dow3 1v1 openings bbcode

[size=6][center][b]DoW3 1v1 Openings[/b][/center][/size]

This is by no means a comprehensive list, merely what I’ve experienced and observed from playing, replays, and streams. By “Openings” I mean the first  ~8 minutes of a match where build orders are fairly static and clear objectives are sought by both players. Beyond this (perhaps even before) any good player will have some plasticity to their play and adapt to the situation. I do not guarantee results with any of these. As an Ork player myself, Orks will inevitably get more coverage here and I'd appreciate any help filling the list.


[size=5][center][u][b]Space Marines[/b][/u][/center][/size]
[size=3][u]General[/u][/size]

[size=3][b]N0ave’s Scout Spam[/b][/size][list]
[*]Make lots of scouts.
[*]Scouts have extreme value for 200 requisition. Respectable damage, a chainable stun grenade (that even works on tanks), invisibility, and eventually mines.
[*]Scout Strike doctrine adds more value on top.
[*]An ASM squad can be thrown in to harass nodes and objectives away from the scout blob.
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*] Drop pods are easily spammed on cooldown.
[*] Virtually no power cost, allowing you to tech up quickly relative to an arsenal opening.
[*] Destroys inexperienced opponents.
[/list]	[b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Extremely susceptible to elite nukes especially Macha, Stormboyz, Weirdboy.
[*]Easy to get carried away and forget to tech up.
[/list][url=https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/portals.php?show=news&news_id=1000402]https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/port...news_id=1000402[/url]


[size=3][b]Triple Tac Rush[/b][/size] (thanks 1kn0wfear)[list]
[*]2x Tac from Stronghold then one Tac in drop pod.
[*]Immediately assault opponents furthest natural expansion and build a barracks near their shield gen/natural
[*]Develop into scouts or ASM or a combination of the two.
[*]Typically employed against SM or Eldar, not Orks.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Early aggression, map control, shield gen bash.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Doesn't deal with harass well, can get stalled out by heavy weapons teams i.e loota, reaper, HBs
[/list][size=3]

[b]Vindi's Elastic Defense[/b][/size][list]
[*]Scout snipers usually with the Overwatch doctrine are used to punish predictable movement and chip the opponent down.
[*]Scouts and ASM used to fill out the rest of the army and man drop pods. ASM also used to harass side objectives.
[*]Aims to enter mid-lategame with an advantage rather than ending the game outright.
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Elastic defense, easily repositioned to avoid WAAAGHs & other large pushes.
[*]Less reliance on Killteam Ironmaw.
[*]More forgiving than an arsenal opening.
[/list]	[b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Execution intensive. Well-positioned Overwatch is essential and requires good snap-judgement. Snipers work best with forward spotters.
[*]Structure damage isn’t great. Opponent’s forward base is usually safe.
[/list][url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159854046?t=3h25m]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159854046?t=3h25m[/url]
[url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160122113?t=1h40m]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160122113?t=1h40m[/url]

[size=3][b]Korean ASM Skirmish — Jin's Variant[/b][/size][list]
[*]Similar to Vindi's Elastic Defense, but with more emphasis on harassment.
[*]Extreme mobility of ASM and Drop Pods used to strike resources where the opponent isn't.
[*]Strong emphasis on Servitor scouting to keep track of the opponent and avoid him. You need to field 4+ for this to work.
[*]Scout Snipers in small numbers to discourage objective aggression.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Selective fighting guarantees good result every time you engage.
[*]Punishes players who spread out their resource generators.
[*]Achieves map control with a minimum of units.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Not good at fighting. See Triple Tac Rush, Cannon Rush.
[*]Not good on small maps.
[/list][url=https://clips.twitch.tv/CallousSpicySoymilkSoonerLater]https://clips.twitch.tv/CallousSpicySoymilkSoonerLater[/url]
[url=https://clips.twitch.tv/KitschyBelovedYakPeteZarollTie]https://clips.twitch.tv/KitschyBelovedYakPeteZarollTie[/url]
[url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160341080?t=4h17m15s]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160341080?t=4h17m15s[/url]
[url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161509515?t=1h50m]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/161509515?t=1h50m[/url]


