aibrihim vs. Vollick1979

[Vollick1979]

Vollick got the axis with a bid of +10 and placed 1 tank in Libya, 5 IPC's to Germany.

R1: Took T-34 Tanks.
Purchased 3 I, 3 T.
Took W.Russia with 6 I, 1 A, 2 T. Lost 3 I in the attack.
Strafed Ukraine leaving 1 T, 1 F. Lost of 3 I, 1 A, 1 T in the attack.
*Karelia was completely abandoned.
*1 I in Persia. 6 I in Buryatia.

http://img152.exs.cx/img152/7021/aibrihimvollickr19rs.gif (http://www.imageshack.us/)

G1: Took Afrika Korps
Purchased 7 I, 1 AC, 1 SS.
Took Karelia with 1 I.
Took Anglo-Egypt with 2 I, 3 T, 1 F. Lost 1 I in the attack.
Destroyed UK BB with loss of 1 SS.
*German SS in sz 3.
*Norway completely abandoned.

http://img232.exs.cx/img232/6146/aibrihimvollickg17ys.gif (http://www.imageshack.us/)

For anyone who cares, these are .gif files and I find they don't blur anywhere near as much as the jpeg's.

[DocD]

The ole Vollick-abandon-Weurope-hat trick ey?

What's with including Norway? Not that it matters, just interested. Doc.

[Vollick1979]

Just so you know Doc, it's spelt eh not ey. ;)

In regards to why I mentioned abandoning Norway, that was done because you can't see Norway on the map and I thought it might be appropriate to include it so people know the situation.

[Vollick1979]

Well the game has changed quite a bit since my last update: It's now US3, Germany is a monster cashing out at 57 on G3 and Japan is in Danger of losing the mainland but it still has quite a fleet.

aibrihim is a very worthy opponent. I haven't been able to see a mistake yet. So either that means he hasn't made a mistake or that I haven't been able to see it.

http://img179.exs.cx/img179/9174/screenshot0031cv.gif (http://www.imageshack.us/)

[cousin_joe]

What did I tell ya Vollick???

Aibrahim's one of the best :) How about an update of the Eastern Front as well. Also which NAs were picked if you don't mind me asking?

By the way, what's up with the oceans on your map?

[Vollick1979]

Russia = T-34's
Germany = Afrika Korps, Panzerblitz
UK = Colonial Garrison, Commonwealth
Japan = Naval Advantage, Tokyo Express
US = Mechanized Infantry

Yeah Aibrihim is very good.

Here is my spiderweb of moves on the Eastern Front:

http://img162.exs.cx/img162/9903/screenshot0044zb.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)

[DocD]

Just so you know Doc, it's spelt eh not ey. ;)

In regards to why I mentioned abandoning Norway, that was done because you can't see Norway on the map and I thought it might be appropriate to include it so people know the situation.It's eh if you are canadian and ey if you are a Pirate. Guess which I proclaim to be!?

[Vollick1979]

Maybe Aye, but never ey! ;)

Well this is at the end of Germany 4 and I feel I may not get another turn with Germany:

http://img143.exs.cx/img143/7765/germanyvsrussia3zj.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)

[DocD]

Some say Aye and some say ey, same difference!

Anyway, what's going on with your game? Not enough to throw up maps. Give me some details. Are you Axis? Is Germany about to be invaded?

[Vollick1979]

I'm the Axis and i'm receiving very generous dice rolls.

This is the situation in Asia, and you can see that there are big battles coming up. It's the start of UK4 in this map.

http://img157.exs.cx/img157/6816/asia7dd.gif (http://www.imageshack.us/)

[axis_roll]

Maybe Aye, but never ey! ;)

Well this is at the end of Germany 4 and I feel I may not get another turn with Germany:

http://img143.exs.cx/img143/7765/germanyvsrussia3zj.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)
Hope Japan has ftrs landing in range of western russia at the end of J4....
You could park there with Germany G5 and threaten both Caucasus and Moscow.
Russia could not defend both for R6

[Vollick1979]

I don't see why Japan needs fighters within landing in range of western Russia. I can assure you I do not have any fighters anywhere close to W.Russia. The only Japanese fighters i have are with my two carriers in the Pacifc.

Aibrihim has a couple options really, I think I have most of the covered, but he is an excellent player, so maybe he has me right where he wants me! ;)

[Vollick1979]

The way I look at it aibrihim has 3 options with Russia and his stack of 21 units in the Caucasus:

1. Since Caucasus isn't directly threatened he may chose to again eek out some more income by taking Ukraine and W. Russia and just defending Russia so that it would be a 40-50% battle for me; essentially baiting me to attack Russia in an attempt to deliver the knockout blow.
2. Perform a strafing run on Arcangel, he has 4 inf, 3 art, 7 tanks, and 2 fighters that could take part against 10 inf, 7 tanks and an AA gun. He might be able to relieve a little pressure by removing some of my precious infantry.
3. Stack Russia and in the process turning Arcangel, W.Russia and Caucasus into deadzones.

I'm not going to speculate on which of these 3 I think he's going to do, but I really can't see another option.

