Sir, I just have to say that your videos are so well done. Thank you for all of your hard work and time put into your knowledge and the video itself. I love this game, but rarely find the time to play due to the constraints of real life. I just recently got back into it and had the Anniversary Edition sitting on my shelf for years, untouched. These strategy videos were so fun and exciting to watch, and I found myself walking along with my board so that I could learn everything about this edition of the game. Thank you again, I'm forever subscribed to your channel.
@@thegoodcaptain1217 Your video series are really good and fill a niche by showing strategy overviews and your analysis. You’re one of the few and honestly the best at it. As an A&A player since ‘84 I have no interest in an unboxing review of the game or watching someone else’s game. I enjoy hearing the pros and cons of various strategies and how the factions vary. Just well done overall.
Again, I really enjoy all your videos on the different Axis and Allies games. One small correction on this particular video. At the of Russia's turn one, an infantry unit must be in Karelia otherwise on the German's next turn their armor unit in the Baltic states can blitz thru Karelia on its way to capturing Archangel.
This is not correct. Page 25 under tanks, "A tank that encounters enemy units in the first territory it enters must stop there, even if the unit is an antiaircraft gun or industrial complex." The only version of axis and allies where complexes don't prevent a blitz is the Milton Bradley 2nd Edition or "Classic". Glad you enjoy the videos!
@@michaelhadwick4252 no worries. Most of my knowledge about these small rules comes from some personal catastrophe in a previous game. A lot of these rules are non-intuitive. Happy gaming my dude.
I am currently playing solo this game applying all of your strategies for each country with your recommendations for game balance. I am on turn three and have not been disappointed.
I don't find anything strange with this opening. As you also said, you need the 2 FTRs on R1 (although you might be able to get away with 1 FTR/6 INF save 2 or 1 FTR/1 TANK/5 INF) because it's the only time when you even have a chance to get an air force. You need at least a token air force to be able to trade territories effectively, since only they can attack territories without having to stay there after the fact (to die to a counterattack). An alternative may be BOMB/6 INF for the 6 move + better attacking odds, but the FTR is probably better since they have 4 DEF.
Great video series! I'm playing through a game now with the suggested German opening (losing 1inf in EP, 1 in Ukr, 2 in BS). Russia went full counter against BS and Ukr (Moscow armor to Ukr). Rolls were a bit in his favor, but he ends up with BS: 4inf 1art, Ukr: 4inf 1arm, 1 inf blockers in Belorussia and EUkr). Really put me on the back foot and feeling the lack of inf. Seems like a strong counter for Russia. Any thoughts on this Russia round 2?
First, your opponent scored very well on the G1 defense. And insofar as he used every piece he could to counterattack BS and Ukraine, he ended up doing above par in Ukraine as well. Given these nearly across the board unusual results favoring Russia, I would move the inf in EP to blocker Bulgaria, use the inf in Poland to blocker EP, pull the German armor into Poland and have them meet up with the 10 inf from Berlin. And carry on knowing the game is in you favor and the Axis are likely to absorb this just fine. I have more to say but not via text on a RUclips comment. In general, keep in mind you have the “air hammer” so using infantry in combination with air power is great for German counter and strafe attacks. “Normally”, the Russian exposing a core unit (arty/armor) like this is an opportunity for the Germans to destroy such pieces while they’re exposed. If the German transport hasn’t been sunk a counter attack into BS may be warranted/mandatory.
Playing without National Objectives makes this version a lot more balanced. Prob the main reason the Axis is op in this version is because of how quickly and easily they can get most their National Objectives early on.
In my video on National Objectives, I analogize it by saying that if the axis had no idea what their National Objectives were, they would accidentally start collecting them simply by attacking forward like normal. Not so for the Allies…
@@thegoodcaptain1217 That's a good point. But yea after I made my comment above I seen you mention in other videos of yours how National Objectives make the game very imbalanced. I subbed to your channel, I love Axis and Allies strategy videos.
We played with a Soviet AA in the far Eaqst, 1 AA in Leningrad and 1-2 inf or 1 inf 1 art behind the front in Urals. Dardarnells/Turkish straights always closed. Aslo Soviet runs China- this means BEFORE Japan moves 1941 and China gets normal income but builds only infantry. Give China an AA too. Buying or keeping an art in Leningrad and Caucasus is key. A bunch of only inf can not attack but with an art and fighter suport they can!
