Got a new toy in this thing called a rocketbook which let's you draw then upload easily. So, going to start using it more and generating my diagrams that way rather then trying to use google paint. Not that there's anything wrong with google paint... I'm just slow with it. Anyways, onwards.
I wanted to make a quick post about polearm positioning. We spend a lot of time telling polearms where they OUGHT to be standing but not a whole lot of time explaining to them why that's the case. So I made some diagrams to show what happens with a polearm sitting in one of 3 positions within a 3 man group. This covers both how to engage if you're the team with a polearm and how to disengage if you're the team without one. For this description the team with the polearm is unmarked (we'll call them team pole) and the team without a polearm is marked with 1's. Diagram is as follows:
First piece of the diagram is just some terminology for the rest of it. Moments in time are separated by each set of horizontal lines. In the first diagram the polearm is lined up in the middle of the 3 man team. This means that they can pretty easily reach the opponent in front of them as well as to that person's left and right without having to significantly inconvenience either of the boards protecting them. From here the polearm gets free reign to smash shields or take side angle shots when the shields protecting them cause their opponents to open up. If the enemy team should happen to have someone rush the polearm (second section) the polearm can just step back. This denies the person rushing them the engage and puts that person between the polearms two shieldman making them effectively dead. This is the ideal situation for the polearm wherein a direct engagement is unsafe for team 1 but the polearm still gets to reach and swing at all of team 1.
The way that you deal with a polearm is to try to avoid giving it something to swing at (in much the same way that the best way to fight outnumbered is to fight 1v1 very quickly). If the person across from the polearm takes a step back so that they aren't immediately a good target and the people to the right and the left of center both move to flanking positions the polearm suddenly has no good targets. To engage the person they are across from they have to run away from their supports. If they move to engage the flankers on their right or left they now are stuck putting their back to the person behind them.
From where it last left off (flankers coming in) the flankers go behind the polearm and attempt to engage the shieldman supporting them. If the shieldman turn to fight these flankers then it creates a bad situation as the last guy on team 1 who wasn't flanking now gets to rush an unprotected polearm. It's sort of a catch 22 though as either shieldman who doesn't engage the flanker immediately gets backed by that flanker and lets the polearm die to boot. In this situation I've often seen the polearm try to go out and 1v1 the shieldman on team 1. This is a terrible idea as a sword and board always has advantage against polearms. That having been said at least it's doing something. The worst thing the polearm can do is stand there and do nothing. If team 1 rushes them team 1 gets to kill the two boards supporting the polearm even if they don't immediately get that kill. After that it's curtains for the polearm.
Instead what the polearm should do is step out to engage one of the flankers, putting their back to their teammate and their side to the flanker. This allows them to threaten both flankers pretty quickly and let's them take the engagement they want onto the weaker (rather then the stronger) flanker. If the polearm goes super aggro and can win their 2v1 fight against the weaker flanker, (or even just leg them) then they have advantage again. They can them immediately turn to the other flanker while the board they just supported now turns to cover their back. Now their team mate gets a 1v1 and team 1's flanker gets a 2v1 against a polearm which usually ends badly for them, especially now that the polearm has time to work.
The reason I highlight going for the weaker of the two flanking opponents is that if the polearm and board take too long to engage the first flanker it means that the last person from team 1 will likely rush in on one or both of the pole teams boards. If this happens and the polearm hasn't managed to do any damage to team 1 then it's likely one or both teammates supporting them die instantly as they get pinched in a 2v1. As team 1 in this scenario the flanker who gets the polearm wants to disengage, staying just out of range while their last teammate rushes in. Their last teammate wants to target the pole team's board that is engaging the OTHER flanker (right side of the diagram) so that it's a 2v1 and hopefully just a back. The third person from team 1 then goes for a back on the other board from team pole while their teammate goes for the polearm. If either the second board or the polearm turn around then the flanker on the left can now go for their backs instead.
But all of these scenarios are assuming that things have been handled sanely. In many cases folks will line up the polearm on the left or right side of the 3 man with disastrous consequences.
The top section of this diagram just finishes describing what's in the last few paragraphs. Moving on from there we have what happens with bad positioning, or more accurately why it's bad positioning. By putting the polearm on the outside you make it so that in order to hit the 3rd person from team 1 they have to block off movement and swing targets for their adjacent teammate. Also, once a person from team 1 flanks to the outside they have to turn to fight them or get taken out immediately. Assuming they do turn to fight team 1's flanker they're still likely to lose as they no longer have support from anyone on their team. Once they've lost the rest of the team dominoes a second later, as their adjacent teammate now fights a 2v1 at 90 degree angles and once they fall their next teammate fights a 3v1 with a person engaging from their front, rear and side angles. So don't do that.
There is exactly 1 exception to this rule of not putting the polearm on the outside and that's when you have a hard edge on the side where the polearm is. If the polearm cannot be flanked and is still adjacent to a board then that's an acceptable setup.
More of these are likely to follow now that I can do diagrams. If you've got any particular requests drop them in the comments below or put it on Facebook / PM me.
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