[Vollick1979]

I was right, I didn't get another turn for Germany.

Here is the before picture:

http://img211.exs.cx/img211/8533/before5uo.gif (http://www.imageshack.us/)


And here is the after picture and the fighters in Borneo and sz 48 are from the battle.

http://img211.exs.cx/img211/5726/after8av.gif (http://www.imageshack.us/)

aibrihim resigned following this battle.

[axis_roll]

Why would the allied fleet be close enough to be whacked so easily? Was aibrihim desperate? I ran the battle numbers and it looked like 81% chance of winning for Japan.

I don't think I would be that willing to risk my USA fleet with those odds unless I had a counter or was losing...

[Vollick1979]

aibrihim explained it as he need big battles to go his way, that's why he left his fleet there, but with that extra carrier i couldn't allow that to remain and be reinforced by fighters next turn. To me he made a bet that he wanted me to call, I called and I beat him on it. I guess he was hoping for a good river card and didn't get it.

I was however blessed with good rolls, especially the 9 hits in the first round in the battle depicted above. :D

[aibrahim]

Hi,

Just to clarify, like Vollick said, I needed some battles to go my way especially after a sub-par UK round. Actually, I would have continued the game had Vollick only won with 1-2 units as well, since I had captured FIC with the UK and now controlled 3 factories on the mainland. If Vollick loses the battle, Japan is in deep trouble as it would be completely off the mainland with no way to get back on.

Anyway, Vollick got the better of me this game. Now I need to find another opponent :).

Regards,

Ali

[cousin_joe]

WOW!!! Vollick in an upset! :eek:

I'd appreciate your thoughts on the game guys... was it a fair fight? How ws the bid? Is the game balanced? Was there a strategic miscue on either side? Any suggestions for improvement? Thanks for any feedback.

[Vollick1979]

Well this game it was Germany the monster and Japan the weak sister. It was an orange crush entirely but instead Mechanized Infantry was chosen over Pacific divisions.

What ended this game was the two major battles in round 4, sz 6 and sz 51. sz 6 was a great result for Germany destroyed entire UK fleet and lost Germany fleet and 2 ftrs. sz 51 was an awesome result for Japan, losing only 2 transports while taking out everything.

Japan didn't attack American fleet on J1 and that might have been a mistake, but i'm a big proponent of keeping your fleet in tact, especially the two BB's. Also I built IC's in FIC and Borneo which i'm sure raised a few eyebrows but with allied air ftrs and bombers plastered in Bury I couldn't build small naval units for fear of them just getting blown out of the water the very next turn. I like the Borneo build because it's two sz's from Japan, Australia and India. Sure East Indies is one sz from India Australia and 3 from Japan, but sometimes it's nice to be further away from the enemy and closer to your home.

In enhanced i find a real need for a japanese IC on one of the 3 big islands.

I still liked my position though if i had barely one the sz 51 battle. UK would have two IC's but would be short on cash with Africa firmly in Germany's hands. In fact i was debating on reversing the Germany pressure towards the UK. He built nothing in the UK on UK4 and only had a meagre navy. I could have positioned my 4 trans and the BB in sz 12 and a large navy build in sz 5 and I don't think he could have held the UK when I would have attacked on G6. His allied fighters were over in Asia attacking the Japanese. Even his American fighters would have been no help. I kinda wished the battle didn't go so well for me! ;)

But Joe? An upset? Since we've never had the chance to play I would think you would refrain from pre-judging Mr. Stats as the underdog!

[DocD]

Awesome game Vollick. Now, time for some fun as you have proven yourself worthy of an Alliance with the Doc Man!

That's right true believers! I would like to take Vollick as my partner in a game of AARe 2.1.

If I may set the pre game show....Vollick and I will take Axis, with some bid of course.
Axis roll, I hope you and your twin would like to take up this challenge.....all others please reply in person.

[axis_roll]

Well this game it was Germany the monster and Japan the weak sister. It was an orange crush entirely but instead Mechanized Infantry was chosen over Pacific divisions.

What ended this game was the two major battles in round 4, sz 6 and sz 51. sz 6 was a great result for Germany destroyed entire UK fleet and lost Germany fleet and 2 ftrs. sz 51 was an awesome result for Japan, losing only 2 transports while taking out everything.

Japan didn't attack American fleet on J1 and that might have been a mistake, but i'm a big proponent of keeping your fleet in tact, especially the two BB's. Also I built IC's in FIC and Borneo which i'm sure raised a few eyebrows but with allied air ftrs and bombers plastered in Bury I couldn't build small naval units for fear of them just getting blown out of the water the very next turn. I like the Borneo build because it's two sz's from Japan, Australia and India. Sure East Indies is one sz from India Australia and 3 from Japan, but sometimes it's nice to be further away from the enemy and closer to your home.

In enhanced i find a real need for a japanese IC on one of the 3 big islands.

