I’m a little late on this one, but honestly forgot that I did not write up the review, after taking the pictures. This is funny, as I was the most excited about this particular release. Anyway, let’s cover the Late War Hungarian Bagration Unit Card release.
Like the other releases for Axis minor powers, this one is tank centric. You only get one infantry formation and have to get the Command Cards to fill out more infantry companies (this ends up being a must buy for this army). I would have preferred more infantry in the Unit card set, but you do get the building blocks you need to field a regular infantry formation. The other listings represent a whopping seven tank company organizations. Considering the number of AFVs used by the Hungarian Army, this is reasonable (although I think some could have been combined to give more infantry options). The set gives you over thirty five cards to choose our force and provides a great selection of support units to boot. On balance, if you like Hungarian Armor, you will like this set.
Starting with the support, you get the normal Hungarian fair with armored cards and AA all of Hungarian design (well, Swedish design under license…). I was a little surprised to see the Stuka as the air support, but I think that is about consolidating models. I was also surprised that they chose the Toldi as the OP for the army. I figured they would just have an infantry stand in a truck. So, you can support your army with a solid aircraft, that has a respectable AT attack. Bring armed with Bofors, the AA options give a good AA attack, while being equally as good against light AFVs and dug in troops.
The AT options give a light Hungarian ATG that also includes a stahlgrenat option. It is nice to have the option. The Pak40 is also included, which is a nice option. However, there are no options for captured Soviet or mid range German guns. I think those choices would have been nice, but it’s not critical. The interesting option is the AT rocket platoon. I think this is a bit of theory crafting to include this experimental weapon, but it is quite interesting that they managed to find a new model to add to this line!
The artillery includes medium and heavy mortars (which are probably the best value artillery in the game for every army). They also include the Skoda 100 and German 105mm guns. Interesting that there are no light or heavy gun options (I think I would have passed on the 105 for one of them). Finally, there is a Nebelwerfer option (another very cost effective choice).
The infantry company provides for a rifle platoon, a cavalry platoon, and HMG platoon and a scout platoon. All are straight forward trained, but have the careful option, so they are more survivable than in version three. This will provide you a force that is resilient and maneuverable using the Huzzah special rule.
Lastly, we have the armor cards. This represents almost half the deck. You have the option of going all in on the Hungarian builds with the Zrinyi and Turan companies. These are not the best choices, but certainly the coolest and a reason to field Hungarians. I would have liked more Toldi slots, but you can still field them as support platoons in your companies (although in small packets). Next, we have the German equipment options. PzIIIs, PzIVs, Panthers, Tigers.. oh my! Followed by Stug III and Hetzer goodness. Like the infantry, the tanks are all careful, but with a trained rating. They also have the Huzzah rule to keep them moving on the table top. The trained rating helps with their costs, giving you a few extra points over similarly equipped German forces. You just need to be a little more careful with when you make your order rolls and manage your assaults.
Overall, I am happy with the set, as I can field my Hungarian weapons in mass. I would have liked a few more unit cards to better support the infantry options, and maybe a variable AT selection. As mentioned, most of these are covered with the Command Cards, so there is that. With that in mind, I would say this is a must buy for Hungarian FOW players, but the Command Card set cannot be done without.
- Manteuffel