I believe it is fair to say when talking about strengths of the Caledonian Army, the three main things are tough units, plenty of T2 ammo and access to Smoke Grenades. From the nineteen unit choices (in current ITS season, and excluding Spec Ops), six of them have access to Smoke Grenades so it is very likely you will have them in your army. If you played against someone with Smoke Grenades before, you know how useful they can be. Though they can just as easily mess up your game if you don't plan ahead at least a little bit when using them.
In this article I would like cover some of the tips and tricks for Smoke Grenades that I use in my games. Before we get into it, keep in mind this is from Caledonia perspective. Most of this could apply to other armies as well, and there are some stuff that other armies can do but Caledonia can't, I won't talk about as I don't have experience with those.
Smoke Screen in Active Turn: This is probably the main use people think of when it comes to Smoke Grenades, to block Line of Fire (LoF) from enemy troops. Smoke Grenades create a Zero Visibility Zone (Zero Vis) template of infinite height.Only Multi Spectral Visor Level 2 or higher can see through Zero Vis zone, so Smoke can protect you from the vast majority of troops in the game. To me Smoke Screen has two uses, a single LoF Block or a Smoke Path. In either case, it is very important to remember that Smoke activates at the end of the Order if you successfully pass your rolls (or win face to face). It basically means you can't throw Smoke and move through it without being seen in the same Order.
The LoF Block is simple enough, you need to move between point A and point B but enemy trooper can see the space between the points so you throw Smoke down to block LoF. The best way is to throw the Smoke while you are out of sight so it is an unopposed roll. Keep in mind though you can run out and have Face to Face roll with the enemy ARO (unless they have MSV Lv2 or higher) but in this scenario you have to make sure the template blocks enemy LoF for your entire movement. If they can see you out of Smoke, they shoot you for free. I don't recommend running out to throw Smoke unless you have to.
Smoke Path should also be self explanatory but it can be tricky to pull off. Sometime the distance between point A and point B is too long for one template and/or there are multiple AROs on the way. New people make the mistake of throwing Smoke down, moving into it and only then realizing they can't see the next point where they want to throw Smoke, it happened to me a lot too. The trick is to throw the Smoke in such a way that it blocks the first section but still lets you see the next point, while keeping your guy safe behind the first template. You can usually achieve this by throwing the first template further out or make path on an angle instead of going in a straight line. This is what I meant when I said earlier to think ahead when using Smoke.
Special Dodge, aka Smoke Dodge, in Reactive Turn: This can be confusing for many people. The name of one of Smoke Grenade traits is Special Dodge, and implies it has something to do with the Dodge skill. It doesn't and I know the name is confusing. To use Special Dodge, you are throwing the Smoke Grenade which is a Shooting Attack that uses PH instead of BS. This definition is more important in Fireteams (will get to that later). What happens when using Smoke Grenade as ARO is a face to face roll (unless they have MSV Lv2 or higher) and if you win, you negate the enemy shots and place down the Smoke template. You are not Dodging but effectively just winning a face to face shooting roll without causing damage.
This Special Dodge also doesn't work against template weapons, like Flamers and Chain Rifle. Those will hit automatically as normal though you can still throw the Smoke Grenade. The great thing about Special Dodge is that if you throw the grenade within 8", you get +3 PH and in Caledonia that means you'll be often rolling for 16, 17 or 19 (considering base PH of troops with access to Smoke Grenades).
The most obvious application is to protect the trooper that has the Smoke, like a 45th Highlander. You throw the Smoke either at his feet or further away to block the enemy LoF. But you can use Smoke to protect your other units. Say you have 112 not far from your Highlander and enemy is coming down at you but can see the Highlander first. If the Highlander can see your 112, he can throw Smoke at him to keep him hidden for later enemy Orders. My point is, think about what the enemy is aiming to achieve. Are they trying to kill the guy who has the Smoke, or are they going for someone else?
This applies more to your Active turn, but if you ever find yourself in situation where more then one enemy is shooting at your trooper that is throwing Smoke, remember the face-to-face is against all of them as long as the Smoke covers you against all. But you make only one roll, while all enemies roll against it (same as when you Dodge against multiple enemies).
Smoke in Fireteam (Link Team): Following up from an earlier point, when you have Smoke Grenades in a Fireteam (very easy in Caledonia as Wallace can join all of them) it is important to keep in mind that throwing Smoke Grenade is a Shooting Attack (BS Attack is the skill name). This is most important in your Reactive Turn because it allows you to have some members use their Rifles and others can throw Smoke Grenades, so you have a chance to kill the enemy and be hidden for their next Order.
However, you can't Dodge and throw Smoke Grenade to Special Dodge, two different skills and it would make some members break from the Fireteam.
Smoke & Close Combat (CC): This ties with the Smoke Screen from earlier. In Infinity getting into CC is hard because the enemy can shoot you to pieces as you are running at them. In Caledonia you can solve lots of problems by hitting things in CC with claymores but you still don't want to be shot while getting into CC. What I have done in the beginning, and I imagine other people start that way too, is to throw Smoke to block LoF so you can get close to the enemy but then you run out of it. Which does gets you into CC at least but still the enemy will get to shoot you.
What you want to do is to put the enemy into Smoke. Perhaps common sense, right? But it took me a long time to remember it during games. All you have to do it be able to land the template either to touch the enemy so they can't see, or get it close close enough so when you get base-to-base, you are still in the Smoke. All you need is part of your base inside to count as being fully in Zero Vis zone. Either case, once the smoke is landed, you can just walk into CC and its claymore time!
If you take nothing else from this article, remember that last point if you like getting into CC. I can't tell you how many times I was sacrificing troops needlessly when I could have just sacrifice one to put the Smoke on the enemy (or very close).
Obscuring your own LoF: This is something I still do today (I know, shameful), where your ARO is to throw Smoke and only after you done it you realize that your sniper, who was important for later AROs, can't see anymore. Therefore I would highly recommend, every time you use Smoke keep in mind your other troops and their LoF. Take a step back and think about it before you roll any dice, too late after that!
Great post! Thanks.
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