I still liked my position though if i had barely one the sz 51 battle. UK would have two IC's but would be short on cash with Africa firmly in Germany's hands. In fact i was debating on reversing the Germany pressure towards the UK. He built nothing in the UK on UK4 and only had a meagre navy. I could have positioned my 4 trans and the BB in sz 12 and a large navy build in sz 5 and I don't think he could have held the UK when I would have attacked on G6. His allied fighters were over in Asia attacking the Japanese. Even his American fighters would have been no help. I kinda wished the battle didn't go so well for me! ;)

But Joe? An upset? Since we've never had the chance to play I would think you would refrain from pre-judging Mr. Stats as the underdog!

The more I play enhanced (especially 2.1 !!) the more I realize that Germany can become the monster fairly easily. Panzerblitz for Germany is by FAR the bet NA for them. It really stretches the thin Germany infatry ranks (especially early). There's lots of money to be made by Germany with minimal expansion investment (africa).

The Orange Crush is not the end-all-be-all Allied game plan is was in A&ARe 2.0.

[aibrahim]

Hi,

Well this game it was Germany the monster and Japan the weak sister. It was an orange crush entirely but instead Mechanized Infantry was chosen over Pacific divisions.


Yes, Germany was a monster and Russia had been pounded the entire game. That forced me to be more agressive in the Pacific. Of course, this was my first enhanced game as well, so I wanted to try something different.


What ended this game was the two major battles in round 4, sz 6 and sz 51. sz 6 was a great result for Germany destroyed entire UK fleet and lost Germany fleet and 2 ftrs. sz 51 was an awesome result for Japan, losing only 2 transports while taking out everything.

Japan didn't attack American fleet on J1 and that might have been a mistake, but i'm a big proponent of keeping your fleet in tact, especially the two BB's. Also I built IC's in FIC and Borneo which i'm sure raised a few eyebrows but with allied air ftrs and bombers plastered in Bury I couldn't build small naval units for fear of them just getting blown out of the water the very next turn. I like the Borneo build because it's two sz's from Japan, Australia and India. Sure East Indies is one sz from India Australia and 3 from Japan, but sometimes it's nice to be further away from the enemy and closer to your home.

In enhanced i find a real need for a japanese IC on one of the 3 big islands.



I am not sure why placing a japanese IC on the 3 big islands is an advantage. It forces Japan to defend that island fiercly. Still it does have some advantages as you mentioned.


I still liked my position though if i had barely one the sz 51 battle. UK would have two IC's but would be short on cash with Africa firmly in Germany's hands. In fact i was debating on reversing the Germany pressure towards the UK. He built nothing in the UK on UK4 and only had a meagre navy. I could have positioned my 4 trans and the BB in sz 12 and a large navy build in sz 5 and I don't think he could have held the UK when I would have attacked on G6. His allied fighters were over in Asia attacking the Japanese. Even his American fighters would have been no help. I kinda wished the battle didn't go so well for me! ;)



Yes, turning to the UK would have been a interesting move. However, remember I could block with a US transport the southern german army. Still would have been very interesting, as you could have made it work for you maybe on the second round. I am not sure why you think Africa was firmly in hand. On US 4 I would have 8 troops in Belgian Congo and 3 coming in every turn. Of course you could have fortified with more troops, but I have a feeling it would be better to just pound Russia with them. I was more concerned with you transporting all your Africa troops to Germany. Who cares about a 6-8 IPC swing, when you can have 27 ipcs of units right now :)

I don't want to give my comments on enhanced until I have played more games, but here are my comments on the NAs.

Russia:

1) Lend-Lease: Pretty good, although not game-breaking with the fact that units can only be converted at the end of your turn.

2) Russian Winter: Not a big fan of this one, but I can see it could be useful in certain situations. It can only give you a 1 turn reprieve and you might kill an extra germany infantry in the dead zones.

3) Most powerful tanks: A nice NA especially if you build a lot of tanks. Since Russia will be eventually on the defensive, the NA should add some pips of defense.

4) Railroad: Better now, but I still would never pick it. Russia can't afford to send to much stuff east anyway.

UK:

1) Radar: Interesting NA, however, the other UK NAs are much better. For a pure orange crush, you could pick radar, commonwealth and build the the indian ic yourself, however, that is 12 less ipcs to spend against germany.

2) Royal navy: Nice NA, 10 ipcs worth of units. Others NAs are better if you are going after Japan.

3) Colonial Garrison: The best NA in the game in my opinion (except in long games where the infantry NAs are best). Gives you a free factory worth 12 ipcs and a free infantry. For any KJF game, a no-brainer.

4) Commonwealth: An excellent NA. 1 free infantry worth 3 ipcs in a territory you would not normally be able to produce in. As with pacific divisions, this can give you 30+ ipcs over the course of 10+ turn game.

Japan:

1) Banzai: Much better NA, now that you can attack with air too.

2) Naval Advantage: 12 ipcs worth of teching. Excellent when combined with tokyo express to research combined arms.

3) Tokyo Express: Excellent tech, one of the best in the game especially with combined arms. You get a 3/3 unit that can transport infantry, what's not to like.

4) Most powerful battleships: The weakest of the Japanese NA's. I guess if you were willing to buy a couple of more battleships it would be worth it, but those things are expensive. The difference between attack 4 and 5 is much less than attack 3 and 4 or attack 2 and 3.

