Tactical edge - Germans in Berlin

So I thought I'd take a look at what we're going to see from the German forces in Berlin - what builds look viable, what builds look less viable...

I think the first question is going to be which HQ you go for - I'm personally more in favour for the CV HQ - if you're using the Fearless roll then you're probably losing the game anyway! Now if you have mainly Fearless troops I can see a benefit with the reroll, but I think you can save points here!

Now the core of your troops is going to be the real tough choice here. I think there are four combinations of troops which are really going to be popular.

The first is going to be massed Vet infantry - whether it's SS or Heer - personally I think the Heer is a really good choice as it's the first time we can get massed infantry with the 3+ 'enjoy the war' - but having played Westfalen I know how frustrating it is for your opponent to break your platoon and then have all those 2+ enjoy the war go in your favour (or alternatively laugh as you roll ones!) the other big advantage I see with these vet platoons is the combat attachments - you can get some really big platoons 12 strong I think - even one of those dug in on an objective is going to be a misery for your opponent to shift.

At the other end of the scale is the volksturm, if you take them then you need fortifications IMHO (more on that later) but you can fill out a force org chart cheaply with these guys (and hitlerjugend) they may not be very good, but being this cheap it allows you to then fill up on the big shiny toys to kill the enemy. Special mention goes to the volksturm mortars - this may be the single best throw away smoke platoon in the game IMHO!

The next option is trained infantry - from my own experiences this year I think you'll want to go fearless with these chaps as they take hits so much easier than vets. The big downside is the lack of combat attachments which keeps you at a small size and I think a less viable option.

The last option is the mix and match combo - this is where I see the real winners - to me a big FV combat attached grenadier platoon and the a cheap conscript platoon(behind street barricades?) is probably the sweet spot for objective holding + the toys you want to fight with.

So the next question is 'to fortify or not to fortify?' This is a tough call - I'm not a fan of auto defend/fortified lists in many ways, but street barricades and minefields is a really good combo, as you place them before objectives (and in a significant number of missions even as defender you place an objective) I think it's worth the investment - I particularly like adding some hitlerjugend in - tanks have to get up to the barricades to see you - and when they do you charge in shooting a Faust on the way!

You get two armour slots - but as an infantry list you'll often have one in reserve if they're both fully armoured. So what do you go for? The king tigers and elephants I think are too pricy - the panzer 4/70 is still that great mix of armour + gun. And StuH's are everyone's favourite unit - though as mentioned in our review not having them + recce is a shame.

You also get other such lovelies as mobile AA and the new waffentrager- I think if I have the points I'll mix 4/70's and StuH's but most combinations are viable - if you're going without fortifications then I'd look to add the recce for sure.

The one thing you can't do with this list is have an arty party - only one platoon limits the viability - and whilst you can take more 88's than sin - a lack of the rules from nachtjager (also why no train cars? I like models and want more lists I can use them in!) means at RT they're vulnerable - though a load of them backing up volksturm will be a misery for many lists.

I think this list will do pretty well - especially in missions with a sideboard where you can really keep your opponent guessing what they may face. But I think the builds will be pretty homogenous - as sadly some options are far more viable than others.

Again thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your list ideas for Berlin - till next time