Those are some pretty generous Allied bids but I appreciate the spirit of everything you say, especially as regards the Chinese pairing with the USSR turn. That made me raise my eyebrows and nod my head.
Russian brings everything to Baltic states turn one (7 infantry, 1 artillery) and they have a 77.5% chance to take it. If Russia wins with something like 4 infantry and an artillery (which is very likely) it will be a very big pain for Germany to take back.
Agree. Except I’m calculating that there will be 2 Inf and 1 Art left in the Baltics. I’m also going very aggressive and attacking URK with 5 Inf and 1 Tank. 71% win. I want those German pieces off the board.
I don't feel that either of these recommendations would be very 'big pains' for the Germans to take back. An aggressive Russia fighting battles so early in the game and in the mid-70s like this is, in my experience, not long for the board when Japan comes around in just a few turns... But if anyone want's to play a game... I'm always ready to have my mind changed.
You mention in the Japan video that it would be a mistake for the Russians to pool all their troops inside Buryatia on R1. Something that I've been doing is building 6 infantry and 3 artillery R1, sending 3 infantry down into Persia and consolidating in the caucasus and karelia (unless Germany goes heavy north) in which case I consolidate in belorussia like this video suggests. It seems to me that the opportunity cost of Japan destroying the buryatia stack is delaying taking India for a turn in which case Russia and the UK can "midwife" India into the middlegame. Not to keep permanently, but to keep the UK's IPC amounts high enough to build a UK fleet and start dumping troops into Karelia and doing a sweep down to Poland. And by holding Stanovoj for longer, American bombers built in Western US can threaten the transports in SZ 62, slowing down Japan and forcing it to keep fighters dedicated to protecting the Japanese transports and not supporting other areas of the map. These bombers and then be used to Strat bomb italy/germany or threaten the Italian fleet. What am I missing here? Why is consolidating the buryatia infantry considered a "bad" russian move?
@@edwardnguyen7213 It is a joy to read the comments of players who have obviously stacked games. I can empathize with everything you say here as I played my allied strat almost the exact same way as you described in my first 3-5 games. Your execution is well articulated and I agree with it. The point at which I part ways with this strategy is that India is worth 3 IPC and having that 3 IPC for one extra turn (or perhaps two) was not worth the annihilation of the Soviet army in Buryatia / displacement of Rus troops away from the Eastern front. In my experience, Japan is so overpowered in this version that the idea of trying to pin it down out of the gate like this ranks as something less than a nuisance. In my opinion, the only thing that slows Japan in the early to mid game is the 30-45 IPC she has to spend on industrial complexes to maintain momentum. That's my experience anyway. But don't take this response as a squashing of the strategy. If you're having success with it or believe in it, stay on it. And if you'd like to stack a game or two to try it out/exercise it, just holler.
One strategy I really like is a Russian bomber turn 1. I find that it helps stall Japan, especially in India. Though to make this work you do have to divert infantry. But I am never a fan of an India industrial complex because of Japan's airforce. Better to counterattack and retake India, than try to hold it against all those planes.
I've played a lot of games against a lot of different people but have never seen the Russian player build a bomber. Russian fighters can reach India from Caucuses with the added benefit that they defend on four. I'm not gonna completely knock this strategy bc I've never seen or heard it but do the Russians really need all that range? As regards India, totally agree. The hardest thing for me to let go of as an Allies player was the UK IC. Its not a "dead on arrival" strategy, its just that I became convinced the allies can do better by NOT defending it up front and instead dead zone it as you mention.
I see a Russian bomber in the 4th aircraft purchase, an investment for fighting Japan. based in Novosibirsk, this bomber will reach anything but the absolute farthest battles Russia will be fighting. I might have only bought 1 fighter first turn but 2 fighters double the returne concept of not leaving anything more expensive than infantry for the enemies counter attacks. Very conservative I'd say, a wise investment, like saving $1 just to be sure your buying as much infantry as possible.
I continue to be surprised at how many subscribe to the "I spend every IPC every turn" concept. I scratch my head over it still. That is probably going to be its own video or incorporated into a video for the series im currently working on for Axis and Allies 1914.
