Building a better list: LW Romanians

Today I want to continue looking at the Romanian Forces carrying on from my article on Romanian list building in MW. 

The idea here is to make a well balanced yet fearsome list, perfect for those embarking on their Romanian LW journey or just trying to get the most out of them.

The List

In the same theme as MW, I am going to build an infantry list.  Whilst the light tank and medium armour lists are attractive, I think cheap but effective infantry is where Romanians shine, especially as the last stand is less important (Something they suffer from with a 5+).

While the main Romanian lists come with a Motorised Rifle Company I really rate the Command Card Mountain Rifle Company.  Here you save some points at only 6pts per platoon of 7 stands for the loss of ROF3 when stationary/unpinned.  You also gain the mountaineer rule, although I have never seen it used!

Formation

For the core formation, I am going with

• HQ 2 x ZB24 rifle teams
• 7 x ZB30 MG teams with Panzerfaust, Panzerschreck and Mortar.
• 7 x ZB30 MG teams with Panzerfaust, Panzerschreck and Mortar.
• 3 x 82mm mortars
• 4 x 120mm mortars.

At 31pts this is a nice solid base with a 9 and 8 strong platoon, packing excellent integrated AT, a cheeky single tube bombardment (great for pinning) plus 2 proper templates inc smoke.  The main downside here is that the 82mm mortars are only 3 strong so 1  casualty and they are on the last stand test (they are infantry teams).  Not ideal when your last stand is 5+.

Support

To support this formation we need some AT.  The 75mm M43 gun is pretty much an auto-include, with 3 x AT13 guns for 11pts.  These are a perfect ambush and can make FA9 Tigers and Churchills take notice.  Alongside these, I am adding 3 x T4 (Panzer IVs).  They are pretty cheap, having worse stats than their German cousins, however retain that super important cautious rating. 

I did consider the T60 TACAM for AT12 however, I wanted a little more front armour.  Recce is easy with the 3 x AB (2cm) armoured cars and I round off with some HS129s.  I love these guys with a total of 6 x AT7 shots.  They are great at going after self-propelled guns and can also worry Achilles/Marders and deal with cheeky recce armoured cars.

• 3 x 75mm M43 Guns
• 3 x T4
• HS129 Flight
• 3 x AB (2cm)

This brings us to 63pts.  That is actually a lot of stuff to almost have all on the table.  (just drop the recce or mortars depending on what you are facing).  I always like to have 2 x AT assets on the table at all times and with the T4s and 75mm guns that box is ticked.

The final 37pts is where a bit of dealer choice comes in, and also depends on what stage of the war you want to simulate.  The Romanians started allying to the Germans but switched to the Soviets (somewhat at gun point) as the Germans retreated back to the starting blocks.   I am a big fan of a single big reserve roll, it is the most efficient way to get stuff onto the table.  On average it is turn 2 before you get a 5+ (following 3 reserve dice) and turn 5 for delayed reserves.  With games going for around 6-7 turns in a typical 2.5hr match you don’t want things gradually arriving.  With this in mind, there are two obvious choices.

5 x IS2 or 3 x SS Tigers both neatly hit the remaining 37pt mark.

While the IS2 lacks the ability to hit a barn door due to its slow firing rule it is brutal (quite literally) when it hits and with FA10 bringing down 5 of these beasts is incredibly hard to do.  Also, don’t overlook the 3+ tactics.  If you need 6s to hit (unlikely to do much) then often it is worth risking a Blitz if it gets you to 5s to hit instead.  Like the Tiger it is an assault beast with TA2 and SA8, with 5 hulls it can do a huge amount of damage and statically can assault 3 pinned Pak40s in a real pinch.  The Tiger is a better all-rounder and the reduced hulls are mitigated by cautious and 2+ morale.  While the gun is a bit weaker, it has a massive range and ROF2.  Both units are fearsome.

Conclusion

Whether you choose the Tigers or the IS-2s these are a truly rounded force.  You have all the tools needed to attack with 3 x templates, smoke and recce, plus a really hard-hitting assault unit backed up by capable infantry.  In defence, you have double AT on the table and an (almost) single reserve roll.  If you have deep reserves you will end up with 43pts off the table with the HS129s and your Tigers/IS2s.