5) Kaiten Torpedo: I don't like this NA at all. The only unit it make sense to take out is a carrier and even then you lose ipcs (50% to take out 14 ipc unit) on average. Could be used to delay an invasion or weaken a fleet for a turn, but it is only a delaying tactic. On top of that, it is a risky ploy, since you have to consider that you will miss, so you can't take full advantage of the fleet being weakened. In a battle, it is almost always better to attack normally with the sub.

6) Kamikazes: Interesting NA, but I think it will be hard to use well. Combined with long range aircraft it might be interesting to use against Germany. Using it in the Pacific doesn't sound that appealing to me. I guess you force your opponent not go into any sea territory in which he doesn't own an island.

US:

1) Mechanized Infantry: A nice NA. I like the speed it provides US troops. One of the better NA in the long run.

2) Pacific Divisions: An excellent NA, see Commonwealth.

3) Naval Industry: Okay NA, I guess. How much navy can one build anyway? It might save you 15 ipcs in the long run, however, US ipcs are already delayed in affecting the game, so I would rather have something I can use earlier. An interesting changed would be to make -1 IPC for a naval units except BB and -2 for BBs. Then it might be worthwhile for the US to implement some BB strategy (The US did really have a lot of battleships), maybe combined with the combined arms tech.

4) Special Forces: The weakest of the US NA's. Usually in my games, there are not a lot of large ampibious assault battles until much later in the game if any. Germany might be forced to concede WE a little earlier, but still the NA only affects the game too late.

Regards,

Ali

[aibrahim]

Hi,

Forget to mention german NAs

1) Wolfpacks: Nice NA especially if all of your 3 subs are alive at the end of the first round and you might have built an extra 1. Costs UK a couple more ipcs and makes your attacking potential a little bit more (2 or more pips). Only would pick this if I knew UK was going for Japan. A lot better if you have super subs, but that is difificult to get with germany.

2) Africa Corps: Excellent NA. I would be hard pressed not to pick this one every time. 12 ipcs worth of land units, no other NA gives that much in land unit value all at once. This NA also makes it very hard for the allies to land in Algeria since you have a legitimate counter attack.

3) Panzerblitz: Excellent NA. I would be hard pressed not pick this one second after Africa Corps. Makes the dead zones much deadlier for Russia.

4) Dive-bombers: Okay NA, makes trading dead zones more efficient, however, Panzerblitz is much better. Most juicy targets have fighters defending them, and anyone you only get 1 pip extra per fighter.

5) German 88's: Interesting NA, however, you usually don't have too much artillery early in the game. I still think Panzerblitz is better for pounding Russia.

6) Atlantic Wall: Never have liked this NA much: It's primary use is to make Western Europe easier to defend. You might be able to defend with 2-4 less infantry than normal later in the game with a large stack. With smaller stacks, it is only worth a infantry or two. The other NA's seeminly give you a much better advantage than that.

Regards,

Ali

[Vollick1979]

I am not sure why placing a japanese IC on the 3 big islands is an advantage. It forces Japan to defend that island fiercly. Still it does have some advantages as you mentioned.





Well what I noticed about playing a good allied player is he always places his air units in great spots (Like Bury) that make a small naval purchase next to impossible. It’s not always ideal as Japan to have its BB’s and CV’s defending newly placed transports. With the IC purchase on one of those 3 islands you’re gaining valuable position away from Allied air cover (at least allied fighters).



Yes, turning to the UK would have been a interesting move. However, remember I could block with a US transport the southern german army. Still would have been very interesting, as you could have made it work for you maybe on the second round. I am not sure why you think Africa was firmly in hand. On US 4 I would have 8 troops in Belgian Congo and 3 coming in every turn. Of course you could have fortified with more troops, but I have a feeling it would be better to just pound Russia with them. I was more concerned with you transporting all your Africa troops to Germany. Who cares about a 6-8 IPC swing, when you can have 27 ipcs of units right now





Well I’m going to include the mapview file for anyone that cares enough to actually examine it but if on USA 4 you reinforced French West Congo (which I’m assuming you would have done) or took Belgian Congo, on G5 I could have moved my fleet to sz 12 and then your US fleet couldn’t stop me from attacking UK on G6 from the south (not even bringing into the fact I’m within range of E.USA which at the time has nothing but an AA gun and Brazil.



My plan was to build 1 AC and 4 transports for sz 5 and a fighter that would start on the carrier and to position my airforce in W.Europe or Norway. Now what could the UK do with it’s 25 IPC’s? You have 1 DD and 1 Transport in sz 2 but you’re going to need to buy 8 infantry because you can’t stop my fleet to the south. Now if your American transports are in sz 17 or 23 you have no chance or reinforcing the UK! You might be able to send 2 US fighters to help defend the UK. So with your 9 infantry, 2 tanks and 3 fighters (2 US fighters) along with an AA gun you would need to hold off 8 infantry 8 tanks, 5 ftrs and 1 bomber. That is a 99% battle for Germany. True you would have a naval defense but most likely in sz 6 in which case I send my southern fleet to meet up with the Baltic fleet. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to say that UK would have fell on G6. Of course this all depends on what happens in USA 4, but if the USA had kept it’s course I think this would have worked perfectly.

