Path to Victory League Discussion

[gamerman01]

This thread is for league players’ discussion about Path To Victory and Path to Victory games, especially playoff games

Rules:
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/35323/ww2-path-to-victory-rules-discussion/

Strategies:
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/35558/ww2-path-to-victory-strategies/

Feedback:
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/35324/ww2-path-to-victory-feedback-thread/

[gamerman01]

@Stucifer

I’m copying this post by @mikawagunichi so it can be seen better by PTV players

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Hello everyone, with the new year and a new support drive beginning, @Stucifer and I have decided to sweeten the pot a bit and generate some interest for our favorite league game variant. For any player who has never played PTV or whose most recent PTV league game was completed in 2023 or earlier, we will pay for a Gold badge for any player who completes 3 PTV games this year. For players who pay for their own badge, we will still make an equivalent dollar amount donation to the forum. Limited to the first 5 sign ups, please DM if interested, thank you!

[Stucifer]

@axis-dominion

The New Hebrides opening is laid out in my YouTube video here:

https://youtu.be/0JK0TXDrYGY?si=XfNz2kuPnVW-cNgr

Recommend watching on 1.25-1.5x speed as I am a novice at making videos and talk pretty slow 😅

I had only limited play-testing, so there are many refinements to be made. I think there are 6 or 7 league games going with the Axis player using some variation of this opener.

In your game, curious if the sneaky counter move was taking Victoria with the Marine and using NCM to reinforce? 🤓

I am meeting @mikawagunichi and @Daaras for a face-to-face PTV game at the end of the month and I plan to update the channel with a new strategy video incorporating some of the League games in progress.

[gamerman01]

Meeting them for the first time because of the game, or already knew each other?

[Stucifer]

First time!

We’ve played a lot of games at this point online and hang out on Discord together, so I figured what the heck, I might as well fly out for an epic weekend of Axis&Allies and @mikawagunichi has a healthy bourbon supply so it’ll be a good time!

[gamerman01]

That’s what I was hoping you’d say

[Gorshak]

@Stucifer said in Path to Victory League Discussion:

In your game, curious if the sneaky counter move was taking Victoria with the Marine and using NCM to reinforce? 🤓

I cannot say if that was @axis-dominion sneaky counter-counter, but I was considering that move in J2.

It would have put more pressure on ANZAC, but I think I believed it had worse fleet positioning in relation to US/UK pacific forces. But don’t remember the details anymore.

[axis-dominion]

yes that was what i was referring to, and yes i also noted the same concerns you expressed there with worse fleet positioning. so there are tradeoffs to consider with that

[Stucifer]

I’m having a great weekend with @Daaras and @mikawagunichi playing some live PTV!!

(Will be away from my forum games for a few more days)

[Stucifer]

Also playing North Africa simultaneously

[gamerman01]

You met them for the first time, dove right into a couple of your favorite games, including a printed out version of the player-created mod Path to Victory?

Is that what you’re telling us about?

Wow! The stuff of dreams. Tell us more?

[Stucifer]

@gamerman01 Absolutely correct!

From left to right
@Daaras
@avandoo
@stucifer
@mikawagunichi

[Daaras]

@Stucifer @gamerman01 It was a glorious weekend for sure. I was definitely nervous about playing PTV over the board, but it actually worked out quite well. Lots to keep track of, but immensely fun.

North Africa is such a glorious game. It is so much fun, we probably played like 8 games of Operation Torch over the weekend. Swapping countries every time.

Hoping to get back together when Stalingrad comes out!

[gamerman01]

A picture of 4 league players in one spot!
Don’t see many of those
I think there was one of @karl and @Gargantua and a couple others in Canada one time

[Jacob16]

@Stucifer That is one of the best shirts i’ve ever seen lol, I’ll be serching the internet to find one

[Stucifer]

@Jacob16 thanks!! My friend got it for me several years ago, but I imagine you can find it somewhere on the internet…😅

[gamerman01]

Nice job helping @Ghostglider become more untouchable on the PtV boards, @Stucifer ! 😀

If @Gorshak can’t stop him, we have another @Ghostglider @axis-dominion clash imminent!

Prepare for impact☄️

[axis-dominion]

@gamerman01 said in Path to Victory League Discussion:

Nice job helping @Ghostglider become more untouchable on the PtV boards, @Stucifer ! 😀

If @Gorshak can’t stop him, we have another @Ghostglider @axis-dominion clash imminent!

Prepare for impact☄️

ghost is a beast to reckon with, and much more experienced at ptv that i am… alas it’ll be a while at the rate my game is going, on top of starting really late…

[surfer]

So played a few games and in the middle of a few more, so my sample size for PTV is small, but I have a few observations that i’m curious what the group thinks about.

a) Adding the SZ around Malaya really does nerf the Japanese threat on India. Only a prolonged build up can win there–which I think was the idea: to make a longer game, i.e. one that isn’t really decided until T14+…but that leads to my other point
b) Italy must be defended well by the Germans. In OOB or BM4, you can solely focus on Russia as Germany and just use the Italians as can openers. If the Allies nerf Italy, eh, annoying, but not game changing since Russia will fall soon.
–That doesn’t happen in PTV. Russia may fall, but barring bad play by the Russians (or maybe I’m just terrible with the Germans), Moscow will hold for 12 turns. There’s just a lot of territory and the Russians have enough IPCs to stay in the fight for awhile. Thus, the Allies have plenty of time to control the Med and nerf the Italians. Add to the fact that Italy is an extra space away from France and W. Germany–critical to getting defensive troops into place, and Italy becomes indefensible

It seems the Axis got a triple whammy. No quick wins, and the added spaces make the defense of their areas that much harder, and yet the southern spaces are still easy to reach for the Allies. This means that it’s hard to get economic parity, and a long game that favors the Allies.

My point is that unlike OOB or BM4, it seems like there is a “formula” for the Allies to win PTV. Build up Russia, attack the Med, nerf the Italians, pick at the hard to defend Med landing zones, and wait until the money disparity allows you to just win attrition wars, which leads to overwhelming forces.

To stop this, the Germans have to spend Moscow invasion money early on bolstering Italy, which further delays Moscow falling and plays into the Allies hands.

I would say that Japan does ameliorate the above somewhat. They still cannot take India quickly, but they can grow rather large and dominant on the ocean, which could prevent an overwhelming force in the Med. But again, playing for the long game, the Allies just keep enough in the pacific to stay alive, nerf Italy and the game should go their way.