In general, I eschew nation specific building if I’m trying to be competitive. But this is in response to a user question about playing a good Soviet build, so I’ll do my best to limit the options to Soviet units.

First of all, there are several Soviet units that see competitive play quite often and do very well. Those units should be the basis of a good Soviet army.

By far the best Soviet contribution is the KV-1. This tank is a monster and has the distinction of being the hardest tank to kill in the game, with the exception of the new Su-152 coming out in set V. But more on that later. Almost without exception, the KV-1 is played with the Cossack Cpt. on board, so generally I refer to this as the KV-1/Cossack Cpt. combo. The reason this combo is so effective is that it takes an already hard to kill unit and makes it ten times harder to take out. The primary role of the KV-1/Cossack Cpt. combo is sitting on the objective. This is the most important part of the standard game, which is why this combo sees a lot of play. It takes some serious AT ability to take on the KV-1 head-to-head. Small German tanks like the Hetzer have guns big enough, but will get blasted into scrap metal against the KV-1 and need to get lucky to do more than remove Hulking Mass from it. Heavy tanks except the Croc all cost more than the KV-1/Cossack combo, and the KV-1 is fast enough to avoid them, which is a common and very effective tactic against units like the Vet Tiger. It takes a dedicated, lucky and concentrated infantry assault to overcome the -1 penalty, Hulking Mass and the rear defense of 6. By dedicated, I mean that you have to design your infantry build to take it out, and by concentrated I mean you have to have no other distractions. In short, for a 100 point game, only the Croc is a better armor unit than the KV-1/Cossack combo.

The difficulty with the KV-1/Cossack is it’s killing power, which is minimal. It needs support. The Hero of the Soviet Union is perfect for this. The Soviet Hero is the best Allied Hero, and arguably the best Hero in the game. It provides perfect support for the KV-1/Cossack combo, since the KV-1 can roll up to the objective impervious to enemy fire and the Cossack can spawn the Hero when the going gets tough. Before the Hero-limit, one of the top teams if not the top team was the KV-1/Cossack with 7 Heroes and 3 points in change. However you can only have one Hero now because of the Hero limit.

So we have 51 points left after a KV-1/Cossack and a Soviet Hero. Enter the brand spanking new Su-152 from the Set V previews.

The Su-152 is a KV-1 with Bombardment and much higher attack rolls against both infantry and armor. It has downsides like no transport ability, Fixed Howitzer and Limited Ammo (no defensive fire). At 51 points, it is the perfect fit. It gives you the killing power the KV-1 lacks along with the KV-1’s incredible surviveability. It’s downsides can be overcome when paired with the KV-1, plus with the KV-1 and Su-152, you can avoid the problem of your opponent just running away from your big guns by simply outflanking him with two big guns. I don’t know how this army will play yet, but it seems to be a highly competitive and versatile unit and the perfect counterpart to the KV-1/Cossack/Hero group in a 100 point army.

As for other options, I have only one thing to say: remove the unit limit. The Russians have only one def 5 infantry, the Hero, and a couple great 3 pointers in the Nagant and PPSh. The problem is that without breaking the unit limit, you cannot field enough of these little buggers to overcome the more expensive def 5 infantry and the Russians do not have any good midrange options at 5-10 points besides the one Hero. Consider that if you fielded 12 PPSh’s or Nagants and a KV-1/Cossack/Hero you would have the maximum 15 units and only 85 points. Take away the unit limit, and you can now field 17 three pointers plus the KV-1/Cossack/Hero in only 100 points. Ouch. That’s a lot of firepower and and a lot of units to kill. That sort of build would not only have a chance against the current champion SS-horde, it would have a significant advantage, especially with all PPSh’s. The Russians used massed infantry assaults in the real WWII, and they are set up to do just that in this game. But the unit limit takes away their ability to make this work. As long as the unit limit is in effect, the Russians will always be a second-tier nation. The Su-152 is a decent addition, and could become a killer unit to base a build on, especially at higher point values like 200. Unfortunately for the Soviets, infantry will always give you a better chance in tournaments and the Russians are unable to use their strongest infantry because of a couple arbitrary and IMO, unnecessary and stupid rules.

Ben Kissling