Anti-Tanks

If your strategy in the previous 3 Advance Wars games involve bulldozing enemy troops with super-powerful tanks, you will hate this new unit introduced in AW: Days of Ruin.

Here are some of its traits:

It's defense against vehicles are MAD! A War Tank (strongest tank in DoR) can actually lose a 1-on-1 fight against an Anti-Tank. The Anti-Tank is equipped with a powerful armour that barely dents against every powerful unit in the game. Even Bombers (strongest offensive unit) require 3 hits to kill it. And since it only costs 11000 to build, 2 or 3 Anti-tanks would already be on the field before Bombers enter the fray.

Anti-Tanks are also the only indirect unit capable of close combat (if you don't consider the Bomber an indirect unit). It has an attack range of 3 squares with no gaps like the other indirect units. So, it can actually already damage your units before your units get close enough to attack it. So put a defensive wall around the Anti-Tank and you can watch as your opponent's offensive force turns into dust. However, being an indirect unit means that it can't attack the turn it moves.

Now then, for my experience with these units.

Before Days of Ruin, my strategy mainly consists of creating an elephant army of Tanks and then throwing in some Mid-, Neo- and Megatanks to boost firepower. When I tried to pull off this strategy again in Days of Ruin, I breezed through the opponent's main force like a knife through tofu and then arrived in front of their HQ. I laughed at the 2 Anti-Tanks and 5 Infantries guarding it, but then... BOOM!!! Most of the vanguard were blown to pieces and I only managed to damage 1 Anti-Tank. Damage which healed the next turn!

And it took me 9 DAYS before I finally killed one and swarmed the last one! WHAT THE HECK!!?? Even a fleet of Battleships didn't give me this much hell!!

Anyway, I am now researching a new tactic to beat this new unit. One thing I realised is that it's like an elephant in Animal Chess. The strong tanks die before it, but the useless Infantry units can actually beat the crap out of it. Well.. Bike Infantries to be exact, but they're still pretty much useless in combat against vehicles.

And I am still looking for people to challenge me in Advance Wars!! better do it now before I unlock Hachi in Dual Strike and master Anti-Tank warfare in Days of Ruin!