I was super hyped seeing this video because in every game I play with friends, russia gets destroyed every time and very quickly. Upon trying this strategy out on triple-a against friends, the AI, and even myself, I found that it never worked! Either my entire army in belorussia was completely blown out or germany rerouted to take caucuses and I lost every time. So I ran the numbers using a battle calc and found that there really is no way to defend belorussia and caucuses... even in the example you give in the video, germany has at least a 90% chance of winning when they attack belorussia with everything they have at 6:43. The only way to defend belorussia completely is to abandon every other territory which will just lose you the game. bummed out :(
I still use this as a baseline strategy and am still actively playing on the .org. Would you like to play a game? I would like to see what you’re talking about (where did you get 90%?). I will take Allies, no bid.
As a follow up: we can just play the first two rounds. And repeat as needed as many times as we like. Perhaps you have something I missed or I didn’t communicate effectively.
For anyone who has read down this thread and for my future self: I spoke with Smokey and he pointed out that the win rate is somewhere in the 90 percentile range if the Germans throw everything and the kitchen sink at the Belo. Bump on G2. I don't contest these probabilities however, the TUV swing is significantly negative for the Germans. In other words, the Germans will sacrifice/risk much of their air force and all their armor in this otherwise "successful" attack. Where USSR will lose infantry, the Germans will lose far more expensive units to secure this "W". Activating "retreat when only air left" in the TripleA battle calculator will net you the "close to 50%" chance of success I quote in the video. This is what I am advocating. This is how you play "chicken" with the German player to stall them on G2. That being said, if I release a future video on this series, I will discuss this in more detail and provide a subtle "update" to the G1 and R1 openers.
Sir, I just have to say that your videos are so well done. Thank you for all of your hard work and time put into your knowledge and the video itself. I love this game, but rarely find the time to play due to the constraints of real life. I just recently got back into it and had the Anniversary Edition sitting on my shelf for years, untouched. These strategy videos were so fun and exciting to watch, and I found myself walking along with my board so that I could learn everything about this edition of the game. Thank you again, I'm forever subscribed to your channel.
This comment made my weekend. Thank you. I am really glad you find something enjoyable in them.
Just want to comment, again, on how much I'm enjoying this series on anniversary edition. Another fantastic video.
I sometimes wonder how these videos "land" with the general AnA community. So thank you for the comment. Much appreciated my dude.
@@thegoodcaptain1217 Your video series are really good and fill a niche by showing strategy overviews and your analysis. You’re one of the few and honestly the best at it. As an A&A player since ‘84 I have no interest in an unboxing review of the game or watching someone else’s game. I enjoy hearing the pros and cons of various strategies and how the factions vary. Just well done overall.
@@sdallas68 wow. thanks man. I really appreciate this compliment. Thanks my dude.
these video series really changed how l see axis and allies as a whole and helped me a ton in becoming a somewhat competent player, nice work!
I am not even playing this game but I like the way you think.
Thank you.
I think it would be great to list all A/A games with the typical bid. I enjoy your content.
Another good video. Interesting ideas and worth discussing.
Again, I really enjoy all your videos on the different Axis and Allies games. One small correction on this particular video. At the of Russia's turn one, an infantry unit must be in Karelia otherwise on the German's next turn their armor unit in the Baltic states can blitz thru Karelia on its way to capturing Archangel.
This is not correct. Page 25 under tanks, "A tank that encounters enemy units in the first territory it enters must stop there, even if the unit is an antiaircraft gun or industrial complex." The only version of axis and allies where complexes don't prevent a blitz is the Milton Bradley 2nd Edition or "Classic".
Glad you enjoy the videos!
Once again I am impressed with the depth and understanding you have of these games and the rules.
@@michaelhadwick4252 no worries. Most of my knowledge about these small rules comes from some personal catastrophe in a previous game. A lot of these rules are non-intuitive. Happy gaming my dude.
I am currently playing solo this game applying all of your strategies for each country with your recommendations for game balance. I am on turn three and have not been disappointed.
I don't find anything strange with this opening. As you also said, you need the 2 FTRs on R1 (although you might be able to get away with 1 FTR/6 INF save 2 or 1 FTR/1 TANK/5 INF) because it's the only time when you even have a chance to get an air force. You need at least a token air force to be able to trade territories effectively, since only they can attack territories without having to stay there after the fact (to die to a counterattack).
An alternative may be BOMB/6 INF for the 6 move + better attacking odds, but the FTR is probably better since they have 4 DEF.
Completely agree. Toss up between Bomber and fighters. I usually go with one bomber and the rest fighters over time.
