ETC List Discussion

So I'm currently going through all the ETC lists to try and find some kind of strategy/ edge that will help us plucky Scots on the day. Now I won't divulge our cunning plan but I thought i would look at some of the popular list types at this years event.

For those of you who have no idea about the ETC it involved teams of 6 representing their nation (or other nations depending on mercenaries etc...) against other nations. This year it's held in Prague (Czech Republic) each team has six players, it's EW 1550 and two players must be infantry, 2 mech and 2 tank - oh and you can't have two of the same nation in the same slot, so no two French tank companies, but you could have a French infantry, mech and tank list.
German Infantry/Mech Infantry

So these are dominating the lists, I've grouped them together as the vast majority of mech lists look very similar (to me at least) to the infantry lists. What do I mean by that? Well it's some infantry with panzer knacker's backed up by lots of AT guns and a smattering of vehicles, ranging from panhards to panzer 3's. Having played a few of these lists in the past they are pretty hard to break down, being vet they're tough to hit, and the pak36/38 can still pack a punch whether by high AT or RoF. You are also getting a few variations with mech or foot pioneers too, and again there is a tough list with a wall of good AT in defence and flamethrower a on attack.

German Tanks

A nice split here between the versatile 38t and the more typical panzer 1 to 4's. I love the 38t and light panzer lists due to the decent AT and average fire power, but I find the panzer 3/4 lists a little over pointed. I still think they'll be solid lists in this environment.

Soviet Tanks

I'm really loving the variety of soviet tank lists, some are the heavies like T34's with few back ups, others are mixtures of lend lease tanks, Matilda/Valentine/t60 seemed popular, whilst others are the t26 hoard. I think any team will need a couple of plans against these lists. The hoard ones with more hulls than you've had hot meals will cause light tank and mech lists headaches, whilst the few heavy tanks, had better avoid panzer knackers and Molotov cocktails.

Russian Infantry

It almost felt like every team was taking one of these hoard infantry lists, whether it's CC, FC or FT they'll be tough to break down and have numerous good support options, I can really see them winning more than a couple of games by time outs.

Italian Tanks (run by Italians or Brits)

The carri lists are back! I have only face one of these lists once before, but in this format the Italian tanks are proving really popular. With a good mix of armour, AT and firepower I can see why they're popular, and not being vets like the Czech Panzers I compare them to frequently I see a lot more hulls on the table.

French Mech Recce

The famous panhard lists, are looking a little less panhardy! With lots of hotchkiss making themselves known. I think this is almost entirely due to the rise of barbed wire by lists sch as soviet infantry or Finnish fortified. They still have lots of good AT and survivability, again a very popular mech choice.

'British' Mech

I use inverted commas here as Australian and NZ div cav come under this bracket too. The div cav lists offer a lot of options, including moving objectives, auto defending etc, plus a great selection of anti infantry and AT options, though coping with soviet heavy armour is always my big query. The Brit armoured car lists are also very solid with great vehicles like the Humber scout car, I think they are very much an experienced players list, but good in the right hands.

Polish Infantry/Mech Infantry

More mech than regular infantry, but the 'gunbrella' is alive and kicking - again I always wonder how these lists attack, but time and again I see them pull it off - I think good match ups will really help these lists.

Japanese

Going to be honest very few Japanese infantry lists - I always think and Japanese list is good a team make up, the auto attack option is a really powerful move, and the ability to keep fighting is just infuriating. I always get concerned though with Japanese lists in tank on tank match ups.

Finnish Infantry

You know I love these guys, and they are well represented, especially the fortified version, with more barbed wire than is decent in many cases. Whilst tanks may not struggle too much, I see infantry and mech lists really losing out here.

Finnish Tanks

I was slightly surprised to see this list feature a few times (though seeing it prompted me to buy the remaining T26's I needed to run it!) I have liked the list since release but not been too sure, as the T26 in small numbers seems vulnerable. But the offensive output without hen and chicks is a huge plus - glad to see it being used.

So those are the popular lists, there are lots of others, Greek Infantry, LRDG, Slovak Tanks etc but these ones seem to be the ones dominating EW currently.

Thanks for reading

Coxer