• @ncscswitch:

    An INF left as a blitz blocker in Karelia

    I usually DON’T leave that blitz blocker.  As Russia I WANT Germany to send up an exposed Tank to claim Archangel, that I can kill in R2.  Germany loses a 5 IPC unit to claim a 2 IPC territory.


  • W Russia is Russia’s best friend or worst enemy… just like Kazahk it commands both Russia and the Caucasus. The Russian player should only back out of W Russia if imminent destruction is at hand — otherwise hold the line.

    Armor, as said above, is valuable as both a deterrent and as tough mobile defense to shore up weak points quickly.

    I believe that if your purchases are in the neighborhood of 5 inf/ art/ armor for every 24 IPCs spent you’ll be able to play both offense and defense efficiently. Of course that’s subject to change as the game evolves but it’s a pretty good standard mix.

  • Moderator

    I think you are right about the 5-1-1 split.  I believe that comes out to be very close to getting the most bang for your buck while considering both off and def.

    Another quick observations, either a 1:1 (inf:rt) or (inf:arm) ratio is bad and not cost effective at all, especally as you get into larger and larger battles.

    Intuitively speaking, a 3:1  inf to rt (or arm) ratio is sufficient (think LL where you get 6 attack pts), but generally I’ll play (at least from a classic perspective and my limited revised exp) with a ~5:1 ratio.  Although in LL, I might stick closer to the 3:1 due to the greater predictability of strafing.

    I’m an infantry person, and from my point of view you can never have enough infantry.

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    I’m getting the distinct impression that your best bet seems to be 5-7 infantry and 1-3 armor for the first few rounds (whatever works out to spend all your cash) and at the end of the game 100% armor to beat US/UK to the eastern asia border so you can actually continue playing if you want. (Buying ICs and building navy there.)


  • I tend to take it as an axiom that an INF purchase is never bad. Not being able to kill the INF is also bad. I try to keep a balance myself. All INF is great until you need to counterattack just for the space.

    Jennifer you are going to take over the Japanese ICs on the mainland won’t need to build your own.


  • @JamesG:

    @ncscswitch:

    An INF left as a blitz blocker in Karelia

    I usually DON’T leave that blitz blocker.  As Russia I WANT Germany to send up an exposed Tank to claim Archangel, that I can kill in R2.  Germany loses a 5 IPC unit to claim a 2 IPC territory.

    If you don;t use a blitz blocker, Germany gains 4 not 2 IPC with that 1 ARM, and they have a 50/50 chance of killing an INF when you counter-attack.  That makes the average 5.5 IPC to 5.

    But there are other reasons to use the blitz blocker besides the IPC trade…
    1.  Without it, Russia has to divert forces to Archangel to re-take it in R2, otherwise you are -4 IPC.  Unless you move the WRS to Archangel (a bad move) you invite a counter-attack against your minimal forces in Archangel, losign those forces, and then STILL having a problem with Germany on your doorstep for R3.  That even further changes the economics of the trade to favor Germany.
    2.  It forces you to split your forces, even if only a small number of them, in order to counter the ARM in Archangel.  Those forces, if not sent to Archangel, can better be used trading Ukraine, or reinforcing the WRS
    3.  It lets Germany re-position for a better Southern Strike on Russia.  They grab both Karelia and Archangel with the blitz, TRN from Norway to Eastern, and stage heavy in Eastern.  This forces Russia to keep trading Belo (or to take it with minimal forces if they did not already), and try to protect both Karelia and Ukraine/Caucuses.  And, while the WRS is a pretty powerful entity, if it get drwan into a head-to-head early on with what Germany can stage in Eastern on G1, it is toast with a large German force survivigthe battle…

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    One thing I’ve noticed in this game is this:  In revised you can actually use strategy instead of numbers to win.  You don’t HAVE to attack the enemy’s huge stack of infantry and hope to win with enough to continue the march because now you can go around it.  There are 9 avenues of attack to Moscow, not 2 when you consider all different viable routes.  That means if Russia or Germany isn’t careful you can sidestep their army and go for their capital.

    Of course, you get the capital and the enemy only has two choices…go home to retake it, or try for yours.  Meanwhile, you can build max capacity in armored units that are 50/50 regardless of action, making cleanup much easier.


