The road to the UK V4 GT

Today Mark has a ponder about 3 options for UK V4 Gt.

In October, Battlefield Hobbies will be hosting the 1st Version 4 U.K Grand Tournament, a late war, 1525pts event.  I will be attending, I have started to ponder lists and,  I must admit, I am struggling.  No clear meta has emerged yet and a lot has changed in V4.  While the updates have started I still feel there are some real holes in the balance but at the end of the day this will effect everyone.  All I can do is plan my list in accordance with the latest LW/EW changes.

I am looking at 3 potential lists;  A Soviet Hero lists, a 51st British Infantry list and, finally, a US 2nd Infantry Division list.  Please note, some lists are over 1525 pts due to the rebate from redundant teams as per the last update PDF.

List 1 – Soviet Hero IL2.

 

First up is the Soviets.  With 6 FA11 tanks sporting AT15 FP2+ guns with the brutal rule, tank companies definitely need to watch out.  Medium armour, and even Panthers, will get ripped apart by these laser beams of death.  However, as with anything in life, there is a draw back and that is ROF1; meaning you are -1 to hit when moving.  Luckily, V4 allows you to Blitz and these clever Heroes do it on a 3 plus, which is nice.

Of course, versus infantry, these are perhaps the best tanks in the game with a high side armour being supplemented by the new “bedspring armour” rules.  Combine that with a rear MG and a 3+ skill and you do not want to get assaulted by these guys.  I am hoping that with the new taking objectives rules from the ‘more missions’ PDF I might be able to get some fast wins.  Especially versus armies like British infantry.  Even US forces with bazookas struggle against these guys.

FA11 will protect versus most things short of a Late 17pdr or a King Tigers, even allowing a fair save against the 88s you often see.  Most importantly, you can laugh off Pak40s and the billion 6pdrs I predict we will see.

Backing up the tanks is a solid platoon of infantry.  These are only ‘trained’, but with a 3+ skill and 14 stands.  With 3 ‘fausts and  HMG they can also hold their own in an assault and give out decent defensive fire.

The 8 Zis-3s is really an abuse of the lack of V4 balancing.  Taking guns that used to have rubbish bombardments (FP6+ in V3) maximises the gain in V4, where it becomes FP4+.  I was never planning to kill tanks when bombarding so it matters not the change to the AT.  While the Zis-3 suffers from low AT in direct fire, it’s excellent to sit behind your infantry and bounce assaults if you have to defend.

As always the Achilles heal to this list is enemy King Tigers and, unfortunately given how much more survivable they are in V4, I expect to see a few; although the 1525pts will perhaps keep the numbers down a bit.  All I can really do is ignore them and try too keep out of their way.

A key factor as well as I consider my choice of list is that I have all these models nicely painted and ready to go…

List 2 – British Infantry

So a fairly standard Infantry Company and actually not that different to V3.  The ‘Reluctant Veteran’ status allows a lot of units which are very survivable.  The new V4 rules also make it harder to break the infantry companies (7 casualties versus 5 casualties) and its harder to break the 6pdrs (5 casualties versus 4 casualties).  Those 6pdrs also get a 3+ save which makes a unit of 6 a no brainer!  Perfect for an ambush, or holding off a tank assault.

Crocs are still stars with FA13, making them so hard to kill for anything other than King Tiger.  Also, they no longer have to fear heavy artillery (which we won’t see much of anyway).  What’s interesting is that their flamethrower can now fire every turn, but they aren’t limited to a 6 inch move.  A nice blitz and a move can put their flame range out to 18 inches!  Remember, with spearhead you can be 16 inches away from the enemy in some games…

With the change to the Typhoon rockets in the rules update they are back up a lovely AT5, the best King Tinger killers in the game.  2 of them is another no brainer IMHO.

8 25pdrs gives me 2 smoke templates as well as 2 FP4+ bombardments to dig out the infantry and pin ready for assaults.  They are also respectable on defensive fire when placed behind the infantry as well.  The trained aspect matters less now as you hit according the rating of the enemy rather than your own skill.

The list is rounded out with recce for the odd spearhead and a couple of HMGs to help bounce those pesky infantry assaults.

Perhaps the most all round list I’m looking at today which has answer to most things and can attack as well as defend.  I will need to paint 2 x inf pltns, 2 HMGs and 6 x 6pdrs though.

List 3 – US Infantry

Finally we have the old staple US Infantry

One thing V4 has done is eliminate the US gun park and this list is testiment to this.

Based around 2 infantry platoons with attached LMG plus a short, but still formidable, Armored Rifle Platoon it’s very infantry focused force.  Being “veteran” these guys are survivable and the ‘confident’ rating keeps them in the fight with a reasonable reliability.  Mainly a defensive list, the 3 platoons still allow you to go on the offensive with the principle of one to assault, one as a backup to take the counter assault, and then a reserve platoon to sit on the objective.

Anti-tank is provided by 2 x gun pltns with the 5 inch guns and 57mm guns.  The Towed Tank Destroyers actually are better in V4 with a 4+ save and also with Tank Destroyers not getting a decloak you actually don’t waste points with these guys who had it removed in the updated Bulge book.  However the nice thing is that you can still take the halftracks with 50cals and zooks  and go tearing off.  Take the platoon commander with you and you are still fine under the new rules from the lasted update which limited transports by having them remain with 6 inches of the command team.  Cheesy but still fun 🙂

Again my answer to big cats is the air support with the AT5 rockets from the latest update.  Adding the close air support for 25pts also allows them to come on with a 3+ roll.  With 3 aircraft and the crazy survivabilty of aircraft combined with no moral check and a single aircraft being as effective in a bombardment as 3, these guys will survive pretty much anything!

The list is rather light on templates with only  single set of mortars but that makes somewhat of a pleasant change after V3, however, it does limit my offensive.  On the plus side all the expensive enemy AT is absoutely wasted.  panthers just become expensive mobile MGs.

Conclusion

A tough choice between these 3.  I think the Hero list is the weaker list due to the inability to kill KTs.  If I could afford limited IL2s with their rockets I would be golden.  However I do thing it would be a lot of fun and I enjoy being the guy with the deft list i.e. Who really brings IL2s to a competitive event!

The British are super reliable and have a answer for everything however I will need paint part of the force or borrow some bits.  For me they are the ‘best’ of the 3 lists.

The US is dependable although somewhat defensive although it does negate any big cats, basically making them a very expensive MG pill box (also known as rocket fodder).

I would be very interested to hear everyone’s thoughts.  Post below or on FB and help me make the descision!