I still think Africa was firmly in hand maybe not in forces but definantly in IPC's.

[aibrahim]

[/color]

Well I’m going to include the mapview file for anyone that cares enough to actually examine it but if on USA 4 you reinforced French West Congo (which I’m assuming you would have done) or took Belgian Congo, on G5 I could have moved my fleet to sz 12 and then your US fleet couldn’t stop me from attacking UK on G6 from the south (not even bringing into the fact I’m within range of E.USA which at the time has nothing but an AA gun and Brazil.



My plan was to build 1 AC and 4 transports for sz 5 and a fighter that would start on the carrier and to position my airforce in W.Europe or Norway. Now what could the UK do with it’s 25 IPC’s? You have 1 DD and 1 Transport in sz 2 but you’re going to need to buy 8 infantry because you can’t stop my fleet to the south. Now if your American transports are in sz 17 or 23 you have no chance or reinforcing the UK! You might be able to send 2 US fighters to help defend the UK. So with your 9 infantry, 2 tanks and 3 fighters (2 US fighters) along with an AA gun you would need to hold off 8 infantry 8 tanks, 5 ftrs and 1 bomber. That is a 99% battle for Germany. True you would have a naval defense but most likely in sz 6 in which case I send my southern fleet to meet up with the Baltic fleet. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to say that UK would have fell on G6. Of course this all depends on what happens in USA 4, but if the USA had kept it’s course I think this would have worked perfectly.

I still think Africa was firmly in hand maybe not in forces but definantly in IPC's.

That is a good plan :). Not sure what I would have done had I seen you move troops in position. I would have to block your southern fleet with one of my US transports to delay the the undefensible 16 troop attack. If you built transports in the baltic, I would have had to probably build a navy (2 cvs plus russia/british fighters?), because I would have a hard time defending even with building 8 infantry. Anyway, I will look out for this in the future for sure. In my first online game using TripleA, I lost UK and have not lost it since, but I better keep a close eye on it in the future.

Regards,

Ali

[Vollick1979]

Personally I don't see how you could block the attack with your American navy, if i'm in sz 12, there is nothing you could do with the American fleet. But hey the game is over and there isn't much point re-hashing everything.

[aibrahim]

Hi,

Hmm, you are right Vollick, I didn't realize your fleet was in Sz 14 not Sz 15. I guess if I didn't build in Sz 10 in US 4 to prevent you from moving there, I would probably lose UK.

Regards,

Ali

[Vollick1979]

I followed ar's advice and changed the screen resolution and then took a screen shot, I hope it's clear enough

http://img225.exs.cx/img225/3086/screenshot0065bt.th.gif (http://img225.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img225&image=screenshot0065bt.gif)

[cousin_joe]

The more I play enhanced (especially 2.1 !!) the more I realize that Germany can become the monster fairly easily. Panzerblitz for Germany is by FAR the bet NA for them. It really stretches the thin Germany infatry ranks (especially early). There's lots of money to be made by Germany with minimal expansion investment (africa).

The Orange Crush is not the end-all-be-all Allied game plan is was in A&ARe 2.0.

I think Aibrahim tried to go Orange Crush here on Vollick and that's what cost him. His UK Atlantic and US Pacific fleets faced funding shortages with money going into the factories. The Allies could not get enough back pressure on Germany, which then went on to become a monster. The bad die rolls certainly didn't help either.

In 2.1, I think we can say the Orange Crush can certainly be beaten, and is not the big problem it was in 2.0.

[cousin_joe]

Well this game it was Germany the monster and Japan the weak sister. It was an orange crush entirely but instead Mechanized Infantry was chosen over Pacific divisions.

That's the way it should be. Mech INF is often underestimated as an NA.


What ended this game was the two major battles in round 4, sz 6 and sz 51. sz 6 was a great result for Germany destroyed entire UK fleet and lost Germany fleet and 2 ftrs. sz 51 was an awesome result for Japan, losing only 2 transports while taking out everything.


Although the Axis certainly got good rolls, the Allied Navies could potentially have been stronger if less money were invested on the mainland (although the factories were successful in nearly kicking Japan off)


Japan didn't attack American fleet on J1 and that might have been a mistake, but i'm a big proponent of keeping your fleet in tact, especially the two BB's. Also I built IC's in FIC and Borneo which i'm sure raised a few eyebrows but with allied air ftrs and bombers plastered in Bury I couldn't build small naval units for fear of them just getting blown out of the water the very next turn. I like the Borneo build because it's two sz's from Japan, Australia and India. Sure East Indies is one sz from India Australia and 3 from Japan, but sometimes it's nice to be further away from the enemy and closer to your home.


I too have seen a lot of Pacific ICs in Enhanced. This certainly adds a lot more variety to the game.


In enhanced i find a real need for a japanese IC on one of the 3 big islands.