  • But there are other reasons to use the blitz blocker besides the IPC trade…
    1.  Without it, Russia has to divert forces to Archangel to re-take it in R2, otherwise you are -4 IPC.  Unless you move the WRS to Archangel (a bad move) you invite a counter-attack against your minimal forces in Archangel, losign those forces, and then STILL having a problem with Germany on your doorstep for R3.  That even further changes the economics of the trade to favor Germany.
    2.  It forces you to split your forces, even if only a small number of them, in order to counter the ARM in Archangel.  Those forces, if not sent to Archangel, can better be used trading Ukraine, or reinforcing the WRS
    3.  It lets Germany re-position for a better Southern Strike on Russia.  They grab both Karelia and Archangel with the blitz, TRN from Norway to Eastern, and stage heavy in Eastern.  This forces Russia to keep trading Belo (or to take it with minimal forces if they did not already), and try to protect both Karelia and Ukraine/Caucuses.  And, while the WRS is a pretty powerful entity, if it get drwan into a head-to-head early on with what Germany can stage in Eastern on G1, it is toast with a large German force survivigthe battle…

    Great points Switch. I’d like to add one thing-

    4. The German player is required to bring either 3 infantry or 2 infantry/1 fighter when a single Russian infantry is present to assure a reasonable chance at taking Karelia. This accomplishes two things for the price of 1 infantry- prevents a larger stack in E Europe, and/or forces a fighter to be used, meaning one less fighter in one of these places- Egypt/Belo/SZ 15/SZ 13/or the Ukraine. A German walk in of Karelia allows 2 German infantry to board the transport and land safely in E Europe, meaning a larger presence on G2.

  • Moderator

    @88:

    But there are other reasons to use the blitz blocker besides the IPC trade…
    1. Without it, Russia has to divert forces to Archangel to re-take it in R2, otherwise you are -4 IPC. Unless you move the WRS to Archangel (a bad move) you invite a counter-attack against your minimal forces in Archangel, losign those forces, and then STILL having a problem with Germany on your doorstep for R3. That even further changes the economics of the trade to favor Germany.
    2. It forces you to split your forces, even if only a small number of them, in order to counter the ARM in Archangel. Those forces, if not sent to Archangel, can better be used trading Ukraine, or reinforcing the WRS
    3. It lets Germany re-position for a better Southern Strike on Russia. They grab both Karelia and Archangel with the blitz, TRN from Norway to Eastern, and stage heavy in Eastern. This forces Russia to keep trading Belo (or to take it with minimal forces if they did not already), and try to protect both Karelia and Ukraine/Caucuses. And, while the WRS is a pretty powerful entity, if it get drwan into a head-to-head early on with what Germany can stage in Eastern on G1, it is toast with a large German force survivigthe battle…

    Great points Switch. I’d like to add one thing-

    4. The German player is required to bring either 3 infantry or 2 infantry/1 fighter when a single Russian infantry is present to assure a reasonable chance at taking Karelia. This accomplishes two things for the price of 1 infantry- prevents a larger stack in E Europe, and/or forces a fighter to be used, meaning one less fighter in one of these places- Egypt/Belo/SZ 15/SZ 13/or the Ukraine. A German walk in of Karelia allows 2 German infantry to board the transport and land safely in E Europe, meaning a larger presence on G2.

    1.  But Russia doesn’t really need to divert anything.

    Maybe 1 inf, but that is about it.
    You shouldn’t be using your Russian armor on a rd 2 attack anyway.  all it takes is 1 inf from Mos and 2-3 arm and boom the Ger armor is toast and it doesn’t hurt Russia at all.  The armor is still in position to attack on rd 3 and all you did is divert the 1 inf to arch, which btw is the same as keeping 1 inf in kar on R1.

    2.  I don’t think so.  The bulk of the Russian forces should be in WR with about 6 inf, 1-2 arm, 2 ftrs in Cauc after R1.  That still allows you to trade Belo, and Ukr with inf and 2 ftrs.  which is all you need if UK reclaimed Kar for you.  1 inf and 2-3 arm in Arch on R2 is not out of position.  Those arm can still hit EE, Belo, Kar, Ukr, WR, and Fin.

    3.  Russia should not be attempting to “hold” Kar.  Trade it “yes”, hold “no”.
    Russia should also not be attempting to hold Ukr.  If the Germany player is smart they should always stage heavy in EE b/c anything else will open the door to possible Russia strafes or a power move of their own.  Remember you don’t have to take a territory.
    Russia owns the supply line adv and it is easier to defend, don’t extend too far and keep your power base in WR, Cauc, and Mos and you can be quite the force.

