Only change I would have made was have the FIGs in Caucuses to deter attack, but “suckering” someone in to Caucuses appears to ahve worked well for you.
I did it myself my very first game against Trihero… took Caucuses on G1 and was feeling pretty good. I resigned the game after G2 I think it was… I had my butt handed to me BIG TIME :-D
I took the FTRS to Moscow cause I was pretty sure he would come into Caucaus without them there. Also I knew he would try to land troops in the Soviet Far East behind Buryatia. I slammed his ART and INF with my six INF and the FTRS with loss of only one INF and stalled the whole Japan grabbing the Eastern territories thing an extra turn. He didn’t play very well that day. I think I’m finally catching up, he played Classic for many years where I have only started playing since Europe came out and we don’t play as often as we would like.
sounds great, thanks guys!
so which kind of purchasing would you guys prefer?
24 IPC:
4 inf and 3 art
or maybe
4 inf and 2 arm, and save the 2 extra ipc?
I personally like the 3 inf/3 armor build first turn. I like to get some big boys in there right away because I generally lose the armor because I like to hit the ukraine first turn. After that I generally go with some combination of infantry and then maybe 1 armor per turn. Depends on what makes me use all of my money per turn. I rarely save money with russia, that is just troops that could be defending going to waste.
sounds great, thanks guys!
so which kind of purchasing would you guys prefer?
24 IPC:
4 inf and 3 art
or maybe
4 inf and 2 arm, and save the 2 extra ipc?
Well, I like the “traditional” 8 INF build if I am going to be preserving my FIGs and ARM, sicne it gives me “staying power” for offesnive action, as well as great defense.
4x3 INF/ART is not a bad build, but it is slow to develop for Russia, unless you are suckering Germany in to West Russia or Caucuses.
3x3 is a pretty good general purpose openner, but not one I strongly favor. It feels to “flimsy” to me somehow, like Russia has not decided to be offensive or defensive. And I always feel that failing to make a decision in this game and go with it is a BAD idea.
Lastly, I have been playing with a strat in my head of a 3x1x1 open, 3 INF, 1 ARM, 1 FIG. Have not been able to test it in an actual game yet, but theoretically it shows great promise…
I would think a 3 INF, 1 ARM, 1 FTR build to be pretty undecided too. But a little bit more leaning to defense. But is it really undecided? My thought with Russia is you have to hold on till the US and UK get mobilized. If attacking will give you more time you attack, if digging in will give you more time you dig in. As long as you have decided to do what is necessary to keep the Germans and Japs out of Caucaus and Moscow you have made the only decision you need to make. How to do that will be fluid.
Either way the ARM or the FTR will give you some teeth. Granted you can have five more INF, but a couple of ARM in with the INF you will buy later won’t hurt. And sometimes the threat of teeth is good for time. Maybe make the Gerrys take an extra turn before attacking or send a few more units that the US and UK won’t have to deal with.
I guess it comes down to your preference 8 two’s or 3 twos and 3 threes. And ARM and FTRs give you the option to attack. Run all the stats you want but you won’t go broke with either play IMO. They are dice after all- the only thing more fickle than women and cats.
You have to keep the long term goal in my mind, Give the US and UK time to get troops to Europe. What is that cliche? No battle plan survives contact with the enemy?
I might go so far as to say that the Russians CAN’T afford to lose Caucasus. If Germany takes it and holds it, Russia is hurting, and bad.
With Russia I have always favoured quantity over quality. It has ever and always been infantry. I favour very large stacks of it on my capital. However, with a recent string of losses i am begining to think that some artillery might not be a bad purchase. At least in the first round when you are not in any immediate danger.
( :mrgreen: Nothing to do with my post, but I really wanted to make use of this emoticon)
I like a first round build of 1 Fgt, 2 Tanks, 1 Artillery for Russia. I usually attack W. Russia (a must) & Ukraine on turn 1. With 4 inf coming in from the East (2 each to Moscow & Caucasus) you can afford to get some offensive units on turn 1. I like fighters they are really versatile and are especially usefull for attacking Dead Zones. I will usually buy another fighter on R2 for a totoal of 4. R3 replenish your supply of Inf.
That is a good point Mr. Saywer, about quality and quantity. I am always looking for the balance of having enough and having quality. I guess it is a left over from all of my time playing Panzer General. I like options and all INF builds while quantity superior don’t leave as many options to my thinking.