I still liked my position though if i had barely one the sz 51 battle. UK would have two IC's but would be short on cash with Africa firmly in Germany's hands. In fact i was debating on reversing the Germany pressure towards the UK. He built nothing in the UK on UK4 and only had a meagre navy. I could have positioned my 4 trans and the BB in sz 12 and a large navy build in sz 5 and I don't think he could have held the UK when I would have attacked on G6. His allied fighters were over in Asia attacking the Japanese. Even his American fighters would have been no help. I kinda wished the battle didn't go so well for me! ;)

But Joe? An upset? Since we've never had the chance to play I would think you would refrain from pre-judging Mr. Stats as the underdog!

I must say, you've been fairly impressive so far Vollick. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress Young Skywalker. Maybe one day you will replace my current Sith apprentice, aka Doc VaDer :D

[cousin_joe]

Russia:

1) Lend-Lease: Pretty good, although not game-breaking with the fact that units can only be converted at the end of your turn.

2) Russian Winter: Not a big fan of this one, but I can see it could be useful in certain situations. It can only give you a 1 turn reprieve and you might kill an extra germany infantry in the dead zones.

3) Most powerful tanks: A nice NA especially if you build a lot of tanks. Since Russia will be eventually on the defensive, the NA should add some pips of defense.

4) Railroad: Better now, but I still would never pick it. Russia can't afford to send to much stuff east anyway.


Thanks for the comments Aibrahim :) Russian Winter's actually one of my faves. The one-time tactical advantage can have a HUGE effect at a critical point in the game. In Enhanced, a single turn might be the difference between victory and defeat.

As for Railroad, I'd actually use it to shuffle guys out West (towards Europe) and immediately establish position on the Eastern Front. The game still favors the defender, so if you can establish Karelia quickly, you can be the one trying to hold it, rather than the one trying to take it.


UK:

1) Radar: Interesting NA, however, the other UK NAs are much better. For a pure orange crush, you could pick radar, commonwealth and build the the indian ic yourself, however, that is 12 less ipcs to spend against germany.

2) Royal navy: Nice NA, 10 ipcs worth of units. Others NAs are better if you are going after Japan.

3) Colonial Garrison: The best NA in the game in my opinion (except in long games where the infantry NAs are best). Gives you a free factory worth 12 ipcs and a free infantry. For any KJF game, a no-brainer.

4) Commonwealth: An excellent NA. 1 free infantry worth 3 ipcs in a territory you would not normally be able to produce in. As with pacific divisions, this can give you 30+ ipcs over the course of 10+ turn game.


True, Radar and Royal Navy are more specialty pics, but they can come in handy. I'd think Royal if the Germans went SUB heavy. I'd think Radar if India/UK were under threat early, or to counter Jet Power.


US:

1) Mechanized Infantry: A nice NA. I like the speed it provides US troops. One of the better NA in the long run.

2) Pacific Divisions: An excellent NA, see Commonwealth.

3) Naval Industry: Okay NA, I guess. How much navy can one build anyway? It might save you 15 ipcs in the long run, however, US ipcs are already delayed in affecting the game, so I would rather have something I can use earlier. An interesting changed would be to make -1 IPC for a naval units except BB and -2 for BBs. Then it might be worthwhile for the US to implement some BB strategy (The US did really have a lot of battleships), maybe combined with the combined arms tech.

4) Special Forces: The weakest of the US NA's. Usually in my games, there are not a lot of large ampibious assault battles until much later in the game if any. Germany might be forced to concede WE a little earlier, but still the NA only affects the game too late.


Yes, Mech INF is underestimated. Naval Industry is one of my favourites. Don't forget that Special Forces helps on both fronts, but true, it's for the patient player and certainly helps in the big battles later on.

[cousin_joe]

1) Wolfpacks: Nice NA especially if all of your 3 subs are alive at the end of the first round and you might have built an extra 1. Costs UK a couple more ipcs and makes your attacking potential a little bit more (2 or more pips). Only would pick this if I knew UK was going for Japan. A lot better if you have super subs, but that is difificult to get with germany.

2) Africa Corps: Excellent NA. I would be hard pressed not to pick this one every time. 12 ipcs worth of land units, no other NA gives that much in land unit value all at once. This NA also makes it very hard for the allies to land in Algeria since you have a legitimate counter attack.

3) Panzerblitz: Excellent NA. I would be hard pressed not pick this one second after Africa Corps. Makes the dead zones much deadlier for Russia.

4) Dive-bombers: Okay NA, makes trading dead zones more efficient, however, Panzerblitz is much better. Most juicy targets have fighters defending them, and anyone you only get 1 pip extra per fighter.

5) German 88's: Interesting NA, however, you usually don't have too much artillery early in the game. I still think Panzerblitz is better for pounding Russia.

6) Atlantic Wall: Never have liked this NA much: It's primary use is to make Western Europe easier to defend. You might be able to defend with 2-4 less infantry than normal later in the game with a large stack. With smaller stacks, it is only worth a infantry or two. The other NA's seeminly give you a much better advantage than that.


If you don't want to get Orange Crushed, WolfPacks will quickly make the Atlantic the allies top priority.