[size=3][b]Korean ASM Skirmish — Babyubyu's Variant[/b][/size][list]
[*]Same as above but with more emphasis on offense.
[*]Devastators in place of scout snipers.
[*]Constant aggression on all sectors of the map, less emphasis on scouting.
[*]Drop pods used to reinforce attacks which opponent sends an insufficient response to.
[*]Large responses evaded by ASM doctrine jump.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Achieves map control with a minimum of units.
[*]Punishes indecisive opponents.
[*]Punishes greedy resource generators.
[*]Devastators can be pulled back to defend generators or pushed forward to punish undefended LPs.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Lone devastators easily countered, especially with Stormboyz.
[*]Not good at fighting.
[*]Not good on small maps.
[/list][size=3][b]Bigamo 6 minute POOOSH[/b][/size][list]
[*]Make tactical marines and turtle in your base.
[*]Wait for Diomedes.
[*]Play Diomedes and make a big POOOSH.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Glorious strategy honors the Emperor.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Dire Avengers OP.
[/list][size=3][u]vs Orks[/u][/size]

[size=3][b]Jin’s Gambit[/b][/size][list]
[*]Fast flamer tacticals and a devastator used to punish an aggressive-positioned WAAAGH tower.
[*]Must have Slow Death.
[*]First servitor goes forward to construct a devastator barracks, second builds arsenal.
[*]Listen in the Fog of War for a tower being constructed.
[*]Deploy first tactical via drop pod. Once your devastator squad comes out attack the Ork’s tower immediately.
[*]Devastators perfectly positioned will outrange the WAAAGH tower and chip it down. Flamer tacticals and Chapter Standard will punish any attempt made on the devastators.
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Extremely high payout when successful - Orks depend on the first WAAAGH tower for buffs, scrap, and defense. They will not be able to construct another for some time.
[*]Flamer tacs alone can clear many times their resource value with a well timed spray.
[/list]	[b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Execution intensive — a well placed flame jet is essential to winning.
[*]Losing either the devastator or tactical squad will likely cost you the game.
[*]Beauty doctrine in conjunction with a surrounding attack can pose a serious problem.
[*]Forces you to extend forward, putting your generators and resources at great risk of harassment by Stormboyz later on.
[/list][url=https://clips.twitch.tv/DeafDeadConsoleFreakinStinkin]https://clips.twitch.tv/DeafDeadConsoleFreakinStinkin[/url]
[url=https://clips.twitch.tv/SincereNimbleChimpanzeeTooSpicy]https://clips.twitch.tv/SincereNimbleChimpanzeeTooSpicy[/url]
[url=https://clips.twitch.tv/OilyHeartlessGazellePastaThat]https://clips.twitch.tv/OilyHeartlessGazellePastaThat[/url]


[size=5][center][u][b]Eldar[/b][/u][/center][/size]

[size=3][u]General[/u][/size]

[size=3][b]Fast Soul Shrine[/b][/size][list]
[*]Fast Warrior Portal, Soul Shrine, forward webway
[*]Dire Avenger-centric army fortified with a quick HP upgrade.
[*]Add Dark Reapers for structure damage.
[*]Add battle focus regen/weapons 1 or rush tier 2.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]HP upgrade bug can be abused to replenish all of your unit's shields to full immediately after a fight.
[*]Dire Avengers trade well against most ranged units.
[*]Weapons 1 can accentuate Dire Avenger's high burst dps.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Even with the HP upgrade your battle focus will regenerate at the same slow rate.
[*]Poor structure and generator damage.
[*]Any upgrade taken will delay your falcon.
[/list][url=https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/replays.php?game=95&show=details&id=322671]https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/repl...s&id=322671[/url]

