• I have been mulling over some alternative ideas to my typical Russian and UK openings and thought I would open this up for a bit of feedback.  On R1, drop the Russian fighter to Egypt to make a G1 capture of Egypt more difficult/costly.  If I decide to NOT pursue the Norway gambit, I assume my German opponent will take the German BOM to attack the SZ2 UK fleet.  If he brings both the Balkans and Ukraine FIGs in the Egypt attack, he would be left with only 1-2 FIGs to attack the SZ13 CR, increasing the chances for an upset there (or at least trading a CR for a FIG).  So, if Germany goes after Egypt with:

    2 INF, 1 ART, 1 ARM, 2 FIG - 52% to win with 2 FIG 1 ARM remaining

    If he only commits 1 FIG:

    2 INF, 1 ART, 1 ARM, 1 FIG - 52% to win with only 1 ARM remaining (if he chose to sacrifice a FIG to win the territory), only 35% chance for Germany to keep 1 ARM and 1 FIG

    or

    2 INF, 2 ARM, 1 FIG - 53% to win with only 1 ARM remaining (if he chose to sacrifice a FIG to win the territory), 36% chance for Germany to keep 1 ARM and 1 FIG

    So, if the Germany player is tepid and chooses to not attack Egypt on G1, I then swing the UK FIG from Egypt down to the Indian Ocean fleet which relocates to either SZ 30 (or 38 - though I think 30 is safer) and rendezvous with the Australian transport and sub.

    If the Japanese player is foolish enough to try to eliminate that combined UK fleet, his odds are VERY grim:

    If I merge in SZ 30, he can only bring the East Indies fleet from SZ37, unless he diverts the 2nd CV from the SZ50 to SZ38, in which case he could bring in 1-2 additional FIGs (from FIC and/or SZ50). If he chooses this latter option, The Japanese Pearl Harbor attack potential is greatly diminished.

    Assuming he only attacks with:

    1 BB, 1 CV, 2 FIG - only 32% to eliminate the UK fleet

    If Japan ramps up the effort and brings

    1 BB, 1 CV, 3 FIG - 67.5% to eliminate the UK fleet

    1 BB, 1 CV, 4 FIG - 89% to eliminate the UK fleet

    While the latter odds are more favorable for Japan, the repercussions from a greatly diminished Pearl Harbor attack could come back to bite them quickly in the form of a massive US counterattack and Pacific buildup.

    If Japan leaves the UK fleet alone and moves the SZ37 fleet to SZ34 or SZ35, UK can go island hopping and snatch up East Indies (and possibly Borneo) on UK2, and Philippines (and more) thereafter.

    Granted, this strategy leaves the vulnerable SZ59 Japanese transport untouched, which can ramp up the Japanese invasion of Asia. It also allows the Japanese SZ37 CV to reposition itself to SZ34 immediately to allow for a fast bridge of Japanese fighters to get to Europe to protect Germany from The allied Atlantic fleet(s).

    Thoughts?


  • I think this strategy has a lot to recommend it.  Playing as Japan, my first turn objectives are as follows (roughly in this order):
    1. Destroy the fleet at Pearl Harbor.
    2. Take India.
    3. Destroy the Indian Ocean fleet.
    4. Take China.
    5. Take Alaska.

    If the main British fleet links up with the small Australian fleet and adds a fighter, it’s going to take a huge force commitment to destroy.  Tough to pull off both #1 and #3 in this scenario.

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