 2 pyromancers, and one each of the other seven. Units are the game. Make sure you know your units well.
You may only have 10 units on the board at a time. Always remember to check that you have 10 units before moving into a match. Walking into a game with only 9 units gives you a disadvantage from the start.

i. Stats (B)

Power – The attack of your unit. The cleric’s power, 12, denotes how much hp is healed. For the other 6 attackers, the power stat is defined as damage dealt to enemies, which can be reduced by armor.

HP – The health points of your unit. When this number reaches 0 the unit dies.
Armor – How much percent of damage you take from your enemy’s attack. A unit with 25 armor only takes 75% of the damage dealt. ( A witch with 24 power only does 18 damage to a knight, which has 25 armor.)

*** Sometimes newer players ask what the point of armor is. Isn’t armor the same thing as adding additional HP? A unit with 40 HP and 0 armor is the same as a unit with 20 HP and 50 Armor, right?

Actually, no. If there were no clerics in the game this would be true, however, keep in mind that the cleric can heal 12 HP regardless of armor. 12 HP recovery on units with greater armor means more than a 12 HP recovery to a unit with no armor.
The knight has 25 armor. It would take 16 damage to get rid of that 12 HP recovery. However, to a witch, with 0 armor, only 12 damage would need to be dealt to neutralize the heal.

Concept of Regeneration - how much a cleric's heal affects a unit
Regeneration - my version
M = number of mages
A = number of melee attackers
x/y = ratio of mage attacks to melee attacks
Unit regen = Armor (M+x) + Armor (Block)(A+y)


a. Cleric (B)
Make note that my cleric description won’t cover the cleric itself in too much depth; look on a unit guide for that. The cleric is the one unit you have to protect. It’s your only healing unit. It heals twelve damage to all your nonbarriered allies. It can move three spaces with a delay of 2. Healing adds a delay of 3. Don’t move your cleric too far away from your defenses.
Know some combos that kill the cleric. While defending your own, try to eliminate your opponent’s cleric:

Remember that when threatened, you can always place a barrier ward around your cleric to buy yourself some time. Don’t let those enemy scouts and pyros get too close to your cleric. Watch out for that deadly 1hk0 from a witch also.

b. Knight
Knights are the real power of your army. Of the 5 mobile grey attackers, they rank
- 1st in Armor
- 1st in Blocking
- 1st in HP
- Tied for 1st in Lowest Delay
- 2nd in Speed (spaces you can move in 2 turns)
- 2nd in Power
Wow. And you have THREE of them! These knights are great all-around. Don’t let them die too early in the game to stockpiled mage damage. They are good for defence and flanking. Side to side knight walls are a formidable barrier.

c. Assassin
Assassins are fast units that can attack the four adjacent tiles around them. Let’s take a look at it’s rankings compared to the other 5 mobile grey attackers.
- 2nd in Armor
- 2nd in Blocking
- 3rd in HP
- Tied for 1st in Lowest Delay
- 1st in Speed
- Tied for 3rd in Power
The assassin is the fastest grey unit. It can move a total of 8 spaces in 2 turns. It has 18 power. Keep in mind that 2 assassin hits will kill an enchantress, and 2 assassin hits will kill a cleric even with a heal in the middle. I generally consider them to be an attacker, although their high block makes them a good blocker for scout LOS.
Another very important thing to remember about assassins is that they have a little special ability called the assassin bomb. The assassin bomb is an instant one hit kill to the 4 units adjacent to the assassin. It cannot be blocked. Sounds overpowering? Well, don’t worry. The assassin bomb can only be done if the assassin is under 5 hp. To activate it, hold down on the tile that the assassin occupies, and release.
The assassin is the only unit with this unique one hit kill ability. Keep note of that. If you see your enemy hitting his own assassin, don’t move your units in thinking that it’s going to be a free kill. Most likely it is a trap.
Know three main combos that will get the assassin to under 5 HP.
- Lightning Ward + Heal + Knight
- Scout + Scout
- Pyro + Witch
Keep in mind that you can get your own assassin down to under 5 HP and then barrier it. This leaves a trap. Your opponent can’t attack from the area that’s guarded by the assassin without the risk of being bombed.

