Conquest 2013- LW Motostrelkovy

Yes, it is that time again, the annual Conquest tournament. I have been umming and ahhing about whether or not to go and if so what to play. I was thinking about playing Bolt Action but in the end tradition won out. I’ve played Flames at all 10 events so far so it would be rude of me not to continue. So I guess my self imposed sabbatical from Flames is at an end.

Haven’t really thought too much as to what to take and can’t be bothered coming up with anything to radial or new so thought I’d take my Winterfest 2012 Motostrelkovy list for a spin- with a few minor tweaks and see how it fares.  

I’ve a couple of units I’m not sure on but the bulk of the force has written itself:

The Infantry Core:

HQ

1x 2 platoon motostrelk company

1x 1 platoon company

All SMG armed. I know the meta is to take 2x min strength platoons but my larger motostrelk are to do the heavy lifting at assault time and more often than not it is they who win the game for me. They can also double duty as my ambush screen- more about that later.

Light tank platoon

8-9 valentines (all 6 pdrs). Who cares that they are slow and don’t have MGs the valentines has more often than not performed sterling work for me as a flanking force/reserve. AT 10 is not to be sniffed at and with 8-9 of them they usually last a few rounds- protected ammo helps as well. IMO they are a must take unit and at 250 pts for 9 of them they are an absolute bargain.

Heavy Mortar platoon

Last time my mortars were a bit so/so (I only had 4) and so it was a toss up between mortars or Zis 3 and M3A1 scout cars, in the end 6x mortars for 130 pts seemed a bargain, hopefully I can keep them alive long enough to use their wider template. Again they almost pick themselves as a very versatile unit.

 Light Assault gun platoon

Last time I went with 4 of my beloved SU 76s, this year I will do as every other Soviet player does and run SU 122, their role is obviously get up close and let rip vs enemy infantry and gun teams- keeping them a live long enough to do that is the trick. However they also make for an excellent flanking/reserve unit and can be devastating if in ambush too.

AA platoon or recon?

This was a harder decision. Last year I went without any recon and in most games it didn’t really hurt to bad- even though removing GtG on gun teams is almost mandatory in V3, so I thought long and hard as to whether or not to take some recon (BA 64s or Spetnez), in the end I went for something different- a platoon of 3x M16 quad AA half tracks! Why? Not sure really. I guess mainly because I have never fielded them and they can do a good job of suppressing infantry, half tracks or most recon. Time will tell if it was the right call.

So that just leaves my last two units and this is where I still haven’t made a decision:

Option 1: 3x JS 2 + 4x M10s

Last year I used a combo of 3x JS 2 and 4x SU100s as my heavy hitters, this year I am toying with 3x JS 2 and 4x M10s- I like the fact the M10 has RoF 2, can volleyfire and comes with a 50 cal as factory standard so can move forward and offer a suppressing fire option (well maybe) and might actually hit a target once in a while. Still, the M10 is more of a long range sniping vehicle than a scary proposition. If I can keep the JS 2s alive they will double as another assault unit (they have tankriders on them).

Option 2: 4x  SU 100s and 5x T34/85s

The SU 100 give a better overwatch type unit, parked up and daring anything to come within range but being RoF 1 H&C, overloaded and slow hurts them a bit. However, 5x T34/85s do offer another flanking/assault option and may last slightly longer than 3x JS 2s might in the AT 15 environment.

So there we have it. Why motostrelk?  A couple of reason really. Firstly I like the flexibility of the list, it really as a wide range of options; and secondly, being mechanised I get to attack vs infantry lists. It is having to attack infantry that does concern me a bit though mainly due to my lack of recon but I will learn to live without it (as I have in the past)- by using my infantry to grab any potential threatening areas.  But overall I'd rather attack than defend, its often a lot more fun!

So there we have it. It will be interesting to see how the force fares.  

Now I need to build to AA half tracks and make another 2 winter based heavy mortars to finish off the force. 

Craig