I noticed that the 2 special ops squads are now available. Are the Axis and Allies special ops squads a mirror image of each other? Or do they each possess unique traits and abilities?

I think they are equal

Equal but I still like them. Just received them today. Both Axis and Allies snipers have agile, sniper and spotter. They also both roll misses for Soft and Hard cover.

The observer squads both have artillery strike and again roll misses for soft and hard cover.

Now I just can't wait for the painted versions to come out.

Dcal12 said:

I should have checked first they are for sale.

Whats their point value and where do you order them from to get them so quick? I've got to wait another couple of weeks for UK

all i want to know is whats the range on the sniper rifles ?

If i remeber right ( not haveing card in front of me ) its only 6.

Thanks all for the info. It will take at least three weeks or more for it to arrive here in Singapore. I have already placed an order with my regular supplier and sort of pressurized him to bring it in faster, but I don't think it will help in any way

Sgt. G said:

Yup, just picked mine up today and it's 6 for both. Nice looking figs too. I just wish the sniper rifle barrels weren't so bendy. Even after some hot water, I still can't bet my Allies sniper rifle straight. I might have to replace it with styrene rod.

Major Mishap said:

Point value is 2

rwwingate said:

thats dissapointing , i was hoping for 10 , or U

well if you think about it.. its alil more realistic then that..

its basicly a .50 cal. rifle.. and sence the .60's have the same range..

A range of 6 is what I guessed at, seems realistic and sensible. 6 is pretty much across the board anyway and terrain will stop you from shooting to far as well. Can't see anybody taking the observers for 2pts though, this is where the simple 2/4pt units fall flat on its face compared with the tourney points. Command squad 2pts, art observers 2pts, really?

6 is only across the board in the starter . generaly we play on boards that are 14 across and 20 or so wide , OR LARGER . a precision sniper riifle with a trained sniper should fire farther .in a bigger game , this unit doesnt scale up .

while i realize the 50cal in the game shoots 6 , its realistic because in a combat situation , thats the effective range when everyone is all hopped up on adrinalin shooting kinda willynilly so the bullets could go farther , than the firer can really aim . snipers , even in WW2 , are trained to stay calm and take the shot which makes the lethal range longer . and on the confines of the small battle fields ( even as large as the ones we play on ) the range of a sniper rifle should be longer .

as it is , 6 should be the lethal range of a regular infantry rifle .

i will apprently end up making a house unit to rep actual snipers , for a point or 2 more a team that have longer range but the same abilities .

as for the observers , after playing with the command squad , i will happily pay 2 points a squad to get them out there .

what i came to the conclusion with the command squad is that i like the abilities , BUT most require the expendature of an action to just TRY . i feel you have to decide wheather you want to use a command squad to use its MATBE abilities or its dead on artillery strike ability .

if you want to use the maybe abilities , you need to keep them hidden , so they dont really do much in a game other than try to bring something bakc or get something moving .

if you want to use them offensivly , you lose out on those maybe abilities , so you have to count on the moves and attacks .

to me , since i can only have one command squad , i think they better serve me hiding , trying for a maybe ability .

the observers them selves are weak , but when yyou look at them as an extension of the artiller walkers , that they can move out and call an artillery strike in , without risking damage to the firing walker , its worth it .

add to that that the ability doesnt have a range , so especially as the game scales up , the observers are safer earlier on , and allow you to cover fire corridors that you dont want to risk planting a tank on .

and even if you lose the observers squad , the artillery walker they were spotting for is free to now move in and take part in the battle , going after targets that they may very well have damaged with fire earlier in the match .

at 2 points they are a bargain , i would have happily paid 3 or even 4 .

My guess (and it's still just a guess) is Kris has the right idea on command squad vs observers. The observers aren't going to be attractive in small games, but in big games they should be a nifty tactical option in addition to the command squad. Snipers on the other hand, I still don't really know how I'm going to make the work yet.

i'm much more in like with the sniper squad. range 6 is very good, across a good portion of the table in cyclone. diagonal moving gives more threat range and they hit 66% of the time. observers are cool, but as an ally player, our indirect fire is limited anyway and i use my steel rain much more in a direct fashion usually. taking out a panzershrek is much more important to me. putting the squads at 2 points was cool too, keeps people from spamming 4 sniper rifles for a measly 4 points.

rwwingate said:

My sniper is going to get a cookie every game he takes out the BBQ squads flame thrower. After that take out the heavy weapons and MGs. Maybe some hero shots too.

I can now see how the medic in the command squad is going to get much more action brining back those heavy weapons guys the snipers are taking out.

Jiltedtoo said:

Except he'll be the first to get shot!

That's the fun of it. Can you keep him alive long enough to kill their sniper, medic, and heavy weapons? That's why I love this game, its very simple and strait forward but still gives you hard choices. Worth a cookie indeed.

-Jeff

Exactly, easy game to learn, but so many choices. I think the observer squad and the sniper squads are very interesting additions.

Aaaaargh!!! You guys are killing me! Everyone is having so much action with their snipers and observers but these squads are not even available in my country yet!! Tomorrow I'm going to tear the hair out of the owner of my regular gaming shop

traderghost said:

Here in my area we're still using the base set. We don't have any of the expansions yet.

These units are awesome.

played them today in 2 quick set up games using the boards and tiles , 4X7 , spotters were good , very effective , and definatly worth their 2 points .

because of the longer playing area , the snipers were mediorcre . their sniper ability was effective , but because they had to move up to be able to see and target enemy units , they spent half the game doing nothing .

second game i added manfred to their squad , so another expenditure of 2 points to get them up fast enough , and they definatly did alot better .

my over all impression is that the artillery spotters are wonderful , even at 2 points for just 2 guys .

the snipers really need to have a hero added to the squad to be worth anything . their cover values are good , but only if they are in cover , which means they are the one unit i would HAVE to turtle with to really justify having in my force , OR spend another 2 points to attach a hero to the squad , which means i am not able to attach those heros elsewhere where the hero may do better , which means i waste a hero .

i would rather the snipers have a range of 10 and cost 4 points , so that the extended range would allow me to put them to better use without HAVING to waste a hero , or HAVE to turtle .

i know the idea behind snipers is to allow them to hide and snipe , but it doesnt really work well in the context of this game . because its so bloody and brutal , the battle advances fast , and as the game scales up , the snipers limited range means they have to be mole , and cant just sit in the back where nothing is going on .

next week we are going to do a airplane battle , so peerhaps the week after that or so , i will try a house unit at 4 points with range 10 .

only problem with that, is youre running snipers out of the current confines of the game. in cyclone, where your tiles are only 3 deep, i think theyll be more effective. i'll find out tuesday.

blkdymnd said:

yes , however , for the snipers to work as written , the "current" confines have to be "permanent " confines , and everything points to this game getting bigger as it goes .

which would be even more confineing for those wanting table top rules , if the entire game is written JUST for 3X3 feet square , i would think that would kinda make it pointless to make table top rules , even for just the small segment that wants them so much .