Here is 11 of n for discussion of my Classic House Rules
The following are my thoughts on an optional rules section for my Classic House Rules. These rules, and its associated new initial setup, are far removed from the Classic Axis and Allies you may be familiar with. But with the right group I think that this would be a great time. In the mean time, I strategize and theorize.
In this post, I’ll be discussing what I think Axis & Allies units should cost and why. I think that flying units and naval units are too expensive for a game about a war that involved death from above and death from the sea. Now, I’m not arguing that every unit should have the same price. Different units have different abilities and these abilities should come at different costs. But I believe that flying units should have their prices reduced by 1/3rd and naval units should have their prices cut in half.
First, let’s talk about the way things are now. Currently, the base units in Classic Axis & Allies have these costs and abilities (IC is Industrial Complex):
Unit ATK DEF Move Cost Unit ATK DEF Move Cost
Infantry 1 2 1 3 Bomber 4 4 6 15
Tank 3 2 2 5 Sub 2 2 2 8
AA Gun 0 * 1 5 Trans 0 1 2 8
IC 0 0 0 15 Carrier 1 3 2 18
Fighter 3 4 4 12 Battleship 4 4 2 24
To this list, I recommend reducing the price of fighters and ICs to 10, carriers to 16, and battleships to 20. This will help with the extreme range in prices at the top end of things. This will give us the following:
Unit ATK DEF Move Cost
IC 0 0 0 10
Fighter 3 4 4 10
Carrier 1 3 2 16
Battleship 4 4 2 20
And to the above units I suggest adding the following new units:
Unit ATK DEF Move Cost Unit ATK DEF Move Cost
Paratrooper 1* 2 1* 4 Special F’s 3* 3* 2* 8
Arm. Cav. 2 1 2 4 Cargo Plane 0 0 6 10
Trooper 2 3 1 5 Cruiser 3 3 2 12
Heavy Art’y 2 3 1 6
All of this together gives us the following unit list:
Unit ATK DEF Move Cost Unit ATK DEF Move Cost
Infantry 1 2 1 3 Fighter 3 4 4 10
Paratrooper 1* 2 1* 4 Cargo Plane 0 0 6 10
Arm. Cav. 2 1 2 4 Bomber 4 4 6 15
Tank 3 2 2 5 Sub 2 2 2 8
Trooper 2 3 1 5 Trans 0 1 2 8
Heavy Art’y 2 3 1 6 Cruiser 3 3 2 12
Special F’s 3* 3* 2* 8 Carrier 1 3 2 16
AA Gun 0 * 1 5 Battleship 4 4 2 20
IC 0 0 0 10
What I am suggesting is a unilateral price cut of 1/3rd on flying units and 1/2 on naval units. Ground unit and IC’s would stay the same price. They would then look like this:
Unit ATK DEF Move Cost Unit ATK DEF Move Cost
Infantry 1 2 1 3 Fighter 3 4 4 7
Paratrooper 1* 2 1* 4 Cargo Plane 0 0 6 7
Arm. Cav. 2 1 2 4 Bomber 4 4 6 10
Tank 3 2 2 5 Sub 2 2 2 4
Trooper 2 3 1 5 Trans 0 1 2 4
Heavy Art’y 2 3 1 6 Cruiser 3 3 2 6
Special F’s 3* 3* 2* 8 Carrier 1 3 2 8
AA Gun 0 * 1 5 Battleship 4 4 2 10
IC 0 0 0 10
I find these prices to be more in line with the way I want to play Axis & Allies: lean, mean, and deadly. I want to be able to crash fleet on fleet, to soar into the air and take the fight to the enemy, without destroying the treasury or throwing them all away without replacement. Some of the most exciting fights in Axis & Allies are when that fleet is coming, whether it’s the Japanese fleet coming to take the Pacific, or the US Fleet coming to take the Pacific back, or the British fleet looking to avenge France.
But along with reduced prices come increased problems for the Axis. As it is, the Axis powers are under the gun to expand before the Allies can mount a credible defense of their holdings. When fighters, submarines, and transports are at all time low prices the job of the Allies - to bend but not break and to build up the forces to take the fight to the Axis - becomes all that much easier. This in turn makes the job of the Axis - to take as much territory as possible before the Allies come to take it all back - all the harder.
What to do about this question of balance? My suggestion: give the Axis a proportionally more air and sea power at the start of the game. This will allow the Axis to strike all the harder before the Allies start walking things back. So, half again more flying units and double the fleet for the Axis? How much are we actually talking about?
Standard setup for Germany gives 5 fighters and 1 bomber, 2 submarines, 2 transports, 0 carriers, and 1 battleship.
Standard setup for Japan gives 5 fighters and 1 bombers, 1 submarines, 2 transports, 1 carrier, and 2 battleships.
This gives both powers a total of 5+5=10 fighters and 1+1=2 bombers, 2+1=3 submarines, 2+2=4 transports, 0+1=1 carrier, and 1+2=3 battleships combined for the Axis powers.
Add to that the 4 cruisers (2 to Germany, 2 to Japan) and the 3 additional transports (1 to Germany, 2 to Japan) given out in the setup to account for additional naval forces not currently accounted for. (The Allies get 6 cruisers and 3 additional transports added to their navies at the start.) No extra fighters or bombers handed out yet.
This gives us a total Axis air and sea force of 10 fighters and 2 bombers; 3 submarines, 7 transports, 4 cruisers, 1 carrier, and 3 battleships combined for the Axis powers. Half again more fighters and bombers would yield 15 fighters and 3 bombers. Double the fleet would yield 6 submarines, 14 transports, 8 cruisers, 2 carriers, and 6 battleships. I would divy up this expanded force into Germany: 8 fighters, 2 bombers, 4 submarines, 6 transports, 3 cruisers, 0 carriers, and 2 battleships; and Japan: 7 fighters, 1 bomber, 2 submarines, 8 transports, 5 cruisers, 2 carriers, and 4 battleships
This would be a massive force, dwarfing the Allies in the sky and at sea. But with new battleships and new bombers for 10 IPCs each, new fighters for 7 IPCs, and new submarines and transports for 4 IPCs, would even this massive force be enough? I don’t know, yet.
Both the known unbalancing effects of much cheaper air and sea units and the massive additional forces given to the Axis to balance out those cheaper planes and ships are well outside of normal Axis & Allies play. All of the above is why these rules and setups are optional. But after I get some results with these rules, I’ll update this post with some data.
-Midnight_Reaper