    Germany can do the same exact thing (southern focus)  if they just ignore taking Kar in the first place.  If it is empty, great take it, but you should still be going Heavy to EE on G1.  The 2 IPC of Kar is not that big of a deal, what is a big deal is keeping your Germany army together in force and not losing armor early.  I see it as a trap and wouldn’t waste my armor on the Arch blitz.  UK, can even counter Arch on UK 1, if I’m not mistaken.

    4.  It may be nice to get Germany to try and use 2 inf to attack kar on G1, but it still isn’t worth it to make the strike b/c UK has the potential to counter the 1 inf with 2 inf of her own an a BB shot on UK 1 as well as an Arch counter.
    I’m just thinking of how I play as Germany, I wouldn’t waste the 2 inf to try and take Kar, not on rd 1, there are too many more important “must win” targets.  Reclaim Ukr (if taken) and take the UK ships and Egy, don’t over extend early.  A good allied player will eat that up.


  • As I said earlier…

    If you counter in Archangel with the 1 INF and 2-3 ARM, then you have split your Russian forces, making WR weaker and giving more “weak targets” overall for Germany to pounce on.

    88 did a great clarification of the difference…
    Using a blocker, Russia gets to destroy isolated German units in Karelia on R2.
    Without a blitz blocker, Germany gets to annihilate a weak outpost of Russian units on G2… and DARE Russia to sweep north to counter while Germany remains poised to swing south at Caucuses…


  • 4. The German player is required to bring either 3 infantry or 2 infantry/1 fighter when a single Russian infantry is present to assure a reasonable chance at taking Karelia. This accomplishes two things for the price of 1 infantry- prevents a larger stack in E Europe, and/or forces a fighter to be used, meaning one less fighter in one of these places- Egypt/Belo/SZ 15/SZ 13/or the Ukraine. A German walk in of Karelia allows 2 German infantry to board the transport and land safely in E Europe, meaning a larger presence on G2.

    The quintessential problem with this assertion is that Germany will always have 3 inf ready to take Karelia - the Norway troops, which have nowhere else to go. The blitz blocker isn’t going to help much when you’re getting stormed by 3-5 inf (2 from xport) there.

    Normally of course you would like to throw 1 inf into a territory to force the enemy to throw more than 1 inf to take it, but I believe R1 to be the grayest case of this. I think it’s great to bait the tank into blitzing Archangel, because a trade of 1 Russian inf for 1 German tank is awesome. I also think it’s futile to leave the 1 inf there when you know for certain that those Norway troops are going to go barreling out to Karelia anyways, which isn’t a great trade of resources; your 1 infantry will deal an average of 1 IPC to Germany while it takes you 3 infantry to rebuild it.

    The point of barely holding deadzones is to force the enemy to divert their forces to retake it, but in the case of Karelia in Round 1, you are not forcing the Germans to come out to Karelia; they have forces right next door that already have nowhere to go, so there is no diversion.


  • If it were JUST Karelia, I would agree with you Tri.

    But it is Archangel too.

    And that is 4 IPC’s and 2 territories for Russia to re-take, not 1.

    Holding Germany to JUST Karelia on G1 allows Russia to set the tone for Turn 2 by how they use the WRS.  Germany in Archangel in ANY amount makes Russia react to Germany FIRST, then move on to whatever Russia wants to do.

    And initiative is an EDGE.

    And then there is also the 8 IPC shift… -4 Russia, +4 Germany.  And Germany gets that for free without a Russian blitz blocker, unlike Russia R1 gains in WR and Ukr/Belo.

    Also, you are forgetting that Germany can stage to Karelia instead of Eastern… 7 INF (more if Belo was not attacked), and 4 ARM, with 3-4 more staged in Eastern for advancement in G2 against either Archangel or West Russia.  Yes, Germany can stack HARDER in Eastern… but they can MATCH the WRS in Karelia, and then either move into WR, or to Archangel IN FORCE in G2, destroying Russian forces with minimal loses by hitting the weaker territory.  With a blocker on R1, there are no weak Russian territories to hit… they either over-run their ARM into Archangel and get destroyed, or a FULL STRENGTH WRS is poised to counter…


  • I’m a little confused by what you have to say. On one hand you say Germany will stack in Karelia, and on the other hand you say that Germany will threaten Caucasus. Those are incompattble.

