T29
Not to be left behind in the heavy tank race, the Americans began the development of the Heavy Tank T29 in 1944 as a direct counter to the German Tiger II. Using the Pershing chassis as a starting point, the T29 received a longer chassis, heavier armour, and a massive turret to house the new 105mm gun T5E1.
The T29 rolls onto the tabletop with the 2023 Starter Set, providing a heavy tank for the American line-up. Tier-for-tier, the T29 is a beast with a massive 3 Survivability coupled with 7 hitpoints, making the T29 a great choice for frontline brawling. Coupled with some upgrades to augment its damage and reduce the defence of enemy tanks, it’s perfect for getting up close and personal to win vital positions.
Although classed as a Heavy tank, in the online game the more powerful engine certainly gives the T29 a far more dynamic playstyle, making it feel like a heavier Pershing. The Mobility 2 reflects this, allowing the T29 to get aggressive and position early before hunkering down and using both the Survivability and Defensive Measures to reduce incoming damage. Firepower 5 allows the T29 to consistently whittle down opponents as you brawl, and by getting close and personal enemies will find their defensive dice pool quickly reducing. Using both of the available Loader crew slots gives you a lot of flexibility in this regard, and having a dedicated Commander and Radio Operator allows you to double dip on Initiative upgrades to help the T29 outmanoeuvre enemy heavies.
Where the T29 shines is its cost-to-performance ratio. At 67 points, there is plenty of headroom for upgrades. Maximising the crew slots to augment the Firepower and Initiative will give you the edge over other heavy tanks, while keeping the cost down allows you to field multiple T29s in your platoon to overwhelm the enemy with hitpoints. We’ll take a more in-depth look at how you can achieve this in a later article.
IS-3
With its “upturned soup bowl” turret and piked frontal armour, the IS-3 is one of the most recognisable Soviet heavy tanks of the era. Produced concurrently with the IS-2, it eventualized too late to see action in WWII but was pivotal for Soviet tank design going forward, with the radical armour solution proving to be incredibly effective even against more modern designs.
The 2023 Starter Set unleashes this beast onto the tabletop, further enhancing the Soviet heavy tank tree with a machine purpose-built to sit right at the front, bouncing all incoming fire. With 4 Survivabilty, the IS-3 can afford to sit stationary and pick off smaller tanks with impunity, whilst the 2 Mobility allow it to relocate to cover the flank in case of a breakthrough.
The powerful array of Soviet guns also doesn’t stop at the IS-3. Mounting the 122mm D-25 gun, the IS-3 can cause a world of hurt for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught out. Firepower 6 with Big Gun to deal critical damage is scary to face, and with the ability to sit stationary and absorb damage, re-rolling all misses will ensure that the IS-3 is doing damage every turn. Be sure to make the most of the 8 hitpoints, trading blows with enemy tanks to let your platoon advance up the flanks to hit enemies in the side while the IS-3 soaks up the incoming fire.
At 98 points, the IS-3 is an incredibly well-rounded package straight out of the box. Run 2 side-by-side to charge down objectives, or utilise light tanks to cause further hurt. The 3 Initiative can hurt and allow the IS-3 to become a victim of flanking fire, so consider upgrading the Initiative to mitigate this. We’ll discuss this in more detail in another article.
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