Yesterday we decided to try this scenario by Ron Howard.
boardgamegeek.com/filepage/117171/battle-of-avranches
We had some doubts about the initial setup, which apparently seemed to disadvantage the Germans. But during the game, we realized that it was exactly the opposite!
- From the victory conditions, it seems that only the Americans can achieve a partial victory, controlling at least one objective (the Germans only have the total victory condition, controlling both objectives).
- With the initial setup, the four German tanks have line of sight to the American tanks from the first turn. With two Panthers and one Tiger, their firepower against the Shermans is decidedly excessive. In fact, in our game, the three Shermans didn't last two turns.
- Given the presence of a specialization on each base from the start, the Supply Deck cards are of little use (it's not possible to add or replace specializations to the units on the field, and the Americans have no non-specialized units).
- The Air Support deck is too expensive, given that the Americans struggle to maintain 3 Objective Points after the third turn, having no tanks left to counter the German advance.
- The shared reinforcement space is more disadvantageous for the Americans than for the Germans. The latter, with the reinforcement deck, can easily call up an infantry-only unit by spending a few command points and leave it on the "R" space, thus preventing the entry of the American tanks. (I think it's worth introducing the possibility of entering adjacent hexes, if the main square is occupied).
- According to the official rules, Panther tanks have a movement of 7. Practically the same movement as a Half-Track! Next time, we'll probably use the unit stats recalibrated by James V. Hillegas-Elting (movement = 6).
www.commandsandcolors.net/tideofiron/the...anzer-v-panther.html
- If the Germans manage to unleash flak on the top-left hill, they will dominate the entire board unchallenged. In this case, the plateau effect rules aren't enough to prevent being targeted by the cannon (which is as strong as a Panther and can only be hit by long-range Shermans, as long as they hold out on the field).
- The "Tank Ace" ability is more of a favor to the Germans than a help to the Americans. Since the tank never has the initiative, it is defeated by the second turn, so this card quickly turns into 3 command points for the Germans. In our game, the "Tank Ace" unit never fired a shot.
As you can imagine, it was a complete American defeat. The Germans eliminated all Allied units on the field at the beginning of Round 6.
I've also attached a replay of the game.
