Russia: Aggressive or Defensive turns 1-4 (w/ Bid of +/- 24 IP for Axis)

In the forums here and at GTO, I have often read that the general consensus is that the allies had the advantage in Revised, but the axis have the advantage in Spring 1942.  I read of leagues where every game started with an allies +6 bid.  Everyone I play with (offline) feels the allies have the advantage in both, with the exception of one friend who feels the axis have the advantage in Revised.  I have begun to warm up to the axis in Spring 1942 lately, but I don’t know that I would go so far as to say they have the advantage. In my circle of family and friends, I am the most experienced A&A player. I know I ought to expand my horizons and play against some better players, thereby giving me the opportunity to learn more. Regardless, here is my question:

Do you think the Axis truly have a real advantage in a casual game without a fixed time limit, or is it only an advantage in a tournament setting with victory cities being the first deciding factor? I see it as clearly possible, if not probable, that the axis grab India and/or Karelia without losing any of their VC’s and time runs out, even if the allies are stronger militarily. The allies could be positioned to trounce the axis in the following round or two, yet lose because the axis hold 7 or 8 VC.

What are your opinions on the matter?

If you feel the axis have the advantage even in a long game, please explain why (perhaps citing a bit of your typical strategy). And please, let’s avoid the sarcastic joke strategies that have plagued some threads.

LOL USA…

@MrMalachiCrunch:

I think novice players tend to be a bit more conservative.  Being conservative hurts the axis more than the allies being conservative I think.  With the axis having a better opening setup than the allies, they really need to maximize that before the allies can maximize their initial economic advantage.

A good way to learn is to play a game against yourself, but beyond the first few rounds it tends to lose its potential as a learning tool I would think.   It lets you script out the first few rounds of a strategy and counters but sooner or later the next step of learning is how to take advantage of good dice and how to do damage control with bad dice, basically how to take advantage of opportunities.

I completely agree, and playing against myself is exactly how I learned the most, followed by playing 1-on-1 against really good players online.

@Krieghund:

@saturnracer:

And, of course, if on the next players turn, he wins it back, you are right back where you started at.

It’s important to not confuse your income level (indicated on the national production chart) with your IPCs “in the bank” (tracked on paper, or however you like).  Your income level moves up and down as you gain and lose territories.  As far as income level goes, you’re right that you end up back where you started if your opponent recaptures everything you captured.  However, during the Collect Income phase of your turn, you added the number of IPCs indicated by your income level on the chart to your “bank balance”.  Those IPCs are yours to keep until you spend them, so even if your opponent captures or recaptures territories, you will still have the IPCs you gained from them to spend on your next turn.

Ahh…(Light bulb turning on)  So thats where the paper comes in…i always wondered why paper was needed, when we have a production chart
thanks,…we really had a messed up game , then, as i woudl capture a territory or two, lose it back, and not have anything to show for it

@Zhukov44:

That fig to egy move is devastating when it works.  If Germany doesn’t take Egypt, then UK gets the ez fleet kill on UK2.  It’s an interesting gamble, but it has potential to go wrong if Ukr doesn’t go Russia’s way or if Germany gets a lucky roll in Egy.

It certainly stretches Germany out and forces them to take tons of risks or omit a major battle like SZ2.

Russian fighter in Anglo-Egypt Sudan?

(Re:  German 2 inf / 1 art / 1 tank / 1 fighter vs AES forces)with the additional fighter: [52.6% Attacker, 8.7% Tie, 18IPCs lost]

61% chance Russia shot itself in the ass.

I don’t understand how Moscow can fall on G4, much less both London and Moscow.  Russia must play aggressively, building a mix of infantry, artillery, and tanks.  If Germany sends straight tanks, the Western Allies can drop the hammer much faster.

With Germany, I will be attacking the USA atl fleet first turn with a submarine.  I will be positioning my air force to ensure that the allies can not land in Europe or Africa the first turn (easy to do this time, since i will only need 1bomber and 3fighters in range to wipe out any first turn joint allied fleet that decides to move to africa).
With USA and UK, I will be buying shit tons of Fleet Defense, which will delay my landings by 1 full turn.  Russia is going to be in a tight squeeze because of this.

Russia and Japan will be played pretty much the same, except that russia can count on any support through africa being 1 turn late.