Keep it going Sir
WILCO ;)
Great video series! I'm playing through a game now with the suggested German opening (losing 1inf in EP, 1 in Ukr, 2 in BS). Russia went full counter against BS and Ukr (Moscow armor to Ukr). Rolls were a bit in his favor, but he ends up with BS: 4inf 1art, Ukr: 4inf 1arm, 1 inf blockers in Belorussia and EUkr). Really put me on the back foot and feeling the lack of inf. Seems like a strong counter for Russia. Any thoughts on this Russia round 2?
First, your opponent scored very well on the G1 defense. And insofar as he used every piece he could to counterattack BS and Ukraine, he ended up doing above par in Ukraine as well.
Given these nearly across the board unusual results favoring Russia, I would move the inf in EP to blocker Bulgaria, use the inf in Poland to blocker EP, pull the German armor into Poland and have them meet up with the 10 inf from Berlin.
And carry on knowing the game is in you favor and the Axis are likely to absorb this just fine.
I have more to say but not via text on a RUclips comment. In general, keep in mind you have the “air hammer” so using infantry in combination with air power is great for German counter and strafe attacks. “Normally”, the Russian exposing a core unit (arty/armor) like this is an opportunity for the Germans to destroy such pieces while they’re exposed.
If the German transport hasn’t been sunk a counter attack into BS may be warranted/mandatory.
Playing without National Objectives makes this version a lot more balanced. Prob the main reason the Axis is op in this version is because of how quickly and easily they can get most their National Objectives early on.
In my video on National Objectives, I analogize it by saying that if the axis had no idea what their National Objectives were, they would accidentally start collecting them simply by attacking forward like normal.
Not so for the Allies…
@@thegoodcaptain1217 That's a good point. But yea after I made my comment above I seen you mention in other videos of yours how National Objectives make the game very imbalanced. I subbed to your channel, I love Axis and Allies strategy videos.
@@MichaelMyers87 welcome aboard, happy to have you
We played with a Soviet AA in the far Eaqst, 1 AA in Leningrad and 1-2 inf or 1 inf 1 art behind the front in Urals.
Dardarnells/Turkish straights always closed. Aslo Soviet runs China- this means BEFORE Japan moves 1941 and China gets normal income but builds only infantry. Give China an AA too.
Buying or keeping an art in Leningrad and Caucasus is key. A bunch of only inf can not attack but with an art and fighter suport they can!
Those are some pretty generous Allied bids but I appreciate the spirit of everything you say, especially as regards the Chinese pairing with the USSR turn. That made me raise my eyebrows and nod my head.
Russian brings everything to Baltic states turn one (7 infantry, 1 artillery) and they have a 77.5% chance to take it. If Russia wins with something like 4 infantry and an artillery (which is very likely) it will be a very big pain for Germany to take back.
Agree. Except I’m calculating that there will be 2 Inf and 1 Art left in the Baltics. I’m also going very aggressive and attacking URK with 5 Inf and 1 Tank. 71% win. I want those German pieces off the board.
I don't feel that either of these recommendations would be very 'big pains' for the Germans to take back. An aggressive Russia fighting battles so early in the game and in the mid-70s like this is, in my experience, not long for the board when Japan comes around in just a few turns... But if anyone want's to play a game... I'm always ready to have my mind changed.
You mention in the Japan video that it would be a mistake for the Russians to pool all their troops inside Buryatia on R1. Something that I've been doing is building 6 infantry and 3 artillery R1, sending 3 infantry down into Persia and consolidating in the caucasus and karelia (unless Germany goes heavy north) in which case I consolidate in belorussia like this video suggests. It seems to me that the opportunity cost of Japan destroying the buryatia stack is delaying taking India for a turn in which case Russia and the UK can "midwife" India into the middlegame. Not to keep permanently, but to keep the UK's IPC amounts high enough to build a UK fleet and start dumping troops into Karelia and doing a sweep down to Poland. And by holding Stanovoj for longer, American bombers built in Western US can threaten the transports in SZ 62, slowing down Japan and forcing it to keep fighters dedicated to protecting the Japanese transports and not supporting other areas of the map. These bombers and then be used to Strat bomb italy/germany or threaten the Italian fleet. What am I missing here? Why is consolidating the buryatia infantry considered a "bad" russian move?
