Flexibility at ASL Tournaments

By David Garvin

I can’t believe he spent all that time painting us like this

When I went to my first gaming tournament, it was a local Flames of War tournament. About a dozen or so of us showed up and it was grand fun. We played three rounds in a day and I recall not winning a single game, yet having a blast. My force was composed of a Germany grenadier company. It was essentially custom built and I knew how to use it, in spite of not winning (the games were close, as I recall).

I later went to the Canadian Nationals in Ottawa. For this tournament I had an armored infantry company from the US 2^nd Armored Division. It was late war and I did much better. There were two days of play and I got in 6 matches.

We had a great crowd and there was quite a bit of competition that really got me to hone my skills. The next year I did even better; it was early war and I had a German Panzer Company, based around Panzer 38 (t) E tanks.

 

My Company from 2nd US Armored Division, Canadian Nationals, 2014

Irrespective of the tournament, I really enjoyed the lead-up.  I would build my company so that it was an all-arms affair that allowed me to have a certain level of flexibility. I played it locally and would tinker with it to fine tune it in order to be ready for the task at hand. The lead up was great fun; it was the tournament play that let me down.

“No, really, this will get you ready for the tournament…”

Though I had a good time at all my tournaments, I was always frustrated by the ahistorical battles. At the first Canadian Nationals I attended, for example, my US force was designed to fight Germans. To battle their tanks (often superior), I had my Tank Destroyers. The battle their infantry, I had my massed MG fire from my Armored Infantry.

To support maneuver, I had my artillery with its vast quantities of smoke. The problem is that I often fought other American forces. I wasn’t sure how to deal with them and in one of my best matches, I lost a very tight match to a guy who was fighting a force from the same tank division! Against Germans, however, I was a perfect 2 and 0. I defeated the German 2^nd Panzer Division in one battle, and completely rolled over a force of German Paratroopers, in spite of them having ample AT weapons.

I can’t believe you made me fight my own men

The first thing I noted about Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) tournament play was that you lost complete control over the composition of your force. As you get your scenario card, it is then that you learn what your order of battle (OOB) will be, as well as that of the opponent.

You do have a method by which you express your preference for sides; however, there is a formalized method to determine who gets whom, which means that you may end up with a side that you’re not comfortable playing. Victory is also determined uniquely in each battle! You may have to seize terrain, deny terrain, exit forces off the map or even just cause casualties. Of course, there are also combinations of the above. And more. Of course.

Um, can you say that again? How do I win?

This is where the Flexibility of Play comes in. Unlike miniatures tournaments, where you can arrive with ample practice with a force, in an ASL tournament, your side, composition, and even era will vary from game to game. In game one, for example, you may be playing as Yugoslav Cavalry versus Wehrmacht Motorcycle troops in 1941 and in the next you could be commanding a late-war Soviet force composed largely of heavy tanks and assault guns.

It’s called Armored Assault, Ivan. D 9.31

Putting aside composition, each nationality plays differently as well. Canadians don’t cower, Americans are quick to break but even faster to rally, and Soviets can’t even deploy, although they can conduct a human wave. Every nation has its advantages and disadvantages. Even Wehrmacht troops differ from Waffen-SS troops. For example, your Waffen-SS troops can massacre captured prisoners, though Soviets can do that to any Germans they get their hands on as well.

Human Wave, Vlad. A 25.23. It makes us better, trust me!

Knowing how to play the hand you’re dealt in an ASL tournament will separate the champions from the players. I am positively in the latter group, though I recognize greatness when I see it. In a recent example, I was paired off in the first round against the current top-rated ASL Player. Steve Pleva has won several of the premier ASL tournaments and this dates back over 20 years.

This is a game using dice, so there is an element of luck, but Mr. Pleva is proof that luck is what you make of it. In the game I played against him, he was cautious in his approach as he was using Italians on an attack against defending Soviets in late summer, 1942. His morale and his Experience Level Rating (ELR) were low, meaning that his forces were brittle. This proved to be of little matter. Yes, his forces broke as expected, but he accounted for this and was able to keep the forces moving and won the game handily.

Another recent lesson I learned was thanks to my good friend Monty. As he put it “Elite guys have to do Elite things”. Where I was being my usual cautious self in one attack, Monty said this and this gave me the impetus to take more chances with my force. Their morale was only 1 point higher, but a difference between 7 and 8 morale is significant: 58% change of passing a normal morale check for a level 7 morale, vs 72% change for a level 8 morale. As a matter of interest, First-Line US troops will pass a normal morale check only 42% of the time!

You don’t listen very well, do you, Garvin?

A further consideration for any force is the leader to squads ratio.  Ideally you will have a force with a ratio of around one leader for every three squad-equivalents or 1:3.  This will allow for leaders to exert their command abilities onto their force, be it by mandatory fire direction or simply rally of broken troops, but when a force is lacking leadership, a cunning use of this precious resource is what sets apart better players from the others.

Follow me!

As a final consideration of how to use your force, you will very rarely have the choice to compose your force to your liking (although Chapter H of the Rulebook does talk of Design Your Own scenarios). A consequence of this is that you will have to learn to fight in situations that vary from infantry-only fights in Stalingrad to early war tank-only fights in the desert. And of course everything in between! As such, mastery of combined arms, though necessary, isn’t sufficient to master gameplay in Advanced Squad Leader, especially at tournaments.

Just yesterday I was landing at Tarawa. Today I’m in Stalingrad!

The only way to prepare yourself for tournament play is to play at tournaments. This is obviously circular reasoning, but this is how I’ve gotten better at ASL. At my first tournament I ended up with 1 win and 3 losses, but since then I know I’ve improved. I have a long way to go, but every tournament is a step forward. Which is why I acted as TD at a tournament in Tysons Corner in June.

David Garvin is an avid wargamer, who specializes in losing games of ASL across North America. You may have seeen him June 7th to 9th in Tysons Corner as he lost to the best!  Check out