Matchup analysis → Disruption mirror
Disruption mirror — Outmanoeuvre
Warhammer 40,000 11th edition · GDM 2026 matched play · primary mission matchup
Disruption and Disruption come out dead even.
| Force disposition | Primary mission card | Edge |
|---|---|---|
| Disruption | Outmanoeuvre | 10 |
| Disruption | Outmanoeuvre | 10 |
The matchup in a nutshell
The most explosive card in the game and the easiest to misplay. Your own home objective is worth nothing, the enemy's is worth 10 VP a turn, and the hold engine escalates from 4 to 5 to 6 VP per objective as the game goes on. The trap is in the timing: the checkpoint moves from your Command phase to the end of your turn in round 4, and players who do not notice leave a fortune on the table.
| Disruption (side 0) | Disruption (side 1) | |
|---|---|---|
| Card | Outmanoeuvre | Outmanoeuvre |
| Scores at | mixed | mixed |
| Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 0 enemy turns |
| Exposure | 18/20 | 18/20 |
| Activation cost | 12/20 | 12/20 |
A hold window of zero changes where the fight is. Nobody has to survive anything: you walk on, the turn ends, you get paid. Which means there is no window to shoot them off the marker afterwards — by the time it matters, they have already banked it. Denial on this card happens before the grab, not after. You are not buying reactions. You are buying space.
Playing Disruption
Your card: Outmanoeuvre. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.
How you score
Round 1, grab wide — 4 VP per objective. Rounds 2 and 3, hold at 5 VP per objective, checked at your Command phase. From round 4, 6 VP per objective checked at the end of your turn, which means a late grab pays instantly and never has to survive a reply. And all game long, 10 VP at the end of any turn you hold their home objective.
What it costs you
Rounds 2-3 demand durability — those holds must survive a full enemy turn. Rounds 4-5 demand the opposite: hold your movement back and take everything on your own turn, because nothing has to live afterwards. Playing rounds 4-5 the way you played rounds 2-3 costs 12 to 18 VP. Exposure 18/20, activation cost 12/20.
How you break them
Their home line is worth 10 VP a turn to them and their own home is worth zero, so they will not defend it and neither can you afford to ignore yours. Screen your back line from round 2 — it is the single highest-value defensive investment in the matrix. Then, in rounds 2-3 only, remember their holds have to survive your turn: everything you shoot off a marker before their Command phase is 5 VP denied. From round 4 that window closes, so front-load your denial.
What your list needs
- Speed above all. Nothing on this card rewards sitting still, and your home objective pays zero.
- A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs.
- One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line.
- Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn.
Playing Disruption
Your card: Outmanoeuvre. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.
How you score
Round 1, grab wide — 4 VP per objective. Rounds 2 and 3, hold at 5 VP per objective, checked at your Command phase. From round 4, 6 VP per objective checked at the end of your turn, which means a late grab pays instantly and never has to survive a reply. And all game long, 10 VP at the end of any turn you hold their home objective.
What it costs you
Rounds 2-3 demand durability — those holds must survive a full enemy turn. Rounds 4-5 demand the opposite: hold your movement back and take everything on your own turn, because nothing has to live afterwards. Playing rounds 4-5 the way you played rounds 2-3 costs 12 to 18 VP. Exposure 18/20, activation cost 12/20.
How you break them
Their home line is worth 10 VP a turn to them and their own home is worth zero, so they will not defend it and neither can you afford to ignore yours. Screen your back line from round 2 — it is the single highest-value defensive investment in the matrix. Then, in rounds 2-3 only, remember their holds have to survive your turn: everything you shoot off a marker before their Command phase is 5 VP denied. From round 4 that window closes, so front-load your denial.
What your list needs
- Speed above all. Nothing on this card rewards sitting still, and your home objective pays zero.
- A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs.
- One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line.
- Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn.
The three layouts
Disruption mirror is played on one of three boards, and they are not the same game. All three are transcribed and measured below.
| Board | Deployment | Openness | Centre exposure | Cost to raid a home marker | No-man's-land |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layout 1 | bands on the short edges | 9/20 | 4.6% | 91.7% | 20.4% |
| Layout 2 | diagonal across the long axis | 6/20 | 4% | 40.2% | — |
| Layout 3 | diagonal across the short axis | 4/20 | 0.9% | 54.6% | 2.7% |
- Layout 1 — bands on the short edges, openness 9/20. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of 91.7% of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at 20.4%. 46% of the legal holding spots can go fully out of sight — pick the spot, not the marker.
- Layout 2 — diagonal across the long axis, openness 6/20. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only 4% of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs 40.2% exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (90% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.
- Layout 3 — diagonal across the short axis, openness 4/20. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only 0.9% of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of 54.6% of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at 2.7%. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (92% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.
If your plan needs enemy ground, Layout 2 is where it is cheapest (40.2% exposure against 91.7% on Layout 1) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.
Numbers are measured on the transcribed sheets: every legal spot within control range of each marker is tested, and the best one is reported — the way a real player looks for the safest place to stand, not the middle of the marker.
Decision points
- End of round 3 — your last Command-phase checkpoint. Everything after this is timed to your own end of turn.
- Any turn from 2 — is their home reachable? 10 VP is worth almost any unit you own.
- Round 5 — grab everything reachable on your own turn. Nothing has to survive.