Also, these videos are fantastic, thank you so much for making them, its been liek a crash course in Axis and Allies for me and I'm loving it :)
@@edwardnguyen7213 It is a joy to read the comments of players who have obviously stacked games. I can empathize with everything you say here as I played my allied strat almost the exact same way as you described in my first 3-5 games. Your execution is well articulated and I agree with it. The point at which I part ways with this strategy is that India is worth 3 IPC and having that 3 IPC for one extra turn (or perhaps two) was not worth the annihilation of the Soviet army in Buryatia / displacement of Rus troops away from the Eastern front. In my experience, Japan is so overpowered in this version that the idea of trying to pin it down out of the gate like this ranks as something less than a nuisance. In my opinion, the only thing that slows Japan in the early to mid game is the 30-45 IPC she has to spend on industrial complexes to maintain momentum. That's my experience anyway. But don't take this response as a squashing of the strategy. If you're having success with it or believe in it, stay on it. And if you'd like to stack a game or two to try it out/exercise it, just holler.
@@edwardnguyen7213 hey, thanks man.
@@thegoodcaptain1217 haha I might take you up on that, ill wait for the rest of the series to finish first though :), keep up the awesome work!
One strategy I really like is a Russian bomber turn 1. I find that it helps stall Japan, especially in India. Though to make this work you do have to divert infantry. But I am never a fan of an India industrial complex because of Japan's airforce. Better to counterattack and retake India, than try to hold it against all those planes.
I've played a lot of games against a lot of different people but have never seen the Russian player build a bomber. Russian fighters can reach India from Caucuses with the added benefit that they defend on four. I'm not gonna completely knock this strategy bc I've never seen or heard it but do the Russians really need all that range? As regards India, totally agree. The hardest thing for me to let go of as an Allies player was the UK IC. Its not a "dead on arrival" strategy, its just that I became convinced the allies can do better by NOT defending it up front and instead dead zone it as you mention.
I see a Russian bomber in the 4th aircraft purchase, an investment for fighting Japan. based in Novosibirsk, this bomber will reach anything but the absolute farthest battles Russia will be fighting. I might have only bought 1 fighter first turn but 2 fighters double the returne concept of not leaving anything more expensive than infantry for the enemies counter attacks. Very conservative I'd say, a wise investment, like saving $1 just to be sure your buying as much infantry as possible.
I continue to be surprised at how many subscribe to the "I spend every IPC every turn" concept. I scratch my head over it still. That is probably going to be its own video or incorporated into a video for the series im currently working on for Axis and Allies 1914.
@@thegoodcaptain1217 Late game quiet savings can lead to temporary surprise imbalances, timed with other late game surprises...
I was super hyped seeing this video because in every game I play with friends, russia gets destroyed every time and very quickly. Upon trying this strategy out on triple-a against friends, the AI, and even myself, I found that it never worked! Either my entire army in belorussia was completely blown out or germany rerouted to take caucuses and I lost every time. So I ran the numbers using a battle calc and found that there really is no way to defend belorussia and caucuses... even in the example you give in the video, germany has at least a 90% chance of winning when they attack belorussia with everything they have at 6:43. The only way to defend belorussia completely is to abandon every other territory which will just lose you the game. bummed out :(
I still use this as a baseline strategy and am still actively playing on the .org.
Would you like to play a game? I would like to see what you’re talking about (where did you get 90%?). I will take Allies, no bid.
As a follow up: we can just play the first two rounds. And repeat as needed as many times as we like. Perhaps you have something I missed or I didn’t communicate effectively.
@@thegoodcaptain1217 sure do you have a discord?
@@smokeyjail2404 The Good Captain #5625
For anyone who has read down this thread and for my future self: I spoke with Smokey and he pointed out that the win rate is somewhere in the 90 percentile range if the Germans throw everything and the kitchen sink at the Belo. Bump on G2. I don't contest these probabilities however, the TUV swing is significantly negative for the Germans. In other words, the Germans will sacrifice/risk much of their air force and all their armor in this otherwise "successful" attack. Where USSR will lose infantry, the Germans will lose far more expensive units to secure this "W". Activating "retreat when only air left" in the TripleA battle calculator will net you the "close to 50%" chance of success I quote in the video. This is what I am advocating. This is how you play "chicken" with the German player to stall them on G2. That being said, if I release a future video on this series, I will discuss this in more detail and provide a subtle "update" to the G1 and R1 openers.