Wow……that was my first reaction to the new Dynamic Points 24 (DP24) (find them here). What a big and comprehensive set of changes, which has built on the experiences of last year.
For those who don’t follow FOW religiously, a quick recap. When V4 Mid-War dropped over 6 years ago there were several glaring issues with the game and points which led to a big exodus of existing players (counter balanced in part though a lot of new players). A gaming meta emerged of very cheap mobile Anti-Tank (AT), backed by swathes of light vehicles making infantry very tough to play and medium tanks were out shone by their cheaper little cousins. After much campaigning by ourselves and many other groups and players, BattleFront (BF) released DP23 which was their first step to addressing some of the points issues raised. It was perhaps not as comprehensive as we wanted but was huge step forward and saw the game change considerably last year. With this confidence and experience BF have planned and tested a DP24 which takes things much further.
There is way too much to cover in detail in one article but over the next few weeks we will take a deeper dive into specific nations and look at the winners and losers from these changes. In this article I will look at the overall affect and where I think this will take the game – Mark.
Change is as good as a rest
I think it is far to say that DP24 is going to dramatically change the games meta and feel (I think in a good way). My thoughts for big handful takeaways:
- Armoured Car Companies: These will not frequently see the table competitively. Out of all the changes these are the most dramatic with an almost doubling in price. I am okay with this, the intent here is to ensure that vehicles cost more than infantry. The fact that cheap formations of armoured cars tacked onto your force (I did it with BA-10s at the ETC) was a no brainier and needed to be sorted. The war wasn’t fought and won by German armoured cars and Soviet BA-10s! To be fair the 100pt system gets a bit challenging here as I don’t think Universal Carriers should be as much but when a BA-64 is the lowest cost (1pt) it has to be more (as it has better stats).
- Anti-Tank guns: have gone down in points and quite significantly in some cases. For me the stand out are Italian 88’s and German 7.62cm at 5 and 3pts respectively (shout out to 5cm guns as well). Personally I dont think there was an issue with these but I can see why they had to be adjusted to make way for the more needed 17/25pdr reduction (i.e. parity). I do have a slight worry that they get a double bonus between the points drop and the fact that light vehicles won’t now mow them down with MG fire anymore.
- Soviet Infantry: Rejoice comrades the ‘big’ infantry platoons got a break so you can now field 29 teams for 20pts. Okay its only 83% the cost of the book points but this stacks with a more general change of meta which will move to medium tanks and infantry forces. These begin to get interesting again.
- Light Tanks: I think this will be the most divisive change of the game ie will lead to the most debates. The aim of DP24 is stop the common spam lists and let’s face it we are talking about the Crusader, L6 and Stuart (British and Soviet) hordes here. However I class the L6 differently as it isn’t a core part of the historic norm. Here lies the problem as you don’t do costs by availability. Raise the L6 alone or the Soviet Stuart and it doesn’t make sense. What this is doing is increasing the difference between cheap light vehicles and infantry while making the jump to a ‘proper’ medium tank less and therefore a more attractive option. (Nothing to do with plastic kits then? – Ed)
Goodbye my friend.
It isn’t all about the points
A lot of people will be comparing their armies to last year and either smiling, sighing (maybe crying) and shrugging their shoulders. Okay Armoured Car players may be throwing things maybe but outside that I wouldn’t get too hung up on the differences. Pure points changes when so much has changed across the board are not so relevant.
Take the Sherman force below the points change is negligible because vs DP23 the small cost drop for Shermans is out weighted by the rise for T70s, Mortars and recce. However despite in theory getting less I argue the list is better. That is because I will now face more medium armour (and I am FA6 and AT10) and I have decent side armour for assault plus direct fire smoke to help deal with high AT guns while I close (there may be more high AT guns). What I don’t now have to face is loads of cautious GTG recce cars in cover on a objective and not having enough time to deal with them. I wont be swamped by Soviet Stuarts the same way and there will be fewer KV-1. It is all about the context for the meta as I see it.
A Few Examples
I will be the first to state ‘My name is Mark Goddard and I play competitive lists’. I will build the best list I can, however for me I would much rather those good lists had a basis in history and that’s something that has been majorly lacking to date. What I think is immediately evident is that what I would call ‘core units’ ie the main units you expect in WW2 look much more viable now. That doesn’t mean the support items aren’t good, but I love that I can now look at the most numerous tanks of WW2, T-34s and Shermans, and go, I think they will do well in most games.
