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Lenny’s guide to the Tank Hunters!

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Introduction
Hello there! For those who do not know me, I am a Strategist on COH2.ORG and community-member going by the name of Lenny12346. I think that it is boring when everyone plays the same Commanders all the time, so here is something that might mix up your playstyle a bit. I will now try to convince you that this commander is just as viable as the other commanders that are more commonly played. I hope that this guide may interest you with its special playstyle. I wanna apologise for the delay/postponement of the promised guide but I wanted to make sure that I had some experience with and against this doctrine so I could give an accurate review of the commander. Plus, I didn't wanna release a guide just before a major balance patch.

Please bear in mind that this guide is created just based on my own experience and thoughts on this Commander. In other words, this is not the only way to play the commander. You also need to bear in mind that I am a 1v1 player so the guide will be written from this perspective! Thank you for taking your time to read my thoughts!
Pros and Cons of Tank Hunter Tactics
Pros
  • Amazing AT-capabilities!
  • Amazing stun-mines: only 4.99 munitions!
  • Epic salvage kits!
  • Amazing PTRS-sniper-upgrades which will kill ALL the vehicles! (+ ALL the infantry)
  • A very flexible Commander and strategy!
  • An overall fun strategy!
Cons
  • Needs preparation
  • Brings you no OP off-map tanks
  • The Commander does not have an OP-moustache
  • Very micro intensive
  • Hard to play


!Also, you might get called a blobbing noobLenny


The abilities
2CP - RPG-40 Anti-Tank Grenade Assault
25


Are the Axis giving you a hard time with a lot of vehicles? Are you struggling to survive? Do you feel like trying something crazy with all the munitions that you have saved up in the bank? If so, this ability might be for you! It gives you amazing power! Your power-level will rise by approximately 9500 skill points. THAT IS OVER 9000!!! Consider the amount of amazing stuff that you can do with these AT-grenades which are really strong for their cost; although they only work against stationary targets since there is a minor delay on the grenades – so, make sure that you first hit with a regular AT-grenade (the ability you upgrade from the HQ). It is possible to take down a Panther with AT grenades and 4 conscripts if you hit the Panther from the rear! (Careful, if you stand too close to your target, you will die as a result of splash-damage)
2CP - PMD-6M Anti-Vehicle Mines
5


This is the kind of power which only the most despicable people in life can afford to have since the price of the mine is your soul! The Devil himself has enhanced these mines with incredible god-like powers, which will stun ANY vehicle or tank. For the price of only 5 munitions, you obtain a cheap mine which can literally change the tide of the game... or turn the tables, if you will. These mines work really well with the PTRS upgrade for Conscripts and the 6-man AT grenade assault! You can take down some of the biggest tanks with these mines. Make sure that you plant these cursed, explosive devices everywhere: it may ensure that your enemy does not...make a sudden unexpected advance!
3CP - Conscripts PTRS package
50


This is the package from Hell! You will now believe that your horde of Conscripts will be invincible and since Relic buffed the PTRS in the recent patch, the PTRS carriers ARE pretty darn invincible! Actually previously you wanted to go with a maximum of 4 PTRS Conscripts (if you had 8 on the field), now you actually just want to prioritize this upgrade-package, so that all your Conscripts can obtain these superpowers. If you are close enough to an enemy squad, you will be able to skill-one-shot enemy models like a real pro. Do not be deceived though since there are a couple of ways to counter this threat. :)
3CP - Engineer Salvage Kits
100


This is still the hidden buried treasure for most of the community, although the release of this Commander took place quite some time ago! A lot of people do not know the power hidden in this ability. The upgrade costs 100 munitions for your engineers, so protect them like they're VIPs and do not lose them since this costs a lot of munitions! It might be expensive, but the upgrade is still worth it. Just look at what you get from some of these:

_200_55_200_60_400_100_200_40_300_55____100



!kubelwagen = free upgrade or somethingLenny

(Thanks to Obersoldat for testing the values!)
12CP - IL-2 PTAB Anti-Tank Bombing Run
180


This is one of the best abilities in the game! Yes! That is how strong I believe it is. It inflicts amazing damage on enemy squads! It will delete all kinds of non-armored enemies and will inflict really heavy damage on armored targets. After taking serious damage the targets will be stunned for a brief period of time. Now is the time to roll in your army of T-34/76s! In the latest patch I have succeeded in killing off an Elefant which had 90% of its health using this ability.

