Japan?

Red_Devil · Japan?

I've read the review by AngelOfDeath in regards to Japanese units. While they look to be underpowered, I am interested in using them in an army. I was wondering if the nation is worth the effort. It seems like the armor/support units are weak and the infantry need to get extremely close to the enemy to be effective. What would be some good builds to put them in an advantageous position? What kind of terrain are they best at fighting in? What would be some good tactics to use with them? Sorry about all the questions, hopefully you all can help me out . Very Happy

RAEVSKI

You should always try to fight a historical opponent, they generally don't have much armour and are limited to Shermans being there heaviest tank. The terrain is important and should be closed i.e Jungle, Forest swamp, villages etc.
Your inf can go toe to toe with the best and come out on top. Your AT is average at best. Always use Ho Ni versus tank forces (your best hope vs armour). They are not a competition army IMHO, i would not try it.

Angel of Death

I agree. Don't use Japan if you plan on using them for tournements or something.

But under the right, historical, circumstances, they are fun to play. They never had to go toe to toe with Pershings or IS-'s. They don't have anything against those heavy tanks. Against 5/4 and lower defense thanks they can manage though. As I put in that review : lots of terrain (preferably Forest, as the Japan SA's are made for that) is Japans best friend.

Lt_V

I like to use infantry heavy swarms, when they get on top of you they can be brutal, maybe Duck Crusader can be of help with this, try PMing him Very Happy

Ducky

My friend's Japan lost to my Chinese forces. It was a 100 point battle. I had 5 T-26 tanks, a swarm of infantry, an ammo dump, and a P-40 Tomahawk (US, but representing the flying tigers). He got his clock cleaned... Though to be fair, he did have bad luck on the dice. Since that day I have not once had the urge to use Japan.

Lt_V

I played a 100 pt game vs Hungary and I lost my Ho-Nis but the fanatics and Arisakas swarmed the tanks and finished them off without any problems, I will be trying another game in a little while Very Happy

88

I played a 150 pt. game against a US army, and owned his ass with a massive wave of tanks. Game done by turn 5! Of course, we had to break the 15 unit rule, and he fielded no aircraft, nor I. 3 Chi-Ha's, 5 Ha-Go's, and 2 Ho-Ni vs. 1 Sheman commander, 1 Sherman, 1 M-10, 2 M5's and 1 M16's. Sure I almost lost all of my Ha-Go's but thank god for forests and cover rolls! It really hurts when a a little 9 point tank(Ha-Go's) stumps your 21 point Sherman dead in it's tracks with a disruption. His big mistake was to actually try to go head to head with me. He got his tanks in the short to medium range and I shredded him. Sure I was only rolling 7 die at Med. range with the Ha-go's, but I was able to do it 5 times on one tank! I'll take those odds. Here's a pic with his turn one move. The die is the objective.

All in all this is a game of rock, paper, scissors and a roll of the die. You know what I mean?

Lt_V

The Japanese dont have much in the way of armour but you play a game of just infantry/armoured vehicles the Japanese can be brutal...

Welcome to the forum 88 Very Happy

PantherDude3000

Japan's armor isn't too good. A few tanks have O.K. attacks and neat abilities, but almost all of them have extremely low defense. The main reason Japan can win is because of their infantry. They have good commanders, two elite soldiers and their normal infantrymen have real high hand-to-hand. Also, their Close Assault dice aren't too low, so if your armor gets knocked out quick, you can swarm enemy armor with hordes of infantry.

As far as air power, the Shiden-Kai is your best bet. It's pretty good, and the Zero stinks.

You probably won't do too well if you take a Japanese army to a tournament, but it's a cool nation.

Lt_V

There is definately a learning curve with Japan