"Mechanized Force only" rule trap !

[Denis the Menace]

Just got recently involved in a UKR vs RUS game and agreed on a "mechanized force only" house rule.
What we did not know (my opponent and myself !) is the RUS player can still purchase the mighty BMP-3 while the UKR player can only fight with BMP-2s.
Worse, the cost of a BMP-3 is almost the same as of a BMP-2 (about 20 budget points only) though the fire power difference (30mm+100mm vs. 30mm) is huge !
Actually the same applies to RUS vs. US games, a Bradley 25mm gun is no match for a BMP-3 100mm main gun (and usually BMP-2s and Bradleys do not fire their missiles at short-medium distance).

Conclusion: no need to say that a "mechanized force only" house rule turns out to be a pretty nasty trap and leads to a very unbalanced battle in favor of the RUS player.

Maybe you already knew this ! My opponent and I did not.

 

[Rinaldi]

I wouldn't worry too much about US v RUS Mech games; the 100mm has no anti-tank capability beyond barrel-launched missiles and the 25mm can do a number on the 3. You have a point about UKR vs RUS however.

Ah but the million dollar question - are you guys going to tough it out and play anyways?

 

[Denis the Menace]

I wouldn't worry too much about US v RUS Mech games; the 100mm has no anti-tank capability beyond barrel-launched missiles and the 25mm can do a number on the 3. You have a point about UKR vs RUS however.

A single 100mm blast can knock down a Bradley, no doubt.

Ah but the million dollar question - are you guys going to tough it out and play anyways?

@Kraft (RUS) and I (UKR) actually played it through ! The map was covered with many patches of woods and forests so I discovered Kraft had BMP-3 (ERA) in his arsenal only 10-15 turns into our game. I was expecting a BMP-2 vs BMP-2 fight until I found out about this "mechanized force only" twist (not voluntary from Kraft I must say). Rather foolishly I decided to carry on and see what happens.

It was a very frustating game for me (UKR), I lost almost every BMP-2 vs BMP-3 fight, 100mm gun knocking down infantry squads with a single blast as well, while BMP-2 30mm gun needs a direct hit in order to do some damage. And the map was too small to allow some manoeuvering....

Eventually I lost something like 14 x BMP-2s (100% lost to BMP-3s) and was able to knock down about 12 x BMP-3s (thanks to artillery and AT missiles). However I had lost almost all AT teams and ammunition so there was no hope to survive the last 10 turns or so. Very unbalanced game.

 

[Denis the Menace]

See my previous post here above