Tournament Preparations - Wojna Światów part 1

Hello Everyone,

As a part of preparations for the upcoming Wojna Światów tournament, I have performed a check of what lists are going to be used. I normally do this to look for some new composition ideas and prevent myself from being surprised with a completely new build. If I find any of these, the least I can do is to read any special rules, familiarize myself with the Arsenal entries and think about possible tactics that I could use to play against such a company.

I have to tell that if someone would ask me quantify the component parts of a success in a tournament environment (single), I would say that good prep is around 20%. What I am trying to say is that it is always worth to spend an extra hour to probe the meta if you decided to go competitive.

In any case, I have been able to read all the rosters that have been added to the tournament entry before it was switched to hidden mode and there are a few that I found interesting.

P.S. I will go in 2 separate iterations of this analysis, each time covering a few lists that I found interesting.

P.P.S. this is the list that I will be using: Romanian Cavalry

　

Italian Alpini
Elite (66% to be vet)/ Artillery (83% to be vet)

HQ 2x Rifle
Platoon 1: 10x Rifle with improvised AT3 + anti-tank rifle
Platoon 2: 10x Rifle with improvised AT3
Platoon 3: 10x Rifle with improvised AT3
Platoon 4: 4x 65/17 gun (16", AT8, Rof2, no gun shield, crap bombardment)
Platoon 5: 4x 65/17 gun (16", AT8, Rof2, no gun shield, crap bombardment)
Platoon 6: 4x 75/27 gun (24", AT9, Rof2, crap bombardment)
Platoon 7: 4x Semovente 47/32 (3/1/0, AT7)
Platoon 8: 6x 75/39 gun (24", AT10, Rof2)
Platoon 9: 7x Pioneer Rifle + 2x Brixia mortar
Platoon 10: 2x 75/27 gun (24", AT9, Rof2, crap bombardment)

This is a list similar to what I have in my Romanian Cavalry with slightly different accents. This one mostly has shorter ranges on the guns but has a better ambush platoon in the form of the captured soviet equipment (6x 75/39). It also has a decent mobile semovente unit to go around the enemy flanks. Overall, I like the way this company is built. It has good chances to be veteran (up to fearless vet) and has a lot of hard-hitting units. Its main weaknesses are: little response capability vs omnipresent Mixed Tankovy as well as massive footprint which will be a major hindrance on the offensive (~40 infantry bases is not that easy to move around the board). I think I can beat it in Counterattack/Breakthrough/Surrounded, Encounter will be a 50/50, while I will almost certainly loose in Fighting Withdrawal.

　

US Armored Recon
Confident/Trained

HQ: 2x Carbine + transports
Platoon 1: 2x M3A1 + mortar jeep + mg jeep
Platoon 2: 2x M3A1 + mortar jeep + mg jeep
Platoon 3: 4x M10
Platoon 4: 4x Sherman
Platoon 5: Full AR platoon + 3 bazookas
Platoon 6: 3x Priest

A pretty standard, solid Armored Car list. It is very well balanced with plenty of options for both anti-tank and anti-infantry. It will be very good on the offensive as well as in Fair Fights because of the amazing mix of firepower and mobility. It has its cons too though :) It is all Confident Trained which means that it will melt pretty quick to concentrated fire. Also, defending against tank forces in mobile reserves battles will be a pain in the butt with only 2 platoons on the table. I feel pretty confident to beat it in Counterattack/Breakthrough/Surrounded. Fighting Withdrawal depends on the attack/defense roll (It should be very easy if I am the defender and pretty difficult if I am the attacker). Encounter - again, 50/50.

　

Rota Razvedki
Fearless/Trained

HQ: 2x Motorcycle Rifle + Motorcycle Komissar (my favourite :P )
Platoon 1: 7x Rifle/MG + 4x Captured Sd Kfz 251
Platoon 2: 7x Rifle/MG + 4x Captured Sd Kfz 251
Platoon 3: 10x T34 (including Mariya Oktyabrskaya) (conscript)
Platoon 4: 6x BA64
Platoon 5: 4x SU122 (conscript)
Platoon 6: 6x120mm mortar (conscript)
Platoon 7: 2x Katyusha + extra crew

This list is maybe not perfect, but still quite interesting. Again, it is a mechanized force designed to be the attacker. It will be a very good force against infantry companies and possibly gun-heavy rosters like the one I am fielding (or the Alpini that I already mentioned). It has tons of decent anti-infantry or anti-gun assets: T34s, SU122s, Razvedki platoons, Heavy mortars. What makes is different from other mech forces is that it can put down at least some units in missions with mobile reserves and hope to survive the initial turns of the battle. The bad part of this setup is that I honestly do not know what is the plan against able tank companies. This Razvedki has next to zero of reliable anti-tank. Also, odd number of platoons needs to be mentioned :)

If I go against this company, I could have a hard time defending in most of the missions with the exception of Fighting Withdrawal. If I am the attacker, I should be doing fine in Counterattack (just kill off the reserves and force a morale check) and Surrounded. The rest is 50/50.

Ok, I still can't wait to test my Romanians against these fine opponents. There will be a full tournament report coming in soon (as the tournament is scheduled for this weekend). Also, it will be followed by..... another tournament next week - which makes me extra happy! :) So stay tuned, as there is a lot of gaming-related posts coming in soon! :)