All bomber buys with USA, and other magnified build strategies

  • 2024 '22 '21 '19 '15 '14

    Here’s a fun strategy you might enjoy, if you haven’t tried it already. Buy nothing but bombers with USA!  :-D

    For the first 4 rounds of the game buy as many bombers as possible and place them in W. US with plans to fly them to UK the following round. That’s 3 bombers a round, until you have about a dozen parked in Eurasia (Either UK, or Caucasus, or other territories comfortably in range of German factories.) Strat Bomb Germany every round from the second on, no matter what!

    After the 4th round, continue buying a pair of bombers every round to cover your losses on AA fire, using whatever IPCs remain to buy the requisite ground and naval forces to start having an impact beyond your relentless bombing campaign against Germany. Even if you are being harassed by Japan, there is a safe ~36 ipcs that is pretty much guaranteed every round for USA, which conveniently, is just enough to buy 3 bombers at all times!

    Here the entire US role, right up through the midgame is simply to bomb Germany back into the stone age. Should the opportunity present itself, you can also nuke any Axis fleets that come in range (especially if Bombing out of Caucasus) but in general the role of the US in this sort of game is simply to keep knocking Germany to its knees continually. Russia holds the center as well as it can. UK takes on its usual role of Fighter support to the center, making India a costly fight for Japan and harassing Germany in Europe. And USA just bombs the hell out of Germany for the entire game. By the sixth round that’s usually about 6-12 surviving bombers going after the German factories. Which is usually enough to peel off 20 ipcs from the German purse every round. You’ll be losing about this much in TUV traded with USA by AAgun fire, but ultimately the USA can afford to take these losses whereas Germany can’t. The goal is to break the German drive on Moscow, to hold the center such that Russia only has to contend with Japan. Once Germany has been sufficiently neutralized down into the twenties on income, and you have max damaged the Berlin factory in a single round, that’s when you shift from the dedicated bomber purchases to full naval/ground to support UK invasions in Europe.

    If at any point Moscow is seriously threatened by Axis fly your US bomber stack there to serve as cover fodder and deter the attack. This may seem counter intuitive at first, but the ability to fly in extra hitpoints across 6 spaces should not be underestimated. Those additional fodder pips can be all the difference in a large engagement with multiple combat rounds. Of course the goal is to prevent Moscow from ever being seriously threatened in the first place, by eliminating Germany from the equation, but if it does come under threat this defensive role for the bomber can be a hidden ace up your sleeve.

    For a somewhat less extreme version of the same basic strategy, start out buying a pair bombers a round for the first 4 rounds, until you have about 8 or 9 of them in Europe, and then buy 1 per round to cover the losses on AA. The damage you inflict will be somewhat less, but you can make up for this by creating a more effective expeditionary force early on relative to the triple bomber buy per round opener. Either way though, the objective is to bomb Germany every single round, from the second round on, until those US bombers are being used for the invasion of Berlin itself! In this type of strategy it is not necessary for UK to use their bombers in an SBR role, since UK is less able to absorb the losses and can usually find  much better ways to use their bomber/s in combat.

    This type of game is probably pretty intuitive and something most of us have attempted at one point or another, but I thought it was worth putting out there, since it is actually a pretty effective strategy in 1942.2. Of course there is a lot to be said about the risks of SBR and the poor unit trade value in general for most player/nations. But the US is unique on the gameboard, in that its out of position but has high starting cash. Its production and income is relatively safe but also far away, which means that even at the high risk of Bombers getting shot down by AAfire, Bombing is still one of the most effective ways for USA to have an impact early on.

    Any other magnified builds people like to try on this board? By “magnified” I mean purchasing predominantly one type of unit or class of unit, over time, to max whatever advantages it offers by grouping the unit together in large numbers. Feel free to share. This one, the magnified US bomber build strategy is the one I’ve seen most in operation. The magnified effect comes in the third round when you are able to bring 4 bombers against the German factories. And then in the fourth round when you are bringing 5-7 bombers against the German factories. These are probably the most critical game rounds from the perspective of the German drive on Moscow, which is why as USA your aim is to max the damage on their factories at this same point. If you get out clean on a vicious bombing raid you can always leave the casino at that time, stop buying new bombers and start using the bombers you already possess in a combat role, but basically you want to keep the presure on G early with consistent heavy raids to free up some space for the Russians and UK in the critical first six rounds of the game.

