Page 29, Advanced Rulebook “Command Abilities” states that no Command Abilities do not function while the commander is disrupted.
Also note that Initiative is a Command Ability so won’t function while disrupted.
The SS-Haupsturmfurher’s fanatic allows him to ignore this.
You might also recall that there is a 15 unit limit, which helps somewhat against infantry.
SS-Panzergrenadiers, MG 42s, sIG/Brummbars are all useful.
Romanian Commander
8 Points
Speed 1
Defence 4/4
vs INF 7/5/-
vs VEH 2/-/-
Limited Range 2
+2 Initiative
CA - Adjacent Artillery get +1/+1 defence.
I had actually thought most of this was obvious, until I kept reading about people complaining that their planes kept dying… because they stuck them in the middle of the enemy army.Â
It’s also a good point with the Sturmoviks; the only time I’ve seen Superior Armour come into play was against a Bofors, otherwise yes it’s just shot down by multiple attacks.
I like the Puma too, but it’s a little overpriced.
The Hetzer actually seems to have a good price; it’s not paying the standard extra points for being German like the Panzer IV G had to.
The Romanian Commander adds +1/+1 defence not +1 cover.
There’s not much to compare, they aren’t the same class of ATGs.
The 8 Pounder isn’t that good; it’s obselete (Russian ZIS-2 is the same stats for less), and it can’t hurt heavy tanks. Two of them are more expensive than a PAK 40 (+4 points). with only a moderate increase in firepower. They’re best used to support 17 Pounders (which is really what you should be comparing the PAK 40 to), or to take on medium/light tanks. The PAK 40 is a serious threat to all vehicles at all ranges. The only disadvantage of it is tying up 14 points in a defence 3/3 soldier. But it at least gets 4+ cover to help it survive. With the popularity of heavier tanks (Pershing, Tiger, King Tiger, IS-2, and most importantly the KV-1 with Cossack/FO/etc) the PAK 40 is simply the better choice. But again, it also doesn’t make sense to me to even be comparing the two; it’s like comparing a bolt action rifle to the MG 42 and asking what’s better.
Carefully? I didn’t even read it ;)
I think the Jadpanzer 38(T) Hetzer would pair nicely with an Elite Panzer IV D, since the Hetzer has the speed to try and flank around and better defence (4/3, Hard to Spot), while the Elite can handle all unit types, even air, decently.
Yes.
I’ve done one for all major nations and minor nations (except Poland and Australia for fairly obvious reasons) and the SS.
Personally, I’ve never liked the Engineers.
And that’s why I don’t like Engineers. :-P
Sure they can get up to disrupted one (that is assuming they aren’t blown away by enemy AI fire, which you can reasonably expect will be concentrated on the Engineer).
Since Set I my absolute favourite has been Jeep + Flamethrower.
Set II gave us PAK 40 + Wehrmacht Elite Sniper
The French Army provides some interesting units, with some tanks that are very powerful in early war games, but quickly become obselete. Their infantry ranges from good to bad, and they have a decent commander. So far of the minor nations I’ve reviewed the French seem to be able to the best balanced army.
At the same cost as an M4A1 Sherman, the Char B1-BIS serves as the French heavy tank. It’s extra hull-mounted cannon gives it the possibility of eliminating a single more powerful tank in one turn, or damaging/destroying two targets at once. Additionally while it’s infantry dice are pretty standard it can also fire the extra shot at a soldier, having one better die at close range for one less at long. The 5/5 defence gives it some survivability in later war scenarios, but heavy battle tanks will make short work of it, while being practically immune to the Char’s ranged fire.
The cheap but might Renault R-35 is another powerful early war vehicle for the french. It’s slow, and trench crossing will rarely come into play, but no other 9 point tank can boast a 4/4 defence. It’s drawbacks are that it’s not too effective at long range and is slow so can’t close the distance easily. However at medium or short tange it can still be dangerous to larger tanks. Not too effective against infantry though.
The Bold Captain is very nice commander for any year. While he has little combat ability, he provides the standard +2 inititative and gives your infantry some extra protection while they’re on the move. Probably not worth using more than one of, the captain is best kept as safe as possible while being near the frontlines.
The MAS 7.5mm Rifle has no better firepower than a regular infantry such as a Mauser or SMLE, but is vastly improved with the Urban Combat SA. Unfortunately there are only two maps in particular where the MAS can make good use of their SA; one standard map (Urban Combat) features the objective in a town hex, another has town hexes close to the objective (Half and Half, making it useful approximately 1/3 of the time. However, the MAS cost no more than similiar infantry meaning you aren’t paying any extra for a potentially wasted ability.
Finally there’s the Lebel 86M93 Grenadier. With it’s restricted range of two and no close assault value the use of this unit is minimal. Only at very close range can the Lebel Grenadier harm units, and even then it will primarily be light AFVs, which are just as easily taken care of by Renaults/Chars. The Lebel is completely useless against heavier tanks as well, whereas the MAS can at least attempt to move in and close assault them.
