• @Der:

    Yeah we play where mech can tow artillery also - good rule.

    It also has a certain similarity to the rule in A&A Battle of the Bulge which allows truck units to transport artillery and/or troops (in addition to their ability to transport supplies).  And some of the “mech infantry” sculpts in Global actually do depict trucks rather than half-tracks.

    This fun little WWII-era video includes a few shots of jeeps towing artillery pieces…rather aggressively so in one particular scene:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auu7pQWODaI

  • '15

    @Narvik:

    @Der:

    Yeah we play where mech can tow artillery also - good rule.

    Wouldnt that make the Tank redundant ?

    That’s exactly what this does. You’d still want one or two tanks for blitzing, potentially, but otherwise tanks become inferior in every way to mech + art, apart from situations where you had limited production capacity (IE: a mIC) but needed maximum land-based strength in the extreme short term (IE: you are attacking something two spaces away next turn).

    48 IPCs:
    mech+art houserule: 24 blips, 12 hp
    tanks: 24 blips, 8 hp

    This is a bad houserule, and you should feel bad for using it.


  • @teslas:

    48 IPCs:
    mech+art houserule: 24 blips, 12 hp
    tanks: 24 blips, 8 hp

    What’s a blip?


  • Just their name for a pip, “a small but easily countable item, such as the dots on dice or symbols on playing cards”

    In A&A, a unit’s pip value is the highest number it can hit at, so an attacking inf would contribute 1 pip (2 if supported by art), defending inf would contribute 2, tanks 3 on either side, etc.


  • Hmmm…Well this is awkward - we never did the math there - I’ll have to fix that before next game night!

  • '15

    It’s always good to do the math. Always. This whole game boils down to math and positioning, with a bit of luck thrown in to make you hate yourself.

    I have seen my fair share of crazy houserules, some worse than the mech+art thing, but I will say that I am always in favor of finishing a game with the same rules as when it began.


  • @teslas:

    It’s always good to do the math. Always.

    What if 5 IPC tanks from Revised Edition were used with mech and towed artillery - would that restore balance?

  • '15

    5 IPCs for a 3 - 3 unit.

    40 IPCs:
    8 tanks: 24 blips, 8 hp
    5 mech/arts: 20 blips, 10 hp

    That is at least closer to “balanced”, yes. Tanks don’t have as much staying power as mech+art, but they do hit harder, -20% hit points but +20% attacking power. They can also blitz, meaning now you can attach a mech to a tank to blitz, that can in turn drag a mech with it, forming some kind of holy trifecta.

    However, after you introduce cheap tanks and let mechs drag artillery, Germany’s taking Moscow is damn near guaranteed every game. You have given basically zero economical benefit to russia, they are still best suited with infantry/artillery, but you’ve just reduced the cost of getting units to the gates of Moscow significantly for Germany. When it comes time to come crashing into Moscow, they’re going to have 4-6 more units than they otherwise would have, far more than that if they do it later than G6, and more artillery than they otherwise would have to make their infantry punch harder for the fisrt two rounds.

    Assuming no big mistakes on either side, and a little bit of help from Italy, the odds of a G6 Moscow are definitely something like 90%+. The odds for G5 are also very, very high compared to “normal”. With good Italian can opening, G7 is probably 99%+ after this change, because Italy benefits greatly as well.

    So, what I’m saying is, you’re giving a lot of help to the Axis on the eastern front, and that’s help they didn’t really need.


  • That is my problem with this House Rule, Teslas. Mech is the Axis’ friend and with the cheap and powerful Bomber, the combination that kills Russia.
    If no one changes the easy Axis NOs, to reduce its income, then I would favour a 5 IPC Mech unit, rather than a cheaper Tank.
    The multi purpose Mech is a nice concept though.


  • Thanks for the sharp analysis and comments, guys - I see a good excuse here to put in some entrenchment, blockhouse, mine, AT Gun, and MG rules for Russia!  (admitted house rule junkie speaking - lol)


  • @Der:

    Thanks for the sharp analysis and comments, guys - I see a good excuse here to put in some entrenchment, blockhouse, mine, AT Gun, and MG rules for Russia!  (admitted house rule junkie speaking - lol)

    I did offer the house rule of TripleAs having the optional Anti-Tank rule, similar to their Anti-Air function.


  • Thank you Teslas for your annalysis.  I had not done the math either.  Our group has used the house rule for a couple of games and it has not deminished the need for tanks nor have we found it to be an overwhelming advantage to the axis.  The UK player has made good use of the rule as has the US players.  I have no mathmatival data to counter your information and numbers do not lie but our rolling sucks…excuse me; inhales vigorously.  I can’t hit a one or a two to save my life some games.  Mechs by themselves do not eliminate the need for Germany to build infintry and I do not feel (I recognize it is just a feeling and an opinion) that they will not eliminate the need for tanks.  Time will tell I guess as we try this rule out.

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