d. Scout (B)
The scout is a very important part of your arsenal. It’s your front line of defense against those pesky enchantresses, and it’s got the longest range out of any unit in the game. Take advantage of your scout’s range. Attack from as far as possible unless you have a good reason to move your scout in deeper.
I highly recommend that you look at this website http://www.tacticsarena.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4231
It’s a very good guide of the line of sight for your archer. (Your scout won’t be able to attack a target with a unit in the way.)
In your starting formation, position your scout at a spot where it won’t be killed too easily, yet can still maneuver well. During the middle of the game, try to position your scout nearer to the center of the board, but still defended carefully. A scout on the central tile and any 2 spaces next to it can strike anywhere at a given turn (move + shoot). A barriered scout on the center provides an even greater threat as your opponent knows that it won’t be able to attack the scout at it’s current position. Just placing your scout at the center of the board and barriering it is a good move, even if you’re not ready to immediately attack.
Caution!!!! Keep in mind that the scout is not a 1 man army. A scout alone won’t be able to demolish a formation. Make sure you attack with a good combo of units that support the attack.

e. Pyromancer

The pyromancer and the witch make up the “mage” class. A whole 2 units. Basically, both the pyro and witch get 1hk0’d by a lighting ward’s strike. Their attacks can attack an area of tiles rather than just one and are unblockable, being able to hit all units all the time. The mages are also the only mobile grey units able to attack the Lightning ward and a non-focused Barrier Ward. . They have low HP and blocking stats and no armor.
That being said, how are the pyro and witch different? Well, the pyromancer has 15 power and can attack a t region, one tile, and the 4 adjacent to it. It has a range of 3 and a movement of 3. Keep in mind that if you move the pyromancer it will give a 1 turn delay and an attack will result in a 2 turn delay.
New players tend to go both ways with the pyromancer. Either they use both of them in conjunction with the witch and try to burn everything in their path or they realize that the pyromancer has the lowest number damage and replace the pyromancers with a lightning / barrier ward.
A pyromancer has 2 more HP than a witch and 10% more blocking.

f. Witch

The other unit of the mage class. It has 28 HP, 20% blocking, and a truly amazing 0 armor, making it the easiest mobile grey attacker to kill. Keep in mind that it’s also the most powerful mobile grey unit. It has 24 power, and is able to one hit kill a cleric.
It has a range of 4 also. Don’t worry. You can parry this by placing a unit 4 spaces to the front of your cleric – preferably a knight or lightning ward, since they are hard to kill.
The witch dies to a knight and scout hit with a heal in the middle. It can also die to 3 scout hits with 2 heals in the middle. You can safely attack a Lightning Ward from 4 spaces away without getting stricken by the Lightning Ward, which has a range of 3.

g. Barrier Ward
The barrier ward can’t move. It also can’t be hit by any knight / assassin / scouts while in its non-focused form. Basically, as it’s name implies, the barrier ward produces a barrier, around one unit six tiles away from your barrier. Any unit under a barrier can’t be hit by anything, melee or magic. Keep in mind that a barriered unit can’t be affected by a heal either.
Your barrier ward has a whopping 32 HP total. Don’t place it in the front 2 rows, because then it can be affected by a Lightning Ward, which will knock it’s hp down to 2. At that point even if you heal any magic attack will finish it off, and that will be an important unit wasted.
Barrier Wards don’t need to be killed in order for a win.

h. Lightning Ward

The lightning ward is the most powerful unit in the game. It has 30 power, being able to one hit kill a witch, pyro, and a cleric ( the last of which you don’t see that often).

The lightning ward is immobile like the barrier ward. It doesn’t need to be killed for a win, and it has 100% blocking from all sides. It can only be hit by units with an unblockable attack. The lightning ward’s attack itself is unblockable, and has a range of 3.

In a way, consider your lightning ward as a deterrent of attacks. It packs a punch so enemy units will tend to stray away from it. Remember that you only have one, and it can’t move, so place it very well. In the Advanced strategy section I’ll discuss ward placement more deeply.

[OpixMK]

i. Enchantress (B)
The enchantress is a category of its own. It’s the only unit that has the ability to paralyze units. A paralyzed unit can’t move, block, or attack, but it can be healed. The enchantress can paralyze any units 2 away from it and it can move a total of 3 spaces. In dropless grey a full HP enchantress defeats any unit one on one.

