Profile of Colonel0tto

And in terms of manpower - since the halftrack is normally 240mp 30 fuel, the Guards work out at 270mp. That is an awesome deal for their performance now.

I've done some testing of the Assault Guards today and I'm pretty pleased with their performance. For a laugh, I decided to try them up against Thompson Rangers, and predictably they lost. But they didn't lose by much. And when I put both units at vet 2, the Guards started winning reliably.

This is very impressive considering the Guards don't have to invest 90 muni into an upgrade. (If you consider their Doctrine comes with muni-to fuel airdrops, this seems like even better value). The replacement of the PPSHs with Thompson mean that the halftrack they come in is lot better at running down infantry.

Talking of the halftrack - this unit is consistently underrated. There are often scenarios where it is a better pick than a T70 because of its utility and potential for blob control when upgraded. Try putting PTRS penals in it and watch that Luchs explode. The fact that this Doctrine gives it to you without having to build T3 first is pretty cool.

I don't agree that the Guards should be separate from the halftrack. I like the synergy between the units and agree with Katitof that they have a distinctly lend-lease theme.

The Case for the Bofors

The Bofors is a meme unit. Very powerful against unsuspecting infantry, light and even medium vehicles, it can lock down an area of the map pretty efficiently. But it's always seemed to have some glaring weaknesses against both Axis factions. Long ranged AT and indirect fire are very effective counters. So the AEC is always a better choice - right?

That might have previously been the case. But the current meta might offer the Bofors a chance to shine...

What's changed since conventional wisdom relegated the Bofors to the trash heap?

1. Sturmpioneer healing was buffed, reducing the necessity of T1
2. OKW now always wants to start mechanized doctrine in 1v1 due to the power of early PII/ Puma play

Small changes overall, and not enough to require UKF players to remake the meta overnight. After all, an AEC does very well against early PII.

But it doesn't do great against the Puma.

Puma Problems

This post is inspired by watching Helping Hans's most recent replay (Scorched Faymonville - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LAzdMsN-Fg). Hans is rolling his opponent (Bob) and bullying him with his Wasp carrier. Hans thinks about acquiring an AEC, but the threat of a Puma deters him. He later buys a Cromwell, which ends up being pretty effectively countered by the opponent's Puma. The Puma, backed with hordes of infantry, gradually pushes him off the map ("This Puma is causing a lot of grief"). Hans wins the game with his Centaur and Crocodile, but it ends up being far closer than the early game would have suggested.

Few people are as good at using medium tanks as Hans. If even he is having trouble winning with Cromwells against Pumas, maybe there's an easier way.

Enter the Bofors

If the enemy gets a Puma, buy a Bofors. Put it on your cutoff/fuel and protect it with engineers as you upgrade your infantry. You can now use your AT guns aggressively to push, instead of having to keep them near MGs on a cutoff. And you don't need to worry about your defensive MGS being flanked.

What can the opponent do? Panic, probably. They can try to destroy it with Rakatens, which are outranged by the Bofors. They can get a PII to make the most of the fact you don't have an AEC, but using AT guns aggressively (or an AT section) makes this manageable. They can back-tech to get a LEIG, but this will slow down their build significantly and will take a long time to generate value. They can build a Stuka, but this is also pretty easy to deal with using Brace. Either way you are now forcing your opponent to be reactive in response to your defensive unit, since they know that they can't let you sit there and reach endgame.

Anything else?

That's it. Just build Bofors into Puma and test the theory. Happy Aprils Fools.

Because it already moves incredibly slowly while cloaked, and having to keep it in cover would severely gimp its usefulness

I think he's referring to the incendiary grenades