I got the RCS and the A2 command squad for both Allied & Axis. Now i want to add more units for variety. Can you guys give me some advice or recommendations? Any units that is fun to have or units that isn't as good so are rarely used. Thanks!

I would get the Sniper/Observer boxes for each faction. The sniper squads let you do some fun things with an added hero, rolling for blanks instead of cross hairs with Sigrid's laser or even more so with Angela's sniper rifle with Frenzy can be dominating, not to mention getting "hard cover" within soft cover.

I would also recommend getting the artillery medium walkers (and they come with the other three weapon packages so even more options are available to you beyond artillery) for both factions for calling artillery strikes with that ability for both your command squads and the spotter squads, and even though you already have a spotter squad in the command squads its nice to have the spotter squads for a cheaper alternative to get the most out of the walkers (only 5 points) and the chaep AP of the squad can be good when you have a few points left over to have an extra activation.

There are several other squads you may want to pick up just to balance the factions, such as the Grim Reapers to give the Allies some range anti infantry attacks or the Tank busters for ranged anti-armor and the Gorillas or zombies to give the Axis some hard hitting close attacks.

There are certainly earlier posts/threads that give better/more complete lists than mine, depending on how much you want to buy. For flavor and utility, I also recommend stocking up on heroes as well to add variety of skills to you squads as well as being damage sinks.

I agree with Fenton that the medium walker packs with the artillery walkers are absolute must haves for both armies. So much so that you'll probably want two of the medium walker packs for each army.

I also agree that the sniper/observer squads are also good, especially once you start using artillery walkers.

I would also consider getting the NCO command squads. They give you some abilities that the normal command squads don't (Stimulant Kit and Ammo Dump can be game changers), and they have enough offense and defense that you don't have to just hide them in a corner.

As for units to avoid, I think you can skip the light and heavy walkers as well as the alternate medium walkers (i.e. the Cobra/Rattler and Wotan/Flam-Luther). The light anti-tank units are both subpar and the light anti-infantry/anti-air units are pretty easily replaced by Armor 3 Infantry. The heavy walkers take up too much space, and can't be used in most of the published scenarios. The alternate medium walkers aren't really doing anything not already covered by the basic medium walkers.

Now for some faction specific recommendations.

The Axis are already pretty well setup just from the Revised Core Set, since you get arguably the best Axis hero (Lara), the best Axis anti-armor infantry unit (Heavy Laser Grenadiers), a great anti-infantry Armor 3 infantry unit (Heavy Flak Grenadiers), and a great close-combat Armor 2 infantry unit (Sturmpionere).

Still, in addition to the general recommendations above, 1 (or even 2) squads of Recon Grenadiers are a nice addition. The Recon Grenadiers are very reasonably costed, and are a threat to both infantry and armor. They even have knife & grenade for a close combat weapon so enemy Armor 3 infantry can't melee them with impunity.

As for Axis units to avoid, I'm not a big fan of the Laser Grenadiers. They just seem costed way too high for what they actually can do. I'd also avoid the Battle Grenadiers and the Tank Killers. Neither are bad units, but the Battle Grenadiers cover similar territory to the Recon Grenadiers, but cost more points and don't have grenades. The Tank Killers are a decent anti-tank squad, but the Heavy Laser Grenadiers are far, far better. The Heavy Recon Grenadiers are great, but probably not different enough from the Heavy Flak Grenadiers to warrant a purchase.

I don't have much experience with the zombies and apes since I prefer units that shoot over ones that punch, but most folks seem to prefer the zombies.

On the Allied side…well, the Revised Core Set didn't do them too many favors. The Hellboys are a good close combat squad (but expensive), and the other units are pretty lackluster. I'd suggest picking up the Grim Reapers for anit-infantry duties and the Tank Busters for anti-tank duties. Both of those units are fantastic.

As for units to avoid…well, that's a long list! The BBQ Squad is actually a great unit, but is very similar to the Hell Boys. It probably doesn't make sense to have both unless you decide you really like close-combat squads. The Gunners are also a good unit, but too similar to the Death Dealers. So, again, it probably doesn't make sense to have both. The Bot Hunters are a decent anti-tank squad, but are totally overshadowed by the Tank Busters. The Recon Boys are just ridiculously weak--you're better off fielding a squad of snipers + a squad of observers for the same points. The Red Devils are also pretty much made of suckage and can be skipped.

Heroes are a bit hard to make recommendations for, since you can't buy them individually.

Operation Cyclone has Manfred & Rosie. Manfred is relatively cheap and works great with either the Recon Grenadiers or Sturmpionere. Rosie, though, I think only shines when you are fielding heavy walkers and can put her Tank Head ability to good use--she seems a bit pricey otherwise.

Operation SeeLowe has Markus and OZZ 117. Markus only seems worthwhile if you have apes to match him up with. OZZ 117, though, is a fantastic hero to add to the Tank Busters or Grim Reapers, since his Heroic Attack ability makes them utterly immune to damage for one round.

Operation Cerberus has Angela and The Chef. I don't have any experience with these two, but The Chef would seem to go well with the Hell Boys while Angela would be a good match for a sniper squad.

The Axis Hero Pack has Stefan, Totenmeister, and Grenadier X. The last two only work with zombies, which really limits their usefullness. Stefan is okay, but if you want to add Assault to a squad, Manfred does it for two fewer points.

The Allied Hero Pack has Action Jackson, Johnny One-Eye, and The Priest. Action Jackson only works with the Red Devils, who suck, so he's kind of worthless. Johnny One-Eye is great, but only if paired with a unit with a lot of limited-use weapons, like the BBQ Squad or The Gunners. So, if you don't have either of those squads, he's not going to do much for you. The Priest is quite good when paired with the Hell Boys.

Hope this helps!

Spec Ops, Medium walkers, Grim Reapers, Tank Busters, Zombies + Hero Pack or Apes + Seelowe. If you care about army symmetry, anyhow. Otherwise, get stuff that you like. Check out the cards to see what you might want.

Hi, Thanks for all the helpful advice, I kind of have an idea what to get know, need to slim down the list a little though.

I will get both the medium walker and the Spec Ops for Axis and Allies. I plan on picking up Seelow so I think I will go with the Apes instead of zombies. NCO squad should be interesting and they are actually strong!! Although small unit size makes them more vulnerable. Can you put hero with NCO squad?

Grimreaper will hopefully give the allies some range units and I want to try out the new British& French Paratrooper. They seemed pretty good versus infantry and better than the original paratrooper. They should go well with Ozz.

Axis I think I might pick up the Heavy Recon because my Friend like Lara, but I guess they are pretty similar to the NCO squad and the Heavy Flak Grenadiers.

Personally i would skip the NCO squads for now. They add a LOT to the game mechanics and give a ton of new strategic options with their smoke and drugs. I suggest getting into the game with more basic units, having most of fun with them and buying NCO's later. But that's just my opinion;)

cloner4000 said:

Right now, you can't link the NCO squad to a Hero because there is no Hero with Command or Commander skill or whatever is needed. Considering the NCO squad, I agree with Lska. While they are a great unit, you should perhaps buy more basic units first, especially if you want to slim down the list of units to buy. On another note, you won't be able to join OZZ with the new Paratroopers because they don't have the Jump ability (which OZZ has). The only Hero that may join the new Paratroopers is Action Jackson. He is not as bad as he has been described here, by the way.