    I also completely fail to see how 1 tank in Archangel shifts the balance in favor of Germany. They have lost a tank to a Russian inf. Troops that Russia uses in Archangel can be used against Karelia next turn, so just count that as the forces you would have used from West Russia instead. The Germans can try to conest Karelia/Archangel, but you’re forgetting that the UK would love that. Having the UK drop 4 inf 4 tank along the north screws Germany up a lot.

    And even if the Germans can draw a large force in Karelia, if they go to Archangel they’re meeting up with builds directly from Moscow which will quickly overpower them. The best the Germans can do is match the W. Russia stack, but I don’t see how this is adantageous to do it in Karelia when Ukraine is worth more and invulnerable to UK naval assaults.


  • It is a matter of reward, threat and counter.

    Keeping Germany to Karelia in G1 means that Russia has more income, controls the center of Europe, and can attack in maximum force in ANY territory Germany moves into.

    Allowing that ARM to Archangel means that Russia HAS to send forces to Archangel in R2… unless they want to leave an ARM on Moscow’s doorstep and surrender 2 IPC’s to Germany…  That means forces devoted to Archangel instead of to Belo, Karelia or Ukraine.  And that force diversion means greater losses for Russia in those other battles since overwhelming force not only increases the odds of winning, it decreases the number of lost units by negating second or third round defensive fire.  THAT is a significant edge for Germany… weakening a Russian attack at the cost of only 1 ARM, which paid for itself with 4 IPC of territory the previous turn and the 50/50 of killing an enemy unit on the way out.

    Also, I am not saying “stage in Karelia” and “Attack Caucuses” as being simultaneous options.  They are options and Russia leaving the north vacant after R1 gives Germany both options… for free.  However… if Germany CAN sucker Russia north, then Germany can hit in the south with up to 4 INF, 4 ARM, a BB shot and their AF  WHILE STILL HITTING EITHER WR OR ARCHANGEL WITH THE KARELIA STACK.

    Massed land forces are perhaps the most powerful offensive and defensive move in the game.  Making Russia split their forces 3 ways instead of 2 seriously weakens Russia and allows Germany to take out units with minimal losses.  Maximum forces in WR is the best deterent that Russia has.  They block the central avenue of attack and can immediately counter with all INF, ART and ARM into Archangel, Karelia, Belo, or Ukraine.  Split up to any degree, they take more losses on either attack or defense… and split into Archangel removes INF screen from attacks in Belo, Ukraine, or Caucuses.

    Germany loses 1 tank but gets 4 extra IPC’s.  Russia either accepts that economic loss, or splits their forces to some degree and allows Germany to destroy those forces for far less cost than would be possible if they remained stacked.  And Germany can do so without breaking their own stack, making Russia’s losses even higher on THEIR counter.

    Block in Karelia.  Lose 1 INF, maybe take 1 with you.  Make Germany reach Archangel on G2 instead… after the UK has built up and staged their Navy for a counter-attack… after Russia has built more forces to swamp futher advances… and with the economic shift being 4 better for Russia by only being down Karelia instead of Karelia AND Archangel.


  • Allowing that ARM to Archangel means that Russia HAS to send forces to Archangel in R2… unless they want to leave an ARM on Moscow’s doorstep and surrender 2 IPC’s to Germany…  That means forces devoted to Archangel instead of to Belo, Karelia or Ukraine.

    Incorrect. Archangel can be countered directly from Moscow. You do not need to divert forces from the W. Russia stack. Think of it instead of moving troops from Moscow to W. Russia, you move some to Archangel instead. And those forces will be used to counter Karelia the next turn, so the W. Russia stack is free to go ahead with Belo/Ukraine.

    Making Russia split their forces 3 ways instead of 2 seriously weakens Russia and allows Germany to take out units with minimal losses.

    The UK comes from the north, making it 2 ways instead of 3. The Germans would be the foolish ones to go with 3 ways with the UK descending from the north.

    Germany loses 1 tank but gets 4 extra IPC’s.

    2 extra IPCs. You always get Karelia, so Archangel is the only extra that you’re looking at.

    and with the economic shift being 4 better for Russia

    The economic shift is only 2 when Germany takes Archangel, because the Russians do not technically lose Archangel. They collect on it when they counter it, so the only net effect is that Germany has gained on it for one turn which is 2 IPCs. Germany is up 2 IPCs more than normal and does about 1.5 more on the way out, but loses a tank to do so (Germany spend 5 IPCs to get 3.5 IPCs). Would you rather that or have a 1/3 chance to take out 1 infantry (Russia spends 3 IPCs to take out 1 IPC). The blitz blocker removes the chance that the Germany player will (foolishly?) use a tank to go to Archangel.