The French army, like most minor nations, will be outdated and slow in standard games. Fortunately their tanks have a high defence so will hopefully be able to move in and support your infantry’s advance. The MAS infantry supported by the Bold Captain are great for overrunning hexes; 5/5 defence units that if in the city get 3+ cover, means the enemy will have a hard time stopping you with defencive fire as your troops move in. Obviously this doesn’t work so well against Hand-to-Hand or Flamethrower units. Against high defence units (vehicles such as Tigers, or infantry such as SS) you simply have to concentrate your firepower as best as you’re able to. Try to take the objective as soon as you can, and support the advance of your troops.
Char B1-BIS x2
Renault R-35 x4
Bold Captain x1
MAS 7.5mm Rifle x5
If you don’t have enough Chars, subsitute with Renaults or Valentine IIs. Renaults can be exchanged for Valentine IIs, Crusader IIs, or even Stuarts if necessary. If you don’t have enough MAS use SMLEs. No, the Lebels aren’t worth consideration.
With Set IV coming soon, we can hopefully add a few more units to this.
As it happens I just finished an article for new players; check out page 16-17 here http://wizo.wizards.com/ka/archive/KnowledgeArcana05.pdf
Personally I’d keep both Axis & Allied units if you could. If you only want to play a nation or two from each then trade off those you don’t want for those you do. If you can find a FLGS carrying AAM singles then you can build a decent and cheap army just using commons and uncommons.
I don’t have any part of the production or design of the game, but I would hope that generals and other high level officers are held off for now.
The scale of their command is just wrong; you don’t have a general leading a skirmish unit. Now their could be a minimum point limit put on them, or some similiar restrictions (eg Command 200 - This unit can only be included in an army totalling 200 points or more). Also there’s the matter of rarity. How many of a general do you want to be opening? Common would be too much, and even uncommon would give you around 2-3 per case. As a rare I can imagine some people would be pretty upset unless they were significantly game-altering, which would then upset other people.
Perhaps down the road their could be some call for them, but for now I’d rather they provide us with more alternatives and fill in some nations; the UK for example still only has one commander.
Well that makes a huge difference :wink:
Even so roughly 1/2 or 1/3 of your army is tied up in a fairly static base. An Inspiring Lt could help you some, as could some aircraft to take advantage of the spotters.
It all depends on what you’re playing against then. Your opponent shouldn’t know what you’re playing, so may not be prepared for that artillery attack, but even still that’s 85 points worth of units all tied up on just three mortars. If I were playing against it (as a standard 200 pt army and not one designed to beat it) I’d probably have some heavy tanks and 2x AI units; either Brummbars or Sherman 105s. It all depends on what the rest of your army is and how well they can function.
As is, I think the FO Jeep is terrible because of its limitations and cost. As a House Rule I’ve changed Chatting on the Radio to be optional; if you chose not to use it then for the rest of the turn you can’t use the Spotter SA and don’t count as a spotter.
Well, a belated “hullo hullo” to you then.
I didn’t think you needed to introduce yourself. You’re quite prolific in this hobby and your houserules are near-legendary in my circle. Hah.
-=Grim=-
Well I didn’t think I should assume things :-P
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m the WotC Patron Editor for Avalon Hill Games.
I’ve written several articles on AAM, including the Sets I - III unit reviews that David asked for, along with some basic training articles and Nation-specific armies. I don’t pretend to be all knowing, and I’ll easily admit I can make mistakes, but I’ve had a fair bit of experience since the release of the Base Set. So feel free to ask any questions (I may not always give answers you like ;) but feel free to ask).
We just finished Knowledge Arcana #5 (http://wizo.wizards.com/ka/archive/KnowledgeArcana05.pdf), and I just thought I’d give you all a little preview of it:
Otto Skorzeny - German
1939
13 Points
Speed 1
Defence 4/4
AI 6/-/-
AT 2/-/-
Initiative +4
Command Ability:Â Brandenburgers - Once per game you may replace one enemy soldier with an SS-Panzergrenadier
Anyone who has article ideas feel free to contact me!
~Jon
Paratroopers, Armoured/Scout Cars, even Heavy Tanks firing AI at it all work well. I’ve found the best units are the bikes and polish cavalry.
The trick is not to let the Bofors get it’s points worth or more, so don’t expose units unnecessarily to it.
The M26 Pershing is just a more expensive (and worse) American version of the Tiger I; losing overrun and -0/-1/-0 vs vehicles for 2 points more and +2/+2/+1 vs infantry. For 3 points more I find the IS-2 much better in standard games, as the extended range doesn’t matter and 7/7 defence makes it immune to most regular infantry, and even some AT infantry have trouble with it. While the IS-2 has -1/-1/-0 AI, it gains +1/+1/+0 AT.
I’ve found the MGC has a good attack and is fast, but is very vulnerable; which is about what a US Tank Destroyer should be. I don’t use it, but I don’t think it’s terrible.
While normally a transported unit is invulnerable, there is one way you can attack them; Blast, which attacks every unit in the hex regardless of it’s status.
Also, just to clarify: boarding/unloading does not provoke defencive fire.