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This is my first go at a Late War list. Usually play Early War.

Here is the list:



I already have the 3 ARPs coming and the ARP command. The rest can be changed but I am pretty happy with this so far.

A few thoughts:
Lots of Bazookas
Really fast
Powerful tanks
Very few soldiers (most my stuff seems to be non basic rifles and more mini teams, support teams or vehicles)
Lost of recce
Smoke from mobile mortars and 60mm mortars for hopeful pinning.

Any changes? This list is incredibly foreign to me as my only army is Japs (little bit of poles).

Cheers

You have one anti-tank unit the TDs and once you pop them, they are going to get killed. I can park my tanks 11 inches away and blast them with main shots and mg. Trade the 3rd ARP for a arty platoon. USA have lots of special rules with them.

First thing is that, as far as I know, the majority of LW games are played at 1750. Keep it at 1500 if it's what you play LW in your area, but generally speaking 1750 is the LW sweet-spot points-wise.

Second is that investing in a Grasshopper AOP is practically mandatory for Americans, even if you don't use it very often. With artillery it's obviously effective as a spotting team, but its real strength comes with its Column Security national special rule. As an ARC, even without any artillery with a staff team in the list, the possibility that you'll be attacking is very real, and the ability for a 40pt AOP to shut down ambushes in a 12" radius around it if it has LoS is absolutely invaluable. In the event that you use the 250pts to 1750 to grab some 105s, you also get the main benefit of an AOP as an artillery observer, but you can't observe in your turn and then use Column Security in your opponent's.

My club is pretty much infantry companies. I think we have 1 mechanized german company. Right now we are all starting at 1500. Hopefully that clarifies some things.

Looking at my list I can't seem to take the air observation plane. I can take actual air support but no Observation.

I tried to fit some priest artillery in but at the cost of Stuarts. Personally I love infantry and light tanks hence why I have it in there. In early war I win games with light tanks and infantry all the time. Seems odd to remove infantry in a list with so little already for artillery.

Is more artillery really needed? Pinning is super easy with so many MGs.

Cheers guys


AOP is available to the D-Day Veteran ARC but not available to the V3 ARC. Is there a reason not to use the D-Day one over the V3 list? I cant see anything off the top of my head im missing out on... Wait, to get AOP I need to use the veteran Trained list from D-Day. Not sure if it's worth the trade off.

 Swastakowey wrote:
AOP is available to the D-Day Veteran ARC but not available to the V3 ARC. Is there a reason not to use the D-Day one over the V3 list? I cant see anything off the top of my head im missing out on...

There's no reason to use any of the basic V3 Forces lists over ones from other books, as far as I know. I think the V3 lists are almost universally inferior.

Unless you've got a specific division in mind, I suggest using either the 4th or 7th ARD from BG&G, or the 3rd or 9th from BaR; they give by far the most flexibility in list choice. BG&G is still a largely competitive book, whilst BaR is newer and has shinier toys. Both are far more flexible in their options than the V3 list, or those from Turning Tide, Overlord, or Fortress Italy, however.

Ok, unfortunately I have to use Flames of War site to make a list in BG&G so im looking at it now. Easy Army wont let me buy it any more.

I will play around with the list using your guys advice and come back.

Since Forces of War is just Easy Army wearing Battlefront's skin, you're not really losing out on much. The lists cost a bit more than on EA, but at least you don't have to 're-buy' them when EA finally goes down for good--which should be fairly soon; I think Gregg said he'd been allowed to leave it up for one more year or so until Forces was done, and that was on the 26th of October last year.

Oh really? How do I get to transfer my EA lists to the new FOW builder?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Alright how about this list?

Added AOP, removed Stuarts (sigh, for the best I suppose) and Mortars for 6 priests. Not any more Anti Tank but I doubt I will need much more Anti tank.

Oh, I meant you personally, since you hadn't bought BG&G--and I assumed also many others--on EA. Unfortunately you can't transfer lists.

I've unlocked all but one LW list on EA, all of which I'll at some point have to re-buy on Forces if I want to look at them when EA disappears. Just unnecessary expense.

Yea I might just jump ship and upgrade too. Only a minor loss for me as I havent unlocked much but still. Every dollar counts.