Ratings and why
Every score is an integer out of 20. For edge, 10 is dead even and the score is given for side 0; the other metrics are absolute, per side. How these are derived →
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| edge (for Disruption) | 10/20 | high | theory | Mirror: identical cards. |
Disruption (side 0)
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ceiling | 20/20 | medium | theory | An escalating per-objective engine (4 then 5 then 6 VP) on top of a recurring 10 VP for the enemy home is the highest ceiling in the matrix. |
| floor | 9/20 | medium | theory | Home is excluded from every line, so a player pinned in their own deployment zone scores almost nothing. |
| tempo | 12/20 | medium | theory | Averaged across a card that flips mid-game: rounds 2-3 score at your Command phase (durability), rounds 4-5 at the end of your turn (burst) — see the body and the engine-note claim. |
| complexity | 16/20 | medium | theory | The mid-game timing flip is the single easiest thing to misplay in the whole matrix. |
| exposure | 18/20 | medium | theory | Your home objective is worth nothing and the enemy home objective is worth 10 VP a turn: every incentive on the card pushes your whole army onto ground the opponent controls. The most expensive card in the matrix to run. |
| activationCost | 12/20 | medium | theory | Wide holds tie up bodies, but nothing asks a unit to stop shooting. |
Disruption (side 1)
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ceiling | 20/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side. |
| floor | 9/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side. |
| tempo | 12/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the same mid-game tempo flip applies to each side. |
| complexity | 16/20 | medium | theory | Mirror: both players hold this card, so the profile is identical on each side. |
| exposure | 18/20 | medium | theory | Your home objective is worth nothing and the enemy home objective is worth 10 VP a turn: every incentive on the card pushes your whole army onto ground the opponent controls. The most expensive card in the matrix to run. |
| activationCost | 12/20 | medium | theory | Wide holds tie up bodies, but nothing asks a unit to stop shooting. |
Playbook
Playing Disruption (side 0)
- This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it.
- Their home line is worth 10 VP a turn to them and their own home is worth zero, so they will not defend it and neither can you afford to ignore yours. Screen your back line from round 2 — it is the single highest-value defensive investment in the matrix. Then, in rounds 2-3 only, remember their holds have to survive your turn: everything you shoot off a marker before their Command phase is 5 VP denied. From round 4 that window closes, so front-load your denial.
- Disruption needs: Speed above all. Nothing on this card rewards sitting still, and your home objective pays zero. A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs. One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line. Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn.
Playing Disruption (side 1)
- This card moves its checkpoint during the game, so the same grab costs a full enemy turn early and nothing late — price the grab accordingly before committing a unit to it.
Applies to both sides
- The hold engine escalates: 4 VP per objective in round 1, 5 VP in rounds 2-3, 6 VP from round 4 — and every line excludes your home objective, so a body sitting at home earns nothing all game.
- The scoring checkpoint MOVES: rounds 2-3 score at your Command phase, rounds 4-5 at the end of your turn. Early holds must survive the enemy turn; late grabs pay immediately.
- Controlling the opponent home objective pays 10 VP at the end of any turn — repeatable, and larger than 2 objectives at the peak rate.
- Their home raid is worth 10 VP a turn to them, and your own home is worth 0 VP to you — you cannot justify a garrison on scoring grounds alone, only on denial grounds.
- Measured across all 45 transcribed layouts: a central objective can be held from a spot only 4.6% of the enemy deployment zone can see (best board 0%), while taking an enemy home objective means standing where a median of 47.7% of their deployment zone has line of sight, rising to 91.7% on the most exposed board. Cards that pay for enemy home objectives are charging you that difference, and the board decides the price.
- All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (bands on the short edges) reads 9/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal across the long axis) reads 6/20 for openness, Layout 3 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 4/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 40.2% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 2 and 91.7% on Layout 1 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0.9% on Layout 3.
Frequently asked
Who is favoured in the Disruption mirror match?
Disruption and Disruption come out dead even.
How do you stop your opponent scoring in the Disruption mirror?
Their home line is worth 10 VP a turn to them and their own home is worth zero, so they will not defend it and neither can you afford to ignore yours. Screen your back line from round 2 — it is the single highest-value defensive investment in the matrix. Then, in rounds 2-3 only, remember their holds have to survive your turn: everything you shoot off a marker before their Command phase is 5 VP denied. From round 4 that window closes, so front-load your denial.
What units does a Disruption list need for this mission?
Disruption needs: Speed above all. Nothing on this card rewards sitting still, and your home objective pays zero. A reserve or deep-strike package held back for the round 4-5 burst grabs. One cheap screen for your own home — purely defensive, purely worth it against a 10 VP line. Durable mid-board units for rounds 2-3, when holds must survive an enemy turn.
How does the Disruption primary mission card score?
The hold engine escalates: 4 VP per objective in round 1, 5 VP in rounds 2-3, 6 VP from round 4 — and every line excludes your home objective, so a body sitting at home earns nothing all game. The scoring checkpoint MOVES: rounds 2-3 score at your Command phase, rounds 4-5 at the end of your turn. Early holds must survive the enemy turn; late grabs pay immediately. Controlling the opponent home objective pays 10 VP at the end of any turn — repeatable, and larger than 2 objectives at the peak rate.
What are the common mistakes in this matchup?
Their home raid is worth 10 VP a turn to them, and your own home is worth 0 VP to you — you cannot justify a garrison on scoring grounds alone, only on denial grounds.
Related matchups
Priority Assets vs Disruption — Extract Relic / Locate and Deny
Priority Assets holds a clear edge here.…
Purge the Foe vs Disruption — Punishment / Delaying Action
Disruption holds the slight edge here.…
Reconnaissance vs Disruption — Surveil the Foe / Smoke and Mirrors
Reconnaissance holds the slight edge here.…
Take and Hold vs Disruption — Determined Acquisition / Death Trap
Disruption holds the slight edge here.…
Provenance
- Status: draft — ratings carry their own confidence and basis above.
- Written against the GDM 2026 matched play data snapshot pinned as
2026-05-09 23:42:21. - Subjects analysed:
gdm:disposition/disruption,gdm:primary/disruption/outmanoeuvre. - Machine-readable: JSON · Markdown source