  • OK… you need to think 2 turns out…

    If Russia counters “direct from Moscow” with INF (and/or ART) to Archangel in R2, then those forces are stuck in the north, or moving to WR in R3.  If they are ARM, then Moscow forces COULD have been used in Belo or Ukraine in R2.

    The INF and/or ART in Archangel represents stalled forces… Germany shifts gears, heads south, and those Russian forces in Archangel are now 2 moves away from the action instead of adjacent to the action.

    That is an edge for Germany… forcing Russia to pull forces out of position for minimal or (in the case of “reclaiming” Archangel) NO gain.

    Leave an INF in Karelia, you lose an INF and keep Archangel for free.
    Pull the INF from Karelia and you have to re-take Archangel to get paid for it on R2, and to re-take it takes more than just 1 INF.

    So… do you KEEP Archangel at a cost of 1 INF?
    Or do you let Germany have it, get paid for it, and then fight to take it back at the cost of forces being drawn away from Ukraine/Caucuses?


  • OK… you need to think 2 turns out…

    That’s exactly what I’m doing. In 2 turns Germany should still be fooling around with Karelia, unless it has build no navy at all so the UK is allowed to go unhibited from the north. If you’re still trading Karelia, those forces you spend in Archangel will be put to the same use as they would have were they instead to have gone straight to West Russia.

    It does mean they’re locked, but wouldn’t you see yourself as locked anyways if you were sure you were going to trade Karelia? If the Germans stop messing with Karelia and go south, then celebrate, that means you don’t have to trade Karelia anymore, instead meeting the Germans where you are clearly your strongest with Caucasus forces deploying immediately adjacent to Ukraine. And the Germans are going south for sure with one less tank instead of 1/3 time with one less inf.


  • Countered by their boosted G2 build, and with 2-3 fewer Russian units for 2 turns in the south.

    I see that as a net increase of about 6-9 IPC’s to Germany, even after figuring in the loss of the ARM.  And that does not count the battle results shift of those 2-3 units that are not participating in T2 and T3 combat elsewhere…


  • I see that as a net increase of about 6-9 IPC’s to Germany, even after figuring in the loss of the ARM.  And that does not count the battle results shift of those 2-3 units that are not participating in T2 and T3 combat elsewhere…

    The only case in which you’d see this net increase is if Germany pushes hard immediately into either Belo or Ukraine so the Russian forces in Archangel are useless when needed most. Otherwise, if Germany does normal deadzone trading, there is no net increase along the south at all. I don’t think Germany pushes hard early on, otherwise core tanks are being exposed. And even if there is a net increase along the South, the Russians always get a net increase along the north when the Germans ignore it.

    And again, Caucasus deploys adjacently to Ukraine. The Russians have a good cushion to deflect a Germany that is focused on the South.

  • Moderator

    I’m with Tri on this one.

    I just don’t see how Russia has to divert anything.  Why would they send inf and rt to counter when you can send 1 inf and up to 3-4 arm?   So you trade an inf for arm and the 2 IPC Ger gained and it is a wash.

    The Russian Armor can still reach all necessary territories on the following turn.  And Russia has no business using their armor on Germany in rd 2.  Your ftrs are more than enough to trade back ukr or belo or even kar.

    As an example, this exact thing happend in my very first Revised Game.  As Russia I attacked Belo and Wrus.  I had a huge force in WR and Cauc and some troops in Mos.  When Ger blitzed to Arch I took him out in Kar with UK troops on UK1 and then took out his Arch armor with my Moscow inf and Arm on R2.

    And that was my first game of Revised.

    Seeing as how I could deal with it as a complete noob to Revised I fail to see how it can be that great of a move unless the Russian player just completely messes up.

    This is more just personal preference but I’m a complete armor hog and don’t like losing my big guns for what might be a marginal gain at best, and certainly not in rd 1 or 2.

Suggested Topics

  • 12
  • 10
  • 55
  • 10
  • 10
  • 49
  • 5
  • 4
Axis & Allies Boardgaming Custom Painted Miniatures

41

Online

17.0k

Users

39.3k

Topics

1.7m

Posts