Flames of war suffers from the same problem that most tactical games suffer from, the lack of interaction with the operational layer. In missions with reserves, 40% of one's force is for the most part out of your hands, even more so if you use aircraft. In V3 the only influence you had over those all important 5+ rolls was your platoon count. Hit that 9+ platoon sweet spot and put your awkward filler platoons in the reserve box, maybe see them on the board, maybe not. V4 is still very much the same in this respect but the new command cards give players some bearing on the reserves system. There are 2 basic flavours of such card thus far: cards that let you re-roll aircraft or reserves and cards which stop your opponent from rolling for reserves or aircraft. The Italians, always the outlier, have a card which nullifies cards which would stop them from rolling for reserves or aircraft.
This is the most interesting card in the game. Now that more direct means of influencing reserves and air power are in the game, the Italian Sahariana card adds a level of counter-play to the oft neglected operational aspect of the game. Now players have some decision making in the reserves process turn to turn. I'm a big fan of the american "Arsenal of Democracy" card, which allows me to re-roll a reserve attempt. It's discarded after use so the player needs to decided when to get that boost to reserve chance. Do you play it on your first turn to try and rush the reserves onto the field? do you wait till subsequent attempts for an even greater chance? This is not a huge or complicated decision but it is an important decision, giving players some impact on force concentration. While the Sahariana card doesn't include much of an on table decision, as a defensive measure it is fundamentally reactive, and the decision making is in the list building. This is where the card itself falls apart.
The card's usefulness is entirely dependent on one's opponent bringing a card such as "tank raid." As such the card is a counter to something that is not guaranteed to happen. Sahariana essentially falls into a specialist pick, for example if the Italian player is already invested in bringing a Stuka it may be useful. For the same points there are better card picks.
Sahariana is not really a meta card but as an indicator of the conceptual direction of the reserve system, it is very interesting. This is why I consider this card the most interesting card in the game, not the best. I sincerely hope this trend continues and the reserve system is opened up to more decision making rather than such an important aspect of the game being out of the players hands. This is not to say all randomness should be removed from the process, far from it. Players simply need a means of influencing the operational aspect of the game. Soviets in particular should have these abilities in abundance considering the operational focus of the deep battle doctrine.
Thank you to TV for their valuable input.
This is the most interesting card in the game. Now that more direct means of influencing reserves and air power are in the game, the Italian Sahariana card adds a level of counter-play to the oft neglected operational aspect of the game. Now players have some decision making in the reserves process turn to turn. I'm a big fan of the american "Arsenal of Democracy" card, which allows me to re-roll a reserve attempt. It's discarded after use so the player needs to decided when to get that boost to reserve chance. Do you play it on your first turn to try and rush the reserves onto the field? do you wait till subsequent attempts for an even greater chance? This is not a huge or complicated decision but it is an important decision, giving players some impact on force concentration. While the Sahariana card doesn't include much of an on table decision, as a defensive measure it is fundamentally reactive, and the decision making is in the list building. This is where the card itself falls apart.
The card's usefulness is entirely dependent on one's opponent bringing a card such as "tank raid." As such the card is a counter to something that is not guaranteed to happen. Sahariana essentially falls into a specialist pick, for example if the Italian player is already invested in bringing a Stuka it may be useful. For the same points there are better card picks.
Sahariana is not really a meta card but as an indicator of the conceptual direction of the reserve system, it is very interesting. This is why I consider this card the most interesting card in the game, not the best. I sincerely hope this trend continues and the reserve system is opened up to more decision making rather than such an important aspect of the game being out of the players hands. This is not to say all randomness should be removed from the process, far from it. Players simply need a means of influencing the operational aspect of the game. Soviets in particular should have these abilities in abundance considering the operational focus of the deep battle doctrine.
Thank you to TV for their valuable input.
Not sure its as 'meta' as something like the Artillery Expert card the British get. That card can be game breaking, and your opponent can do nothing about it whatsoever. Obviously the old Scout card was the worst offender, but it has been nerfed to oblivion in Armoured Fist, where no one will ever use it again. Thanks BF
ReplyDeleteI noticed that too with artillery expert. That card grants free repeat bombardment with attackers essentially. Not sure how they figured it to be worth 1 point.
DeleteGood article. I would say, if you're going to cite deep battle doctrine, we may want to limit what era's it is available in.
ReplyDelete