Lets look at some basic examples. I am not going to compare points from book, DP23 and DP24 for the reason listed above…when so much has changed it isn’t relevant. All the below are 98-100 points in total so a few command card options are available to personalise the lists.
US Sherman Tank Company Example (Fighting First)
2 x Shermans 12
4 x Shermans 24
4 x Shermans 24
4 x Shermans 24
3 x Mortars 4
3 x T70s 6
Rifle Platoon (small) 6
You could easily alter this to get recce by dropping the second template (T70s) or a HQ Sherman if you wanted. This is just a quick example, I would optimise platoon size for reserve points etc but it looks and feels fun but importantly I think pretty good. The Shermans can pump smoke out on the move or go for the kill. It has a weight of numbers and double smoke to get close. Infantry can assist with assault and clear minefields.
Soviet Hero T-34 Company Example (Red Banner)
1 x Hero T-34 5
3 x Hero T-34 15
3 x Hero T-34 15
3 x Hero T-34 15
Hero SMG 6
6 x 82mm mortars 6
3 x SU-85 24
4 x OT34 13
So like the US force I have 14 medium tanks with 4 of them having flame throwers, a bit less artillery, but some cautious high (for MW) AT. Big handfuls I think this balances nicely. There is lots you can play with, drop the OT34s and SU-85s and you could take another 9 x non hero early T34s, thats a big reserve roll and a lot of FA6 or you could drop the OT34 and lucky and take a 20 stand rifle company. Non of these are bad lists now and that’s exciting.
British Rifle Company Example (Armoured Fist)
2 x Rifle teams 2
Full Rifle Platoon 11
Full Rifle Platoon 11
4 x mortars 6
3 x 6pdr 8
3 x 6pdr 8
4 x 17/25Pdr 14
3 x Churchills 33
1 x Crusader 2pdr and 2 x Crusader 6pdr 7
This is a more defensive list which packs 3 x AT units on table with a big single reserve to get the formidable Churchills on table followed by the fast moving Crusaders. Again this would not have done well vs swarms. Firstly you would have had less guns and secondly you wouldn’t have the shots to deal with the horde of AC and light vehicles with mass of MGs. But vs the two lists above this has a lot of potential, its hard to deal with 10 guns that are cautious especially as you then have to content with 3 x AT10 guns on cautious FA8 turning up.
Allied List Example (North Africa)
British Grant Company
Grant HQ (2 tanks) 11
Grant Platoon 17
Grant Platoon 17
Sherman Platoon 21
Grant Platoon 17
US Rifle Company
US Rifle HQ Platoon 1
Short US Rifle Platoon 6
Short US Rifle Platoon 6
US Mortar Platoons (3 teams) 3
A combined arms Allied list, again built around a solid core of 14 x cautious tanks with impressive firepower and an allied infantry formation with a bombardment (with smoke). I did want 25pdrs but for 1 more point i get worse artillery (oh yeh its Green!) but 2 x rifle platoons and a HQ. That’s a good trade off in my opinion. The Brits do continue to suffer from limited cost effective artillery though, which is a shame.
Italian Armour and Infantry Company Example (Avanti)
1 x M14/41 3
5 x M14/41 15
5 x Semovente 20
5 x Semovente 20
1 x rifle team 1
9 x Rifle/MG team 9
5 x Rifle/MG team Blackshirts 3
3 x Mortars 5
4 x 47mm guns 6
3 x Semoventee 90 18
I am a bit on the fence with this. Over all the slight increase to the M14/41 is mitigated by the cheaper Semovente 90s and guns but as i said earlier it is more about what they will face. Personally I think the Italians come out as a hard army to run as tanks now. They excelled in vs light tanks and armoured cars but struggle against mediums. However they are good vs infantry. This is an all rounder list bit once those 90s are dead you will struggle to kill FA6 and even 5.