[size=3][b]Fast Quick Strike[/b][/size][list]
[*]Same as Fast Soul Shrine but with banshee spam.
[*]Rush the Quick Strike upgrade and 4+ banshee squads.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Quick strike can delete squads if aimed well.
[*]Banshees can overwhelm ranged armies in sufficient numbers with good positioning.
[*]Good generator damage.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Heavily delays your tech.
[*]Execution intensive. Banshees are squishy and unforgiving.
[*]Banshees are easily kited until you have the upgrade, especially out of fleet-of-foot.
[*]Banshees are doctrine-hungry.
[/list][url=https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/replays.php?game=95&show=details&id=322843]https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/repl...s&id=322843[/url]

[size=3][b]Cataclaw’s Gambit[/b][/size][list]
[*]Hyper-aggression seeks to take the opponent’s resource points immediately by relocating the warrior portal deep in enemy territory.
[*]Striking Scorpions are essential. Cataclaw usually builds an elite generator before any resource nodes to get them out a bit faster.
[*]Single banshee can threaten the enemy’s generator if they’re caught out of position. However, a fast gen kill is not the objective — resource starving is.
[*]Finish off opponent with a fast falcon.
[*]Prioritize infantry upgrades over vehicle's.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Great for punishing opponents who don’t slot their 2-point elite.
[*]Constant aggression allows you to forsake defense. Less LPs, more squads.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Not good on tight maps such as Charon’s Rest. Mork’s Mire also has an easily defended trinode.
[*]Puts your structures at risk. Bad fights will put you in double jeopardy.
[*]Opponent can transition to a base-race if he catches on early.
[/list][url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/158866912?t=3h16m20s]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/158866912?t=3h16m20s[/url]
[url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159368923?t=1h25m30s]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159368923?t=1h25m30s[/url]


[u][size=3]vs Orks[/size][/u]

[size=3][b]1kn0wfear’s Infinity Rush[/b][/size][list]
[*]Scorpions, Macha, Jain Zhar
[*]Immediate listening post on a high yield power node and dire avenger squads to buy time.
[*]Early turtling and investment in power allows fast tier 2 infinity portal wraithguards.
[*]Main objective is to pre-empt Nobz and destroy them with wraithguard.
[*]Rift Blast doctrine is essential, allowing wraithguards to melt infantry squads.
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Unusual. Many Ork players will not be prepared for their nobz to deal no damage and their tankbustas to melt.
[*]Wraithguard have great synergy with Macha, attracting melee targets into Psycher’s blast.
[/list]	[b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Wraithguard are easily tied up by slugga squads, rendering them useless unless your other forces can peel them off.
[*]Wraithguard are extremely slow out of Fleet of Foot, making your offensive fairly predictable.
[*]Not good against Killa Kans. Gorgutz can also be a problem.
[/list][url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159728651?t=5h44m45s]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159728651?t=5h44m45s[/url]


[size=5][center][u][b]Orks[/b][/u][/center][/size]

[u][size=3]General[/size][/u]
[i]All strategies use Healin’ Scrap.[/i]

