Armoured Fist and what it means to the tournament scene.

Today we take a look at how Battlefront’s Latest addition the mid-war desert books, Armoured Fist, changes the tournament scene. It’s complicated.

One of the most talked about and biggest changes that come with Armoured Fist is actually something that affects the Desert Rats book. The hotly contest Scout Tanks card has been changed, making the cost two points for each platoon using it, and the card must be applied to every platoon it is viable for. This is a huge, much-needed change.

Battlefront set the point cost for the card too low on the first go around, but, I will give them credit for admitting their mistake and fixing it. This change, however, will kill the Stuarts swarm of 50+ tanks.

Churchills and Valentines finally make their debut to mid-war as well. The Churchill will provide the British, and Americans who choose to take them as Allies, an interesting piece of equipment to put on the table with the current state of Version 4 mid-war.

Churchills costs one more point than a Panzer IV long barrel but are so much more valuable. Their front armor or 8 and side armor of 7 means Panzer IIIs aren’t going to kill a Churchill.

They will have a good chance to bounce almost all shots, when fired at by Panzer IV Longs (AT 10), or the Dianas that are coming out soon, and they stand a chance against Marders (AT 12). Let’s be honest, how often do you see Panzer IV Longs in mid-war up til now? The 6-pounder gun dishes out two shots while stationary with an AT 10.

I’m not a fan of the CS version of the Churchill. I think 11 points for a Tank that has AT 7 and a bombardment from its secondary gun is a bit much. Luckily, it’s only an option in the HQ that I can see.

The Valentines are now another useful tool. The Valentine VIII (with 6-pounder) has an AT value of 10, which will send Panzer crews looking for cover. In assaults, however, they hit on a 5+, which reduces their overall effectiveness.

With the Valentine’s armor values of 6 in the front and 6 (or 5) on the sides, Panzer IIIs will have a hard time cracking the armor. However, the 2 Pdr version has AT of 7, so they will need to move to the flank of Panzers in order to be effective.

I haven’t seen the command cards for Armoured Fist yet. I’d hope to see a card that would increase the assault value of the Valentines and Crusaders. Potentially a card that would allow the Death or Glory Squadron add a Valentine VIII to their force for the added AT. I’ll be honest, I have had zero interest in ever building anything British, besides the LRDG which no longer exists in mid-war (as of, Version 4).

But the Death or Glory Squadron has the right mix of average tanks for a good point cost. They need help in assaults, and I like to have some guns that have a better AT value than 9 in it. With mid-war tournament point levels seemingly going up and up, it should not be hard to add AT and units to assault, or even a formation like the British Rifles or Motor Infantry.

I think the Valentines and Churchills pose the biggest change to mid-war. From what I have seen in mid-war tournaments thus far though, you don’t see a lot of Tanks that cost 10+ points show up.

How often do you see Tigers in a tournament? Rarely. When you do see that Tiger, how well did they do? Probably not well. Same goes for Panzer IV Long Barrels. For a platoon of three Churchills, at 11 points each, you come out with 33 Points. It will be difficult to fill out a well-rounded list maximizing Churchills. Instead, we’ll probably see a platoon of Churchills supporting other elements of the British force.

At the lower point levels, you might take Churchills with a Rifle or Motor Formation and bet on your opponent not taking something like Marders or Dianas. At a high point level, I might take a platoon of Churchills with US Armored Rifles in attempt to deflect some attention away from the Infantry moving up.

How will you use Armoured Fist in Tournaments? Do you have paper and pencil in hands trying a way to cram in Churchills? Are you looking at all the way you can use the Death and Glory Squadron? Let me know in the Comments!