Matchup analysis → Take and Hold vs Disruption
Take and Hold vs Disruption — Determined Acquisition / Death Trap
Warhammer 40,000 11th edition · GDM 2026 matched play · primary mission matchup
Disruption holds the slight edge here.
| Force disposition | Primary mission card | Edge |
|---|---|---|
| Take and Hold | Determined Acquisition | 9 |
| Disruption | Death Trap | 11 |
The matchup in a nutshell
The most aggressive Take and Hold card meets the card built to punish aggression. Determined Acquisition doubles the value of objectives in enemy territory, so the holder is paid to over-extend — and over-extension is exactly what Death Trap taxes. Slight edge to Disruption, because the opponent's own card pushes them into the trap.
| Take and Hold | Disruption | |
|---|---|---|
| Card | Determined Acquisition | Death Trap |
| Scores at | mixed | mixed |
| Hold window | 1 enemy turn | 0 enemy turns |
| Exposure | 16/20 | 12/20 |
| Activation cost | 13/20 | 13/20 |
A hold window of 1 cuts both ways, and most players only think about one of them. It means your grab has to survive a full enemy turn before it pays — but it also means you get a whole turn to shoot theirs off the marker before they bank it. Denial is not a side quest on this card; it is half the card.
Playing Take and Hold
Your card: Determined Acquisition. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.
How you score
3 VP per objective at your Command phase, plus another 3 VP for each of those inside their territory — a forward objective is worth exactly two safe ones. Plus 2 VP for every objective you take that you did not hold at the start of your turn, checked at the end of your turn, so late grabs still pay.
What it costs you
The doubling clause sends you into their half, where their army is, and your holds still have to survive a full enemy turn. This is the highest-exposure Take and Hold plan in the game and it is not optional — playing it safe halves your rate. Exposure 16/20, activation cost 13/20.
How you break them
Their kill rider only fires on units that started the turn inside a trapped terrain area, so route around trapped ground and never end a turn parked in one. Their hold line is flat, so contesting their single objective is worth as much as taking three. And traps take time to set: pressure them early, before the board is prepared, because their card gives them no reason to come to you.
What your list needs
- One deep target you can genuinely screen and keep — a forward objective is worth 6 VP a round, as much as two at home.
- Mobility to rotate pressure between two forward objectives for the flip bonus.
- Enough screening to hold that deep ground through an enemy turn.
- Avoid slow, expensive units. This card wants tempo, and trapped ground punishes standing still.
Playing Disruption
Your card: Death Trap. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.
How you score
2 VP per terrain area you trap, plus 3 VP more for each trapped area that holds an objective — 5 VP a piece. 3 VP when an enemy that started in a trapped area dies there. And 4 VP at your Command phase for holding any 1 objective.
What it costs you
Modest, and that is the point. Much of the card is scored from your own half, and trapping does not require winning a fight. Your exposure is chosen, not forced. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 13/20.
How you break them
Their engine doubles for objectives in your territory, so a screen along your territory edge halves their scoring rate — the single most valuable thing you can do all game. Their hold checkpoint is their Command phase, which gives you a full turn of shooting to clear a marker they took on their turn; anything you remove before then never scores. And their 2 VP flip bonus rewards them for taking new ground, so holding ground firmly denies it twice.
What your list needs
- Cheap screens along your own territory edge — they are worth 3 VP a round in denied doubling.
- Units that can operate in and around terrain areas, since that is where your card scores.
- One holder for the flat 4 VP, nothing more.
- Damage that can punish a unit sitting on a forward objective at their Command phase.
The three layouts
Take and Hold vs Disruption 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 | diagonal across the short axis | 3/20 | 0.4% | 21.1% | — |
| Layout 2 | bands on the short edges | 5/20 | 3.3% | 42.4% | — |
| Layout 3 | bands on the short edges | 6/20 | 0% | 76.5% | 5.9% |
- Layout 1 — diagonal across the short axis, openness 3/20. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only 0.4% of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs 21.1% exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (94% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.
- Layout 2 — bands on the short edges, openness 5/20. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only 3.3% of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs 42.4% exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (85% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.
- Layout 3 — bands on the short edges, openness 6/20. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only 0% of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of 76.5% of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at 5.9%. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (88% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight.
If your plan needs enemy ground, Layout 1 is where it is cheapest (21.1% exposure against 76.5% on Layout 3) — the same raid can be a bargain or a suicide depending on which board you drew.
Take and Hold must survive a full enemy turn before banking a grab, so Layout 1 (openness 3/20) is the board where that plan is cheapest, and Layout 3 (6/20) the one where it bleeds.
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
- Round 2 — Disruption traps objective-bearing areas first; they are worth 5 VP each.
- Rounds 2-4 — Take and Hold picks one deep objective and screens it properly rather than skirmishing over several.
- Round 5 — the flip bonus still pays on a last-turn grab even if it cannot be held.
