Stripes – What it means to the Tournament Scene

By Ed Sales

Hello there! Today we are going to take a look at what Stripes brings to the Tournament Scene. (Spoiler Alert: It’s a game changer.)

There has been a ton of intrigue about what Stripes would bring to the table after Red Thunder came out. If you play Americans, this book helps immensely when you deal with the Red Scourge in competitive play. If you play a USSR or East Germans, be warned, the lists in this book will give you headaches, but you can learn a lot when you see what your opponent might bring to the table.

Stripes brings a new set of tools for the Americans and NATO Allies to wield, in a way that can be used the same way East Germans wield T55s. The M60, at four points a tank, is not as cheap as the T55, but I’d take those over the T55s. More shots and being hit on fours is a good break away from the Abrams which comes in at twice that amount, though the Abrams has a lot more survivability.

Inside that same formation, we have Hummers with Tow Missiles! We can take two platoons, with up to four anti-tank HMMWVs, for one point apiece. Four shots with AT 21 for four points for one platoon. These are cheap speed bumps for your flanks which you then can bring the Sheridans to bear. The anti-tank HMMWVs, combined with the Sheridans, give the Americans cheap pointed units that will punch well above their weight class. You should be killing more than double the points you spent on these units.

Now the best things about the American lists can be countered. T55s need to get in close in order to be truly effective. This is where the smoke comes in. It’s really expensive, but you can take two units of six Carnations, which is enough smoke to cover most of the table, and you can do it twice. This gives you a chance to get in close to these cheap American units and reduce the number of shots they can throw at you.

Have you been having trouble with the Red Scourge Helicopters and Airplanes? Well, I have good news for you. You can take the M247 Sergeant York, the M48 Chaparral, the M163 VADS, and my personal favorite, the HMMWV Sam Platoon. I believe the HMMWV Sam Platoon is a must take in the Tournament scene. Four points gets you eight AA missile shots. This is another unit that will punch above its point cost.

If you are one of those players who doesn’t take AA telling themselves, “What are the chances I’m going to see air three rounds in a row?” You may not, but what is four points in a typical 100-point game? The M247 York also has a bit of a tweener setup to me. If someone in my area ran the BMP Spandrel missile swarm, I’d give these another look as a dual threat, First, they can help keep the skies clear. Second, they can hold the BMPs at bay, though I wouldn’t rely on the M247 York to do this on their own. Using them in this role is more of a backup to the backup plan.

When this book came out, and I went through it. It became clear to me what list I would take to a tournament from the get-go. It may not have the chance at 8-1 Wins every game, but it would be fun and would make the opponent think differently about how to pick your formation apart. It would start with UH-1 Huey Infantry Combat Team, with a West German Panzer Kompanie. Yeah, I’m going there.

 

The List at 100 Points

UH-1 Huey Infantry Combat Team from Stripes

HQ – 1 M16 Rifle Team = 1 Point

UH-1 Huey Rifle Platoon – 5 M249 Saw Teams with M72 Law Anti-Tank, 1 M47 Dragon Missile Team, and 3 UH-1 Hueys = 6 Points

UH-1 Huey Rifle Platoon – 5 M249 Saw Teams with M72 Law Anti-Tank, 1 M47 Dragon Missile Team, and 3 UH-1 Hueys = 6 Points

HMMWV-Tow Anti-Tank Platoon – 4 HMMWV-Tow = 4 Points

HMMWV Scout Section – 1 HMMWV-M2, 1 HMMWV-MK19, 1 HMMWV-Tow = 2 Points

M551 Sheridan Tank Platoon – 4 M551 Sheridans = 8 Points

M551 Sheridan Tank Platoon – 4 M551 Sheridans = 8 Points

HMMWV Sam Platoon – 4 HMMWV Stinger = 4 Points

M163 VADS AA Platoon – 4 M163 VADS = 6 Points

Leopard 2 Panzerkompanie from Leopard

HQ – 1 Leopard 2 = 11 Points

Leopard 2 Panzer Zug – 2 Leopard 2s = 22 Points

Leopard 2 Panzer Zug – 2 Leopard 2s = 22 Points

Ok, so I stretched this a bit more in my head than I thought. I really wanted to have the UH-1 Rifle Platoons to be at full strength plus add two M60s into them, but it was either that or lose one of the M551 Sheridan Platoons at eight points, which will punch above its weight more than the Rifle Platoon. The Leopard 2s soak up attention awhile the Sheridans do the thumping. I’d like to have added in Cobras, but it takes away from what I’m trying to accomplish with this list. At a high point level they would be the next thing to be added.

Conclusion – Listen, everyone likes to play the home team, right? This book is the equivalent of your home team trading for all the best players and fielding a dream team while declaring we are going to win the

Championship this year. It gives Americans and NATO Allies who want to field some of this stuff, brand new tools. Cheap AT assets. Cheap Anti-Air Assets. Better AA assets in the Sgt York. 2nd Tier Tanks in the M60. Stripes brings to Team Yankee what the US Military is all about, making your opponent pick his poison. Now, go out there, and make your opponent pick his poison, I know I will.