CSI MEMOIR 44 - VASSIEUX
Posted: 07 November 2022, 22:11
OK, so definately not my favorite map. Honestly - the brave French resistance fighters facing 10000 German and Vichy French soldiers deserve a better scenario in their honor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vercors
Luckily JdRommel - the hugely productive and talented map-maker and French gentilhomme - got you covered with an entire mini-campaign
https://ncdn1.daysofwonder.com/memoir44 ... ors_en.pdf
With that out of the way - let's just have a quick look at the problems with the map and scenario as presented in the Base Game. It's one of those games where a single card can win it for both sides, almost instantly. INFANTRY ASSAULT, ASSAULT CENTER, and FIRE FIGHT - are all deadly if played before the center units have moved. It's not a lot of fun being down 2-0 in a 4-medal game... 4-medal scenarios, my dead horse.
In addition, this map also has a very silly rule that is rarely, if ever, used again: No reshuffle when THEIR FINEST HOUR is played. This is an extremely bad idea, since one of the only ways to actually come back from a bad situation is to play TFH if you know that there's a lot of good cards that has already been played. So, no comebacks if you've got bad luck with the cards...
OK, so for our game I started with an ATTACK CENTER, played it and instantly had my opponent down to 2 units with 1 figure each... Good start. I also had COUNTER ATTACK - which always soothes my soul, because whatever dangerous my opponent got up his sleeve, I can throw it right back at him. Which is what happened. Edocentric had wisely tried to shield his 2x1 fig units - one of which I had sniped with a lucky 50-50 shot, and then he gave me INFANTRY ASSAULT for a 2hex move + attack to kill the other one.
Ahead 2-0 and with almost no weakened units - I was pretty confident I would win. Like I said, with no reshuffle, you can more or less be sure of what cards your opponent has, and then you just need a little luck with the dice.
4-2 in the first round.
So in the second round I had GENERAL ADVANCE and BEHIND ENEMY LINES to begin with, so as soon as AMBUSH was played - the BEL should be a sure kill. I just needed 3 medals to win the match, so when I picked up AIR POWER early on - and Edocentric, in what I think was a defensive move, had clumped together three units - I decided to weaken them all.
Severely crippled, and with bad cards, my opponent could really get anything rolling. He did get ahead by 1 medal - but by that time I had picked up BARRAGE, so I felt I had 2 certain points. Turns out - my BEL was not as effective as I had thought, the 2 fig unit I tried to kill survived, but then in return failed to kill my unit. My brave French Freedom fighters did not fail twice!
Lucky cards, lucky rolls, and few real options to play around with alternative strategies.