Axis Allied List Example (North Africa)
Italian Rifle Company
Rifle HQ 1
9 x rifle/mg blackshirts 7
9 x Rifle/mg 9
3 x mortars 4
4 x 47mm guns 6
4 x 47mm guns legions of rome 5
1 x 88 5
1 x 88 5
3 x Semoventee 90 18
German Allies
Panzer III Uparmoured x3 20
Panzer III Uparmoured x3 20
This I think is a bit better. More defensive with 8 x light guns, double 88s (great as no last stand checks), and 90s (hopefully in abmush) plus 2 chunks of infantry to protect then. Then riding to the rescue are 6 x FA6 tanks with AT9 which is sufficient in LW for most things. If I was being ahistorical I would look at 2 x Panthers for 28 and then fill the 12pts with maybe M14s.
Germans Mixed Panzer III & IV (Late) Company Example (Ghost Panzer)
2 x Panzer III (Late) 14
3 x Panzer III (Late) 20
3 x Panzer III (Late) 20
2 x Panther 28
Full Armoured Rifle Platoon 13
1 x Heavy AA Gun (88) 5
This is very much a sabre rather than broad sword. Hugely capable but reliant on positioning and knowing when to blitz. It lacks artillery which is a key issue but is still packing 8 very capable tanks along side armoured giants with the Panthers (I think great at 28pts). It still feels a bit expensive to me when compared to the other lists, I think it would struggle vs some of the lists especially inf antry but its one I want to test.
German Panzergrenadier Company Example
Panzergrenadier HQ 2
Panzergrenadier Platoon 10
Panzergrenadier Platoon 10
Panzergrenadier Platoon 10
5cm Anti-Tank guns 8
5cm Anti-Tank guns 8
7.5cm Anti-Tank guns 11
Panther Platoon x2 tanks 28
Stuka Tank Hunters 10
A defensive list with a capable gun line. The 5cm at 2pts each seems crazy and part of me thinks its a typo but for now this is what we have to work with. With 3 Infantry platoons, all of which have their own gun platoon tanks will have a bad day and their MGs work well vs advancing infantry. First reserve is the Panther with a super effective gun and survivability. Its a key counter to KVs and Churchills. It also goes through T34s like a knife through butter. The Stuka with its AT9 cannon is also interesting for the new medium tank meta, but it is frustrating I cant spend my spare 2pts without mucking up my reserves. Have to check if I can add a AT rifle to a platoon and then leave it ‘out of the battle’ if I have reserves in that game!
Get gaming
In full disclosure I have seen these points for a while so have more time to adjust and think to them. Like many out there at first I was a bit…OMG, somewhat stages of grief territory as the lists I knew were blown apart. However, by stepping back and playing with lists and really considering that the spam threat has gone made me realise we have a really refreshed MW here with new challenges and meta to deal with. For the first time I am really excited to field medium armour and I think there are some real defensive possibilities. Dont even get me started with the Hungarians…. oh go on then
Hungarian Rifle Platoon
Rifle HQ Plattoon
Rifle Platoon x7 teams
Rifle Platoon x7 teams
Rifle Platoon x7 teams
5cm Anti-tank Platoon
7.5xm Anti-tank Platoon
Panther Platoon x2 tanks
(thats all on table!)
Tiger Heavy Tank Platoon x1
Short German armoured inf with AT rifle
Right I have to stop before I make more lists!!!
P.S dont forget to give your feedback on DP24 here.
I think returning to infantry and medium tanks is basically a great move as it reflects a historical norm – something that should be understood and respected – after all we aren’t playing 40K here.
But why wasn’t this done from the outset? How poorly does it say that MW was thought through as an out-of-the-box system?
Or should we be applauding gamers who apply themselves to make highly competitive comp lists – happy to fly in the face of historical precedence – because after all this is a game and not a simulation?
A great article though. Great to see Shermans, T-34s and footsloggers back in the mix. My fear often is though that by ‘fixing’ one outcome problems are created elsewhere.
Time will tell.
BF admitted that V4 release was rushed to released. My assumption (can’t verify this) is that they had to increase revenue and had very tight time pressures. Since then they have worked hard to get things right.
Great article Mark and I agree on all fronts in regards to making medium tanks and AT cheaper making MW more accessible for medium tanks and infantry rather than a recce skirmish. My gripe would be there could be more nuance in recce costing to make the recce company more expensive rather than each recce exceedingly platoon expensive. E. G slight increase in the platoon cost (BA10s 4pts) but make the comm card much more expensive (hq BA10 3or4pts). Personally looking forward for the new era.
I don’t disagree Tom. I would have gone big with the card or Hq cost for armored cars and had less of an increase for the units