!Remember that the greater the number of bombs that hit the target, the greater the damage inflictedLenny


The Build


You'll need a lot of Conscripts with this Commander since they benefit so much from the tech tree. It is also a really good idea to recruit more than 1 engineer squad since you will have a lot of armor on the field if you roll with a Tier 3 build! You should also take into consideration that Tank Hunters is a potential T1-T3 Commander, but I do not have much experience with this build so I will not say too much about it, other than that it works! Usually I research T2-T3, but if I really need a powerful option versus enemy armor, I often consider researching T4 first. I then mix T3 and T4 which is affordable because of salvaging!
Typical Build Order


I like callling in this amount of Conscripts because they get so much from the tech tree and you will have a very flexible army. It will get out-scaled at some point so when this happens it is a good idea to find a bucket in which you can deposit all your tears - or just buy more PTRS-super-solders upgrades! If you split out your army of conscripts you will get really good map presence but it will require good micro. I get AT guns and more armor as needed after the first 2 T-34s.

A little tip: choose your fights wisely and try to outplay your opponent. If you like to operate with sandbags, wires, and such, then this build is also for you.

You can also protect your conscripts from any tank by hiding behind a wall as they grant protection against all tank shells!

!A minimum of 1 Engineer squad is needed for repairing and salvagingLenny
Alternative Build Order


If I feel like I need more firepower, I like to go with this build. The Maxims (or captured MG42s) can keep the infantry-heavy armies away from your key-points, whilst you feel the joy of staying alive. In the meantime, your mortar will hammer away at the enemy infantry in order to induce a terrible state of mind in the opposition, filled with fear and other horrors. In general, I think this is the safer route, but it is not as aggressive as the first option!

You can only achieve this with an insane amount of conscripts armed with PTRSs, which are Überblob-skill-counters. If it's executed properly, it's a slaughter. It is really funny to see a mega-blob kill off enemy units.

!A minimum of 1 Engineer squad is needed for repairing and salvagingLenny
Game Phases
The Early Game
This is all about putting pressure which varies depending on what tiers you want to play with. Example, if you play T2 then you don’t need so much of the map since you have more firepower to defend yourself. If you roll with T0 then you really want the whole map, 'cause you lack the firepower to defend yourself against strong enemy attacks. You also need as much of the map as you can so you can cripple your opponent's supply lines. Claim as much munitions as possible since you would want to get the PTRS later on!
The Mid Game
If you captured most of the map and you find yourself unable to capture more ground due to suppression from MGs, or the fact that you cannot kill off the enemy skill-blob, then you should start planting the 5 munitions mines all over the map with the massive amount of conscripts that you have!
The Late Game
In the late game, you will depend on stock tanks and micro to do well. This commander is really strong in this phase of the game since you get the salvage kits. After you have salvaged a couple of tank wrecks, you should have enough to build the tier building that you are lacking. Example, you went for T2-T3 and you need T4 for defence. Maybe you simply threw away too many tanks. It’s still OK, ‘cause you don’t get punished as much if you can salvage the wrecks of your vehicle!
Counters
OKW's strong counters
okwokw


Obersoldaten: An obvious counter! It is a good idea to get a lot of obers and preserve them well.

Panzerfusiliers: Another really strong counter. Watch out for the skilltrain of pain! With the doctrinal officer, this unit is very deadly at range.

Ostwind: I have seen ostwinds do well when preserved.

ISGs: Getting two of these might be a good choice in certain matches.

MG34: For sick supression. Watch out for OP sniper-mosin-PTRS-MG-destroyers though!

Sturmpioneer Utillity Upgrade: Essential for vehicles' survival and detecting mines.
Ostheer's strong counters
ostheerostheer


MG42: Mostly for their damage output. You will have to back the unit up in some cases or else it will just get destroyed. (See 'MG34')

Mortars: Can inflict heavy amount of damage! They rely on RNG though.

Sweepers: Essential to get rid of the small mines.

Strafing runs: An ability that generally punishes skill-blobs!
Tips
I think I have covered some general tips in the guide so far yet there is still one thing I really want to talk about: Munition Preservation.

Sometimes, you simply have to choose what you wanna spend your munitions on and completely stick with this choice.

Example, you wanna rush mass PTRS-upgrades. If you want the greatest PTRS-outcome possible, you have to say no to things like regular mines, Molotovs, Oorah, Flamers and much more.

In the long run I find that this is worth the shot in most cases, yet note that you can change priorities in your preservation of munitions. Instead of going all-in, you can upgrade 1 flamer or molotovs to force enemy infantry out of cover. To help you with Munition Preservation it's a really good idea to get a munition cache early on especially if you feel on top of the battle, 'cause that would mean that you can spend your munitions on things other than just PTRS-super-soldiers like regular mines, molotovs etc.

I wrote it elsewhere in the guide, but I just want to make sure that you get the message:

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS RESEARCH REGULAR AT-NADES!!!



If you want to use the AT-grenade assualt, do it like this:

Example Scenario:

vs

AT-nade -> PTRS shots -> Grenade Assaults + more AT-nades for maximum dmg -> Dead Panzer IV

A little thing you might not know. PTRS shots tend to hit the ground if you are shooting up a hill. This means that you won't hit the models with the PTRS and won't instakill models!
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