I like PB + LDB. Don't forget LDB affects Ships as well. This can really limit Allied options in the Atlantic, as well as forcing them to spend more on Navy.

German 88's is again for the patient player. It takes a while to get it running, but once you build up the RTL forces, this can be extremely devastating via strafes or just forcing the enemy to fall back. Not too shabby on defense either.

Atlantic Wall is very useful in stalling D-Day, as the Allies are going to need more of a buildup to succeed. Time is so critical in this game that it could well be worth it. If you're looking just to exchage the coastal territories, those extra INF hits will add up over the long run.


Japan:

1) Banzai: Much better NA, now that you can attack with air too.

2) Naval Advantage: 12 ipcs worth of teching. Excellent when combined with tokyo express to research combined arms.

3) Tokyo Express: Excellent tech, one of the best in the game especially with combined arms. You get a 3/3 unit that can transport infantry, what's not to like.

4) Most powerful battleships: The weakest of the Japanese NA's. I guess if you were willing to buy a couple of more battleships it would be worth it, but those things are expensive. The difference between attack 4 and 5 is much less than attack 3 and 4 or attack 2 and 3.

5) Kaiten Torpedo: I don't like this NA at all. The only unit it make sense to take out is a carrier and even then you lose ipcs (50% to take out 14 ipc unit) on average. Could be used to delay an invasion or weaken a fleet for a turn, but it is only a delaying tactic. On top of that, it is a risky ploy, since you have to consider that you will miss, so you can't take full advantage of the fleet being weakened. In a battle, it is almost always better to attack normally with the sub.

6) Kamikazes: Interesting NA, but I think it will be hard to use well. Combined with long range aircraft it might be interesting to use against Germany. Using it in the Pacific doesn't sound that appealing to me. I guess you force your opponent not go into any sea territory in which he doesn't own an island.



I think you underestimate the BBs Aibrahim. Take a look at my game with pagan as these guys are awesome for strafes and bombardments.

Kaitens + Super Subs can be very scary. The tactical advantage gained is GINORMOUS!!! And again, time is so critical in Enhanced, that delaying those US TRNs, DDs, or ACs, means a long trip from the mainland to get back into the game.

For Kamikazes, see Kaitens. You are right about LRA though, devastating combo.

[aibrahim]

If you don't want to get Orange Crushed, WolfPacks will quickly make the Atlantic the allies top priority.

I like PB + LDB. Don't forget LDB affects Ships as well. This can really limit Allied options in the Atlantic, as well as forcing them to spend more on Navy.

German 88's is again for the patient player. It takes a while to get it running, but once you build up the RTL forces, this can be extremely devastating via strafes or just forcing the enemy to fall back. Not too shabby on defense either.

Atlantic Wall is very useful in stalling D-Day, as the Allies are going to need more of a buildup to succeed. Time is so critical in this game that it could well be worth it. If you're looking just to exchage the coastal territories, those extra INF hits will add up over the long run.

I think you underestimate the BBs Aibrahim. Take a look at my game with pagan as these guys are awesome for strafes and bombardments.

Kaitens + Super Subs can be very scary. The tactical advantage gained is GINORMOUS!!! And again, time is so critical in Enhanced, that delaying those US TRNs, DDs, or ACs, means a long trip from the mainland to get back into the game.

For Kamikazes, see Kaitens. You are right about LRA though, devastating combo.

I don't like LDB because PB is so much better. Navy wise, the UK already needs a carrier plus fighters to defend herself, so LDB isn't much use there usually except maybe in the first turn to attack off of Libya. The problem is that LDB doesn't give you that much added power and it can only be used on small stacks which don't have fighters defending, while panzerblitz can be used to trade deadzones just using tanks, freeing up your fighters to do other things.

As for German 88s, you need a lot of these to have a good effect. You don't want to be using these in deadzones, so probably you will get a chance to use them a couple of times in large battles. You might be to get a 2-3 infantry advantage if you have a 18 or so artillery in a battle, at least that is my intution (the defender will have about 6 casualties that would have fired for 2 hits). In short, the advantage of panzerblitz or afrika corps is much large because investments early in the game are much more worthwhile and especially panzerblitz can be used every round of the game.

As for atlantic wall, what coastal territory are you exchanging? Exchanging WE too much is not a good thing as it is 6 ipcs for the UK. If I were the UK, I would be happy exchanging WE if you took atlantic wall because the extra money means I can throw an extra infantry into the battle anyway.

BBs are nice, but too expensive. 2 DDs have the better defense and offense. Strafing with 4 BBs is nice, but 40 ipcs spent on bbs, means your troops presence is in serious trouble. Maybe with most powerful battleships as Japanese NA it would be worth it (combined arms too?).

My problem with Kaitens and Kamikazes, is that it is almost always better to use them in attack or defense given the odds they will succeed. Like you said, you can delay someone a turn.

