So .. why do I love these?
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| The platoon is done up clean - Dirty Jon Camo Style! |
Recce Deployment is Awesome (p.193)
So, for starters, Recce is just awesome. I get the Recce move at the beginning of the game -- which I previously thought was of very limited use. I looked at the setup and thought that I would not be able to move forward very far due to the limitation of the Recce move -- stay outside of 16" of the enemy.
It took me a while - I'm slow - to figure out that moving laterally was also of great importance. If I happen to have a road running across my deployment area, I can get even farther with my Recce move. What this allows me to do is fool my opponent during setup. If I have a couple of Recce units in the army, I can deploy then to one side - showing my opponent one thing - then move clear across the table during the Recce move. Sneaky!
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| I did some pigments on these -- I kinda like it. |
Revealing Ambushes (p.193)
Ambushes must be revealed more than 8" away from enemy Recce teams. This is 'UGE when trying to protect your armored columns from those pesky US Tank Destroyers. If deployed properly, you can force the reveal to happen in awkward and poor locations. This can help in other scenarios where regular Ambush rules are used. With the extreme USTD band wagon in effect, some sort of Recce is a must in any Late War German list where you expect to see the US Army.
I like to move these guys up with my heavy AT assets -- they are great at protecting Marders, PzIVs and Panthers. If you fan these out, you can deny areas to reveal ambushes such that you at least make the unit move to shoot your expensive assets. Some times, you can force front shots instead of sides. At best, you can prevent any reveal at all!
Eyes and Ears (p.195)
Being able to remove Gone to Ground is a big, big deal. When facing enemy Veteran infantry, this can mean going from a 6+ to hit (4+ for Vet, 5+ for Concealment and 6+ for Gone to Ground) to a 5+ to hit. This will allow one to get DOUBLE the hits previously expected! This can be the difference between pinning a platoon before assault!
Puma Stats
The Puma is a great and powerful Recce vehicle. Jeep movement, ROF 2, AT 9 FP 4+ Gun, 3 Front Armor -- and all at 50pts per model! If they get lucky, this unit can handle the 400+ point USTD unit all by itself. I just love this unit!
Now, the bad news is that not all lists can get the Puma -- I think they only made about 100 of them. But, if available, these guys are really, really good.
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| Image courtesy of EasyArmy.com |
