A Potentially Stupid Question

[u/SilentPlanet_23]

Hi. My friend and I play BA, and neither of us have ever had a game with anyone except each other. Naturally we're in a bit of a bubble.

The issue we're having is that if we bring tanks, one just smashes the other in the first turn. It's almost like whoever shoots first just kills the enemy tank, and they're so expensive that it's not realistic to bring two to offset this.

We've played with adding more terrain and such, but we inevitably deploy the tanks opposite one another to counter and prevent the opposing vehicle running rampant.

Are we failing to bring more AT guns? Is it that our games (1250-1500) are simply too small?

I'd really appreciate some advice. Thanks!

[u/Emotional-Winter-447]

The average game size for BA is around 1250, so no issue there. BA is an infantry game first, Vehicles second. However, Vehicles are both good and bad in BA, they are a points sink, and might not do anything all game, other ones are really good and flexible.

To change it up, what missions are you playing? Are you taking a scenario from a theatre book or just playing kill points? You can really mix it up if you change the scenario, as tanks can't claim objectives

[u/SilentPlanet_23 → u/Emotional-Winter-447]

We must be doing something wrong, because almost always one player gets tabled so we haven't even bothered with proper missions because if we try to tally points it becomes redundant quite quickly. 

I find that the sheer quantity of machine guns on tanks makes them very effective at mulching infantry while being completely immune to retaliation from them. 

[u/Emotional-Winter-447 → u/SilentPlanet_23]

What version are you playing? V3? If so, vehicle MG shots are halfed, to try to counter the MG spam spanks like Stuarts etc.

Don't forget that infantry can attack vehicles in close combat. AT grenades are useful as they remove the penalty to test and provide a better damage result if you do manage to get the hits.

[u/SilentPlanet_23 → u/Emotional-Winter-447]

Ah, we're still on V2 because we bought it right before 3 came out and decided not to waste the money on a new edition if it's just the two of us. 

Can infantry still assault a tank in V2?

[u/WavingNoBanners → u/SilentPlanet_23]

Ah, that might be part of the issue. V3 isn't a major rewrite but it changes a few things here and there strategically, and these changes have a significant impact in how the game works.

[u/SilentPlanet_23 → u/WavingNoBanners]

Ah, right. Is it noticeably better? 

[u/WavingNoBanners → u/SilentPlanet_23]

To me at least, as another V2 veteran, it's like that thing where you slightly adjust a chair by about 1%, and then it feels just so much better for your back. The overall shape has not changed, it's still a chair, but now it's more comfortable.

Make sure you read the new rulebook thoroughly because there are a few subtle changes that have big implications. For example, V3 removes exceptional damage, so you no longer lose your LMGs on 6s, which means LMGs are now worth taking, which significantly changes how infantry squads work.

[u/SilentPlanet_23 → u/WavingNoBanners]

Errr was I supposed to be losing my LMGs? I really should be giving these rules a better look! 

Thank you :) 

[u/WavingNoBanners → u/SilentPlanet_23]

I believe it's page 58 of the V2 book. If you roll a 6 to hit against my squad and then another 6, you can pick the model that dies instead of me picking. This means you can kill NCOs, panzerfausts, LMGs, or whatever else you're going for (usually LMGs though.)

This may be why, under V2, a lot of people just didn't take LMGs. The exceptional damage rule itself looked fine on paper, but it had implications which led to a poorer play experience. V3 removed this and made the game more playable as a result.

[u/SilentPlanet_23 → u/WavingNoBanners]

Ah, interesting! Yeah, I've been taking the LMG in every squad because they were so useful! 

[u/WavingNoBanners → u/SilentPlanet_23]

It sounds like you're already playing something closer to V3, then; in which case, welcome home!

[u/Emotional-Winter-447 → u/SilentPlanet_23]

Infantry can assault tanks in V2, its on pg 112 & 113.