Try a sub to 35 or a fighter to Bry to sucker punch Jap transports at no risk. Sub to 35 also causes a quandary for the lone Jap destroyer which is usually used as fodder in Z53. Also causes problems for the standard carrier to 37 move.
Actually, focusing on Japan can be quite effective without any bid over there at all. I used to think it was crazy to go Pacific with the USA in 1941 but experience has changed my mind. I’ve seen Japan fold up like a house of cards (from both sides of the table) several different times - it can happen even faster with bids.
As to why the bid is technically illegal? I have no idea. It’s been the rule for I don’t know how long. Don’t worry about it - I was just making an observation. Yoshi didn’t care or didn’t know it was illegal and he won anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Just an FYI for future reference.
JWW and/or Darth - looking over the 2012 league rules on bid placement, it is not clear what is allowed or unallowed. It refers to “full bid placement” and “same as previous year leagues”. New players won’t know what the bid placement rules are, so these should probably be spelled out specifically each year in the league rules.