Keep in mind that the enchantress with a barrier is a tough combination. If you want to unparalyze a unit, you’ll have to attack the barrier first, then attack the enchantress, which would normally end up in the attacker itself being paralyzed. Keep in mind that if you try to attack an enchantress, there is always the possibility that it will paralyze next turn. So, if you move your knight in to free your scout / assassin, the enchantress will most likely reparalyze, this time affecting all 3 units!
The enchantress only has 35 HP so make sure it’s protected well. An excellent guide on the enchantress can be found at http://www.freewebs.com/nadstaosite/properenchantressuse.htm

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III. Strategy

a. Beginner (B)
I feel that the easiest way to address all the basic strategies of dropless grey is to simply bullet point them. The more complicated strategies I will discuss in depth at the advanced section.

- Keep your cleric and enchantress alive as long as possible.
- If your opponent has an enchantress, keep your scout alive.
- Attack in combinations rather than 1 unit teams.
- Try to control the center of the board if you are playing opposite sides.
- Try to heal when multiple units are injured, not just one.
- Concentrate your attacks on just one unit when possible.
- On 1v1 Knight play, go for a back hit rather than a side hit.
- Keep in mind that just moving or just attacking lowers your delay. (Click the 4th button, the pass button, when you want to end your turn)
- Knights aren’t invincible. Attack your enemies’ knights even when they’re far away. This will pressure them not to move their knights any closer.
- Pyromancers and mages like to team up to hurt you.
- Don’t have a front line filled with 2 pyros and a witch. Unless your enemy conveniently placed his units in lines and a t formation and absolutely refuses to heal, your little mage rush will probably die fast.
- In center grey rushes, watch out for the pyromancer. Don’t let him advance too far or he might team up with a scout to take out your cleric.
- Don’t keep all your knights bunched up.
- Try to figure out your opponent’s strategy : Why did he move his assassin 1 space to the right? Why did he move his assassin down the line?

b. Advanced
Beginners, don’t feel pressured to read through this stuff. This is more of an advanced discussion of topics. Read it when you feel you’re ready. I’ll add more later.

--------- Ward Placement ----------

Why ward placement? Simple. They can’t move, so wherever they are, they will stay for the whole game.

This is very essential. You have 2 wards, the lightning ward and the barrier ward. They need to be located in strategic areas. The lightning ward can be placed 4 spaces in front of the cleric and the barrier closer to the back – standard stuff.

It can’t hurt to be creative once in awhile. I once played same-sided against a 1450 grey with a barrier ward 4 spaces to the front of the cleric. The barrier ward cast a barrier on ITSELF creating an impenetrable point that no witches would ever be able to enter. Plus, it gave the opportunity to barrier any units any units that entered my base when necessary – being able to buy that critical 1 turn.

What’s more, he was able to place his lightning ward at a very strategic point – the center of his side of the board. With that lightning ward there, it would be hard to flank him, and he could retreat from the corner to the center when needed.

Creative ward placement is often a surprise. When your opponent is used to facing front line lightning wards and back lined – barrier wards, a change up might confuse your foe as to how to best handle your formation.

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9.17.07 : Created Guide. I will add more to the Advanced Strategy Section later.

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Please point out anything that I missed - I want this guide to be as complete and thorough as possible.

[Mystery)]

Very nice, it was actually thorough unlike many guides that have been created.

[Realist]

A little nitpicky, but the grey corner set should not be called an anti-rush. The gold anti-rush was 1) historically created to battle rushes (years after the grey corner was developed) and 2) still fights rushes often, and relatively well. The grey corner does neither, and it predates the anti-rush by many months. Call it a corner, or even turtle if you really want to, but it's not an anti.

[steve12]

Eh.. modernized but, http://www.tacticsarena.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19514 .

[phoenixofflames]

I only read a few, but it seems too much like fact stating.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

I think somebody should sticky this. It's really thorough.

[Mithrandir]

Way too basic to be called a complete dropless grey strategy guide. It's more like an FAQ for people that have never played before. There is very little here that couldn't be figured out in two hours of playing games.

[OLuigiO]

I think somebody should sticky this. It's really thorough.

No noob.

This guide sux.

opixmk is my brother and hes a dimwit

no chance of this being a sticky ever