Onwards To Victory

Richard Borg’s Commands and Colors system (Battlecry, Memoir ’44, Ancients, and Battlelore) are all excellent games to entice non-gamers into the hobby. Easy to get into thanks to the card driven gameplay, cool to look at (yes, even the blocks), and with a short set up and play time it doesn’t scare folks away like pulling out a copy of The Next War.

For newcomers to the system I offer the following tips. I don’t profess to be some sort of grandmaster player, but I’m experienced and hold my own, so hopefully you’ll find some worth to these. All these tips are generic enough that they can be applied to any of the games.

Tip #1: It’s all about securing victory points (flags, banners, etc).

This may seem fairly obvious, after all it’s how the game is won, but very often new players overlook easy kills in an effort to make a more dramatic impact. When the possibility rears to attack a two unit stand or attack a full strength heavy unit because of the threat they represent next turn many players attack the full strength unit.

Always press for the elimination of units. Any time there is a weak unit that can be targeted, target it. Victory occurs the moment someone secures their needed victory level, which means that there is never a danger of a sudden ninth inning come back. If there are one or two unit stands on the battlefield, those are the ones you want to go after. Remember, a unit’s offensive strength is the same full as it is reduced, so that one unit stand is just as dangerous to your side as a four unit stand, only easier to kill. And with it being a card driven game there is no guarantee that the unit that you fear will even get to act any time soon.

Tip #2: Always plan two moves ahead.

Since all units must be activated by cards it is not a good idea to plan your strategy on the fly since you’ll never know what you are capable of turn to turn. Instead look at your hand and always choose two cards that will help and plan around those two cards. Then, when you draw a new card priorities can shift if necessary, otherwise you should already have that move planned out. It can also be helpful to choose one card in your hand to be an emergency card (typically this would be a tactic card), and as tempting as it may be to use hold on to it until the proper time.

Tip #3: Card management.

First, learn the cards. Don’t worry too much about the section cards, concentrate on the tactics cards. Read them carefully so you understand their use, and count how many of each there are in the deck. While this is not so useful in a typical single-map scenario, as you probably won’t cycle through the deck, it is useful when playing a multi-player multiple map scenario. Those games will typically see the deck played through at least once, and knowing what cards come up for you during the cycle and which haven’t can help plan your moves.

When using tactics cards use them wisely. Weigh their impact at the time of their potential use. For example, an Air Power card in Memoir ’44 actually has the best impact at the start of the game, when your opponent potentially is lined up on the map edge, since retreats are as good as kills at that point.

Tip #4: Learn the best ways to kill your foes.

Depending on the game certain units are easier to kill than others. In Memoir ’44 there is a three in six chance of killing an infantry unit (increased to four in six if blocked in retreat) while only a one in six chance of hitting an artillery unit (two in six if blocked in retreat). Obviously then given the choice between attacking infantry and artillery you’re guaranteed more hits if attacking the infantry.

Consider how many dice you will get to throw. An archer unit standing still can throw two dice, but some units can move and throw one die. Likewise infantry fire combat is typically reduced not by movement, but by range. Weigh the odds of getting the target type on the dice, and how many dice will be thrown, to figure out the possibility of eliminating the target in a one or two attacks.

Tip #5: Blocked retreats are as good as kills.

If a unit cannot retreat each flag counts as a hit. This means every unit has its chance to be hit instantly increased by another 16.6%. Since there are no ZOC or supply rules always look to cut off a unit’s retreat route for that extra boost to the combat dice. Armor and cavalry are excellent at doing this. Just be careful and make sure you don’t extend yourself too far that your units end up in the same predicament.

On the flip side if you’re playing Ancients or Battlelore make sure your units are always supported to gain the ability to ignore the first flag. Which reminds me, in most (but not all) cases of units that ignore the first flag result it is they MAY, not MUST ignore. Sometimes it’s good to retreat so if your unit has the choice consider taking it if called for.