[size=3][b]Ork Standard[/b][/size][list]
[*]Take either Betta Shout or Tonz o’ Bombz depending on your preference.
[*]Forward Boyz hut, shootaboyz, fast WAAAGH tower and attack. Rinse and repeat.
[*]Build exclusively power generators, skip upgrades for now (sometimes get extended WAAAGH)
[*]Use Stormboyz to attack undefended generators and resource nodes. A full health Stormboy squad can destroy a listening post on their own.
[*]Get Nobz out as fast as possible. Good players have gotten them as early as 5 minutes.
[*]Nobz have the Armored property, making nearly all t1 units ineffective against them.
[*]Nobz are slow and easily avoided without Trukks, but can force a fight at the opponent’s generator or forward base. Explosive armor does massive damage to structures.
[*]Holding off on upgrading Nobz so you can heal them with scrap is often a good idea.
[*]Enter mid-late with a large advantage, usually stealing the remaining objectives with Tankbustas or Deff Dreds.
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Extremely difficult to counter efficiently.
[*]Straightforward execution. WAAAGH and attack.
[*]Clustered WAAAGH towers secure a portion of the map with no need for listening posts.
[*]WAAAGH buff threatens many locations on small maps, forcing your opponent to guess where you’ll go.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Forward WAAAGH tower can be punished if you don’t take the Beauty shield doctrine.
[*]Predictable. Most players will have lots of practice and a build ready for this (See Jin’s Gambit, 1knowfear’s Infinity Rush)
[/list][size=3][b]Dullahan Kommando Aggression[/b][/size][list]
[*]Skip Stormboyz to get Kommando out ASAP.
[*]Booby trap deals 600 true damage to all units in a radius, although the windup is too long to hit anything with legs. Luckily structures and generators don’t have legs.
[*]Plant stun traps next to high value targets and explode them.
[*]Crucial to redirect opponent’s attention to another sector of the map with a decoy as the combo is very easy to interrupt. Stun traps get destroyed by splash damage (devastators) and the interaction is interrupted by any of the usual methods (grenades).
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]High shock value. A good execution will refund the Kommando and more.
[*]Bad players will not use their workers to counter you.
[*]Kommando doctrine scales extremely well with Tankbustas and Killa Kans, which are both very powerful units on their own.
[*]Some synergy with Big Mek Wazmakka’s scrap calldown.
[/list]	[b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Stormboyz can do almost the same thing with fewer elite points.
[*]Not good against listening posts.
[*]Good players know to track you with workers and tie the Kommando in melee.
[*]Kommando’s value drops off quickly relative to Weirdboy.
[/list][url=https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/replays.php?game=95&show=details&id=322782&st=0#post10060655]https://www.gamereplays.org/dawnofwar3/repl...=0#post10060655[/url]

[size=3][b]Korean Trukk Spam (aka Mario Kart)[/b][/size][list]
[*]Fast WAAAGH x2 and Dakka hut.
[*]Abuse Stormboyz doctrine by building a ton (3-4) of trukks. Load with gretchin to enable the ability.
[*]Abuse WAAAGH ability scaling to negate loss of damage against squads from AP property.
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Great against setup teams.
[*]Trukk’s Armored property makes them difficult to kill early on.
[*]Trukks are fast, giving you great map presence.
[*]AP damage on Suicide Bomma can snipe structures very quickly.
[/list]	[b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Old. Most players know how to counter it.
[*]Trukks soak up all your resources making it difficult to transition to late-game.
[*]Takes a while to come online.
[/list][size=3][b]Green Tide[/b][/size][list]
[*]Fast 4 boyz squads and a WAAAGH tower. Skip Boyz hut, get Dakka hut.
[*]Sluggas and Lootas make for a powerful Hammer & Anvil combination. Entangle with the sluggas, hammer with the lootas.
[*]Betta shout doctrine is essential. Use the elite grinder map to unlock it.
[*]Can transition into Trukks, Tankbustas, or Mek Shop.
[/list]	[b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Massed boyz pass a critical mass that allows them to counter many times their value in ranged squads. 1:1 ratio against SM is extremely easy to achieve.
[*]Far less reliance on power relative to Ork Standard.
[*]Works with any elite combination.
[/list]	[b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Terrible against Orks, especially Stormboyz.
[*]Lazy play can easily get you punished by flamers or grenades.
[*]No shootas makes it hard to deal with Diomedes.
[*]Typically skips Nobz (no Boyz Hut).
[/list][url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159854046?t=3h14m20s]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/159854046?t=3h14m20s[/url]
[url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/162436449?t=3h48m]https://www.twitch.tv/videos/162436449?t=3h48m[/url]


[size=3][b]Cannon Rush[/b][/size][list]
[*]Identical to Triple Tac Rush, but as Orks.
[*]Build your WAAAGH tower and Boyz hut right next to your opponent's generator.
[*]Works best on maps like Charon's Rest which have a nice pocket of defensible high ground next to the gen.
[/list][b]Pros[/b][list]
[*]Potentially kills the gen before elites come out.
[*]Forces the opponent to fight — especially good against guerrilla strats (Eldar).
[*]Can easily tilt an inexperienced opponent.
[/list][b]Cons[/b][list]
[*]Leaves your own gens exposed.
[*]Slowed down by setup teams and snipers.
[*]Easily stopped with a drop pod if it's scouted.
[/list]