--- id: disposition-matchup/take-and-hold--vs--purge-the-foe kind: matchup-analysis lang: en title: "Take and Hold vs Purge the Foe — Immovable Object / Unstoppable Force" subjects: - gdm:disposition/take-and-hold - gdm:disposition/purge-the-foe - gdm:primary/take-and-hold/immovable-object - gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/unstoppable-force sides: side0: disposition: take-and-hold card: gdm:primary/take-and-hold/immovable-object scoringCheckpoint: mixed holdWindow: 0 side1: disposition: purge-the-foe card: gdm:primary/purge-the-foe/unstoppable-force scoringCheckpoint: mixed holdWindow: 1 ratings: - metric: edge value: 11 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "Both cards run a per-objective Command-phase engine, but Take and Hold pays 5 VP per objective against 4, and adds a free 3 VP a turn for any central objective; Purge the Foe claws most of it back with near-unconditional kill and flip riders." - metric: ceiling side: 0 value: 16 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "5 VP per objective across four checkpoints plus 3 VP a turn for a central objective." - metric: ceiling side: 1 value: 15 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "4 VP per objective plus 3 VP kills, 3 VP flips and a 5 VP finish." - metric: floor side: 0 value: 15 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "The engine only asks you to keep holding what you already hold." - metric: floor side: 1 value: 12 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "The kill rider is nearly free, but the flip bonus needs you to take ground from a dedicated holding army." - metric: tempo side: 0 value: 7 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "The hold engine scores at your Command phase in rounds 2-4 and only flips to end of turn in round 5." - metric: tempo side: 1 value: 12 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "Kills and flips both resolve at the end of your own turn." - metric: complexity side: 0 value: 7 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "Hold, keep a central objective, remember the round-5 timing change." - metric: complexity side: 1 value: 11 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "Needs a kill every turn, a flip most turns, and a central objective by the end of battle." - metric: exposure side: 0 value: 11 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "Central objectives measure at 0% deployment-zone exposure on all three transcribed layouts, so the 3 VP rider is nearly free; the per-objective line still needs bodies standing still." - metric: activationCost side: 0 value: 12 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "2 objectives held hard, plus 1 unit kept back for the round-5 grab." - metric: exposure side: 1 value: 12 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "Flipping an objective every turn means repeatedly moving onto ground the opponent is already holding, and staying there through their turn." - metric: activationCost side: 1 value: 10 confidence: medium basis: theory rationale: "Flip duty ties up one mobile unit per turn." claims: - type: engine-note side: 0 phase: whole-game text: "Take and Hold out-scales on the shared engine: 5 VP per objective against 4 VP, which over four checkpoints at 2 objectives is an 8 VP swing before any rider." - type: engine-note side: 0 phase: rounds-4-5 text: "Immovable Object flips its checkpoint in round 5 from the Command phase to the end of your turn, so the last round rewards a late grab — Unstoppable Force keeps scoring at its Command phase and cannot answer it." - type: engine-note side: 1 phase: whole-game text: "Every objective the Purge player takes from the Take and Hold player is a 8 VP swing: minus 5 VP for them, plus 4 VP hold and 3 VP flip for you." - type: pitfall side: 0 phase: whole-game text: "Trading a held objective for a kill is VP-negative for the Take and Hold player at almost any stage." - type: cost side: 0 phase: whole-game text: "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." - type: cost side: 1 phase: whole-game text: "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." - type: terrain phase: deployment text: "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." refs: - rule:13.08 - rule:14.02 - type: disruption side: 0 phase: whole-game text: "Their flip bonus is the danger: each objective they take off you swings 8 VP (your 5 lost, their 4 + 3 gained). So screen against flips rather than chasing kills. Deny the cheap kill too — they get 3 VP for killing anything, so do not leave a lone chaff unit parked where it dies for free. And match their level of control on a central objective at the end of the battle: control is summed OC, not a headcount, and a tie means neither player holds it — so denying their 5 VP finish costs you 1 point of OC less than taking the objective would." - type: list-building side: 0 phase: list-building text: "Take and Hold needs: 2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase. Wounds, saves, and objective control — not damage. Screens on the approaches to your objectives; the flip bonus is their whole tempo plan. One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab, when your card scores after your own move. Nothing spent on a third objective you cannot defend." - type: disruption side: 1 phase: whole-game text: "Do not try to out-hold them; you lose that race by 1 VP per objective per round. Instead, take 1 objective off them a turn: it denies 5 and pays you 7. Their engine is at their Command phase in rounds 2-4, which means everything you remove during your own turn never scores at all — you have a full turn of shooting to empty a marker before they bank it. In round 5 that window closes and they grab after their move, so do your denial early." - type: list-building side: 1 phase: list-building text: "Purge the Foe needs: A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one — fast, damaging, and cheap enough to trade away. One flipping unit per turn: enough speed to reach a held objective and enough staying power to still be there at their Command phase. Reserves are excellent here — arriving on a marker is the cleanest flip there is. Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish." - type: layout phase: deployment text: "All three boards for this pairing are transcribed and measured. Layout 1 (diagonal across the short axis) reads 6/20 for openness, Layout 2 (diagonal halves) reads 5/20 for openness, Layout 3 (bands on the short edges) reads 5/20 for openness. Taking a home marker off the opponent costs 36.2% deployment-zone exposure on Layout 1 and 55.6% on Layout 2 — the same play, priced very differently. Central markers stay the safest ground on all three, bottoming out at 2.4% on Layout 3." listRequirements: - side: 0 role: "2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase" count: 2 trait: - durability - objective-control phase: list-building why: "2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase." - side: 0 role: "Wounds, saves, and objective control" trait: - durability - objective-control phase: list-building why: "Wounds, saves, and objective control — not damage." - side: 0 role: "Screens on the approaches to your objectives" trait: - screening phase: list-building why: "Screens on the approaches to your objectives; the flip bonus is their whole tempo plan." - side: 0 role: "One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab" count: 1 trait: - speed phase: list-building why: "One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab, when your card scores after your own move." - side: 1 role: "A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one" count: 1 trait: - expendable-bodies - damage - speed phase: list-building why: "A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one — fast, damaging, and cheap enough to trade away." - side: 1 role: "One flipping unit per turn" count: 1 trait: - durability - speed - reach phase: list-building why: "One flipping unit per turn: enough speed to reach a held objective and enough staying power to still be there at their Command phase." - side: 1 role: "Reserves are excellent here" trait: - deep-strike - objective-control phase: list-building why: "Reserves are excellent here — arriving on a marker is the cleanest flip there is." - side: 1 role: "Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish" count: 5 trait: - durability phase: list-building matchupSpecific: true why: "Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish." - side: 1 role: "A reactive threat that makes the approach cost something" count: 1 trait: - reactive-deterrence phase: rounds-2-3 why: "This card checks its hold at the Command phase, so every grab has to live through a full enemy turn. Heroic Intervention, Fire Overwatch and Counter-Offensive make that survivable by taxing the commit instead of answering it after the fact — cheaper than buying enough wounds to tank it." dependsOn: corpus: "2026-05-09 23:42:21" gdmPack: "GDM" status: draft sources: [] --- ## The matchup in a nutshell Two per-objective engines pointed at each other, but at different rates: Take and Hold banks 5 VP per objective, Purge the Foe only 4 — and adds a kill rider that is nearly free against an army standing still on markers. Take and Hold wins the arithmetic; Purge the Foe wins the tempo. Slight edge to the holder, and it inverts against a genuine alpha-strike list. | | Take and Hold | Purge the Foe | |---|---|---| | Card | Immovable Object | Unstoppable Force | | Scores at | mixed | mixed | | Hold window | 0 enemy turns | 1 enemy turn | | Exposure | 11/20 | 12/20 | | Activation cost | 12/20 | 10/20 | 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: Immovable Object. