Box Contents
The Soviet Starter Army is a mix of plastic and metal models containing:
- x8 Soviet Infantry sprues (64 Infantry) – Plastic
- x5 Soviet weapon sprues – Plastic
- Soviet Officer – Metal
- Soviet Medic – Metal
- Soviet Medium Mortar Team – Metal
- T34/85 medium tank – Plastic
The General Purpose List
| Standard Reinforced Platoon | |
|---|---|
| Officer | |
| 1st Lt (SMG) – Regular – 75 x1 Buddy (SMG) – Regular – 10 | 85pts |
| Infantry | |
| Frontnik Commissar (SMG) – Regular – 40 x1 Buddy (SMG) – Regular – 10 | 50pts |
| Free Rifle Squad – Inexperienced – 12 Men – 0 AT Grenades – 0 Green Full Strength | 0pts |
| LMG Squad – Regular – 12 men – 120 NCO SMG – 3 x1 LMG – 20 Full Strength | 143pts |
| LMG Squad – Regular – 12 men – 120 NCO SMG – 3 x1 LMG – 20 Full Strength | 143pts |
| Guards Squad – Regular – 11 men – 110 NCO SMG – 3 x2 SMG – 6 Panzerfaust – 5 Full Strength | 144pts |
| Anti-tank Rifle Team – Regular- 30 | 30pts |
| Anti-tank Rifle Team – Regular- 30 | 30pts |
| Anti-tank Rifle Team – Regular- 30 | 30pts |
| Sniper Team – Regular – 50 | 50pts |
| Medium Mortar Team – Regular – 50 Spotter – 10 | 60pts |
| Tank | |
| T34/85 – Regular – 235 | 235pts |
| Total – 12 Order Dice | 1,000pts |
Breakdown
- Rifle – 39
- SMG – 9
- LMG – 3
- Sniper – 1
- Anti-Tank Rifle – 3
- Medium Mortar – 1
- Panzerfaust – 1
- MMG – (2)
- Heavy AT Gun – (1)
(x) denotes a vehicle-mounted weapons.
Notes and Analysis
The objective of this list is two part – 1) use as many of the components from the Starter Army as possible and 2) make a List that work at a competitive level. Please in mind, this List was written using only the content of the Starter Army.
This list uses 59 out of a possible 64 infantry. I would recommend you build two of the remaining five as LMGs and the remaining as you see fit. Components not used from the starter box in this list are the Medic and five infantry. We are using the Generic Reinforced Platoon selector for this force.
This list is built as a general purpose force that’s good at most things. Its biggest weakness is the lack of mobility, and depending on what you’re facing, it’s weak in close combat. It’s biggest strengths are the large number of bodies to chew through and it’s strong on defense.
Having four large, chunky infantry squads gives you a ton of firepower and staying power. Add in the LMGs, SMGs, Panzerfaust and AT grenades, and your infantry can deal with most targets. These squads allow you to have map control and capture important objectives or positions. Just be careful not to over extend them, they are just Regular infantry after all.
The Frontnik Commissar is a great investment for your free Inexperienced squad. This particular Commissar lets you ignore that pesky -1 To Hit with Inexperienced troops; and you can pull Moral shenanigans with their Not One Step Back! special rule. The Frontnik is 40 points, which is pretty pricey for one model, but I find it’s worth it. Sit that free Rifle Squad on a backline Objective or strong map point, plop that Commissar next to them and you won’t suffer the -1 To Hit.
The Medium Mortar team is good for dealing with your opponents stationary targets. This is usually a Mortar, or an Artillery piece. Every so often you will hit a Truck or Infantry squad that is holed up in a strong position to try and get them to move. I love Mortars as a cheap and effective form of HE. Just remember to keep them protected in the backfield and don’t forget the firing arc!
Depending on who you ask, AT Rifles aren’t worth it. And I’m here to try and convince you that they are, hell they better be as this list has three of them in it! ATRs are not what their name suggests. They aren’t very good at taking out Tanks, even Light Tanks. You need to roll a 6 to match the armor of a Light Tank from the front, forget about Medium or Heavy tanks. No, where AT-rifles shine are hitting the supporting units. Trucks, Jeeps, Motorcycles, half-tracks, even Veteran infantry. The +2 Pen modifier on these guns are why they’re worth it, especially for 30 points. The fact that it’s a Small Team is just a bonus. Got an enemy Truck running your right flank down? Use the ATR. Jeep in the center harassing your men? Use the ATR. Veteran infantry coming towards the objective? Thanks to your pen modifier, they just got a lot easier to kill. And remember, the ATR is not Fixed, you can fire on the move!
The T-34/85 is the Soviet equivalent to the up-gunned Panzer IV. Its Heavy AT gun can blast anything in its weight class or below, and has a decent shot at killing Heavy tanks (but you rarely see those). The gun sits relatively high on the tank so in theory you can get the hull behind cover and still shoot while gaining cover. The hull mount is there to shoot infantry as well, but it’s nothing special. Honestly as good as this Tank is, there are better options for the Soviets.
General strategy with this is to push forward slowly and methodically and out trade your opponent with your larger infantry squads. Use your Mortar and Sniper to try and take out the supporting units and the AT-rifles to take out their mobility. The Tank is your flexible unit. It can either blast infantry or armored targets. 12 dice is a good amount at 1,000 points, though you still can get out activated.
Be warned though. Assembling this can be difficult due to the weapons and arms being separated. The Soviet infantry are an older kit, so it’s more time consuming and fiddly to put together.
What’s Next?
If you’d rather not run the KV-2, consider these changes and additions:
- Mobility mobility mobility – This list is slow. A Truck or two will go a long way in any Soviet list.
- Upgrading your Med. Mortar to Heavy – This beast can bring down building and bully pretty much any unit you face.
- Change out the tank – Grabbing a KV-2 would give your list a much bigger bite. It’s a Heavy tank hull with a Heavy Howitzer. For me, one of the best tanks in the Soviet arsenal.
- Armored car – The best choice here is the BA-10. Relatively cheap and stuffed with weapons (two machine guns and a Light AT Gun. Wait, it also has Recce?!?)
– Joe
Chicago Dice 