Added the other list in my comment above.

Trained infantry is very very hard to work - especially if you'll be attacking as the mech player.

Assaults will be tough as they can pin you on 4+, if you come through cover, so I'd consider some armoured mortars with the list.

I would rather have two vet platoons than three trained as veterancy is the best armour for mech infantry.

 Reaver83 wrote:
Trained infantry is very very hard to work - especially if you'll be attacking as the mech player.

Assaults will be tough as they can pin you on 4+, if you come through cover, so I'd consider some armoured mortars with the list.

I would rather have two vet platoons than three trained as veterancy is the best armour for mech infantry.

The thing is my EA list is Veteran Fearless and I just want to run something different thats all. So Mech Confident Trained was what I settled on. I understand how tough it could be since I have faced conscript lists but I have lost against them too. If it really becomes a problem I can merely swap the lists about for vets.

I did have mortars in the list (armoured) but I now have 6 Priests instead. Unless Mortars would be better?

I think you need two smoke templates - the priests are better bombarding than all 6 smoking

 Reaver83 wrote:
I think you need two smoke templates - the priests are better bombarding than all 6 smoking

Can I not split the priests into 2 smoke templates? Or because they are in one encompassing group do they have to full on combine? I have never had a battery of more than 2 guns before.

If I must fire my priests as a bombardment then perhaps I need to remove a ARP for some mortars for smoke... Thoughts?

One option you could consider is dropping the M10s in favour of your Stuarts again--after all, a good amount of enjoyment comes from using models you like--and using the remaining points to get two armoured mortars--all you really need for smoke bombardments--and investing in an armoured AT platoon. You mentioned that your main opponents are infantry-based, with only a single other Mech force besides you; unless they're using lists designed to cram as many tanks as possible into a Infantry Company, I'm not sure how effective M10s will be. Stuarts, at least, are more numerous, have Top Armour 1 you don't have to pay extra for, and are bristling in machine guns. They're not as effective against armour--unless they flank, even a Panther can fall to 10 AT7 shots in its arse, and Stugs/Panzers will fare much worse--but they can play merry hell with an opponent's back field, as well as do their own share of assaulting.

True, 57mms aren't exactly fantastic, but they're cheap AT assets you can use if you find yourself defending, and can also be towed up to help counter any armour your opponent might be using. They're also another platoon, and each M1 can be accompanied by a bazooka team, giving any enemy vehicles extra pause when deciding to assault them. Often even a small Recce team of stuarts can easily overrun a lone AT platoon, but that becomes harder when it's backed up by 2-3 TA4 bases.



That's what I've come up with, but I've never used a Mech force myself--and the only one I currently plan to use is an EW Escadron de Recce, so not exactly similar--and so I've little experience in creating mech lists. I'm much more of a tank company player in LW.

Pros:
8 Platoons. 4 On, 4 off if defending, and 5 platoons need to go down before you're testing company morale to slightly offset being easier to kill. Chances are if you're down to three platoons left with a Trained force, the game's probably more or less over anyway.
AOP Can prevent ambushes, or help the Priests bombard as required, or against more stubborn Infantry companies, drive up and shotgun with their BTGs.
Mortars can sit somewhere safe and out of the way and lay down smoke bombardments, freeing up the Priests.
Mobile.
Bazookas out the wazoo.
Lots of shots to help with pinning before an assault.

Cons:
No AT above 10. This isn't too bad, since you're not facing any tank companies so the options for lots of heavy armour are limited, but still an issue. You'll mainly be the attacker, though, so bazookas in assault should suffice.
Trained, so assaulting will be difficult against Veteran armies, and maybe so Trained ones, such as a Soviet Strelkovy. Losses on the way in are also pretty much inevitable.
Rather fragile. No armour value greater than 4. In a way this can be good, as it gives no clear priority target for enemy AT assets, forcing them to deploy to have LoS over as much ground as possible, but it also means that nearly any weapon an enemy brings can knock out something in your force.

Whether or not the Pros outweigh the Cons--and I've surely missed a few on both sides--is up to you and your local meta. It might be a decent place to start, though.

I like the sound of that.

If things get bad with armour for whatever reason I can simply add some more AT to the list.

I might roll with this one.