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 0 enemy turns.* ### How you score 3 VP any turn you hold a central objective — nearly free, since centrals are the safest ground on every board we have measured. Then 5 VP per objective at your Command phase in rounds 2-4, and the same 5 VP per objective at the **end of your turn** in round 5. That last-round switch is your ace: in round 5 you score after your own move and they cannot answer it. ### What it costs you Rounds 2-4 you are renting targets — every objective must survive a full enemy turn against an army whose card pays it 3 VP just for killing something. 2 objectives held properly beats three held loosely, every time. Exposure 11/20, activation cost 12/20. ### How you break them Their flip bonus is the danger: each objective they take off you swings 8 VP (your 5 lost, their 4 + 3 gained). So **screen against flips rather than chasing kills**. Deny the cheap kill too — they get 3 VP for killing anything, so do not leave a lone chaff unit parked where it dies for free. And match their level of control on a central objective at the end of the battle: control is summed OC, not a headcount, and a tie means neither player holds it — so denying their 5 VP finish costs you 1 point of OC less than taking the objective would. ### What your list needs - 2 units that can hold a marker through a full enemy shooting phase. Wounds, saves, and objective control — not damage. - Screens on the approaches to your objectives; the flip bonus is their whole tempo plan. - One fast unit kept uncommitted for the round-5 grab, when your card scores after your own move. - Nothing spent on a third objective you cannot defend. ## Playing Purge the Foe *Your card: Unstoppable Force. Scoring checkpoint: mixed. Hold window: 1 enemy turn.* ### How you score 3 VP a turn for killing anything — against a holding army, targets are always available. 4 VP per objective at your Command phase, 3 VP for taking an objective you did not hold at the start of the turn, and 5 VP at the end of battle for a central objective. ### What it costs you Flipping means moving onto ground they already hold and staying there through their turn. That is the most expensive way to take an objective, and it is your main scoring line — price it before you commit. Exposure 12/20, activation cost 10/20. ### How you break them Do not try to out-hold them; you lose that race by 1 VP per objective per round. Instead, take **one** objective off them a turn: it denies 5 and pays you 7. Their engine is at their Command phase in rounds 2-4, which means everything you remove during your own turn never scores at all — you have a full turn of shooting to empty a marker before they bank it. In round 5 that window closes and they grab after their move, so do your denial early. ### What your list needs - A guaranteed kill every turn from turn one — fast, damaging, and cheap enough to trade away. - One flipping unit per turn: enough speed to reach a held objective and enough staying power to still be there at their Command phase. - Reserves are excellent here — arriving on a marker is the cleanest flip there is. - Something durable near a central objective by round 5 for the 5 VP finish. ## The three layouts Take and Hold vs Purge the Foe 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 | 6/20 | 7.7% | 36.2% | — | | Layout 2 | diagonal halves | 5/20 | 8% | 55.6% | 0% | | Layout 3 | bands on the short edges | 5/20 | 2.4% | 42.7% | 11.9% | - **Layout 1** — diagonal across the short axis, openness **6/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **7.7%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **36.2%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (89% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight. - **Layout 2** — diagonal halves, openness **5/20**. The middle is free real estate: there is a legal spot within range of a central marker that only **8%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Home markers are a fortress: taking one means standing in front of **55.6%** of their deployment zone. No-man's-land markers sit at **0%**. Almost anywhere you stand near a marker (89% of legal spots) can be put fully out of sight. - **Layout 3** — 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 **2.4%** of the enemy deployment zone can see. Raiding a home marker costs **42.7%** exposure — real, but payable with one screened unit. No-man's-land markers sit at **11.9%**. 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 (36.2% exposure against 55.6% on Layout 2) — 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 - Rounds 2-3 — Take and Hold decides whether a third objective is defensible. If not, it is a liability. - Every turn — Purge the Foe picks the 1 objective to flip, not the most objectives to contest. - Round 5 — Take and Hold grabs late; its checkpoint is now after its own move.