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 Take and Hold) | 9/20 | medium | theory | Death Trap banks 9 VP a turn from its own half and the centre against 5, runs 15 VP past the cap while Determined Acquisition projects 5 SHORT of it, and its trap action completes immediately — the body that places it does not have to survive. Determined Acquisition doubles objectives in enemy territory, so the card that pays for pressure walks into the card that is paid for punishing it. Published readings disagree on this cell. |
Take and Hold
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ceiling | 16/20 | medium | theory | 3 VP per objective plus another 3 VP for each one in enemy territory, plus 2 VP per newly taken objective. |
| floor | 12/20 | medium | theory | The base 3 VP per objective is safe, but half the card value sits in enemy territory. |
| tempo | 12/20 | medium | theory | Newly taken objectives score at the end of your turn, the main engine at your Command phase. |
| complexity | 9/20 | medium | theory | Simple engine, hard risk management. |
| exposure | 16/20 | medium | theory | Objectives in the opponent territory are worth double, so the card pays you to stand in the half of the board where their whole army can shoot you. |
| activationCost | 13/20 | medium | theory | Rotating pressure between forward objectives ties up mobile units that would otherwise be fighting. |
Disruption
| Metric | Score | Confidence | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ceiling | 14/20 | medium | theory | 5 VP per trapped objective area, largely independent of who holds what. |
| floor | 13/20 | medium | theory | Trapping does not require winning fights, which makes the floor unusually stable. |
| tempo | 11/20 | medium | theory | Traps are checked at the end of your turn. |
| complexity | 14/20 | medium | theory | Trap placement, terrain-area boundaries and enemy movement all interact. |
| exposure | 12/20 | medium | theory | Trapping is done to terrain areas rather than to contested objectives, so much of the card can be scored from your own half. |
| activationCost | 13/20 | medium | theory | Trap duty consumes activations that would otherwise shoot. |
Playbook
Playing Take and Hold
- Determined Acquisition pays 3 VP per objective and another 3 VP for each objective in the opponent territory — a forward objective is worth exactly twice a home-side one.
- 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 kill rider only fires on units that started the turn inside a trapped terrain area, so route around trapped ground and never end a turn parked in one. Their hold line is flat, so contesting their single objective is worth as much as taking three. And traps take time to set: pressure them early, before the board is prepared, because their card gives them no reason to come to you.
- Take and Hold needs: One deep target you can genuinely screen and keep — a forward objective is worth 6 VP a round, as much as two at home. Mobility to rotate pressure between two forward objectives for the flip bonus. Enough screening to hold that deep ground through an enemy turn. Avoid slow, expensive units. This card wants tempo, and trapped ground punishes standing still.
Playing Disruption
- Death Trap scores off terrain areas rather than objectives, so the Disruption player can bank VP without ever winning the objective game — but 3 of the 5 VP per area come from trapped areas that hold objectives.
- 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 engine doubles for objectives in your territory, so a screen along your territory edge halves their scoring rate — the single most valuable thing you can do all game. Their hold checkpoint is their Command phase, which gives you a full turn of shooting to clear a marker they took on their turn; anything you remove before then never scores. And their 2 VP flip bonus rewards them for taking new ground, so holding ground firmly denies it twice.
- Disruption needs: Cheap screens along your own territory edge — they are worth 3 VP a round in denied doubling. Units that can operate in and around terrain areas, since that is where your card scores. One holder for the flat 4 VP, nothing more. Damage that can punish a unit sitting on a forward objective at their Command phase.
Applies to both sides
- A Take and Hold player who refuses to push scores half rate — but a player who pushes into trapped areas donates 3 VP a turn.
- 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 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 3/20 for openness, Layout 2 (bands on the short edges) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (bands on the short edges) reads 6/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 21.1% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 76.5% on Layout 3 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 0% on Layout 3.
Frequently asked
Is Take and Hold or Disruption favoured in this matchup?
Disruption holds the slight edge here.
How do you stop Disruption scoring when you are playing Take and Hold?
Their kill rider only fires on units that started the turn inside a trapped terrain area, so route around trapped ground and never end a turn parked in one. Their hold line is flat, so contesting their single objective is worth as much as taking three. And traps take time to set: pressure them early, before the board is prepared, because their card gives them no reason to come to you.
What units does a Take and Hold list need against Disruption?
Take and Hold needs: One deep target you can genuinely screen and keep — a forward objective is worth 6 VP a round, as much as two at home. Mobility to rotate pressure between two forward objectives for the flip bonus. Enough screening to hold that deep ground through an enemy turn. Avoid slow, expensive units. This card wants tempo, and trapped ground punishes standing still.
How do you stop Take and Hold scoring when you are playing Disruption?
Their engine doubles for objectives in your territory, so a screen along your territory edge halves their scoring rate — the single most valuable thing you can do all game. Their hold checkpoint is their Command phase, which gives you a full turn of shooting to clear a marker they took on their turn; anything you remove before then never scores. And their 2 VP flip bonus rewards them for taking new ground, so holding ground firmly denies it twice.
What units does a Disruption list need against Take and Hold?
Disruption needs: Cheap screens along your own territory edge — they are worth 3 VP a round in denied doubling. Units that can operate in and around terrain areas, since that is where your card scores. One holder for the flat 4 VP, nothing more. Damage that can punish a unit sitting on a forward objective at their Command phase.
How do the Take and Hold and Disruption primary mission cards score?
Determined Acquisition pays 3 VP per objective and another 3 VP for each objective in the opponent territory — a forward objective is worth exactly twice a home-side one. Death Trap scores off terrain areas rather than objectives, so the Disruption player can bank VP without ever winning the objective game — but 3 of the 5 VP per area come from trapped areas that hold objectives.
What are the common mistakes in this matchup?
A Take and Hold player who refuses to push scores half rate — but a player who pushes into trapped areas donates 3 VP a turn.
Related matchups
Disruption mirror — Outmanoeuvre
Disruption and Disruption come out dead even.…
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 mirror — Battlefield Dominance
Take and Hold and Take and Hold come out dead even.…
Take and Hold vs Priority Assets — Inescapable Dominion / Secure Asset
Priority Assets 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/take-and-hold,gdm:disposition/disruption,gdm:primary/take-and-hold/determined-acquisition,gdm:primary/disruption/death-trap. - Machine-readable: JSON · Markdown source