I guess I don't agree with you that in enhanced the game is that short. If the allies pressure Japan it will be very hard for Japan to get more than one of the Pacific vcs, which means Germany still needs to get to Moscow to finish of the allies. At the same time, it is very hard for the allies to end it early because Germany can defend it's vcs very easily while probably grabbing Karelia (if not first turn, then usually 1-2 turns later Germany can take and hold in force). I guess I will find out more by playing more games in enhanced.

[DocD]

Ey Aibrahim, docd here. I would like to give my two cents here, if I may.

LDB is pretty good in my book and I've used it to good effect several times. I think what CJ is saying is that the option to use it on the Allied navies is there whereas PB is not. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. True, the Allies will have fighters around in important areas to blunt them, but certainly not everywhere or in every case.

Kamis are again one of the better Japanese NA's in my book. The power to take out select Carriers or DDs or transports in a critical battle just can't be overlooked. They really force the US to lay a cautious approach in the Pacific. And of course adding LRA to the mix is just a bonus.

Now, I agree with your assessment on 88s and AW aibrahim. With the new DDay rule, AW is probably now totally dead. And 88s are in serious need of some boost IMO.

[axis_roll]

Ey Aibrahim, docd here. I would like to give my two cents here, if I may.

Now, I agree with your assessment on 88s and AW aibrahim. With the new DDay rule, AW is probably now totally dead. And 88s are in serious need of some boost IMO.

My turn!!

88s and wolfpacks are a very good combination. These are good time buyers/defensive in nature. 88s are cheaper than tanks as well.

Atlantic wall may not be as dead as you think DocD. Sure DDay rule changes slightly minimize the overall value of this, but once the allies grab Western, it's value returns....

Also remember, I would think at least half of allied attacks against Germany are amphibious.

[DocD]

My dear roll, surely you josh.

Several NAs go well with wolfpacks, but 88s are not one of them. There is seldom enough art to go around to make 88s viable. Germany would be foolish to for go tank production over artillery IMO, and I'm sure many would agree. I know 88's play well on defense, but what good German player would pursue a defensive war? Panthers and Stukas should crush the bones of thy enemies.

Atlantic wall has always been a lesser NA. Now that Germany can outload Weurope, and be better off for it, I don't see how anyone would pick AW. Maybe if it was one out of only two NAs to choose from, but not when there are so many other NAs that are better.

[Vollick1979]

German 88's might be ok if you could start the game with them, often 2 out of the 4 artillery Germany starts with are wiped out on R1. Maybe 88's would be worth taking just for that first round and maybe preventing a first round attack on Ukraine. Since that isn't possible I would have to say Panzerblitz is the superior NA.

[axis_roll]

My dear roll, surely you josh.
no joking on strategy posts :)
Several NAs go well with wolfpacks, but 88s are not one of them.Good Doctor,
Have you tried said combination?
I know 88's play well on defense, but what good German player would pursue a defensive war?
The way Orange Crush has been put back into it's place as the 'not the greatest strat in the world', Crush Germany will come back into Vogue.
If the allies go KGF, I can see Germany needing to give Japan time to go to work... ah! brings back memories.

Atlantic wall has always been a lesser NA. Now that Germany can outload Weurope, and be better off for it, I don't see how anyone would pick AW. Maybe if it was one out of only two NAs to choose from, but not when there are so many other NAs that are better.
I can't say that it's great, but AW can be effective... it's not the crappy NA as you proclaim with such certainty.
How about holding off an assault on Germany, or a US attack on Southern Europe? AW can even come into play in africa....

[DocD]

no joking on strategy posts :)Sure, joking is allowed on all posts. :)
Good Doctor,
Have you tried said combination?Yes, yes I have.

The way Orange Crush has been put back into it's place as the 'not the greatest strat in the world', Crush Germany will come back into Vogue.
If the allies go KGF, I can see Germany needing to give Japan time to go to work... ah! brings back memories.This may be true, but there are alot of other NAs that can be used to hold off the Allies, so I hardly see how this matters.


I can't say that it's great, but AW can be effective... it's not the crappy NA as you proclaim with such certainty.
How about holding off an assault on Germany, or a US attack on Southern Europe? AW can even come into play in africa....When was the last time you picked AW for a game? I never said it was crappy, just dead. Again, there are so many other NA's worth chosing from.

[pagan]

Axis_Roll has Atlantic Wall being used against him, since I took it.

I could see myself taking it again. if i wanted to play W.E. tradeoffs with the allies. It is a limited NA, and rarely worth the use.

88's are my next real grab. I just havent figured out HOW i want to use them. Germany needs them in groups of 3's. It seems to me that the cost will be better than outright INF purchases due to the avereges of killing stuff.
---attacking & defending ART will get to kill and immediately remove anything they kill without return fire. And that makes it very cost effective.

The problem is getting myself to actually buy only ART every round, and keep reminding myself that this is gonna work... (smile)

BTW....how does the rolling of ART work in the dice-rollers?
__just roll combats normally and consider the ART hit to include the first INF (or whatever is the OOL) to return fire __ and if the ART kills it then the roll of that INF doesnt cout....

[AxisRoll]

Team Axis Roll is always lurking in the wings looking for a Team Game. Hopefully rated at AAMC... Let us know.