    Another magnified build strat might be the “all fighters” build from USA, combined with the magnified “double carrier buy” from UK to support an Atlantic fleet and hopscotch fighters out of E. US to Moscow. Here the goal is to buy 4 fighters per round with USA, send them to the pair of British carrier decks in sz 7, and then transit every round 4 American fighters from sz 7 to Moscow. The set up begins on the second round UK, when they buy the 2 carriers and leave them empty, USA supplies the fighters to set up the transit. Again the critical round is usually the fifth or sixth, when you aim to have Moscow stacked with an impenetrable wall of US fighters to back down the German attack. This frees up the UK from their usual fighter support role, and allows them to concentrate more an naval and ground.

    Yet another version of the magnified build might be the “all subs” buy in the pacific, where either the US or Japan seeks to fully outclass the others navy, by buying a ton of fodder subs for two rounds in a row. Or perhaps too obvious to mention the “all infantry” or “all artillery” buy, which is probably the most popular overall for Germany and Russia. And of course for the showboats and the reckless spenders, the “all battleship buy” or “all cruiser buy” with a focus on maxing bombardment exploits. Interested to hear other peoples thoughts about magnified builds in 1942.2, and specific ways in which you’ve used them.


  • @Black_Elk:

    Buy nothing but bombers with USA!

    Hmm…I think that’s pretty much what Curtis LeMay wanted the US to do during WWII, so I’m sure he would have approved of this concept.  :wink:


  • I would like to know who would spend IPC’s on all Battleship or Cruiser buys.  Seems like a poor investment.  I got very excited when i played AA50 and 1940 (Europe) because it made sense to buy a cruiser as the Italians.  Never in 1942 have i bought another cruiser or battleship than what i started with.  Always wanted too, but unless you have a navy to surround them with, your IPC’s can be invested better elsewhere.

    I would like to see what a 100% sub buy can do for the usa in the pacific.  I know that KGF strategies tend to work the best, but part of me still likes to invest myself in the Pacific.  I am consistently teaching my friends to play the game, so it allows me to try things that are a bit “unconventional” just to see what would happen.  I am basically the Allies every time i play.  Have always wanted to try out the magnified build strategy with them.

  • 2024 '22 '21 '19 '15 '14

    Haha! Good call CWOMarc!

    As for the battleships, that last was kind of a joke, since the battleship and cruiser are widely acknowledged to be a poor use of money. The value doesn’t quite match the cost. Still the units will produce a magnified effect if stacked together in larger numbers. Usually only the USA has the money to afford such a move though, and clearly there are other units they can make better use of, like bombers :-D

    Unfortunately the 1942.2 rules regarding bombardment (defender returns fire, and 1 bombardment per invading ground unit) conspire to make these units less attractive. But I just mentioned as an example of the concept.

    Subs on the other hand I have seen work. Mainly because you can purchase so many at a go. It’s also possible to save for a round and purchase a bunch together, if you know for sure you don’t plan to move out just yet. Though I like the psychological effect buying 5 or more subs can have on Japan. Of course the opponent can try to do the same and match you the following round, but at least from the US perspective this can be a victory in itself, if you stall Japan from doing others things and force them to buy ships. It’s also possible to shift them Atlantic if necessary to meet at the Center/Med or vice versa.


  • Never thought of that UK carrier hopscotch idea - thanks! :) We have a house rule where any friendly fighters in a territory with a factory can come up and challenge bombers, so the all bomber buy might not work for us unless you got long range aircraft to send fighters into Germany as escorts.

  • '17 '16

    @Der:

    Never thought of that UK carrier hopscotch idea - thanks! :) We have a house rule where any friendly fighters in a territory with a factory can come up and challenge bombers, so the all bomber buy might not work for us unless you got long range aircraft to send fighters into Germany as escorts.

    Are you talking about Fighters intercepting SBR of Bombers and escorting Fighters?
    Or do you have an additional special rule?

  • '19 '18 '17 '16 '15

    I know it’s not so practical but I always like to build up to 4 battleship and start cruising  :evil:


  • @Baron:

    Are you talking about Fighters intercepting SBR of Bombers and escorting Fighters?

    Yes


  • Great post Black Elk. Here are my usual US buys for the first 3 rounds.

    1st 3 bombers. Save 6
    2nd 3 bombers, Transport, infantry
    3rd 2 bombers, Transport, 2 infantry
    4th turn on can change based on bomber losses, German plane buys, and what Japan is doing.

    The point with this build is to merge allied fleets off sea zone 13 on turn 3.

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